To address the 2008/2010 and Supplemental 2014 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Biological Opinion for operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) developed and began implementation of Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia) management plans. This implementation includes redistribution of the Caspian terns in the Columbia River estuary and the mid-Columbia River region to reduce predation on salmonids listed under the Endangered Species Act. Key elements of the plans are (1) reduction of nesting habitat for Caspian terns in the Columbia River estuary and the mid-Columbia River region, and (2) creation or modification of nesting habitat at alternative sites within the Caspian tern breeding range. As part of this effort, USACE and Reclamation developed Caspian tern nesting habitat at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (DENWR), California, prior to the 2015 nesting season. Furthermore, nesting habitat for western snowy plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) also was developed to provide separate nesting opportunities in the same managed ponds to reduce potential conflicts with Caspian terns. Specifically, seven recently constructed islands within two managed ponds (Ponds A16 and SF2) of DENWR were modified to provide habitat attractive to nesting Caspian terns (5 islands) and snowy plovers (2 islands). These 7 islands were a subset of 46 islands recently constructed in Ponds A16 and SF2 to provide waterbird nesting habitat as part of the South Bay Salt Pond (SBSP) Restoration Project.
We used social attraction methods (decoys and electronic call systems) to attract Caspian terns and snowy plovers to these seven modified islands, and conducted surveys from March to September of 2015, 2016, and 2017 to evaluate nest numbers, nest density, and productivity. Results from the 2015 nesting season, the first year of the study, indicated that island modifications and social attraction measures were successful in establishing Caspian tern breeding colonies at Ponds A16 and SF2 of DENWR. Prior to 2015, there was no history of Caspian terns nesting in either Pond A16 or Pond SF2. The success of 2015 continued in 2016 and 2017. In 2017, the third and final year of the project, Caspian terns initiated at least 664 nests, fledged at least 239 chicks, and had a breeding success rate of 0.36 fledged chicks per breeding pair. This represents a 171 percent increase in the number of breeding pairs and a 41 percent increase in the number of chicks fledged, but a 48 percent decrease in the fledglings produced per breeding pair in 2017 compared to 2015, the first year the colonies were established. The two new large and growing Caspian tern nesting colonies at Ponds A16 and SF2 demonstrate the effectiveness of social attraction measures in helping to establish tern nesting colonies in San Francisco Bay. Social attraction measures similar to those used in this study, but targeting other colonial species such as Forster’s terns (Sterna forsteri) and American avocets (Recurvirostra americana), may help to establish waterbird breeding colonies at wetlands enhanced as part of the SBSP Restoration Project.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181136","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation","usgsCitation":"Hartman, C.A., Ackerman, J.T., Herzog, M.P., Strong, C., Trachtenbarg, D., and Shore, C.A., 2018, Social attraction used to establish Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia) nesting colonies on modified islands at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California—Final report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1136, 41 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181136.","productDescription":"vi, 41 p.","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-096017","costCenters":[{"id":651,"text":"Western Ecological Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":356703,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1136/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":356704,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1136/ofr20181136.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.6 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1136"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -122.30667114257812,\n 37.38488959341307\n ],\n [\n -121.87889099121092,\n 37.38488959341307\n ],\n [\n -121.87889099121092,\n 37.637616213035884\n ],\n [\n -122.30667114257812,\n 37.637616213035884\n ],\n [\n -122.30667114257812,\n 37.38488959341307\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Western Ecological Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3020 State University Drive East
Sacramento, California 95819
In their recently published report, State of the Mountain Lion: A Call to End Trophy Hunting of America’s Lion, the Humane Society of the United States suggested that mountain lion (Puma concolor) hunting should be abolished in the United States. The report claims this recommendation is based on scientific arguments that demonstrate the overharvest of mountain lions throughout much of their current range in the United States. We reviewed the science presented by the Humane Society to support their call for the cessation of mountain lion hunting. Rather than provide a rigorous assessment of the peer-reviewed scientific literature and available data on mountain lion ecology, population dynamics and management, the report uses a fundamentally unscientific approach that starts with an a priori assumption that hunting is detrimental to the long-term persistence of mountain lion populations, then attempts to use scientific arguments to support this value-based position. The report frequently ignores or selectively interprets relevant peer-reviewed literature, weakening the scientific credibility of the report. The report relies on imprecise and inadequate demographic measures, questionable data, and simplistic methodologies to derive dubious estimates of potential lion densities; it compares these estimates to various measures produced by State agencies (which themselves vary in reliability as estimates of abundance) to purportedly illustrate the detrimental effects of hunting. The approach used in the report to support the predetermined supposition that mountain lion populations are over-hunted fails to serve as a scientifically defensible foundation for management recommendations range-wide or at the State level.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181128","usgsCitation":"Cain, J.W., III, and Mitchell, M.S., 2018, Evaluation of key scientific issues in the report, “State of the mountain lion—A call to end trophy hunting of America’s lion”: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1128, 14 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181128.","productDescription":"iv, 14 p.","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-098716","costCenters":[{"id":200,"text":"Coop Res Unit Seattle","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":356705,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1128/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":356706,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1128/ofr20181128.pdf","text":"Report","size":"5.3 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1128"}],"contact":"Leader, Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
U.S. Geological Survey
Fishery Sciences Building, Box 355020
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, 98195
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses Maintenance of Variance Extension Type 1 (MOVE.1) regression to transfer streamflows measured at long-term continuous-record streamgaging stations to partial-record (PR) streamgaging stations where intermittent base-flow measurements are available. MOVE.1 regression is used widely throughout the hydrologic community to extend historic low flows and low-flow statistics at continuous-record streamgaging stations to streamgaging stations that have access to only a partial record of low flows. The method correlates base-flow measurements at PR streamgaging stations with daily mean streamflows measured at index stations that exhibit similar streamflow characteristics.
Following changes in the computing platform for storing, processing, retrieving, and publishing National Water Information System (NWIS) hydrologic data, legacy Statistical Analysis System (SAS) code developed by the USGS to implement the MOVE.1 regression was no longer suitable for reading and processing NWIS streamflow data. To migrate the MOVE.1 program so that it could continue to read streamflow data using the new hydrologic data platform, the SAS code was re-written in R, an open source programming language and software environment for statistical computing and graphics supported by the R Foundation for Statistical Computing. The work described in this report was performed in a study conducted by USGS in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
During migration from SAS to R, graphical and tabular output generated by the R script was compared to output produced by the legacy SAS code to ensure that equations used to perform the MOVE.1 regression remained the same. An option to perform censored MOVE.1 regression was added to extend the MOVE.1 methodology to cases where one or more measured continuous-record or PR streamgaging station flows are zero valued. In addition to permitting censored regression, the new R script includes an option to perform piecewise MOVE.1 regression when the relation between PR station and index station low flows varies significantly across the range of index station streamflows.
Together with traditional MOVE.1 regression, censored, and piecewise MOVE.1 regression methods implemented by the R script offer less biased estimates than ordinary least squares regression for the annual 7-day 10-year and other low-flow statistics at PR stations for a range of base-flow conditions. The R script is used to implement the MOVE.1 regression methods across a variety of computing platforms.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181089","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection","usgsCitation":"Colarullo, S.J., Sullivan, S.L., and McHugh, A.R., 2018, Implementation of MOVE.1, censored MOVE.1, and piecewise MOVE.1 low-flow regressions with applications at partial-record streamgaging stations in New Jersey: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1089, 20 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181089.","productDescription":"v, 20 p.","numberOfPages":"30","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-089567","costCenters":[{"id":470,"text":"New Jersey Water Science 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Jersey\",\"nation\":\"USA \"}}]}","contact":"Director, New Jersey Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3450 Princeton Pike, Suite 110
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
The availability of cold-water refugia during summertime river-water temperature maximums is important for cold-water fish species including Endangered Species Act listed salmonids since water temperature influences metabolism, growth, and phenology. The U.S. Geological Survey monitored water temperature at 10 sites approximately evenly-spaced along the lower Quinault River on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, from June 2016 to August 2017 to assess thermal conditions in the lower river. During this 15-month period, there was a near-continuous, 15-minute record at 7 of the sites; complications with thermistors at 3 of the 10 sites limited the temperature dataset to include only summer 2016. In addition, near-streambed and water-surface temperatures were measured along the lower river during a longitudinal survey from August 9 to 12, 2016, during summer baseflow conditions to potentially identify cold or cooler water regions. Measured August water temperatures were warmer than model-predicted August temperatures for the period, 1993–2011. Summertime (July–September) daily minimum temperatures exceeded established salmon habitat threshold temperatures of 16 °C (core summer season) and 17.5 °C (spawning, rearing, and migration periods) for 122 and 65 days, respectively, on average at all monitoring sites with a complete 15-month record that included two summer baseflow periods. Summertime water temperatures at those sites were generally cooler in the downstream direction along the lower Quinault River but became warmer in the downstream direction during the rest of the year, suggesting the river was influenced by diffuse discharge of groundwater with a relatively constant annual temperature. The August longitudinal temperature survey did not detect cold-water refugia (features more than 3 °C cooler than ambient stream water), although it did identify 11 cooler water features (CWF) approximately 100–800 m in length that were 0.1 °C cooler than adjacent upstream or downstream water. The CWFs appeared to correspond to local geomorphic conditions. In August 2017, 10 of the 11 CWFs were field surveyed, and 5 appeared to be influenced by shading from solar radiation by riparian vegetation or steep cliff banks. In addition, field observations suggest that finer scale (that is, less than 10 m) CWFs, specifically individual side pools associated with large, in-channel wood, increased in frequency in the downstream direction along the lower Quinault River. However, this study did not quantify the density or water temperatures associated with these fine-scale features that may serve as cool- or cold-water pockets or patches.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181129","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Quinault Indian Nation","usgsCitation":"Jaeger, K.L., Curran, C.A., Wulfkuhle, E.J., and Opatz, C.O., 2018, Water temperature in the lower Quinault River, Olympic Peninsula, Washington, June 2016–August 2017: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1129, 24 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181129.","productDescription":"Report: iv, 24 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"32","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-094010","costCenters":[{"id":622,"text":"Washington Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":356563,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1129/ofr20181129.pdf","text":"Report","size":"6 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 20181129"},{"id":356562,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1129/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":363267,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7C53J2D","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Water temperature and depth data for the lower Quinault River during summer baseflow, Washington, August 2016 and 2017"}],"country":"United States","state":"Washington","otherGeospatial":"Lower Quinault RIver, Olympic Peninsula","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -124.35,\n 47.55\n ],\n [\n -123.5,\n 47.55\n ],\n [\n -123.5,\n 47.25\n ],\n [\n -124.35,\n 47.25\n ],\n [\n -124.35,\n 47.55\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Washington Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
934 Broadway, Suite 300
Tacoma, Washington 98402
The Gold Basin landslide is located along the South Fork Stillaguamish River, within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in western Washington State. Recent concerns related to slope stability after the 2014 State Route 530 Landslide near Oso, Washington, forced the closure of the U.S. Forest Service Gold Basin Campground in May of 2014. In addition to safety concerns for National Forest visitors, the landslide-derived sediment pulses shed into the South Fork Stillaguamish River may harm migrant salmon spawning grounds, an important resource for the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians and for public anglers.
The Gold Basin landslide is composed of three active lobes and has an approximate footprint of 566,560 m2. Each lobe consists of steep topographic escarpments contained largely within Pleistocene glacial outwash sediments and debris flow and earth flow deposits at the base. In addition to landslides confined within the Pleistocene glacial strata, bedrock landslides are also apparent on lidar imagery of the study area. Bedrock landslides may pose additional hazard to the area, either during stochastic hillslope failure or during strong ground motion events. Potential seismic sources include the proximal Darrington-Devils Mountain and southern Whidbey Island fault zones, as well as the offshore Cascadia Subduction Zone. Previous analyses of hillslope stability in the Cascade Range suggests that rock mass strength is a useful way of characterizing bedrock and fracture patterns in order to understand potential landslide-prone landscape.
The goals of this investigation are to assess the glacial strata and bedrock geology of the Gold Basin landslide and adjacent areas and to assess how the geology and geomorphology within the study area affect the likelihood of coseismic landsliding.
Director,
Geology, Minerals, Energy, & Geophysics Science Center
Menlo Park, California
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025-3591
A study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Jersey Pinelands Commission and Montclair State University, was designed to compare pesticide concentrations and the presence and prevalence of amphibian pathogens between natural ponds and two types of created wetlands, excavated ponds and stormwater basins, throughout the New Jersey Pinelands. The study described herein is part of a larger study by the New Jersey Pinelands Commission designed to compare the functional equivalency of natural and created wetlands throughout the New Jersey Pinelands. Sites were selected on the basis of land-use classifications within a 500-meter radius around each wetland from a pool of natural ponds, excavated ponds, and stormwater basins determined by the New Jersey Pinelands Commission. Water, bed-sediment, anuran-food, and composite larval-anuran-tissue samples were collected from four reference (minimum land-use effects) and four degraded (maximum land-use effects) sites from each wetland type for a total of 24 ponds or basins throughout the New Jersey Pinelands during 2014–16. Prevalence of Ranavirus was determined on the basis of tail clips collected from 60 individual larval anurans in each wetland, and 10 animals from each wetland also were swabbed for the presence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Other constituents measured included turbidity, pH, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, dissolved organic carbon, percent organic carbon in sediment, and composite larval-anuran lipid content.
The amount of altered land (percent agricultural plus percent developed) ranged from 0 to 62.4 percent for the natural ponds, 0 to 63.6 percent for the excavated ponds, and 23.3 to 80.2 percent for the stormwater basins. The herbicides atrazine and metolachlor were observed in 60 and 89 percent of the water samples, respectively. The insecticide bifenthrin was the most frequently detected current-use pesticide (greater than 25 percent of the samples) in bed-sediment, anuran-food, and composite larval-anuran-tissue samples. The legacy insecticide p,p'-DDT and its primary degradates p,p'-DDD and p,p'-DDE were the most frequently detected compounds in bed-sediment and anuran-food samples (32–76 percent in sediment samples and 24–72 percent in anuran-food samples). Significantly, greater numbers of pesticides and higher total pesticide concentrations were observed in stormwater basins than in natural and excavated ponds. Reference wetlands had fewer pesticides and lower total pesticide concentrations compared to degraded wetlands, indicating a positive relation between percent altered land and pesticides throughout the New Jersey Pinelands. Ranavirus was observed in larvae from 4 wetlands, including 1 reference natural pond, 1 degraded natural pond, and 2 degraded stormwater basins, with prevalence ranging from 3 to 43 percent. Bd was detected in swabs from 18 animals and in 4 natural ponds (1 reference and 3 degraded), 3 excavated ponds (all reference), and 2 stormwater basins (1 reference and 1 degraded); however, detection probability was low. In the wetlands with Bd detections, between 10 and 30 percent (between 1 and 3) of the animal’s swabbed tested positive for Bd. Owing to the limited number of positive detections for both Bd and Ranavirus, no statistical comparisons between wetland types and land-use classifications were possible.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181077","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the New Jersey Pinelands Commission and Montclair State University","usgsCitation":"Smalling, K.L., Bunnell, J.F., Cohl, J., Romanok, K.M., Hazard, L., Monsen, K., Akob, D.M., Hansen, A., Hladik, M.L., Abdallah, N., Ahmed, Q., Assan, A., De Parsia, M., Griggs, A., McWayne-Holmes, M., Patel, N., Sanders, C., Shrestha, Y., Stout, S., and Williams, B., 2018, An initial comparison of pesticides and amphibian pathogens between natural and created wetlands in the New Jersey Pinelands, 2014–16: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1077, 18 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181077.","productDescription":"Report: vii, 18 p.; Data release","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-092514","costCenters":[{"id":470,"text":"New Jersey Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355889,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":" https://doi.org/10.5066/F71G0K6G","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Current-use pesticides and emerging amphibian pathogens in natural ponds, excavated ponds and stormwater basins from 24 sites varying in land-use classifications throughout the New Jersey Pinelands, 2014–2016"},{"id":437781,"rank":5,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F71G0K6G","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Current-use pesticides and emerging amphibian pathogens in natural ponds, excavated ponds, and stormwater basins from 24 sites varying in land-use classifications throughout the New Jersey Pinelands, 2014-2016"},{"id":355954,"rank":4,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://www.state.nj.us/pinelands/science/complete/wetlands/index.shtml","linkHelpText":"- Natural and Created Wetlands Study. Final report submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: New Lisbon, N.J., Pinelands Commission"},{"id":355887,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1077/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":355888,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1077/ofr20181077.pdf","text":"Report","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1077"}],"country":"United States","state":"New Jersey","otherGeospatial":"New Jersey Pinelands","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -74.9339,\n 39.2872\n ],\n [\n -74.24,\n 39.2872\n ],\n [\n -74.24,\n 39.94\n ],\n [\n -74.9339,\n 39.94\n ],\n [\n -74.9339,\n 39.2872\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, New Jersey Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3450 Princeton Pike, Suite 110
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
The Mexican wolf recovery team proposed to establish other populations of Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) in the Southwest (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1982). We were tasked to conduct an extensive simulation modeling exercise to determine release strategies (in conjunction with management actions) that best predict establishment of a new Mexican wolf population. Our objectives were to determine optimal release and management strategies for population establishment and growth. This is a retrospective analysis utilizing data from 1998 to 2014, and during this period, we divided management strategies into two phases; (1) 1998–2008, where nuisance wolves (i.e., wolves that exhibit nuisance behavior or depredate livestock) were managed primarily through lethal removals and removals to captivity, and (2) 2009–2014, when lethal removals ceased and diversionary feeding was provided to denning packs to dissuade wolves from conflict with humans. Management strategies from the second phase are being used for management of the current Mexican wolf population, and demographic rates derived from alternate population modeling in Vortex incorporating post-2008 wolf data are being used to guide future recovery efforts. Therefore, demographic rates estimated from our retrospective analysis will differ (i.e., due to our unique approach to the analyses and the demographic rates being derived from a different dataset), and are intended solely to address the objectives of this report, and are not intended as basis for the development of management recommendations for the current Mexican wolf population. Using individual-based models, we tested dozens of scenarios and derived an optimal release strategy that had the highest probability of establishing a new population and which maximized subsequent post-release growth, and in this report, we present these model results. Findings from this research will improve our understanding of release strategies that yield growing populations, advance our understanding of the demands of reintroducing large carnivores, and provide insight into beneficial strategies that could aid other species reintroduction programs.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181126","collaboration":"Prepared for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Agreement: G12AC20098","usgsCitation":"Gedir, J.V., and Cain, J.W., III, 2018, An individual-based model for predicting dynamics of a newly established Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) population—Final report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1126, 16 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181126.","productDescription":"iv, 16 p.","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-085609","costCenters":[{"id":200,"text":"Coop Res Unit Seattle","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":356548,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1126/ofr20181126.pdf","text":"Report","size":"904 KB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1126"},{"id":356547,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1126/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Arizona, New Mexico","contact":"Leader, Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
U.S. Geological Survey
Fishery Sciences Building, Box 355020
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, 98195
https://www.coopunits.org/Washington/
From December 2 to 4, 2015, NatureServe and the U.S. Geological Survey organized and hosted a biodiversity and ecological informatics workshop at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. The workshop objective was to identify user-driven future directions and areas of collaboration in advanced applications of environmental data applied to forecasting and decision making for the sustainability of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Substantial effort to recruit attendees from diverse Federal, State, and private sector organizations successfully attracted participants from 20 Federal agencies and 48 different institutions in the academic, nonprofit, State government, and commercial sectors; the total number of attendees ranged from 100 to 144 during the 3-day workshop. The first one-half of the workshop was divided into 7 plenary sessions and 3 sets of lightning talk sessions organized by sector, providing 48 oral and visual plenary presentations that shared diverse perspectives on biodiversity and ecological informatics, including original biospatial analyses from 6 graduate student map contest winners. The second one-half of the workshop focused on 10 breakout sessions with participant-driven themes from the environmental data sphere and concluded with an address by the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The workshop was structured to encourage interactivity. About 80–90 percent of attendees provided direct feedback using clicker devices for specific questions related to biodiversity and ecological data uses and needs, and 10 breakout session leaders shared the highlights of their group discussions during the final workshop plenary sessions. Participants were encouraged to use the Twitter hashtag #ShareUrData. Over lunch on day 2 there were 20 simultaneous presentations of tools and apps during a special “Tools Café” session.
The 10 participant-defined breakout session topics are listed below:
Numerous common themes that emerged from the workshop include the following:
Director, Core Science Analytics Synthesis and Libraries Program
U.S. Geological Survey
W 6th Ave Kipling Street
Lakewood, CO 80225
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Strong Motion Project (NSMP) operates numerous strong-motion seismographs to monitor ground shaking and structural response caused by large, nearby earthquakes. This report describes a problem NSMP scientists encountered communicating over the Internet with several Kinemetrics, Inc., Granite strong-motion recorders.
The Granite strong-motion recorders (“Granites”) get into a state where they cannot be reached from the Internet and they cannot reach the Internet, yet they can reach and be reached from the local Ethernet subnet. The reason is that the Internet Protocol (IP) network default route has disappeared; only the local route is available. Diagnosis is complicated by the unpredictability of the circumstances leading to the failure. The failures have happened at several field sites but cannot be reproduced in the lab.
This report describes the IP networking behavior of a Granite system and provides modifications to the Granite Ethernet device drivers to send Ethernet link (carrier) state-change event notifications to the Linux kernel. With these modifications, the Linux netplugd daemon can be configured to properly reconfigure Granite IP networking when the Ethernet interface link state changes.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181117","usgsCitation":"Baker, L.M., 2018, Granite IP network default route disappearance—Diagnosis and solution: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1117, 35 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181117.","productDescription":"Report: iv; 35 p.; Electronic Supplement","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-078989","costCenters":[{"id":237,"text":"Earthquake Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":356156,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1117/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":356157,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1117/ofr20181117.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.5 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"Fact Sheet 2018-1117"},{"id":356158,"rank":3,"type":{"id":7,"text":"Companion Files"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1117/ofr20181117_electronic_supplement.zip","text":"Electronic Supplement","size":"20 KB","linkFileType":{"id":6,"text":"zip"},"description":"Fact Sheet 2018-1117"}],"contact":"Contact Information, Menlo Park, Calif.
Office—Earthquake Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road, MS 977
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Methods for grouping specific avian influenza virus (AIV) hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) subtype reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) products into HA:NA subtypes when egg incubation is technically not feasible were evaluated. These approaches were adopted for use as post hoc methods after melt curve analysis. The methods are based on ratios obtained from amplicon copy count and amplicon molarity and were founded on the premise that infectious particles contain an equal copy count of single-stranded ribonucleic acid segments that encode HA or NA, and thus subtype-specific amplicons from a single AIV isolate should yield a theoretical HA:NA ratio of 1. Single and mixed HA:NA AIV subtype samples were evaluated to determine whether the calculated HA:NA ratios would approach the theoretical value. With these samples, preference was given to the molarity methods to better define and correct for the effects of multiple potential amplicons in the amplification mix. Further, the molarity method was used to evaluate pond sediment spiked with intact virus of known HA:NA subtype to determine whether the method is sufficiently robust to be used with complex samples, such as those acquired from waterfowl habitat. This was a proof-of-concept study intended to guide future methods development. The methods here are not meant to be applied in any other context.
From the analysis of fully characterized isolates of North American AIV, the HA:NA molarity-based ratios were found to be 1.63 ± 0.75 (mean ± standard deviation) when corrected for the difference in amplification strength and the production of multiple amplicons in some reactions using equations developed in this study. Copy count HA:NA ratios, obtained from HA and NA subtype (RT-qPCR), were 1.146 ± 0.124 (mean ± standard deviation) when corrected for amplification efficiency. Correct associations of HA:NA subtype sample composition were made with mixed samples containing 1 HA and 2 NA, and 2 HA and 2 NA. When spiked pond sediment was evaluated, the molar ratio obtained for the H4 and N6 identified in the sample was 1.28 with correction and 1.14 without correction.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181102","usgsCitation":"Ottinger, C.A., Iwanowicz, D.D., Iwanowicz, L.R., Adams, C.R., Sanders, L.R., and Densmore, C.L., 2018, A method for determining avian influenza virus hemagglutinin and neuraminidase subtype association: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1102, 15 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181102.","productDescription":"v, 15 p.","numberOfPages":"26","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-096308","costCenters":[{"id":365,"text":"Leetown Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":50464,"text":"Eastern Ecological Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355970,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1102/ofr20181102.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.12 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1102"},{"id":355969,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1102/coverthb.jpg"}],"contact":"Director, Eastern Ecological Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
11649 Leetown Road
Kearneysville, WV 25430
The Community for Data Integration (CDI) is a group that helps members grow their expertise on all aspects of working with scientific data. The CDI’s activities advance data and information integration capabilities in the U.S. Geological Survey and in the wider Earth and biological sciences. This annual report describes the presentations, activities, collaboration areas, workshop, and other CDI-sponsored events in fiscal year 2017. The report also describes the objectives of the 11 CDI-funded projects in fiscal year 2017. The report shows how the CDI activities fulfill the strategic objective of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Core Science Systems Mission Area to develop a workplace model for interdisciplinary science.
Core Science Analytics, Synthesis, and Library
U.S. Geological Survey
108 National Center
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive,
Reston, VA 20192
Juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) migrating through California's Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta toward the Pacific Ocean face numerous challenges to their survival. The Yolo Bypass is a broad floodplain of the Sacramento River that floods in about 70 percent of years in response to large, uncontrolled runoff events. As one of the routes juvenile salmon may utilize, the Yolo Bypass has recently received attention for having potential benefit to rearing and migrating salmon. Consideration is being given to a plan to build a cut or “notch” in the Fremont Weir to increase juvenile salmon access to the Yolo Bypass. To help provide information about the potential benefit of such a plan, we analyzed data from a telemetry study conducted in February and March 2016 by the U.S. Geological Survey and California Department of Water Resources to estimate entrainment into and distribution of juvenile Chinook salmon within the Yolo Bypass, and to compare survival and travel time through the Yolo Bypass to other routes in the Delta. We also estimated juvenile Chinook salmon survival through three short reaches of the Sacramento River where the proposed California WaterFix North Delta Diversion intakes would divert water to export facilities to provide baseline information against which any effects of those intakes could be measured in the future.
We found that entrainment into the Yolo Bypass varied widely and was quite high only at the peak of the March 2016 flood. Spatial distribution of juvenile Chinook salmon within the Yolo Bypass was fairly even for fish entering the Yolo Bypass over the Fremont Weir, but increasingly skewed toward the east bank for fish released within the Yolo Bypass. Survival within Yolo Bypass was not significantly different for fish based on spatial distribution. Survival through the Delta for fish migrating through the Yolo Bypass was generally on par with the weighted survival through the Delta of fish migrating through all other routes. Survival was highest for fish remaining in the Sacramento River and lowest for those entrained into the Interior Delta via Georgiana Slough. Survival through the short section of the Sacramento River near the proposed North Delta Diversion intakes was high.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181118","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the California Department of Water Resources","usgsCitation":"Pope, A.C., Perry, R.W., Hance, D.J., and Hansel, H.C., 2018, Survival, travel time, and utilization of Yolo Bypass, California, by outmigrating acoustic-tagged late-fall Chinook salmon: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1118, 33 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181118.","productDescription":"vi, 33 p.","numberOfPages":"44","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-097769","costCenters":[{"id":654,"text":"Western Fisheries Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355940,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1118/ofr20181118.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.2 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1118"},{"id":355939,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1118/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"Yolo Bypass","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -122,\n 38\n ],\n [\n -121.4,\n 38\n ],\n [\n -121.4,\n 38.8\n ],\n [\n -122,\n 38.8\n ],\n [\n -122,\n 38\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Western Fisheries Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
6505 NE 65th Street
Seattle, Washington 98115
We operated a bird banding station on the Naval Base Coronado, Remote Training Site, Warner Springs (RTSWS), in northeastern San Diego County, California, during the bird breeding season (spring/summer) from 2013 to 2017 and during migration (fall) from 2013 to 2016. The station was established in spring 2013 as part of the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program and continued into the fall for the first 4 years as part of a long-term monitoring program for neotropical migratory birds.
We captured 705 individuals of 58 species during the MAPS/breeding season from 2013 to 2017 (12–13 days each year in April through August), 79 percent of which were newly banded during the MAPS season (555), 8 percent of which were recaptures banded in previous years (57), and 13 percent of which we released unbanded (64 hummingbirds and 29 other birds that were released or escaped prior to banding). Sixty individuals were captured more than once within a year during MAPS. Bird capture rate averaged 19 ± 1 captures per 100 net-hours (range 17–20) across 5 years. Annual species richness ranged from 28 (2017) to 42 (2014). The average species richness per day was highest in 2014 (9 ± 3) and lowest in 2016 (6 ± 2). Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) was the most abundant breeding species captured, followed by Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus), Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus), Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna), House Wren (Troglodytes aedon), Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens), California Scrub-jay (Aphelocoma californica), Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii), Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus), California Towhee (Melozone crissalis), and Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana). Each of these 11 breeding species accounted for at least 5 percent of captures in any 1 year. Fifty-seven percent of known-sex captures were female and 43 percent were male. Thirty-three percent of known-age captures were juveniles. Peaks in number of birds captured were in the first and last weeks of April, and the greatest number of species was captured in early May.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181112","usgsCitation":"Lynn, S., Hall, K.A., Madden, M.C., and Kus, B.E., 2018, Monitoring breeding and migration of neotropical migratory birds at Naval Base Coronado, Remote Training Site, Warner Springs, San Diego County, California, 5-year summary, 2013–17: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1112, 98 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181112.","productDescription":"viii, 98 p.","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-096573","costCenters":[{"id":651,"text":"Western Ecological Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355910,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1112/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":355911,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1112/ofr20181112.pdf","text":"Report","size":"8.7 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1112"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","county":"San Diego County","otherGeospatial":"Naval Base Coronado, Remote Training Site","contact":"Director, Western Ecological Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3020 State University Drive East
Sacramento, California 95819
The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), working with the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project Workgroup (composed of representatives of the Yakama Nation; Federal, State, county, and city governments; environmental organizations; and irrigation districts), developed the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan (Integrated Plan). The Integrated Plan identifies a comprehensive approach to water resources and ecosystem restoration improvements in the Yakima Basin to be implemented over a 30-year period. The Integrated Plan includes seven elements:
The first listed element, reservoir fish passage, will be expensive and take many years to accomplish. Reclamation and Ecology decided to look at new and innovative means to provide passage that could help reduce project cost and construction timing while maintaining survival rates of traditional upstream passage facilities. Reclamation contracted with the U.S. Geological Survey to do a study to evaluate the outcome of passage through one innovative fish-passage system at Cle Elum Dam, the first Integrated Plan reservoir fish-passage project being implemented.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181116","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Yakama Nation, Bureau of Reclamation, and Washington State Department of Ecology","usgsCitation":"Kock, T.J., Evans, S.D., Hansen, A.C., Perry, R.W., Hansel, H.C., Haner, P.V., and Tomka, R.G., 2018, Evaluation of sockeye salmon after passage through an innovative upstream fish-passage system at Cle Elum Dam, Washington, 2017: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1116, 30 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181116.","productDescription":"vi, 30 p.","numberOfPages":"40","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-096396","costCenters":[{"id":654,"text":"Western Fisheries Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355935,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1116/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":355936,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1116/ofr20181116.pdf","text":"Report","size":"5.3 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1116"}],"country":"United States","state":"Washington","otherGeospatial":"Cle Elum Dam","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -121.13800048828125,\n 46.71256084516054\n ],\n [\n -120.42663574218749,\n 46.71256084516054\n ],\n [\n -120.42663574218749,\n 47.352780247239586\n ],\n [\n -121.13800048828125,\n 47.352780247239586\n ],\n [\n -121.13800048828125,\n 46.71256084516054\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Western Fisheries Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
6505 NE 65th Street
Seattle, Washington 98115
As the Nation’s principal earth-science information agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is depended upon to collect accurate data and produce factual and impartial interpretive reports. Methods for data collection and analysis that were developed by the USGS have become standard techniques used by numerous Federal, State, and local agencies and by private enterprises. The USGS has implemented a program designed to ensure that all scientific work done by or for USGS Water Science Centers is done in accordance with a quality-assurance plan. The implementation of a groundwater quality-assurance plan will enhance groundwater data collected by the USGS. This report is a quality-assurance plan for groundwater activities conducted by the USGS Dakota Water Science Center and is meant to complement qualityassurance plans for surface-water and water-quality activities and similar plans for the Dakota Water Science Center and general project activities throughout the USGS.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181103","usgsCitation":"Valder, J.F., Carter, J.M., Robinson, S.M., Laveau, C.D., and Petersen, J.A., 2018, Quality-assurance plan for groundwater activities, U.S. Geological Survey Dakota Water Science Center: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1103, 28 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181103.","productDescription":"v, 28 p.","numberOfPages":"38","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-097126","costCenters":[{"id":34685,"text":"Dakota Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355869,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1103/ofr20181103.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.11 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018–1103"},{"id":355868,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1103/coverthb.jpg"}],"contact":"Director, Dakota Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
1608 Mountain View Road
Rapid City, SD 57702
The giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) is a semi-aquatic species of snake precinctive to the Central Valley of California. Because the Central Valley has experienced a substantial loss of wetland habitat, giant gartersnake populations are largely found in aquatic habitats associated with rice agriculture. In dry years, less water may be available for rice agriculture, resulting in less aquatic habitat, which could have cascading effects on giant gartersnake populations. We present 2 years of data intended to examine how the demography of giant gartersnakes is affected by the availability of aquatic habitat on the landscape (2016–17), along with 2 years of (sparse) preliminary data (2014–15) collected as part of an earlier radio-telemetry study on giant gartersnake movement behavior. We sampled agricultural canals near rice fields for giant gartersnakes at 8 sites distributed throughout the Sacramento Valley. Five sites were sampled from 2014–17, and 3 sites were sampled from 2015–17. In total, we made 2,995 captures of 1,011 snakes from 2014–17. We used these capture data to fit a multi-site Jolly-Seber model to estimate the abundance of giant gartersnakes as well as the daily and annual probability of capture at each site. We used remotely sensed Landsat data to characterize the extent of flooded rice fields surrounding each site in each year. In addition, we collected 175 females from 2014–17 and delivered them to the Sacramento Zoo for health assessments and reproductive exams.
The abundance of giant gartersnakes varied among sites, and abundance estimates were more precise in 2016 and 2017 when sampling effort was greatest. The probability of a giant gartersnake being captured at least once in a year was higher in 2016 and 2017 than 2014 and 2015, and recaptures of snakes marked the previous year were highest in 2016 and 2017 as well. Mean annual apparent survival was estimated to be 0.40 but varied among sites from a low of 0.14 to a high of 0.63. Five sites had diverse size distributions that included abundant sub-adult and large adult female snakes. One site had a truncated size distribution with few large adult female snakes, and 2 sites had mostly large adult-sized snakes and few small individuals. Both the probability a female was gravid and a female’s litter size were positively related to the female’s snout-vent length. Somatic growth rates varied more among years than among sites, and females grew faster (in millimeters per day) than male snakes.
The proportion of the landscape around each site under active rice cultivation fluctuated over time (generally between 60–90 percent of the landscape was active rice growing, although this proportion was lower for some sites in some years), and variation in rice growing was asynchronous among sites. This study demonstrates that intensive demographic sampling enables estimation of several key demographic variables at each study site. Continued sampling would allow for investigating potential relationships between the amount of rice growing at a site and demographic parameters such as growth, survival, and reproduction.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181114","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the California Department of Water Resources","usgsCitation":"Rose, J.P., Ersan, J.S.M., Reyes, G.A., Gustafson, K.B., Fulton, A.M., Fouts, K.J., Wack, R.F., Wylie, G.D., Casazza, M.L., and Halstead, B.J., 2018, Findings from a preliminary investigation of the effects of aquatic habitat (water) availability on giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) demography in the Sacramento Valley, California, 2014–17: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1114, 48 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181114.","productDescription":"vi, 48 p.","numberOfPages":"58","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-097068","costCenters":[{"id":651,"text":"Western Ecological Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355890,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1114/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":355891,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1114/ofr20181114.pdf","text":"Report","size":"5 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1114"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"Sacramento Valley","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -122.33,\n 38.8333\n ],\n [\n -121.5833,\n 38.8333\n ],\n [\n -121.5833,\n 39.6667\n ],\n [\n -122.33,\n 39.6667\n ],\n [\n -122.33,\n 38.8333\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director,
Western Ecological Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3020 State University Drive East
Sacramento, California 95819
Streams within the Coeur d’Alene River drainage basin in northern Idaho have been extensively affected by historical mining activities and are subject to ongoing remedial actions as part of the Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates 12 real-time streamgages and collects surface-water-quality samples two to four times annually at 20 sites in the Spokane River and Coeur d’Alene River drainage basins. These data are used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to monitor cleanup progress and to support decisions related to implementing remedial actions throughout the basin. USGS data collection highlights from water year 2017 include: • A rain-on-snow event in March 2017 produced high streamflows and flooding in the basin. • The March event mobilized high concentrations of total metals (cadmium, lead, zinc, and others) in the Coeur d’Alene River near Cataldo, at Rose Lake, and near Harrison; these concentrations were among the highest that have been measured at these sites during flood events sampled by the USGS. • Total lead and dissolved zinc and cadmium concentrations decreased in Canyon Creek in 2017 when compared with water years 2007–16; in contrast, concentrations of dissolved zi
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181113","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency","usgsCitation":"Zinsser, L.M., 2018, Coeur d’Alene Basin Environmental Monitoring Program, surface water, northern Idaho—Annual data summary, water year 2017: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1113, 15 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181113.","productDescription":"iv, 15 p.","numberOfPages":"24","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-098458","costCenters":[{"id":343,"text":"Idaho Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355896,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1113/ofr20181113.pdf","text":"Report","size":"5.7 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1113"},{"id":355895,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1113/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Idaho","otherGeospatial":"Coeur d’Alene Basin","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -117,\n 47.25\n ],\n [\n -115.5,\n 47.25\n ],\n [\n -115.5,\n 47.75\n ],\n [\n -117,\n 47.75\n ],\n [\n -117,\n 47.25\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Idaho Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
230 Collins Road
Boise, Idaho 83702
Trace-metal concentrations in sediment and in the clam Macoma petalum (formerly reported as Macoma balthica), clam reproductive activity, and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure were investigated in a mudflat 1 kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) in south San Francisco Bay, Calif. This report includes the data collected by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists for the period January 2017 to December 2017. These append to long-term datasets extending back to 1974. A major focus of the report is an integrated description of the 2017 data within the context of the longer, multi-decadal dataset. This dataset supports the City of Palo Alto’s Near-Field Receiving Water Monitoring Program, initiated in 1994.
Significant reductions in silver and copper concentrations in sediment and M. petalum occurred at the site in the 1980s following the implementation by PARWQCP of advanced wastewater treatment and source control measures. Since the 1990s, concentrations of these elements appear to have stabilized at concentrations somewhat above silver (Ag) or near copper (Cu) regional background concentrations. Data for other metals, including chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn), have been collected since 1994. Over this period, concentrations of these elements have remained relatively constant, aside from seasonal variation that is common to all elements. In 2017, concentrations of silver and copper in M. petalum varied seasonally in response to a combination of site-specific metal exposures and annual growth and reproduction, as reported previously. Seasonal patterns for other elements, including Cr, Ni, Zn, Hg, and Se, were generally similar in timing and magnitude as those for Ag and Cu. This record suggests that legacy contamination and regional-scale factors now largely control sedimentary and bioavailable concentrations of silver and copper, as well as other elements of regulatory interest, at the Palo Alto site.
Analyses of the benthic community structure of a mudflat in south San Francisco Bay over a 40-year period show that changes in the community have occurred concurrent with reduced concentrations of metals in the sediment and in the tissues of the biosentinel clam, M. petalum, from the same area. Analysis of M. petalum shows increases in reproductive activity concurrent with the decline in metal concentrations in the tissues of this organism. Reproductive activity is presently stable (2017), with almost all animals initiating reproduction in the fall and spawning the following spring. The entire infaunal community has shifted from being dominated by several opportunistic species to a community where the species are more similar in abundance, a pattern that indicates a more stable community that is subjected to fewer stressors. In addition, two of the opportunistic species (Ampelisca abdita and Streblospio benedicti) that brood their young and live on the surface of the sediment in tubes have shown a continual decline in dominance coincident with the decline in metals; both species had short-lived rebounds in abundance in 2008, 2009, and 2010 and showed signs of increasing abundance in 2017. Heteromastus filiformis (a subsurface polychaete worm that lives in the sediment, consumes sediment and organic particles residing in the sediment, and reproduces by laying its eggs on or in the sediment) showed a concurrent increase in dominance and, in the last several years before 2008, showed a stable population. H. filiformis abundance increased slightly in 2011–2012 and returned to pre-2011 numbers in 2017. An unidentified disturbance occurred on the mudflat in early 2008 that resulted in the loss of the benthic animals, except for deep-dwelling animals like M. petalum. However, within two months of this event animals returned to the mudflat. The resilience of the community suggested that the disturbance was not due to a persistent toxin or anoxia. The reproductive mode of most species that were present in 2017 is reflective of species that were available either as pelagic larvae or as mobile adults. Although oviparous species were lower in number in this group, the authors hypothesize that these species will return slowly as more species move back into the area. The use of functional ecology was highlighted in the 2017 benthic community data, which showed that the animals that have now returned to the mudflat are those that can respond successfully to a physical, nontoxic disturbance. Today, community data show a mix of species that consume the sediment, or filter feed, have pelagic larvae that must survive landing on the sediment, and those that brood their young. USGS scientists view the 2008 disturbance event as a response by the infaunal community to an episodic natural stressor (possibly sediment accretion or a pulse of freshwater), in contrast to the long-term recovery from metal contamination. We will compare this recovery to the long-term recovery observed after the 1970s when the decline in sediment pollutants was the dominating factor.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181107","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the City of Palo Alto, California","usgsCitation":"Cain, D.J., Thompson, J.K., Parchaso, F., Pearson, S., Stewart, R., Turner, M., Barasch, D., Slabic, A., and Luoma, S.N., 2018, Near-field receiving-water monitoring of trace metals and a benthic community near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in south San Francisco Bay, California—2017: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1107, 71 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181107.","productDescription":"vi, 71 p.","numberOfPages":"79","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-098497","costCenters":[{"id":37277,"text":"WMA - Earth System Processes Division","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":416196,"rank":7,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20231017","text":"Open-File Report 2023-1017","linkHelpText":"- Near-Field Receiving-Water Monitoring of Trace Metals and a Benthic Community Near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay, California—2020"},{"id":416195,"rank":6,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211079","text":"Open-File Report 2021-1079","linkHelpText":"- Near-Field Receiving-Water Monitoring of Trace Metals and a Benthic Community Near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay, California—2019"},{"id":416197,"rank":5,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191084","text":"Open-File Report 2019-1084","linkHelpText":"- Near-Field Receiving-Water Monitoring of Trace Metals and a Benthic Community Near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in South San Francisco Bay, California—2018"},{"id":416194,"rank":4,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171135","text":"Open-File Report 2017-1135","linkHelpText":"- Near-field receiving water monitoring of trace metals and a benthic community near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in south San Francisco Bay, California; 2016"},{"id":416193,"rank":3,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161118","text":"Open-File Report 2016-1118","linkHelpText":"- Near-field receiving water monitoring of trace metals and a benthic community near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in south San Francisco Bay, California; 2015"},{"id":355780,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1107/ofr20181107_.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.6 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1107"},{"id":355779,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1107/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","city":"Palo Alto","otherGeospatial":"San Francisco Bay","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -122.27371215820312,\n 37.315567502511044\n ],\n [\n -121.827392578125,\n 37.315567502511044\n ],\n [\n -121.827392578125,\n 37.655557695625056\n ],\n [\n -122.27371215820312,\n 37.655557695625056\n ],\n [\n -122.27371215820312,\n 37.315567502511044\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Hydro-Eco Interactions Branch
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
National Research Program
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
As part of a long-term cooperative program to monitor water quality within the Scituate Reservoir watershed, the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Providence Water Supply Board collected streamflow and water-quality data at the Scituate Reservoir and tributaries. Streamflow and concentrations of chloride and sodium estimated from records of specific conductance were used to calculate loads of chloride and sodium during water year (WY) 2016 (October 1, 2015, through September 30, 2016) for tributaries to the Scituate Reservoir, Rhode Island. Streamflow was measured or estimated by the U.S. Geological Survey following standard methods at 23 streamgages; 14 of these streamgages are equipped with instrumentation capable of continuously monitoring water level, specific conductance, and water temperature. Water-quality samples were collected by the Providence Water Supply Board at 34 sampling stations that also include 14 continuous-record streamgages maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey during WY 2016 as part of a long-term sampling program; all stations are in the Scituate Reservoir drainage area. Water-quality data collected by the Providence Water Supply Board are summarized by using values of central tendency and are used, in combination with measured (or estimated) streamflows, to calculate loads and yields (loads per unit area) of selected water-quality constituents for WY 2016.
The largest tributary to the reservoir, the Ponaganset River, which was monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey, contributed a mean streamflow of 18 cubic feet per second to the reservoir during WY 2016. For the same period, annual mean streamflows measured (or estimated) for the other monitoring stations in this study ranged from about 0.27 to about 12 cubic feet per second. Together, tributaries equipped with instrumentation capable of continuously monitoring specific conductance transported about 2,100,000 kilograms of chloride and 1,300,000 kilograms of sodium to the Scituate Reservoir during WY 2016; chloride and sodium yields for the tributaries ranged from 14,000 to 95,000 kilograms per square mile and from 8,600 to 56,000 kilograms per square mile, respectively.
At the stations where water-quality samples were collected by the Providence Water Supply Board, the medians of the median concentrations were 27.9 milligrams per liter for chloride, 0.002 milligram per liter as nitrogen for nitrite, 0.13 milligrams per liter as nitrogen for nitrate, 0.07 milligram per liter as phosphate for orthophosphate, and 700 and 10 colony forming units per 100 milliliters for total coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli (E. coli), respectively. The medians of the median daily loads of chloride, nitrite nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, orthophosphate, and total coliform and E. coli bacteria were 170 kilograms per day, 8.9 grams per day, 570 grams per day, 320 grams per day, 41,000 million colony forming units per day, and 680 million colony forming units per day. The medians of the median yields of chloride, nitrite nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, orthophosphate, total coliform, and E. coli bacteria were 53 kilograms per day per square mile, 4.7 grams per day per square mile, 130 grams per day per square mile, 165 grams per day per square mile, 23,000 million colony forming units per day per square mile, and 340 million colony forming units per day per square mile, respectively.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181084","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Providence Water Supply Board ","usgsCitation":"Smith, K.P., 2018, Streamflow, water quality, and constituent loads and yields, Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, water year 2016: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1084, 23 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181084.","productDescription":"v, 32 p.","numberOfPages":"42","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-088041","costCenters":[{"id":466,"text":"New England Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355643,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1084/ofr201810841.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.90 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1084"},{"id":355642,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1084/coverthb22.jpg"},{"id":355644,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7Z60NC5","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Water quality data from the Providence Water Supply Board for tributary streams to the Scituate Reservoir, water year 2016"}],"country":"United States","state":"Rhode Island","otherGeospatial":"Scituate Reservoir Drainage Area","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -71.79290771484375,\n 41.73237975329554\n ],\n [\n -71.54296874999999,\n 41.73237975329554\n ],\n [\n -71.54296874999999,\n 41.97786911170172\n ],\n [\n -71.79290771484375,\n 41.97786911170172\n ],\n [\n -71.79290771484375,\n 41.73237975329554\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, New England Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
10 Bearfoot Road
Northborough, MA 01532
Since 2002, the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Samples Repository has been supporting research by providing secure storage for geological, biological, and geochemical samples; maintaining organization and an active inventory of these sample collections; and providing researchers access to these scientific collections for study and reuse.
Over the years, local storage facilities have changed and new collections management strategies have been adapted as sample collections have grown and as research programs and focuses have shifted. The commitment of the Samples Repository to preserve and provide physical samples for future research, however, has remained the same. This report documents the collections management plan developed and implemented by the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Samples Repository to manage its scientific collections.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181100","usgsCitation":"Buczkowski, B.J., 2018, Collections management plan for the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Samples Repository: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1100, 12 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181100. [Supersedes USGS Open-File Report 2006–1187.]","productDescription":"Report: vii, 12 p.; Data Release; Project Site","numberOfPages":"24","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-088603","costCenters":[{"id":678,"text":"Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355640,"rank":4,"type":{"id":18,"text":"Project Site"},"url":"https://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/samprepo/","linkHelpText":"- U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Samples Repository"},{"id":355639,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7319TT0","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Collections inventory for the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Samples Repository"},{"id":355604,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1100/ofr20181100.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.70 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1100"},{"id":355603,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1100/coverthb2.jpg"}],"contact":"Director, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
384 Woods Hole Road
Quissett Campus
Woods Hole, MA 02543
Bathymetric and topobathymetric light detection and ranging (lidar) digital elevation models created for the Delaware River were provided to the National Geospatial Program and used to evaluate synthetic flowpath extraction from bathymetric/topobathymetric lidar survey data as a data source for improving the density, distribution, and connectivity of the National Hydrography Dataset High Resolution Flowline Network. As the surface-water component of The National Map, the National Hydrography Dataset maintains the Nation’s drainage network flow information and geometries for surface-water features used in hydrologic, hydraulic, and other science and engineering disciplines. The regional lidar survey for the Delaware River between Hancock, New York, and Trenton, New Jersey, was collected for the U.S. Geological Survey using the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar sensor system and processed by the Coastal National Elevation Database Applications Program.
Using 1 percent of the maximum flow accumulation value for the surveyed Delaware River corridor as the flow accumulation threshold for grid cells at 1-, 5-, and 10-meter resolution created 223 to 283 kilometers of synthetic flowpaths potentially representing the river channel thalweg, which is the deepest point in a riverbed cross-section. There was potential for improving the High Resolution National Hydrography Dataset (HR NHD) Flowline network in places where the Delaware River channel, depicted as an Artificial Path in the HR NHD, is offset from the extracted synthetic river flowpath which sometimes appeared better positioned than the Artificial Path to represent the river thalweg. For the same area, using 0.05 percent of the maximum flow accumulation at the 1-, 5-, and 10-meter resolutions extracted 744 to 1,317 kilometers of synthetic flowpaths, with extracted synthetic flowpaths representing the main river channel and additional synthetic flowpaths representing tributaries or streams adjacent to the main channel. Overlaying these results with the HR NHDFlowline Network indicates that some of the additional synthetic flowpaths are connected to or extend HR NHD stream/river feature types. Some disconnected or isolated synthetic flowpaths not included in stream/river feature types were validated in orthoimagery and U.S. Topo Maps and provide examples of how extracted synthetic flowpaths could be used to delineate new stream/river features. Other additional extracted synthetic flowpaths depict linear features such as canals, tree lines, roads, or linear topographic depressions.
For some river reaches where obstructions to flow or where low-relief topographic or bathymetric surfaces alter the flow direction, the software tool used to develop the flow direction grid did not calculate a primary flowpath for the river channel. Based on the results of this analysis, site conditions for the Delaware River corridor did not affect the quality of lidar bathymetric survey data. However, depending on the resolution of the lidar bathymetric digital elevation models (BDEMs), site conditions do have different effects on results for extracted synthetic flowpaths. We found that synthetic flowpaths extracted from 1-meter resolution lidar DEMs had more varied flow directions around in-channel landforms that obstructed flow than synthetic flowpaths extracted from 5- or 10-meter resolution lidar DEMs. As a result the 1-meter resolution DEM created some isolated or discontinuous synthetic flowpath segments where the 5- and 10-meter DEMs developed more continuous flowpaths. In this case the river bed upstream from the in-channel obstruction is shallower than the river bed downstream. Under these conditions the 1-meter resolution DEM provided synthetic flowpaths delineating a potential river thalweg. In this same area, the software solution modified (virtually raised) the river bed in the 5- and 10-meter resolution DEMs and flattened the bathymetric surface to create a continuous downstream flow direction, which caused trellis-patterned synthetic flowpaths to form. Under different site conditions and converse to the above development of synthetic flowpaths at different resolutions, at an abandoned river flood plain (terrace) with low relief that is adjacent to the river channel, the flow direction grid for the 1-meter resolution DEM developed continuous synthetic flowpath corresponding to a HR NHD Flowline network stream/river feature that connected to the main river channel but the larger resolution DEMs created isolated or disconnected synthetic flowpaths.
A project to continue an evaluation of benefits of or issues caused by extracting synthetic flowpaths to enhance the HR NHD could include a study to assess the potential for merging surface-water flowpaths extracted from lidar topobathymetry and 3D Elevation Program digital elevation models. The merged DEM approach to synthetic flowpath extraction could extend the HR NHDFlowline network and enhance flow accumulations that might develop better flow direction grids in low-relief areas. Because of the confined lateral extent of the Delaware River, the lidar DEMs were not used to create catchments or watersheds; however, the merged DEM approach could also be tested as a resource for enhancing HR NHD catchments and watersheds.
This lidar DEM synthetic flowpath extraction project supports the National Geospatial Program efforts to collect and produce high-quality lidar data to provide 3-dimensional representations of natural feature and aligns with the National Spatial Data Infrastructure to improve utilization of geospatial data. The results also can be useful for understanding strategies that can help maintain quality data in the HR NHD programs.
KEYWORDS: bathymetric, digital elevation model, extracted synthetic flowpath, lidar, High Resolution National Hydrography Dataset, topobathymetric
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181058","usgsCitation":"Miller-Corbett, C., 2018, A comparison of synthetic flowpaths derived from light detection and ranging topobathymetric data and National Hydrography Dataset high resolution flowlines: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1058, 29 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181058.","productDescription":"vii, 29 p.","numberOfPages":"42","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-079961","costCenters":[{"id":404,"text":"NGTOC Rolla","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355596,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1058/ofr20181058.pdf","text":"Report","size":"4.32 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018–1058"},{"id":355595,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1058/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"New Jersey","city":"Hancock Narrows, Middle River, Trenton","otherGeospatial":"Delaware River","contact":"Director, National Geospatial Technical Operations Center
U.S. Geological Survey
1400 Independence Road
Rolla, MO 65401
The Long Island South Shore Estuary Reserve Coordinated Water Resources Monitoring Strategy (CWRMS) provides an overview of the water-quality and ecological monitoring within the Reserve and presents suggestions from stakeholders for future data collection, data management, and coordination among monitoring programs. The South Shore Estuary Reserve, hereafter referred to as the Reserve, is a 173-square-mile network of bays and tributaries shaped by the south shore of Long Island (New York) and the barrier islands that was formed as a result of the last ice age (roughly 18,000 years ago). This overview and coordination document is based on information assembled from a series of meetings, a workshop, and individual correspondences with the CWRMS Project Advisory Committee, which was formed in 2015 to help guide the creation of the document, which reflects the current (2017) status of the Reserve and the need for additional data to address its water-quality issues and ecological health and to respond to a changing climate. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the New York State Department of State Office of Planning, Development and Community Infrastructure and the South Shore Estuary Reserve Office, compiled information and recommendations to help stakeholders efficiently evaluate waters currently being monitored and address areas where necessary data are lacking. Water-quality monitoring in the Reserve is ongoing on the Federal, State, and local levels, and coordination among the various programs administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; USGS; Shinnecock Tribal Nation; New York State; Nassau and Suffolk Counties; the Towns of Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Babylon, Islip, Brookhaven, and Southampton; and local universities and nonprofit organizations is necessary to ensure cooperation and efficient use of limited resources. Proper collection and archival of data are critical to the usability of data and methods—a sample of available repositories for monitoring data are provided in this report. Equally important are quality assurances of data and proper techniques of archival such that water and ecological data are collected and analyzed in a consistent manner, regardless of their sources, and that differences in methodologies are identified that might result in discrepancies in the compiled data. Details on monitoring programs, data gaps that are perceived by stakeholders and researchers in the area, and Project Advisory Committee recommendations are provided in this report to promote discussion and coordination. In most cases, resources to fill data gaps are needed, and the use of citizen science volunteers has been shown to help extend programs and provide insight into previously unaddressed areas of concern. This document, in conjunction with the CWRMS website and interactive mapper, is intended to inform the latest iteration of the Comprehensive Management Plan for the Reserve. Moreover, resource managers can use the CWRMS and mapper to identify areas of potential overlap and initiate conversations with stakeholders about addressing needs for additional monitoring of water quality and ecological health in the bays and tributaries of the Reserve.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20171161","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the New York State Department of State Office of Planning, Development and Community Infrastructure and the South Shore Estuary Reserve Office","usgsCitation":"Fisher, S.C., Welk, R.J., and Finkelstein, J.S., 2018, Long Island South Shore Estuary Reserve Coordinated Water Resources Monitoring Strategy: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1161, 105 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171161.","productDescription":"xi, 105 p.","numberOfPages":"122","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","costCenters":[{"id":474,"text":"New York Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":352790,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1161/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":352791,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1161/ofr20171161.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.33 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2017-1161"},{"id":355586,"rank":3,"type":{"id":2,"text":"Additional Report Piece"},"url":"https://ny.water.usgs.gov/maps/sser/","linkHelpText":"- South Shore Estuary Reserve Coordinated Water Resources Monitoring Strategy mapper"}],"country":"United States","state":"New York","otherGeospatial":"Long Island, South Shore Estuary Reserve","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -74.3939208984375,\n 40.27533480732468\n ],\n [\n -71.47705078125,\n 40.27533480732468\n ],\n [\n -71.47705078125,\n 41.422134246213616\n ],\n [\n -74.3939208984375,\n 41.422134246213616\n ],\n [\n -74.3939208984375,\n 40.27533480732468\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, New York Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
2045 Route 112, Building 4
Coram, NY 11727
The hydrogeology, groundwater quality, and potential for hydraulic connection between the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer and the Memphis aquifer in the area of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Allen Combined Cycle and Allen Fossil Plants in southwestern Memphis, Tennessee, were evaluated from September through December 2017. The study was designed as a preliminary assessment of the potential for leakage of groundwater from the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer through the underlying upper Claiborne confining unit into the underlying Memphis aquifer at the plants. A short-term aquifer test of four of the five Memphis aquifer production wells installed at the Allen Combined Cycle Plant induced drawdown in water levels in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, locally. The largest drawdown occurred in the eastern and southeastern parts of the TVA plants area, and generally was coincident with locations where stratigraphic data show increased thickness of and depth to the base of the alluvium and decreased thickness and inferred offset in the base of the confining unit relative to nearby locations. In contrast, stratigraphic data for most other locations at the site indicate shallower depths to the base of the alluvium and more consistent thickness of and depth to the base of the confining unit, which corresponds with areas where less drawdown was observed during the test. Water-quality results for samples from the production wells and from monitoring wells screened in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer indicate that groundwater with higher dissolved-solids concentrations and tritium from this shallow aquifer has mixed with water in the upper part of the Memphis aquifer at one of the production wells. Results of the study collectively confirm that the Mississippi River Valley alluvial and Memphis aquifers are hydraulically connected near the TVA plants area.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181097","collaboration":"Prepared for the Tennessee Valley Authority in cooperation with the University of Memphis, Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research","usgsCitation":"Carmichael, J.K., Kingsbury, J.A., Larsen, Daniel, and Schoefernacker, Scott, 2018, Preliminary evaluation of the hydrogeology and groundwater quality of the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer and Memphis aquifer at the Tennessee Valley Authority Allen Power Plants, Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1097, 66 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181097.","productDescription":"Report: vii, 66 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"78","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-095383","costCenters":[{"id":24708,"text":"Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355577,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9LSM5YU","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Water-level models used to estimate drawdown in 32 monitoring wells screened in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer and 4 observation wells screened in the Memphis aquifer during an aquifer test at the Tennessee Valley Authority Allen power plants, Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, October 2017"},{"id":399134,"rank":4,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_107532.htm"},{"id":355576,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1097/ofr20181097.pdf","text":"Report","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018–1097"},{"id":355575,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1097/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Tennessee","county":"Shelby County","city":"Memphis","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -90.2208,\n 35.0428\n ],\n [\n -90.1211,\n 35.0428\n ],\n [\n -90.1211,\n 35.1\n ],\n [\n -90.2208,\n 35.1\n ],\n [\n -90.2208,\n 35.0428\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center—Tennessee
U.S. Geological Survey
640 Grassmere Park, Suite 100
Nashville, TN 37211
Condit Dam, at river kilometer 5.3 on the White Salmon River, Washington, was breached in 2011, and removed completely in 2012, providing anadromous salmonids with the opportunity to recolonize habitat blocked for nearly 100 years. Prior to dam removal, a multi-agency workgroup concluded that the preferred salmonid restoration alternative was to allow natural recolonization. Monitoring would assess fish recolonization efficacy, followed by management evaluation 5 years after dam removal. Limited monitoring of salmon and steelhead recolonization has occurred since 2011. The U.S. Geological Survey began juvenile salmonid monitoring in 2016 and did a second year during 2017, with sampling efforts like those of 2016. River conditions differed between the 2 years, both during (that is, high flows in 2017) and prior to (that is, 2015 summer drought conditions and December 2015 White Salmon River flood event) sampling. We operated a rotary screw trap at river kilometer 2.3 (3 kilometers downstream of the former dam site) from early April through early June to assess species diversity, and production of smolt and other migrant life stages. We also used backpack electrofishing during summer to assess juvenile salmonid distribution and abundance. Both sampling methods provided the opportunity to collect genetic samples (analysis of samples was not covered under funding received from the Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group for the 2017 monitoring efforts) and to tag fish with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags, which will provide life-history data through future recaptures and detections.
The screw trap captured steelhead (anadromous rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss), fry, parr, and smolts; coho salmon (O. kisutch) fry, parr, and smolts; and Chinook salmon (O. tshwaytscha) fry, parr, and one smolt. Prolonged high water and some missed trapping periods during 2017 prevented us from generating smolt estimates. Despite difficult trapping conditions, the number of coho salmon fry and parr, and steelhead fry and parr captured in 2017 exceeded those captured during 2016. The number of age-0 Chinook salmon captured in the screw trap during 2017 was much higher (n = 222) than in 2016 (n = 4).
Electrofishing in tributaries provided information on distribution and abundance of juvenile coho salmon and O. mykiss. Juvenile coho salmon were again found in Mill and Buck Creeks and, for the first time, in Rattlesnake Creek (all three creeks are upstream of the former dam site). In both Rattlesnake and Buck Creeks, age-0 O. mykiss abundance decreased between 2016 and 2017; however, age-1 and older O. mykiss and age-0 coho salmon abundance increased between years at both sites. Data on O. mykiss abundance at sites in Buck and Rattlesnake Creeks is providing the opportunity to begin to understand trends and variability post-dam removal and to compare to pre-dam removal periods.
Mean age-0 O. mykiss abundance (fish per meter [fish/m]) at the Rattlesnake Creek site has been slightly lower during post-dam removal (mean = 3.0, n = 2, range = 2.4–3.6) than pre-dam removal (mean = 3.4, n = 5, range = 1.5–5.1). However, the presence of juvenile coho salmon in Rattlesnake Creek during 2017 (0.5 fish/m) brought total age-0 salmonid abundance in 2017 to 2.9 fish/m. Mean age-1 or older O. mykiss abundance (fish/m) at the Rattlesnake Creek site has been lower post-dam removal (mean = 0.2, n = 2, range = 0.1–0.3) than pre-dam removal (mean = 0.5, n = 2, range = 0.3–0.8). Mean age-0 O. mykiss abundance (fish/m) at the Buck Creek site has been higher post-dam removal (mean = 2.1, n = 2, range = 1.2–3.0) than pre-dam removal (mean = 1.8, n = 2, range = 1.6–1.9). The addition of age-0 coho salmon to Buck Creek brings mean age-0 salmonid abundance post-dam removal to 2.7 fish/m (range = 1.9–3.4). Mean age-1 or older O. mykiss abundance (fish/m) in Buck Creek has been slightly higher post-dam removal (mean = 0.8, n = 2, range = 0.6–1.1) than pre-dam removal (mean = 0.6, n = 2, both years 0.6).
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181106","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group","usgsCitation":"Jezorek, I.G., and Hardiman, J.M., 2018, Juvenile salmonid monitoring following removal of Condit Dam in the White Salmon River watershed, Washington, 2017: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1106, 31 p. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181106.","productDescription":"vi, 31 p.","numberOfPages":"41","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-094796","costCenters":[{"id":654,"text":"Western Fisheries Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355554,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1106/ofr20181106.pdf","text":"Report","size":"874 KB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1106"},{"id":355553,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1106/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Washington","otherGeospatial":"Condit Dam, White Salmon River","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -122.21466064453125,\n 45.64668833372338\n ],\n [\n -121.09680175781249,\n 45.64668833372338\n ],\n [\n -121.09680175781249,\n 46.47191632087041\n ],\n [\n -122.21466064453125,\n 46.47191632087041\n ],\n [\n -122.21466064453125,\n 45.64668833372338\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Western Fisheries Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
6505 NE 65th Street
Seattle, Washington 98115