Advances in spectroscopic techniques have led to an increase in the use of optical measurements (absorbance and fluorescence) to assess dissolved organic matter composition and infer sources and processing. Although optical measurements are easy to make, they can be affected by many variables rendering them less comparable, including by inconsistencies in sample collection (for example, filter pore size, preservation), the application of corrections for interferences (for example, inner-filtering corrections), differences in holding times, and instrument drift (for example, lamp intensity). A documented, standardized procedure to address these variables ensures that the optical (absorbance and fluorescence) measurements collected by U.S. Geological Survey researchers are useful and widely comparable.
Rigorous and quantifiable quality assurance and quality control are essential for making these data comparable, particularly because there is no published guideline for the measurement of dissolved organic matter absorbance and fluorescence, and especially because there is no National Institute of Standards and Technology standard for dissolved organic matter. Validation and quality-control samples are analyzed on a monthly basis to determine laboratory and instrument precision and daily (that is, each day samples are run) to ensure repeatability. Data are not considered acceptable unless they meet laboratory criteria: All standards should be within 10 percent of the target value, laboratory replicates should be within 5 percent relative percent difference, and laboratory blanks (that is, laboratory reagent-grade water) should be less than one-tenth of the long-term method detection limit.
Finally, for data to be useful, they must be accessible to users in a format that can be easily analyzed and interpreted. The Organic Matter Research Laboratory staff has developed a processing routine that extracts a subset of the data, which is made available to the public through the USGS National Water Quality Information System (http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/qwdata), and organizes the full datasets (that is, complete absorbance spectra and fluorescence excitation-emission matrices) in different forms that allow for these data to be analyzed using multi-parameter and multi-way statistical approaches.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181096","usgsCitation":"Hansen, A.M., Fleck, J.A., Kraus, T.E.C., Downing, B.D., von Dessonneck, T., and Bergamaschi, B.A., 2018, Procedures for using the Horiba Scientific Aqualog® fluorometer to measure absorbance and fluorescence from dissolved organic matter: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1096, 31 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181096.","productDescription":"Report: vi, 31 p.; 3 Appendixes","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-082063","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355505,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1096/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":355506,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1096/ofr2018.1096.pdf","text":"Report","size":"5.1 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1096"},{"id":355509,"rank":5,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1096/ofr20181096_appendix3.xlsx","text":"Appendix 3","size":"12.8 MB","linkFileType":{"id":3,"text":"xlsx"},"description":"OFR 2018-1096 Appendix 3"},{"id":355507,"rank":3,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1096/ofr20181096_appendix1.pdf","text":"Appendix 1","size":"450 KB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1096 Appendix 1"},{"id":355508,"rank":4,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1096/ofr20181096_appendix2.xlsx","text":"Appendix 2","size":"350 KB","linkFileType":{"id":3,"text":"xlsx"},"description":"OFR 2018-1096 Appendix 2"}],"contact":"The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Community for Data Integration (CDI) Workshop was held May 16–19, 2017 at the Denver Federal Center. There were 183 in-person attendees and 35 virtual attendees over four days. The theme of the workshop was “Enabling Integrated Science,” with the purpose of bringing together the community to discuss current topics, shared challenges, and steps forward to advance integrated science at the USGS.
The CDI welcomed several keynote speakers, including Bill Werkheiser, USGS Acting Director; Kevin T. Gallagher, USGS Associate Director of the Core Science Systems Mission Area; Bruce Caron, Earth Science Information Partners Community Architect; and Tim Quinn, Chief of the USGS Office of Enterprise Information. Their presentations focused on the importance of collaborative, cross-disciplinary, and open science and the role of the CDI in identifying and supporting new opportunities in these areas for the USGS and its partners.
In addition to the stated theme, the workshop agenda was driven by the needs of the CDI, with topics highlighting current resources and technologies that could help attendees in their daily work. Topical sessions were proposed by CDI members and included subjects such as data citation, information technology architecture, legacy data, real-time data, and many more. Plenary speakers from the community talked about USGS activities in data science, elevation and hydrography data integration, advanced scientific computing solutions, cloud computing, data-management training, and data-sharing agreements. Two panels addressed the role of the CDI in enabling integrated science and examples of CDI-supported projects in action.
Breakout discussions focused on the workshop theme of “Enabling Integrated Science” and covered five topics: Data and Data Integration, Modeling, Computing Capacity, Science Data Integration, and User Needs and Experience. Sessions on each topic identified actions that could bring the USGS and the broader Earth science community closer to the goal of making integrated science commonplace. The breakouts produced recommendations with the broad themes of improving communication and connections across the USGS, reducing duplication and increasing knowledge transfer, increasing training and testbed opportunities to learn and experiment, and creating community-supported standards to enable better integration and interoperability.
The DataBlast poster and live demonstration session showcased 36 projects from around the CDI and included recent CDI-funded projects as well as other USGS and partner initiatives that were related to data and software integration and discovery.
Importantly, the CDI workshop provided a forum for scientists, technologists, data and resource managers, program managers, and others to convene face to face to discuss common methods, interests, challenges, and solutions related to scientific data and technologies. As a result of this rare convergence, new connections were made across disciplines, backgrounds, and geographical locations, seeding future activities and collaborations. Sharing of ideas from all attendees was encouraged through the use of a mobile application to collect real-time questions and feedback from the audience
The primary outcomes of the workshop are the recommendations from the breakout sessions titled “Roadmap Discussions on Enabling Integrated Science” and from the topical sessions detailed in these proceedings. These sessions, as well as the plenary discussions, identified new areas of collaboration and learning that the CDI will facilitate, such as data science, software development, scientific modeling practices, and user needs and experience. The CDI will build on the results of the workshop to guide its future topics, events, and funding opportunities to support an integrated science capacity for the USGS.
Core Science Analytics, Synthesis, and Library
U.S. Geological Survey
108 National Center
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive,
Reston, VA 20192
National Research Program
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Potash, with the active ingredient potassium chloride (KCl) is a chemical that is currently being evaluated for potential use as a molluscicide to combat invasive zebra mussels and quagga mussels in Western United States waters. Although data available for other freshwater fishes indicate that recommended treatment levels of potash as a molluscicide are sublethal, this has not been demonstrated for all salmonid species. The objectives of this study were to perform toxicity testing to determine the lethality of potassium chloride against selected species of salmonid fish (brook trout and Chinook salmon) and selected invertebrate forage, and to identify any potential adverse physiological impacts of KCl to these salmonids in water at treatment levels used for mollusk eradication. Minimal mortality (n=1 fish) was observed during 96-hour toxicity testing at KCl concentrations of 0 to 800 milligrams per liter (mg/L), indicating that the lethal concentration (LC50) values in these salmonid species were considerably higher than realistic molluscicide treatment concentrations. Sublethal effects were examined through evaluation of behavioral and morphological (histological) observation as well as specific blood chemistry parameters (electrolytes, osmolality, glucose, and cortisol). There was no strong evidence of significant physiological impairment among the two salmonid species due to KCl exposure. Whereas statistically significant differences in some parameters were observed in association with KCl treatments, it is unlikely that these differences indicate adverse biological impacts. Acute toxicity tests were conducted with invertebrate species at KCl exposure concentrations of 0–3,200 mg/L. Daphniid exposure trials resulted in differences in mortality among the test groups with higher mortality evident among the higher KCl exposure concentrations with a calculated LC50 value of 196 mg/L KCl for a 48-hour exposure. Crayfish exposed to higher concentrations of KCl at or above 800 mg/L as specimens exhibited death or reversible paralysis. Chironomid larvae exposures were largely inconclusive because of cannibalistic behavior among the various test groups.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181080","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service","usgsCitation":"Densmore, C.L., Iwanowicz, L.R., Henderson, A.P., Blazer, V.S., Reed-Grimmett, B.M., and Sanders, L.R., 2018, \nAn evaluation of the toxicity of potassium chloride, active compound in the molluscicide potash, on salmonid fish and their forage base: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1080, 33 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181080.","productDescription":"Report: viii, 33 p.; Data release","numberOfPages":"46","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-092981","costCenters":[{"id":365,"text":"Leetown Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":50464,"text":"Eastern Ecological Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355322,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7HQ3Z5G","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Toxicity of potassium chloride, active compound in the molluscicide potash, on salmonid fishes and their forage base (Leetown Science Center, 2018)"},{"id":355290,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1080/ofr20181080.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.67 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1080"},{"id":355289,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1080/coverthb.jpg"}],"contact":"Director, Eastern Ecological Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
11649 Leetown Road
Kearneysville, WV 25430
The Cosumnes River watershed requires a 57–64 percent reduction in loads to meet the new Delta methylmercury (MeHg) total maximum daily load allocation, established by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Because there are no large point sources of MeHg in the watershed, the focus of MeHg load reductions will fall upon non-point sources, particularly the expansive wetlands considered to be a primary source of MeHg in the region. Few management practices have been implemented and tested in order to meet load reductions in managed wetlands, but recent efforts have shown promise. This project examines a treatment approach to reduce MeHg loads to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta by creating open-water deep cells with a small footprint at the downstream end of wetlands to promote net demethylation of MeHg and to minimize MeHg and Hg loads exiting wetlands at the Cosumnes River Preserve. Specifically, the deep cells were were located immediately up gradient of the wetland’s outflow weir and were deep enough (75–91 centimeter depth) to be vegetation-free. The topographic and hydrologic structure of each treatment wetland was modified to include open-water deep cells so that the removal of aqueous MeHg might be enhanced through (1) particle settling, (2) photo-degradation, and (3) benthic microbial demethylation. These deep cells were, therefore, expected to clean MeHg from surface water prior to its discharge to the Cosumnes River and the downstream Delta.
Our goal was to test whether the implementation of the deep cells within wetlands would minimize MeHg and total Hg export. Further, we sought to test whether continuous flow-through hydrology, would lower MeHg concentrations in resident biota, compared to traditional wetland management operations. The dominant practice in seasonal wetlands management is the “fill-and-maintain” approach, in which wetlands are filled with water and the water levels maintained without substantial draining until drawdown. Our approach was to create and characterize replicate treatment wetland complexes, in conjunction with monitoring of hydrologic, biologic, and chemical indicators of MeHg exposure for two full annual cycles within winter-spring flooded seasonal wetlands. In addition to the creation of deep cells within treatment wetlands, hydrology was manipulated so that there was a constant flow-through of water, while the control wetlands utilized the fill-and-maintain approach. Specifically, the treatment wetlands were maintained in a flow-through manner, while the control wetlands were maintained in a fill-and-maintain manner from September through May, to test the hypothesis that the flow of water through the seasonal wetland can lower fish bioaccumulation through dilution of MeHg-concentrated water within the wetland by constant inflows of water into the wetland.
The major tasks of this study included: (1) field design and implementation, (2) water and wetland management, (3) hydrologic monitoring and water quality sampling, (4) MeHg export and load estimates, (5) caged fish experiments for examining MeHg bioaccumulation, (6) site and process characterization to improve understanding and transferability of results, (7) adaptive management, transferability, and outreach, and (8) reporting of results and conclusions. This report summarizes the key findings of this study, which focuses on MeHg load estimates from control and treatment wetlands, quantification of three MeHg removal mechanisms (particulate settling, benthic demethylation, and photo-demethylation) in the deep cells within the treatment wetlands, and MeHg bioaccumulation in wetland fishes.
Key findings include:
Hydro-Eco Interactions Branch
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
https://water.usgs.gov
We analyze the Fourier spectra of S+Lg+surface wave groups from the horizontal and vertical components of broadband and accelerogram recordings of 120 small and moderate (2< Mw <6) earthquakes recorded by Canadian and American stations sited on rock at distances from 3 to 600 kilometers. There are seven Mw 4.0–4.5, six Mw 4.5–5.0, and three Mw ≥5 earthquakes in this event set. We test the regional spectral analysis by comparing the moment magnitudes with the moment magnitudes from the earthquake moment tensors determined by Bob Herrmann (St. Louis University) for 27 events, obtaining dMw=0.004±0.074. We determine the Lg attenuation in seven regions within northeastern North America: Charlevoix, lower St. Lawrence, Maine, Northern New York, lower Great Lakes, Ontario, and Nunavut. These attenuation estimates yield an average attenuation Q= (368±13)f (0.54±0.02) for the Appalachian region, a stronger attenuation Q= (317±16)f (0.54±0.03) for the Appalachian lowlands, and a weaker attenuation Q=(455±20)f (0.51±0.02) for Ontario and western Quebec. For events in Nunavut and northernmost Quebec, we estimate a similar attenuation for r <450 km, but a weaker attenuation Q= (773±70)f (0.27±0.06) for Lg propagation for 450< r <1700 kilometers. This far-regional attenuation allows us to analyze recordings of the 1989 Ungava and Payne Bay earthquakes obtained in Ontario and southern Quebec. We use these regional attenuations to determine the corner frequencies, stress drops, and radiated energies of the 120 earthquakes.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181073","usgsCitation":"Boatwright, J., 2018, Regional spectral analysis of moderate earthquakes in northeastern North America—Final report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, project V6240, task 3: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1073, 39 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181073.","productDescription":"Report: vi, 39 p.","numberOfPages":"39","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-096269","costCenters":[{"id":237,"text":"Earthquake Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355095,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1073/ofr20181073.pdf","text":"Report","size":"2.3 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1073"},{"id":355094,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1073/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -78.2666015625,\n 39.977120098439634\n ],\n [\n -49.0869140625,\n 39.977120098439634\n ],\n [\n -49.0869140625,\n 54.059387886623576\n ],\n [\n -78.2666015625,\n 54.059387886623576\n ],\n [\n -78.2666015625,\n 39.977120098439634\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Earthquake Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road, MS 977
Menlo Park, CA 94025
The North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) aims to improve the state of conservation science for all species of bats shared by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. To accomplish this goal, NABat offers guidance and standardized protocols for acoustic monitoring of bats. In this document, “A Guide to Processing Bat Acoustic Data for the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat),” we provide general recommendations and specific workflows for the process of identifying bat species from acoustic files recorded using the NABat stationary point and mobile transect acoustic monitoring protocols.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181068","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, USDA Forest Service, US Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois Natural History Survey, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Montana Natural Heritage Program, National Park Service, and Bat Call Identification, Inc.","usgsCitation":"Reichert, B., and Lausen, C., Loeb, S., Weller, T., Allen, R., Britzke, E., Hohoff, T., Siemers, J., Burkholder, B., Herzog, C., and Verant, M., 2018, A guide to processing bat acoustic data for the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat): U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1068, 33 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181068.","productDescription":"vi, 33 p.","numberOfPages":"43","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-092559","costCenters":[{"id":291,"text":"Fort Collins Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":353437,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1068/coverthb2.jpg"},{"id":354992,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1068/ofr20181068.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.11 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018–1068"}],"contact":"Center Director, Fort Collins Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
2150 Centre Ave., Bldg. C
Fort Collins, CO 80526-8118
The bedrock geologic map of the Littleton and Lower Waterford quadrangles covers an area of approximately 107 square miles (277 square kilometers) north and south of the Connecticut River in east-central Vermont and adjacent New Hampshire. This map was created as part of a larger effort to produce a new bedrock geologic map of Vermont through the collection of field data at a scale of 1:24,000. A large part of the map area consists of the Bronson Hill anticlinorium, a post-Early Devonian structure that is cored by metamorphosed Cambrian to Devonian sedimentary, volcanic, and plutonic rocks. The northwestern part of the map is divided by the Monroe fault which separates Early Devonian rocks of the Connecticut Valley-Gaspé trough from rocks of the Bronson Hill anticlinorium.
The Bronson Hill anticlinorium is the apex of the Middle Ordovician to earliest-Silurian Bronson Hill magmatic arc that contains the Ammonoosuc Volcanics, Partridge Formation, and Oliverian Plutonic suite, and extends from Maine, down the eastern side of the Connecticut River in New Hampshire, to Long Island Sound. The deformed and partially eroded arc is locally overlain by a relatively thin Silurian section of metasedimentary rocks (Clough Quartzite and Fitch Formation) that thickens to the east. The Silurian section near Littleton is disconformably overlain by a thicker, Lower Devonian section that includes mostly metasedimentary rocks and minor metavolcanic rocks of the Littleton Formation. The Bronson Hill anticlinorium is bisected by a series of northeast-southwest trending Mesozoic normal faults. Primarily among them is the steeply northwest-dipping Ammonoosuc fault that divides older and younger units (upper and lower sections) of the Ammonoosuc Volcanics. The Ammonoosuc Volcanics are lithologically complex and predominantly include interlayered and interfingered rhyolitic to basaltic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, as well as lesser amounts of metamorphic and metasedimentary rocks. The Ammonoosuc Volcanics overlies the Albee Formation that consists of interlayered feldspathic sandstone, siltstone, pelite, and slate.
During the Late Ordovician, a series of arc-related plutons intruded the Ammonoosuc Volcanics, including the Whitefield pluton to the east, the Scrag granite of Billing (1937) in the far southeastern corner of the map, the Highlandcroft Granodiorite just to the west of the Ammonoosuc fault, and the Joslin Turn tonalite (just north of the Connecticut River). To the east of the Monroe fault lies the late Silurian Comerford Intrusive Complex, which consists of metamorphosed gabbro, diorite, tonalite, aplitic tonalite, and crosscutting diabase dikes. Abundant mafic dikes of the Comerford Intrusive Complex intruded the Albee Formation and Ammonoosuc Volcanics well east of the Monroe fault.
This report consists of a single geologic map sheet and an online geographic information systems database that includes contacts of bedrock geologic units, faults, outcrops, and structural geologic information.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181087","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the State of Vermont, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Vermont Geological Survey, and the State of New Hampshire, Department of Environmental Services, New Hampshire Geological Survey","usgsCitation":"Rankin, D.W., 2018, Bedrock geologic map of the Littleton and Lower Waterford quadrangles, Essex and Caledonia Counties, Vermont, and Grafton County, New Hampshire: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1087, 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181087.","productDescription":"Sheet: 36.00 x 45.82 inches; Geologic Map: ArcGIS 10.5 zip; Geodatabase; Metadata; Base Map","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-081645","costCenters":[{"id":243,"text":"Eastern Geology and Paleoclimate Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354879,"rank":3,"type":{"id":9,"text":"Database"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1087/metadata/ofr20181087_geologic-map-files.zip","text":"Geologic Map (ArcGIS 10.5)","size":"49.3 KB","linkFileType":{"id":6,"text":"zip"},"linkHelpText":"- Littleton and Lower Waterford, Vermont, and New Hampshire, Geologic Map"},{"id":354880,"rank":5,"type":{"id":23,"text":"Spatial Data"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1087/metadata/ofr20181087_basemap-files.zip","text":"Base Map","size":"10.8 MB","linkFileType":{"id":6,"text":"zip"},"linkHelpText":"- Littleton and Lower Waterford, Vermont, and New Hampshire, Base Map"},{"id":354979,"rank":6,"type":{"id":16,"text":"Metadata"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1087/metadata/ofr20181087_littleton-lowerwaterford-xml.zip","text":"Metadata ","size":"67.1 KB","linkFileType":{"id":6,"text":"zip"},"linkHelpText":"- Littleton and Lower Waterford, Vermont, and New Hampshire, Metadata"},{"id":354876,"rank":2,"type":{"id":26,"text":"Sheet"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1087/ofr20181087.pdf","text":"Geologic Map","size":"24.1 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1087"},{"id":354875,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1087/coverthb2.jpg"},{"id":354878,"rank":4,"type":{"id":9,"text":"Database"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1087/metadata/ofr20181087_database-files.gdb.zip","text":"Database","size":"1.30 MB","linkFileType":{"id":6,"text":"zip"},"linkHelpText":"- Littleton and Lower Waterford, Vermont, and New Hampshire, Geodatabase "}],"country":"United States","state":"New Hampshire, Vermont","county":"Caledonia County, Grafton County, Essex County","otherGeospatial":"Littleton Quadrangle, Lower Waterford Quadrangle","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -72,\n 44.25\n ],\n [\n -71.75,\n 44.25\n ],\n [\n -71.75,\n 44.375\n ],\n [\n -72,\n 44.375\n ],\n [\n -72,\n 44.25\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Eastern Geology and Paleoclimate Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
926A National Center
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20192
We reexamine the geometry of the causative fault structure of the 1989 moment-magnitude-6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake in central California, using seismic-reflection, earthquake-hypocenter, and magnetic data. Our study is prompted by recent interpretations of a two-part dip of the San Andreas Fault (SAF) accompanied by a flower-like structure in the Coachella Valley, in southern California. Initially, the prevailing interpretation of fault geometry in the vicinity of the Loma Prieta earthquake was that the mainshock did not rupture the SAF, but rather a secondary fault within the SAF system, because network locations of aftershocks defined neither a vertical plane nor a fault plane that projected to the surface trace of the SAF. Subsequent waveform cross-correlation and double-difference relocations of Loma Prieta aftershocks appear to have clarified the fault geometry somewhat, with steeply dipping faults in the upper crust possibly connecting to the more moderately southwest-dipping mainshock rupture in the middle crust. Examination of steep-reflection data, extracted from a 1991 seismic-refraction profile through the Loma Prieta area, reveals three robust fault-like features that agree approximately in geometry with the clusters of upper-crustal relocated aftershocks. The subsurface geometry of the San Andreas, Sargent, and Berrocal Faults can be mapped using these features and the aftershock clusters. The San Andreas and Sargent Faults appear to dip northeastward in the uppermost crust and change dip continuously toward the southwest with depth. Previous models of gravity and magnetic data on profiles through the aftershock region also define a steeply dipping SAF, with an initial northeastward dip in the uppermost crust that changes with depth. At a depth 6 to 9 km, upper-crustal faults appear to project into the moderately southwest-dipping, planar mainshock rupture. The change to a planar dipping rupture at 6–9 km is similar to fault geometry seen in the Coachella Valley.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181093","usgsCitation":"Zhang, E., Fuis, G.S., Catchings, R.D., Scheirer, D.S., Goldman, M., and Bauer, K., 2018, Reexamination of the subsurface fault structure in the vicinity of the 1989 moment-magnitude-6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake, central California, using steep-reflection, earthquake, and magnetic data: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1093, 35 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181093.","productDescription":"v; 35 p.","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-097280","costCenters":[{"id":237,"text":"Earthquake Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":355009,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1093/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":355010,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1093/ofr20181093.pdf","text":"Report","size":"8.5 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1093"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -121.92214965820311,\n 36.97128966642495\n ],\n [\n -121.75804138183594,\n 36.97128966642495\n ],\n [\n -121.75804138183594,\n 37.2\n ],\n [\n -121.92214965820311,\n 37.2\n ],\n [\n -121.92214965820311,\n 36.97128966642495\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Contact Information, Menlo Park, Calif.
Office—Earthquake Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road, MS 977
Menlo Park, CA 94025
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/
In the fall of 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was afforded an opportunity to participate in an environmental monitoring study of the potential impacts of a deep, unconventional Marcellus Shale hydraulic fracturing site. The drill site of the prospective case study is the “Range Resources MCC Partners L.P. Units 1-5H” location (also referred to as the “RR–MCC” drill site), located in Washington County, southwestern Pennsylvania. Specifically, the USGS was approached to provide a geologic framework that would (1) provide geologic parameters for the proposed area of a localized groundwater circulation model, and (2) provide potential information for the siting of both shallow and deep groundwater monitoring wells located near the drill pad and the deviated drill legs.
The lead organization of the prospective case study of the RR–MCC drill site was the Groundwater and Ecosystems Restoration Division (GWERD) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Aside from the USGS, additional partners/participants were to include the Department of Energy, the Pennsylvania Geological Survey, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the developer Range Resources LLC. During the initial cooperative phase, GWERD, with input from the participating agencies, drafted a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) that proposed much of the objectives, tasks, sampling and analytical procedures, and documentation of results.
Later in 2012, the proposed cooperative agreement between the aforementioned partners and the associated land owners for a monitoring program at the drill site was not executed. Therefore, the prospective case study of the RR–MCC site was terminated and no installation of groundwater monitoring wells nor the collection of nearby soil, stream sediment, and surface-water samples were made.
Prior to the completion of the QAPP and termination of the perspective case study the geologic framework was rapidly conducted and nearly completed. This was done for three principal reasons. First, there was an immediate need to know the distribution of the relatively undisturbed surface to near-surface bedrock geology and unconsolidated materials for the collection of baseline surface data prior to drill site development (drill pad access road, drill pad leveling) and later during monitoring associated with well drilling, well development, and well production. Second, it was necessary to know the bedrock geology to support the siting of: (1) multiple shallow groundwater monitoring wells (possibly as many as four) surrounding and located immediately adjacent to the drill pad, and (2) deep groundwater monitoring wells (possibly two) located at distance from the drill pad with one possibly being sited along one of the deviated production drill legs. Lastly, the framework geology would provide the lateral extent, thickness, lithology, and expected discontinuities of geologic units (to be parsed or grouped as hydrostratigraphic units) and regional structure trends as inputs into the groundwater model.
This report provides the methodology of geologic data accumulation and aggregation, and its integration into a geographic information system (GIS) based program. The GIS program will allow multiple data to be exported in various formats (shapefiles [.shp], database files [.dbf], and Keyhole Markup Language files [.KML]) for use in surface and subsurface geologic site characterization, for sampling strategies, and for inputs for groundwater modeling.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181057","usgsCitation":"Stamm, R.G., 2018, Preliminary geologic framework developed for a proposed environmental monitoring study of a deep, unconventional Marcellus Shale drill site, Washington County, Pennsylvania: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1057, 49 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181057.","productDescription":"vi, 49 p.","numberOfPages":"59","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-069591","costCenters":[{"id":243,"text":"Eastern Geology and Paleoclimate Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354769,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1057/ofr20181057.pdf","text":"Report","size":"129 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1057"},{"id":354768,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1057/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Pennsylvania","county":"Washington County","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -80.4833,\n 40.3\n ],\n [\n -80.3833,\n 40.3\n ],\n [\n -80.3833,\n 40.3833\n ],\n [\n -80.4833,\n 40.3833\n ],\n [\n -80.4833,\n 40.3\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Eastern Geology and Paleoclimate Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
926A National Center
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20192
A review is given of the present feasibility for accurately mapping geoelectric fields across North America in near-realtime by modeling geomagnetic monitoring and magnetotelluric survey data. Should this capability be successfully developed, it could inform utility companies of magnetic-storm interference on electric-power-grid systems. That real-time mapping of geoelectric fields is a challenge is reflective of (1) the spatiotemporal complexity of geomagnetic variation, especially during magnetic storms, (2) the sparse distribution of ground-based geomagnetic monitoring stations that report data in realtime, (3) the spatial complexity of three-dimensional solid-Earth impedance, and (4) the geographically incomplete state of continental-scale magnetotelluric surveys.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181043","usgsCitation":"Love, J.J., Rigler, E.J., Kelbert, Anna, Finn, C.A., Bedrosian, P.A., and Balch, C.C., 2018, On the feasibility of real-time mapping of the geoelectric field across North America: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1043, 16 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181043.","productDescription":"v, 16 p.","numberOfPages":"26","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-093233","costCenters":[{"id":300,"text":"Geologic Hazards Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354843,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1043/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":354844,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1043/ofr20181043.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.45 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1043"}],"contact":"Director, Geologic Hazards Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
Box 25046, Mail Stop 966
Denver, CO 80225
The White Dam in Clarke County, Georgia, has been proposed for breaching. Efforts to determine potential risks to downstream biota included assessments of sediment collected in the vicinity of the dam. Sediments collected from sites upstream and downstream from the dam were evaluated for toxicity in 42-day exposures using the freshwater amphipod Hyalella azteca. Endpoints of the study were survival, growth, and reproduction of H. azteca. Results indicated no significant differences between the collected sediments and the water-only treatment used for comparison of the test endpoints. Therefore, based on the laboratory experiments in this study, sediment migration downstream from a breach of the Dam may not pose a toxicity risk to downstream biota.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181036","usgsCitation":"Lasier, P.J., 2018, Toxicity assessment of sediments collected upstream and downstream from the White Dam in Clarke County, Georgia: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1036, 6 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181036.","productDescription":"v, 6 p.","numberOfPages":"16","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-087278","costCenters":[{"id":531,"text":"Patuxent Wildlife Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":50464,"text":"Eastern Ecological Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354452,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1036/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":354453,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1036/ofr20181036.pdf","text":"Report","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1036"}],"country":"United States","state":"Georgia","county":"Clarke County","otherGeospatial":"White Dam","contact":"Director, Eastern Ecological Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
12100 Beech Forest Road, Ste 4039
Laurel, MD 20708
Semi-quantitative mussel surveys, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy, were completed in the vicinity of the Columbia Dam, on the Paulins Kill, New Jersey, in August 2017 in order to document the mussel species composition and relative abundance prior to removal of the dam. Surveys were conducted from the Brugler Road Bridge downriver approximately 2,000 meters (m) to the Columbia Dam and downriver from the dam about 300 m to 75 m upriver from the confluence of the Paulins Kill with the Delaware River. Sixteen sections (average length=175 m) were surveyed by personnel snorkeling or SCUBA diving; 13 sections were upriver from the dam, and 3 were downriver from the dam. Mussels, as they were encountered by surveyors, were removed from the sediment, immediately identified to species, and replaced in their original collection locations. Habitat data were collected for each surveyed section. Upriver and downriver from the dam, river margins with dense vegetation were examined for mussels by personnel using snorkels in transects (approximately 25 meters) perpendicular to river flow every 50 m on both sides of the river. Only two species were found upriver from the dam, and those were present in relatively low numbers. Catch per unit effort is reported here within parentheses as the average across upriver sections in number of mussels per person hour of survey time: 42 Elliptio complanata (2.6) and 1 Pyganodon cataracta (0.1) were found upriver from the dam. No mussels were found in the dense vegetation either upriver or downriver of the dam by surveyors using snorkels. Significantly higher species richness and mussel catch per unit effort were found downriver from the dam than upriver, including 106 E. complanta (32.5), 27 Utterbackiana implicata (8.2), 1 Alasmidonta undulata (0.4), 2 Lampsilis cariosa (0.5), 6 Lampsilis radiata (2.1), 4 P. cataracta (1.1), and 1 Strophitus undulatus (0.4). The average habitat assessment score did not differ upriver and downriver from the dam.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181074","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy","usgsCitation":"Galbraith, H.S., Blakeslee, C.J., Cole, J.C., and Silldorff, E.L., 2018, Freshwater mussel survey for the Columbia Dam removal, Paulins Kill, New Jersey: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1074, 7 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181074.","productDescription":"v, 7 p.","numberOfPages":"18","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-094047","costCenters":[{"id":365,"text":"Leetown Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":50464,"text":"Eastern Ecological Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354676,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1074/ofr20181074.pdf","text":"Report","size":"9.40 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1074"},{"id":354675,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1074/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"New Jersey","otherGeospatial":"Columbia Dam, Paulins Kill","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -75.0889778137207,\n 40.9203876084737\n ],\n [\n -75.06837844848633,\n 40.9203876084737\n ],\n [\n -75.06837844848633,\n 40.937896253014145\n ],\n [\n -75.0889778137207,\n 40.937896253014145\n ],\n [\n -75.0889778137207,\n 40.9203876084737\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Eastern Ecological Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
11649 Leetown Road
Kearneysville, WV 25430
Frequent occurrence of intermediate forms and poor knowledge on the variability of characters have caused some difficulties in the taxonomy of Trapa in Japan. Thus I made a preliminary analysis on the variation of nuts collected from 21 populations in Southwestern Japan. Attention was paid to some morphometrical characters of the nut and development of lower spines or “pseudohorns.” Each population usually contained different forms of nuts. Among them, however, several entities could be recognized based on the shape of nut as follows. 1) Two-spined form: This included nuts of middle size (width 30–50 mm) and ones of big size (width over 45 mm). In case of the former ones, the nuts with pseudohorns of varying degree of development usually occurred together within one population and even on a single plant. I propose to treat them as one taxon, Trapa japonica, sensu OHWI (1965), without inventing varieties. But at the same time, it was remarkable that the tendency of development of pseudohorns was apparently different from population to population. The bigger ones included two types, that is, one without pseudohorns and the other with pseudohorns. The former one may be identified as T. bispinosa ROXB., but the latter one has not been described in literature. 2) Four-spined form: The nuts of small size (width of about 20 mm) were well definable and thought to be T. incisa SIEB. et ZUCC. The nuts of bigger size showed some variations with respect to their size and/or stoutness of lower spines. The big ones (width over 45 mm) may be treated as one taxon, T. natans or its variety. The nuts of middle size have been named T. natans var. pumila NAKANO. But so far as present materials were concerned, its entity seemed dubious. They might be immature nuts of bigger ones. The different patterns of variation among populations were ascribed to genetic differentiation. Predominance of self-pollination and isolation of habitats were thought to promote genetic isolation and preservation of genetic variations which occurred in each population. But the possibility of hybridization cannot be excluded.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181075","usgsCitation":"Kadono, Yasuro, 2018, A preliminary study of variation of Trapa in Japan (translated into English from the Japanese by V. Chintu Lai): U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1075, 16 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181075. [The translation was edited by Nancy B. Rybicki. The article was originally published in Japanese with English summary as Kadono, Y., 1987, A preliminary study of variation of Trapa in Japan: Acta Phytotaxonomica et Geobotanica, v. 38 (September), p. 199–210, https://doi.org/10.18942/bunruichiri.KJ00002992255.]","productDescription":"14 p.","numberOfPages":"16","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-086527","costCenters":[{"id":436,"text":"National Research Program - Eastern Branch","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354294,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1075/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":354295,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1075/ofr20181075.pdf","text":"Report","size":"769 KB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1075","linkHelpText":"- Open File Report of the Japanese language paper by Y. Kadono, and translated by Vince Lai that describes Trapa (water chestnut)."}],"country":"Japan","publicComments":"Open File Report of the Japanese language paper by Y. Kadono, and translated by Vince Lai that describes Trapa (water chestnut).","contact":"Director, Earth System Processes Division
U.S. Geological Survey
411 National Center
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20192
This report was written as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey, SilvaCarbon, and Wageningen University with funding provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the European Space Agency, respectively, to address a pressing need for enhanced result-based monitoring and evaluation of delivered capacity-building activities. For this report, the capacity-building activities delivered by capacity-building providers (referred to as “providers” hereafter) during 2011–15 (the study period) to support countries in building measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) were assessed and evaluated.
Summarizing capacity-building activities and outcomes across multiple providers was challenging. Many of the providers did not have information readily available, which precluded them from participating in this study despite the usefulness of their information. This issue led to a key proposed future action: Capacity-building providers could establish a central repository within the Global Forestry Observation Initiative (GFOI; http://www.gfoi.org/) where data from past, current, and future activities of all capacity-building providers could be stored. The repository could be maintained in a manner to continually learn from previous lessons.
Although various providers monitored and evaluated the success of their capacity-building activities, such evaluations only assessed the success of immediate outcomes and not the overarching outcomes and impacts of activities implemented by multiple providers. Good monitoring and evaluation should continuously monitor and periodically evaluate all factors affecting the outcomes of a provided capacity-building activity.
The absence of a methodology to produce quantitative evidence of a causal link between multiple capacity-building activities delivered and successful outcomes left only a plausible association. A previous publication argued that plausible association, although not a precise measurement of cause and effect, was a realistic tool. Our review of the available literature on this subject did not find another similar assessment to assess capacity-building activities for supporting the countries in building MRV system for REDD+.
Four countries from the main forested regions of Africa, the Americas, and Asia were chosen as subjects for this report based on the length of time SilvaCarbon and other providers have provided capacity-building activities toward MRV system for REDD+: Colombia (the Americas), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC; Africa), Peru (the Americas), and the Republic of the Philippines (referred to as “the Philippines” hereafter; Asia).
Several providers were contacted for information to include in this report, but, because of various constraints, only SilvaCarbon, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) participated in this study. These three providers supported various targeted capacity-building activities through-out Africa, the Americas, and Asia, including the following: technical workshops at national and regional levels (referred to as “workshops” hereafter), hands on training, study tours, technical details by experts, technical consultation between providers and recipients, sponsorship for travel, organizing network meetings, developing sampling protocols, assessing deforestation and degradation drivers, estimating carbon stock and flow, designing monitoring systems for multiple uses, promoting public-private partnerships to scale up investments on MRV system for REDD+, and assisting with the design of national forest monitoring systems.
Their activities were planned in coordination with key partners in each country and region and with the support and assistance of other providers. Note that several other organizations and institutions assisted the providers to deliver capacity-building activities, including Boston University, Conservation International, Stanford University, University of Maryland, and Wageningen University & Research.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181031","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with Wageningen University, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of State, and the European Space Agency ","usgsCitation":"Peneva-Reed, E.I., and Romijn, J.E, 2018, Assessment of capacity-building activities for forest measurement, reporting, and verification, 2011–15: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1031, 35 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181031. ","productDescription":"v, 35 p.","numberOfPages":"46","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-088895","costCenters":[{"id":242,"text":"Eastern Geographic Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354567,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1031/ofr20181031.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.07 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1031"},{"id":354566,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1031/coverthb.jpg"}],"contact":"Director, U.S. Geological Survey
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20192
**September 28, 2018: The purpose of a USGS Open-file report (OFR) is dissemination of information that must be released immediately to fill a public need or information that is not sufficiently refined to warrant publication in one of the other USGS series. As part of that refinement process, an error was discovered in one of the input data sets of the Rio Grande Transboundary Integrated Hydrologic Model (RGTIHM) that this OFR was based upon. The error involved the assignment of storage properties to “phantom cells.”
Phantom cells are required for most variants of MODFLOW that use a structured finite-difference grid when individual stratigraphic layers are represented as separate layers. Using phantom cells is a common practice that allows separate model layers to be maintained without having to combine stratigraphic layers into equivalent model layers or to use an unstructured grid. Typically, phantom cell horizontal hydraulic conductivities and storage properties are set to a small number and vertical hydraulic conductivities are set to a number large enough to allow vertical flow between the vertically adjacent layers.
In the RGTIHM, the specific storage properties of the phantom cells for the upper (RGTIHM layers 3 and 4), middle (RGTIHM layers 5 and 6), and lower (RGTIHM layers 7 and 8) members of the Santa Fe Group were inadvertently assigned a value of 1 feet-1. The revision of these specific storage values to a small number (1.0 x 10-09 feet-1) required additional trial-and-error model calibration and a new sensitivity analysis. After calibration, the overall model fit remained similar to the fit described in the OFR, but the fit for many individual features such as project water available for diversions at the American Canal and Acequia Madre improved due to the reduction in flow coming from lower layers. Overall, there is still an average net depletion of groundwater flow, and the conclusions of the report are not changed. The revised average annual groundwater flow depletion simulated for the period 1953-2014 is -1,480 acre-feet/year for the entire model region, and -3,660 acre-feet/year for the portion of the model in the United States. The final version of the model will be the basis of the USGS Scientific Investigations Report that will supersede this OFR. An updated Model Archive of RGTIHM is available upon request to the USGS California Water Science Center.
The corrected version of the model WAS the basis for the USGS Scientific Investigations Report that SUPERSEDED this Open-File Report.**
Changes in population, agricultural development and practices (including shifts to more water-intensive crops), and climate variability are increasing demands on available water resources, particularly groundwater, in one of the most productive agricultural regions in the Southwest—the Rincon and Mesilla Valley parts of Rio Grande Valley, Doña Ana and Sierra Counties, New Mexico, and El Paso County, Texas. The goal of this study was to produce an integrated hydrological simulation model to help evaluate water-management strategies, including conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater for historical conditions, and to support long-term planning for the Rio Grande Project. This report describes model construction and applications by the U.S. Geological Survey, working in cooperation and collaboration with the Bureau of Reclamation.
This model, the Rio Grande Transboundary Integrated Hydrologic Model, simulates the most important natural and human components of the hydrologic system, including selected components related to variations in climate, thereby providing a reliable assessment of surface-water and groundwater conditions and processes that can inform water users and help improve planning for future conditions and sustained operations of the Rio Grande Project (RGP) by the Bureau of Reclamation. Model development included a revision of the conceptual model of the flow system, construction of a Transboundary Rio Grande Watershed Model (TRGWM) water-balance model using the Basin Characterization Model (BCM), and construction of an integrated hydrologic flow model with MODFLOW-One-Water Hydrologic Flow Model (referred to as One Water). The hydrologic models were developed for and calibrated to historical conditions of water and land use, and parameters were adjusted so that simulated values closely matched available measurements (calibration). The calibrated model was then used to assess the use and movement of water in the Rincon Valley, Mesilla Basin, and northern part of the Conejos-Médanos Basin, with the entire region referred to as the “Transboundary Rio Grande” or TRG. These tools provide a means to understand hydrologic system response to the evolution of water use in the region, its availability, and potential operational constraints of the RGP.
The conceptual model identified surface-water and groundwater inflows and outflows that included the movement and use of water both in natural and in anthropogenic systems. The groundwater-flow system is characterized by a layered geologic sedimentary sequence combined with the effects of groundwater pumping, operation of the RGP, natural runoff and recharge, and the application of irrigation water at the land surface that is captured and reused in an extensive network of canals and drains as part of the conjunctive use of water in the region.
Historical groundwater-level fluctuations followed a cyclic pattern that were aligned with climate cycles, which collectively resulted in alternating periods of wet or dry years. Periods of drought that persisted for one or more years are associated with low surface-water availability that resulted in higher rates of groundwater-level decline. Rates of groundwater-level decline also increased during periods of agricultural intensification, which necessitated increasing use of groundwater as a source of irrigation water. Agriculture in the area was initially dominated by alfalfa and cotton, but since 1970 more water-intensive pecan orchards and vegetable production have become more common. Groundwater levels substantially declined in subregions where drier climate combined with increased demand, resulting in periods of reduced streamflows.
Most of the groundwater was recharged in the Rio Grande Valley floor, and most of the pumpage and aquifer storage depletion was in Mesilla Basin agricultural subregions. A cyclic imbalance between inflows and outflows resulted in the modeled cyclic depletion (groundwater withdrawals in excess of natural recharge) of the groundwater basin during the 75-year simulation period of 1940–2014. Changes in groundwater storage can vary considerably from year to year, depending on land use, pumpage, and climate conditions. Climatic drivers of wet and dry years can greatly affect all inflows, outflows, and water use. Although streamflow and, to a minor extent, precipitation during inter-decadal wet-year periods replenished the groundwater historically, contemporary water use and storage depletion could have reduced the effects of these major recharge events. The average net groundwater flow-rate deficit for 1953–2014 was estimated to be about 8,990 acre-feet per year.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181091","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation","usgsCitation":"Hanson, R.T., Ritchie, A.B., Boyce, S.E., Galanter, A.E., Ferguson, I.A., Flint, L.E., and Henson, W.R., 2018, Rio Grande transboundary integrated hydrologic model and water-availability analysis, New Mexico and Texas, United States, and Northern Chihuahua, Mexico: U.S Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1091, 185 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181091.","productDescription":"Report: x, 185 p.; Dataset; Data release; Errata","numberOfPages":"200","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-071162","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354790,"rank":1,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1091/ofr20181091.pdf","text":"Report","size":"25 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"}},{"id":354791,"rank":2,"type":{"id":28,"text":"Dataset"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181091","linkHelpText":"- This Open-File report (OFR) was superseded by USGS Scientific Investigations report (SIR) SIR 2019-5120. The final model archive will be available on the national USGS archive site."},{"id":357946,"rank":4,"type":{"id":12,"text":"Errata"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1091/erratum.txt","size":"3 KB","linkFileType":{"id":2,"text":"txt"}},{"id":363155,"rank":5,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9J9NYND","linkHelpText":"Digital hydrologic and geospatial data for the Rio Grande transboundary integrated hydrologic model and water-availability analysis, New Mexico and Texas, United States, and Northern Chihuahua, Mexico"},{"id":354795,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1091/coverthb_.jpg"}],"country":"Mexico, United States","state":"New Mexico, Northern Chihuahua, Texas","otherGeospatial":"Rio Grande","publicComments":"This Open-File report (OFR) will be superseded by a USGS Scientific Investigations report (SIR) once the USGS Techniques and Methods report (T&M) documenting the numerical code is published. Once the SIR is released, the final model archive will be available on the national USGS archive site. For the interim archive for this model, please contact CaWSC for directions on downloading 916-278-3026.","contact":"Director,
California Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
6000 J Street, Placer Hall
Sacramento, California 95819
Forster’s terns (Sterna forsteri), historically one of the most numerous colonial-breeding waterbirds in South San Francisco Bay, California, have had recent decreases in the number of nesting colonies and overall breeding population size. The South Bay Salt Pond (SBSP) Restoration Project aims to restore 50–90 percent of former salt evaporation ponds to tidal marsh habitat in South San Francisco Bay. This restoration will remove much of the historical island nesting habitat used by Forster’s terns, American avocets (Recurvirostra americana), and other waterbirds. To address this issue, the SBSP Restoration Project organized the construction of new nesting islands in managed ponds that will not be restored to tidal marsh, thereby providing enduring island nesting habitat for waterbirds. In 2012, 16 new islands were constructed in Pond A16 in the Alviso complex of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, increasing the number of islands in this pond from 4 to 20. However, despite a history of nesting on the four historical islands in Pond A16 before 2012, no Forster’s terns have nested in Pond A16 since the new islands were constructed.
In 2017, we used social attraction measures (decoys and electronic call systems) to attract Forster’s terns to islands within Pond A16 to re-establish nesting colonies. We maintained these systems from March through August 2017. To evaluate the effect of these social attraction measures, we also completed waterbird surveys between April and August, where we recorded the number and location of all Forster’s terns and other waterbirds using Pond A16, and monitored waterbird nests. We compared bird survey and nest monitoring data collected in 2017 to data collected in 2015 and 2016, prior to the implementation of social attraction measures, allowing for direct evaluation of social attraction efforts on Forster’s terns.
To increase the visibility and stakeholder involvement of this project, we engaged in multiple outreach activities, including the development of a project web site (https://apps.usgs.gov/shorebirds/) and educational video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IaZD0YlAvM&feature=youtu.be); publication of a popular article (http://www.sfestuary.org/estuary-news-caspian-push-and-pull/); and public presentations to relay findings to managers, stakeholders, and the general public.
The relative number of Forster’s terns using Pond A16, after adjusting for the overall South San Francisco Bay breeding population each year, was higher during the nesting period in 2017 (after social attraction was used) than in 2015 and 2016 (before social attraction was used). Furthermore, in 2017, more Forster’s terns were observed in the areas of Pond A16 where decoys and call systems were deployed during the pre-nesting and nesting periods. Although no Forster’s tern nests were recorded in Pond A16 before (2015, 2016) or after (2017) implementation of social attraction measures, bird survey results indicate that Forster’s terns were attracted to areas within Pond A16 where decoys and call systems were deployed, suggesting that terns may have been prospecting for future breeding sites. As social attraction efforts often benefit from multiple years of decoy and call system deployment, these first-year results suggest that continued implementation of social attraction measures could help to re-establish Forster’s tern breeding colonies in Pond A16 and other areas of South San Francisco Bay.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181090","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory","usgsCitation":"Hartman, C.A., Ackerman, J.T., Herzog, M.P., Wang, Y., and Strong, C., 2018, Evaluation of social attraction measures to establish Forster’s tern (Sterna forsteri) nesting colonies for the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, San Francisco Bay, California—2017 annual report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1090, 25 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181090.","productDescription":"iv, 25 p.","numberOfPages":"33","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-096847","costCenters":[{"id":651,"text":"Western Ecological Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354652,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1090/coverthb2.jpg"},{"id":354653,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1090/ofr20181090.pdf","text":"Report","size":"12.3 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1090"}],"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 -122.15492248535156,\n 37.38379840307495\n ],\n [\n -121.89674377441405,\n 37.38379840307495\n ],\n [\n -121.89674377441405,\n 37.555465068186955\n ],\n [\n -122.15492248535156,\n 37.555465068186955\n ],\n [\n -122.15492248535156,\n 37.38379840307495\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
Streamflow and concentrations of sodium and chloride estimated from records of specific conductance were used to calculate loads of sodium and chloride during water year (WY) 2015 (October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015) for tributaries to the Scituate Reservoir, Rhode Island. Streamflow and water-quality data used in the study were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Providence Water Supply Board. 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 at 36 sampling stations by the Providence Water Supply Board and at 14 continuous-record streamgages by the U.S. Geological Survey during WY 2015 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 2015.
The largest tributary to the reservoir (the Ponaganset River, which was monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey) contributed a mean streamflow of 25 cubic feet per second to the reservoir during WY 2015. For the same time period, annual mean streamflows measured (or estimated) for the other monitoring stations in this study ranged from about 0.38 to about 14 cubic feet per second. Together, tributaries (equipped with instrumentation capable of continuously monitoring specific conductance) transported about 1,500,000 kilograms of sodium and 2,400,000 kilograms of chloride to the Scituate Reservoir during WY 2015; sodium and chloride yields for the tributaries ranged from 8,000 to 54,000 kilograms per square mile and from 12,000 to 91,000 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 the following: for chloride, 29.5 milligrams per liter; for nitrite, 0.002 milligrams per liter as nitrogen; for nitrate, 0.05 milligrams per liter as nitrogen; for orthophosphate, 0.08 milligrams per liter as phosphate; and for total coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli, 440 and 20 colony forming units per 100 milliliters, respectively. The medians of the median daily loads (and yields) of chloride, nitrite, nitrate, orthophosphate, and total coliform and Escherichia coli bacteria were 170 kilograms per day (79 kilograms per day per square mile), 14 grams per day (5.2 grams per day per square mile), 670 grams per day (190 grams per day per square mile), 640 grams per day (210 grams per day per square mile), 18,000 million colony forming units per day (7,600 million colony forming units per day per square mile), and 1,200 million colony forming units per day (810 million colony forming units per day per square mile), respectively.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181065","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 2015: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1065, 28 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181065.","productDescription":"Report: v, 28 p.; Data release","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-088040","costCenters":[{"id":466,"text":"New England Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354074,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7FJ2FR5","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 2015"},{"id":354073,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1065/ofr20181065.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.16 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1065"},{"id":354072,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1065/coverthb2.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Rhode Island","otherGeospatial":"Scituate Reservoir","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -71.61334991455077,\n 41.72546174412562\n ],\n [\n -71.59687042236328,\n 41.73571038089891\n ],\n [\n -71.57112121582031,\n 41.75978824099475\n ],\n [\n -71.5481185913086,\n 41.784369074958185\n ],\n [\n -71.5536117553711,\n 41.82173436916421\n ],\n [\n -71.55635833740234,\n 41.83145600892532\n ],\n [\n -71.5536117553711,\n 41.842199261672384\n ],\n [\n -71.55979156494139,\n 41.85652079326776\n ],\n [\n -71.5707778930664,\n 41.862146232018134\n ],\n [\n -71.59000396728514,\n 41.862146232018134\n ],\n [\n -71.60923004150389,\n 41.877485822442324\n ],\n [\n -71.61128997802734,\n 41.907642945005215\n ],\n [\n -71.6421890258789,\n 41.918373400143004\n ],\n [\n -71.66622161865234,\n 41.91173095014917\n ],\n [\n -71.66416168212889,\n 41.886687809812926\n ],\n [\n -71.66622161865234,\n 41.857543637121026\n ],\n [\n -71.67377471923828,\n 41.854986496815044\n ],\n [\n -71.6861343383789,\n 41.8744181988335\n ],\n [\n -71.69265747070311,\n 41.87262868373214\n ],\n [\n -71.70398712158203,\n 41.86674849564142\n ],\n [\n -71.72321319580077,\n 41.88719899247718\n ],\n [\n -71.73282623291016,\n 41.89435512030307\n ],\n [\n -71.75617218017578,\n 41.895888471963744\n ],\n [\n -71.77196502685547,\n 41.88771017105127\n ],\n [\n -71.76578521728516,\n 41.87237303462768\n ],\n [\n -71.77265167236328,\n 41.854986496815044\n ],\n [\n -71.76647186279297,\n 41.83145600892532\n ],\n [\n -71.7685317993164,\n 41.82122266302155\n ],\n [\n -71.76990509033202,\n 41.81457011105642\n ],\n [\n -71.75754547119139,\n 41.79358445913614\n ],\n [\n -71.74655914306639,\n 41.78129698585321\n ],\n [\n -71.7348861694336,\n 41.77464028786307\n ],\n [\n -71.71634674072264,\n 41.771567732673454\n ],\n [\n -71.7033004760742,\n 41.76081263047197\n ],\n [\n -71.69300079345702,\n 41.75620274904767\n ],\n [\n -71.6861343383789,\n 41.74185877811425\n ],\n [\n -71.6744613647461,\n 41.741346434162764\n ],\n [\n -71.6476821899414,\n 41.73775991204249\n ],\n [\n -71.63875579833983,\n 41.727511602285894\n ],\n [\n -71.61334991455077,\n 41.72546174412562\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, New England Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
10 Bearfoot Road
Northborough, MA 01532
In this report, precipitation data from 2002 to 2012 from the hourly gridded Next-Generation Radar (NEXRAD)-based Multisensor Precipitation Estimate (MPE) precipitation product are compared to precipitation data from two rain gage networks—an automated tipping bucket network of 25 rain gages operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and 51 rain gages from the volunteer-operated Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network—in and near DuPage County, Illinois, at a daily time step to test for long-term differences in space, time, and distribution. The NEXRAD–MPE data that are used are from the fifty 2.5-mile grid cells overlying the rain gages from the other networks. Because of the challenges of measuring of frozen precipitation, the analysis period is separated between days with or without the chance of freezing conditions. The NEXRAD–MPE and tipping-bucket rain gage precipitation data are adjusted to account for undercatch by multiplying by a previously determined factor of 1.14. Under nonfreezing conditions, the three precipitation datasets are broadly similar in cumulative depth and distribution of daily values when the data are combined spatially across the networks. However, the NEXRAD–MPE data indicate a significant trend relative to both rain gage networks as a function of distance from the NEXRAD radar just south of the study area. During freezing conditions, of the USGS network rain gages only the heated gages were considered, and these gages indicate substantial mean undercatch of 50 and 61 percent compared to the NEXRAD–MPE and the CoCoRaHS gages, respectively. The heated USGS rain gages also indicate substantially lower quantile values during freezing conditions, except during the most extreme (highest) events. Because NEXRAD precipitation products are continually evolving, the report concludes with a discussion of recent changes in those products and their potential for improved precipitation estimation. An appendix provides an analysis of spatially combined NEXRAD–MPE precipitation data as a function of temperature at an hourly time scale and indicates, among other results, that most precipitation in the study area occurs at moderate temperatures of 30 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit. However, when precipitation does occur, its intensity increases with temperature to about 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181061","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the DuPage County Stormwater Management Department","usgsCitation":"Spies, R.R., Over, T.M., and Ortel, T.W., 2018, Comparison of NEXRAD multisensor precipitation estimates to rain gage observations in and near DuPage County, Illinois, 2002–12: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1061, 30 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181061. ","productDescription":"v, 30 p.","numberOfPages":"36","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-057485","costCenters":[{"id":344,"text":"Illinois Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354281,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1061/coverthb.jpg","text":"Report"},{"id":354282,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1061/ofr20181061.pdf","text":"Report","size":"5.61 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1061"}],"country":"United States","state":"Illinois","county":"DuPage County","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -88.33,\n 41.5833\n ],\n [\n -87.8333,\n 41.5833\n ],\n [\n -87.8333,\n 42.1667\n ],\n [\n -88.33,\n 42.1667\n ],\n [\n -88.33,\n 41.5833\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Central Midwest Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
405 North Goodwin Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
Brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) is a commonly used indicator species for tumor surveys at Great Lakes Areas of Concern. The “fish tumors or other deformities” is one of the beneficial use impairments at the Ashtabula River Area of Concern. In May 2016, 150 brown bullhead were collected in the lower Ashtabula River and 150 were collected in the nearby Conneaut Creek as a reference. Length, weight and external visible abnormalities were documented. Fish were euthanized, and skin lesions and liver tissue preserved for histopathological analyses. Otoliths were collected for age analyses. The percentage of bullhead with raised external lesions on lips, barbels and body surface was 34.7 percent at the Ashtabula River and 23.3 percent at Conneaut Creek. At the Ashtabula River, 26.7 percent of the bullhead collected had skin neoplasms, including papillomas, melanomas and squamous cell carcinomas, whereas at Conneaut Creek 18.6 percent had only papillomas, benign skin tumors. Liver neoplasms were observed in 7.3 percent of the bullhead from the Ashtabula River and 4.7 percent of those from Conneaut Creek. These neoplasms were observed in fish 6 years of age or older at both sites.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181072","usgsCitation":"Blazer, V.S., Walsh, H.L., and Braham, R.P.. 2018 Assessment of skin and liver neoplasms in brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) collected at the Ashtabula River Area of Concern and associated reference site, Ohio, in 2016: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1072, 18 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181072.","productDescription":"v, 18 p.","numberOfPages":"29","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-094847","costCenters":[{"id":365,"text":"Leetown Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":50464,"text":"Eastern Ecological Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354298,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1072/ofr20181072.pdf","text":"Report","size":"6.91 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1072"},{"id":354297,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1072/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Ohio","otherGeospatial":"Ashtabula River","contact":"Director, Eastern Ecological Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
11649 Leetown Road
Kearneysville, WV 25430
Populations of Northern Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis caurina; hereinafter referred to as Spotted Owl) are declining throughout this subspecies’ geographic range. Evidence indicates that competition with invading populations of Barred Owls (S. varia) has contributed significantly to those declines. A pilot study in California showed that localized removal of Barred Owls coupled with conservation of suitable forest conditions can slow or even reverse population declines of Spotted Owls. It remains unknown, however, whether similar results can be obtained in areas with different forest conditions, greater densities of Barred Owls, and fewer remaining Spotted Owls. During 2015–17, we initiated a before-after-control-impact (BACI) experiment at three study areas in Oregon and Washington to determine if removal of Barred Owls can improve population trends of Spotted Owls. Each study area had at least 20 years of pre-treatment demographic data on Spotted Owls, and represented different forest conditions occupied by the two owl species in the Pacific Northwest. This report describes research accomplishments and preliminary results from the first 2.5 years (March 2015–August 2017) of the planned 5-year experiment.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181086","usgsCitation":"Wiens, J.D., Dugger, K.M., Lesmeister, D.B., Dilione, K.E., and Simon, D.C., 2018, Effects of experimental removal of Barred Owls on population demography of Northern Spotted Owls in Washington and Oregon—2017 progress report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1086, 23 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181086.","productDescription":"iv, 23 p.","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-095904","costCenters":[{"id":290,"text":"Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center","active":false,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354381,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1086/ofr20181086.pdf","text":"Report","size":"2.5","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1086"},{"id":354380,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1086/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Oregon, Washington","geographicExtents":"{\"type\":\"FeatureCollection\",\"features\":[{\"type\":\"Feature\",\"geometry\":{\"type\":\"MultiPolygon\",\"coordinates\":[[[[-116.915989,45.995413],[-116.892935,45.974396],[-116.859795,45.907264],[-116.796051,45.858473],[-116.782676,45.825376],[-116.759787,45.816167],[-116.736268,45.826179],[-116.711822,45.826267],[-116.698079,45.820852],[-116.665344,45.781998],[-116.593004,45.778541],[-116.546643,45.750972],[-116.535698,45.734231],[-116.535396,45.691734],[-116.487894,45.649769],[-116.463504,45.615785],[-116.463635,45.602785],[-116.481943,45.577898],[-116.523638,45.54661],[-116.553473,45.499107],[-116.554829,45.46293],[-116.588195,45.44292],[-116.597447,45.41277],[-116.619057,45.39821],[-116.673793,45.321511],[-116.674493,45.276349],[-116.691388,45.263739],[-116.703607,45.239757],[-116.729607,45.142091],[-116.754643,45.113972],[-116.774847,45.105536],[-116.797329,45.060267],[-116.847944,45.022602],[-116.844625,45.001435],[-116.858313,44.978761],[-116.83199,44.933007],[-116.852427,44.887577],[-116.931099,44.804781],[-116.9347,44.783881],[-116.970902,44.773881],[-116.998903,44.756382],[-117.03827,44.748179],[-117.062273,44.727143],[-117.061799,44.706654],[-117.095868,44.664737],[-117.098221,44.640689],[-117.120522,44.614658],[-117.124754,44.583834],[-117.148255,44.564371],[-117.14293,44.557236],[-117.149242,44.536151],[-117.161033,44.525166],[-117.181583,44.52296],[-117.200237,44.492027],[-117.224104,44.483734],[-117.215072,44.427162],[-117.22698,44.405583],[-117.242675,44.396548],[-117.235117,44.373853],[-117.189769,44.336585],[-117.203323,44.313024],[-117.222451,44.298963],[-117.198147,44.273828],[-117.170342,44.25889],[-117.143394,44.258262],[-117.121037,44.277585],[-117.104208,44.27994],[-117.089503,44.258234],[-117.05303,44.229076],[-117.031862,44.248635],[-116.975905,44.242844],[-116.971675,44.197256],[-116.925392,44.191544],[-116.900103,44.176851],[-116.894083,44.160191],[-116.933704,44.100039],[-116.977351,44.085364],[-116.973185,44.049425],[-116.943361,44.035645],[-116.934485,44.021249],[-116.942346,43.989106],[-116.971436,43.964998],[-116.96247,43.928336],[-116.977332,43.905812],[-116.982347,43.86884],[-117.01077,43.862269],[-117.02678,43.829841],[-117.026222,42.000252],[-118.696409,41.991794],[-119.872929,41.997641],[-121.035195,41.993323],[-122.378193,42.009518],[-122.893961,42.002605],[-123.145959,42.009247],[-123.656998,41.995137],[-124.126194,41.996992],[-124.211605,41.99846],[-124.270464,42.045553],[-124.299649,42.051736],[-124.356229,42.114952],[-124.351784,42.134965],[-124.366832,42.15845],[-124.360318,42.162272],[-124.361009,42.180752],[-124.374949,42.193129],[-124.383633,42.22716],[-124.410982,42.250547],[-124.405148,42.278107],[-124.410556,42.307431],[-124.429288,42.331746],[-124.424863,42.395426],[-124.435105,42.440163],[-124.422038,42.461226],[-124.421381,42.491737],[-124.390664,42.566593],[-124.400918,42.597518],[-124.401177,42.627192],[-124.416774,42.661594],[-124.45074,42.675798],[-124.448418,42.689909],[-124.473864,42.732671],[-124.491679,42.741789],[-124.513368,42.735068],[-124.524439,42.789793],[-124.552441,42.840568],[-124.500141,42.917502],[-124.456918,43.000315],[-124.436198,43.071312],[-124.434451,43.115986],[-124.401726,43.184896],[-124.38246,43.270167],[-124.402814,43.305872],[-124.373037,43.338953],[-124.341587,43.351337],[-124.315012,43.388389],[-124.233534,43.55713],[-124.168392,43.808903],[-124.150267,43.91085],[-124.122406,44.104442],[-124.125824,44.12613],[-124.108945,44.265475],[-124.1152,44.286486],[-124.084401,44.415611],[-124.067569,44.428582],[-124.079301,44.430863],[-124.084429,44.486927],[-124.067251,44.60804],[-124.084476,44.611056],[-124.065202,44.622445],[-124.058281,44.658866],[-124.070394,44.683514],[-124.059077,44.737656],[-124.075473,44.771403],[-124.074066,44.798107],[-124.066746,44.831191],[-124.048814,44.850007],[-124.025136,44.928175],[-124.004598,45.044959],[-124.017991,45.049808],[-124.015851,45.064759],[-124.006057,45.084736],[-123.989529,45.094045],[-123.975425,45.145476],[-123.964169,45.317026],[-123.972899,45.33689],[-124.007756,45.336813],[-123.973398,45.354791],[-123.965728,45.386242],[-123.960557,45.430778],[-123.976544,45.489733],[-123.96634,45.493417],[-123.957568,45.510399],[-123.947556,45.564878],[-123.956711,45.571303],[-123.939005,45.661923],[-123.943121,45.727031],[-123.968563,45.757019],[-123.982578,45.761815],[-123.969459,45.782371],[-123.962736,45.869974],[-123.96763,45.907807],[-123.993703,45.946431],[-123.969991,45.969139],[-123.937471,45.977306],[-123.927891,46.009564],[-123.933366,46.071672],[-123.947531,46.116131],[-123.996766,46.20399],[-124.010344,46.223514],[-124.024305,46.229256],[-124.001998,46.237316],[-123.988429,46.224132],[-123.987196,46.211521],[-123.950148,46.204097],[-123.9042,46.169293],[-123.854801,46.157342],[-123.842849,46.160529],[-123.841521,46.169824],[-123.863347,46.18235],[-123.864209,46.189527],[-123.821834,46.190293],[-123.759976,46.2073],[-123.71278,46.198751],[-123.666751,46.218228],[-123.636474,46.214359],[-123.622812,46.23664],[-123.605487,46.2393],[-123.586205,46.228654],[-123.548194,46.248245],[-123.547636,46.265595],[-123.613544,46.259988],[-123.669501,46.266832],[-123.679125,46.272502],[-123.680574,46.296025],[-123.700764,46.305278],[-123.724273,46.301161],[-123.727913,46.289661],[-123.741478,46.290274],[-123.766682,46.273499],[-123.806139,46.283588],[-123.875525,46.239787],[-123.909306,46.245491],[-123.954353,46.277001],[-123.974509,46.303063],[-124.020551,46.315737],[-124.044018,46.275925],[-124.060961,46.278761],[-124.082187,46.269159],[-124.064624,46.326899],[-124.057425,46.409315],[-124.068655,46.634879],[-124.048444,46.645827],[-124.035874,46.630822],[-124.052708,46.622796],[-124.050842,46.617421],[-124.023566,46.582559],[-124.031737,46.496375],[-124.026032,46.462978],[-123.990615,46.463019],[-123.99268,46.488617],[-123.983688,46.498542],[-123.968044,46.473497],[-123.943667,46.477197],[-123.921192,46.507731],[-123.896703,46.522665],[-123.894254,46.537028],[-123.928861,46.588875],[-123.955556,46.60357],[-123.960642,46.636364],[-123.921913,46.650262],[-123.923269,46.672708],[-123.851356,46.70256],[-123.84621,46.716795],[-123.898641,46.750205],[-123.916371,46.741322],[-123.916874,46.726739],[-123.948683,46.725369],[-123.974994,46.733391],[-123.979655,46.724658],[-123.966886,46.705184],[-123.994242,46.707929],[-124.003458,46.702337],[-124.092176,46.741624],[-124.108078,46.836388],[-124.138225,46.905534],[-124.110641,46.91252],[-124.093392,46.901168],[-124.089286,46.867716],[-124.073113,46.861493],[-124.055085,46.870429],[-124.046344,46.893972],[-123.985082,46.921916],[-123.957493,46.921261],[-123.86018,46.948556],[-123.898245,46.971927],[-123.939214,46.969739],[-123.959185,46.981759],[-124.012218,46.985176],[-124.019727,46.991189],[-124.005248,47.003915],[-124.026345,47.030187],[-124.065856,47.04114],[-124.122057,47.04165],[-124.141517,47.035142],[-124.151288,47.021112],[-124.124386,46.94387],[-124.180111,46.926357],[-124.169113,46.994508],[-124.182802,47.134041],[-124.236349,47.287287],[-124.25359,47.30248],[-124.271193,47.305025],[-124.299943,47.34836],[-124.319379,47.355559],[-124.336724,47.415996],[-124.355955,47.545698],[-124.425195,47.738434],[-124.453927,47.765334],[-124.47657,47.769671],[-124.489737,47.816988],[-124.539927,47.836967],[-124.562363,47.866216],[-124.625512,47.887963],[-124.645442,47.935338],[-124.672427,47.964414],[-124.682157,48.035987],[-124.696542,48.069274],[-124.687101,48.098657],[-124.733174,48.163393],[-124.696111,48.198599],[-124.690389,48.219745],[-124.705031,48.238774],[-124.684677,48.255228],[-124.676319,48.295143],[-124.665908,48.299324],[-124.65894,48.331057],[-124.727022,48.371101],[-124.731828,48.381157],[-124.725839,48.386012],[-124.653243,48.390691],[-124.631108,48.376522],[-124.599278,48.381035],[-124.395593,48.288772],[-124.361351,48.287582],[-124.272017,48.25441],[-124.250882,48.264773],[-124.238582,48.262471],[-124.101773,48.216883],[-124.107215,48.200082],[-124.050734,48.177747],[-123.981032,48.164761],[-123.858821,48.154273],[-123.71835,48.158713],[-123.702743,48.166783],[-123.651408,48.156952],[-123.628819,48.139279],[-123.590839,48.134949],[-123.551131,48.151382],[-123.507235,48.131807],[-123.440128,48.142014],[-123.441972,48.124259],[-123.424668,48.118065],[-123.332699,48.11297],[-123.288265,48.121036],[-123.239129,48.118217],[-123.1644,48.165894],[-123.133445,48.177276],[-123.143229,48.156633],[-123.116479,48.150208],[-123.06621,48.120469],[-123.038727,48.081138],[-122.979413,48.09594],[-122.929095,48.096244],[-122.917942,48.091535],[-122.927975,48.06665],[-122.877641,48.047025],[-122.849273,48.053808],[-122.878255,48.076072],[-122.882013,48.100779],[-122.876282,48.110877],[-122.833173,48.134406],[-122.760448,48.14324],[-122.748911,48.117026],[-122.778466,48.106135],[-122.801399,48.087561],[-122.766648,48.04429],[-122.74229,48.049324],[-122.739271,48.069153],[-122.747389,48.070795],[-122.733257,48.091232],[-122.68724,48.101662],[-122.69222,48.087081],[-122.682264,48.042723],[-122.668942,48.032026],[-122.669868,48.017217],[-122.686898,48.008305],[-122.70184,48.016106],[-122.723374,48.008095],[-122.718082,47.987739],[-122.701294,47.972979],[-122.6788,47.96793],[-122.68445,47.939593],[-122.657722,47.931156],[-122.651063,47.920985],[-122.655085,47.905058],[-122.646494,47.894771],[-122.610341,47.887343],[-122.63636,47.866186],[-122.69376,47.868002],[-122.681602,47.850405],[-122.683742,47.838773],[-122.748061,47.800546],[-122.758498,47.746036],[-122.781682,47.70392],[-122.811929,47.679861],[-122.832139,47.695511],[-122.790619,47.792597],[-122.812616,47.840029],[-122.820178,47.835904],[-122.815027,47.807493],[-122.845612,47.777474],[-122.880462,47.720643],[-122.896524,47.674838],[-122.97244,47.6149],[-123.106486,47.45817],[-123.15598,47.355745],[-123.140169,47.347496],[-123.111298,47.362619],[-123.120234,47.39149],[-122.967284,47.585685],[-122.917103,47.620743],[-122.856611,47.649615],[-122.804498,47.653363],[-122.754186,47.671612],[-122.740159,47.736228],[-122.722686,47.748827],[-122.714801,47.768176],[-122.690562,47.778372],[-122.682015,47.800882],[-122.623192,47.836199],[-122.608105,47.856728],[-122.573672,47.857582],[-122.588235,47.912923],[-122.616701,47.925139],[-122.617022,47.938987],[-122.603861,47.940478],[-122.592184,47.922519],[-122.549072,47.919072],[-122.527593,47.905882],[-122.513986,47.880807],[-122.506122,47.831745],[-122.482529,47.815511],[-122.495458,47.786692],[-122.471402,47.765965],[-122.470333,47.757109],[-122.471844,47.749819],[-122.488491,47.743605],[-122.554454,47.745704],[-122.543161,47.710941],[-122.53094,47.704814],[-122.511196,47.708715],[-122.504604,47.699136],[-122.518277,47.65132],[-122.493205,47.635122],[-122.49824,47.598242],[-122.479089,47.583654],[-122.518367,47.57408],[-122.543118,47.556326],[-122.546611,47.52355],[-122.52305,47.524],[-122.494882,47.510265],[-122.530514,47.469041],[-122.531889,47.428827],[-122.551136,47.394456],[-122.537044,47.375896],[-122.575985,47.32642],[-122.547521,47.285344],[-122.578211,47.254804],[-122.589454,47.227618],[-122.611464,47.2181],[-122.668571,47.270449],[-122.697378,47.283969],[-122.671256,47.343774],[-122.632463,47.376394],[-122.671486,47.366876],[-122.725738,47.33047],[-122.749621,47.276408],[-122.641802,47.205013],[-122.673925,47.174675],[-122.691771,47.141958],[-122.711997,47.127681],[-122.771619,47.167109],[-122.832799,47.243412],[-122.816633,47.276457],[-122.799025,47.289306],[-122.796646,47.341654],[-122.803688,47.355071],[-122.821868,47.363069],[-122.822344,47.319763],[-122.863732,47.270221],[-122.856171,47.233788],[-122.838298,47.208353],[-122.85994,47.165574],[-122.814238,47.179482],[-122.775056,47.123114],[-122.721437,47.103179],[-122.67813,47.103866],[-122.650634,47.132738],[-122.631987,47.140589],[-122.614855,47.169143],[-122.590829,47.178107],[-122.561957,47.244099],[-122.527586,47.291531],[-122.547747,47.316403],[-122.533338,47.31662],[-122.4442,47.266723],[-122.429605,47.269707],[-122.409199,47.288556],[-122.444635,47.300421],[-122.443008,47.306333],[-122.423535,47.319121],[-122.324833,47.348521],[-122.328434,47.400621],[-122.348035,47.415921],[-122.355135,47.441921],[-122.383136,47.450521],[-122.368036,47.459221],[-122.361336,47.481421],[-122.396538,47.51522],[-122.398338,47.55012],[-122.421139,47.57602],[-122.387139,47.59572],[-122.370167,47.583087],[-122.342937,47.59122],[-122.339513,47.599113],[-122.367819,47.624213],[-122.414645,47.639766],[-122.429841,47.658919],[-122.38044,47.709119],[-122.37314,47.729219],[-122.380241,47.758519],[-122.396422,47.777927],[-122.394944,47.803318],[-122.33595,47.852306],[-122.328546,47.897917],[-122.311927,47.923703],[-122.307048,47.949117],[-122.249007,47.959507],[-122.230046,47.970917],[-122.224979,48.016626],[-122.231761,48.029876],[-122.281087,48.049793],[-122.326119,48.092877],[-122.343241,48.097631],[-122.363842,48.12393],[-122.370253,48.164809],[-122.362044,48.187568],[-122.395499,48.228551],[-122.433767,48.23655],[-122.449605,48.232598],[-122.449513,48.214736],[-122.442051,48.20935],[-122.478535,48.188087],[-122.479008,48.175703],[-122.442383,48.130841],[-122.379481,48.087384],[-122.358375,48.056133],[-122.377114,48.057568],[-122.400692,48.085255],[-122.4675,48.130353],[-122.489986,48.120617],[-122.512031,48.133931],[-122.53722,48.183745],[-122.530996,48.249821],[-122.503786,48.257045],[-122.480925,48.251706],[-122.463962,48.270541],[-122.406516,48.25183],[-122.371693,48.287839],[-122.408718,48.326413],[-122.442678,48.337934],[-122.475529,48.359912],[-122.507437,48.364666],[-122.533452,48.383409],[-122.539449,48.39719],[-122.554536,48.40604],[-122.558403,48.426758],[-122.551221,48.439465],[-122.557298,48.444438],[-122.575254,48.443333],[-122.581607,48.429244],[-122.61448,48.41488],[-122.649839,48.408526],[-122.674158,48.424726],[-122.678928,48.439466],[-122.654844,48.454087],[-122.657753,48.47294],[-122.689121,48.476849],[-122.700603,48.457632],[-122.712322,48.464143],[-122.712981,48.47879],[-122.701644,48.497622],[-122.684521,48.509123],[-122.671386,48.50398],[-122.606961,48.522152],[-122.598469,48.512169],[-122.568071,48.50821],[-122.537355,48.466749],[-122.500721,48.460887],[-122.471832,48.470724],[-122.498463,48.556206],[-122.504428,48.564775],[-122.534719,48.574246],[-122.495904,48.575927],[-122.478431,48.559303],[-122.44456,48.570115],[-122.425271,48.599522],[-122.500308,48.656163],[-122.519172,48.713095],[-122.490401,48.751128],[-122.535803,48.776128],[-122.567498,48.779185],[-122.596844,48.771492],[-122.637146,48.735708],[-122.612562,48.714932],[-122.605733,48.701066],[-122.615169,48.693839],[-122.630422,48.696625],[-122.673472,48.733082],[-122.646777,48.785011],[-122.693683,48.804475],[-122.699303,48.789063],[-122.709815,48.786205],[-122.717073,48.84719],[-122.793175,48.892927],[-122.751289,48.911239],[-122.746596,48.930731],[-122.766096,48.941955],[-122.787539,48.931702],[-122.821631,48.941369],[-122.817226,48.95597],[-122.774276,48.991038],[-122.756318,48.996881],[-122.75802,49.002357],[-117.032351,48.999188],[-117.042623,47.761223],[-117.039813,46.425425],[-117.034696,46.418318],[-117.062748,46.353624],[-117.023844,46.335976],[-117.020663,46.314793],[-116.986688,46.296662],[-116.991134,46.276342],[-116.966742,46.256923],[-116.955264,46.23088],[-116.965841,46.203417],[-116.92187,46.167808],[-116.950276,46.123464],[-116.955263,46.102237],[-116.982479,46.089389],[-116.978938,46.080007],[-116.957372,46.075449],[-116.942656,46.061],[-116.915989,45.995413]]],[[[-122.519535,48.288314],[-122.551793,48.281512],[-122.584086,48.297987],[-122.618466,48.294159],[-122.626757,48.288991],[-122.620748,48.282961],[-122.623779,48.269431],[-122.652639,48.265081],[-122.66921,48.240614],[-122.668385,48.223967],[-122.628352,48.222467],[-122.588138,48.18594],[-122.558205,48.119579],[-122.571853,48.102143],[-122.54512,48.05255],[-122.513994,48.059077],[-122.511081,48.075301],[-122.525422,48.096537],[-122.513276,48.097538],[-122.491104,48.094242],[-122.431266,48.045001],[-122.376259,48.034457],[-122.373263,48.000791],[-122.353611,47.981433],[-122.349597,47.958796],[-122.358812,47.93742],[-122.376837,47.923703],[-122.380497,47.904023],[-122.431035,47.914732],[-122.445519,47.930226],[-122.44076,47.951845],[-122.446682,47.963155],[-122.47266,47.988449],[-122.501257,47.987089],[-122.521219,47.972997],[-122.546824,47.967215],[-122.552053,47.973644],[-122.542924,47.996404],[-122.58178,48.010386],[-122.607342,48.030992],[-122.593621,48.0472],[-122.614028,48.072788],[-122.598301,48.110616],[-122.609568,48.15186],[-122.633167,48.163281],[-122.677337,48.154587],[-122.693084,48.181509],[-122.770045,48.224395],[-122.72259,48.304268],[-122.673731,48.354683],[-122.664928,48.374823],[-122.664659,48.401508],[-122.634991,48.404244],[-122.637892,48.395681],[-122.60198,48.409907],[-122.595351,48.3972],[-122.585038,48.395166],[-122.585162,48.353304],[-122.551334,48.342138],[-122.506568,48.310041],[-122.505828,48.297677],[-122.519535,48.288314]]],[[[-122.474684,47.511068],[-122.452399,47.503471],[-122.460027,47.48686],[-122.433385,47.46643],[-122.439415,47.458633],[-122.437656,47.407424],[-122.373628,47.388718],[-122.437809,47.365606],[-122.453997,47.343337],[-122.469702,47.344623],[-122.493122,47.330253],[-122.51885,47.33332],[-122.528128,47.345542],[-122.517797,47.368678],[-122.526733,47.398581],[-122.514703,47.414048],[-122.513328,47.449106],[-122.497862,47.475915],[-122.482739,47.483133],[-122.474684,47.511068]]],[[[-122.695907,48.737273],[-122.663259,48.697077],[-122.618225,48.670721],[-122.609576,48.645018],[-122.635299,48.651846],[-122.673538,48.680809],[-122.691795,48.711498],[-122.718833,48.716818],[-122.722262,48.731624],[-122.715709,48.748672],[-122.695907,48.737273]]],[[[-123.035393,49.002154],[-123.021459,48.977299],[-123.028091,48.973943],[-123.083834,48.976139],[-123.090546,49.001976],[-123.035393,49.002154]]],[[[-122.800217,48.60169],[-122.801096,48.585425],[-122.770349,48.558106],[-122.788503,48.530393],[-122.777467,48.517799],[-122.779124,48.508911],[-122.817912,48.483888],[-122.81973,48.458843],[-122.803521,48.428748],[-122.812208,48.422326],[-122.874135,48.418196],[-122.893646,48.422655],[-122.889016,48.435947],[-122.928004,48.439966],[-122.91646,48.453263],[-122.926901,48.460874],[-122.962009,48.451161],[-123.039156,48.460003],[-123.067675,48.479497],[-123.119451,48.492576],[-123.163234,48.529544],[-123.16147,48.547618],[-123.176266,48.562131],[-123.173061,48.579086],[-123.197754,48.586216],[-123.203026,48.596178],[-123.178425,48.622115],[-123.107362,48.622451],[-123.098462,48.612834],[-123.101552,48.59782],[-123.074611,48.591816],[-123.048403,48.569216],[-122.987296,48.561895],[-122.995026,48.578162],[-123.016647,48.580244],[-123.034101,48.591767],[-123.023433,48.599477],[-123.04653,48.61149],[-123.048652,48.621002],[-122.949116,48.693398],[-122.942367,48.706723],[-122.894599,48.71503],[-122.743049,48.661991],[-122.809622,48.619035],[-122.800217,48.60169]]],[[[-123.197953,48.68466],[-123.14799,48.668001],[-123.106165,48.633473],[-123.134956,48.63724],[-123.237148,48.683466],[-123.236567,48.68895],[-123.212892,48.689713],[-123.197953,48.68466]]],[[[-123.025486,48.717966],[-123.007511,48.718863],[-123.005086,48.694342],[-123.021215,48.681416],[-123.042337,48.675663],[-123.03636,48.69008],[-123.070427,48.699971],[-123.040179,48.717296],[-123.025486,48.717966]]],[[[-122.649405,48.588457],[-122.578856,48.54813],[-122.572967,48.529028],[-122.599948,48.536904],[-122.635738,48.526021],[-122.649256,48.528769],[-122.654342,48.537956],[-122.649405,48.588457]]],[[[-122.714512,48.60878],[-122.670638,48.568812],[-122.68944,48.543903],[-122.722407,48.540606],[-122.73944,48.573893],[-122.739898,48.583949],[-122.714512,48.60878]]],[[[-122.699266,48.621115],[-122.674173,48.629944],[-122.657016,48.609891],[-122.676796,48.610055],[-122.699266,48.621115]]],[[[-122.334524,48.018916],[-122.321721,48.019977],[-122.303455,48.005603],[-122.334524,48.018916]]]]},\"properties\":{\"name\":\"Oregon\",\"nation\":\"USA \"}}]}","contact":"Director, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
777 NW 9th St., Suite 400
Corvallis, Oregon 97330
Operable Unit 2, Area 8, at Naval Base Kitsap, Keyport is the site of a former chrome-plating facility that released metals (primarily chromium and cadmium), chlorinated volatile organic compounds, and petroleum compounds into the local environment. To ensure long-term protectiveness, as stipulated in the Fourth Five-Year Review for the site, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest collaborated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington State Department of Ecology, and the Suquamish Tribe, to collect data to monitor the contamination left in place and to ensure the site does not pose a risk to human health or the environment. To support these efforts, refined information was needed on the interaction of fresh groundwater with seawater in response to the up-to 13-ft tidal fluctuations at this nearshore site adjacent to Port Orchard Bay. The information was analyzed to meet the primary objective of this investigation, which was to determine the optimal time during the semi-diurnal and the neap-spring tidal cycles to sample groundwater for freshwater contaminants in Area 8 monitoring wells.
Groundwater levels and specific conductance in five monitoring wells, along with marine water-levels (tidal levels) in Port Orchard Bay, were monitored every 15 minutes during a 3-week duration to determine how nearshore groundwater responds to tidal forcing. Time series data were collected from October 24, 2017, to November 16, 2017, a period that included neap and spring tides. Vertical profiles of specific conductance were also measured once in the screened interval of each well prior to instrument deployment to determine if a freshwater/saltwater interface was present in the well during that particular time.
The vertical profiles of specific conductance were measured only one time during an ebbing tide at approximately the top, middle, and bottom of the saturated thickness within the screened interval of each well. The landward-most well, MW8-8, was completely freshwater, while one of the most seaward wells, MW8-9, was completely saline. A distinct saltwater interface was measured in the three other shallow wells (MW8-11, MW8-12, and MW8-14), with the topmost groundwater occurring fresh underlain by higher conductivity water.
Lag times between minimum spring-tide level and minimum groundwater levels in wells ranged from about 2 to 4.5 hours in the less-than 20-ft deep wells screened across the water table, and was about 7 hours for the single 48-ft deep well screened below the water table. Those lag times were surprisingly long considering the wells are all located within 200-ft of the shoreline and the local geology is largely coarse-grained glacial outwash deposits. Various manmade subsurface features, such as slurry walls and backfilled excavations, likely influence and confuse the connectivity between seawater and groundwater.
The specific-conductance time-series data showed clear evidence of substantial saltwater intrusion into the screened intervals of most shallow wells. Unexpectedly, the intrusion was associated with the neap part of the tidal cycle around November 13–16, when relatively low barometric pressure and high southerly winds led to the highest high and low tides measured during the monitoring period. The data consistently indicated that the groundwater had the lowest specific conductance (was least mixed with seawater) during the prior neap tides around October 30, the same period when the shallow groundwater levels were lowest. Although the specific conductance response is somewhat different between wells, the data do suggest that it is the heights of the actual high-high and low-low tides, regardless of whether or not they occur during the neap or spring part of the cycle, that allows seawater intrusion into the nearshore aquifer at Area 8.
With all the data taken into consideration, the optimal time for sampling the shallow monitoring wells at Area 8 would be centered on a 2–5-hour period following the predicted low-low tide during neap tide, with due consideration of local atmospheric pressure and wind conditions that have the potential to generate tides that can be substantially higher than those predicted from lunar-solar tidal forces. The optimal time for sampling the deeper monitoring wells at Area 8 would be during the 6–8-hour period following a predicted low-low tide, also during the neap tide part of the tidal cycle. The specific time window to sample each well following a low tide can be found in table 5. Those periods are when groundwater in the wells is most fresh and least diluted by seawater intrusion. In addition to timing, consideration should be given to collecting undisturbed samples from the top of the screened interval (or top of the water table if below the top of the interval) to best characterize contaminant concentrations in freshwater. A downhole conductivity probe could be used to identify the saltwater interface, above which would be the ideal depth for sampling.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181082","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Northwest","usgsCitation":"Opatz, C.C., and Dinicola, R.S., 2018, Analysis of groundwater response to tidal fluctuations, Operable Unit 2, Area 8, Naval Base Kitsap, Keyport, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1082, 20 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181082.","productDescription":"Report: iv, 20 p.","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-095017","costCenters":[{"id":622,"text":"Washington Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354378,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1082/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":354379,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1082/ofr20181082.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.1 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1082"},{"id":358998,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7JW8D5S","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Groundwater and Tidal Time Series Data, Operable Unit 2, Area 8, Naval Base Kitsap, Keyport, Washington"}],"country":"United States","state":"Washington","city":"Keyport","otherGeospatial":"Naval Base Kitsap","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -122.64913558959962,\n 47.683072220525\n ],\n [\n -122.59180068969725,\n 47.683072220525\n ],\n [\n -122.59180068969725,\n 47.72627665811123\n ],\n [\n -122.64913558959962,\n 47.72627665811123\n ],\n [\n -122.64913558959962,\n 47.683072220525\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Washington Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
934 Broadway, Suite 300
Tacoma, Washington 98402
Crab Orchard Lake in southern Illinois is one of the largest and most popular recreational lakes in the state. Construction of the nearly 7,000-acre reservoir in the late 1930s created employment opportunities through the Works Progress Administration, and the lake itself was intended to supply water, control flooding, and provide recreational opportunities for local communities (Stall, 1954). In 1942, the Department of War appropriated or purchased more than 20,000 acres of land around Crab Orchard Lake and constructed the Illinois Ordnance Plant, which manufactured bombs and anti-tank mines during World War II. After the war, an Act of Congress transferred the property to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge was established on August 5, 1947, for the joint purposes of wildlife conservation, agriculture, recreation, and industry. Production of explosives continued, but new industries also moved onsite. More than 200 tenants have held leases with Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge and have operated a variety of manufacturing plants (electrical components, plated metal parts, ink, machined parts, painted products, and boats) on-site. Soils, water, and sediments in several areas of the refuge were contaminated with hazardous substances from handling and disposal methods that are no longer acceptable environmental practice (for example, direct discharge to surface water, use of unlined landfills).
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination at the refuge was identified in the 1970s, and a PCB-based fish-consumption advisory has been in effect since 1988 for Crab Orchard Lake. The present advisory covers common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus); see Illinois Department of Public Health (2017). Some of the most contaminated areas of the refuge were actively remediated, and natural ecosystem recovery processes are expected to further reduce residual PCB concentrations in the lake. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sought technical support to understand environmental drivers of current (2017) PCB residues in fish tissue and patterns in PCB residues through time to inform the fish-consumption advisory for Crab Orchard Lake. This project is planned in two phases (Tasks 1 and 2); the first phase is included in this report.
When Task 1 and Task 2 are complete, resource managers will have (a) a synthesis of existing literature that characterizes the processes influencing the fate of residual PCBs remaining in systems such as Crab Orchard Lake, (b) a summary of natural PCB attenuation processes for use in risk communication with the public, and (c) a summary of existing data on PCBs in fish tissues from Crab Orchard Lake, including exploratory plots of tissue residues through time. Overall, this project will provide data to help resource managers better understand the ecological and public health consequences of residual PCBs in Crab Orchard Lake.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181006","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service","usgsCitation":"Kunz, B.K., Hinck, J.E., Calfee, R.D., Linder, G.L., and Little, E.E., 2017, Science support for evaluating natural recovery of polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations in fish from Crab Orchard Lake, Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, Illinois: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1006, 20 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181006.","productDescription":"vi, 20 p.","numberOfPages":"30","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-084872","costCenters":[{"id":192,"text":"Columbia Environmental Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":353853,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1006/ofr20181006.pdf","text":"Report","size":"10.3 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018–1006"},{"id":353852,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1006/coverthb2.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Illinois","otherGeospatial":"Crab Orchard Lake, Crab Orchard 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 -89.025,\n 37.6833\n ],\n [\n -89.0083,\n 37.6833\n ],\n [\n -89.0083,\n 37.6958\n ],\n [\n -89.025,\n 37.6958\n ],\n [\n -89.025,\n 37.6833\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Columbia Environmental Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
4200 New Haven Road
Columbia, MO 65201
The California Department of Water Resources and Bureau of Reclamation propose new water intake facilities on the Sacramento River in northern California that would convey some of the water for export to areas south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (hereinafter referred to as the Delta) through tunnels rather than through the Delta. The collection of water intakes, tunnels, pumping facilities, associated structures, and proposed operations are collectively referred to as California WaterFix. The water intake facilities, hereinafter referred to as the North Delta Diversion (NDD), are proposed to be located on the Sacramento River downstream of the city of Sacramento and upstream of the first major river junction where Sutter Slough branches from the Sacramento River. The NDD can divert a maximum discharge of 9,000 cubic feet per second (ft3 /s) from the Sacramento River, which reduces the amount of Sacramento River inflow into the Delta.
In this report, we conduct four analyses to investigate the effect of the NDD and its proposed operation on survival of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). All analyses used the results of a Bayesian survival model that allowed us to simulate travel time, migration routing, and survival of juvenile Chinook salmon migrating through the Delta in response to NDD operations, which affected both inflows to the Delta and operation of the Delta Cross Channel (DCC).
For the first analysis, we evaluated the effect of the NDD bypass rules on salmon survival. The NDD bypass rules are a set of operational rule curves designed to provide adaptive levels of fish protection by defining allowable diversion rates as a function of (1) Sacramento River discharge as measured at Freeport, and (2) time of year when endangered runs requiring the most protection are present. We determined that all bypass rule curves except constant low-level pumping (maximum diversion of 900 ft3 /s) could cause a sizeable decrease in survival by as much as 6–10 percentage points. The maximum decrease in survival occurred at an intermediate Sacramento River flow of about 20,000–30,000 ft3 /s. Diversion rates increased rapidly as Sacramento River flows increased from 20,000 ft3 /s to 30,000 ft3 /s, until a maximum diversion rate was reached at 9,000 ft3 /s. Because through-Delta survival increases sharply over this range of Sacramento River flow before beginning to level off with further flow increases, increasing diversion rates over this flow range causes a large decrease in survival relative to no diversion.
For the second analysis, we applied the survival model to 82 years of daily simulated flows under the Proposed Action (PA) and No Action Alternative (NAA). The PA includes operation of the Central Valley Project/State Water Project with implementation of the NDD and its operations prescribed by the NDD bypass rules, whereas the NAA assumes system operations without implementation of the NDD. We also evaluated a “Level 1” (L1) scenario, which was similar to the PA scenario but applied the most protective bypass rule known as Level 1 post-pulse operations. We noted a high probability that survival under the PA scenario was lower than under the NAA scenario, and that travel time was longer under PA relative to NAA in most simulation years. However, the largest survival differences between the PA and NAA scenarios occurred during October–November and May–June. Although bypass rules are less restrictive during these periods, we determined that more frequent use of the DCC under PA led to the largest differences in survival between the two scenarios. Additionally, we noted no difference in median survival decreases between the PA and L1 scenarios, although in some years the L1 scenario had a lower survival decrease than the PA scenario.
For the third analysis, we proposed a quantitative approach for developing NDD rule curves (that is, prescribed diversion flows for given inflows) by using the survival model to identify diversion rates that meet a criterion of a having a small probability of exceeding a given decrease in survival. We examined diversion rates that led to a 10% chance of exceeding a given decrease in survival for a range of absolute and relative decreases in survival. To maintain a given constant level of protection across the range of river flows, our analysis indicated that diversions had to increase at a much slower rate with respect to Sacramento River flow relative to the rule curves defined in the NDD bypass table. Additionally, we determined that diversion rates could be higher than under the bypass table rule curves at river flows less than 20,000 ft3 /s, but diversions had to be less than defined by NDD bypass rules at higher flows.
For the fourth analysis, we simulated the effect of “real-time operations” on salmon survival, where bypass flow rates were determined by the presence of juvenile salmon entering the Delta, as indicated by juvenile salmon catch in a rotary screw trap upstream of the Delta. For this analysis, we evaluated NDD operations as defined by the L1 scenario and an additional scenario (Unlimited Pulse Protection [UPP]) that provided protection to an unlimited number of fish pulses. This analysis indicated that the highest catches occurred during flow pulses when daily survival was high, which caused annual survival to be weighted towards periods of high daily survival, resulting in a high annual survival. We determined that the mean annual survival decreased by 1–4 percentage points, and annual survival decreases were more frequently smaller for the UPP scenario. Additionally, because the UPP scenario protected an unlimited number of fish pulses, decreases in daily survival under the UPP scenario were less than under the L1 scenario.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181078","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service","usgsCitation":"Perry, R.W., and Pope, A.C., 2018, Effects of the proposed California WaterFix North Delta Diversion on survival of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, northern California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1078, 94 p. plus appendixes,\nhttps://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181078.","productDescription":"Report: x, 94 p.; 11 Appendixes","numberOfPages":"108","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-095992","costCenters":[{"id":654,"text":"Western Fisheries Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354085,"rank":9,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1078/ofr20181078_appendix07.pdf","text":"Appendix 7","size":"1.4 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1078 Appendix 7","linkHelpText":"Simulated daily travel time by year, no action alternative compared to level 1 scenarios, 1922-2003"},{"id":354087,"rank":11,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1078/ofr20181078_appendix09.pdf","text":"Appendix 9","size":"2.4 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1078 Appendix 9","linkHelpText":"Simulated route-specific survival by year, no action alternative compared to level 1 scenarios, 1922-2003"},{"id":354077,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1078/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":354078,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1078/ofr20181078.pdf","text":"Report","size":"18.9 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1078"},{"id":354079,"rank":3,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1078/ofr20181078_appendix01.pdf","text":"Appendix 1","size":"1.4 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1078 Appendix 1","linkHelpText":"Simulated daily survival by year, no action alternative compared to proposed action scenarios, 1922-2003"},{"id":354086,"rank":10,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1078/ofr20181078_appendix08.pdf","text":"Appendix 8","size":"2.1 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1078 Appendix 8","linkHelpText":"Simulated daily routing by year, no action alternative compared to level 1 scenarios, 1922-2003"},{"id":354080,"rank":4,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1078/ofr20181078_appendix02.pdf","text":"Appendix 2","size":"1.4 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1078 Appendix 2","linkHelpText":"Simulated daily travel time by year, no action alternative compared to proposed action scenarios, 1922-2003"},{"id":354081,"rank":5,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1078/ofr20181078_appendix03.pdf","text":"Appendix 3","size":"2.1 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1078 Appendix 3","linkHelpText":"Simulated daily routing by year, no action alternative compared to proposed action scenarios, 1922-2003"},{"id":354082,"rank":6,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1078/ofr20181078_appendix04.pdf","text":"Appendix 4","size":"2.4 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1078 Appendix 4","linkHelpText":"Simulated route-specific survival by year, no action alternative compared to PA scenarios, 1922-2003"},{"id":354083,"rank":7,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1078/ofr20181078_appendix05.pdf","text":"Appendix 5","size":"2.2 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1078 Appendix 5","linkHelpText":"Simulated route-specific travel time by year, no action alternative compared to PA scenarios, 1922-2003"},{"id":354084,"rank":8,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1078/ofr20181078_appendix06.pdf","text":"Appendix 6","size":"1.4 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1078 Appendix 6","linkHelpText":"Simulated daily survival by year, no action alternative compared to level 1 scenarios, 1922-2003"},{"id":354088,"rank":12,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1078/ofr20181078_appendix10.pdf","text":"Appendix 10","size":"2.2 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1078 Appendix 10","linkHelpText":"Simulated route-specific travel time by year, no action alternative compared to level 1 scenarios, 1922-2003"},{"id":354089,"rank":13,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1078/ofr20181078_appendix11.pdf","text":"Appendix 11","size":"2.3 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1078 Appendix 11","linkHelpText":"North Delta Diversion rule curve optimization"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -121.33,\n 37.82\n ],\n [\n -121.33,\n 38.5\n ],\n [\n -121.9167,\n 38.5\n ],\n [\n -121.9167,\n 37.82\n ],\n [\n -121.33,\n 37.82\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Western Fisheries Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
6505 NE 65th Street
Seattle, Washington 98115
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in Alaska use the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for maternal denning. Pregnant bears den in snow banks for more than 3 months in winter during which they give birth to and nurture young. Denning is one of the most vulnerable times in polar bear life history as the family group cannot simply walk away from a disturbance without jeopardizing survival of newly born cubs. The ANWR includes the “1002 Area”, a region recently opened for oil and gas exploration by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). As a part of its mission, the DOI “… protects and manages the Nation's natural resources …” and is therefore responsible for conserving polar bears and encouraging development of energy potential. Because future industrial activities could overlap habitats used by denning polar bears, identifying these habitats can inform the decisions of resource managers tasked to develop resources and protect polar bears. To help inform these efforts, we qualitatively compared the distribution of denning habitat identified by two different methods: previously published habitat from manual interpretation of aerial photographs, and habitat derived by computer interrogation of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IfSAR) digital terrain models (DTM). Because photograph-interpreted methods depicted denning habitat as a line and IfSAR-derived methods depicted habitat as a polygon, we assessed agreement between the two methods with distance measurements. We found that 77.5 percent of IfSAR-derived denning habitat (79.6 km2 ; 1.2 percent of the 6,837.0 km2 1002 Area) was within 600 m of photograph-interpreted habitat (3,026.9 km), including 53.9 percent within 200 m. This distribution differed from that of randomly distributed points, as only 49.4 percent of these occurred within 600 m of photograph-interpreted habitat, including 18.3 percent within 200 m. Both methods appear to identify the major physiographic features that polar bears might select for denning. IfSAR-derived methods identified habitat at greater frequency beyond major landscape features such as coastal bluffs, river banks and lakeshores, were more likely to identify isolated pockets of putative denning habitat, and were easier to implement than deriving habitat from photograph-interpretive efforts. However, previous research suggests that photograph-interpretation methods may identify denning habitat more correctly than computer interrogation of IfSAR DTMs. Future work should quantify the distribution of IfSAR-derived denning habitat relative to actual landscape features and polar bear maternal dens in the 1002 Area, and investigate the feasibility of habitat identification from finer grained DTMs.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181083","usgsCitation":"Durner, G.M., and Atwood, T.C., 2018, A comparison of photograph-interpreted and IfSAR-derived maps of polar bear denning habitat for the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1083, 12 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181083.","productDescription":"Report: iv, 12 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"20","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-095475","costCenters":[{"id":116,"text":"Alaska Science Center Biology MFEB","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":354103,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7DJ5DXT","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Data used to compare photo-interpreted and IfSAR-derived maps of polar bear denning habitat for the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, 2006-2016"},{"id":354102,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1083/ofr20181083.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1083"},{"id":354101,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1083/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Alaska","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -146.5,\n 69.5\n ],\n [\n -142,\n 69.5\n ],\n [\n -142,\n 70.25\n ],\n [\n -146.5,\n 70.25\n ],\n [\n -146.5,\n 69.5\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Alaska Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
4230 University Drive
Anchorage, Alaska 99508