In a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, freshwater mussels were salvaged and relocated from the anticipated zone of impact for the Pond Eddy Bridge construction project in New York and Pennsylvania. Five 25-meter (m) by 25-m cells along the Pennsylvania bank of the Delaware River were sampled in three generally straight-line passes by four surveyors wearing snorkel gear for a total of 180 survey minutes per cell. All mussels encountered were collected and identified to species. A subset of individuals was marked with shellfish tags, weighed, and measured prior to relocation upstream from the zone of impact. A total of 3,434 mussels, including 3,393 Elliptio complanata (eastern elliptio mussels), 39 Anodonta implicata (alewife floaters), 1 Strophitus undulatus (creeper), and 1 Pyganodon cataracta (eastern floater), were salvaged and relocated. All non-eastern elliptio species were georeferenced using a high-resolution global positioning system unit; a subset of tagged eastern elliptio was placed in transects between georeferenced points. These mussels will be monitored to assess the effects of translocation on mortality and body condition at 1 month, 1 year, and 2 years.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181009","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation","usgsCitation":"Galbraith, H.S., Blakeslee, C.J., and Cole, J.C., 2018, Freshwater mussel salvage and relocation at the Pond Eddy Bridge, Delaware River, New York and Pennsylvania: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1009, 5 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181009.","productDescription":"iii, 5 p.","numberOfPages":"14","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-078737","costCenters":[{"id":365,"text":"Leetown Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":50464,"text":"Eastern Ecological Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":352158,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1009/ofr20181009.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.35 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1009"},{"id":352157,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1009/coverthb2.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"New York, Pennsylvania","otherGeospatial":"Delaware River, Pond Eddy Bridge","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -74.8264217376709,\n 41.43381464755217\n ],\n [\n -74.81114387512207,\n 41.43381464755217\n ],\n [\n -74.81114387512207,\n 41.44513909047355\n ],\n [\n -74.8264217376709,\n 41.44513909047355\n ],\n [\n -74.8264217376709,\n 41.43381464755217\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Eastern Ecological Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
11649 Leetown Road
Kearneysville, WV 25430
ModelArchiver is a program designed to facilitate the creation of groundwater model archives that meet the requirements of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) policy (Office of Groundwater Technical Memorandum 2016.02, https://water.usgs.gov/admin/memo/GW/gw2016.02.pdf, https://water.usgs.gov/ogw/policy/gw-model/). ModelArchiver version 1.0 leads the user step-by-step through the process of creating a USGS groundwater model archive. The user specifies the contents of each of the subdirectories within the archive and provides descriptions of the archive contents. Descriptions of some files can be specified automatically using file extensions. Descriptions also can be specified individually. Those descriptions are added to a readme.txt file provided by the user. ModelArchiver moves the content of the archive to the archive folder and compresses some folders into .zip files.
As part of the archive, the modeler must create a metadata file describing the archive. The program has a built-in metadata editor and provides links to websites that can aid in creation of the metadata. The built-in metadata editor is also available as a stand-alone program named FgdcMetaEditor version 1.0, which also is described in this report. ModelArchiver updates the metadata file provided by the user with descriptions of the files in the archive. An optional archive list file generated automatically by ModelMuse can streamline the creation of archives by identifying input files, output files, model programs, and ancillary files for inclusion in the archive.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20171149","usgsCitation":"Winston, R.B., 2018, ModelArchiver—A program for facilitating the creation of groundwater model archives: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1149, 15 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171149.","productDescription":"Report: vi, 15 p.; Application Site","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-088876","costCenters":[{"id":436,"text":"National Research Program - Eastern Branch","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":437993,"rank":4,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F73X85M1","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Software release: ModelArchiver and FgdcMetaEditor"},{"id":350293,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1149/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":350294,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1149/ofr20171149.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.62 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2017-1149"},{"id":350295,"rank":3,"type":{"id":4,"text":"Application Site"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F73X85M1","text":"ModelArchiver and FgdcMetaEditor","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}}],"contact":"Director, U.S. Geological Survey
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20192
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigates chronic wasting disease (CWD) at multiple science centers and cooperative research units across the Nation and supports the management of CWD through science-based strategies. CWD research conducted by USGS scientists has three strategies: (1) to understand the biology, ecology, and causes and distribution of CWD; (2) to assess and predict the spread and persistence of CWD in wildlife and the environment; and (3) to develop tools for early detection, diagnosis, surveillance, and control of CWD.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20171138","usgsCitation":"Carlson, C.M., Hopkins, M.C., Nguyen, N.T., Richards, B.J., Walsh, D.P., and Walter, W.D., 2018, Chronic wasting disease—Status, science, and management support by the U.S. Geological Survey: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1138, 8 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171138.","productDescription":"8 p.","onlineOnly":"N","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-086268","costCenters":[{"id":456,"text":"National Wildlife Health Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":352085,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1138/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":352086,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1138/ofr20171138.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.22 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2017-1138"}],"contact":"Director, National Wildlife Health Center
U.S. Geological Survey
6006 Schroeder Road
Madison, WI 53711
The Green-Duwamish River transports watershed-derived sediment to the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site near Seattle, Washington. Understanding the amount of sediment transported by the river is essential to the bed sediment cleanup process. Turbidity, discharge, suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), and particle-size data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from February 2013 to January 2017 at the Duwamish River, Washington, within the tidal influence at river kilometer 16.7 (USGS streamgage 12113390; Duwamish River at Golf Course at Tukwila, WA). This report quantifies the timing and magnitude of suspended-sediment transported in the Duwamish River. Regression models were developed between SSC and turbidity and SSC and discharge to estimate 15- minute SSC. Suspended-sediment loads were calculated from the computed SSC and time-series discharge data for every 15-minute interval during the study period. The 2014–16 average annual suspended-sediment load computed was 117,246 tons (106,364 metric tons), of which 73.5 percent or (86,191 tons; 78,191 metric tons) was fine particle (less than 0.0625 millimeter in diameter) suspended sediment. The seasonality of this site is apparent when you divide the year into \"wet\" (October 16– April 15) and \"dry\" (April 16–October 15) seasons. Most (97 percent) of the annual suspended sediment was transported during the wet season, when brief periods of intense precipitation from storms, large releases from the Howard Hanson Dam, or a combination of both were much more frequent.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181029","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Washington State Department of Ecology","usgsCitation":"Senter, C.A., Conn, K.E., Black, R.W., Peterson, N., Vanderpool-Kimura, A., and Foreman, J.R., 2018, Suspended-sediment transport from the Green-Duwamish River to the Lower Duwamish Waterway, Seattle, Washington, 2013–17: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1029, 23 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181029.","productDescription":"Report: vi, 23 p.; Data Release","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-092733","costCenters":[{"id":622,"text":"Washington Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":352133,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1029/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":352134,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1029/ofr20181029.pdf","text":"Report","size":"9.5 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1029"},{"id":352135,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F71835Q9","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Data for turbidity, discharge, and suspended-sediment concentrations and loads, Duwamish River, Tukwila, Washington"}],"country":"United States","state":"Washington","city":"Seattle","otherGeospatial":"Green-Duwamish River, Lower Duwanish Waterway","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -122.39627838134766,\n 47.458272792347074\n ],\n [\n -122.22290039062499,\n 47.458272792347074\n ],\n [\n -122.22290039062499,\n 47.59875528481801\n ],\n [\n -122.39627838134766,\n 47.59875528481801\n ],\n [\n -122.39627838134766,\n 47.458272792347074\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Washington Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
934 Broadway, Suite 300
Tacoma, Washington 98402
The 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 conducted three analyses to investigate the effect of the NDD and its proposed operation on entrainment of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) into Georgiana Slough and the Delta Cross Channel (DCC). Fish that enter the interior Delta (the network of channels to the south of the Sacramento River) through Georgiana Slough and the DCC survive at lower rates than fish that use other migration routes (Sacramento River, Sutter Slough, and Steamboat Slough). Therefore, fisheries managers were concerned about the extent to which operation of the NDD would increase the proportion of the population entering the interior Delta, which, all else being equal, would lower overall survival through the Delta by increasing the fraction of the population subject to lower survival rates. Operation of the NDD would reduce flow in the Sacramento River, which has the potential to increase the magnitude and duration of reverse flows of the Sacramento River downstream of Georgiana Slough.
In the first analysis, we evaluate the effect of the NDD bypass rules on flow reversals of the Sacramento River downstream of Georgiana Slough. The NDD bypass rules are a set of operational criteria designed to minimize upstream transport of fish into Georgiana Slough and the DCC, and were developed based on previous studies showing that the magnitude and duration of flow reversals increase the proportion of fish entering Georgiana Slough and the DCC. We estimated the frequency and duration of reverse-flow conditions of the Sacramento River downstream of Georgiana Slough under each of the prescribed minimum bypass flows described in the NDD bypass rules. To accommodate adaptive levels of protection during different times of year when juvenile salmon are migrating through the Delta, the NDD bypass rules prescribe a series of minimum allowable bypass flows that vary depending on (1) month of the year, and (2) progressively decreasing levels of protection following a pulse flow event.
We determined that the NDD bypass rules increased the frequency and duration of reverse flows of the Sacramento River downstream of Georgiana Slough, with the magnitude of increase varying among scenarios. Constant low-level pumping, the most protective bypass rule that limits diversion to 10 percent of the maximum diversion and is implemented following a pulse-flow event, led to the smallest increase in frequency and duration of flow reversals. In contrast, we found that some scenarios led to sizeable increases in the fraction of the day with reverse flow. The conditions under which the proportion of the day with reverse flow can increase by greater than or equal to 10 percentage points between October and June, when juvenile salmon are present in the Delta, include October–November bypass rules and level-3 post-pulse operations during December–June. These conditions would be expected to increase the proportion of juvenile salmon entering the interior Delta through Georgiana Slough.
In the second analysis, we assessed bias in Delta Simulation Model 2 (DSM2) flow predictions at the junction of the Sacramento River, DCC, and Georgiana Slough. Because DSM2 was being used to simulate California WaterFix operations, understanding the extent of bias relative to USGS streamgages was important since fish routing models were based on flow data at streamgages. We determined that river flow predicted by DSM2 was biased for Georgiana Slough and the Sacramento River. Therefore, for subsequent analysis, we bias-corrected the DSM2 flow predictions using measured stream flows as predictor variables.
In the third analysis, we evaluated the effect of the NDD on the daily probability of fish entering Georgiana Slough and the DCC. We applied an existing model to predict entrainment from 15-minute flow simulations for an 82-year time series of flows simulated by DSM2 under the Proposed Action (PA), where the North Delta Diversion is implemented under California WaterFix, and the No Action Alternative (NAA), where the diversion is not implemented. To estimate the daily fraction of fish entering each river channel, entrainment probabilities were averaged over each day. To evaluate the two scenarios, we then compared mean annual entrainment probabilities by month, water year classification, and three different assumed run timings. Overall, the probability of remaining in the Sacramento River was lower under the PA scenario, but the magnitude of the difference was small (3/s. At flows greater than 41,000 ft3/s, we hypothesize that entrainment into the interior Delta is relatively constant, which would have caused little difference between scenarios at higher flows.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181028","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service","usgsCitation":"Perry, R.W., Romine, J.G., Pope, A.C., and Evans, S.D., 2018, Effects of the proposed California WaterFix North\nDelta Diversion on flow reversals and entrainment of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) into\nGeorgiana Slough and the Delta Cross Channel, northern California: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report\n2018-1028, 46 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181028.","productDescription":"vi, 46 p.","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-077416","costCenters":[{"id":654,"text":"Western Fisheries Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":352094,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1028/ofr20181028.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.1 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1028"},{"id":352093,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1028/coverthb.jpg"}],"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 -121.53127670288086,\n 38.22449353550286\n ],\n [\n -121.49771690368652,\n 38.22449353550286\n ],\n [\n -121.49771690368652,\n 38.26466948704442\n ],\n [\n -121.53127670288086,\n 38.26466948704442\n ],\n [\n -121.53127670288086,\n 38.22449353550286\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Western Fisheries Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
6505 NE 65th Street
Seattle, Washington 98115
Automated camera systems deployed at 43 remote locations along the Colorado River corridor in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, are used to document sandbar erosion and deposition that are associated with the operations of Glen Canyon Dam. The camera systems, which can operate independently for a year or more, consist of a digital camera triggered by a separate data controller, both of which are powered by an external battery and solar panel. Analysis of images for categorical changes in sandbar size show deposition at 50 percent or more of monitoring sites during controlled flood releases done in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016. The images also depict erosion of sandbars and show that erosion rates were highest in the first 3 months following each controlled flood. Erosion rates were highest in 2015, the year of highest annual dam release volume. Comparison of the categorical estimates of sandbar change agree with sandbar change (erosion or deposition) measured by topographic surveys in 76 percent of cases evaluated. A semiautomated method for quantifying changes in sandbar area from the remote-camera images by rectifying the oblique images and segmenting the sandbar from the rest of the image is presented. Calculation of sandbar area by this method agrees with sandbar area determined by topographic survey within approximately 8 percent and allows quantification of sandbar area monthly (or more frequently).
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181019","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with Northern Arizona University","usgsCitation":"Grams, P.E., Tusso, R.B., and Buscombe, D., 2018, Automated remote cameras for monitoring alluvial sandbars on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1019, 50 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181019.","productDescription":"xi, 50 p.","numberOfPages":"61","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-092323","costCenters":[{"id":568,"text":"Southwest Biological Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":352079,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1019/ofr20181019.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1019"},{"id":352078,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1019/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Arizona","otherGeospatial":"Colorado River, Grand Canyon","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -113.42559814453125,\n 35.733136223133926\n ],\n [\n -111.52221679687499,\n 35.733136223133926\n ],\n [\n -111.52221679687499,\n 36.88401445049676\n ],\n [\n -113.42559814453125,\n 36.88401445049676\n ],\n [\n -113.42559814453125,\n 35.733136223133926\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"SBSC Staff,
Southwest Biological Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
2255 N. Gemini Drive
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Pursuant to the Presidential Executive Order (EO) No. 13817, “A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals,” the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, and in consultation with the heads of other relevant executive departments and agencies, was tasked with developing and submitting a draft list of minerals defined as “critical minerals” to the Federal Register within 60 days of the issue of the EO (December 20, 2017).
Based on an analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey and other U.S. Government agencies, using multiple criteria, 35 minerals or mineral material groups have been identified that are currently (February 2018) considered critical. These include the following: aluminum (bauxite), antimony, arsenic, barite, beryllium, bismuth, cesium, chromium, cobalt, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite (natural), hafnium, helium, indium, lithium, magnesium, manganese, niobium, platinum group metals, potash, rare earth elements group, rhenium, rubidium, scandium, strontium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, and zirconium. The categorization of minerals as critical may change during the course of the review process and is thus provisional.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181021","usgsCitation":"Fortier, S.M., Nassar, N.T., Lederer, G.W., Brainard, Jamie, Gambogi, Joseph, and McCullough, E.A., 2018, Draft critical mineral list—Summary of methodology and background information—U.S. Geological Survey technical input document in response to Secretarial Order No. 3359: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1021, 15 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181021.","productDescription":"v, 15 p.","numberOfPages":"26","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-094985","costCenters":[{"id":432,"text":"National Minerals Information Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":351641,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1021/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":351642,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1021/ofr20181021.pdf","text":"Report","size":"309 kB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018–1021"}],"contact":"National Minerals Information Center
U.S. Geological Survey
988 National Center
Reston, Virginia 20192
To improve understanding of the distribution of ecologically important, ephemeral wetland habitats across the Great Plains, the occurrence and distribution of surface water in playa wetland complexes were documented for four different years across the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GPLCC) region. This information is important because it informs land and wildlife managers about the timing and location of habitat availability. Data with an accurate timestamp that indicate the presence of water, the percent of the area inundated with water, and the spatial distribution of playa wetlands with water are needed for a host of resource inventory, monitoring, and research applications. For example, the distribution of inundated wetlands forms the spatial pattern of available habitat for resident shorebirds and water birds, stop-over habitats for migratory birds, connectivity and clustering of wetland habitats, and surface waters that recharge the Ogallala aquifer; there is considerable variability in the distribution of playa wetlands holding water through time. Documentation of these spatially and temporally intricate processes, here, provides data required to assess connections between inundation and multiple environmental drivers, such as climate, land use, soil, and topography. Climate drivers are understood to interact with land cover, land use and soil attributes in determining the amount of water that flows overland into playa wetlands. Results indicated significant spatial variability represented by differences in the percent of playas inundated among States within the GPLCC. Further, analysis-of-variance comparison of differences in inundation between years showed significant differences in all cases. Although some connections with seasonal moisture patterns may be observed, the complex spatial-temporal gradients of precipitation, temperature, soils, and land use need to be combined as covariates in multivariate models to effectively account for these patterns. We demonstrate the feasibility of using classification of Landsat satellite imagery to describe playa-wetland inundation across years and seasons. Evaluating classifications representing only 4 years of imagery, we found significant year-to-year and state-to-state differences in inundation rates.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20171166","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Albuquerque, New Mexico","usgsCitation":"Manier, D.J., and Rover, J.R., 2018, Landsat classification of surface-water presence during multiple years to assess response of playa wetlands to climatic variability across the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative region: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1166, 20 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171166.","productDescription":"iv, 20 p.","numberOfPages":"28","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-073569","costCenters":[{"id":222,"text":"Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":291,"text":"Fort Collins Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":438012,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7MW2GCN","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Landsat classification of surface water for multiple seasons to monitor inundation of playa wetlands"},{"id":351569,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1166/ofr20171166.pdf","text":"Report","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2017-1166"},{"id":351568,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1166/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","otherGeospatial":"Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -106,\n 30\n ],\n [\n -96,\n 30\n ],\n [\n -96,\n 44\n ],\n [\n -106,\n 44\n ],\n [\n -106,\n 30\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Fort Collins Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
2150 Centre Ave., Building C
Fort Collins, CO 80526-8118
The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter GRSG) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” was in part due to a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New scientific information augments existing knowledge and can help inform updates or modifications to existing plans for managing GRSG and sagebrush ecosystems. However, the sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has reviewed and summarized the scientific literature published since January 1, 2015.
To identify articles and reports published about GRSG, we first conducted a structured search of three reference databases (Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar) using the search term “greater sage-grouse.” We refined the initial list of products by (1) removing duplicates, (2) excluding products that were not published as research or scientific review articles in peer-reviewed journals or as formal government technical reports, and (3) retaining only those products for which GRSG or their habitat was a research focus.
We summarized the contents of each product by using a consistent structure (background, objectives, methods, location, findings, and implications) and assessed the content of each product relevant to a list of 31 management topics. These topics include GRSG biology and habitat characteristics along with potential management actions, land uses, and environmental factors related to GRSG management and conservation. We also noted which articles/reports created new geospatial data.
The final search was conducted on January 6, 2018, and application of our criteria resulted in the inclusion of 169 published products (2 of these products were published corrections to journal articles). The management topics most commonly addressed were GRSG behavior or demographics and GRSG habitat selection or habitat characteristics at broad or site scales. Few products addressed captive breeding, recreation, wild horses and burros, and range management structures (including fences). We include in this annotated bibliography the full citation, product summary, and management topics addressed by each product. The online version of this bibliography (https://apps.usgs.gov/gsgbib/index.php) is searchable by topic and location and includes links to the original publications.
A substantial body of literature has been compiled based on research explicitly related to the conservation, management, monitoring, and assessment of GRSG. These studies may inform planning and management actions that seek to balance conservation, economic, and social objectives and manage diverse resource uses and values across the western United States.
The review process for this product included requesting input on each summary from one or more authors of the original peer-reviewed article or report and a formal review of the entire document by three independent reviewers and, subsequently, the USGS Bureau Approving Official. This process is consistent with USGS Fundamental Science Practices.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181008","usgsCitation":"Carter, S.K., Manier, D.J., Arkle, R.S., Johnston, A.N., Phillips, S.L., Hanser, S.E., and Bowen, Z.H., 2018, Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published since January 2015: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1008, 183 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181008.","productDescription":"v, 183 p.","numberOfPages":"189","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-093354","costCenters":[{"id":291,"text":"Fort Collins Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":351662,"rank":4,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181017","text":"Open-File Report 2018-1017:","linkHelpText":"Greater Sage-Grouse Science (2015–17)—Synthesis and Potential Management Implications"},{"id":351501,"rank":3,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://apps.usgs.gov/gsgbib/index.php","text":"Interactive, searchable version:","linkHelpText":"Annotated Bibliography of Scientific Research on Greater Sage-Grouse Published since January 2015"},{"id":351500,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1008/ofr20181008.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.5 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1008"},{"id":351499,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1008/coverthb2.jpg"}],"contact":"Director, Fort Collins Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
2150 Centre Ave., Building C
Fort Collins, CO 80526-8118
The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter called “sage-grouse”), a species that requires sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), has experienced range-wide declines in its distribution and abundance. These declines have prompted substantial research and management investments to improve the understanding of sage-grouse and its habitats and reverse declines in distribution and population numbers.
Over the past two decades, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has responded to eight petitions to list the sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, with the completion of the most recent listing determination in September 2015. At that time, the USFWS determined that the sage-grouse did not warrant a listing, primarily because of the large scale science-based conservation and planning efforts completed or started by Federal, State, local agencies, private landowners, and other entities across the range. The planning efforts culminated in the development of the 2015 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service Land Use Plan Amendments, which provided regulatory certainty and commitment from Federal land-management agencies to limit, mitigate, and track anthropogenic disturbance and implement other sage-grouse conservation measures.
After these policy decisions, the scientific community has continued to refine and expand the knowledge available to inform implementation of management actions, increase the efficiency and effectiveness of those actions, and continue developing an overall understanding of sage-grouse populations, habitat requirements, and their response to human activity and other habitat changes. The development of science has been driven by multiple prioritization documents including the “Greater Sage-Grouse National Research Strategy” (Hanser and Manier, 2013) and, most recently, the “Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy Actionable Science Plan” (Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy Actionable Science Plan Team, 2016).
In October 2017, after a review of the 2015 Federal plans relative to State sage-grouse plans, in accordance with Secretarial Order 3353, the BLM issued a notice of intent to consider whether to amend some, all, or none of the 2015 land use plans. At that time, the BLM requested the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to inform this effort through the development of an annotated bibliography of sage-grouse science published since January 2015 and a report that synthesized and outlined the potential management implications of this new science. Development of the annotated bibliography resulted in the identification and summarization of 169 peer-reviewed scientific publications and reports. The USGS then convened an interagency team (hereafter referred to as the “team”) to develop this report that focuses on the primary topics of importance to the ongoing management of sage-grouse and their habitats.
The team developed this report in a three-step process. First, the team identified six primary topic areas for discussion based on the members’ collective knowledge regarding sage-grouse, their habitats, and threats to either or both. Second, the team reviewed all the material in the “Annotated Bibliography of Scientific Research on Greater Sage-Grouse Published since January 2015” to identify the science that addressed the topics. Third, team members discussed the science related to each topic, evaluated the consistency of the science with existing knowledge before 2015, and summarized the potential management implications of this science. The six primary topics identified by the team were:
Sage-Grouse and Sagebrush Ecosystem Program
U.S. Geological Survey
12201 Sunrise Valley Dr.
Mail Stop 301
Reston, VA 20192
In this study, “naturalized” daily streamflow records, created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation, were used to compute 1-, 3-, 7-, 10-, 15-, 30-, and 60-day annual maximum streamflow durations, which are running averages of daily streamflow for the number of days in each duration. Once the annual maximum durations were computed, the floodduration frequencies could be estimated. The estimated flood-duration frequencies correspond to the 50-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent probabilities of their occurring or being exceeded each year. For this report, the focus was on the Willamette River Basin in Oregon, which is a subbasin of the Columbia River Basin. This study is part of a larger one encompassing the entire Columbia Basin.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181020","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation","usgsCitation":"Lind, G.D., and Stonewall, A.J., 2018, Preliminary flood-duration frequency estimates using naturalized streamflow records for the Willamette River Basin, Oregon: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018-1020, 17 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181020.","productDescription":"iv, 17 p.","numberOfPages":"26","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-091315","costCenters":[{"id":518,"text":"Oregon Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":351566,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1020/ofr20181020.pdf","text":"Report","size":"455 KB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1020"},{"id":351565,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1020/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Oregon","otherGeospatial":"Willamette River Basin","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -124,\n 43.25\n ],\n [\n -121.75,\n 43.25\n ],\n [\n -121.75,\n 45.75\n ],\n [\n -124,\n 45.75\n ],\n [\n -124,\n 43.25\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Oregon Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
2130 SW 5th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97201
The Seminole Tribe of Florida (the Tribe) is partnering with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop a numeric phosphorus criterion for the 52,000-acre Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation (BCSIR), which is located downgradient of the Everglades Agricultural Area, and of other public and private lands, in southeastern Hendry County and northwestern Broward County in southern Florida. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Tribe, used water-quality data collected between October 2014 and September 2016 by the Tribe and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), along with data from rainfall gages, surface-water stage and discharge gages, and groundwater monitoring wells, to (1) examine the relations between local hydrology and measured total phosphorus (TP) and orthophosphorus (OP) concentrations and (2) identify explanatory variables for TP concentrations. Of particular concern were conditions when TP exceeded 10 parts per billion (ppb) (0.01 milligram per liter [mg/L]) given that the State of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians Alligator Alley Reservation (located downstream of the BCSIR) have adopted a 10-ppb maximum TP criterion for surface waters.
From October 2014 to September 2016, the Tribe collected 47–52 samples at each of nine water-quality sites for analysis of TP and OP, except at one site where 28 samples were collected. For all sites sampled, concentrations of TP (as phosphorus [P]) ranged from less than 0.002 mg/L (2 ppb) to a maximum of nearly 0.50 mg/L (500 ppb), whereas concentrations of OP (as P), the reactive form of inorganic phosphorus readily absorbed by plants and (or) abiotically absorbed, ranged from less than 0.003 mg/L (3 ppb) to a maximum of 0.24 mg/L (240 ppb). The median and interquartile ranges of concentrations of TP and OP in the samples collected in 2014–16 by the Tribe were similar to the median and interquartile ranges of concentrations in samples collected by the SFWMD at nearby sites during the same period. Differences in concentrations can likely be explained by differences in sample collection methods, sampling locations, sample collection time, and the hydrology during sampling or by the number of samples collected. A major limitation of this study was the short duration of sample collection, which covers a limited range of hydrologic conditions within the BCSIR.
The effect of surface-water and groundwater hydrologic conditions on TP and OP concentrations was assessed by using rainfall data and surface-water stage and discharge records. The highest TP and OP concentrations occurred during peak surface-water flows in the canals following long dry periods. Concentrations of TP and OP increased internal to the BCSIR in the western half of the BCSIR during wet periods, but increased concentrations tended to lag behind rainfall events, likely because control structures upstream of sampling sites do not release flows until the water levels in the canals reach predetermined levels. This pattern may indicate that bed sediments in the canals contain high concentrations of phosphorus that becomes resuspended during high flows or that phosphorus salts that had accumulated on dry land during dry periods are carried into the canals by runoff. The largest TP spikes usually occurred at the beginning of high-flow events, but then quickly tapered off even when flows remained high.
Groundwater flows were assessed in the BCSIR by using groundwater level observations from two preexisting USGS monitoring well clusters, each characterized by a shallow well installed in the surficial aquifer system and a deeper well installed in the intermediate aquifer system. Groundwater levels were evaluated with respect to surface-water levels and discharge in the BCSIR during the period of surface-water sampling. During dry conditions water levels in canals were often higher than groundwater levels in the surficial aquifer, indicating the potential for surface water to recharge the surficial aquifer. During wetter conditions, this trend reversed, and there was potential for shallow groundwater discharge into the canals.
From October 2014 to September 2016, concentrations of TP tended to decrease as surface-water inflows moved across the BCSIR from north to south. In both the western and eastern halves of the reservation, the mean concentration of TP was lower in the surface-water outflows from the BCSIR than in the inflows. The mean concentration of TP in the inflows to the western reservation was 0.04 mg/L (40 ppb), whereas the mean concentration of TP in the outflows was 0.03 mg/L (30 ppb). In the eastern reservation, the mean concentration of TP in the inflows was 0.07 mg/L (70 ppb), whereas the mean concentration of TP in the outflows was 0.04 mg/L (40 ppb).
TP and OP concentrations were evaluated relative to other water-quality parameters, including turbidity, suspended solids, nitrate plus nitrite, dissolved oxygen, pH, and specific conductance, to determine if any relations existed between TP and other variables. Weak relations were indicated for turbidity and suspended solids at two sites, which indicates that there may be a relation of increased TP to mobilization of sediment.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181014","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Seminole Tribe of Florida","usgsCitation":"McBride, W.S., and Sifuentes, D.F., 2018, Relations between total phosphorus and orthophosphorus concentrations and rainfall, surface-water discharge, and groundwater levels in Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, Florida, 2014–16: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 2018–1014, 63 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181014.","productDescription":"xi, 63 p.","numberOfPages":"79","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-086087","costCenters":[{"id":270,"text":"FLWSC-Tampa","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":351046,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1014/ofr20181014.pdf","text":"Report","size":"6.52 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018–1014"},{"id":351045,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1014/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Florida","otherGeospatial":"Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -80.8333,\n 26.1667\n ],\n [\n -81.0833,\n 26.1667\n ],\n [\n -81.0833,\n 26.4167\n ],\n [\n -80.8333,\n 26.4167\n ],\n [\n -80.8333,\n 26.1667\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
4446 Pet Lane
Lutz, FL 33559
Major flooding occurred August 24–25, 2016, in the Upper Iowa River Basin and Turkey River Basin in northeastern Iowa following severe thunderstorm activity over the region. About 8 inches of rain were recorded for the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m., August 24, at Decorah, Iowa, and about 6 inches of rain were recorded for the 24-hour period ending at 7 a.m., August 24, at Cresco, Iowa, about 14 miles northwest of Spillville, Iowa. A maximum peak-of-record discharge of 38,000 cubic feet per second in the Upper Iowa River at streamgage 05388250 Upper Iowa River near Dorchester, Iowa, occurred on August 24, 2016, with an annual exceedance-probability range of 0.2–1 percent. High-water marks were measured at six locations along the Upper Iowa River between State Highway 26 near the mouth at the Mississippi River and State Highway 76 about 3.5 miles south of Dorchester, Iowa, a distance of 15 river miles. Along the profiled reach of the Turkey River, a maximum peak-of-record discharge of 15,300 cubic feet per second at streamgage 05411600 Turkey River at Spillville, Iowa, occurred on August 24, 2016, with an annual exceedance-probability range of 1–2 percent. A maximum peak discharge of 35,700 cubic feet per second occurred on August 25, 2016, along the profiled reach of the Turkey River at streamgage 05411850 Turkey River near Eldorado, Iowa, with an annual exceedance-probability range of 0.2–1 percent. High-water marks were measured at 11 locations along the Turkey River between County Road B64 in Elgin and 220th Street, located about 4.5 miles northwest of Spillville, Iowa, a distance of 58 river miles. The high-water marks were used to develop flood profiles for the Upper Iowa River and Turkey River.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20171128","isbn":"978-1-4113-4201-9","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Transportation and the Iowa Highway Research Board (Project HR–140)","usgsCitation":"Linhart, S.M., and O’Shea, P.S., 2018, Flood of August 24–25, 2016, Upper Iowa River and Turkey River, northeastern Iowa: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1128, 20 p., with appendix, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171128.","productDescription":"viii, 19 p.","numberOfPages":"32","onlineOnly":"N","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-088630","costCenters":[{"id":351,"text":"Iowa Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":350963,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1128/of20171128.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.45 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2017-1128"},{"id":350962,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1128/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Iowa","otherGeospatial":"Turkey River, Upper Iowa River","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -92.6667,\n 42.60869548716231\n ],\n [\n -91.065673828125,\n 42.60869548716231\n ],\n [\n -91.065673828125,\n 43.574421623084234\n ],\n [\n -92.6667,\n 43.574421623084234\n ],\n [\n -92.6667,\n 42.60869548716231\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Central Midwest Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
400 S. Clinton Street
Iowa City, IA 52240
Understanding the evolution of the Colorado River system has direct implications for (1) the processes and timing of continental-scale river system integration, (2) the formation of iconic landscapes like those in and around Grand Canyon, and (3) the availability of groundwater resources. Spatial patterns in the position and type of Colorado River deposits, only discernible through geologic mapping, can be used to test models related to Colorado River evolution. This is particularly true downstream from Grand Canyon where ancestral Colorado River deposits are well-exposed. We are principally interested in (1) regional patterns in the minimum and maximum elevation of each depositional unit, which are affected by depositional mechanism and postdepositional deformation; and (2) the volume of each unit, which reflects regional changes in erosion, transport efficiency, and accommodation space. The volume of Colorado River deposits below Grand Canyon has implications for groundwater resources, as the primary regional aquifer there is composed of those deposits. To this end, we are presently mapping Colorado River deposits and compiling and updating older mapping. This preliminary data release shows the current status of our mapping and compilation efforts. We plan to update it at regular intervals in conjunction with ongoing mapping.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181005","usgsCitation":"Crow, R.S., Block, D., Felger, T.J., House, P.K., Pearthree, P.A., Gootee, B.F., Youberg, A.M., Howard, K.A., and Beard, L.S., 2018, The Colorado River and its deposits downstream from Grand Canyon in Arizona, California, and Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1005, 6 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181005.","productDescription":"Report: iii, 6 p.; Geodatabase","numberOfPages":"9","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-080360","costCenters":[{"id":312,"text":"Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":351008,"rank":3,"type":{"id":9,"text":"Database"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1005/ofr20181005_gdb.zip","text":"Geodatabase","size":"4.5 MB","linkFileType":{"id":6,"text":"zip"},"description":"OFR 2018-1005"},{"id":351006,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1005/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":351007,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1005/ofr20181005.pdf","text":"Report","size":"250 KB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1005"}],"country":"United States","state":"Arizona, California, Nevada","otherGeospatial":"Colorado River","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -115,\n 33.00866349457558\n ],\n [\n -114,\n 33.00866349457558\n ],\n [\n -114,\n 36\n ],\n [\n -115,\n 36\n ],\n [\n -115,\n 33.00866349457558\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"In Autumn 2015, USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) staff implemented new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data-management policies intended to ensure that the results of Federally funded research are made available to the public. The effort aimed both to improve USA-NPN data releases and to provide a model for similar programs within the USGS. This report provides an overview of the steps taken to ensure compliance, following the USGS Science Data Lifecycle, and provides lessons learned about the data-release process for USGS program leaders and data managers.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181007","usgsCitation":"Rosemartin, A., Langseth, M.L., Crimmins, T.M., and Weltzin, J.F., 2018, Development and release of phenological data products—A case study in compliance with federal open data policy: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1007, 13 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181007.","productDescription":"iv, 13 p.","numberOfPages":"18","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-090322","costCenters":[{"id":506,"text":"Office of the AD Ecosystems","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":37226,"text":"Core Science Analytics, Synthesis, and Libraries","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":350850,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1007/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":350851,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1007/ofr20181007.pdf","text":"Report","size":"350 KB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1007"}],"contact":"Ecosystems Mission Area
U.S. Geological Survey
12201 Sunrise Valley Dr., MS 300
Reston, VA 20192
Two identical Radar Stage Sensors from Forest Technology Systems were evaluated to determine if they are suitable for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hydrologic data collection. The sensors were evaluated in laboratory conditions to evaluate the distance accuracy of the sensor over the manufacturer’s specified operating temperatures and distance to water ranges. Laboratory results were compared to the manufacturer’s accuracy specification of ±0.007 foot (ft) and the USGS Office of Surface Water (OSW) policy requirement that water-level sensors have a measurement uncertainty of no more than 0.01 ft or 0.20 percent of the indicated reading. Both of the sensors tested were within the OSW policy requirement in both laboratory tests and within the manufacturer’s specification in the distance to water test over tested distances from 3 to 15 ft. In the temperature chamber test, both sensors were within the manufacturer’s specification for more than 90 percent of the data points collected over a temperature range of –40 to +60 degrees Celsius at a fixed distance of 8 ft. One sensor was subjected to an SDI-12 communication test, which it passed. A field test was conducted on one sensor at a USGS field site near Landon, Mississippi, from February 5 to March 29, 2016. Water-level measurements made by the radar during the field test were in agreement with those made by the Sutron Accubar Constant Flow Bubble Gauge.
Upon the manufacturer’s release of updated firmware version 1.09, additional SDI-12 and temperature testing was performed to evaluate added SDI-12 functions and verify that performance was unaffected by the update. At this time, an Axiom data logger is required to perform a firmware update on this sensor. The data confirmed the results of the original test. Based on the test results, the Radar Stage Sensor is a suitable choice for USGS hydrologic data collection.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20171085","usgsCitation":"Kunkle, G.A., 2018, Evaluation of the Radar Stage Sensor manufactured by Forest Technology Systems—Results of laboratory and field testing: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1085, 12 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171085.","productDescription":"Report: iv, 12 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"20","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-083860","costCenters":[{"id":502,"text":"Office of Surface Water","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":350803,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F71C1VSR","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Evaluation of the Radar Stage Sensor Manufactured by Forest Technology Systems, Incorporated—Results of Laboratory and Field Testing"},{"id":350800,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1085/ofr20171085.pdf","text":"Report","size":"918 kB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2017–1085"},{"id":350799,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1085/coverthb.jpg"}],"contact":"Chief, Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility
U.S. Geological Survey
Building 2101
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529
Despite the wealth of global paleoclimate data available for the warm period in the middle of the Piacenzian Stage of the Pliocene Epoch (about 3.3 to 3.0 million years ago [Ma]; Dowsett and others, 2013, and references therein), the Indian Ocean has remained a region of sparse geographic coverage in terms of microfossil analysis. In an effort to characterize the surface Indian Ocean during this interval, we examined the planktic foraminifera from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) sites 709, 716, 722, 754, 757, 758, and 763, encompassing a wide range of oceanographic conditions. We quantitatively analyzed the data for sea surface temperature (SST) estimation using both the modern analog technique (MAT) and a factor analytic transfer function. The data will contribute to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping (PRISM) Project’s global SST reconstruction and climate model SST boundary condition for the mid-Piacenzian and will become part of the PRISM verification dataset designed to ground-truth Pliocene climate model simulations (Dowsett and others, 2013).
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20171158","usgsCitation":"Robinson, M.M., Dowsett, H.J., and Stoll, D.K., 2018, Sea surface temperature estimates for the mid-Piacenzian Indian Ocean—Ocean Drilling Program sites 709, 716, 722, 754, 757, 758, and 763: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1158, 14 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171158.","productDescription":"iv, 14 p.","numberOfPages":"19","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-087996","costCenters":[{"id":243,"text":"Eastern Geology and Paleoclimate Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":350488,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1158/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":350489,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1158/ofr20171158.pdf","text":"Report","size":"11 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2017-1158"}],"otherGeospatial":"Indian Ocean","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n 59.80,\n -30.93\n ],\n [\n 112.21,\n -30.93\n ],\n [\n 112.21,\n 16.62\n ],\n [\n 59.80,\n 16.62\n ],\n [\n 59.80,\n -30.93\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Eastern Geology and Paleoclimate Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
926A National Center
Reston, VA 20192
In 1990, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office, established the Lithologic Core Storage Library at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The facility was established to consolidate, catalog, and permanently store nonradioactive drill cores and cuttings from subsurface investigations conducted at the INL, and to provide a location for researchers to examine, sample, and test these materials.
The facility is open by appointment to researchers for examination, sampling, and testing of cores and cuttings. This report describes the facility and cores and cuttings stored at the facility. Descriptions of cores and cuttings include the corehole names, corehole locations, and depth intervals available.
Most cores and cuttings stored at the facility were drilled at or near the INL, on the eastern Snake River Plain; however, two cores drilled on the western Snake River Plain are stored for comparative studies. Basalt, rhyolite, sedimentary interbeds, and surficial sediments compose most cores and cuttings, most of which are continuous from land surface to their total depth. The deepest continuously drilled core stored at the facility was drilled to 5,000 feet below land surface. This report describes procedures and researchers' responsibilities for access to the facility and for examination, sampling, and return of materials.
","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181001","collaboration":"DOE/ID-22244Director, Idaho Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
230 Collins Road
Boise, Idaho 83702
With the decline of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss), habitat restoration actions in freshwater tributaries have been implemented to improve conditions for juveniles. Typically, physical (for example, hydrologic and engineering) based models are used to design restoration alternatives with the assumption that biological responses will be improved with changes to the physical habitat. Biological models rarely are used. Here, we describe simulations of a food web model, the Aquatic Trophic Productivity (ATP) model, to aid in the design of a restoration project in the Methow River, north-central Washington. The ATP model mechanistically links environmental conditions of the stream to the dynamics of river food webs, and can be used to simulate how alternative river restoration designs influence the potential for river reaches to sustain fish production. Four restoration design alternatives were identified that encompassed varying levels of side channel and floodplain reconnection and large wood addition. Our model simulations suggest that design alternatives focused on reconnecting side channels and the adjacent floodplain may provide the greatest increase in fish capacity. These results were robust to a range of discharge and thermal regimes that naturally occur in the Methow River. Our results suggest that biological models, such as the ATP model, can be used during the restoration planning phase to increase the effectiveness of restoration actions. Moreover, the use of multiple modeling efforts, both physical and biological, when evaluating restoration design alternatives provides a better understanding of the potential outcome of restoration actions.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181002","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation","usgsCitation":"Benjamin, J.R., Bellmore, J.R., and Dombroski, Daniel, 2018, Using a food web model to inform the design of river restoration—An example at the Barkley Bear Segment, Methow River, north-central Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1002, 24 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181002.","productDescription":"iv, 24 p.","numberOfPages":"32","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-092102","costCenters":[{"id":290,"text":"Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center","active":false,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":350751,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1002/ofr20181002.pdf","text":"Report","size":"4.8 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1002"},{"id":350750,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1002/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Washington","otherGeospatial":"Methow River","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -121.497802734375,\n 47.646886969413\n ],\n [\n -119.02587890624999,\n 47.646886969413\n ],\n [\n -119.02587890624999,\n 49.15296965617042\n ],\n [\n -121.497802734375,\n 49.15296965617042\n ],\n [\n -121.497802734375,\n 47.646886969413\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
777 NW 9th St., Suite 400
Corvallis, Oregon 97330
This report provides information from a general public survey conducted in early 2017 to help inform the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) 2018 update. This report is intended for use by the NAWMP advisory committees and anyone interested in the human dimensions of wetlands and waterfowl management. A mail-out survey was sent to 5,000 addresses in the United States, which were selected randomly in proportion to the population of each State. A total of 1,030 completed surveys representing 49 States were returned, resulting in a 23 percent overall response rate.
When comparing the demographics of the respondents to the U.S. census data, this sample overrepresented people who are male, older, highly educated, and white. Data were weighted on gender and age to make the results more representative of the overall U.S. population. Additionally, this sample had higher participation rates in all wildlife-related recreation activities than has been found in previous studies; this indicates there may have been selection bias, with people interested in nature-related topics more likely to complete the survey. Therefore, results likely represent a segment of the U.S. public that is more oriented toward and aware of wildlife and conservation issues than the general public as a whole. Because of this bias, responses for each question were also broken down by recreationist type (hunters, anglers, wildlife viewers, and no wildlife-related recreation). Additionally, responses for each question were split by administrative flyway (Atlantic, Central, Mississippi, Pacific) and residency (urban, urban cluster, rural) to better understand the different groups.
Most respondents knew of wetlands in their local area or community, and more than half had visited wetlands in the previous 12 months. Of those who had visited wetlands, the most common reasons were for walking/hiking/biking and enjoying nature/picnicking. In addition, this sample was very concerned about the reduction or loss of ecosystem services resulting from wetlands degradation or loss. A majority of respondents were somewhat or very concerned about 9 out of 10 wetlands benefits, with hunting opportunities being the only benefit the majority of people were not concerned about. People were the most concerned about clean water, clean air, and providing a home for wildlife. In contrast, people were least concerned about hunting opportunities and wetlands providing scenic places for inspiration or spiritual renewal. Communication about wetlands that focuses on habitat, clean air, and clean water may resonate with the widest variety of people. However, if communication is targeted toward wildlife-related recreationists, including more information about the recreation benefits of wetlands and emphasizing habitat benefits may be the most effective.
Many people reported having participated in conservation behaviors in the last year. The most popular activity was making the yard more desirable to wildlife, with more than three-fourths of respondents participating, followed by donating money to support wildlife/habitat conservation and talking to others in their community about conservation issues. There was lower participation in conservation behavior specifically related to wetlands and waterfowl, with two-fifths of respondents voting for candidates or ballot issues to support wetlands/waterfowl conservation and one-third advocating for political action to conserve wetlands/waterfowl.
In order to better understand how to reach out to the public on nature-related topics, preferences in information channels and trust in information sources were explored. Respondents were mostly likely to want to receive their information through personal experience, by reading or accessing online content, and through watching visual media online. People were least likely to want to receive information through listening to recorded audio media, attending educational opportunities, and listening to live audio media. These results emphasize the importance of having content available online in an easily accessible and appealing format. Visual media in particular seems to be preferred across a wide variety of people. Additionally, people had the highest trust in scientific organizations, universities/educational organizations, and friends/family/neighbors/colleagues. The least trusted sources were national media/news, religious organizations, and local media/news. Urban respondents had higher trust levels overall, particularly for the government. Hunters and those in rural areas had lower levels of trust in the government but higher trust in family/friends.
In this sample, few respondents reported hunting waterfowl (5 percent) or hunting other game (16 percent) in the last year. Additionally, few respondents said they were very or somewhat likely to hunt waterfowl in the following 12 months. Even after considering that self-selection bias would make it more likely for hunters to respond to the survey, the relatively small number of respondents who identified as hunters reinforces that engagement of other wildlife-related recreationists is critical to meeting the third goal of the NAWMP 2012 revision—to increase numbers of wetlands/waterfowl conservationists. Many people also had negative perceptions of hunting. Half of the respondents stated that hunting would be unpleasant, and two-fifths believed hunting would be boring. In contrast, people had more favorable attitudes toward birdwatching, with only one-sixth saying it would be unpleasant and less than one-third saying it would be boring. A majority of respondents thought they could easily go hunting or birdwatching in the following 12 months. Overall, people had much more positive views toward birdwatching and expressed fewer barriers to participating in it. When asked what would prevent them from hunting, the most frequently stated reasons were moral opposition, no interest, personal health, and time constraints; for birdwatching, the most popular responses were nothing, no interest, and time constraints. These responses indicate it may be beneficial to move beyond hunting and find ways for other groups, such as birdwatchers, to play a more active role in conservation.
Although not many people hunted and many people tended to have negative attitudes toward hunting, over three-fourths of people said they knew a hunter. Given that wildlife viewers, those who did not participate in wildlife-related recreation, and urban residents tended to have negative attitudes toward hunting and (or) were not interested in participating, attempting to recruit them to participate in hunting may not be effective. However, given how many people across all groups knew a hunter and the relatively high levels of trust people had in their friends/family, hunters may be effective ambassadors for promoting waterfowl and wetlands conservation among nonhunters. Additionally, because people had less preference for viewing waterfowl and other game birds compared to their preference for seeing hummingbirds and birds of prey, conservation efforts that extend beyond waterfowl and include other species that benefit from wetlands may have more appeal to a broader range of people.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20171148","usgsCitation":"Wilkins, E.J., and Miller, H.M., 2018, Public views of wetlands and waterfowl conservation in the United States—Results of a survey to inform the 2018 update of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1148, 134 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171148.","productDescription":"xii, 134 p.","numberOfPages":"147","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-088573","costCenters":[{"id":291,"text":"Fort Collins Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":438050,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7G15ZQ6","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Results of a U.S. General Public Survey to Inform the 2018 North American Waterfowl Management Plan Update (2017)"},{"id":350493,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1148/ofr20171148.pdf","text":"Report","size":"8.40 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2017-1148"},{"id":350492,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1148/coverthb.jpg"}],"contact":"Director, Fort Collins Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
2150 Centre Ave., Building C
Fort Collins, CO 80526-8118
We summarize recent (2002–17) publicly available information from studies within the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as well as terrestrial and coastal ecosystems elsewhere on the Arctic Coastal Plain that are relevant to the 1002 Area. This report provides an update on earlier research summaries on caribou (Rangifer tarandus), forage quality and quantity, polar bears (Ursus maritimus), muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), and snow geese (Chen caerulescens). We also provide information on new research related to climate, migratory birds, permafrost, coastal erosion, coastal lagoons, fish, water resources, and potential effects of industrial disturbance on wildlife. From this literature review, we noted evidence for change in the status of some wildlife and their habitats, and the lack of change for others. In the 1002 Area, muskox numbers have decreased and the Porcupine Caribou Herd has exhibited variation in use of the area during the calving season. Polar bears are now more common on shore in summer and fall because of declines in sea ice in the Beaufort Sea. In a study spanning 25 years, there were no significant changes in vegetation quality and quantity, soil conditions, or permafrost thaw in the coastal plain of the 1002 Area. Based on studies from the central Arctic Coastal Plain, there are persistent and emerging uncertainties about the long-term effects of energy development for caribou. In contrast, recent studies that examined direct and indirect effects of industrial activities and infrastructure on birds in the central Arctic Coastal Plain found little effect for the species and disturbances examined, except for the possibility of increased predator activity near human developments.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20181003","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service","usgsCitation":"Pearce, J.M., Flint, P.L., Atwood, T.C., Douglas, D.C., Adams, L.G., Johnson, H.E., Arthur, S.M., and Latty, C.J., 2018, Summary of wildlife-related research on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, 2002–17: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1003, 27 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181003.","productDescription":"iv, 27 p.","numberOfPages":"36","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-092189","costCenters":[{"id":117,"text":"Alaska Science Center Biology WTEB","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":350490,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1003/coverthb2.jpg"},{"id":350491,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1003/ofr20181003.pdf","text":"Report","size":"7.9 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2018-1003"}],"country":"United States","state":"Alaska","otherGeospatial":"Arctic 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 -146.480712890625,\n 69.5\n ],\n [\n -142,\n 69.5\n ],\n [\n -142,\n 70.15901707518466\n ],\n [\n -146.480712890625,\n 70.15901707518466\n ],\n [\n -146.480712890625,\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
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with DuPage County Stormwater Management Department, is testing a near real-time streamflow simulation system that assists in the management and operation of reservoirs and other flood-control structures in the Salt Creek and West Branch DuPage River drainage basins in DuPage County, Illinois. As part of this effort, the U.S. Geological Survey maintains a database of hourly meteorological and hydrologic data for use in this near real-time streamflow simulation system. Among these data are next generation weather radar-multisensor precipitation estimates and quantitative precipitation forecast data, which are retrieved from the North Central River Forecasting Center of the National Weather Service. The DuPage County streamflow simulation system uses these quantitative precipitation forecast data to create streamflow predictions for the two simulated drainage basins. This report discusses in detail how these data are processed for inclusion in the Watershed Data Management files used in the streamflow simulation system for the Salt Creek and West Branch DuPage River drainage basins.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20171159","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the DuPage County Stormwater Management Department","usgsCitation":"Bera, Maitreyee, and Ortel, T.W., 2018, Processing of next generation weather radar-multisensor precipitation estimates and quantitative precipitation forecast data for the DuPage County streamflow simulation system: \nU.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1159, 16 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171159.","productDescription":"iv, 15 p.","numberOfPages":"24","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-087229","costCenters":[{"id":344,"text":"Illinois Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":350409,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1159/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":350410,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1159/ofr20171159.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.64 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2017-1159"}],"country":"United States","state":"Illinois","county":"DuPage County","geographicExtents":"{\"type\":\"FeatureCollection\",\"features\":[{\"type\":\"Feature\",\"geometry\":{\"type\":\"Polygon\",\"coordinates\":[[[-88.2634,41.9876],[-88.1473,41.9883],[-88.0342,41.9925],[-87.9175,41.9938],[-87.9188,41.9076],[-87.9178,41.8185],[-87.9142,41.7318],[-87.9139,41.7172],[-87.9438,41.7017],[-87.9482,41.694],[-87.9674,41.6879],[-87.9883,41.6877],[-88.0013,41.6874],[-88.0308,41.6868],[-88.0317,41.7295],[-88.1499,41.7272],[-88.2625,41.7251],[-88.2628,41.811],[-88.2632,41.8623],[-88.2631,41.9],[-88.2634,41.9876]]]},\"properties\":{\"name\":\"Dupage\",\"state\":\"IL\"}}]}","contact":"Director, Illinois-Iowa Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
405 North Goodwin Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
The Geospatial Semantic Web (GSW) is an emerging technology that uses the Internet for more effective knowledge engineering and information extraction. Among the aims of the GSW are to structure the semantic specifications of data to reduce ambiguity and to link those data more efficiently. The data are stored as triples, the basic data unit in graph databases, which are similar to the vector data model of geographic information systems (GIS); that is, a node-edge-node model that forms a graph of semantically related information. The GSW is supported by emerging technologies such as linked geospatial data, described below, that enable it to store and manage geographical data that require new cartographic methods for visualization. This report describes a map that can interact with linked geospatial data using a simulation of a data query approach called the browsable graph to find information that is semantically related to a subject of interest, visualized using the Data Driven Documents (D3) library. Such a semantically enabled map functions as a map knowledge base (MKB) (Varanka and Usery, 2017).
A MKB differs from a database in an important way. The central element of a triple, alternatively called the edge or property, is composed of a logic formalization that structures the relation between the first and third parts, the nodes or objects. Node-edge-node represents the graphic form of the triple, and the subject-property-object terms represent the data structure. Object classes connect to build a federated graph, similar to a network in visual form. Because the triple property is a logical statement (a predicate), the data graph represents logical propositions or assertions accepted to be true about the subject matter. These logical formalizations can be manipulated to calculate new triples, representing inferred logical assertions, from the existing data.
To demonstrate a MKB system, a technical proof-of-concept is developed that uses geographically attributed Resource Description Framework (RDF) serializations of linked data for mapping. The proof-of-concept focuses on accessing triple data from visual elements of a geographic map as the interface to the MKB. The map interface is embedded with other essential functions such as SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language (SPARQL) data query endpoint services and reasoning capabilities of Apache Marmotta (Apache Software Foundation, 2017). An RDF database of the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which contains official names of domestic feature in the United States, was linked to a county data layer from The National Map of the U.S. Geological Survey. The county data are part of a broader Government Units theme offered to the public as Esri shapefiles. The shapefile used to draw the map itself was converted to a geographic-oriented JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) (GeoJSON) format and linked through various properties with a linked geodata version of the GNIS database called “GNIS–LD” (Butler and others, 2016; B. Regalia and others, University of California-Santa Barbara, written commun., 2017). The GNIS–LD files originated in Terse RDF Triple Language (Turtle) format but were converted to a JSON format specialized in linked data, “JSON–LD” (Beckett and Berners-Lee, 2011; Sorny and others, 2014). The GNIS–LD database is composed of roughly three predominant triple data graphs: Features, Names, and History. The graphs include a set of namespace prefixes used by each of the attributes. Predefining the prefixes made the conversion to the JSON–LD format simple to complete because Turtle and JSON–LD are variant specifications of the basic RDF concept.
To convert a shapefile into GeoJSON format to capture the geospatial coordinate geometry objects, an online converter, Mapshaper, was used (Bloch, 2013). To convert the Turtle files, a custom converter written in Java reconstructs the files by parsing each grouping of attributes belonging to one subject and pasting the data into a new file that follows the syntax of JSON–LD. Additionally, the Features file contained its own set of geometries, which was exported into a separate JSON–LD file along with its elevation value to form a fourth file, named “features-geo.json.” Extracted data from external files can be represented in HyperText Markup Language (HTML) path objects. The goal was to import multiple JSON–LD files using this approach.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20171150","usgsCitation":"Powell, L.J., and Varanka, D.E., 2018, A linked GeoData map for enabling information access: U.S. Geological Survey Open–File Report 2017–1150, 6 p, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171150.","productDescription":"iv, 6 p.","numberOfPages":"14","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-090452","costCenters":[{"id":5074,"text":"Center for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS)","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":350413,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1150/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":350414,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1150/ofr20171150.pdf","text":"Report","size":"376 kB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2017-1150"}],"contact":"Director, National Geospatial Technical Operations Center
U.S. Geological Survey
1400 Independence Road
Rolla, MO 65401
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The GAMA Program’s Priority Basin Project assesses the quality of groundwater resources used for drinking-water supply and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Many households and small communities in the Madera– Chowchilla and Kings subbasins of the San Joaquin Valley rely on private domestic wells for their drinking-water supplies.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20171162","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the California State Water Resources Control Board","usgsCitation":"Fram, M.S. and Shelton, J.L., 2018, Groundwater Quality in the Shallow Aquifers of the Madera–Chowchilla and Kings Subbasins, San Joaquin Valley, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1162, 4 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171162.","productDescription":"4 p.","ipdsId":"IP-089766","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":350380,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1162/ofr20171162.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.6 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2017-1162"},{"id":350379,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1162/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"Madera– Chowchilla Subbasin, Kings Subbasin, San Joaquin Valley","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -120.5,\n 36.25\n ],\n [\n -119.25,\n 36.25\n ],\n [\n -119.25,\n 37.25\n ],\n [\n -120.5,\n 37.25\n ],\n [\n -120.5,\n 36.25\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"California Water Science Center
California GAMA
U.S. Geological Survey
6000 J Street, Placer Hall
Sacramento, California 95819
Heavy rainfall occurred across central and southern West
Virginia in June 2016 as a result of repeated rounds of torrential
thunderstorms. The storms caused major flooding and flash
flooding in central and southern West Virginia with Kanawha,
Fayette, Nicholas, and Greenbrier Counties among the hardest
hit. Over the duration of the storms, from 8 to 9.37 inches of
rain was reported in areas in Greenbrier County. Peak streamflows
were the highest on record at 7 locations, and streamflows
at 18 locations ranked in the top five for the period of
record at U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations
used in this study. Following the storms, U.S. Geological Survey
hydrographers identified and documented 422 high-water
marks in West Virginia, noting location and height of the water
above land surface. Many of these high-water marks were
used to create flood-inundation maps for selected communities
of West Virginia that experienced flooding in June 2016.
Digital datasets of the inundation areas, mapping boundaries,
and water depth rasters are available online.
Director, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
1730 East Parham Road
Richmond, VA 23228