The purpose of this study was to continue annual monitoring of Roanoke logperch (Percina rex), an endangered fish, in the Smith River immediately upstream from Philpott Reservoir. This river reach is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which must ensure that appropriate actions are undertaken to aid in recovery of logperch. Monitoring of fish abundance and habitat conditions provides a means for assessing the species’ status and its responses to USACE management actions. The Roanoke logperch is a large darter (Percidae: Etheostomatinae) endemic to the Roanoke, Dan, and Nottoway River basins of Virginia and North Carolina, where it occupies third- to sixth-order streams containing relatively silt-free substrate (Jenkins and Burkhead, 1994). Because of its rarity, small range, and vulnerability to siltation, the Roanoke logperch was listed in 1989 as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) (U.S. Federal Register 54:34468-34472). Within the Dan basin, Roanoke logperch have long been known to occupy the Smith River and one of its largest tributaries, Town Creek (Jenkins and Burkhead, 1994). Logperch also recently were discovered in other tributaries of the Dan River, including North Carolina segments of the Mayo River, Cascade Creek, Big Beaver Island Creek, Wolf Island Creek (William Hester, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, personal commun., 2012). Within the Smith River, Roanoke logperch are present both upstream and downstream from Philpott Reservoir, a hydroelectric and water storage project owned and operated by the USACE. Although logperch have not been observed in the reservoir itself, the species is relatively abundant in a free-flowing, ≈ 2.5-km-long segment of Smith River upstream from the reservoir on USACE property (Lahey and Angermeier, 2006). This segment is bounded on the downstream end by the lentic conditions of the reservoir and on the upstream end by White Falls, a natural waterfall that presumably allows fish passage during all but the lowest streamflow (Roberts and Angermeier, 2009). The ESA stipulates that USACE must ensure that its actions do not jeopardize Roanoke logperch and ensure that appropriate actions are taken to aid in the recovery of Roanoke logperch. USACE recognized that additional information was needed to assess compliance with these stipulations, including data on baseline population levels, habitat availability, and potential threats to the species on USACE property. USACE therefore contracted with Virginia Tech (VT) and the U.S. Geological Survey via the Virginia Cooperative Fisheries and Wildlife Research Unit (VCFWRU) to continue ecological monitoring that was initiated in a pilot study in 2005 (Lahey and Angermeier, 2006). The VCFWRU is jointly sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey, Virginia Tech, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and Wildlife Management Institute. This final report summarizes results of biological monitoring performed by VT and the VCFWRU in 2011, and compares these data to data collected during 2006–2010 (Roberts and Angermeier, 2011). Where appropriate, a comparison was made to data on Roanoke logperch collected previously in the study reach (Lahey and Angermeier, 2006) and in the upper Roanoke River (Roberts and Angermeier, 2011). This work was performed under the auspices of VT’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocol 11-035-FIW. Specifically, the following objectives were addressed: * Estimate population density of Roanoke logperch on USACE property; * Measure and map by suitability class the distribution of habitat suitable for Roanoke logperch in the project area; * Assess water quality relative to Roanoke logperch habitat in the project area; * Use the data on logperch abundance, habitat suitability, and water quality to test the general validity of correlates of logperch abundance from other locations; * Identify opportunities and threats related to protecting and enhancing Roanoke logperch habitat; and * Provide suggestions on the necessity and scale of future studies and monitoring related to logperch in and near USACE waters.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20121221","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District","usgsCitation":"Roberts, J.H., and Angermeier, P.L., 2012, Monitoring of endangered Roanoke logperch (Percina rex) in Smith River upstream from the Philpott Reservoir on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property near Martinsville, Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012-1221, iv, 11 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20121221.","productDescription":"iv, 11 p.","startPage":"i","endPage":"11","numberOfPages":"20","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","costCenters":[{"id":199,"text":"Coop Res Unit Leetown","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":267142,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/ofr_2012_1221.gif"},{"id":267140,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1221/"},{"id":267141,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1221/pdf/ofr2012-1221.pdf"}],"country":"United States","state":"Virginia","city":"Martinsville","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -79.904077,36.643805 ], [ -79.904077,36.715337 ], [ -79.826259,36.715337 ], [ -79.826259,36.643805 ], [ -79.904077,36.643805 ] ] ] } } ] }","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"5114cd07e4b0ca7af0743ae7","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Roberts, James H.","contributorId":83811,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Roberts","given":"James","email":"","middleInitial":"H.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":473207,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Angermeier, Paul L. biota@usgs.gov","contributorId":1432,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Angermeier","given":"Paul","email":"biota@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"L.","affiliations":[{"id":613,"text":"Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit","active":false,"usgs":true}],"preferred":false,"id":473206,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2}]}} ,{"id":70043216,"text":"sim3110 - 2012 - Geology of the Prince William Sound and Kenai Peninsula region, Alaska: Including the Kenai, Seldovia, Blying Sound, Cordova, and Middleton Island 1:250,000-scale quadrangles","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2022-04-15T20:46:51.831141","indexId":"sim3110","displayToPublicDate":"2013-02-07T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":333,"text":"Scientific Investigations Map","code":"SIM","onlineIssn":"2329-132X","printIssn":"2329-1311","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"3110","title":"Geology of the Prince William Sound and Kenai Peninsula region, Alaska: Including the Kenai, Seldovia, Blying Sound, Cordova, and Middleton Island 1:250,000-scale quadrangles","docAbstract":"The Prince William Sound and Kenai Peninsula region includes a significant part of one of the world’s largest accretionary complexes and a small part of the classic magmatic arc geology of the Alaska Peninsula. Physiographically, the map area ranges from the high glaciated mountains of the Alaska and Aleutian Ranges and the Chugach Mountains to the coastal lowlands of Cook Inlet and the Copper River delta. Structurally, the map area is cut by a number of major faults and postulated faults, the most important of which are the Border Ranges, Contact, and Bruin Bay Fault systems. The rocks of the map area belong to the Southern Margin composite terrane, a Tertiary and Cretaceous or older subduction-related accretionary complex, and the Alaska Peninsula terrane. Mesozoic rocks between these two terranes have been variously assigned to the Peninsular or the Hidden terranes. The oldest rocks in the map area are blocks of Paleozoic age within the mélange of the McHugh Complex; however, the protolith age of the greenschist and blueschist within the Border Ranges Fault zone is not known. Extensive glacial deposits mantle the Kenai Peninsula and the lowlands on the west side of Cook Inlet and are locally found elsewhere in the map area. This map was compiled from existing mapping, without generalization, and new or revised data was added where available.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sim3110","usgsCitation":"Wilson, F.H., and Hults, C.P., 2012, Geology of the Prince William Sound and Kenai Peninsula region, Alaska: Including the Kenai, Seldovia, Blying Sound, Cordova, and Middleton Island 1:250,000-scale quadrangles: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3110, Report: i, 38 p.; 1 Plate: 58.64 × 41.99 inches, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3110.","productDescription":"Report: i, 38 p.; 1 Plate: 58.64 × 41.99 inches","onlineOnly":"N","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","costCenters":[{"id":114,"text":"Alaska Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":267134,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/sim_3110.png"},{"id":267133,"type":{"id":17,"text":"Plate"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3110/sim3110_sheet_screen.pdf"},{"id":267131,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3110/"},{"id":267132,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3110/sim3110_pamphlet.pdf"},{"id":393705,"rank":5,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_98145.htm"}],"scale":"350000","country":"United States","state":"Alaska","otherGeospatial":"Kenai Peninsula region, Prince William Sound","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -153,\n 59\n ],\n [\n -144,\n 59\n ],\n [\n -144,\n 61\n ],\n [\n -153,\n 61\n ],\n [\n -153,\n 59\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"5114cd04e4b0ca7af0743adb","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Wilson, Frederic H. 0000-0003-1761-6437 fwilson@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1761-6437","contributorId":67174,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Wilson","given":"Frederic","email":"fwilson@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"H.","affiliations":[{"id":119,"text":"Alaska Science Center Geology Minerals","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":114,"text":"Alaska Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":473180,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Hults, Chad P. chults@usgs.gov","contributorId":1930,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Hults","given":"Chad","email":"chults@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"P.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":473181,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2}]}} ,{"id":70043117,"text":"sir20125261 - 2012 - Groundwater status and trends for the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2020-07-15T14:12:20.392543","indexId":"sir20125261","displayToPublicDate":"2013-02-05T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":334,"text":"Scientific Investigations Report","code":"SIR","onlineIssn":"2328-0328","printIssn":"2328-031X","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2012-5261","title":"Groundwater status and trends for the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho","docAbstract":"Well information and groundwater-level measurements for the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, were compiled from data provided by the U.S. Geological Survey and seven other organizations. From the full set of about 60,000 wells and 450,000 water-level measurements a subset of 761 wells within the aquifers of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) then was used to develop a simple linear groundwater-level trend map for 1968–2009. The mean of the trends was a decline of 1.9 feet per year (ft/yr), with 72 percent of the water levels in wells declining. Rates of declines greater than 1.0 ft/yr were measured in 50 percent of wells, declines greater than 2.0 ft/yr in 38 percent of wells, declines greater than 4.0 ft/yr in 29 percent of wells, and declines greater than 8.0 ft/yr in 4 percent of wells. Water-level data were used to identify groups of wells with similar hydraulic heads and temporal trends to delineate areas of overall similar groundwater conditions. Discontinuities in hydraulic head between well groups were used to help infer the presence of barriers to groundwater flow such as changes in lithology or the occurrence of folds and faults. In areas without flow barriers, dissimilarities in response of well groups over time resulted from the formation of groundwater mounds caused by recharge from irrigation or regions of decline caused by pumping. The areas of focus for this analysis included the Umatilla area, Oregon, and the Palouse Slope/eastern Yakima Fold Belt in the Columbia Basin Ground Water Management Area (GWMA) consisting of Adams, Franklin, Grant, and Lincoln Counties, Washington. In the Umatilla area, water levels from 286 wells were used to identify multiple areas of high hydraulic gradient that indicate vertical and horizontal barriers to groundwater flow. These barriers divide the groundwater-flow system into several compartments with varying degrees of interconnection. Horizontal flow barriers commonly correspond to mapped geologic structure and result in horizontal hydraulic gradients that progressively become steeper from north to south corresponding to an increase in structural complexity that may be impeding recharge from the uplands into the heavily developed areas. Most CRBG aquifers in the Umatilla area are declining and since 1970, cumulative declines range from about 100 to 300 feet. Significant vertical hydraulic gradients are documented for relatively small areas near Umatilla, and since the 1970s, downward vertical gradients in these areas have been increasing as hydraulic heads in the deeper units have declined. The absence of vertical gradients over much of the area may be a consequence of flow through commingling wells that results in the equilibration of the heads between aquifers. On the Palouse Slope in the central GWMA, large groundwater declines occurred during 1968–2009 along a north-south swath in the middle of the region. An analysis of 1,195 wells along major flow paths and through the area of persistent groundwater-level declines indicates that barriers to flow are not as evident in this area as in Umatilla. This is consistent with the geologic interpretation of the Palouse Slope as being a gently folded structure created by voluminous sheet flows of CRBG lavas. Groundwater discharge into the sediment-filled coulees, where the upper aquifers are intersected at land surface by incised canyons, is proposed as an alternative to explain local steepening of the hydraulic gradient along the Palouse Slope previously attributed to the presence of a groundwater dam. Comparison of generalized potentiometric surface maps developed for pre-development conditions and post-2000 conditions indicate that pre-development groundwater flow was from the uplands toward the Columbia and Snake River and that post-2000 flow patterns in the area are controlled by irrigation practices that have resulted in broad regions of elevated or depressed hydraulic head. In some cases, irrigation-related changes in head have reversed groundwater flow directions. Evidence of significant vertical hydraulic gradients exists, although much of the aquifer thickness is affected by commingling of wells. The effect of commingling and its relative contribution to problems related to groundwater-level declines remains unclear.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20125261","collaboration":"U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Resources Program and prepared in cooperation with the Oregon Water Resources Department","usgsCitation":"Burns, E., Snyder, D.T., Haynes, J.V., and Waibel, M.S., 2012, Groundwater status and trends for the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5261, Report: viii, 52 p.; Data Release, https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20125261.","productDescription":"Report: viii, 52 p.; Data Release","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-029168","costCenters":[{"id":312,"text":"Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":518,"text":"Oregon Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":267011,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/sir_2012_5261.jpg"},{"id":267010,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5261/pdf/sir2012-5261.pdf","text":"Report","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"}},{"id":267009,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5261/"},{"id":376359,"rank":4,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9Q53DOD","text":"Data release","description":"Data Release","linkHelpText":"Wells and water levels used in the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System Study, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington"}],"country":"United States","state":"Washington, Oregon, Idaho","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -124.7857,42.0 ], [ -124.7857,49.0 ], [ -111.0,49.0 ], [ -111.0,42.0 ], [ -124.7857,42.0 ] ] ] } } ] }","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"511229fbe4b0ebe69d7eb600","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Burns, Erick R. 0000-0002-1747-0506","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1747-0506","contributorId":84802,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Burns","given":"Erick R.","affiliations":[{"id":310,"text":"Geology, Minerals, Energy and Geophysics Science Center","active":false,"usgs":true}],"preferred":false,"id":472992,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Snyder, Daniel T. dtsnyder@usgs.gov","contributorId":820,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Snyder","given":"Daniel","email":"dtsnyder@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"T.","affiliations":[],"preferred":true,"id":472989,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Haynes, Jonathan V. 0000-0001-6530-6252 jhaynes@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6530-6252","contributorId":3113,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Haynes","given":"Jonathan","email":"jhaynes@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"V.","affiliations":[{"id":518,"text":"Oregon Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":472990,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Waibel, Michael S.","contributorId":19984,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Waibel","given":"Michael","email":"","middleInitial":"S.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":472991,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4}]}} ,{"id":70042449,"text":"70042449 - 2012 - Recent and historic sediment dynamics along Difficult Run, a suburban Virginia Piedmont stream","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2023-01-04T16:19:55.230557","indexId":"70042449","displayToPublicDate":"2013-02-01T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":1801,"text":"Geomorphology","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Recent and historic sediment dynamics along Difficult Run, a suburban Virginia Piedmont stream","docAbstract":"Suspended sediment is one of the major concerns regarding the quality of water entering the Chesapeake Bay. Some of the highest suspended-sediment concentrations occur on Piedmont streams, including Difficult Run, a tributary of the Potomac River draining urban and suburban parts of northern Virginia. Accurate information on catchment level sediment budgets is rare and difficult to determine. Further, the sediment trapping portion of sediment budget represents an important ecosystem service that profoundly affects downstream water quality. Our objectives, with special reference to human alterations to the landscape, include the documentation and estimation of floodplain sediment trapping (present and historic) and bank erosion along an urbanized Piedmont stream, the construction of a preliminary sediment balance, and the estimation of legacy sediment and recent development impacts. We used white feldspar markers to measure floodplain sedimentation rates and steel pins to measure erosion rates on floodplains and banks, respectively. Additional data were collected for/from legacy sediment thickness and characteristics, mill pond impacts, stream gaging station records, topographic surveying, and sediment density, texture, and organic content. Data were analyzed using GIS and various statistical programs. Results are interpreted relative to stream equilibrium affected by both post-colonial bottomland sedimentation (legacy) and modern watershed hardening associated with urbanization. Six floodplain/channel sites, from high to low in the watershed, were selected for intensive study. Bank erosion ranges from 0 to 470 kg/m/y and floodplain sedimentation ranges from 18 to 1369 kg/m/y (m refers to meters of stream reach). Upstream reaches are net erosional, while downstream reaches have a distinctly net depositional flux providing a watershed sediment balance of 2184 kg/m/y trapped within the system. The amounts of both deposition and erosion are large and suggest nonequilibrium channel conditions. Both peak discharge and number of peaks above base have substantially increased since the mid-1960s when urbanization of the watershed began. Deposition patterns are most closely correlated with channel gradient, sinuosity, and channel width/floodplain width for recent and historic periods. The substantial amounts of fine grained sediment deposited on the floodplain over the past two centuries or so do not appear to be closely related to historic mill pond presence or location. The floodplain continues to provide the critical ecosystem service of sediment trapping in the face of multiple human alterations. Trends in sediment deposition/erosion may react rapidly to land use practices within the watershed and offer a valuable barometer of the effects of management actions.","language":"English","publisher":"Elsevier","publisherLocation":"Amsterdam, Netherlands","doi":"10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.10.007","usgsCitation":"Hupp, C.R., Noe, G., Schenk, E.R., and Benthem, A.J., 2012, Recent and historic sediment dynamics along Difficult Run, a suburban Virginia Piedmont stream: Geomorphology, v. 180-181, 14 p., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.10.007.","productDescription":"14 p.","numberOfPages":"14","ipdsId":"IP-039432","costCenters":[],"links":[{"id":268541,"rank":2,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"},{"id":265421,"rank":1,"type":{"id":10,"text":"Digital Object Identifier"},"url":"https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.10.007"}],"country":"United States","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -77.293804,38.943012 ], [ -77.293804,38.962448 ], [ -77.287886,38.962448 ], [ -77.287886,38.943012 ], [ -77.293804,38.943012 ] ] ] } } ] }","volume":"180-181","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"51308a98e4b04c194073ae37","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Hupp, Cliff R. 0000-0003-1853-9197 crhupp@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1853-9197","contributorId":2344,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Hupp","given":"Cliff","email":"crhupp@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"R.","affiliations":[{"id":37277,"text":"WMA - Earth System Processes Division","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":436,"text":"National Research Program - Eastern Branch","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":471561,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Noe, Gregory B. 0000-0002-6661-2646 gnoe@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6661-2646","contributorId":2332,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Noe","given":"Gregory","email":"gnoe@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"B.","affiliations":[{"id":5044,"text":"National Research Program - Central Branch","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":false,"id":471560,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Schenk, Edward R. 0000-0001-6886-5754 eschenk@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6886-5754","contributorId":2183,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Schenk","given":"Edward","email":"eschenk@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"R.","affiliations":[{"id":436,"text":"National Research Program - Eastern Branch","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":471559,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Benthem, Adam J. 0000-0003-2372-0281 abenthem@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2372-0281","contributorId":2740,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Benthem","given":"Adam","email":"abenthem@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"J.","affiliations":[{"id":436,"text":"National Research Program - Eastern Branch","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":471562,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4}]}} ,{"id":70043059,"text":"sir20125250 - 2012 - Total nitrogen and suspended-sediment loads and identification of suspended-sediment sources in the Laurel Hill Creek watershed, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, water years 2010-11","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2013-02-01T15:24:40","indexId":"sir20125250","displayToPublicDate":"2013-02-01T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":334,"text":"Scientific Investigations Report","code":"SIR","onlineIssn":"2328-0328","printIssn":"2328-031X","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2012-5250","title":"Total nitrogen and suspended-sediment loads and identification of suspended-sediment sources in the Laurel Hill Creek watershed, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, water years 2010-11","docAbstract":"Laurel Hill Creek is a watershed of 125 square miles located mostly in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, with small areas extending into Fayette and Westmoreland Counties. The upper part of the watershed is on the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 303(d) list of impaired streams because of siltation, nutrients, and low dissolved oxygen concentrations. The objectives of this study were to (1) estimate the annual sediment load, (2) estimate the annual nitrogen load, and (3) identify the major sources of fine-grained sediment using the sediment-fingerprinting approach. This study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was done in cooperation with the Somerset County Conservation District. Discharge, suspended-sediment, and nutrient data were collected at two streamflow-gaging stations—Laurel Hill Creek near Bakersville, Pa., (station 03079600) and Laurel Hill Creek at Ursina, Pa., (station 03080000)—and one ungaged stream site, Laurel Hill Creek below Laurel Hill Creek Lake at Trent (station 03079655). Concentrations of nutrients generally were low. Concentrations of ammonia were less than 0.2 milligrams per liter (mg/L), and concentrations of phosphorus were less than 0.3 mg/L. Most concentrations of phosphorus were less than the detection limit of 0.02 mg/L. Most water samples had concentrations of nitrate plus nitrite less than 1.0 mg/L. At the Bakersville station, concentrations of total nitrogen ranged from 0.63 to 1.3 mg/L in base-flow samples and from 0.57 to 1.5 mg/L in storm composite samples. Median concentrations were 0.88 mg/L in base-flow samples and 1.2 mg/L in storm composite samples. At the Ursina station, concentrations of total nitrogen ranged from 0.25 to 0.92 mg/L in base-flow samples; the median concentration was 0.57 mg/L. The estimated total nitrogen load at the Bakersville station was 262 pounds (lb) for 11 months of the 2010 water year (November 2009 to September 2010) and 266 lb for the 2011 water year. Most of the total nitrogen loading was from stormflows. The stormflow load accounted for 76.6 percent of the total load for the 2010 water year and 80.6 percent of the total load for the 2011 water year. The estimated monthly total nitrogen loads were higher during the winter and spring (December through May) than during the summer (June through August). For the Bakersville station, the estimated suspended-sediment load (SSL) was 17,700 tons for 11 months of the 2010 water year (November 2009 to September 2010). The storm beginning January 24, 2010, provided 34.4 percent of the annual SSL, and the storm beginning March 10, 2010, provided 31.9 percent of the annual SSL. Together, these two winter storms provided 66 percent of the annual SSL for the 2010 water year. For the 2011 water year, the estimated annual SSL was 13,500 tons. For the 2011 water year, the SSLs were more evenly divided among storms than for the 2010 water year. Seven of 37 storms with the highest SSLs provided a total of 65.7 percent of the annual SSL for the 2011 water year; each storm provided from 4.6 to 12.3 percent of the annual SSL. The highest cumulative SSL for the 2010 and 2011 water years generally occurred during the late winter. Stormflows with the highest peak discharges generally carried the highest SSL. The sediment-fingerprinting approach was used to quantify sources of fine-grained suspended sediment in the watershed draining to the Laurel Hill Creek near Bakersville streamflow-gaging station. Sediment source samples were collected from five source types: 20 from cropland, 9 from pasture, 18 from forested areas, 20 from unpaved roads, and 23 from streambanks. At the Bakersville station, 10 suspended-sediment samples were collected during 6 storms for sediment-source analysis. Thirty-five tracers from elemental analysis and 4 tracers from stable isotope analysis were used to fingerprint the source of sediment for the 10 storm samples. Statistical analysis determined that cropland and pasture could not be discriminated by the set of tracers and were combined into one source group—agriculture. Stepwise discriminant function analysis determined that 11 tracers best described the 4 sources. An \"unmixing\" model applied to the 11 tracers showed that agricultural land (cropland and pasture) was the major source of sediment, contributing an average of 53 percent of the sediment for the 10 storm samples. Streambanks, unpaved roads, and forest contributions for the 10 storm samples averaged 30, 17, and 0 percent, respectively. Agriculture was the major contributor of sediment during the highest sampled stormflows. The highest stormflows also produced the highest total nitrogen and suspended-sediment loads.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20125250","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Somerset County Conservation District","usgsCitation":"Sloto, R.A., Gellis, A., and Galeone, D.G., 2012, Total nitrogen and suspended-sediment loads and identification of suspended-sediment sources in the Laurel Hill Creek watershed, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, water years 2010-11: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5250, viii, 44 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20125250.","productDescription":"viii, 44 p.","numberOfPages":"56","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","temporalStart":"2009-10-01","temporalEnd":"2011-09-30","costCenters":[{"id":532,"text":"Pennsylvania Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":266902,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/sir_2012_5250.png"},{"id":266900,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5250/support/sir2012-5250-appendix4.xlsx"},{"id":266901,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5250/support/sir2012-5250-appendix5.xlsx"},{"id":266898,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5250/"},{"id":266899,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5250/support/sir2012-5250.pdf"}],"scale":"2000000","projection":"Albers Equal-Area Conic Projection","country":"United States","state":"Pennsylvania","county":"Fayette;Somerset","city":"Bakersville;Trent;Ursina","otherGeospatial":"Laurel Hill Creek","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -79.416667,39.8 ], [ -79.416667,40.116667 ], [ -79.116667,40.116667 ], [ -79.116667,39.8 ], [ -79.416667,39.8 ] ] ] } } ] }","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"510ce3f0e4b0ae2ee50d95ef","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Sloto, Ronald A. rasloto@usgs.gov","contributorId":424,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Sloto","given":"Ronald","email":"rasloto@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"A.","affiliations":[{"id":532,"text":"Pennsylvania Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":472882,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Gellis, Allen C. 0000-0002-3449-2889 agellis@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3449-2889","contributorId":1709,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Gellis","given":"Allen C.","email":"agellis@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":375,"text":"Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia Water Science Center","active":false,"usgs":true}],"preferred":false,"id":472883,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Galeone, Daniel G. 0000-0002-8007-9278 dgaleone@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8007-9278","contributorId":2301,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Galeone","given":"Daniel","email":"dgaleone@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"G.","affiliations":[{"id":532,"text":"Pennsylvania Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":472884,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3}]}} ,{"id":70042975,"text":"cir13814 - 2012 - Lake water quality: Chapter 4 in A synthesis of aquatic science for management of Lakes Mead and Mohave","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2013-02-06T14:50:04","indexId":"cir13814","displayToPublicDate":"2013-01-29T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":307,"text":"Circular","code":"CIR","onlineIssn":"2330-5703","printIssn":"1067-084X","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"1381-4","title":"Lake water quality: Chapter 4 in A synthesis of aquatic science for management of Lakes Mead and Mohave","docAbstract":"Given the importance of the availability and quality of water in Lake Mead, it has become one of the most intensely sampled and studied bodies of water in the United States. As a result, data are available from sampling stations across the lake (fig. 4-1 and see U.S. Geological Survey Automated Water-Quality Platforms) to provide information on past and current (2012) water-quality conditions and on invasive species that influence—and are affected by—water quality. Water quality in Lakes Mead and Mohave generally exceeds standards set by the State of Nevada to protect water supplies for public uses: drinking water, aquatic ecosystem health, recreation, or agricultural irrigation. In comparison to other reservoirs studied by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for a national lake assessment (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2010), Lake Mead is well within the highest or ‘good’ category for recreation and aquatic health (see U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Lakes Assessment and Lake Mead for more details). While a small part of the lake, particularly Las Vegas Bay, is locally influenced by runoff from urbanized tributaries such as Las Vegas Wash, contaminant loading in the lake as a whole is low compared to other reservoirs in the nation, which are influenced by runoff from more heavily urbanized watersheds (Rosen and Van Metre, 2010).","largerWorkType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"largerWorkTitle":"A synthesis of aquatic science for management of Lakes Mead and Mohave (CIR 1381)","largerWorkSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/cir13814","collaboration":"This report is Chapter 4 in A synthesis of aquatic science for management of Lakes Mead and Mohave. For more information, see: Circular 1381","usgsCitation":"Tietjen, T., Holdren, G.C., Rosen, M.R., Veley, R.J., Moran, M.J., Vanderford, B., Wong, W., and Drury, D.D., 2012, Lake water quality: Chapter 4 in A synthesis of aquatic science for management of Lakes Mead and Mohave: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1381-4, 34 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/cir13814.","productDescription":"34 p.","startPage":"35","endPage":"68","costCenters":[{"id":465,"text":"Nevada Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":266733,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1381/"},{"id":266734,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1381/pdf/circ1381.pdf"},{"id":266735,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/cir_1381_4.jpg"}],"otherGeospatial":"Lake Mead National Recreation Area","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -114.92,35.17 ], [ -114.92,36.59 ], [ -113.14,36.59 ], [ -113.14,35.17 ], [ -114.92,35.17 ] ] ] } } ] }","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"5108ef73e4b0d965cd9f22c0","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Tietjen, Todd","contributorId":56530,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Tietjen","given":"Todd","email":"","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":472715,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Holdren, G. Chris","contributorId":77817,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Holdren","given":"G.","email":"","middleInitial":"Chris","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":472716,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Rosen, Michael R. 0000-0003-3991-0522 mrosen@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3991-0522","contributorId":495,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Rosen","given":"Michael","email":"mrosen@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"R.","affiliations":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":472711,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Veley, Ronald J. rjveley@usgs.gov","contributorId":4013,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Veley","given":"Ronald","email":"rjveley@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"J.","affiliations":[],"preferred":true,"id":472713,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4},{"text":"Moran, Michael J. mjmoran@usgs.gov","contributorId":1047,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Moran","given":"Michael","email":"mjmoran@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"J.","affiliations":[{"id":465,"text":"Nevada Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":472712,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":5},{"text":"Vanderford, Brett","contributorId":21837,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Vanderford","given":"Brett","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":472714,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":6},{"text":"Wong, Wai Hing","contributorId":96977,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Wong","given":"Wai Hing","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":472718,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":7},{"text":"Drury, Douglas D.","contributorId":84642,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Drury","given":"Douglas","email":"","middleInitial":"D.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":472717,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":8}]}} ,{"id":70042815,"text":"sir20125194 - 2012 - Methods to characterize environmental settings of stream and groundwater sampling sites for National Water-Quality Assessment","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2013-01-24T14:09:51","indexId":"sir20125194","displayToPublicDate":"2013-01-24T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":334,"text":"Scientific Investigations Report","code":"SIR","onlineIssn":"2328-0328","printIssn":"2328-031X","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2012-5194","title":"Methods to characterize environmental settings of stream and groundwater sampling sites for National Water-Quality Assessment","docAbstract":"Characterization of natural and anthropogenic features that define the environmental settings of sampling sites for streams and groundwater, including drainage basins and groundwater study areas, is an essential component of water-quality and ecological investigations being conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment program. Quantitative characterization of environmental settings, combined with physical, chemical, and biological data collected at sampling sites, contributes to understanding the status of, and influences on, water-quality and ecological conditions. To support studies for the National Water-Quality Assessment program, a geographic information system (GIS) was used to develop a standard set of methods to consistently characterize the sites, drainage basins, and groundwater study areas across the nation. This report describes three methods used for characterization-simple overlay, area-weighted areal interpolation, and land-cover-weighted areal interpolation-and their appropriate applications to geographic analyses that have different objectives and data constraints. In addition, this document records the GIS thematic datasets that are used for the Program's national design and data analyses.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20125194","collaboration":"National Water-Quality Assessment Program","usgsCitation":"Nakagaki, N., Hitt, K.J., Price, C.V., and Falcone, J., 2012, Methods to characterize environmental settings of stream and groundwater sampling sites for National Water-Quality Assessment: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5194, iv, 56 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20125194.","productDescription":"iv, 56 p.","numberOfPages":"65","onlineOnly":"Y","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":266422,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/sir_2012_5194.jpg"},{"id":266421,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5194/pdf/sir20125194.pdf"},{"id":266420,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5194/"}],"country":"United States","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"51026623e4b0d4f5ea817c31","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Nakagaki, Naomi 0000-0003-3653-0540 nakagaki@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3653-0540","contributorId":1067,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Nakagaki","given":"Naomi","email":"nakagaki@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":472322,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Hitt, Kerie J.","contributorId":54565,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Hitt","given":"Kerie","email":"","middleInitial":"J.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":472324,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Price, Curtis V. 0000-0002-4315-3539 cprice@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4315-3539","contributorId":983,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Price","given":"Curtis","email":"cprice@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"V.","affiliations":[{"id":562,"text":"South Dakota Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":472321,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Falcone, James A.","contributorId":24044,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Falcone","given":"James A.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":472323,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4}]}} ,{"id":70042639,"text":"sir20125270 - 2012 - Evaluation of quality-control data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey for routine water-quality activities at the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 1996–2001","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2013-01-15T15:41:30","indexId":"sir20125270","displayToPublicDate":"2013-01-15T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":334,"text":"Scientific Investigations Report","code":"SIR","onlineIssn":"2328-0328","printIssn":"2328-031X","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2012-5270","title":"Evaluation of quality-control data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey for routine water-quality activities at the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 1996–2001","docAbstract":"The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, collects surface water and groundwater samples at and near the Idaho National Laboratory as part of a routine, site-wide, water-quality monitoring program. Quality-control samples are collected as part of the program to ensure and document the quality of environmental data. From 1996 to 2001, quality-control samples consisting of 204 replicates and 27 blanks were collected at sampling sites. Paired measurements from replicates were used to calculate variability (as reproducibility and reliability) from sample collection and analysis of radiochemical, chemical, and organic constituents. Measurements from field and equipment blanks were used to estimate the potential contamination bias of constituents. The reproducibility of measurements of constituents was calculated from paired measurements as the normalized absolute difference (NAD) or the relative standard deviation (RSD). The NADs and RSDs, as well as paired measurements with censored or estimated concentrations for which NADs and RSDs were not calculated, were compared to specified criteria to determine if the paired measurements had acceptable reproducibility. If the percentage of paired measurements with acceptable reproducibility for a constituent was greater than or equal to 90 percent, then the reproducibility for that constituent was considered acceptable. The percentage of paired measurements with acceptable reproducibility was greater than or equal to 90 percent for all constituents except orthophosphate (89 percent), zinc (80 percent), hexavalent chromium (53 percent), and total organic carbon (TOC; 38 percent). The low reproducibility for orthophosphate and zinc was attributed to calculation of RSDs for replicates with low concentrations of these constituents. The low reproducibility for hexavalent chromium and TOC was attributed to the inability to preserve hexavalent chromium in water samples and high variability with the analytical method for TOC. The reliability of measurements of constituents was estimated from pooled RSDs that were calculated for discrete concentration ranges for each constituent. Pooled RSDs of 15 to 33 percent were calculated for low concentrations of gross-beta radioactivity, strontium-90, ammonia, nitrite, orthophosphate, nickel, selenium, zinc, tetrachloroethene, and toluene. Lower pooled RSDs of 0 to 12 percent were calculated for all other concentration ranges of these constituents, and for all other constituents, except for one concentration range for gross-beta radioactivity, chloride, and nitrate + nitrite; two concentration ranges for hexavalent chromium; and TOC. Pooled RSDs for the 50 to 60 picocuries per liter concentration range of gross-beta radioactivity (reported as cesium-137) and the 10 to 60 milligrams per liter (mg/L) concentration range of nitrate + nitrite (reported as nitrogen [N]) were 17 percent. Chloride had a pooled RSD of 14 percent for the 20 to less than 60 mg/L concentration range. High pooled RSDs of 40 and 51 percent were calculated for two concentration ranges for hexavalent chromium and of 60 percent for TOC. Measurements from (1) field blanks were used to estimate the potential bias associated with environmental samples from sample collection and analysis, (2) equipment blanks were used to estimate the potential bias from cross contamination of samples collected from wells where portable sampling equipment was used, and (3) a source-solution blank was used to verify that the deionized water source-solution was free of the constituents of interest. If more than one measurement was available, the bias was estimated using order statistics and the binomial probability distribution. The source-solution blank had a detectable concentration of hexavalent chromium of 2 micrograms per liter. If this bias was from a source other than the source solution, then about 84 percent of the 117 hexavalent chromium measurements from environmental samples could have a bias of 10 percent or more. Of the 14 field blanks that were collected, only chloride (0.2 milligrams per liter) and ammonia (0.03 milligrams per liter as nitrogen), in one blank each, had detectable concentrations. With an estimated confidencelevel of 95 percent, at least 80 percent of the 1,987 chloride concentrations measured from all environmental samples had a potential bias of less than 8 percent. The ammonia bias, which may have occurred at the analytical laboratory, could produce a potential bias of 5-100 percent in eight potentially affected ammonia measurements. Of the 11 equipment blanks that were collected, chloride was detected in 4 of these blanks, sodium in 3 blanks, and sulfate and hexavalent chromium were each detected in 1 blank. The concentration of hexavalent chromium in the equipment blank was the same concentration as in the source-solution blank collected on the same day, which indicates that the hexavalent chromium in the equipment blank is probably from a source other than the portable sampling equipment, such as the sample bottles or the source-solution water itself. The potential bias for chloride, sodium, and sulfate measurements was estimated for environmental samples that were collected using portable sampling equipment. For chloride, it was estimated with 93 percent confidence that at least 80 percent of the measurements had a bias of less than 18 percent. For sodium and sulfate, it was estimated with 91 percent confidence that at least 70 percent of the measurements had a bias of less than 12 and 5 percent, respectively.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20125270","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy DOE/ID-22222","usgsCitation":"Rattray, G.W., 2012, Evaluation of quality-control data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey for routine water-quality activities at the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 1996–2001: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5270, vi, 74 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20125270.","productDescription":"vi, 74 p.","numberOfPages":"84","costCenters":[{"id":343,"text":"Idaho Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":265728,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/sir_2012_5270.jpg"},{"id":265726,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5270/"},{"id":265727,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5270/pdf/sir20125270.pdf"}],"country":"United States","state":"Idaho","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -115.11,41.99 ], [ -115.11,45.20 ], [ -111.04,45.20 ], [ -111.04,41.99 ], [ -115.11,41.99 ] ] ] } } ] }","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"50f67a5fe4b0f5392eb7e758","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Rattray, Gordon W. 0000-0002-1690-3218 grattray@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1690-3218","contributorId":2521,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Rattray","given":"Gordon","email":"grattray@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"W.","affiliations":[{"id":343,"text":"Idaho Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":471950,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1}]}} ,{"id":70042592,"text":"sir20125244 - 2012 - Comparison of two regression-based approaches for determining nutrient and sediment fluxes and trends in the Chesapeake Bay watershed","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2021-07-06T23:06:27.687094","indexId":"sir20125244","displayToPublicDate":"2013-01-14T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":334,"text":"Scientific Investigations Report","code":"SIR","onlineIssn":"2328-0328","printIssn":"2328-031X","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2012-5244","title":"Comparison of two regression-based approaches for determining nutrient and sediment fluxes and trends in the Chesapeake Bay watershed","docAbstract":"Nutrient and sediment fluxes and changes in fluxes over time are key indicators that water resource managers can use to assess the progress being made in improving the structure and function of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The U.S. Geological Survey collects annual nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) and sediment flux data and computes trends that describe the extent to which water-quality conditions are changing within the major Chesapeake Bay tributaries. Two regression-based approaches were compared for estimating annual nutrient and sediment fluxes and for characterizing how these annual fluxes are changing over time. The two regression models compared are the traditionally used ESTIMATOR and the newly developed Weighted Regression on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS). The model comparison focused on answering three questions: (1) What are the differences between the functional form and construction of each model? (2) Which model produces estimates of flux with the greatest accuracy and least amount of bias? (3) How different would the historical estimates of annual flux be if WRTDS had been used instead of ESTIMATOR? One additional point of comparison between the two models is how each model determines trends in annual flux once the year-to-year variations in discharge have been determined. All comparisons were made using total nitrogen, nitrate, total phosphorus, orthophosphorus, and suspended-sediment concentration data collected at the nine U.S. Geological Survey River Input Monitoring stations located on the Susquehanna, Potomac, James, Rappahannock, Appomattox, Pamunkey, Mattaponi, Patuxent, and Choptank Rivers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
\nTwo model characteristics that uniquely distinguish ESTIMATOR and WRTDS are the fundamental model form and the determination of model coefficients. ESTIMATOR and WRTDS both predict water-quality constituent concentration by developing a linear relation between the natural logarithm of observed constituent concentration and three explanatory variables—the natural log of discharge, time, and season. ESTIMATOR uses two additional explanatory variables—the square of the log of discharge and time-squared. Both models determine coefficients for variables for a series of estimation windows. ESTIMATOR establishes variable coefficients for a series of 9-year moving windows; all observed constituent concentration data within the 9-year window are used to establish each coefficient. Conversely, WRTDS establishes variable coefficients for each combination of discharge and time using only observed concentration data that are similar in time, season, and discharge to the day being estimated. As a result of these distinguishing characteristics, ESTIMATOR reproduces concentration-discharge relations that are closely approximated by a quadratic or linear function with respect to both the log of discharge and time. Conversely, the linear model form of WRTDS coupled with extensive model windowing for each combination of discharge and time allows WRTDS to reproduce observed concentration-discharge relations that are more sinuous in form.
\nAnother distinction between ESTIMATOR and WRTDS is the reporting of uncertainty associated with the model estimates of flux and trend. ESTIMATOR quantifies the standard error of prediction associated with the determination of flux and trends. The standard error of prediction enables the determination of the 95-percent confidence intervals for flux and trend as well as the ability to test whether the reported trend is significantly different from zero (where zero equals no trend). Conversely, WRTDS is unable to propagate error through the many (over 5,000) models for unique combinations of flow and time to determine a total standard error. As a result, WRTDS flux estimates are not reported with confidence intervals and a level of significance is not determined for flow-normalized fluxes.
\nThe differences between ESTIMATOR and WRTDS, with regard to model form and determination of model coefficients, have an influence on the determination of nutrient and sediment fluxes and associated changes in flux over time as a result of management activities. The comparison between the model estimates of flux and trend was made for combinations of five water-quality constituents at nine River Input Monitoring stations.
\nThe major findings with regard to nutrient and sediment fluxes are as follows: (1)WRTDS produced estimates of flux for all combinations that were more accurate, based on reduction in root mean squared error, than flux estimates from ESTIMATOR; (2) for 67 percent of the combinations, WRTDS and ESTIMATOR both produced estimates of flux that were minimally biased compared to observed fluxes(flux bias = tendency to over or underpredict flux observations); however, for 33 percent of the combinations, WRTDS produced estimates of flux that were considerably less biased (by at least 10 percent) than flux estimates from ESTIMATOR; (3) the average percent difference in annual fluxes generated by ESTIMATOR and WRTDS was less than 10 percent at 80 percent of the combinations; and (4) the greatest differences related to flux bias and annual fluxes all occurred for combinations where the pattern in observed concentration-discharge relation was sinuous (two points of inflection) rather than linear or quadratic (zero or one point of inflection).
\nThe major findings with regard to trends are as follows: (1) both models produce water-quality trends that have factored in the year-to-year variations in flow; (2) trends in water-quality condition are represented by ESTIMATOR as a trend in flow-adjusted concentration and by WRTDS as a flow normalized flux; (3) for 67 percent of the combinations with trend estimates, the WRTDS trends in flow-normalized flux are in the same direction and magnitude to the ESTIMATOR trends in flow-adjusted concentration, and at the remaining 33 percent the differences in trend magnitude and direction are related to fundamental differences between concentration and flux; and (4) the majority (85 percent) of the total nitrogen, nitrate, and orthophosphorus combinations exhibited long-term (1985 to 2010) trends in WRTDS flow-normalized flux that indicate improvement or reduction in associated flux and the majority (83 percent) of the total phosphorus (from 1985 to 2010) and suspended sediment (from 2001 to 2010) combinations exhibited trends in WRTDS flow-normalized flux that indicate degradation or increases in the flux delivered.
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Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":331,"text":"Professional Paper","code":"PP","onlineIssn":"2330-7102","printIssn":"1044-9612","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"1796","title":"An economic value of remote-sensing information—Application to agricultural production and maintaining groundwater quality","docAbstract":"Does remote-sensing information provide economic benefits to society, and can a value be assigned to those benefits? Can resource management and policy decisions be better informed by coupling past and present Earth observations with groundwater nitrate measurements? Using an integrated assessment approach, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) applied an established conceptual framework to answer these questions, as well as to estimate the value of information (VOI) for remote-sensing imagery. The approach uses moderate-resolution land-imagery (MRLI) data from the Landsat and Advanced Wide Field Sensor satellites that has been classified by the National Agricultural Statistics Service into the Cropland Data Layer (CDL). Within the constraint of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's public health threshold for potable groundwater resources, the USGS modeled the relation between a population of the CDL's land uses and dynamic nitrate (NO3-) contamination of aquifers in a case study region in northeastern Iowa. Employing various multiscaled, multitemporal geospatial datasets with MRLI to maximize the value of agricultural production, the approach develops and uses multiple environmental science models to address dynamic nitrogen loading and transport at specified distances from specific sites (wells) and at landscape scales (for example, across 35 counties and two aquifers). In addition to the ecosystem service of potable groundwater, this effort focuses on the use of MRLI for the management of the major land uses in the study region-the production of corn and soybeans, which can impact groundwater quality. Derived methods and results include (1) economic and dynamic nitrate-pollution models, (2) probabilities of the survival of groundwater, and (3) a VOI for remote sensing. For the northeastern Iowa study region, the marginal benefit of the MRLI VOI (in 2010 dollars) is $858 million ±$197 million annualized, which corresponds to a net present value of $38.1 billion ±$8.8 billion for that flow of benefits in perpetuity. Given that these economic estimates are derived from one case study in a part of only one State, the estimates provide a lower estimate related to the potential value of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/pp1796","usgsCitation":"Forney, W.M., Raunikar, R.P., Bernknopf, R.L., and Mishra, S.K., 2012, An economic value of remote-sensing information—Application to agricultural production and maintaining groundwater quality: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1796, vii, 60 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1796.","productDescription":"vii, 60 p.","numberOfPages":"72","onlineOnly":"N","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","costCenters":[{"id":657,"text":"Western Geographic Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":265537,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/pp_1796.gif"},{"id":265536,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1796/pp1796.pdf"},{"id":265535,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1796/"}],"country":"United States","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"50f1345fe4b0c982afefa869","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Forney, William M.","contributorId":43490,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Forney","given":"William","email":"","middleInitial":"M.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":471705,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Raunikar, Ronald P.","contributorId":101535,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Raunikar","given":"Ronald","email":"","middleInitial":"P.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":471707,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Bernknopf, Richard L.","contributorId":97061,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Bernknopf","given":"Richard","email":"","middleInitial":"L.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":471706,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Mishra, Shruti K.","contributorId":21432,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Mishra","given":"Shruti","email":"","middleInitial":"K.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":471704,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4}]}} ,{"id":70041438,"text":"70041438 - 2012 - Observations of ocean circulation and sediment transport experiment offshore of Fire Island, NY","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2025-04-10T15:28:45.464608","indexId":"70041438","displayToPublicDate":"2013-01-10T10:12:39","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":24,"text":"Conference Paper"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":19,"text":"Conference Paper"},"title":"Observations of ocean circulation and sediment transport experiment offshore of Fire Island, NY","docAbstract":"Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center (WHCMSC), in collaboration with Coastal Carolina University (CCU) and University of South Carolina (USC), conducted a scientific field study to investigate the ocean circulation and sediment transport processes offshore of Fire Island, NY. Although the physical processes along the entire linear extent of Fire Island (~50 km) are of interest to the project, one particular region of focus is at the western end of the island where offshore sand ridges out to depths of 20 m extend across the inner shelf and connect to the near-shore bar system. The primary objective was to measure the physical processes around the sand ridges, including circulation patterns, wave parameters, bottom stress, and suspended sediment. Transects of instrumentation were positioned along and across the crests and troughs of the ridge field. A site at the top of a ridge and a site at the bottom of an adjacent trough were each populated with two tripods designed to provide high-resolution measurements near the sea-bed to record sediment re-suspension events. Measurements at these two sites include near bottom velocity profiles, acoustic Doppler velocimeters, pressure, optical transmission and backscatter at high sampling rates. Other measurements include upward looking velocity profiles, temperature, salinity, sonar images and profiles, and sediment size classes. Five smaller tripods were deployed to complete lines alongshore and across shore over a 5 km area to provide a regional picture. These tripods recorded upward looking velocity profiles and near bottom temperature, pressure and salinity. Surface buoys marked the position of the tripods and collected surface measurements at six of the sites. One buoy gathered meteorological measurements. The sites were occupied from January to April, 2012. This deployment was similar to previous efforts off Cape Hatteras, NC, in 2009, and is part of an ongoing effort to understand regional patterns in circulation and sediment transport and the interaction of inner shelf and near shore processes. New instrumentation for the USGS was introduced, including a variety of current and wave measurement equipment, acquisition and telemetry in near-realtime of the weather data, time series sonar imaging equipment, and anti-fouling wipers. Preliminary results suggest a complex and subtle relationship between wind and across shore current velocity in this region, and a more straightforward relationship between winds and alongshore currents. This paper also includes a preliminary report on the effectiveness of new measurement techniques used during this experiment.
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The impetus behind the creation of the NWHC was, in part, the catastrophic loss of tens of thousands of waterfowl as a result of an outbreak of duck plague at the Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota during January 1973. In 1996, the NWHC, along with other Department of Interior research functions, was transferred from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), where we remain one of many entities that provide the independent science that forms the bases of the sound management of the Nation’s natural resources. Our mission is to provide national leadership to safeguard wildlife and ecosystem health through dynamic partnerships and exceptional science. The main campus of the NWHC is located in Madison, Wis., where we maintain biological safety level 3 (BSL–3) diagnostic and research facilities purposefully designed for work with wildlife species. The NWHC provides research and technical assistance on wildlife health issues to State, Federal, and international agencies. In addition, since 1992 we have maintained a field station in Hawaii, the Honolulu Field Station, which focuses on marine and terrestrial natural resources throughout the Pacific region. The NWHC conducts diagnostic investigations of unusual wildlife morbidity and mortality events nationwide to detect the presence of wildlife pathogens and determine the cause of death. This is also an important activity for detecting new, emerging and resurging diseases. The NWHC provides this crucial information on the presence of wildlife diseases to wildlife managers to support sound management decisions. The data and information generated also allows for further indepth analyses for determining the biological and ecological significance of disease events, detecting disease trends over time and space, as well as detecting any significant changes to how diseases manifest in the field. Moreover, this information allows us to gain insight into the significance of future wildlife disease events. The purpose of this report is to provide a sample of NWHC data that are available from our Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). These data are presented in summary format with minimal statistical analysis and interpretation. The goal is to share these data with wildlife managers and other stakeholders, promote the use of NHWC data, and encourage the sharing of wildlife disease data to improve temporal and geographic surveillance coverage. Continued national surveillance for wildlife diseases is essential for providing early detection and warning of events that have the potential to result in harm to human health, economic losses, declines in wildlife populations, and subsequent ecological disturbances. Increased collaboration, coordination, and sharing of surveillance data will enhance this Nation’s ability to detect and respond to wildlife disease threats.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20125271","usgsCitation":"Green, D.E., Hines, M., Russell, R.E., and Sleeman, J.M., 2012, U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 2011 report of selected wildlife diseases: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5271, vi, 39 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20125271.","productDescription":"vi, 39 p.","startPage":"i","endPage":"39","numberOfPages":"49","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","temporalStart":"2011-01-01","temporalEnd":"2011-12-31","costCenters":[{"id":456,"text":"National Wildlife Health Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":265532,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/sir_2012_5271.gif"},{"id":265530,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5271/"},{"id":265531,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5271/pdf/NWHC-SIR2012_5271.pdf"}],"noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"53cd7a07e4b0b2908510d372","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Green, David E. 0000-0002-7663-1832 degreen@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7663-1832","contributorId":3715,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Green","given":"David","email":"degreen@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"E.","affiliations":[{"id":456,"text":"National Wildlife Health Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":516198,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Hines, Megan 0000-0002-9845-4849 mhines@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9845-4849","contributorId":4783,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Hines","given":"Megan","email":"mhines@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":5054,"text":"Office of Water Information","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":677,"text":"Wisconsin Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":160,"text":"Center for Integrated Data Analytics","active":false,"usgs":true},{"id":574,"text":"St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":516200,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Russell, Robin E. 0000-0001-8726-7303 rerussell@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8726-7303","contributorId":3998,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Russell","given":"Robin","email":"rerussell@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"E.","affiliations":[{"id":456,"text":"National Wildlife Health Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":516199,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Sleeman, Jonathan M. 0000-0002-9910-6125 jsleeman@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9910-6125","contributorId":128,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Sleeman","given":"Jonathan","email":"jsleeman@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"M.","affiliations":[{"id":82110,"text":"Midcontinent Regional Director's Office","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":456,"text":"National Wildlife Health Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":516197,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4}]}} ,{"id":70007153,"text":"70007153 - 2012 - Landsat: building a strong future","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2013-01-10T15:47:51","indexId":"70007153","displayToPublicDate":"2013-01-10T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":3254,"text":"Remote Sensing of Environment","printIssn":"0034-4257","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Landsat: building a strong future","docAbstract":"Conceived in the 1960s, the Landsat program has experienced six successful missions that have contributed to an unprecedented 39-year record of Earth Observations that capture global land conditions and dynamics. Incremental improvements in imaging capabilities continue to improve the quality of Landsat science data, while ensuring continuity over the full instrument record. Landsats 5 and 7 are still collecting imagery. The planned launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission in December 2012 potentially extends the Landsat record to nearly 50 years. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat archive contains nearly three million Landsat images. All USGS Landsat data are available at no cost via the Internet. The USGS is committed to improving the content of the historical Landsat archive though the consolidation of Landsat data held in international archives. In addition, the USGS is working on a strategy to develop higher-level Landsat geo- and biophysical datasets. Finally, Federal efforts are underway to transition Landsat into a sustained operational program within the Department of the Interior and to authorize the development of the next two satellites — Landsats 9 and 10.","largerWorkType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"largerWorkTitle":"Remote Sensing of Environment","largerWorkSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"language":"English","publisher":"Elsevier","publisherLocation":"Amsterdam, Netherlands","doi":"10.1016/j.rse.2011.09.022","usgsCitation":"Loveland, T., and Dwyer, J.L., 2012, Landsat: building a strong future: Remote Sensing of Environment, v. 122, p. 22-29, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2011.09.022.","productDescription":"8 p.","startPage":"22","endPage":"29","ipdsId":"IP-033535","costCenters":[{"id":222,"text":"Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":265525,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"},{"id":265523,"type":{"id":10,"text":"Digital Object Identifier"},"url":"https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2011.09.022"}],"geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -180.0,-90.0 ], [ -180.0,90.0 ], [ 180.0,90.0 ], [ 180.0,-90.0 ], [ -180.0,-90.0 ] ] ] } } ] }","volume":"122","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"53cd63fce4b0b290850ff2bc","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Loveland, Thomas R. 0000-0003-3114-6646 loveland@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3114-6646","contributorId":3005,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Loveland","given":"Thomas R.","email":"loveland@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":223,"text":"Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center (Geography)","active":false,"usgs":true}],"preferred":false,"id":355950,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Dwyer, John L. 0000-0002-8281-0896 dwyer@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8281-0896","contributorId":3481,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Dwyer","given":"John","email":"dwyer@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"L.","affiliations":[{"id":223,"text":"Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center (Geography)","active":false,"usgs":true},{"id":222,"text":"Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":355951,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2}]}} ,{"id":70042456,"text":"fs20123036 - 2012 - Groundwater quality in the Mojave area, California","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2026-05-28T21:41:23.282184","indexId":"fs20123036","displayToPublicDate":"2013-01-09T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":313,"text":"Fact Sheet","code":"FS","onlineIssn":"2327-6932","printIssn":"2327-6916","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2012-3036","title":"Groundwater quality in the Mojave area, California","docAbstract":"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 Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Four groundwater basins along the Mojave River make up one of the study areas being evaluated. The Mojave study area is approximately 1,500 square miles (3,885 square kilometers) and includes four contiguous groundwater basins: Upper, Middle, and Lower Mojave River Groundwater Basins, and the El Mirage Valley (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). The Mojave study area has an arid climate, and is part of the Mojave Desert. Average annual rainfall is about 6 inches (15 centimeters). Land use in the study area is approximately 82 percent (%) natural (mostly shrubland), 4% agricultural, and 14% urban. The primary crops are pasture and hay. The largest urban areas are the cities of Victorville, Hesperia, and Apple Valley (2010 populations of 116,000, 90,000 and 69,000, respectively). Groundwater in these basins is used for public and domestic water supply and for irrigation. The main water-bearing units are gravel, sand, silt, and clay derived from surrounding mountains. The primary aquifers in the Mojave study area are defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health database. Public-supply wells in the Mojave study area are completed to depths between 200 and 600 feet (18 to 61 meters), consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of 130 to 420 feet (40 to 128 meters), and are screened or perforated below the solid casing. Recharge to the groundwater system is primarily runoff from the mountains to the south, mostly through the Mojave River channel. The primary sources of discharge are pumping wells and evapotranspiration.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/fs20123036","collaboration":"U.S. Geological Survey and the California State Water Resources Control Board","usgsCitation":"Dawson, B.J., and Belitz, K., 2012, Groundwater quality in the Mojave area, California: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2012-3036, 4 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20123036.","productDescription":"4 p.","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":504848,"rank":10,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_98039.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":265491,"rank":3,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3098","text":"FS 2012-3098"},{"id":265490,"rank":4,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3035","text":"FS 2012-3035"},{"id":265489,"rank":5,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3034","text":"FS 2012-3034"},{"id":265485,"rank":1,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3036/pdf/fs20123036.pdf"},{"id":265484,"rank":2,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3036/"},{"id":265488,"rank":6,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3033","text":"FS 2012-3033"},{"id":265487,"rank":7,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3032","text":"FS 2012-3032"},{"id":265486,"rank":8,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5040","text":"SIR 2012-5040"},{"id":265492,"rank":9,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/fs_2012_3036.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"Mojave area","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -117.75,34.25 ], [ -117.75,35.25 ], [ -116.25,35.25 ], [ -116.25,34.25 ], [ -117.75,34.25 ] ] ] } } ] }","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"50ee9173e4b0160a2d0ee33b","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Dawson, Barbara J. Milby 0000-0002-0209-8158","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0209-8158","contributorId":57334,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Dawson","given":"Barbara","email":"","middleInitial":"J. Milby","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":471584,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Belitz, Kenneth 0000-0003-4481-2345 kbelitz@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4481-2345","contributorId":442,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Belitz","given":"Kenneth","email":"kbelitz@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":27111,"text":"National Water Quality Program","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":466,"text":"New England Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":503,"text":"Office of Water Quality","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":451,"text":"National Water Quality Assessment Program","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":376,"text":"Massachusetts Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":471583,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2}]}} ,{"id":70042491,"text":"ofr20121210 - 2012 - 2008 Joint United States-Canadian program to explore the limits of the Extended Continental Shelf aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy--Cruise HLY0806","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2013-01-09T17:36:19","indexId":"ofr20121210","displayToPublicDate":"2013-01-09T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":330,"text":"Open-File Report","code":"OFR","onlineIssn":"2331-1258","printIssn":"0196-1497","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2012-1210","title":"2008 Joint United States-Canadian program to explore the limits of the Extended Continental Shelf aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy--Cruise HLY0806","docAbstract":"In September 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), conducted bathymetric and geophysical surveys in the Arctic Beaufort Sea aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Healy. The principal objective of this mission to the high Arctic was to acquire data in support of delineation of the outer limits of the U.S. and Canadian Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) in the Arctic Ocean in accordance with the provisions of Article 76 of the Law of the Sea Convention.\n\nThe Healy was accompanied by the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St- Laurent. The science parties on the two vessels consisted principally of staff from the USGS (Healy), and the GSC and the Canadian Hydrographic Service (Louis). The crew included marine mammal and Native-community observers, ice observers, and biologists conducting research of opportunity in the Arctic Ocean.\n\nThe joint survey proved an unqualified success. The Healy collected 5,528 km of swath (multibeam) bathymetry (38,806 km2) and CHIRP subbottom profile data, with accompanying marine gravity measurements. The Louis acquired 2,817 km of multichannel seismic (airgun) deep-penetration reflection-profile data along 12 continuous lines, as well as 35 sonobuoy refraction stations and accompanying single-beam bathymetry. The coordinated efforts of the two vessels resulted in seismic-reflection profile data of much higher quality and continuity than if the data had been acquired with a single vessel alone. Equipment failure rate of the seismic equipment gear aboard the Louis was greatly improved with the advantage of having a leading icebreaker. When ice conditions proved too severe to deploy the seismic system, the Louis led the Healy, resulting in much improved quality of the swath bathymetry and CHIRP sub-bottom data in comparison with data collected by the Healy in the lead or working alone. Ancillary science objectives, including ice observations, deployment of ice-monitoring buoys and water-column sampling for biologic (phytoplankton) studies, were also successfully accomplished.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20121210","usgsCitation":"Childs, J.R., Triezenberg, P., and Danforth, W.W., 2012, 2008 Joint United States-Canadian program to explore the limits of the Extended Continental Shelf aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy--Cruise HLY0806: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012-1210, iii, 15 p.; col. ill.; maps (col.); Appendices: A-G, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20121210.","productDescription":"iii, 15 p.; col. ill.; maps (col.); Appendices: A-G","startPage":"i","endPage":"15","numberOfPages":"19","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","costCenters":[{"id":520,"text":"Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":265496,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/ofr_2012_1210.gif"},{"id":265494,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1210/of2012-1210_text.pdf"},{"id":265495,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1210/appendixes"},{"id":265493,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1210/"}],"otherGeospatial":"Beaufort Sea","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -165.0,70.0 ], [ -165.0,85.0 ], [ -120.0,85.0 ], [ -120.0,70.0 ], [ -165.0,70.0 ] ] ] } } ] }","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"53cd4924e4b0b290850eee9d","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Childs, Jonathan R. jchilds@usgs.gov","contributorId":3155,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Childs","given":"Jonathan","email":"jchilds@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"R.","affiliations":[{"id":520,"text":"Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":471636,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Triezenberg, Peter J.","contributorId":32625,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Triezenberg","given":"Peter J.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":471638,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Danforth, William W. 0000-0002-6382-9487 bdanforth@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6382-9487","contributorId":3292,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Danforth","given":"William","email":"bdanforth@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"W.","affiliations":[{"id":678,"text":"Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":471637,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3}]}} ,{"id":70042455,"text":"fs20123032 - 2012 - Groundwater quality in the Owens Valley, California","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2026-05-28T21:34:35.447392","indexId":"fs20123032","displayToPublicDate":"2013-01-09T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":313,"text":"Fact Sheet","code":"FS","onlineIssn":"2327-6932","printIssn":"2327-6916","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2012-3032","title":"Groundwater quality in the Owens Valley, California","docAbstract":"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 Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Owens Valley is one of the study areas being evaluated. The Owens study area is approximately 1,030 square miles (2,668 square kilometers) and includes the Owens Valley groundwater basin (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). Owens Valley has a semiarid to arid climate, with average annual rainfall of about 6 inches (15 centimeters). The study area has internal drainage, with runoff primarily from the Sierra Nevada draining east to the Owens River, which flows south to Owens Lake dry lakebed at the southern end of the valley. Beginning in the early 1900s, the City of Los Angeles began diverting the flow of the Owens River to the Los Angeles Aqueduct, resulting in the evaporation of Owens Lake and the formation of the current Owens Lake dry lakebed. Land use in the study area is approximately 94 percent (%) natural, 5% agricultural, and 1% urban. The primary natural land cover is shrubland. The largest urban area is the city of Bishop (2010 population of 4,000). Groundwater in this basin is used for public and domestic water supply and for irrigation. The main water-bearing units are gravel, sand, silt, and clay derived from surrounding mountains. Recharge to the groundwater system is primarily runoff from the Sierra Nevada, and by direct infiltration of irrigation. The primary sources of discharge are pumping wells, evapotranspiration, and underflow to the Owens Lake dry lakebed. The primary aquifers in Owens Valley are defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health database. Public-supply wells in Owens Valley are completed to depths between 210 and 480 feet (64 to 146 meters), consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of 50 to 80 feet (15 to 24 meters), and are screened or perforated below the solid casing.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/fs20123032","collaboration":"U.S. Geological Survey and the California State Water Resources Control Board. This report has related reports. Please see: SIR 2012-5040, FS 2012-3033, FS 2012-3034, FS 2012-3035, FS 2012-3036, FS 2012-3098.","usgsCitation":"Dawson, B.J., and Belitz, K., 2012, Groundwater quality in the Owens Valley, California: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2012-3032, Report: 4 p.; Related Reports: SIR 2012-5040, FS 2012-3033, FS 2012-3034, FS 2012-3035, FS 2012-3036, FS 2012-3098, https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20123032.","productDescription":"4 p.","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":504844,"rank":10,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_98035.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":265430,"rank":8,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5040/"},{"id":265435,"rank":3,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3098"},{"id":265434,"rank":4,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3036"},{"id":265433,"rank":5,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3035"},{"id":265432,"rank":6,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3034"},{"id":265429,"rank":1,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3032/pdf/fs20123032.pdf"},{"id":265428,"rank":2,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3032/"},{"id":265431,"rank":7,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3033"},{"id":265436,"rank":9,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/fs_2012_3032.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"Owens Valley","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -118.75,36.0 ], [ -118.75,38.0 ], [ -117.5,38.0 ], [ -117.5,36.0 ], [ -118.75,36.0 ] ] ] } } ] }","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"50ee9174e4b0160a2d0ee33f","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Dawson, Barbara J. 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Milby","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":471582,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Belitz, Kenneth 0000-0003-4481-2345 kbelitz@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4481-2345","contributorId":442,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Belitz","given":"Kenneth","email":"kbelitz@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":451,"text":"National Water Quality Assessment Program","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":27111,"text":"National Water Quality Program","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":376,"text":"Massachusetts Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":466,"text":"New England Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":503,"text":"Office of Water Quality","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":471581,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2}]}} ,{"id":70042466,"text":"fs20123035 - 2012 - Groundwater quality in the Indian Wells Valley, California","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2026-05-28T21:40:00.091387","indexId":"fs20123035","displayToPublicDate":"2013-01-09T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":313,"text":"Fact Sheet","code":"FS","onlineIssn":"2327-6932","printIssn":"2327-6916","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2012-3035","title":"Groundwater quality in the Indian Wells Valley, California","docAbstract":"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 Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Indian Wells Valley is one of the study areas being evaluated. The Indian Wells study area is approximately 600 square miles (1,554 square kilometers) and includes the Indian Wells Valley groundwater basin (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). Indian Wells Valley has an arid climate and is part of the Mojave Desert. Average annual rainfall is about 6 inches (15 centimeters). The study area has internal drainage, with runoff from the surrounding mountains draining towards dry lake beds in the lower parts of the valley. Land use in the study area is approximately 97.0 percent (%) natural, 0.4% agricultural, and 2.6% urban. The primary natural land cover is shrubland. The largest urban area is the city of Ridgecrest (2010 population of 28,000). Groundwater in this basin is used for public and domestic water supply and for irrigation. The main water-bearing units are gravel, sand, silt, and clay derived from the Sierra Nevada to the west and from the other surrounding mountains. Recharge to the groundwater system is primarily runoff from the Sierra Nevada and to the west and from the other surrounding mountains. Recharge to the groundwater system is primarily runoff from the Sierra Nevada and direct infiltration from irrigation and septic systems. The primary sources of discharge are pumping wells and evapotranspiration near the dry lakebeds. The primary aquifers in the Indian Wells study area are defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health database. Public-supply wells in Indian Wells Valley are completed to depths between 240 and 800 feet (73 to 244 meters), consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of 180 to 260 feet (55 to 79 meters), and are screened or perforated below the solid casing.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/fs20123035","collaboration":"U.S. Geological Survey and the California State Water Resources Control Board. This report has related reports. Please see: SIR 2012-5040, FS 2012-3032, FS 2012-3033, FS 2012-3034, FS 2012-3036, FS 2012-3098.","usgsCitation":"Dawson, B.J., and Belitz, K., 2012, Groundwater quality in the Indian Wells Valley, California: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2012-3035, Report: 4 p.; Related Reports: SIR 2012-5040, FS 2012-3032, FS 2012-3033, FS 2012-3034, FS 2012-3036, FS 2012-3098, https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20123035.","productDescription":"4 p.","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":504847,"rank":10,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_98038.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":265463,"rank":9,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/fs_2012_3035.jpg"},{"id":265456,"rank":1,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3035/pdf/fs20123035.pdf"},{"id":265455,"rank":2,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3035/"},{"id":265462,"rank":3,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3098"},{"id":265461,"rank":4,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3036"},{"id":265460,"rank":5,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3034"},{"id":265459,"rank":6,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3033"},{"id":265458,"rank":7,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3032"},{"id":265457,"rank":8,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5040/"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"Indian Wells Valley","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -118.25,35.25 ], [ -118.25,36.0 ], [ -117.25,36.0 ], [ -117.25,35.25 ], [ -118.25,35.25 ] ] ] } } ] }","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"50ee9171e4b0160a2d0ee337","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Dawson, Barbara J. Milby 0000-0002-0209-8158","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0209-8158","contributorId":57334,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Dawson","given":"Barbara","email":"","middleInitial":"J. Milby","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":471598,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Belitz, Kenneth 0000-0003-4481-2345 kbelitz@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4481-2345","contributorId":442,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Belitz","given":"Kenneth","email":"kbelitz@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":27111,"text":"National Water Quality Program","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":503,"text":"Office of Water Quality","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":451,"text":"National Water Quality Assessment Program","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":376,"text":"Massachusetts Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":466,"text":"New England Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":471597,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2}]}} ,{"id":70042465,"text":"fs20123034 - 2012 - Groundwater quality in the Colorado River basins, California","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2026-05-29T13:33:56.756035","indexId":"fs20123034","displayToPublicDate":"2013-01-09T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":313,"text":"Fact Sheet","code":"FS","onlineIssn":"2327-6932","printIssn":"2327-6916","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2012-3034","title":"Groundwater quality in the Colorado River basins, California","docAbstract":"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 Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Four groundwater basins along the Colorado River make up one of the study areas being evaluated. The Colorado River study area is approximately 884 square miles (2,290 square kilometers) and includes the Needles, Palo Verde Mesa, Palo Verde Valley, and Yuma groundwater basins (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). The Colorado River study area has an arid climate and is part of the Sonoran Desert. Average annual rainfall is about 3 inches (8 centimeters). Land use in the study area is approximately 47 percent (%) natural (mostly shrubland), 47% agricultural, and 6% urban. The primary crops are pasture and hay. The largest urban area is the city of Blythe (2010 population of 21,000). Groundwater in these basins is used for public and domestic water supply and for irrigation. The main water-bearing units are gravel, sand, silt, and clay deposited by the Colorado River or derived from surrounding mountains. The primary aquifers in the Colorado River study area are defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health database. Public-supply wells in the Colorado River basins are completed to depths between 230 and 460 feet (70 to 140 meters), consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of 130 of 390 feet (39 to 119 meters), and are screened or perforated below the solid casing. The main source of recharge to the groundwater systems in the Needles, Palo Verde Mesa, and Palo Verde Valley basins is the Colorado River; in the Yuma basin, the main source of recharge is from subsurface flow from the groundwater basins to the west. Groundwater discharge is primarily to pumping wells, evapotranspiration, and, locally, to the Colorado River.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/fs20123034","collaboration":"U.S. Geological Survey and the California State Water Resources Control Board. This report has related reports. Please see: SIR 2012-5040, FS 2012-3032, FS 2012-3033, FS 2012-3035, FS 2012-3036, FS 2012-3098.","usgsCitation":"Dawson, B.J., and Belitz, K., 2012, Groundwater quality in the Colorado River basins, California: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2012-3034, Report: 4 p.; Related Reports: SIR 2012-5040, FS 2012-3032, FS 2012-3033, FS 2012-3035, FS 2012-3036, FS 2012-3098, https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20123034.","productDescription":"4 p.","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":265454,"rank":9,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/fs_2012_3034.jpg"},{"id":265448,"rank":8,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5040/"},{"id":265449,"rank":7,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3032"},{"id":265450,"rank":6,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3033"},{"id":265451,"rank":5,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3035"},{"id":265452,"rank":4,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3036"},{"id":265453,"rank":3,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3098"},{"id":265446,"rank":2,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3034/"},{"id":265447,"rank":1,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3034/pdf/fs20123034.pdf"},{"id":504846,"rank":10,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_98037.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}}],"country":"United States","state":"Arizona, California","otherGeospatial":"Colorado River","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -114.933333,33.008333 ], [ -114.933333,35.054167 ], [ -113.916667,35.054167 ], [ -113.916667,33.008333 ], [ -114.933333,33.008333 ] ] ] } } ] }","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"50ee9170e4b0160a2d0ee333","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Dawson, Barbara J. Milby 0000-0002-0209-8158","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0209-8158","contributorId":57334,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Dawson","given":"Barbara","email":"","middleInitial":"J. Milby","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":471596,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Belitz, Kenneth 0000-0003-4481-2345 kbelitz@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4481-2345","contributorId":442,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Belitz","given":"Kenneth","email":"kbelitz@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":376,"text":"Massachusetts Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":503,"text":"Office of Water Quality","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":451,"text":"National Water Quality Assessment Program","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":466,"text":"New England Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":27111,"text":"National Water Quality Program","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":471595,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2}]}} ,{"id":70042468,"text":"sir20125040 - 2012 - Status of groundwater quality in the California Desert Region, 2006-2008: California GAMA Priority Basin Project","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2013-01-09T15:13:55","indexId":"sir20125040","displayToPublicDate":"2013-01-09T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":334,"text":"Scientific Investigations Report","code":"SIR","onlineIssn":"2328-0328","printIssn":"2328-031X","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2012-5040","title":"Status of groundwater quality in the California Desert Region, 2006-2008: California GAMA Priority Basin Project","docAbstract":"Groundwater quality in six areas in the California Desert Region (Owens, Antelope, Mojave, Coachella, Colorado River, and Indian Wells) was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The GAMA Priority Basin Project is being conducted by the California State Water Resources Control Board in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The six Desert studies were designed to provide a spatially unbiased assessment of the quality of untreated groundwater in parts of the Desert and the Basin and Range hydrogeologic provinces, as well as a statistically consistent basis for comparing groundwater quality to other areas in California and across the Nation. Samples were collected by the USGS from September 2006 through April 2008 from 253 wells in Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. Two-hundred wells were selected using a spatially distributed, randomized grid-based method to provide a spatially unbiased representation of the study areas (grid wells), and fifty-three wells were sampled to provide additional insight into groundwater conditions (additional wells). The status of the current quality of the groundwater resource was assessed based on data from samples analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticides, and inorganic constituents such as major ions and trace elements. Water-quality data from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) database also were incorporated in the assessment. The status assessment is intended to characterize the quality of untreated groundwater resources within the primary aquifer systems of the Desert Region, not the treated drinking water delivered to consumers by water purveyors. The primary aquifer systems (hereinafter, primary aquifers) in the six Desert areas are defined as that part of the aquifer corresponding to the perforation intervals of wells listed in the CDPH database. Relative-concentrations (sample concentration divided by the benchmark concentration) were used as the primary metric for evaluating groundwater quality for those constituents that have Federal and (or) California benchmarks. A relative-concentration (RC) greater than (>) 1.0 indicates a concentration above a benchmark, and an RC less than or equal to (≤) 1.0 indicates a concentration equal to or below a benchmark. Organic and special-interest constituent RCs were classified as “low” (RC ≤ 0.1), “moderate” (0.1 < RC ≤ 1.0), or “high” (RC > 1.0). Inorganic constituent RCs were classified as “low” (RC ≤ 0.5), “moderate” (0.5 < RC ≤ 1.0), or “high” (RC > 1.0). A lower threshold value RC was used to distinguish between low and moderate RCs for organic constituents because these constituents are generally less prevalent and have smaller RCs than inorganic constituents. Aquifer-scale proportion was used as the primary metric for evaluating regional-scale groundwater quality. High aquifer-scale proportion was defined as the percentage of the area of the primary aquifers with an RC greater than 1.0 for a particular constituent or class of constituents; percentage is based on an areal rather than a volumetric basis. Moderate and low aquifer-scale proportions were defined as the percentage of the primary aquifers with moderate and low RCs, respectively. Two statistical approaches—grid-based and spatially weighted—were used to evaluate aquifer-scale proportions for individual constituents and classes of constituents. Grid-based and spatially weighted estimates were comparable in the Desert Region (within 90 percent confidence intervals). The status assessment determined that one or more inorganic constituents with health-based benchmarks had high RCs in 35.4 percent of the Desert Region’s primary aquifers, moderate RCs in 27.4 percent, and low RCs in 37.2 percent. The inorganic constituents with health-based benchmarks having the largest high aquifer-scale proportions were arsenic (17.8 percent), boron (11.4 percent), fluoride (8.9 percent), gross-alpha radioactivity (6.6 percent), molybdenum (5.7 percent), strontium (3.7 percent), vanadium (3.6 percent), uranium (3.2 percent), and perchlorate (2.4 percent). Inorganic constituents with non-health-based benchmarks were also detected at high RCs in 18.6 percent and at moderate RCs in 16.0 percent of the Desert Region’s primary aquifers. In contrast, organic constituents had high RCs in only 0.3 percent of the Desert Region’s primary aquifers, moderate in 2.0 percent, low in 48.0 percent, and were not detected in 49.7 percent of the primary aquifers in the Desert Region. Of 149 organic constituents analyzed for all six study areas, 42 constituents were detected. Six organic constituents, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, 1,2-dichloropropane, dieldrin, 1,2-dichloroethane, and tetrachloroethene, were found at moderate RCs in one or more of the grid wells. One constituent, N-nitrosodimethylamine, a special-interest VOC, was detected at a high RC in one well. Thirty-nine organic constituents were detected only at low concentrations. Three organic constituents were frequently detected (in more than 10 percent of samples from grid wells): chloroform, simazine, and deethylatrazine.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20125040","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the California State Water Resources Control Board. A product of the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. This report has related reports. Please see: FS 2012-3032, FS 2012-3033, FS 2012-3034, FS 2012-3035, FS 2012-3036, FS 2012-3098.","usgsCitation":"Dawson, B.J., and Belitz, K., 2012, Status of groundwater quality in the California Desert Region, 2006-2008: California GAMA Priority Basin Project: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5040, Report: viii, 110 p.; Related Reports: FS 2012-3032, FS 2012-3033, FS 2012-3034, FS 2012-3035, FS 2012-3036, FS 2012-3098, https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20125040.","productDescription":"Report: viii, 110 p.; Related Reports: FS 2012-3032, FS 2012-3033, FS 2012-3034, FS 2012-3035, FS 2012-3036, FS 2012-3098","numberOfPages":"122","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":265481,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/sir_2012_5040.jpg"},{"id":265475,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3032"},{"id":265476,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3033"},{"id":265478,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3036"},{"id":265477,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3035"},{"id":265479,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3034"},{"id":265480,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3098"},{"id":265473,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5040/"},{"id":265474,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5040/pdf/sir20125040.pdf"}],"projection":"Albers Equal Area Conic Projection","country":"United States","state":"California","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -121.0,32.5 ], [ -121.0,38.0 ], [ -114.0,38.0 ], [ -114.0,32.5 ], [ -121.0,32.5 ] ] ] } } ] }","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"50ee9176e4b0160a2d0ee347","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Dawson, Barbara J. 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To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Coachella Valley is one of the study areas being evaluated. The Coachella study area is approximately 820 square miles (2,124 square kilometers) and includes the Coachella Valley groundwater basin (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). Coachella Valley has an arid climate, with average annual rainfall of about 6 inches (15 centimeters). The runoff from the surrounding mountains drains to rivers that flow east and south out of the study area to the Salton Sea. Land use in the study area is approximately 67 percent (%) natural, 21% agricultural, and 12% urban. The primary natural land cover is shrubland. The largest urban areas are the cities of Indio and Palm Springs (2010 populations of 76,000 and 44,000, respectively). Groundwater in this basin is used for public and domestic water supply and for irrigation. The main water-bearing units are gravel, sand, silt, and clay derived from surrounding mountains. The primary aquifers in Coachella Valley are defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health database. Public-supply wells in Coachella Valley are completed to depths between 490 and 900 feet (149 to 274 meters), consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of 260 to 510 feet (79 to 155 meters), and are screened or perforated below the solid casing. Recharge to the groundwater system is primarily runoff from the surrounding mountains, and by direct infiltration of irrigation. The primary sources of discharge are pumping wells, evapotranspiration, and underflow to the Salton Sea and Imperial Valley areas.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/fs20123098","collaboration":"U.S. Geological Survey and the California State Water Resources Control Board. This report has related reports. Please see: SIR 2012-5040, FS 2012-3032, FS 2012-3033, FS 2012-3034, FS 2012-3035, FS 2012-3036.","usgsCitation":"Dawson, B.J., and Belitz, K., 2012, Groundwater quality in Coachella Valley, California: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2012-3098, Report: 4 p.; Related Reports: SIR 2012-5040, FS 2012-3032, FS 2012-3033, FS 2012-3034, FS 2012-3035, FS 2012-3036, https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20123098.","productDescription":"4 p.","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":505001,"rank":10,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_98040.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":265472,"rank":9,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/fs_2012_3098.jpg"},{"id":265466,"rank":8,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5040/"},{"id":265467,"rank":7,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3032"},{"id":265468,"rank":6,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3033"},{"id":265465,"rank":1,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3098/pdf/fs20123098.pdf"},{"id":265464,"rank":2,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3098/"},{"id":265471,"rank":3,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3036"},{"id":265470,"rank":4,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3035"},{"id":265469,"rank":5,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3034"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"Coachella Valley","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -117.0,33.3 ], [ -117.0,34.1 ], [ -115.75,34.1 ], [ -115.75,33.3 ], [ -117.0,33.3 ] ] ] } } ] }","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"50ee916fe4b0160a2d0ee32b","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Dawson, Barbara J. Milby 0000-0002-0209-8158","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0209-8158","contributorId":57334,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Dawson","given":"Barbara","email":"","middleInitial":"J. Milby","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":471600,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Belitz, Kenneth 0000-0003-4481-2345 kbelitz@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4481-2345","contributorId":442,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Belitz","given":"Kenneth","email":"kbelitz@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":376,"text":"Massachusetts Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":451,"text":"National Water Quality Assessment Program","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":466,"text":"New England Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":27111,"text":"National Water Quality Program","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":503,"text":"Office of Water Quality","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":471599,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2}]}} ,{"id":70042446,"text":"sir20125273 - 2012 - Shallow groundwater quality and geochemistry in the Fayetteville Shale gas-production area, north-central Arkansas, 2011","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2013-01-09T10:38:26","indexId":"sir20125273","displayToPublicDate":"2013-01-09T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2012","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":334,"text":"Scientific Investigations Report","code":"SIR","onlineIssn":"2328-0328","printIssn":"2328-031X","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2012-5273","title":"Shallow groundwater quality and geochemistry in the Fayetteville Shale gas-production area, north-central Arkansas, 2011","docAbstract":"The Mississippian Fayetteville Shale serves as an unconventional gas reservoir across north-central Arkansas, ranging in thickness from approximately 50 to 550 feet and varying in depth from approximately 1,500 to 6,500 feet below the ground surface. Primary permeability in the Fayetteville Shale is severely limited, and successful extraction of the gas reservoir is the result of advances in horizontal drilling techniques and hydraulic fracturing to enhance and develop secondary fracture porosity and permeability. Drilling and production of gas wells began in 2004, with a steady increase in production thereafter. As of April 2012, approximately 4,000 producing wells had been completed in the Fayetteville Shale. In Van Buren and Faulkner Counties, 127 domestic water wells were sampled and analyzed for major ions and trace metals, with a subset of the samples analyzed for methane and carbon isotopes to describe general water quality and geochemistry and to investigate the potential effects of gas-production activities on shallow groundwater in the study area. Water-quality analyses from this study were compared to historical (pregas development) shallow groundwater quality collected in the gas-production area. An additional comparison was made using analyses from this study of groundwater quality in similar geologic and topographic areas for well sites less than and greater than 2 miles from active gas-production wells. Chloride concentrations for the 127 groundwater samples collected for this study ranged from approximately 1.0 milligram per liter (mg/L) to 70 mg/L, with a median concentration of 3.7 mg/L, as compared to maximum and median concentrations for the historical data of 378 mg/L and 20 mg/L, respectively. Statistical analysis of the data sets revealed statistically larger chloride concentrations (p-value <0.001) in the historical data compared to data collected for this study. Chloride serves as an important indicator parameter based on its conservative transport characteristics and relatively elevated concentrations in production waters associated with gas extraction activities. Major ions and trace metals additionally had lower concentrations in data gathered for this study than in the historical analyses. Additionally, no statistical difference existed between chloride concentrations from water-quality data collected for this study from 94 wells located less than 2 miles from a gas-production well and 33 wells located 2 miles or more from a gas-production well; a Wilcoxon rank-sum test showed a p-value of 0.71. Major ion chemistry was investigated to understand the effects of geochemical and reduction-oxidation (redox) processes on the shallow groundwater in the study area along a continuum of increased rock-water interaction represented by increases in dissolved solids concentration. Groundwater in sandstone formations is represented by a low dissolved solids concentration (less than 30 mg/L) and slightly acidic water type. Shallow shale aquifers were represented by dissolved solids concentrations ranging upward to 686 mg/L, and water types evolving from a dominantly mixed-bicarbonate and calcium-bicarbonate to a strongly sodium-bicarbonate water type. Methane concentration and carbon isotopic composition were analyzed in 51 of the 127 samples collected for this study. Methane occurred above a detection limit of 0.0002 mg/L in 32 of the 51 samples, with concentrations ranging upward to 28.5 mg/L. Seven samples had methane concentrations greater than or equal to 0.5 mg/L. The carbon isotopic composition of these higher concentration samples, including the highest concentration of 28.5 mg/L, shows the methane was likely biogenic in origin with carbon isotope ratio values ranging from -57.6 to -74.7 per mil. Methane concentrations increased with increases in dissolved solids concentrations, indicating more strongly reducing conditions with increasing rock-water interaction in the aquifer. As such, groundwater-quality data collected for this study indicate that groundwater chemistry in the shallow aquifer system in the study area is a result of natural processes, beginning with recharge of dilute atmospheric precipitation and evolution of observed groundwater chemistry through rock-water interaction and redox processes.","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20125273","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with (in alphabetical order) the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, Duke University, Faulkner County, Shirley Community Development Corporation, and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and the U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Resources Program","usgsCitation":"Kresse, T.M., Warner, N., Hays, P.D., Down, A., Vengosh, A., and Jackson, R.B., 2012, Shallow groundwater quality and geochemistry in the Fayetteville Shale gas-production area, north-central Arkansas, 2011: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5273, Report: viii, 31 p.; Appendixes, https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20125273.","productDescription":"Report: viii, 31 p.; Appendixes","numberOfPages":"42","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","temporalStart":"2011-01-01","temporalEnd":"2012-04-30","costCenters":[{"id":129,"text":"Arkansas Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":265422,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5273/"},{"id":265423,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5273/sir2012-5273.pdf"},{"id":265424,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5273/sir2012-5273_app.xlsx"},{"id":265425,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/sir_2012_5273.gif"}],"datum":"Datum World Geodetic System 1984","country":"United States","state":"Arkansas","county":"Cleburne;Conway;Faulkner;Pope;Stone;Van Buren;White","geographicExtents":"{ \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\", \"features\": [ { \"type\": \"Feature\", \"properties\": {}, \"geometry\": { \"type\": \"Polygon\", \"coordinates\": [ [ [ -93.0,35.0 ], [ -93.0,36.0 ], [ -91.8,36.0 ], [ -91.8,35.0 ], [ -93.0,35.0 ] ] ] } } ] }","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","scienceBaseUri":"50ee9175e4b0160a2d0ee343","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Kresse, Timothy M. 0000-0003-1035-0672 tkresse@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1035-0672","contributorId":2758,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Kresse","given":"Timothy","email":"tkresse@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"M.","affiliations":[{"id":129,"text":"Arkansas Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":24708,"text":"Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":471553,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Warner, Nathaniel R.","contributorId":56129,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Warner","given":"Nathaniel R.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":471557,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Hays, Phillip D. 0000-0001-5491-9272 pdhays@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5491-9272","contributorId":4145,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Hays","given":"Phillip","email":"pdhays@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"D.","affiliations":[{"id":129,"text":"Arkansas Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":369,"text":"Louisiana Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":24708,"text":"Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":471554,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Down, Adrian","contributorId":96175,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Down","given":"Adrian","email":"","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":471558,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4},{"text":"Vengosh, Avner","contributorId":21842,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Vengosh","given":"Avner","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":471555,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":5},{"text":"Jackson, Robert B. 0000-0001-8846-7147","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8846-7147","contributorId":34252,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Jackson","given":"Robert","email":"","middleInitial":"B.","affiliations":[{"id":6986,"text":"Stanford University","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":471556,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":6}]}} ]}