Search Results

Measuring the strontium to calcium ratio in coral skeletons reveals information on seawater temperatures during skeletal deposition, but studies have shown additional variables may affect the ratio. Here we measured Sr/Ca in the reef coral, Montipora capitata, grown in six mesocosms continuously supplied with seawater from the adjacent reef flat....

Presentation at the Joint USGS-CUAHSI Workshop on Sediment Hydroacoustic Techniquesfor Rivers and Streams; Shepherdstown, West Virginia, 20-22 March 2012....

Severe flooding occurred near the Austin metropolitan area in central Texas September 7–14, 2010, because of heavy rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Hermine. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Brushy Creek Water Control and Improvement District, determined rainfall amounts and annual exceedance probabilities for rainfall resulting in...

A stormwater infiltration basin in north–central Florida, USA, was monitored from 2007 through 2008 to identify subsurface biogeochemical processes, with emphasis on N cycling, under the highly variable hydrologic conditions common in humid, subtropical climates. Cyclic variations in biogeochemical processes generally coincided with wet and dry hydrologic conditions. Oxidizing conditions...

Soil beneath a stormwater infiltration basin receiving runoff from a 22.7 ha predominantly residential watershed in central Florida, USA, was amended using biosorption activated media (BAM) to study the effectiveness of this technology in reducing inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus to groundwater. The functionalized soil amendment BAM consists of a...

An assessment of the effectiveness of several urban best management practice structures, including a wet extended detention facility and a shallow marsh wetland (together the "wet extended detention ponds"), was made using data collected from 2000 through 2010 at Englesby Brook in Burlington, Vermont. The purpose of the best management...

Spatial modeling over broad scales can potentially direct conservation efforts to areas with high species-specific abundances. We examined the performance of regional models for predicting bird abundance at spatial scales typically addressed in conservation planning. Specifically, we used point count data on wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) and blue-winged warbler (Vermivora...

Accurately estimating abundance of wildlife is critical for establishing effective conservation and management strategies. Aerial methodologies for estimating abundance are common in developed countries, but they are often impractical for remote areas of developing countries where many of the world's endangered and threatened fauna exist. The alternative terrestrial methodologies can...

Groundwater chemistry and tracer-based age data were used to assess contaminant movement and geochemical processes in the middle Claiborne aquifer (MCA) of the Mississippi embayment aquifer system. Water samples were collected from 30 drinking-water wells (mostly domestic and public supply) and analyzed for nutrients, major ions, pesticides, volatile organic compounds...

Geothermal seeps and springs in the Bruneau area in southwestern Idaho provide a vital but disappearing habitat for the Bruneau hot springsnail (Pyrgulopsis bruneauensis). In order to aid in conservation efforts, a two-part study was conducted (1) to determine trends in groundwater levels over time and (2) to simulate drawdown...

Using a performance-based geological assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean volumes of 1,345 billion cubic feet of potentially technically recoverable gas and 168 million barrels of technically recoverable oil and natural gas liquids in Ordovician and Silurian age shales in the Polish- Ukrainian Foredeep basin of Poland....

The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 318 to the Wilkes Land margin of Antarctica recovered a sedimentary succession ranging in age from lower Eocene to the Holocene. Excellent stratigraphic control is key to understanding the timing of paleoceanographic events through critical climate intervals. Drill sites recovered the lower and middle...

Aim The Arctic Ocean is one of the last near-pristine regions on Earth, and, although human activities are expected to impact on Arctic ecosystems, we know very little about baseline patterns of Arctic Ocean biodiversity. This paper aims to describe Arctic Ocean-wide patterns of benthic biodiversity and to explore factors...

Debris flows can dramatically increase their volume, and hence their destructive potential, by entraining sediment. Yet quantitative constraints on rates and mechanics of sediment entrainment by debris flows are limited. Using an in situ sensor network in the headwaters of a natural catchment we measured flow and bed properties during...

The upper Arkansas River south of Leadville, Colorado, USA, contains deposits of fluvial tailings from historical mining operations in the Leadville area. These deposits are potential non-point sources of acid and metal contamination to surface- and groundwater systems. We are investigating a site that recently underwent in situ remediation treatment...

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...

Proliferation of invasive cattails (for example, Typha x glauca, T. angustifolia) is a concern of wetland managers across the country, and numerous methods have been used to control the spatial extent and density of the plant. To date, however, no single method has proven widely or consistently effective at reducing...

Digital flood-inundation maps for a 1.6-mile reach of Salt Creek from upstream of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad to Elizabeth Drive, Wood Dale, Illinois, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the DuPage County Stormwater Management Division. The inundation maps, which can be...

Forested watersheds provide high-quality source water for many communities in the western United States. These watersheds are vulnerable to wildfires, and wildfire size, fire severity, and length of fire season have increased since the middle 1980s (Westerling and others, 2006). Burned watersheds are prone to increased flooding and erosion, which...

Substantially different biogeochemical processes affecting nitrogen fate and transport were observed beneath two stormwater infiltration basins in north-central Florida. Differences are related to soil textural properties that deeply link hydroclimatic conditions with soil moisture variations in a humid, subtropical climate. During 2008, shallow groundwater beneath the basin with predominantly clayey...

Groundwater quality in the approximately 1,000-square-mile (2,590-square-kilometer) Upper Santa Ana Watershed (USAW) study unit was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study unit is located in southern California in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The GAMA Priority Basin...

In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the National Strong Motion Project of the U.S. Geological Survey has recently installed sophisticated seismic systems that will monitor the structural integrity of hospital buildings during earthquake shaking. The new systems have been installed at more than 20 VA medical...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates a low-enriched uranium-fueled, pool-type reactor located at the Federal Center in Denver, Colorado. The mission of the Geological Survey TRIGA® Reactor (GSTR) is to support USGS science by providing information on geologic, plant, and animal specimens to advance methods and techniques unique to nuclear...

Climate warming does not force sea-level rise (SLR) at the same rate everywhere. Rather, there are spatial variations of SLR superimposed on a global average rise. These variations are forced by dynamic processes, arising from circulation and variations in temperature and/or salinity, and by static equilibrium processes, arising from mass...

Log removals of bacterial indicators, coliphage, and enteric viruses were studied in three membrane bioreactor (MBR) activated-sludge and two conventional secondary activated-sludge municipal wastewater treatment plants during three recreational seasons (May-Oct.) when disinfection of effluents is required. In total, 73 regular samples were collected from key locations throughout treatment processes:...