Evaluation of extraction methods for hexavalent chromium determination in dusts, ashes, and soils
Ruth E. Wolf, Stephen A. Wilson
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1243
One of the difficulties in performing speciation analyses on solid samples is finding a suitable extraction method. Traditional methods for extraction of hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), in soils, such as SW846 Method 3060A, can be tedious and are not always compatible with some determination methods. For example, the phosphate and high...
Magnetotelluric data, Taos Plateau Volcanic Field, New Mexico
Chad E. Ailes, Brian D. Rodriguez
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1245
The population of the San Luis Basin region of northern New Mexico is growing. Water shortfalls could have serious consequences. Future growth and land management in the region depend on accurate assessment and protection of the region's groundwater resources. An important issue in managing the groundwater resources is a better...
Water quality in the Yukon River Basin, Alaska, water years 2006-2008
Paul F. Schuster, Karonhiakta'tie Bryan Maracle, Nicole Herman-Mercer
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1241
The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council and the U.S. Geological Survey developed a water-quality monitoring program to address a shared interest in the water quality of the Yukon River and its relation to climate. This report contains water-quality data from samples collected in the Yukon River Basin during water years...
June and August median streamflows estimated for ungaged streams in southern Maine
Pamela J. Lombard
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5179
Methods for estimating June and August median streamflows were developed for ungaged, unregulated streams in southern Maine. The methods apply to streams with drainage areas ranging in size from 0.4 to 74 square miles, with percentage of basin underlain by a sand and gravel aquifer ranging from 0 to 84...
Avalanche ecology and large magnitude avalanche events: Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
Daniel B. Fagre, Erich H. Peitzsch
2010, Conference Paper, 2010 International snow science workshop
Large magnitude snow avalanches play an important role ecologically in terms of wildlife habitat, vegetation diversity, and sediment transport within a watershed. Ecological effects from these infrequent avalanches can last for decades. Understanding the frequency of such large magnitude avalanches is also critical to avalanche forecasting for the Going-to-the-Sun Road...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Chad Basin Province, North-Central Africa
Michael E. Brownfield, Christopher J. Schenk, Ronald R. Charpentier, Timothy R. Klett, Troy A. Cook, Richard M. Pollastro, Marilyn E. Tennyson
2010, Fact Sheet 2010-3096
The Chad Basin Province located in north-central Africa recently was assessed for undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids resources as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) World Oil and Gas Assessment. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS estimated mean volumes of 2.32 billion barrels...
Large reservoirs: Chapter 17
Leandro E. Miranda, Phillip William Bettoli
2010, Book chapter, Inland fisheries management in North America
Large impoundments, defined as those with surface area of 200 ha or greater, are relatively new aquatic ecosystems in the global landscape. They represent important economic and environmental resources that provide benefits such as flood control, hydropower generation, navigation, water supply, commercial and recreational fisheries, and various other recreational and...
Relations that affect the probability and prediction of nitrate concentration in private wells in the glacial aquifer system in the United States
Kelly L. Warner, Terri Arnold
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5100
Nitrate in private wells in the glacial aquifer system is a concern for an estimated 17 million people using private wells because of the proximity of many private wells to nitrogen sources. Yet, less than 5 percent of private wells sampled in this study contained nitrate in concentrations that exceeded...
Ecological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Lower Missouri River: Annual report 2009
Aaron J. DeLonay, Robert B. Jacobson, Diana M. Papoulias, Mark L. Wildhaber, Kimberly A. Chojnacki, Emily K. Pherigo, Casey L. Bergthold, Gerald E. Mestl
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1215
The Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project is a multiyear, multiagency collaborative research framework developed to provide information to support pallid sturgeon recovery and Missouri River management decisions. The general Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project strategy is to integrate field and laboratory studies of sturgeon reproductive ecology, habitat requirements, and physiology to produce...
The Border Environmental Health Initiative: Investigating the transboundary Santa Cruz watershed
Laura M. Norman, James Callegary, Charles van Riper III, Floyd Gray
2010, Fact Sheet 2010-3097
In 2004 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched the Border Environmental Health Initiative (BEHI), a major project encompassing the entire U.S.-Mexico border region. In 2009, a study of the Santa Cruz River Watershed (SCW), located in the border region of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, was initiated as part of the...
Modified Mercalli intensity assignments for the May 16, 1909, Northern Plains earthquake
W. H. Bakun, M. C. Stickney, G. Rogers, J. Ristau
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1185
We use newspaper accounts from the United States and Canada to assign modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) at 90 towns for the May 16, 1909 Northern Plains earthquake. Our MMI assignments generally are consistent with those plotted on Nuttli's (1976) isoseiemal map. The earthquake was felt over more than 1,500,000 km2...
Natural bitumen and extra-heavy oil
Emil D. Attanasi, Richard F. Meyer
A. Clarke, J. A. Trinnaman, editor(s)
2010, Book chapter, 2010 survey of energy resources
Natural bitumen and extra-heavy oil are characterised by high viscosity, high density (low API gravity), and high concentrations of nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur, and heavy metals. These characteristics result in higher costs for extraction, transportation, and refining than are incurred with conventional oil. Despite their cost and technical challenges, major international...
Integrated simulation of consumptive use and land subsidence in the Central Valley, California, for the past and for a future subject to urbanization and climate change
Randall T. Hanson, Alan L. Flint, Claudia C. Faunt, Daniel R. Cayan, Lorraine E. Flint, Stanley A. Leake, Wolfgang Schmid
2010, Conference Paper, Land subsidence, associated hazards and the role of natural resources development: EISOLS 2010 proceedings
Competition for water resources is growing throughout California, particularly in the Central Valley where about 20% of all groundwater used in the United States is consumed for agriculture and urban water supply. Continued agricultural use coupled with urban growth and potential climate change would result in continued depletion of groundwater...
Herbicide treatment of invasive Vinca major growing with endangered Galium buxifolium, an island endemic
Kathryn McEachern, Katie Chess, Karen Flagg, Ken Niessen, Ken Owen Ken, Thompson Kevin
2010, Conference Paper, Proceeds of the California invasive plant council symposium 2010
Galium buxifolium E. Greene [Rubiaceae] (sea-cliff bedstraw) is a small shrub restricted to San Miguel and Santa Cruz Islands, in the California Channel Islands. Almost all of the 26 known populations grow on vertical north-facing sea cliffs in native scrub, sandwiched between the sea below and non-native annual grasslands on...
Climate warming-induced intensification of the hydrologic cycle: A review of the published record and assessment of the potential impacts on agriculture
Thomas G. Huntington
2010, Advances in Agronomy (109) 1-53
Climate warming is expected to intensify and accelerate the global hydrologic cycle resulting in increases in evaporation, evapotranspiration (ET), atmospheric water-vapor content, and precipitation. The strength of the hydrologic response, or sensitivity of the response for a given degree of warming, is a critical outstanding question in climatology and hydrology....
Hillslope hydrologic connectivity controls riparian groundwater turnover: Implications of catchment structure for riparian buffering and stream water sources
Kelsey G. Jencso, Brian L. McGlynn, Michael N. Gooseff, Kenneth E. Bencala, Steven M. Wondzell
2010, Water Resources Research (46)
Hydrologic connectivity between catchment upland and near stream areas is essential for the transmission of water, solutes, and nutrients to streams. However, our current understanding of the role of riparian zones in mediating landscape hydrologic connectivity and the catchment scale export of water and solutes is limited. We tested the...
Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2009
Joseph E. Beman, Leeanna T. Torres
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1228
The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25 to 40 miles wide. The basin is defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompass the structural Rio Grande Rift within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the...
Database of groundwater levels and hydrograph descriptions for the Nevada Test Site area, Nye County, Nevada
Peggy E. Elliott, Joseph M. Fenelon
2010, Data Series 533
A database containing water levels measured from wells in and near areas of underground nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site since 1941 was developed. The database provides information for each well including well construction, borehole lithology, units contributing water to the well, and general site remarks. Water-level information...
Historical ice-out dates for 29 lakes in New England, 1807-2008
Glenn A. Hodgkins
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1214
Ice-out dates for lakes are an important hydrologic data series for climate-change research. Historical ice-out dates for 29 lakes in New England from 1807 through 2008 were compiled and are presented in this report. Five lakes have more than 160 years of data and another 14 have more than 100...
Effects of groundwater levels and headwater wetlands on streamflow in the Charlie Creek basin, Peace River watershed, west-central Florida
T. M. Lee, L. A. Sacks, J.D. Hughes
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5189
The Charlie Creek basin was studied from April 2004 to December 2005 to better understand how groundwater levels in the underlying aquifers and storage and overflow of water from headwater wetlands preserve the streamflows exiting this least-developed tributary basin of the Peace River watershed. The hydrogeologic framework, physical characteristics, and...
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Western Region: Coastal ecosystem responses to influences from land and sea, Coastal and Ocean Science
James L. Bodkin
2010, Fact Sheet 2010-3099
Sea otters and the nearshore ecosystems they inhabit-from highly urbanized California to relatively pristine Alaska-are the focus of a new multidisciplinary study by scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and a suite of international, academic and government collaborators. The Coastal Ecosystem Responses to Influences from Land and Sea project...
Historical changes in annual peak flows in Maine and implications for flood-frequency analyses
Glenn A. Hodgkins
2010, Fact Sheet 2010-3034
To safely and economically design bridges, culverts, and other structures that are in or near streams (fig. 1 for example), it is necessary to determine the magnitude of peak streamflows such as the 100-year flow. Flood-frequency analyses use statistical methods to compute peak flows for selected recurrence intervals (100 years,...
Summary of estimated water use in the United States in 2005
Nancy L. Barber
2010, Fact Sheet 2009-3098
About 410,000 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water was withdrawn for use in the United States during 2005. About 80 percent of the total (328,000 Mgal/d) withdrawal was from surface water, and about 82 percent of the surface water withdrawn was freshwater. The remaining 20 percent (82,600 Mgal/d) was...
Data mining for water resource management part 2 - methods and approaches to solving contemporary problems
Edwin A. Roehl, Paul Conrads
2010, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 2010 South Carolina Water Resources Conference
This is the second of two papers that describe how data mining can aid natural-resource managers with the difficult problem of controlling the interactions between hydrologic and man-made systems. Data mining is a new science that assists scientists in converting large databases into knowledge, and is uniquely able to leverage...
Harmful algal blooms: A case study in two mesotrophic drinking water supply reservoirs in South Carolina
Celeste A. Journey, Karen M. Beaulieu, Rodney R. Knight, Jennifer L. Graham, Jane M. Arrington, Rebecca West, John Westcott, Paul M. Bradley
2010, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 2010 South Carolina Water Resources Conference
Algal blooms can be harmful and a nuisance in a variety of aquatic ecosystems, including reservoirs and lakes. Cyanobacterial(blue-green algae) harmful algal blooms are notorious for producing both taste-and-odor compounds and potent toxins that may affect human health. Taste–and-odor episodes are aesthetic problems often caused by cyanobacterial-produced organic compounds (geosmin...
