Quantifying human disturbance in watersheds: Variable selection and performance of a GIS-based disturbance index for predicting the biological condition of perennial streams
James A. Falcone, Daren M. Carlisle, Lisa C. Weber
2010, Ecological Indicators (10) 264-273
Characterizing the relative severity of human disturbance in watersheds is often part of stream assessments and is frequently done with the aid of Geographic Information System (GIS)-derived data. However, the choice of variables and how they are used to quantify disturbance are often subjective. In this study, we developed a...
Representing pump-capacity relations in groundwater simulation models
Leonard F. Konikow
2010, Ground Water (48) 106-110
The yield (or discharge) of constant-speed pumps varies with the total dynamic head (or lift) against which the pump is discharging. The variation in yield over the operating range of the pump may be substantial. In groundwater simulations that are used for management evaluations or other purposes, where predictive accuracy...
Microclimate and limits to photosynthesis in a diverse community of hypolithic cyanobacteria in northern Australia
Christopher R. Tracy, Claire Streten-Joyce, Robert Dalton, Kenneth E. Nussear, Karen S. Gibb, Keith A. Christian
2010, Environmental Microbiology (12) 592-607
Hypolithic microbes, primarily cyanobacteria, inhabit the highly specialized microhabitats under translucent rocks in extreme environments. Here we report findings from hypolithic cyanobacteria found under three types of translucent rocks (quartz, prehnite, agate) in a semiarid region of tropical Australia. We investigated the photosynthetic responses of the cyanobacterial communities to light,...
Testing independent and interactive effects of corticosterone and synergized resmethrin on the immune response to West Nile virus in chickens
Mark Jankowski, J. Christian Franson, Erich Mostl, Warren P. Porter, Erik K. Hofmeister
2010, Toxicology (269) 81-88
Public health agencies utilize aerial insecticides to interrupt an active West Nile virus (WNV) transmission cycle, which may expose WNV-infected birds to these agents. Although resmethrin has been considered benign to birds, no studies have evaluated whether the environmentally employed form of resmethrin with PBO synergist (synergized resmethrin (SR)) can...
A Compilation of Spatial Datasets to Support a Preliminary Assessment of Pesticides and Pesticide Use on Tribal Lands in Oklahoma
Shana L. Mashburn, Kimberly T. Winton
2010, Data Series 480
This CD-ROM contains spatial datasets that describe natural and anthropogenic features and county-level estimates of agricultural pesticide use and pesticide data for surface-water, groundwater, and biological specimens in the state of Oklahoma. County-level estimates of pesticide use were compiled from the Pesticide National Synthesis Project of the U.S. Geological Survey,...
Tsunami Preparedness in Oregon (video)
Kurt Loeffler, Justine Gesell
2010, General Information Product 96
Tsunamis are a constant threat to the coasts of our world. Although tsunamis are infrequent along the West coast of the United States, it is possible and necessary to prepare for potential tsunami hazards to minimize loss of life and property. Community awareness programs are important, as they strive to...
Perchlorate data for streams and groundwater in selected areas of the United States, 2004
Stephen J. Kalkhoff, Sarah J. Stetson, Kris D. Lund, Richard B. Wanty, Gregory L. Linder
2010, Data Series 495
This report presents data collected as part of a reconnaissance study to evaluate the occurrence of perchlorate in rivers and streams and in shallow aquifers in selected areas of the United States. Perchlorate, a component in rocket fuels, fireworks, and some explosives is soluble in water and persists in soils...
Biological Evaluations of an Off-Stream Channel, Horizontal Flat-Plate Fish Screen-The Farmers Screen
Matthew G. Mesa, Brien P. Rose, Elizabeth S. Copeland
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1042
Screens are commonly installed at water diversion sites to reduce entrainment of fish. Recently, the Farmers Irrigation District in Hood River, Oregon, developed a new flat-plate screen design that offers passive operation and may result in reduced operation and installation costs to irrigators. To evaluate the performance (its biological effect...
Marin Tsunami (video)
Kurt Loeffler, Justine Gesell
2010, General Information Product 95
Tsunamis are a constant threat to the coasts of our world. Although tsunamis are infrequent along the West coast of the United States, it is possible and necessary to prepare for potential tsunami hazards to minimize loss of life and property. Community awareness programs are important, as they strive to...
Assessing groundwater availability in the High Plains aquifer in parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming
Sharon L. Qi, Scott Christenson
2010, Fact Sheet 2010-3008
The U.S. Geological Survey's Groundwater Resources Program is conducting an assessment of groundwater availability to gain a clearer understanding of the status of the Nation's groundwater resources and the natural and human factors that can affect those resources. The goals of this national effort are to define the current status...
Geophysical characterization of Range-Front Faults, Snake Valley, Nevada
Theodore H. Asch, Donald S. Sweetkind
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1016
In September 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, collected audiomagnetotelluric (AMT) data along two profiles on the eastern flank of the Snake Range near Great Basin National Park to refine understanding of the subsurface geology. Line 1 was collected along Baker Creek, was approximately...
Tsunami Preparedness in Washington (video)
Kurt Loeffler, Justine Gesell, editor(s)
2010, General Information Product 97
Tsunamis are a constant threat to the coasts of our world. Although tsunamis are infrequent along the West coast of the United States, it is possible and necessary to prepare for potential tsunami hazards to minimize loss of life and property. Community awareness programs are important, as they strive to...
Accessing free Landsat data via the Internet: Africa's challenge
David P. Roy, Junchang Ju, Mbow, Philip Frost, Thomas Loveland
2010, Remote Sensing Letters (1) 111-117
Since January 2008, the US Department of Interior/US Geological Survey has been providing terrain-corrected Landsat data over the Internet for free. This letter reports the size and proportion of the US Landsat archive that is over Africa by each Landsat sensor, discusses the implications of missing data and highlights the...
Ecoregion and land-use influence invertebrate and detritus transport from headwater streams
Christopher A. Binckley, Mark S. Wipfli, R. Bruce Medhurst, Karl Polivka, Paul F. Hessburg, R. Brion Salter, Joshua Y. Kill
2010, Freshwater Biology (55) 1205-1218
Summary 1. Habitats are often connected by fluxes of energy and nutrients across their boundaries. For example, headwater streams are linked to surrounding riparian vegetation through invertebrate and leaf litter inputs, and there is evidence that consumers in downstream habitats are subsidised by resources flowing from headwater systems....
Hydrological, geological, and biological site characterization of breccia pipe uranium deposits in Northern Arizona
Andrea E. Alpine, editor(s)
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5025
On July 21, 2009, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar proposed a two-year withdrawal of about 1 million acres of Federal land near the Grand Canyon from future mineral entry. These lands are contained in three parcels: two parcels on U.S. Bureau of Land Management land to the north...
Selected water-quality data from the Cedar River and Cedar Rapids well fields, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1999–2005
Gregory R. Littin, Douglas J. Schnoebelen
2010, Data Series 494
The Cedar River alluvial aquifer is the primary source of municipal water in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area. Municipal wells are completed in the alluvial aquifer at approximately 40 to 80 feet deep. The City of Cedar Rapids and the U.S. Geological Survey have been conducting a cooperative study of...
How are native forest birds doing at the Pu`u Wa`awa`a Forest Bird Sanctuary?
Thane K. Pratt, P. Marcos Gorresen, Richard J. Camp
2010, 'Elepaio (70) 1-4
No abstract available....
Suspended-sediment sources in an urban watershed, Northeast Branch Anacostia River, Maryland
Olivia H. Devereux, Karen L. Prestegaard, Brian A. Needelman, Allen C. Gellis
2010, Hydrological Processes (24) 1391-1403
Fine sediment sources were characterized by chemical composition in an urban watershed, the Northeast Branch Anacostia River, which drains to the Chesapeake Bay. Concentrations of 63 elements and two radionuclides were measured in possible land-based sediment sources and suspended sediment collected from the water column at the watershed outlet during storm events. These tracer concentrations were...
A Seamless, High-Resolution, Coastal Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for Southern California
Patrick L. Barnard, Daniel Hoover
2010, Data Series 487
A seamless, 3-meter digital elevation model (DEM) was constructed for the entire Southern California coastal zone, extending 473 km from Point Conception to the Mexican border. The goal was to integrate the most recent, high-resolution datasets available (for example, Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) topography, multibeam and single beam sonar...
Interpretation of Flow Logs from Nevada Test Site Boreholes to Estimate Hydraulic Conductivity Using Numerical Simulations Constrained by Single-Well Aquifer Tests
C. Amanda Garcia, Keith J. Halford, Randell J. Laczniak
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5004
Hydraulic conductivities of volcanic and carbonate lithologic units at the Nevada Test Site were estimated from flow logs and aquifer-test data. Borehole flow and drawdown were integrated and interpreted using a radial, axisymmetric flow model, AnalyzeHOLE. This integrated approach is used because complex well completions and heterogeneous aquifers and confining...
Data Used in Analyses of Trends, and Nutrient and Suspended-Sediment Loads for Streams in the Southeastern United States, 1973-2005
Erik L. Staub, Kelly L. Peak, Kirsten C. Tighe, Eric M. Sadorf, Douglas A. Harned
2010, Data Series 488
Water-quality data from selected surface-water monitoring sites in the Southeastern United States were assessed for trends in concentrations of nutrients, suspended sediment, and major constituents and for in-stream nutrient and suspended-sediment loads for the period 1973-2005. The area of interest includes river basins draining into the southern Atlantic Ocean, the...
Groundwater Hydrology and Chemistry in and near an Emulsified Vegetable-Oil Injection Zone, Solid Waste Management Unit 17, Naval Weapons Station Charleston, North Charleston, South Carolina, 2004-2009
Don A. Vroblesky, Matthew D. Petkewich, Mark A. Lowery, Kevin J. Conlon, Clifton C. Casey
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5239
The U.S. Geological Survey and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast investigated the hydrology and groundwater chemistry in the vicinity of an emulsified vegetable-oil injection zone at Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) 17, Naval Weapons Station Charleston, North Charleston, South Carolina. In May 2004, Solutions-IES initiated a Phase-I pilot-scale treatability...
Implementation and Evaluation of the Streamflow Statistics (StreamStats) Web Application for Computing Basin Characteristics and Flood Peaks in Illinois
Audrey L. Ishii, David T. Soong, Jennifer B. Sharpe
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5197
Illinois StreamStats (ILSS) is a Web-based application for computing selected basin characteristics and flood-peak quantiles based on the most recently (2010) published (Soong and others, 2004) regional flood-frequency equations at any rural stream location in Illinois. Limited streamflow statistics including general statistics, flow durations, and base flows also are available...
The Quaternary Silver Creek Fault Beneath the Santa Clara Valley, California
Carl M. Wentworth, Robert A. Williams, Robert C. Jachens, Russell W. Graymer, William J. Stephenson
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1010
The northwest-trending Silver Creek Fault is a 40-km-long strike-slip fault in the eastern Santa Clara Valley, California, that has exhibited different behaviors within a changing San Andreas Fault system over the past 10-15 Ma. Quaternary alluvium several hundred meters thick that buries the northern half of the Silver Creek Fault,...
Groundwater-quality data in the Colorado River study unit, 2007: Results from the California GAMA Program
Dara A. Goldrath, Michael T. Wright, Kenneth Belitz
2010, Data Series 474
Groundwater quality in the 188-square-mile Colorado River Study unit (COLOR) was investigated October through December 2007 as part of the Priority Basin Project of the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The GAMA Priority Basin Project was developed in response to the...
