Spectroscopic analysis of arsenic uptake in Pteris Ferns
E. Terrence Slonecker, Barry N. Haack, Susan D. Price
2009, Remote Sensing (1) 644-675
Two arsenic-accumulating Pteris ferns (Pteris cretica mayii and Pteris multifida), along with a non-accumulating control fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) were grown in greenhouse conditions in clean sand spiked with 0, 20, 50, 100 and 200 ppm sodium arsenate. Spectral data were collected for each of five replicates prior...
Magma evolution and ascent at the craters of the moon and neighboring volcanic fields, southern Idaho, USA: Implications for the evolution of polygenetic and monogenetic volcanic fields
Keith D. Putirka, Mel A. Kuntz, Daniel M. Unruh, Nitin Vaid
2009, Journal of Petrology (50) 1639-1665
The evolution of polygenetic and monogenetic volcanic fields must reflect differences in magma processing during ascent. To assess their evolution we use thermobarometry and geochemistry to evaluate ascent paths for neighboring, nearly coeval volcanic fields in the Snake River Plain, in south-central Idaho, derived from (1) dominantly Holocene polygenetic evolved...
Rainfall, discharge, and water-quality data during stormwater monitoring, July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009; Halawa Stream drainage basin and the H-1 storm drain, Oahu, Hawaii
Todd K. Presley, Marcael T. J. Jamison
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1162
Storm runoff water-quality samples were collected as part of the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation Stormwater Monitoring Program. The program is designed to assess the effects of highway runoff and urban runoff on Halawa Stream, and to assess the effects from the H-1 storm drain on Manoa Stream. For...
Monitoring for Pesticides in Groundwater and Surface Water in Nevada, 2008
Carl E. Thodal, Jon Carpenter, Charles W. Moses
2009, Fact Sheet 2009-3093
Commercial pesticide applicators, farmers, and homeowners apply about 1 billion pounds of pesticides annually to agricultural land, non-crop land, and urban areas throughout the United States (Gilliom and others, 2006, p. 1). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) defines a pesticide as any substance used to kill or control insects,...
Estimated bankfull discharge for selected Michigan rivers and regional hydraulic geometry curves for estimating bankfull characteristics in southern Michigan rivers
Cynthia M. Rachol, Kristine Boley-Morse
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5133
Regional hydraulic geometry curves are power-function equations that relate riffle dimensions and bankfull discharge to drainage-basin size. They are defined by data collected through surveys conducted at stable stream reaches and can be used to aid watershed managers, design engineers, and others involved in determination of the best course of...
Effects of Climate Variability and Change on Groundwater Resources of the United States
Jason S. Gurdak, Randall T. Hanson, Timothy R. Green
2009, Fact Sheet 2009-3074
Groundwater is an important part of the global fresh water supply and is affected by climate. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are working with local, State, Federal, and international partners to understand how the availability and sustainability of groundwater resources in the United States will be affected by climate variability...
Groundwater, surface–water, and water-chemistry data, Black Mesa area, northeastern Arizona—2007-2008
Jamie P. Macy
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1148
The N aquifer is an extensive aquifer and the primary source of groundwater in the 5,400-square-mile Black Mesa area in northeastern Arizona. Availability of water is an important issue in northeastern Arizona because of continued water requirements for industrial and municipal use by a growing population and because of low...
Description and evaluation of numerical groundwater flow models for the Edwards Aquifer, south-central Texas
Richard J. Lindgren, Charles J. Taylor, Natalie A. Houston
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5183
A substantial number of public water system wells in south-central Texas withdraw groundwater from the karstic, highly productive Edwards aquifer. However, the use of numerical groundwater flow models to aid in the delineation of contributing areas for public water system wells in the Edwards aquifer is...
Unearthing Secrets of the Forest
Sarah I. Beldin, Steven S. Perakis
2009, Fact Sheet 2009-3078
Forests are a defining feature for large areas of the Pacific northwestern United States from northern California to Alaska. Coniferous temperate rainforests in the western Cascade and coastal mountain ranges are appreciated for their aesthetic value and abundant natural resources. Few people recognize the riches beneath the forest floor; yet,...
St. Louis Area Earthquake Hazards Mapping Project - A PowerPoint presentation
Robert A. Williams
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1198
This Open-File Report contains illustrative materials, in the form of PowerPoint slides, used for an oral presentation given at the Earthquake Insight St. Louis, Mo., field trip held on May 28, 2009. The presentation focused on summarizing the St. Louis Area Earthquake Hazards Mapping Project (SLAEHMP) justification, goals, achievements, and...
Volcanic processes and geology of Augustine Volcano, Alaska
Richard B. Waitt, James E. Beget
2009, Professional Paper 1762
Augustine Island (volcano) in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska, has erupted repeatedly in late-Holocene and historical times. Eruptions typically beget high-energy volcanic processes. Most notable are bouldery debris avalanches containing immense angular clasts shed from summit domes. Coarse deposits of these avalanches form much of Augustine's lower flanks. A new geologic...
Lead poisoning in wild birds
Lesanna L. Lahner, J. Christian Franson
2009, Fact Sheet 2009-3051
Lead in its various forms has been used for thousands of years, originally in cooking utensils and glazes and more recently in many industrial and commercial applications. However, lead is a potent, potentially deadly toxin that damages many organs in the body and can affect all animals, including humans. By...
Channel incision and water-table decline along a recently rormed proglacial stream, Mendenhall Valley, southeastern Alaska
Edward G. Neal
2009, Professional Paper 1760-E
Retreat of the Mendenhall Glacier, in southeastern Alaska, resulted in the formation of Mendenhall Lake, which has reduced the supply of coarse sediment to the proglacial Mendenhall River. Channel geometry surveys conducted in 1969 and 1998 over a 5.3 km reach of the Mendenhall River revealed reductions in mean bed...
Results of the Analyses for 1,4-Dioxane of Groundwater Samples Collected in the Tucson Airport Remediation Project Area, South-Central Arizona, 2006-2009
Fred D. Tillman
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1196
Extensive groundwater contamination resulting from industrial activities led to the listing of the Tucson International Airport Area (TIAA) as a Superfund Site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in 1983. Early investigations revealed elevated levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including the chlorinated solvents trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, in wells...
Digital coordinates and age for 3,869 foraminifer samples collected by Chevron Petroleum geologists in Washington and Oregon
William B. West, Earl E. Brabb, William T. Malmborg, John M. Parker
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1185
The general location and age of more than 33,500 mostly foraminifer samples from Chevron Petroleum Company surface localities in California were provided by Brabb and Parker (2003, 2005). Malmborg and others (2008) provided digital latitude, longitude, and age for more than 13,000 of these samples. We provide here for the...
Estimation of Unsaturated Zone Traveltimes for Rainier Mesa and Shoshone Mountain, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Using a Source-Responsive Preferential-Flow Model
Brian A. Ebel, John R. Nimmo
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1175
Traveltimes for contaminant transport by water from a point in the unsaturated zone to the saturated zone are a concern at Rainier Mesa and Shoshone Mountain in the Nevada Test Site, Nevada. Where nuclear tests were conducted in the unsaturated zone, contaminants must traverse hundreds of meters of variably saturated...
Modified Mercalli Intensity Assignments for the May 16, 1909, Northern Plains Earthquake
W. H. Bakun, M. C. Stickney, G. Rogers
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1184
We combine newspaper accounts and Nuttli's (1976) isoseismal map to assign modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) at 76 towns for the May 16, 1909 Northern Plains earthquake. The earthquake was felt across more than 1,500,000 km2 in the States of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming and the Provinces...
A landscape indicator approach to the identification and articulation of the consequences of land-cover change in the Mid-Atlantic Region, 1973-2001
E. Terrence Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim, Peter R. Claggett
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1187
Landscape indicators, derived from land-use and land-cover data, hydrology, nitrate deposition, and elevation data, were used by Jones and others (2001a) to calculate the ecological consequences of land-cover change. Nitrate loading and physical bird habitat were modeled from 1973 and 1992 land-cover and other spatial data for the Mid-Atlantic region....
Detrital zircon geochronology of Cretaceous and Paleogene strata across the south-central Alaskan convergent margin
Dwight Bradley, Peter J. Haeussler, Paul O'Sullivan, Rich Friedman, Alison Till, Dan Bradley, Jeff Trop
2009, Professional Paper 1760-F
Ages of detrital zircons are reported from ten samples of Lower Cretaceous to Paleogene metasandstones and sandstones from the Chugach Mountains, Talkeetna Mountains, and western Alaska Range of south-central Alaska. Zircon ages are also reported from three igneous clasts from two conglomerates. The results bear on the regional geology, stratigraphy,...
Benthic oxygen demand in three former salt ponds adjacent to south San Francisco Bay, California
Brent R. Topping, James S. Kuwabara, Nicole D. Athearn, John Y. Takekawa, Francis Parcheso, Kathleen D. Henderson, Sara Piotter
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1180
Sampling trips were coordinated in the second half of 2008 to examine the interstitial water in the sediment and the overlying bottom waters of three shallow (average depth <1 meter) ponds adjacent to the southern reach of San Francisco Bay (herein referred to as South Bay), which were previously used...
Annual peak-flow frequency characteristics and (or) peak dam-pool-elevation frequency characteristics of dry dams and selected streamflow-gaging stations in the Great Miami River Basin, Ohio
G. F. Koltun
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5177
This report describes the results of a study to determine frequency characteristics of postregulation annual peak flows at streamflow-gaging stations at or near the Lockington, Taylorsville, Englewood, Huffman, and Germantown dry dams in the Miami Conservancy District flood-protection system (southwestern Ohio) and five other streamflow-gaging stations in the Great Miami...
Simulation of streamflow and water quality in the Leon Creek watershed, Bexar County, Texas, 1997-2004
Darwin J. Ockerman, Meghan C. Roussel
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5191
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the San Antonio River Authority, configured, calibrated, and tested a Hydrological Simulation Program ? FORTRAN watershed model for the approximately 238-square-mile Leon Creek watershed in Bexar County, Texas, and used the model to simulate streamflow and...
Capacitively Coupled Resistivity Survey of Selected Irrigation Canals Within the North Platte River Valley, Western Nebraska and Eastern Wyoming, 2004 and 2007-2009
Bethany L. Burton, Michaela R. Johnson, Joseph Vrabel, Brian H. Imig, Jason Payne, Ryan E. Tompkins
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5194
Due to water resources of portions of the North Platte River basin being designated as over-appropriated by the State of Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the North Platte Natural Resources District (NPNRD), in cooperation with the DNR, is developing an Integrated Management Plan (IMP) for groundwater and surface water...
Hydrologic Conditions that Influence Streamflow Losses in a Karst Region of the Upper Peace River, Polk County, Florida
P. A. Metz, B. R. Lewelling
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5140
The upper Peace River from Bartow to Fort Meade, Florida, is described as a groundwater recharge area, reflecting a reversal from historical groundwater discharge patterns that existed prior to the 1950s. The upper Peace River channel and floodplain are characterized by extensive karst development, with numerous fractures, crevasses, and sinks...
Climate in the dry central Andes over geologic, millenial, and interannual timescales
Christa Placzek, Jay Quade, Julio L. Betancourt, P. Jonathan Patchett, Jason A. Rech, Claudio Latorre, Ari Matmon, Camille Holmgren, Nathan B. English
2009, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden (96) 386-397
Over the last eight years, we have developed several paleoenvironmental records from a broad geographic region spanning the Altiplano in Bolivia (18°S–22°S) and continuing south along the western Andean flank to ca. 26°S. These records include: cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in surface deposits, dated nitrate paleosoils, lake levels, groundwater levels from...
