Procedures for collecting and processing streambed sediment and pore water for analysis of mercury as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program
Michelle A. Lutz, Mark E. Brigham, Mark Marvin-DiPasquale
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1279
Mercury (Hg) contamination is an issue of national concern, affecting both wildlife and human health. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, in association with the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program and the USGS National Research Program, has initiated two levels of studies to investigate Hg contamination...
Total mercury, methylmercury, methylmercury production potential, and ancillary streambed-sediment and pore-water data for selected streams in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida, 2003-04
Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Michelle A. Lutz, David P. Krabbenhoft, George R. Aiken, William H. Orem, Britt D. Hall, John F. DeWild, Mark E. Brigham
2008, Data Series 375
Mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystems is an issue of national concern, affecting both wildlife and human health. Detailed information on mercury cycling and food-web bioaccumulation in stream settings and the factors that control these processes is currently limited. In response, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA)...
Seepage Investigation for Selected River Reaches in the Chehalis River Basin, Washington
D. Matthew Ely, Kenneth E. Frasl, Cameron A. Marshall, Fred Reed
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5180
A study was completed in September 2007 in the Chehalis River basin to determine gain or loss of streamflow by measuring discharge at selected intervals within various reaches along the Chehalis River and its tributaries. Discharge was measured at 68 new and existing streamflow sites, where gains and losses were...
Potentiometric Surface of the Ozark Aquifer in Northern Arkansas, 2007
Aaron L. Pugh
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5137
The Ozark aquifer in northern Arkansas is composed of dolomite, limestone, sandstone, and shale of Late Cambrian to Middle Devonian age, and ranges in thickness from approximately 1,100 feet to more than 4,000 feet. Hydrologically, the aquifer is complex, characterized by discrete and discontinuous flow components with large variations in...
Hydrologic and Water-Quality Responses in Shallow Ground Water Receiving Stormwater Runoff and Potential Transport of Contaminants to Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada, 2005-07
Jena M. Green, Carl E. Thodal, Toby L. Welborn
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5162
Clarity of Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada has been decreasing due to inflows of sediment and nutrients associated with stormwater runoff. Detention basins are considered effective best management practices for mitigation of suspended sediment and nutrients associated with runoff, but effects of infiltrated stormwater on shallow ground water are not...
Internships, employment opportunities, and research grants
2008, General Information Product 80
As an unbiased, multidisciplinary science organization that focuses on biology, geography, geology, geospatial information, and water, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the landscape, our natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten us. Opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and...
Update on North America shale-gas exploration and development
David G. Hill, John B. Curtis, Paul G. Lillis
David G. Hill, John B. Curtis, Paul G. Lillis, editor(s)
2008, Book chapter, Gas shale in the Rocky Mountains and beyond
Mapping "old" versus "young" piñon-juniper stands with a predictive topo-climatic model in north-central New Mexico, USA
B. F. Jacobs, W.H. Romme, Craig D. Allen
2008, Ecological Applications (18) 1627-1641
Piñon pine and juniper woodlands in the southwestern United States are often represented as an expanding and even invasive vegetation type, a legacy of historic grazing, and culpable in the degradation of western rangelands. A long-standing emphasis on forage production, in combination with recent hazard fuel concerns, has prompted a...
Rapid exposure and loss estimates for the May 12, 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake provided by the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system
P.S. Earle, D.J. Wald, T.I. Allen, K. S. Jaiswal, K.A. Porter, M.G. Hearne
2008, Book, The 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
One half-hour after the May 12th Mw 7.9 Wenchuan, China earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) system distributed an automatically generated alert stating that 1.2 million people were exposed to severe-to-extreme shaking (Modified Mercalli Intensity VIII or greater). It was immediately clear that...
WHE-PAGER Project: A new initiative in estimating global building inventory and its seismic vulnerability
K.A. Porter, K. S. Jaiswal, D.J. Wald, M. Greene, Craig Comartin
2008, Conference Paper, The 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquake’s Response (PAGER) Project and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute’s World Housing Encyclopedia (WHE) are creating a global database of building stocks and their earthquake vulnerability. The WHE already represents a growing, community-developed public database of global housing and its detailed...
An integrated geophysical approach for groundwater and seismic hazard management in Joshua Tree National Park, southern California
Darcy McPhee, Victoria E. Langenheim, Bruce A. Chuchel, Louise Pellerin
2008, Conference Paper, Symposium on the application of geophysics to engineering and environmental problems 2008
Two‐dimensional inversion of audiomagnetotelluric (AMT) sounding data define buried resistivity distributions that reflect subsurface geology and structure within the upper kilometer beneath Pleasant Valley, a 1–2 km‐deep pull‐apart basin in Joshua Tree National Park, southern California. The Park lies within the Eastern California Shear Zone just east of the San...
Controls on alluvial fan long-profiles
J. D. Stock, K. M. Schmidt, D. M. Miller
2008, Geological Society of America Bulletin (120) 619-640
Water and debris flows exiting confined valleys have a tendency to deposit sediment on steep fans. On alluvial fans where water transport of gravel predominates, channel slopes tend to decrease downfan from ~0.10–0.04 to ~0.01 across wide ranges of climate and tectonism. Some have argued that this pattern reflects grain-size...
GIS Representation of Coal-Bearing Areas in North, Central, and South America
Susan J. Tewalt, Scott A. Kinney, Matthew D. Merrill
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1257
Worldwide coal consumption and international coal trade are projected to increase in the next several decades (Energy Information Administration, 2007). A search of existing literature indicates that in the Western Hemisphere, coal resources are known to occur in about 30 countries. The need exists to be able to depict these...
USGS Polar Temperature Logging System, Description and Measurement Uncertainties
Gary D. Clow
2008, Techniques and Methods 2-E3
This paper provides an updated technical description of the USGS Polar Temperature Logging System (PTLS) and a complete assessment of the measurement uncertainties. This measurement system is used to acquire subsurface temperature data for climate-change detection in the polar regions and for reconstructing past climate changes using the 'borehole paleothermometry'...
Geologic Map of the Elkhorn Quadrangle, Park County, Colorado
Chester A. Ruleman, Robert G. Bohannon
2008, Scientific Investigations Map 3043
The Elkhorn thrust is defined by the juxtaposition of Early and Middle Proterozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks against Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks. Within the mapped area, an imbricate frontal thrust system juxtaposes Upper Cretaceous rocks against Paleocene rocks of the South Park Formation. In the southeastern section of the quadrangle,...
Recovery of Ground-Water Levels from 1988 to 2003 and Analysis of Effects of 2003 and Full-Allocation Withdrawals in Critical Area 2, Southern New Jersey
Frederick J. Spitz, Vincent T. dePaul
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5142
Water levels in the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system within Water Supply Critical Area 2 in the southern New Jersey Coastal Plain have recovered as a result of reductions in ground-water withdrawals initiated in the early 1990s. The Critical Area consists of the depleted zone and the threatened margin. The Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer...
Hydrogeology, Water Chemistry, and Factors Affecting the Transport of Contaminants in the Zone of Contribution of a Public-Supply Well in Modesto, Eastern San Joaquin Valley, California
Bryant C. Jurgens, Karen R. Burow, Barbara A. Dalgish, Jennifer L. Shelton
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5156
Ground-water chemistry in the zone of contribution of a public-supply well in Modesto, California, was studied by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program's topical team for Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants (TANC) to supply wells. Twenty-three monitoring wells were installed in Modesto to record baseline...
Laboratory-Measured and Property-Transfer Modeled Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity of Snake River Plain Aquifer Sediments at the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho
Kim S. Perkins
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5169
Sediments are believed to comprise as much as 50 percent of the Snake River Plain aquifer thickness in some locations within the Idaho National Laboratory. However, the hydraulic properties of these deep sediments have not been well characterized and they are not represented explicitly in the current conceptual model of...
Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho: Insights gained From limnological studies of 1991-92 and 2004-06
Molly S. Wood, Michael A. Beckwith
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5168
More than 100 years of mining and processing of metal-rich ores in northern Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene River basin have resulted in widespread metal contamination of the basin’s soil, sediment, water, and biota, including Coeur d’Alene Lake. Previous studies reported that about 85 percent of the bottom of Coeur d’Alene...
Statistical Stationarity of Sediment Interbed Thicknesses in a Basalt Aquifer, Idaho National Laboratory, Eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho
Caleb N. Stroup, John A. Welhan, Linda C. Davis
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5167
The statistical stationarity of distributions of sedimentary interbed thicknesses within the southwestern part of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) was evaluated within the stratigraphic framework of Quaternary sediments and basalts at the INL site, eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho. The thicknesses of 122 sedimentary interbeds observed in 11 coreholes were...
Streamflow and Topographic Characteristics of the Platte River near Grand Island, Nebraska, 1938-2007
Brenda K. Woodward
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5106
The central Platte River is a dynamic, braided, sand-bed river located near Grand Island, Nebraska. An understanding of the Platte River channel characteristics, hydrologic flow patterns, and geomorphic conditions is important for the operation and management of water resources by the City of Grand Island. The north channel of the...
Georgia's Surface-Water Resources and Streamflow Monitoring Network, 2008
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3075
Surface water provides 5 billion gallons per day, or 78 percent, of the total freshwater used (including thermoelectric) in Georgia (Fanning, 2003). Climate, geology, and landforms control the natural distribution of Georgia's water resources. Georgia is a 'headwaters' State, with most of the rivers beginning in northern Georgia and increasing...
Georgia's Ground-Water Resources and Monitoring Network, 2008
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3072
Ground water is an abundant resource in Georgia, providing 1.45 billion gallons per day, or 22 percent, of the total freshwater used (including thermoelectric) in the State (Fanning, 2003). Contrasting geologic features and landforms of the physiographic provinces of Georgia affect the quantity and quality of ground water throughout the...
Protocol for monitoring metals in Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri: Version 1.0
Christopher J. Schmitt, William G. Brumbaugh, John M. Besser, Jo Ellen Hinck, David E. Bowles, Lloyd W. Morrison, Michael H. Williams
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1269
The National Park Service is developing a monitoring plan for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in southeastern Missouri. Because of concerns about the release of lead, zinc, and other metals from lead-zinc mining to streams, the monitoring plan will include mining-related metals. After considering a variety of alternatives, the plan...
GIS Representation of Coal-Bearing Areas in Africa
Matthew D. Merrill, Susan J. Tewalt
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1258
The African continent contains approximately 5 percent of the world's proven recoverable reserves of coal (World Energy Council, 2007). Energy consumption in Africa is projected to grow at an annual rate of 2.3 percent from 2004 through 2030, while average consumption in first-world nations is expected to rise at 1.4...
