California State Waters Map Series: Offshore of Refugio Beach, California
Samuel Y. Johnson, Peter Dartnell, Guy R. Cochrane, Nadine E. Golden, Eleyne L. Phillips, Andrew C. Ritchie, Lisa M. Krigsman, Bryan E. Dieter, James E. Conrad, H. Gary Greene, Gordon G. Seitz, Charles A. Endris, Ray W. Sliter, Florence L. Wong, Mercedes D. Erdey, Carlos I. Gutierrez, Mary M. Yoklavich, Amy E. East, Patrick E. Hart
Samuel Y. Johnson, Susan A. Cochran, editor(s)
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3319
In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visualization of...
Effect of land-applied biosolids on surface-water nutrient yields and groundwater quality in Orange County, North Carolina
Chad R. Wagner, Sharon A. Fitzgerald, Kristen Bukowski McSwain, Stephen L. Harden, Laura N. Gurley, Shane W. Rogers
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5240
Land application of municipal wastewater biosolids is the most common method of biosolids management used in North Carolina and the United States. Biosolids have characteristics that may be beneficial to soil and plants. Land application can take advantage of these beneficial qualities, whereas disposal in landfills or incineration poses no...
Nutrient, suspended sediment, and trace element loads in the Blackstone River Basin in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, 2007 to 2009
Marc J. Zimmerman, Marcus C. Waldron, Leslie A. DeSimone
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5026
Nutrients, suspended sediment, and trace element loads in the Blackstone River and selected tributaries were estimated from composite water-quality samples in order to better understand the distribution and sources of these constituents in the river basin. The flow-proportional composite water-quality samples were collected during sequential 2-week periods at six stations...
Laboratory and field tests of the Sutron RLR-0003-1 water level sensor
Janice M. Fulford, R. Scott Bryars
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1217
Three Sutron RLR-0003-1 water level sensors were tested in laboratory conditions to evaluate the accuracy of the sensor over the manufacturer’s specified operating temperature and distance-to-water ranges. The sensor was also tested for compliance to SDI-12 communication protocol and in field conditions at a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgaging site....
Data categories for marine planning
Frances L. Lightsom, Giancarlo Cicchetti, Charles M. Wahle
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1046
The U.S. National Ocean Policy calls for a science- and ecosystem-based approach to comprehensive planning and management of human activities and their impacts on America’s oceans. The Ocean Community in Data.gov is an outcome of 2010–2011 work by an interagency working group charged with designing a national information management system...
Sample descriptions and geophysical logs for cored well BP-3-USGS, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Alamosa County, Colorado
V. J. S. Grauch, Gary L. Skipp, Jonathan V. Thomas, Joshua K. Davis, Mary Ellen Benson
2015, Data Series 918
The BP-3-USGS well was drilled at the southwestern corner of Great Sand Dunes National Park in the San Luis Valley, south-central Colorado, 68 feet (ft, 20.7 meters [m]) southwest of the National Park Service’s boundary-piezometer (BP) well 3. BP-3-USGS is located at latitude 37°43ʹ18.06ʺN. and longitude 105°43ʹ39.30ʺW., at an elevation...
Dry season mean monthly flow and harmonic mean flow regression equations for selected ungaged basins in Arkansas
Brian K. Breaker
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5031
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, Southwestern Energy, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, developed regression equations for estimation of dry season mean monthly flows and harmonic mean flows that are representative of natural streamflow conditions at...
Presence of amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in rainwater suggests aerial dispersal is possible
Jonathan E. Kolby, Sara D. Ramirez, Lee Berger, Dale W. Griffin, Merlijn Jocque, Lee F. Skerratt
2015, Aerobiologia (31) 411-419
Abstract Global spread of the pathogenic amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) may involve dispersal mechanisms not previously explored. Weather systems accompanied by strong wind and rainfall have been known to assist the dispersal of microbes pathogenic to plants and animals, and we considered a similar phenomenon might occur with...
An assessment of two methods for identifying undocumented levees using remotely sensed data
Christiana R. Czuba, Byron K. Williams, Jack Westman, Keith LeClaire
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5009
Many undocumented and commonly unmaintained levees exist in the landscape complicating flood forecasting, risk management, and emergency response. This report describes a pilot study completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assess two methods to identify undocumented levees by using remotely...
Monitoring avian productivity and survivorship (MAPS) 5-year summary, Naval Outlying Landing Field, Imperial Beach, southwestern San Diego County, California, 2009-13
Suellen Lynn, Melanie C. Madden, Alexandra Houston, Barbara E. Kus
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1035
During 2009–13, a Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) banding station was operated at the Naval Outlying Landing Field (NOLF), Imperial Beach, in southwestern San Diego County, California. The station was established as part of a long-term monitoring program of Neotropical migratory bird populations on NOLF and helps Naval Base...
Land-cover change in the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative, 1973 to 2000
Mark A. Drummond, Michael P. Stier, Alisa W. Coffin
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1018
This report summarizes baseline land-cover change information for four time intervals from between 1973 and 2000 for the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC). The study used sample data from the USGS Land Cover Trends dataset to develop estimates of change for 10 land-cover classes in the...
Broad-scale assessments of ecological landscapes: developing methods and applications
Natasha B. Carr, David J. A. Wood, Zachary H. Bowen, Travis S. Haby
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3007
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is developing a Landscape Approach for managing multiple uses of public lands by incorporating multiscale information to quantify the effects of natural and human influences on natural resource conditions and trends. A primary goal of the approach is...
A global database of lake surface temperatures collected by in situ and satellite methods from 1985–2009
Sapna Sharma, Derek Gray, Jordan S. Read, Catherine M. O’Reilly, Philipp Schneider, Anam Qudrat, Corinna Gries, Samantha Stefanoff, Stephanie Hampton, Simon Hook, John Lenters, David M. Livingstone, Peter B. McIntyre, Rita Adrian, Mathew Allan, Orlane Anneville, Lauri Arvola, Jay Austin, John E. Bailey, Jill Baron, Justin D Brookes, Yuwei Chen, Robert Daly, Kye Ewing, Elvira de Eyto, Martin Dokulil, David B. Hamilton, Karl Havens, Shane Haydon, Harald Hetzenaeur, Jocelyn Heneberry, Amy Hetherington, Scott Higgins, Eric Hixson, Lyubov Izmest'eva, Benjamin M. Jones, Kulli Kangur, Peter Kasprzak, Benjamin Kraemer, Michio Kumagai, Esko Kuusisto, George Leshkevich, Linda May, Sally MacIntyre, Dörthe Müller-Navarra, Mikhail Naumenko, Peeter Noges, Tiina Noges, Pius Niederhauser, Ryan P. North, Andrew Paterson, Pierre-Denis Plisnier, Anna Rigosi, Alon Rimmer, Michela Rogora, Lars G. Rudstam, James A. Rusak, Nico Salmaso, Nihar R. Samal, Daniel E. Schindler, Geoffrey Schladow, Silke R. Schmidt, Tracey Schultz, Eugene A. Silow, Dietmar Straile, Katrin Teubner, Piet Verburg, Ari Voutilainen, Andrew Watkinson, Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer, Craig E. Williamson, Kara H. Woo
2015, Scientific Data (2)
Global environmental change has influenced lake surface temperatures, a key driver of ecosystem structure and function. Recent studies have suggested significant warming of water temperatures in individual lakes across many different regions around the world. However, the spatial and temporal coherence associated with the magnitude of these trends remains unclear....
Priority pollutants and associated constituents in untreated and treated discharges from coal mining or processing facilities in Pennsylvania, USA
III Cravotta, Keith B.C. Brady
2015, Applied Geochemistry (62) 108-130
Clean sampling and analysis procedures were used to quantify more than 70 inorganic constituents, including 35 potentially toxic or hazardous constituents, organic carbon, and other characteristics of untreated (influent) and treated (effluent) coal-mine discharges (CMD) at 38 permitted coal-mining or coal-processing facilities in the bituminous coalfield and 4 facilities...
Reconnaissance of contaminants in larval Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) tissues and habitats in the Columbia River Basin, Oregon and Washington, USA
Elena B. Nilsen, Whitney B. Hapke, Brian McIlraith, Dennis J. Markovchick
2015, Environmental Pollution (201) 121-130
Pacific lampreys (Entosphenus tridentatus) have resided in the Columbia River Basin for millennia and have great ecological and cultural importance. The role of habitat contamination in the recent decline of the species has rarely been studied and was the main objective of this effort. A wide range of contaminants (115...
Chromosomal damage and EROD induction in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) along the Upper Mississippi River, Minnesota, USA
Emilie Bigorgne, Thomas W. Custer, Paul M. Dummer, Richard A. Erickson, Natalie K. Karouna-Renier, Sandra L. Schultz, Christine M. Custer, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Cole W. Matson
2015, Ecotoxicology (24) 1028-1039
The health of tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, on the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) was assessed in 2010 and 2011 using biomarkers at six sites downriver of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN metropolitan area, a tributary into the UMR, and a nearby lake. Chromosomal damage was evaluated in nestling blood by...
Bibliography for acid-rock drainage and selected acid-mine drainage issues related to acid-rock drainage from transportation activities
Mike Bradley, Scott C. Worland
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1016
Acid-rock drainage occurs through the interaction of rainfall on pyrite-bearing formations. When pyrite (FeS2) is exposed to oxygen and water in mine workings or roadcuts, the mineral decomposes and sulfur may react to form sulfuric acid, which often results in environmental problems and potential damage to the transportation infrastructure. The...
Development, evolution, and destruction of the saline mineral area of Eocene Lake Uinta, Piceance Basin, western Colorado
Ronald C. Johnson, Michael E. Brownfield
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5176
Halite and the sodium bicarbonate mineral nahcolite were deposited in Eocene-age saline Lake Uinta in the Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado. Variations in the areal extent of saline mineral deposition through time were studied using descriptions of core and outcrop. Saline minerals have been extensively leached by groundwater, and the original...
Sea-floor morphology and sedimentary environments in western Block Island Sound, offshore of Fishers Island, New York
Katherine Y. McMullen, Lawrence J. Poppe, William W. Danforth, Dann S. Blackwood, William G. Winner, Castle E. Parker
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1224
Multibeam-bathymetric and sidescan-sonar data, collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a 114-square-kilometer area of Block Island Sound, southeast of Fishers Island, New York, are combined with sediment samples and bottom photography collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from 36 stations in this area in order to interpret...
The distribution of submersed aquatic vegetation and water lettuce in the fresh and oligohaline tidal Potomac River, 2007
Sarah Hunter Campbell, Nancy B. Rybicki, Edward R. Schenk
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1259
Surveys documenting the composition of species of submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) have been conducted in the Potomac River for decades. These surveys can help managers assess the proportion of native and exotic plants in the river or can be used to determine relationships between native and exotic plants, environmental conditions,...
Modeling climate change, urbanization, and fire effects on Pinus palustris ecosystems of the southeastern U.S.
Jennifer Costanza, Adam J. Terando, Alexa McKerrow, Jaime A. Collazo
2015, Journal of Environmental Management (151) 186-199
Managing ecosystems for resilience and sustainability requires understanding how they will respond to future anthropogenic drivers such as climate change and urbanization. In fire-dependent ecosystems, predicting this response requires a focus on how these drivers will impact fire regimes. Here, we use scenarios of climate change, urbanization and management to...
Nine microsatellite loci developed from the octocoral, Paragorgia arborea
D. Katharine Coykendall, Cheryl L. Morrison
2015, Conservation Genetics Resources (7) 771-772
Paragorgia arborea, or bubblegum coral, occurs in continental slope habitats worldwide, which are increasingly threatened by human activities such as energy development and fisheries practices. From 101 putative loci screened, nine microsatellite markers were developed from samples taken from Baltimore canyon in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The number of...
Hydrological, water-quality, and ecological data for streams in Independence, Missouri, June 2005 through September 2013
Shelley L. Niesen, Eric D. Christensen
2015, Data Series 915
Water-quality, hydrological, and ecological data collected from June 2005 through September 2013 from the Little Blue River and smaller streams within the City of Independence, Missouri, are presented in this report. These data were collected as a part of an ongoing cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey and the...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Pennsylvania
William J. Carswell Jr.
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3019
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, elevation data are critical for natural resources conservation (including the effects of drilling for oil and natural gas), agriculture and precision...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Iowa
William J. Carswell Jr.
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3018
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Iowa, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, infrastructure and construction management, natural resources conservation, flood risk management, water supply...
