Concentrations of elements in fish fillets, fish muscle plugs, and crayfish from the 2011 Missouri Department of Conservation general contaminant monitoring program
Thomas W. May, Michael J. Walther, William G. Brumbaugh, Michael J. McKee
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1268
This report presents the results of a contaminant monitoring survey conducted annually by the Missouri Department of Conservation to examine the levels of selected elemental contaminants in fish fillets, fish muscle plugs, and crayfish. Fillet samples of yellow bullhead (Ameiurus natalis), golden redhorse (Moxostoma erythrurum), longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis), and...
Simulated effects of Lower Floridan aquifer pumping on the Upper Floridan aquifer at Pooler, Chatham County, Georgia
Gregory S. Cherry, John S. Clarke
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5004
A revised regional groundwater-flow model was used to assess the potential effects on the Upper Floridan aquifer (UFA) of pumping the Lower Floridan aquifer (LFA) from a new well (35Q069) located at the City of Pooler in coastal Georgia near Savannah. The spatial resolution of the original regional, steady-state, groundwater-flow...
Description of input and examples for PHREEQC version 3: A computer program for speciation, batch-reaction, one-dimensional transport, and inverse geochemical calculations
David L. Parkhurst, C.A.J. Appelo
2013, Techniques and Methods 6-A43
PHREEQC version 3 is a computer program written in the C and C++ programming languages that is designed to perform a wide variety of aqueous geochemical calculations. PHREEQC implements several types of aqueous models: two ion-association aqueous models (the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory model and WATEQ4F), a Pitzer specific-ion-interaction aqueous...
The Greenville Fault: preliminary estimates of its long-term creep rate and seismic potential
James J. Lienkaemper, Robert G. Barry, Forrest E. Smith, Joseph D. Mello, Forrest S. McFarland
2013, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (103) 2729-2738
Once assumed locked, we show that the northern third of the Greenville fault (GF) creeps at 2 mm/yr, based on 47 yr of trilateration net data. This northern GF creep rate equals its 11-ka slip rate, suggesting a low strain accumulation rate. In 1980, the GF, easternmost strand of the...
Nutrient cycling, connectivity, and free-floating plant abundance in backwater lakes of the Upper Mississippi River
Jeffrey N. Houser, Shawn M. Giblin, William F. James, H.A. Langrehr, James T. Rogala, John F. Sullivan, Brian R. Gray
2013, River Systems (21) 71-89
River eutrophication may cause the formation of dense surface mats of free floating plants (FFP; e.g., duckweeds and filamentous algae) which may adversely affect the ecosystem. We investigated associations among hydraulic connectivity to the channel, nutrient cycling, FFP, submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV), and dissolved oxygen concentration (DO) in ten backwater...
Bakken, Three Forks largest continuous US oil accumulation
Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra
2013, Oil & Gas Journal (112) 48-53
The recent reversal of the declining trend of US oil production is largely due to production from unconventional or "continuous" low-permeability reservoirs by use of multistage hydraulic fracturing of horizontal legs of exploration wells. The US currently produces about 7.4 million bo/d, and the increasing trend in domestic production has...
Sea-floor character and geology off the entrance to the Connecticut River, northeastern Long Island Sound
Lawrence J. Poppe, Katherine Y. McMullen, Seth D. Ackerman, Megan R. Guberski, Douglas A. Wood
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1103
Datasets of gridded multibeam bathymetry and sidescan-sonar backscatter, together covering approximately 29.1 square kilometers, were used to interpret character and geology of the sea floor off the entrance to the Connecticut River in northeastern Long Island Sound. Although originally collected for charting purposes during National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hydrographic...
Estimates of gains and losses from unmeasured sources and sinks for streamflow and dissolved-solids load in selected reaches of the Arkansas River, southeastern Colorado, 2009-2010
Roderick F. Ortiz
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5252
The Arkansas River is an important municipal water supply and is the primary supply for about 400,000 acres of irrigated land in southeastern Colorado. The suitability of this water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial use is affected by high salinity in parts of the Arkansas River. There is a need...
Hydrothermal alteration maps of the central and southern Basin and Range province of the United States compiled from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data
John L. Mars
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1139
Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data and Interactive Data Language (IDL) logical operator algorithms were used to map hydrothermally altered rocks in the central and southern parts of the Basin and Range province of the United States. The hydrothermally altered rocks mapped in this study include (1)...
Simultaneous estimation of local-scale and flow path-scale dual-domain mass transfer parameters using geoelectrical monitoring
Martin A. Briggs, Frederick D. Day-Lewis, John B. Ong, Gary P. Curtis, John W. Lane Jr.
2013, Water Resources Research (49) 5615-5630
Anomalous solute transport, modeled as rate-limited mass transfer, has an observable geoelectrical signature that can be exploited to infer the controlling parameters. Previous experiments indicate the combination of time-lapse geoelectrical and fluid conductivity measurements collected during ionic tracer experiments provides valuable insight into the exchange of solute between mobile and...
Information to support to monitoring and habitat restoration on Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
G. Gary Scoppettone
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1022
The Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge staff focuses on improving habitat for the highest incidence of endemic species for an area of its size in the continental United States. Attempts are being made to restore habitat to some semblance of its pre-anthropogenic undisturbed condition, and to provide habitat conditions to...
Nutrient and sediment concentrations, yields, and loads in impaired streams and rivers in the Taunton River Basin, Massachusetts, 1997-2008
Jeffrey R. Barbaro, Jason R. Sorenson
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5277
Rapid development, population growth, and the changes in land and water use accompanying development are placing increasing stress on water resources in the Taunton River Basin. An assessment by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection determined that a number of tributary streams to the Taunton River are impaired for a...
Application of environmental DNA for inventory and monitoring of aquatic species
David S. Pilliod, Caren S. Goldberg, Matthew B. Laramie, Lisette P. Waits
2013, Fact Sheet 2012-3146
This fact sheet was created to help biologists and resource managers understand emerging methods for detecting environmental DNA and their potential application for inventorying and monitoring aquatic species. It is a synthesis of published information....
Landsat surface reflectance quality assurance extraction (version 1.7)
J. W. Jones, M.J. Starbuck, Calli B. Jenkerson
2013, Techniques and Methods 11-C7
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Land Remote Sensing Program is developing an operational capability to produce Climate Data Records (CDRs) and Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) from the Landsat Archive to support a wide variety of science and resource management activities from regional to global scale. The USGS Earth Resources Observation...
Bedrock geologic map of the Nashua South quadrangle, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, and Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Gregory J. Walsh, Richard H. Jahns, John N. Aleinikoff
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3200
The bedrock geology of the 7.5-minute Nashua South quadrangle consists primarily of deformed Silurian metasedimentary rocks of the Berwick Formation. The metasedimentary rocks are intruded by a Late Silurian to Early Devonian diorite-gabbro suite, Devonian rocks of the Ayer Granodiorite, Devonian granitic rocks of the New Hampshire Plutonic Suite including...
Hydrogeologic framework, hydrology, and water quality in the Pearce Creek Dredge Material Containment Area and vicinity, Cecil County, Maryland, 2010-11
Cheryl A. Dieter, Michael T. Koterba, Otto S. Zapecza, Charles W. Walker, Donald E. Rice
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5263
In 2009, to support an evaluation of the feasibility of reopening the Pearce Creek Dredge Material Containment Area (DMCA) in Cecil County, Maryland, for dredge-spoil disposal, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began to implement a comprehensive study designed to improve the understanding of the hydrogeologic framework, hydrology, and water quality...
Hydraulic and Geomorphic Assessment of the Merced River and Historic Bridges in Eastern Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California: Sacramento, California
J. Toby Minear, Scott Wright
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1016
The Merced River in the popular and picturesque eastern-most part of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California, USA, has been extensively altered since the park was first conceived in 1864. Historical human trampling of streambanks has been suggested as the cause of substantial increases in stream width, and the...
What is the economic value of satellite imagery?
Ronald P. Raunikar, William M. Forney, Susan P. Benjamin
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3003
Does remote-sensing information, such as that from Landsat and similar Earth-observing satellites, provide economic benefits to society, and can this value be estimated? Using satellite data for northeastern Iowa, U.S. Geological Survey scientists modeled the relations among land uses, agricultural production, and dynamic nitrate (NO3-) contamination of aquifers. They demonstrated...
Estimated anthropogenic nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to the land surface of the conterminous United States--1992, 1997, and 2002
Lori A. Sprague, Jo Ann M. Gronberg
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5241
Anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus to each county in the conterminous United States and to the watersheds of 495 surface-water sites studied as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program were quantified for the years 1992, 1997, and 2002. Estimates of inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus...
User’s manual to update the National Wildlife Refuge System Water Quality Information System (WQIS)
Kimberly A. Chojnacki, Chad J. Vishy, Jo Ellen Hinck, Susan E. Finger, Michael J. Higgins, Kevin Kilbride
2013, Techniques and Methods 11-C8
National Wildlife Refuges may have impaired water quality resulting from historic and current land uses, upstream sources, and aerial pollutant deposition. National Wildlife Refuge staff have limited time available to identify and evaluate potential water quality issues. As a result, water quality–related issues may not be resolved until a problem...
Historic distribution of Common Loons in Wisconsin in relation to changes in lake characteristics and surrounding land use
Kevin P. Kenow, Paul J. Garrison, Timothy J. Fox, Michael W. Meyer
2013, Book chapter, Potential effects of climate change on inland glacial lakes and implications for lake dependent biota in Wisconsin
A study was conducted to evaluate changes in water quality and land-use change associated with lakes that are south of the current breeding range of Common Loons in Wisconsin but that historically supported breeding loons. Museum collection records and published accounts were examined to identify lakes in southern Wisconsin with...
Seasonal flux and assemblage composition of planktic foraminifers from a sediment-trap study in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Richard Z. Poore, Jessica W. Spear, Kathy A. Tedesco
2013, Journal of Coastal Research 6-19
Sediment-trap samples from the northern Gulf of Mexico reveal that Globorotalia truncatulinoides, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, Pulleniatina spp. (includes P. obliquiloculata and P. finalis), and the Globorotalia menardii group (includes Gt. menardii, Gt. tumida, and Gt. ungulata) generally occur in cold months. Globigerinoides ruber (white and pink varieties) and Globigennoides sacculifer occur...
Comprehensive assessment of hormones, phytoestrogens, and estrogenic activity in an anaerobic swine waste lagoon
Erin E. Yost, Michael T. Meyer, Julie E. Dietze, Benjamin M. Meissner, Mike Williams, Lynn Worley-Davis, Boknam Lee, Seth W. Kullman
2013, Environmental Science & Technology (47) 13781-13790
In this study, the distribution of steroid hormones, phytoestrogens, and estrogenic activity was thoroughly characterized within the anaerobic waste lagoon of a typical commercial swine sow operation. Three independent rounds of sampling were conducted in June 2009, April 2010, and February 2011. Thirty-seven analytes in lagoon slurry and sludge were...
Climate-associated population declines reverse recovery and threaten future of an iconic high-elevation plant
Paul D. Krushelnycky, Lloyd L. Loope, Thomas W. Giambelluca, Forest Starr, Kim Starr, Donald R. Drake, Andrew D. Taylor, Robert H. Robichaux
2013, Global Change Biology (19) 911-922
Although climate change is predicted to place mountain-top and other narrowly endemic species at severe risk of extinction, the ecological processes involved in such extinctions are still poorly resolved. In addition, much of this biodiversity loss will likely go unobserved, and therefore largely unappreciated. The Haleakalā silversword is restricted to...
Ammocoetes of Pacific lamprey are not susceptible to common fish rhabdoviruses of the U.S. Pacific Northwest
Gael Kurath, C J. Jolley, Tarin M. Thompson, D. Thompson, A.T. Whitesel, S. Gutenberger, James R. Winton
2013, Journal of Aquatic Animal Health (25) 274-280
Pacific Lampreys Entosphenus tridentatus have experienced severe population declines in recent years and efforts to develop captive rearing programs are under consideration. However, there is limited knowledge of their life history, ecology, and potential to harbor or transmit pathogens that may cause infectious disease. As a measure of the possible...
