Description of Existing Data for Integrated Landscape Monitoring in the Puget Sound Basin, Washington
Danielle P. Aiello, Alicia A. Torregrosa, Allyson L. Jason, Tracy L. Fuentes, Edward G. Josberger
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1308
This report summarizes existing geospatial data and monitoring programs for the Puget Sound Basin in northwestern Washington. This information was assembled as a preliminary data-development task for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Puget Sound Integrated Landscape Monitoring (PSILM) pilot project. The PSILM project seeks to support natural resource decision-making by...
Procedures for Collecting and Processing Aquatic Invertebrates and Fish for Analysis of Mercury as Part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program
Barbara C. Scudder, Lia C. Chasar, L. Rod DeWeese, Mark E. Brigham, Dennis A. Wentz, William G. Brumbaugh
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1208
Mercury studies conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program have included nationwide reconnaissance samplings of hundreds of stream sites, as well as detailed, process-oriented research at selected sites. These reconnaissance and detailed studies are intended to provide a better understanding of methylmercury bioaccumulation in...
The Role of Eolian Sediment in the Preservation of Archeologic Sites Along the Colorado River Corridor in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Amy E. Draut, David M. Rubin
2008, Professional Paper 1756
Since the closure of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, the natural hydrologic and sedimentary systems along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon reach have changed substantially (see, for example, Andrews, 1986; Johnson and Carothers, 1987; Webb and others, 1999b; Rubin and others, 2002; Topping and others, 2003; Wright and...
Collection and analysis of samples for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in dust and other solids related to sealed and unsealed pavement from 10 cities across the United States, 2005-07
Peter C. Van Metre, Barbara Mahler, Jennifer T. Wilson, Teresa L. Burbank
2008, Data Series 361
Parking lots and driveways are dominant features of the modern urban landscape, and in the United States, sealcoat is widely used on these surfaces. One of the most widely used types of sealcoat contains refined coal tar; coal-tar-based sealcoat products have a mean polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentration of about...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The National Map: Tactical Planning and Performance Monitoring in Fiscal Year 2008 and 2009
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3077
Estimation of potential bridge scour at bridges on state routes in South Dakota, 2003-07
Ryan F. Thompson, Ryan L. Fosness
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5161
Flowing water can erode (scour) soils and cause structural failure of a bridge by exposing or undermining bridge foundations (abutments and piers). A rapid scour-estimation technique, known as the level-1.5 method and developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, was used to evaluate potential scour at bridges in South Dakota in...
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)...
Occurrence of endocrine active compounds and biological responses in the Mississippi River— Study design and data, June through August 2006
Kathy Lee, Christine S. Yaeger, Nathan D. Jahns, Heiko L. Schoenfuss
2008, Data Series 368
Concern that selected chemicals in the environment may act as endocrine active compounds in aquatic ecosystems is widespread; however, few studies have examined the occurrence of endocrine active compounds and identified biological markers of endocrine disruption such as intersex occurrence in fish longitudinally in a river system. This report presents...
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...
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
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...
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...
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...
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,...
Simulation of streamflow and selected water-quality constituents through a model of the Onondaga Lake Basin, Onondaga County, New York — A guide to model application
William F. Coon
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1188
A computer model of hydrologic and water-quality processes of the Onondaga Lake basin in Onondaga County, N.Y., was developed during 2003-07 to assist water-resources managers in making basin-wide management decisions that could affect peak flows and the water quality of tributaries to Onondaga Lake. The model was developed with the...
Source, Distribution, and Management of Arsenic in Water from Wells, Eastern San Joaquin Ground-Water Subbasin, California
John A. Izbicki, Christina L. Stamos, Loren F. Metzger, Keith J. Halford, Thomas R. Kulp, George L. Bennett V
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1272
Between 1974 and 2001 water from as many as one-third of wells in the Eastern San Joaquin Ground Water Subbasin, about 80 miles east of San Francisco, had arsenic concentrations greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for arsenic of 10 micrograms per liter (ug/L). Water...
Estimating the Effects of Conversion of Agricultural Land to Urban Land on Deep Percolation of Irrigation Water in the Grand Valley, Western Colorado
John W. Mayo
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5086
The conversion of agricultural land to urban residential land is associated with rapid population growth in the Grand Valley of western Colorado. Information regarding the effects of this land-use conversion on deep percolation, irrigation-water application, and associated salt loading to the Colorado River is needed to support water-resource planning and...
Geographic Names of Iceland's Glaciers: Historic and Modern
Oddur Sigurdsson, Richard S. Williams Jr.
2008, Professional Paper 1746
Climatic changes and resulting glacier fluctuations alter landscapes. In the past, such changes were noted by local residents who often documented them in historic annals; eventually, glacier variations were recorded on maps and scientific reports. In Iceland, 10 glacier place-names are to be found in Icelandic sagas, and one of...
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...
