Development and application of indices to assess the condition of benthic algal communities in U.S. streams and rivers
Marina Potapova, Daren M. Carlisle
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1126
Multi-metric indices (MMIs) are a measure of a combination of characteristics of biological communities and are used as indicators of water quality and ecological health. Although MMIs for algal communities have been developed for specific regions of the United States, none of the indices have national applicability. The MMIs described...
Loch Vale watershed long-term ecological research and monitoring program quality assurance report, 2003-09
Eric E. Richer, Jill S. Baron
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1137
The Loch Vale watershed project is a long-term research and monitoring program located in Rocky Mountain National Park that addresses watershed-scale ecosystem processes, particularly as they respond to atmospheric deposition and climate variability. Measurements of precipitation depth, precipitation chemistry, discharge, and surface-water quality are made within the watershed and elsewhere...
OpenStreetMap Collaborative Prototype, Phase 1
Eric B. Wolf, Greg D. Matthews, Kevin McNinch, Barbara S. Poore
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1136
Phase One of the OpenStreetMap Collaborative Prototype (OSMCP) attempts to determine if the open source software developed for the OpenStreetMap (OSM, http://www.openstreetmap.org) can be used for data contributions and improvements that meet or exceed the requirements for integration into The National Map (http://www.nationalmap.gov). OpenStreetMap Collaborative Prototype Phase One focused on...
A program for the conversion of The National Map data from proprietary format to resource description framework (RDF)
Andrew Bulen, Jonathan J. Carter, Dalia E. Varanka
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1142
To expand data functionality and capabilities for users of The National Map of the U.S. Geological Survey, data sets for six watersheds and three urban areas were converted from the Best Practices vector data model formats to Semantic Web data formats. This report describes and documents the conver-sion process. The...
The constraints of connecting children with nature--A research literature review
Phadrea D. Ponds, Rudy M. Schuster
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1139
Reports or research investigations studying children in nature are rapidly expanding and increasingly diverse. This document reports a review of a particular part of this field-studies of constraints to recreation and participation in environmental and outdoor recreation programs. The findings result from a review of more than 125 journal articles,...
Preliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport along Hunter Creek, southwestern Oregon
Krista L. Jones, J. Rose Wallick, Jim E. O'Connor, Mackenzie K. Keith, Joseph F. Mangano, John C. Risley
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1160
This preliminary assessment of (1) bed-material transport in the Hunter Creek basin, (2) historical changes in channel condition, and (3) supplementary data needed to inform permitting decisions regarding instream gravel extraction revealed the following: Along the lower 12.4 km (kilometers) of Hunter Creek from its confluence with the Little South...
Sea-Floor geology and character of Eastern Rhode Island Sound West of Gay Head, Massachusetts
L. J. Poppe, K. Y. McMullen, S. D. Ackerman, D.S. Blackwood, B.J. Irwin, J. D. Schaer, M.R. Forrest
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1004
Gridded multibeam bathymetry covers approximately 102 square kilometers of sea floor in eastern Rhode Island Sound west of Gay Head, Massachusetts. Although originally collected for charting purposes during National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hydrographic survey H11922, these acoustic data and the sea-floor stations subsequently occupied to verify them (1) show...
Computer programs for forward and inverse modeling of acoustic and electromagnetic data
Karl J. Ellefsen
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1124
A suite of computer programs was developed by U.S. Geological Survey personnel for forward and inverse modeling of acoustic and electromagnetic data. This report describes the computer resources that are needed to execute the programs, the installation of the programs, the program designs, some tests of their accuracy, and some...
The effect of offering distance education on enrollment in onsite training at the National Conservation Training Center
Joan M. Ratz, Rudy M. Schuster, Ann H. Marcy
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1138
The objective of this study was to explore the effect that providing distance education courses would have on enrollment in courses offered on the campus of the National Conservation Training Center. This is an exploratory study and the results should be interpreted as preliminary rather than conclusive. The study included...
Analysis of dam-passage survival of yearling and subyearling Chinook salmon and juvenile steelhead at The Dalles Dam, Oregon, 2010
John W. Beeman, Tobias J. Kock, Russell W. Perry, Steven G. Smith
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1162
We performed a series of analyses of mark-recapture data from a study at The Dalles Dam during 2010 to determine if model assumptions for estimation of juvenile salmonid dam-passage survival were met and if results were similar to those using the University of Washington's newly developed ATLAS software. The study...
Annotated bibliography of environmentally relevant investigations of uranium mining and milling in the Grants Mineral Belt, northwestern New Mexico
James K. Otton
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1140
Studies of the natural environment in the Grants Mineral Belt in northwestern New Mexico have been conducted since the 1930s; however, few such investigations predate uranium mining and milling operations, which began in the early 1950s. This report provides an annotated bibliography of reports that describe the hydrology and geochemistry...
Aggregate resource availability in the conterminous United States, including suggestions for addressing shortages, quality, and environmental concerns
William H. Langer
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1119
One-third of America's major roads are in poor or mediocre condition, and over one-quarter of the bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. A 70-percent increase in annual aggregate production may be required to upgrade the transportation infrastructure. Natural aggregate is widespread throughout the conterminous United States, but the...
Improved earthquake monitoring in the central and eastern United States in support of seismic assessments for critical facilities
William S. Leith, Harley M. Benz, Robert B. Herrmann
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1101
Evaluation of seismic monitoring capabilities in the central and eastern United States for critical facilities - including nuclear powerplants - focused on specific improvements to understand better the seismic hazards in the region. The report is not an assessment of seismic safety at nuclear plants. To accomplish the evaluation and...
Discharge and sediment concentration in the Bill Williams River and turbidity in Lake Havasu during and following high releases from Alamo Dam, Arizona, in March and April 2010
Stephen M. Wiele, Jamie P. Macy, Hugh L. Darling, Robert J. Hart, Andrew B. Hautzinger
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1129
Discharges higher than are typically released from Alamo Dam in west-central Arizona were planned and released in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 to study the effects of these releases on the Bill Williams River. The Bill Williams River Wildlife Refuge is located above the mouth of the Bill Williams...
Watershed regressions for pesticides (WARP) for predicting atrazine concentration in Corn Belt streams
Wesley W. Stone, Robert J. Gilliom
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1141
Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (WARP) models, previously developed for atrazine at the national scale, can be improved for application to the U.S. Corn Belt region by developing region-specific models that include important watershed characteristics that are influential in predicting atrazine concentration statistics within the Corn Belt. WARP models for the...
Review of samples of water, sediment, tailings, and biota at the Little Bonanza mercury mine, San Luis Obispo County, California
James J. Rytuba, Roger L. Hothem, Daniel N. Goldstein, Brianne E. Brussee, Jason T. May
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1122
Background and Objectives The Little Bonanza mercury (Hg) mine, located in San Luis Obispo County, California, is a relatively small mine with, a historical total Hg production of about 1,000 flasks. The mine workings and tailings are located in the headwaters of the previously unnamed west fork of Las Tablas Creek...
Earthquakes in Mississippi and vicinity 1811-2010
Richard L. Dart, Michael B. E. Bograd
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1117
This map summarizes two centuries of earthquake activity in Mississippi. Work on the Mississippi map was done in collaboration with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Geology. The earthquake data plotted on the map are from several sources: the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, the Center for Earthquake...
Earthquakes in Arkansas and vicinity 1699-2010
Richard L. Dart, Scott M. Ausbrooks
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1118
This map summarizes approximately 300 years of earthquake activity in Arkansas. It is one in a series of similar State earthquake history maps. Work on the Arkansas map was done in collaboration with the Arkansas Geological Survey. The earthquake data plotted on the map are from several sources: the Arkansas...
A multitemporal (1979-2009) land-use/land-cover dataset of the binational Santa Cruz Watershed
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1131
Trends derived from multitemporal land-cover data can be used to make informed land management decisions and to help managers model future change scenarios. We developed a multitemporal land-use/land-cover dataset for the binational Santa Cruz watershed of southern Arizona, United States, and northern Sonora, Mexico by creating a series of land-cover...
Proceedings of a Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning Workshop for the Western United States
Lyman Thorsteinson, Derrick Hirsch, David Helweg, Amardeep Dhanju, Joan Barmenski, Richard Ferrero
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1152
Recent scientific and ocean policy assessments demonstrate that a fundamental change in our current management system is required to achieve the long-term health of our ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes in order to sustain the services and benefits they provide to society. The present (2011) species- and sector-centric way we...
Spawning migration movements of Lost River and shortnose suckers in the Williamson and Sprague Rivers, Oregon, following the removal of Chiloquin Dam-2009 Annual Report
Craig M. Ellsworth, Scott P. VanderKooi
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1147
The Chiloquin Dam was located at river kilometer (rkm) 1.3 on the Sprague River near the town of Chiloquin, Oregon. The dam was identified as a barrier that potentially inhibited or prevented the upstream spawning migrations and other movements of endangered Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus), shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris),...
Simulation of groundwater flow in a volatile organic compound-contaminated area near Bethpage, Nassau County, New York: A discussion of modeling considerations
Paul E. Misut
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1128
The 2010 Bethpage groundwater-flow model (ARCADIS, 2010) was based on a steady state assumption. Although it is widely acknowledged that significant water-level changes have occurred in the past, the reviewed model does not represent changing water levels. The steady state approach limits the effectiveness of the following: 1. identification of sources...
Surface-water, water-quality, and meteorological data for the Cambridge, Massachusetts, drinking-water source area, water years 2007-08
Kirk P. Smith
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1077
Records of water quantity, water quality, and meteorological parameters were continuously collected from three reservoirs, two primary streams, and five subbasin tributaries in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, drinking-water source area during water years 2007-08 (October 2006 through September 2008). Water samples were collected during base-flow conditions and storms in the Cambridge...
Groundwater quality in the Chemung River Basin, New York, 2008
Amy J. Risen, James E. Reddy
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1112
The second groundwater quality study of the Chemung River Basin in south-central New York was conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey 305(b) water-quality-monitoring program. Water samples were collected from five production wells and five private residential wells from October through December 2008. The samples were analyzed to characterize...
Principal facts for gravity stations collected in 2010 from White Pine and Lincoln Counties, east-central Nevada
Edward A. Mankinen, Edwin H. McKee
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1084
Increasing demands on the Colorado River system within the arid Southwestern United States have focused attention on finding new, alternative sources of water. Particular attention is being paid to the eastern Great Basin, where important ground-water systems occur within a regionally extensive sequence of Paleozoic carbonate rocks and in the...
