Measuring storm tide and high-water marks caused by Hurricane Sandy in New York: Chapter 2
Amy E. Simonson, Riley Behrens
2015, Book chapter, Learning from the Impacts of Superstorm Sandy
In response to Hurricane Sandy, personnel from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary network of storm-tide sensors from Virginia to Maine. During the storm, real-time water levels were available from tide gages and rapid-deployment gages (RDGs). After the storm, USGS scientists retrieved the storm-tide sensors and RDGs and...
Baseline and premining geochemical characterization of mined sites
D. Kirk Nordstrom
2015, Applied Geochemistry (57) 17-34
A rational goal for environmental restoration of new, active, or inactive mine sites would be ‘natural background’ or the environmental conditions that existed before any mining activities or other related anthropogenic activities. In a strictly technical sense, there is no such thing as natural background (or entirely non-anthropogenic) existing today...
Sedimentology of SPICE (Steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion): A high-resolution trace fossil and microfabric analysis of the middle to late Cambrian Alum Shale Formation, southern Sweden
Sven Egenhoff, Neil Fishman, Per Ahlberg, Jorg Maletz, Allison Jackson, Ketki Kolte, Heather A. Lowers, James Mackie, Warren Newby, Matthew Petrowsky
2015, Book chapter, Paying Attention to Mudrocks: Priceless!
The Cambrian Alum Shale Formation in the Andrarum-3 core from Scania, southern Sweden, consists of black siliciclastic mudstone with minor carbonate intercalations. Four facies comprise three siliciclastic mudstones and one fine-grained carbonate. The facies reflect deposition along a transect from deep ramp to basin on a Cambrian shelf. The three...
Updating the USGS seismic hazard maps for Alaska
Charles Mueller, Richard W. Briggs, Robert L. Wesson, Mark D. Petersen
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (113) 39-47
The U.S. Geological Survey makes probabilistic seismic hazard maps and engineering design maps for building codes, emergency planning, risk management, and many other applications. The methodology considers all known earthquake sources with their associated magnitude and rate distributions. Specific faults can be modeled if slip-rate or recurrence information is available....
A reply to Iversen et al.'s comment “Monitoring of animal abundance by environmental DNA - An increasingly obscure perspective”
Katy E. Klymus, Cathy A. Richter, Duane Chapman, Craig P. Paukert
2015, Biological Conservation (192) 481-482
We appreciate the conversation put forward by Iversen et al. (2015) in their response to our article “Quantification of eDNA shedding rates from invasive bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis and silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix” in the 2015 environmental DNA special issue of Biological Conservation.We agree with Iversen et al.'s concern about...
Celestine-bearing geodes from Wayne and Emery counties, southeastern Utah: Genesis and mineralogy
Daniel E. Kile, Richard D. Dayvault, William C. Hood, H. Steven Hatch
2015, Rocks & Minerals (90) 314-337
Geodes containing celestine with associated quartz, calcite, chlorite, and other minerals occur in the Jurassic Curtis Formation of Emery and Wayne counties off the east and south flanks of the San Rafael Swell in southeastern Utah. The two areas discussed in this article produce geodes to 25 cm wide containing...
Nutrient attenuation in rivers and streams, Puget Sound Basin, Washington
Rich W. Sheibley, Christopher P. Konrad, Robert W. Black
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5074
Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are important for aquatic ecosystem health. Excessive amounts of nutrients, however, can make aquatic ecosystems harmful for biota because enhanced growth and decay cycles of aquatic algae can reduce dissolved oxygen in the water. In Puget Sound marine waters, low dissolved oxygen concentrations are...
Total dissolved gas and water temperature in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, water year 2014
Heather M. Bragg, Matthew W. Johnston
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1237
Significant Findings An analysis of total-dissolved-gas (TDG) and water-temperature data collected at eight fixed monitoring stations on the lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington in water year 2014 indicated the following: All 81 TDG sensor laboratory checks that were performed after field deployment were within plus or minus (±) 0.5-percent saturation...
Regional scale estimates of baseflow and factors influencing baseflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Christine Rumsey, Matthew P. Miller, David D. Susong, Fred D. Tillman, David W. Anning
2015, Journal of Hydrology (4) 91-107
Study region The study region encompasses the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), which provides water for 40 million people and is a vital part of the water supply in the western U.S. Study focus Groundwater and surface water can be considered a single water resource and thus it...
Sampling techniques for burbot in a western non-wadeable river
Z. B. Klein, Michael C. Quist, D.T. Rhea, A. C. Senecal
2015, Fisheries Management and Ecology (22) 213-223
Burbot, Lota lota (L.), populations are declining throughout much of their native distribution. Although numerous aspects of burbot ecology are well understood, less is known about effective sampling techniques for burbot in lotic systems. Occupancy models were used to estimate the probability of detection () for three...
Geologic and geomorphic controls on the occurrence of fens in the Oregon Cascades and implications for vulnerability and conservation
A. Aldous, Marshall W. Gannett, Mackenzie K. Keith, James E. O'Connor
2015, Wetlands (35) 757-767
Montane fens are biologically diverse peat-forming wetlands that develop at points of groundwater discharge. To protect these ecosystems, it is critical to understand their locations on the landscape and the hydrogeologic systems that support them. The upper Deschutes Basin has a groundwater flow system that supports baseflow in many rivers,...
Concentrations of metals and trace elements in aquatic biota associated with abandoned mine lands in the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and nearby Clear Creek watershed, Shasta County, northwestern California, 2002-2003
Roger L. Hothem, Jason T. May, Jennifer K. Gibson, Brianne E. Brussee
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1077
Park management of the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, in northwestern California, identified a critical need to determine if mercury (Hg) or other elements originating from abandoned mines within the Upper Clear Creek watershed were present at concentrations that might adversely affect aquatic biota living within the park. During 2002–03, the...
Seismic data collection from water gun and industrial background sources in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal area, Illinois, 2011
William S. Morrow, Phillip J. Carpenter, Ryan F. Adams
2015, Data Series 938
The water gun is a tool adapted from deep marine geophysical surveys that is being evaluated for use as an acoustic fish deterrent to control the movement of invasive marine species. The water gun creates a seismic signal by using a compressed air discharge to move a piston rapidly within...
Physical characteristics and fish assemblage composition at site and mesohabitat scales over a range of streamflows in the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico, winter 2011-12, summer 2012
Christopher L. Braun, Daniel K. Pearson, Michael D. Porter, J. Bruce Moring
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5025
In winter 2011–12 and summer 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service New Mexico Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office in Albuquerque, New Mexico, evaluated the physical characteristics and fish assemblage composition of available...
First steps of integrated spatial modeling of titanium, zirconium, and rare earth element resources within the Coastal Plain sediments of the southeastern United States
Karl J. Ellefsen, Bradley S. Van Gosen, David L. Fey, James R. Budahn, Steven M. Smith, Anjana K. Shah
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1111
The Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States has extensive, unconsolidated sedimentary deposits that are enriched in heavy minerals containing titanium, zirconium, and rare earth element resources. Areas favorable for exploration and development of these resources are being identified by geochemical data, which are supplemented with geological, geophysical, hydrological, and...
Dam failure analysis for the Lago de Matrullas Dam, Orocovis, Puerto Rico
Heriberto Torres-Sierra, Julieta Gómez-Fragoso
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5065
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, completed a hydrologic and hydraulic study to assess the potential hazard to human life and property associated with the hypothetical failure of the Lago de Matrullas Dam, located within the headwaters of the Río Grande de Manatí....
Geologic map of the Vashon 7.5' quadrangle and selected areas, King County, Washington
Derek B. Booth, Kathy Goetz Troost, Rowland W. Tabor
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3328
This map is an interpretation of a 6-ft-resolution lidar-derived digital elevation model combined with geology by Derek B. Booth and Kathy Goetz Troost. Field work by Booth and Troost was located on the 1:24,000-scale topographic map of the Vashon and Des Moines 7.5' quadrangles that were published in 1997 and...
Quantifying water flow and retention in an unsaturated fracture-facial domain
John R. Nimmo, Siamak Malek-Mohammadi
2015, Book chapter, Fluid dynamics in complex fractured-porous systems
Hydrologically significant flow and storage of water occur in macropores and fractures that are only partially filled. To accommodate such processes in flow models, we propose a three-domain framework. Two of the domains correspond to water flow and water storage in a fracture-facial region, in addition to the third domain...
Water levels and water quality in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in eastern Arkansas, 2012
Tony P. Schrader
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5059
During the spring of 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and the Arkansas Geological Survey, measured water levels in 342 wells completed in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in eastern Arkansas. The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission measured water levels in 11 wells,...
Linear models for airborne-laser-scanning-based operational forest inventory with small field sample size and highly correlated LiDAR data
Virpi Junttila, Tuomo Kauranne, Andrew O. Finley, John B. Bradford
2015, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing (53) 5600-5612
Modern operational forest inventory often uses remotely sensed data that cover the whole inventory area to produce spatially explicit estimates of forest properties through statistical models. The data obtained by airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) correlate well with many forest inventory variables, such as the tree height, the timber...
Bathymetric survey of Lake Calumet, Cook County, Illinois
James J. Duncker, Kevin K. Johnson, Jennifer B. Sharpe
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3330
The U.S. Geological Survey collected bathymetric data in Lake Calumet and a portion of the Calumet River in the vicinity of Lake Calumet to produce a bathymetric map. The bathymetric survey was made over 3 days (July 26, September 11, and November 7, 2012). Lake Calumet has become a focus...
Estimated water use in Arkansas, 2010
Aaron L. Pugh, Terrance W. Holland
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5062
The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (ANRC) conducts an annual inventory of reported groundwater and surface-water withdrawals in Arkansas in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). This report describes withdrawals from groundwater and surface-water resources in Arkansas for 2010. The report compiles withdrawals by county for 10 categories of water...
Geologic map of the Julian 7.5' quadrangle, San Diego County, California
Victoria R. Todd
2015, Open-File Report 94-16
The Julian 7.5' quadrangle lies within the Jurassic-Cretaceous Peninsular Ranges batholith of southern California and Baja California. Four granitic plutonic units and one gabbroic unit, most comprising a number of individual plutons, have been mapped in the Julian quadrangle and informal names have been assigned. The formal name Cuyamaca Gabbro...
Organic carbon burial in lakes and reservoirs of the conterminous United States
David W. Clow, Sarah M. Stackpoole, Kristine L. Verdin, David E. Butman, Zhi-Liang Zhu, David P. Krabbenhoft, Robert G. Striegl
2015, Environmental Science & Technology (49) 7614-7622
Organic carbon (OC) burial in lacustrine sediments represents an important sink in the global carbon cycle; however, large-scale OC burial rates are poorly constrained, primarily because of the sparseness of available data sets. Here we present an analysis of OC burial rates in water bodies of the conterminous U.S. (CONUS)...
Methylmercury bioaccumulation in stream food webs declines with increasing primary production
David Walters, D.F. Raikow, C.R. Hammerschmidt, M.G. Mehling, A. Kovach, J.T. Oris
2015, Environmental Science & Technology (49) 7762-7769
Opposing hypotheses posit that increasing primary productivity should result in either greater or lesser contaminant accumulation in stream food webs. We conducted an experiment to evaluate primary productivity effects on MeHg accumulation in stream consumers. We varied light for 16 artificial streams creating a productivity gradient (oxygen production =0.048–0.71 mg...
