Trace elements in coal ash
Amrika Deonarine, Allan Kolker, Michael W. Doughten
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3037
Coal ash is a residual waste product primarily produced by coal combustion for electric power generation. Coal ash includes fly ash, bottom ash, and flue-gas desulfurization products (at powerplants equipped with flue-gas desulfurization systems). Fly ash, the most common form of coal ash, is used in a range of products,...
Characteristics and environmental aspects of slag: a review
Nadine M. Piatak, Michael B. Parsons, Robert R. Seal II
2015, Applied Geochemistry (57) 236-266
Slag is a waste product from the pyrometallurgical processing of various ores. Based on over 150 published studies, this paper provides an overview of mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of different types of slag and their environmental consequences, particularly from the release of potentially toxic elements to water. This chapter...
Pre-eruptive conditions of the Hideaway Park topaz rhyolite: Insights into metal source and evolution of magma parental to the Henderson porphyry molybdenum deposit, Colorado
Celestine N. Mercer, Albert H. Hofstra, Todor I. Todorov, Julie Roberge, Alain Burgisser, David T. Adams, Michael A. Cosca
2015, Journal of Petrology (56) 645-679
The Hideaway Park tuff is the only preserved extrusive volcanic unit related to the Red Mountain intrusive complex, which produced the world-class Henderson porphyry Mo deposit. Located within the Colorado Mineral Belt, USA, Henderson is the second largest Climax-type Mo deposit in the world, and is therefore an excellent location...
Field observations of artificial sand and oil agglomerates
Patricia (Soupy) Dalyander, Joseph W. Long, Nathaniel G. Plant, Molly R. McLaughlin, Rangley C. Mickey
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1057
Oil that comes into the surf zone following spills, such as occurred during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) blowout, can mix with local sediment to form heavier-than-water sand and oil agglomerates (SOAs), at times in the form of mats a few centimeters thick and...
Geospatial data for coal beds in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana
Scott A. Kinney, David C. Scott, Lee M. Osmonson, James A. Luppens
2015, Data Series 912
The purpose of this report is to provide geospatial data for various layers and themes in a Geographic Information System (GIS) format for the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana. In 2015, as part of the U.S. Coal Resources and Reserves Assessment Project, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an...
Coal geology and assessment of coal resources and reserves in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana
James A. Luppens, David C. Scott, Jon Haacke, Lee M. Osmonson, Paul E. Pierce
2015, Professional Paper 1809
This report presents the final results of the first assessment of both coal resources and reserves for all significant coal beds in the entire Powder River Basin, northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. The basin covers about 19,500 square miles, exclusive of the part of the basin within the Crow and...
Summary of urban stormwater quality in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2003-12
Erik F. Storms, Gretchen P. Oelsner, Evan A. Locke, Michael R. Stevens, Orlando C. Romero
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5006
Urban stormwater in the Albuquerque metropolitan area was sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority, the New Mexico Department of Transportation, and the University of New Mexico. Stormwater was sampled from a network of monitoring stations from...
Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys at highway bridges crossing the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers on the periphery of Missouri, June 2014
Richard J. Huizinga
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5048
Bathymetric and velocimetric data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation, in the vicinity of 8 bridges at 7 highway crossings of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers on the periphery of Missouri from June 3 to 11, 2014. A multibeam echosounder mapping...
Near-surface stratigraphy and morphology, Mississippi Inner Shelf, northern Gulf of Mexico
James G. Flocks, Jack Kindinger, Kyle W. Kelso, Julie Bernier, Nancy T. DeWitt, Michael FitzHarris
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1014
Over the past decade, the Mississippi Barrier Islands have been the focus of a comprehensive geologic investigation by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the National Park Service (NPS). The islands (Dauphin, Petite Bois, Horn, East Ship, West Ship, and...
Temperature impacts on the water year 2014 drought in California
Shraddhanand Shukla, Mohammad Safeeq, Amir AghaKouchak, Kaiyu Guan, Christopher C. Funk
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 4384-4393
California is experiencing one of the worst droughts on record. Here we use a hydrological model and risk assessment framework to understand the influence of temperature on the water year (WY) 2014 drought in California and examine the probability that this drought would have been less severe if temperatures resembled...
Analysis of regional rainfall-runoff parameters for the Lake Michigan Diversion hydrological modeling
David T. Soong, Thomas M. Over
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5053
The Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting (LMDA) system has been developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District (USACE-Chicago) and the State of Illinois as a part of the interstate Great Lakes water regulatory program. The diverted Lake Michigan watershed is a 673-square-mile watershed that is comprised of the...
Testing of candidate non-lethal sampling methods for detection of Renibacterium salmoninarum in juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Diane G. Elliott, Constance L. McKibben, Carla M. Conway, Maureen K. Purcell, Dorothy M. Chase, Lynn M. Applegate
2015, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (114) 21-43
Non-lethal pathogen testing can be a useful tool for fish disease research and management. Our research objectives were to determine if (1) fin clips, gill snips, surface mucus scrapings, blood draws, or kidney biopsies could be obtained non-lethally from 3 to 15 g Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, (2) non-lethal samples could...
Potential demographic and genetic effects of a sterilant applied to wild horse mares
James E. Roelle, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1045
Wild horse populations on western ranges can increase rapidly, resulting in the need for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to remove animals in order to protect the habitat that horses share with numerous other species. As an alternative to removals, BLM has sought to develop a long-term, perhaps even...
U.S. Geological Survey water-resources programs in New Mexico, FY 2015
David P. Mau
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3039
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has collected hydrologic information in New Mexico since 1889, beginning with the first USGS streamflow-gaging station in the Nation, located on the Rio Grande near Embudo, New Mexico. Water-resources information provided by the USGS is used by many government agencies for issuing flood warnings to...
Results from laboratory and field testing of nitrate measuring spectrophotometers
Teri T. Snazelle
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1065
Five ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometer nitrate analyzers were evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) during a two-phase evaluation. In Phase I, the TriOS ProPs (10-millimeter (mm) path length), Hach NITRATAX plus sc (5-mm path length), Satlantic Submersible UV Nitrate Analyzer (SUNA, 10-mm path length), and S::CAN...
Evaluation of Xylem EXO water-quality sondes and sensors
Teri T. Snazelle
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1063
Two models of multiparameter sondes manufactured by Xylem, parent company of Yellow Springs Incorporated (YSI)—EXO1 and EXO2—equipped with EXO conductivity/temperature (C/T), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and turbidity sensors, were evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility. The sondes and sensors were evaluated in two phases for compliance with...
The source, discharge, and chemical characteristics of selected springs, and the abundance and health of associated endemic anuran species in the Mojave network parks
Roy A. Schroeder, Gregory A. Smith, Peter Martin, Alan L. Flint, Elizabeth Gallegos, Robert N. Fisher
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5027
Hydrological and biological investigations were done during 2005 and 2006 in cooperation with the U.S. National Park Service to investigate the source, discharge, and chemical characteristics of selected springs and the abundance and health of endemic anuran (frog and toad) species at Darwin Falls in Death Valley National Park, Piute...
Seismotectonic significance of the 2008–2010 Walloon Brabant seismic swarm in the Brabant Massif, Belgium
Koen Van Noten, Thomas Lecocq, Anjana K. Shah, Thierry Camelbeeck
2015, Tectonophysics (656) 20-38
Between 12 July 2008 and 18 January 2010 a seismic swarm occurred close to the town of Court-Saint-Etienne, 20 km SE of Brussels (Belgium). The Belgian network and a temporary seismic network covering the epicentral area established a seismic catalogue in which magnitude varies between ML -0.7 and ML 3.2. Based on waveform...
Monitoring Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem wetlands: Can long-term monitoring help us understand their future?
Andrew M. Ray, Adam J. Sepulveda, Blake R. Hossack, Debra Patla, David Thoma, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Andrea R. Litt
2015, Yellowstone Science (23) 44-53
In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), changes in the drying cycles of wetlands have been documented. Wetlands are areas where the water table is at or near the land surface and standing shallow water is present for much or all of the growing season. We discuss how monitoring data can...
Conservation paleobiology: Leveraging knowledge of the past to inform conservation and restoration
Gregory P. Dietl, Susan M. Kidwell, Mark Brenner, David A. Burney, Karl W. Flessa, Stephen T. Jackson, Paul L. Koch
2015, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences (43) 79-103
Humans now play a major role in altering Earth and its biota. Finding ways to ameliorate human impacts on biodiversity and to sustain and restore the ecosystem services on which we depend is a grand scientific and societal challenge. Conservation paleobiology is an emerging discipline that uses geohistorical data to...
Western juniper management: assessing strategies for improving greater sage-grouse habitat and rangeland productivity
Shahla Farzan, Derek J.N. Young, Allison G. Dedrick, Mattew Hamilton, Erik C. Porse, Peter S. Coates, Gabriel Sampson
2015, Environmental Management (56) 675-683
Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis subsp. occidentalis) range expansion into sagebrush steppe ecosystems has affected both native wildlife and economic livelihoods across western North America. The potential listing of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) under the U.S. Endangered Species Act has spurred a decade of juniper removal efforts,...
Flood-inundation maps for the White River at Indianapolis, Indiana, 2014
Elizabeth A. Nystrom
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5051
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.4-mile reach of the White River in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 0.3 miles upstream of Michigan Street to the Harding Street Generating Station dam (at the confluence with Lick Creek), were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community...
Database for the geologic map of Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Atosa A. Abendini, Joel E. Robinson, L.J. Patrick Muffler, D. E. White, Melvin H. Beeson, A. H. Truesdell
2015, Data Series 911
This dataset contains contacts, geologic units, and map boundaries from Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1371, "The Geologic map of upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone, National Park, Wyoming". This dataset was constructed to produce a digital geologic map as a basis for ongoing studies of hydrothermal processes....
Scientific information in support of water resource management of the Big River area, Rhode Island
David S. Armstrong, John P. Masterson, Keith W. Robinson, Kathleen M. Crawley
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3035
The Rhode Island Water Resources Board (RIWRB) is concerned that the demand for water may exceed the available public water supply in central and southern Rhode Island. Although water is often assumed to be plentiful in Rhode Island because of abundant rainfall, an adequate supply of water is not always...
Gravity data from the Sierra Vista Subwatershed, Upper San Pedro Basin, Arizona
Jeffrey R. Kennedy
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1086
Observations of very small changes of Earth’s gravitational field (time-lapse gravity) provide a direct, non-invasive method for measuring changes in aquifer storage change. An existing network of gravity stations in the Sierra Vista Subwatershed was revised in 2014 to better understand the spatial distribution of changes in aquifer storage, especially...
