Effects of proposed sediment borrow pits on nearshore wave climate and longshore sediment transport rate along Breton Island, Louisiana
Patricia (Soupy) Dalyander, Rangley C. Mickey, Joseph W. Long, James G. Flocks
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1055
As part of a plan to preserve bird habitat on Breton Island, the southernmost extent of the Chandeleur Islands and part of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to increase island elevation with sand supplied from offshore resources. Proposed sand extraction sites include...
Forecasting and evaluating patterns of energy development in southwestern Wyoming
Steven L. Garman
2015, WLCI Fact Sheet 7
The effects of future oil and natural gas development in southwestern Wyoming on wildlife populations are topical to conservation of the sagebrush steppe ecosystem. To aid in understanding these potential effects, the U.S. Geological Survey developed an Energy Footprint simulation model that forecasts the amount and pattern of energy development...
Reducing cross-sectional data using a genetic algorithm method and effects on cross-section geometry and steady-flow profiles
Charles E. Berenbrock
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5034
Reduction of cross-sectional data using a genetic algorithm method, and the effects of data reduction on channel geometry and steady-flow profiles, were analyzed. Two reduction methods─standard and genetic algorithms─were used to reduce cross-sectional data from the Kootenai River in northern Idaho. Cross sections that are representative of meander, straight, braided,...
Evapotranspiration trends over the eastern United States during the 20th century
Ryan J. Kramer, Lahouari Bounoua, Ping Zhang, Robert E. Wolfe, Thomas G. Huntington, Marc L. Imhoff, Kurt Thome, Genevieve L. Noyce
2015, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (2) 93-111
Most models evaluated by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate change estimate projected increases in temperature and precipitation with rising atmospheric CO2 levels. Researchers have suggested that increases in CO2 and associated increases in temperature and precipitation may stimulate vegetation growth and increase evapotranspiration (ET), which acts as a cooling mechanism, and on...
Assessing geomorphic change along the Trinity River downstream from Lewiston Dam, California, 1980-2011
Jennifer A. Curtis, Scott Wright, Justin Toby Minear, Lorraine E. Flint
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5046
The Trinity River Restoration Program, one of the nation’s largest adaptively managed river restoration programs, requires periodic assessment to determine the effectiveness of management actions in restoring channel dynamics and habitat features. This study documents riparian and channel changes along an intensively managed 65-kilometer reach of the Trinity River in...
High-resolution digital elevation model of lower Cowlitz and Toutle Rivers, adjacent to Mount St. Helens, Washington, based on an airborne lidar survey of October 2007
Adam R. Mosbrucker
2015, Data Series 936
The lateral blast, debris avalanche, and lahars of the May 18th, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, dramatically altered the surrounding landscape. Lava domes were extruded during the subsequent eruptive periods of 1980–1986 and 2004–2008. More than three decades after the emplacement of the 1980 debris avalanche, high sediment...
Geomorphic mapping to support river restoration on the Trinity River downstream from Lewiston Dam, California, 1980-2011
Jennifer A. Curtis, Timothy M. Guerrero
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1047
Historic land use, dam construction, water storage, and flow diversions in the Trinity River watershed have resulted in downstream geomorphic change, loss of salmonid habitat, and declines in salmonid populations. The USGS in cooperation with the Trinity River Restoration Program, a multi-agency partnership tasked with implementing federally mandated restoration, completed...
The Holocene history of the North American Monsoon: 'known knowns' and 'known unknowns' in understanding its spatial and temporal complexity
Sarah E. Metcalfe, John A. Barron, Sarah J. Davies
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (120) 1-27
Evidence for climatic change across the North American Monsoon (NAM) and adjacent areas is reviewed, drawing on continental and marine records and the application of climate models. Patterns of change at 12,000, 9000, 6000 and 4000 cal yr BP are presented to capture the nature of change from the Younger Dryas (YD) and...
Habitat selection and movements of Piping Plover broods suggest a tradeoff between breeding stages
Mark T. Wiltermuth, Michael J. Anteau, Mark H. Sherfy, Aaron T. Pearse
2015, Journal of Ornithology (156) 999-1013
In precocial birds, adults select breeding areas using cues associated with habitat characteristics that are favorable for nesting success and chick survival, but there may be tradeoffs in habitat selection between these breeding stages. Here we describe habitat selection and intra-territory movements of 53 Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) broods...
Late Holocene flood probabilities in the Black Hills, South Dakota with emphasis on the Medieval Climate Anomaly
Tessa M. Harden, James E. O'Connor, Daniel G. Driscoll
2015, Catena (130) 62-68
A stratigraphic record of 35 large paleofloods and four large historical floods during the last 2000 years for four basins in the Black Hills of South Dakota reveals three long-term flooding episodes, identified using probability distributions, at A.D.: 120–395, 900–1290, and 1410 to present. During the Medieval Climate Anomaly (~ A.D. 900–1300)...
Salmon habitat assessment for conservation planning in the lower White Salmon River, Washington
Jill M. Hardiman, M. Brady Allen
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1100
In 2011, Condit Dam was removed from the White Salmon River, Washington. Since dam removal, there has been interest among scientists (State and Federal), Tribes, non-profit organizations, and the general public in assessing Pacific salmon habitat and use in the White Salmon River for conservation planning and potential fishery management...
Identifying multiple timescale rainfall controls on Mojave Desert ecohydrology using an integrated data and modeling approach for Larrea tridentata
Gene-Hua Crystal Ng, David R. Bedford, David M. Miller
2015, Water Resources Research (51)-3884
The perennial shrub Larrea tridentata is widely successful in North American warm deserts but is also susceptible to climatic perturbations. Understanding its response to rainfall variability requires consideration of multiple timescales. We examine intra-annual to multi-year relationships using model simulations of soil moisture and vegetation growth over 50 years in...
Using biotic ligand models to predict metal toxicity in mineralized systems
Kathleen S. Smith, Laurie S. Balistrieri, Andrew S. Todd
2015, Applied Geochemistry (57) 55-72
The biotic ligand model (BLM) is a numerical approach that couples chemical speciation calculations with toxicological information to predict the toxicity of aquatic metals. This approach was proposed as an alternative to expensive toxicological testing, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency incorporated the BLM into the 2007 revised aquatic life...
1000 dams down and counting
James E. O'Connor, Jeff J. Duda, Gordon E. Grant
2015, Science (348) 496-497
Forty years ago, the demolition of large dams was mostly fiction, notably plotted in Edward Abbey's novel The Monkey Wrench Gang. Its 1975 publication roughly coincided with the end of large-dam construction in the United States. Since then, dams have been taken down in increasing numbers as they have filled...
The fate of cyanide in leach wastes at gold mines: an environmental perspective
Craig A. Johnson
2015, Applied Geochemistry (57) 194-205
This paper reviews the basic chemistry of cyanide, methods by which cyanide can be analyzed, and aspects of cyanide behavior that are most relevant to environmental considerations at mineral processing operations associated with gold mines. The emphasis is on research results reported since 1999 and on data gathered for...
User guide for luminescence sampling in archaeological and geological contexts
Michelle S. Nelson, Harrison J. Gray, Jack A. Johnson, Tammy M. Rittenour, James K. Feathers, Shannon Mahan
2015, Advances in Archaeological Practice: A Journal of the Society for American Archaeology (3) 166-177
Luminescence dating provides a direct age estimate of the time of last exposure of quartz or feldspar minerals to light or heat and has been successfully applied to deposits, rock surfaces, and fired materials in a number of archaeological and geological settings. Sampling strategies are diverse and can be customized...
Mesozoic magmatism and timing of epigenetic Pb-Zn-Ag mineralization in the western Fortymile mining district, east-central Alaska: Zircon U-Pb geochronology, whole-rock geochemistry, and Pb isotopes
Cynthia Dusel-Bacon, J.N. Aleinkoff, W. C. Day, J.K. Mortensen
2015, Geosphere (11) 786-822
The Mesozoic magmatic history of the North American margin records the evolution from a more segmented assemblage of parautochthonous and allochthonous terranes to the more cohesive northern Cordilleran orogenic belt. We characterize the setting of magmatism, tectonism, and epigenetic mineralization in the western Fortymile mining district, east-central Alaska, where parautochthonous...
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...
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...
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...
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...
