Simulation of the effects of rainfall and groundwater use on historical lake water levels, groundwater levels, and spring flows in central Florida
Andrew M. O’Reilly, Edwin A. Roehl Jr., Paul Conrads, Ruby C. Daamen, Matthew D. Petkewich
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5032
The urbanization of central Florida has progressed substantially in recent decades, and the total population in Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, and Seminole Counties more than quadrupled from 1960 to 2010. The Floridan aquifer system is the primary source of water for potable, industrial, and agricultural purposes in central Florida. Despite...
PAH concentrations in lake sediment decline following ban on coal-tar-based pavement sealants in Austin, Texas
Peter C. Van Metre, Barbara Mahler
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 7222-7228
Recent studies have concluded that coal-tar-based pavement sealants are a major source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban settings in large parts of the United States. In 2006, Austin, TX, became the first jurisdiction in the U.S. to ban the use of coal-tar sealants. We evaluated the effect of...
Mobile terrestrial light detection and ranging (T-LiDAR) survey of areas on Dauphin Island, Alabama, in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac, 2012
Dustin R. Kimbrow
2014, Data Series 855
Topographic survey data of areas on Dauphin Island on the Alabama coast were collected using a truck-mounted mobile terrestrial light detection and ranging system. This system is composed of a high frequency laser scanner in conjunction with an inertial measurement unit and a position and orientation computer to produce highly...
Histograms showing variations in oil yield, water yield, and specific gravity of oil from Fischer assay analyses of oil-shale drill cores and cuttings from the Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado
John D. Dietrich, Michael E. Brownfield, Ronald C. Johnson, Tracey J. Mercier
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1057
Recent studies indicate that the Piceance Basin in northwestern Colorado contains over 1.5 trillion barrels of oil in place, making the basin the largest known oil-shale deposit in the world. Previously published histograms display oil-yield variations with depth and widely correlate rich and lean oil-shale beds and zones throughout the...
Analysis of induced seismicity in geothermal reservoirs – An overview
Arno Zang, Volker Oye, Philippe Jousset, Nicholas Deichmann, Roland Gritto, Arthur F. McGarr, Ernest Majer, David Bruhn
2014, Geothermics (52) 6-21
In this overview we report results of analysing induced seismicity in geothermal reservoirs in various tectonic settings within the framework of the European Geothermal Engineering Integrating Mitigation of Induced Seismicity in Reservoirs (GEISER) project. In the reconnaissance phase of a field, the subsurface fault mapping, in situ stress and the seismic network are of primary...
Aftershock risks such as those demonstrated by the recent events in New Zealand and Japan
Nilesh Shome, Nico Luco, Matt Gerstenberger, Oliver S. Boyd, Edward H. Field, Abbie Liel, John W. van de Lindt
2014, Conference Paper
Recent earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan show that it is important to consider the spatial and temporal distribution of aftershocks following large magnitude events since the probability of high intensity ground motions from aftershocks, which are capable of causing significant societal impact, can be considerable. This is due to...
Variability common to global sea surface temperatures and runoff in the conterminous United States
Gregory J. McCabe, David M. Wolock
2014, Journal of Hydrometeorology (15) 714-725
Singular value decomposition (SVD) is used to identify the variability common to global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and water-balance-modeled water-year (WY) runoff in the conterminous United States (CONUS) for the 1900–2012 period. Two modes were identified from the SVD analysis; the two modes explain 25% of the variability in WY...
Spatial and temporal patterns in conterminous United States streamflow characteristics
Gregory J. McCabe, David M. Wolock
2014, Geophysical Research Letters (41) 6889-6897
Spatial and temporal patterns in annual and seasonal minimum, mean, and maximum daily streamflow values were examined for a set of 516 reference stream gauges located throughout the conterminous United States for the period 1951–2009. Cluster analysis was used to classify the stream gauges into 14 groups based on similarity...
The earthquake cycle in the San Francisco Bay region: A.D. 1600–2012
David P. Schwartz, James J. Lienkaemper, Suzanne Hecker, Keith I. Kelson, Thomas E. Fumal, John N. Baldwin, Gordon G. Seitz, Tina Niemi
2014, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
Stress changes produced by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake had a profound effect on the seismicity of the San Francisco Bay region (SFBR), dramatically reducing it in the twentieth century. Whether the SFBR is still within or has emerged from this seismic quiescence is an issue of debate with implications...
Reproductive ecology of lampreys
Nicholas S. Johnson, Tyler J. Buchinger, Weiming Li
2014, Book chapter, Lampreys: Biology, Conservation and Control
Lampreys typically spawn in riffle habitats during the spring. Spawning activity and diel (i.e., during daylight and at night) behavioral patterns are initiated when spring water temperatures increase to levels that coincide with optimal embryologic development. Nests are constructed in gravel substrate using the oral disc to move stones and...
Climate change and the Rocky Mountains
James M. Byrne, Daniel B. Fagre, Ryan MacDonald
2014, Book chapter, Impact of global changes on mountains: Responses and adaptation
Rural landscapes in the Andes are characterized by an impressive diversity of natural environments and by multiple resource assets. This is particularly the case in the tropical realm where the ecological altitudinal zones of the tierra caliente, the tierra templada, the tierra fria and the tierra heladaoffer a remarkable range...
A field trip guidebook to the type localities of Marland Billings' 1935 Paleozoic bedrock stratigraphy near Littleton, New Hampshire
Douglas W. Rankin, Mary B. Rankin
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1026
Marland Billings' classic paper published in 1937 in the Geological Society of America Bulletin established a succession of six stratigraphic units in rocks of low metamorphic grade near Littleton, New Hampshire. The two youngest units are fossiliferous in the area, with ages established at the time as “middle” Silurian and...
Conceptual model of the uppermost principal aquifer systems in the Williston and Powder River structural basins, United States and Canada
Andrew J. Long, Katherine R. Aurand, Jennifer M. Bednar, Kyle W. Davis, Jonathan D.R.G. McKaskey, Joanna N. Thamke
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5055
The three uppermost principal aquifer systems of the Northern Great Plains—the glacial, lower Tertiary, and Upper Cretaceous aquifer systems—are described in this report and provide water for irrigation, mining, public and domestic supply, livestock, and industrial uses. These aquifer systems primarily are present in two nationally important fossil-fuelproducing areas: the...
Hydrogeologic framework of the uppermost principal aquifer systems in the Williston and Powder River structural basins, United States and Canada
Joanna N. Thamke, Gary D. LeCain, Derek W. Ryter, Roy Sando, Andrew J. Long
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5047
The glacial, lower Tertiary, and Upper Cretaceous aquifer systems in the Williston and Powder River structural basins within the United States and Canada are the uppermost principal aquifer systems and most accessible sources of groundwater for these energy-producing basins. The glacial aquifer system covers the northeastern part of the Williston...
Estimates of inorganic nitrogen wet deposition from precipitation for the conterminous United States, 1955-84
Jo Ann M. Gronberg, Amy S. Ludtke, Donna L. Knifong
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5067
The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment program requires nutrient input information for analysis of national and regional assessment of water quality. Historical data are needed to lengthen the data record for assessment of trends in water quality. This report provides estimates of inorganic nitrogen deposition from precipitation for the...
California Groundwater Units
Tyler D. Johnson, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Data Series 796
The California Groundwater Units dataset classifies and delineates areas within the State of California into one of three groundwater-based polygon units: (1) those areas previously defined as alluvial groundwater basins or subbasins, (2) highland areas that are adjacent to and topographically upgradient of groundwater basins, and (3) highland areas not...
Summary of suspended-sediment concentration data, San Francisco Bay, California, water year 2010
Paul A. Buchanan, Tara L. Morgan
2014, Data Series 808
Suspended-sediment concentration data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in San Francisco Bay during water year 2010 (October 1, 2009–September 30, 2010). Turbidity sensors and water samples were used to monitor suspended-sediment concentration at two sites in Suisun Bay, one site in San Pablo Bay, three sites in Central...
Gas hydrate identified in sand-rich inferred sedimentary section using downhole logging and seismic data in Shenhu area, South China Sea
Xiujuan Wang, Myung W. Lee, Timothy S. Collett, Shengxiong Yang, Yiqun Guo, Shiguo Wu
2014, Marine and Petroleum Geology (51) 298-306
Downhole wireline log (DWL) data was acquired from eight drill sites during China's first gas hydrate drilling expedition (GMGS-1) in 2007. Initial analyses of the acquired well log data suggested that there were no significant gas hydrate occurrences at Site SH4. However, the re-examination of the DWL data from Site...
2014 Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Forecast
Donald Scavia, Mary Anne Evans, Dan Obenour
2014, Report
The Gulf of Mexico annual summer hypoxia forecasts are based on average May total nitrogen loads from the Mississippi River basin for that year. The load estimate, recently released by USGS, is 4,761 metric tons per day. Based on that estimate, we predict the area of this summer’s hypoxic zone...
Distribution and population genetics of walleye and sauger
Amanda E. Haponski, Brian L. Sloss
2014, BMC Evolutionary Biology (14)
Conserving genetic diversity and local adaptations are management priorities for wild populations of exploited species, which increasingly are subject to climate change, habitat loss, and pollution. These constitute growing concerns for the walleye Sander vitreus, an ecologically and economically valuable North American temperate fish with large...
The changing role of history in restoration ecology
Eric Higgs, Donald A. Falk, Anita Guerrini, Marcus Hall, Jim Harris, Richard J. Hobbs, Stephen T. Jackson, Jeanine M. Rhemtulla, William Throop
2014, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (12) 499-506
In the face of rapid environmental and cultural change, orthodox concepts in restoration ecology such as historical fidelity are being challenged. Here we re-examine the diverse roles played by historical knowledge in restoration, and argue that these roles remain vitally important. As such, historical knowledge will be critical in shaping...
Rethinking turbidite paleoseismology along the Cascadia subduction zone
Brian F. Atwater, Bobb Carson, Gary B. Griggs, H. Paul Johnson, Marie Salmi
2014, Geology (42) 827-830
A stratigraphic synthesis of dozens of deep-sea cores, most of them overlooked in recent decades, provides new insights into deep-sea turbidites as guides to earthquake and tsunami hazards along the Cascadia subduction zone, which extends 1100 km along the Pacific coast of North America. The synthesis shows greater variability in...
Relationship between the Cascadia fore-arc mantle wedge, nonvolcanic tremor, and the downdip limit of seismogenic rupture
Patricia A. McCrory, Roy D. Hyndman, J. Luke Blair
2014, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (15) 1071-1095
Great earthquakes anticipated on the Cascadia subduction fault can potentially rupture beyond the geodetically and thermally inferred locked zone to the depths of episodic tremor and slip (ETS) or to the even deeper fore-arc mantle corner (FMC). To evaluate these extreme rupture limits, we map the FMC from southern Vancouver...
Frequency-dependent seismic attenuation in the eastern United States as observed from the 2011 central Virginia earthquake and aftershock sequence
Daniel E. McNamara, Lind Gee, Harley M. Benz, Martin Chapman
2014, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (104) 55-72
Ground shaking due to earthquakes in the eastern United States (EUS) is felt at significantly greater distances than in the western United States (WUS) and for some earthquakes it has been shown to display a strong preferential direction. Shaking intensity variation can be due to propagation path effects, source directivity,...
Wetlands: Tidal
William H. Conner, Ken W. Krauss, Andrew H. Baldwin, Stephen Hutchinson
2014, Book chapter, Encyclopedia of natural resources: Land
Tidal wetlands are some of the most dynamic areas of the Earth and are found at the interface between the land and sea. Salinity, regular tidal flooding, and infrequent catastrophic flooding due to storm events result in complex interactions among biotic and abiotic factors. The complexity of these interactions, along...
