Examining Submarine Ground-Water Discharge into Florida Bay by using 222Rn and Continuous Resistivity Profiling
Peter Swarzenski, Chris Reich, David Rudnick
2009, Open-File Report 2008-1342
Estimates of submarine ground-water discharge (SGD) into Florida Bay remain one of the least understood components of a regional water balance. To quantify the magnitude and seasonality of SGD into upper Florida Bay, research activities included the use of the natural geochemical tracer, 222Rn, to examine potential SGD hotspots (222Rn...
Benthic foraminiferal census data from Louisiana continental shelf cores, Gulf of Mexico
Lisa E. Osterman, Wendy S. Kelly, John P. Ricardo
2009, Open-File Report 2008-1348
An area of oxygen-depleted bottom- and subsurface-water (hypoxia = dissolved oxygen < 2 mg/L-1) occurs seasonally on the Louisiana Shelf near the Mississippi River. The area of hypoxia, also known as the “dead zone,” forms when spring and early summer freshwater flow from the Mississippi River supplies a large amount...
Drilling and testing the DOI-04-1A coalbed methane well, Fort Yukon, Alaska
Arthur Clark, Charles E. Barker, Edwin P. Weeks
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1064
The need for affordable energy sources is acute in rural communities of Alaska where costly diesel fuel must be delivered by barge or plane for power generation. Additionally, the transport, transfer, and storage of fuel pose great difficulty in these regions. Although small-scale energy development in remote Arctic locations presents...
Preliminary assessment of vertical stability and gravel transport along the Umpqua River, southwestern Oregon
Jim E. O'Connor, J. Rose Wallick, Steven Sobieszczyk, Charles Cannon, Scott W. Anderson
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1010
This report addresses physical channel issues related to instream gravel mining on the Umpqua River and its two primary tributaries, the North and South Umpqua Rivers. This analysis constitutes a “Phase I” investigation, as designated by an interagency team cochaired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, and...
Aeromagnetic survey map of the central California Coast Ranges
V.E. Langenheim, R.C. Jachens, K. Moussaoui
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1044
This aeromagnetic survey was flown as part of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company and is intended to promote further understanding of the geology and structure in the central California Coast Ranges by serving as a basis for geophysical interpretations and by...
Minimum Pool and Bull Trout Prey Base Investigations at Beulah Reservoir - Final Report for 2008
Brien P. Rose, Matthew G. Mesa
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1068
Beulah Reservoir in southeastern Oregon provides irrigation water to nearby farms and supports an adfluvial population of threatened bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). Summer drawdowns in the reservoir could affect forage fish production and overwintering bull trout. To assess the impacts of drawdown, we sampled fish, invertebrates, and water-quality variables seasonally...
Investigation into the Origin and Character of Surficial Sedimentary Deposits at the Midshore Regional Solid Waste Facility near Easton, Maryland
Joseph P. Smoot, Wayne L. Newell, Benjamin D. DeJong
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1052
A temporary exposure at the Midshore Regional Solid Waste Facility near Easton, MD, provided an opportunity to document the characteristics of the complex assemblage of surficial facies in that area. This unusually large cross section allowed interpretation of the changing processes that shaped the landscape in response to climate change...
Transient electromagnetic soundings near Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, San Luis Valley, Colorado (2006 field season)
David V. Fitterman, Oderson A. de Souza Filho
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1051
Time-domain electromagnetic (TEM) soundings were made near Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado to obtain subsurface information of use to hydrologic modeling. Seventeen soundings were made to the east and north of the sand dunes. Using a small loop TEM system,...
Hurricane Ike: Observations and analysis of coastal change
Kara S. Doran, Nathaniel G. Plant, Hilary F. Stockdon, Asbury H. Sallenger Jr., Katherine A. Serafin
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1061
Understanding storm-induced coastal change and forecasting these changes require knowledge of the physical processes associated with the storm and the geomorphology of the impacted coastline. The primary physical processes of interest are the wind field, storm surge, and wave climate. Not only does wind cause direct damage to structures along...
St. Louis Area Earthquake Hazards Mapping Project— A progress report-November 2008
D. Karadeniz, J.D. Rogers, R. A. Williams, C.H. Cramer, R.A. Bauer, D. Hoffman, J. Chung, G.L. Hempen, P.H. Steckel, O.L. Boyd, C.M. Watkins, N.S. McCallister, E. Schweig
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1059
St. Louis has experienced minor earthquake damage at least 12 times in the past 200 years. Because of this history and its proximity to known active earthquake zones, the St. Louis Area Earthquake Hazards Mapping Project (SLAEHMP) is producing digital maps that show variability of earthquake hazards, including liquefaction and...
Nutrients, Dissolved Organic Carbon, Color, and Disinfection Byproducts in Base Flow and Stormflow in Streams of the Croton Watershed, Westchester and Putnam Counties, New York, 2000-02
Paul M. Heisig
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1054
The Croton Watershed is unique among New York City's water-supply watersheds because it has the highest percentages of suburban development (52 percent) and wetland area (6 percent). As the City moves toward filtration of this water supply, there is a need to document water-quality contributions from both human and natural...
Comparison of NLCD with NWI Classifications of Baldwin and Mobile Counties, Alabama
Larry Handley, Chris Wells
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1058
An assessment of the accuracy of National Land Cover Data 2001 as compared to National Wetlands Inventory mapping of Mobile and Baldwin Counties conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC). Both classifications were checked against stratified randomly selected ground-based sites and with each other to...
Stakeholder Evaluation for Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge: Completion Report
Natalie R. Sexton, Nina Burkardt, Margaret Earlene Swann, Susan C. Stewart
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1030
The National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), is the largest system of public lands in the world dedicated to wildlife conservation. There are over 545 national wildlife refuges nationwide, encompassing 95 million acres. As part of the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act...
Gas, water, and oil production from the Wasatch Formation, Greater Natural Buttes Field, Uinta Basin, Utah
Philip H. Nelson, Eric L. Hoffman
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1049
Gas, oil, and water production data were compiled from 38 wells with production commencing during the 1980s from the Wasatch Formation in the Greater Natural Buttes field, Uinta Basin, Utah. This study is one of a series of reports examining fluid production from tight gas reservoirs, which are characterized by...
Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls, selected persistent organochlorine pesticides, and polybrominated flame retardants in fillets of fishes from the 2007 Missouri Department of Conservation Monitoring Program
Robert W. Gale, Carl E. Orazio, Michael J. McKee
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1053
This report presents the results of a study to determine polychlorinated biphenyl, organochlorine pesticide, and polybrominated diphenylether flame retardant concentrations in selected fishes from lakes and streams across Missouri. Fillets were collected from each fish sample and after homogenization, compositing, and preparation, analyte concentrations were determined with dual column capillary...
Coastal Processes Study of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, California
Patrick L. Barnard, David L. Revell, Dan Hoover, Jon Warrick, John Brocatus, Amy E. Draut, Pete Dartnell, Edwin Elias, Neomi Mustain, Pat E. Hart, Holly F. Ryan
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1029
The Santa Barbara littoral cell (SBLC) is a complex coastal system with significant management challenges. The coastline ranges broadly in exposure to wave energy, fluvial inputs, hard structures, and urbanization. Geologic influence (structural control) on coastline orientation exerts an important control on local beach behavior, with anthropogenic alterations and the...
Environmental Impact of the Contact and Sonoma Mercury Mines on Water, Sediment, and Biota in Anna Belcher and Little Sulphur Creek Watersheds, Sonoma County, California
James J. Rytuba, Roger L. Hothem, Jason T. May, Christopher S. Kim, David Lawler, Daniel Goldstein
2009, Open-File Report 2008-1381
The Contact and Sonoma mercury (Hg) deposits are among the youngest Hg deposits in the Coast Range Hg mineral belt and are located in the western part of the Clear Lake volcanic field in Sonoma County, California. The mine workings and tailings are located in the headwaters of Anna Belcher...
An Index to PGE-Ni-Cr Deposits and Occurrences in Selected Mineral-Occurrence Databases
J. Douglas Causey, John P. Galloway, Michael L. Zientek
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1045
Databases of mineral deposits and occurrences are essential to conducting assessments of undiscovered mineral resources. In the USGS's (U.S. Geological Survey) global assessment of undiscovered resources of copper, potash, and the platinum-group elements (PGE), only a few mineral deposit types will be evaluated. For example, only porphyry-copper and sediment-hosted copper...
Analysis of vertical flow during ambient and pumped conditions in four monitoring wells at the Pantex Plant, Carson County, Texas, July-September 2008
Gregory P. Stanton, Jonathan V. Thomas, Jeffery Stoval
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1017
The Pantex Plant is a U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration (USDOE/NNSA)-owned, contractor-operated facility managed by Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Pantex, LLC (B&W Pantex) in Carson County, Texas, approximately 17 miles northeast of Amarillo. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with B&W Pantex through the USDOE/NNSA, made a...
Continuous Tidal Streamflow and Gage-Height Data for Bass and Cinder Creeks on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, September 2007
Paul Conrads, John W. Erbland
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1037
A three-dimensional model of Bass and Cinder Creeks on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, was developed to evaluate methodologies for determining fecal coliform total maximum daily loads for shellfish waters. To calibrate the model, two index-velocity sites on the creeks were instrumented with continuous acoustic velocity meters and water-level sensors to...
National assessment of historical shoreline change: a pilot study of historical coastal bluff retreat in the Great Lakes, Erie, Pennsylvania
Cheryl J. Hapke, Shamus Malone, Meredith G. Kratzmann
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1042
Coastal bluff retreat is a chronic problem along many high-relief coastlines in the United States. As coastal populations continue to grow and community infrastructures are threatened by erosion, there is increased demand for accurate information regard-ing trends and rates of bluff retreat. There is also a need for a comprehensive...
Research Implementation and Quality Assurance Project Plan: An Evaluation of Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Technologies for the Detection of Fugitive Contamination at Selected Superfund Hazardous Waste Sites
E. Terrence Slonecker, Gary B. Fisher
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1048
This project is a research collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Eastern Geographic Science Center (EGSC), for the purpose of evaluating the utility of hyperspectral remote sensing technology for post-closure monitoring of residual contamination at delisted and...
Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposits of the World - Database and Grade and Tonnage Models
Dan L. Mosier, Vladimir I. Berger, Donald A. Singer
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1034
Grade and tonnage models are useful in quantitative mineral-resource assessments. The models and database presented in this report are an update of earlier publications about volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits. These VMS deposits include what were formerly classified as kuroko, Cyprus, and Besshi deposits. The update was necessary because of...
The performance of nearshore dredge disposal at Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California, 2005-2007
Patrick L. Barnard, Li H. Erikson, Jeff E. Hansen, Edwin Elias
2009, Open-File Report 2008-1347
Ocean Beach, California, contains an erosion hot spot in the shadow of the San Francisco ebb tidal delta that threatens valuable public infrastructure as well as the safe recreational use of the beach. In an effort to reduce the erosion at this location a new plan for the management of...
Development of a probabilistic assessment methodology for evaluation of carbon dioxide storage
Robert A. Burruss, Sean T. Brennan, Philip A. Freeman, Matthew D. Merrill, Leslie F. Ruppert, Mark F. Becker, William N. Herkelrath, Yousif K. Kharaka, Christopher E. Neuzil, Sharon M. Swanson, Troy A. Cook, Timothy R. Klett, Philip H. Nelson, Christopher J. Schenk
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1035
This report describes a probabilistic assessment methodology developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for evaluation of the resource potential for storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the subsurface of the United States as authorized by the Energy Independence and Security Act (Public Law 110-140, 2007). The methodology is based...
