Hydrologic monitoring and selected hydrologic and environmental studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Georgia, 2011–2013
John S. Clarke, Melinda J. Dalton (compiler)
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1278
This compendium of papers describes results of hydrologic monitoring and hydrologic and environmental studies completed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Georgia during 2011–2013. The USGS addresses a wide variety of water issues in the State of Georgia working with local, State, and Federal partners. As the primary Federal...
Flood-inundation maps for the Elkhart River at Goshen, Indiana
Kellan R. Strauch
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3269
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, created digital flood-inundation maps for an 8.3-mile reach of the Elkhart River at Goshen, Indiana, extending from downstream of the Goshen Dam to downstream from County Road 17. The inundation maps, which can be...
Occurrence of fungicides and other pesticides in surface water, groundwater, and sediment from three targeted-use areas in the United States, 2009
James L. Orlando, Kelly L. Smalling, Timothy J. Reilly, Adam Boehlke, Michael T. Meyer, Kathryn Kuivila
2013, Data Series 797
Surface-water, groundwater, and suspended- and bedsediment samples were collected in three targeted-use areas in the United States where potatoes were grown during 2009 and analyzed for an extensive suite of fungicides and other pesticides by gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Fungicides were detected in all...
Changes in nitrogen loading to the Northeast Creek Estuary, Bar Harbor, Maine, 2000 to 2010
Martha G. Nielsen
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1256
Since 1999, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service have been monitoring land use and nitrogen loading in a 26.3-square-kilometer (10-square-mile) estuarine watershed at Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine. The initial study linking land use and nitrogen loads entering the Northeast Creek estuary was completed in...
First evidence of grass carp recruitment in the Great Lakes Basin
Duane Chapman, J. Jeremiah Davis, Jill A. Jenkins, Patrick M. Kocovsky, Jeffrey G. Miner, John Farver, P. Ryan Jackson
2013, Journal of Great Lakes Research (39) 547-554
We use aging techniques, ploidy analysis, and otolith microchemistry to assess whether four grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella captured from the Sandusky River, Ohio were the result of natural reproduction within the Lake Erie Basin. All four fish were of age 1 +. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that these fish...
Modeling the effects of fire severity and climate warming on active layer and soil carbon dynamics of black spruce forests across the landscape in interior Alaska
H. Genet, Anthony D. McGuire, K. Barrett, A. Breen, E.S. Euskirchen, J.F. Johnstone, E.S. Kasischke, A.M. Melvin, A. Bennett, M.C. Mack, T.S. Rupp, A.E.G. Schuur, M.R. Turetsky, F. Yuan
2013, Environmental Research Letters (8)
There is a substantial amount of carbon stored in the permafrost soils of boreal forest ecosystems, where it is currently protected from decomposition. The surface organic horizons insulate the deeper soil from variations in atmospheric temperature. The removal of these insulating horizons through consumption by fire increases the vulnerability of...
Geophysical-log and hydraulic-test analyses of groundwater-production wells at the Hannahville Indian Community, Menominee County, Michigan
E. Randall Bayless, J. Alton Anderson, David C. Lampe, John H. Williams
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5172
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Hannahville Indian Community, evaluated the geohydrology of the bedrock formations and hydraulic properties of groundwater-production wells at the Hannahville Indian Community in Menominee County, Michigan. Geophysical logs were collected from five wells at two sites during September 2012. The logs were analyzed...
Modeling earthquake rate changes in Oklahoma and Arkansas: possible signatures of induced seismicity
Andrea L. Llenos, Andrew J. Michael
2013, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (103) 2850-2861
The rate of ML≥3 earthquakes in the central and eastern United States increased beginning in 2009, particularly in Oklahoma and central Arkansas, where fluid injection has occurred. We find evidence that suggests these rate increases are man‐made by examining the rate changes in a catalog of ML≥3 earthquakes in Oklahoma,...
Sea-floor geology and topography offshore in northeastern Long Island Sound
L.J. Poppe, K.Y. McMullen, S.D. Ackerman, K.A. Glomb
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1060
Datasets of gridded multibeam bathymetry, covering approximately 52.9 square kilometers, were used to interpret character and geology of the sea floor in northeastern Long Island Sound. Although originally collected for charting purposes during National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hydrographic survey H12012, these acoustic data and the sea-floor sampling and photography...
Nearshore temperature findings for the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona: possible implications for native fish
Robert P. Ross, William S. Vernieu
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3104
Since the completion of Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, in 1963, downstream water temperatures in the main channel of the Colorado River in Glen, Marble, and Grand Canyons are much colder in summer. This has negatively affected humpback chub (Gila cypha) and other native fish adapted to seasonally warm water, reducing...
Estimation of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in streams of the Middle Columbia River Basin (Oregon, Washington, and Idaho) using SPARROW models, with emphasis on the Yakima River Basin, Washington
Henry M. Johnson, Robert W. Black, Daniel R. Wise
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5199
The watershed model SPARROW (Spatially Related Regressions on Watershed attributes) was used to predict total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) loads and yields for the Middle Columbia River Basin in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The new models build on recently published models for the entire Pacific Northwest, and provide...
Extreme ground motions and Yucca Mountain
Thomas C. Hanks, Norman A. Abrahamson, Jack W. Baker, David M. Boore, Mark Board, James N. Brune, C. Allin Cornell, John W. Whitney
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1245
Yucca Mountain is the designated site of the underground repository for the United States' high-level radioactive waste (HLW), consisting of commercial and military spent nuclear fuel, HLW derived from reprocessing of uranium and plutonium, surplus plutonium, and other nuclear-weapons materials. Yucca Mountain straddles the western boundary of the Nevada Test...
USGS National Wildlife Health Center quarterly mortality report
Anne E. Ballmann, C. LeAnn White, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Jennifer L. Buckner
2013, Wildlife Disease Association Newsletter 6-8
No abstract available....
Assessment of undiscovered technically recoverable oil and gas resources of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico-U.S. Virgin Islands Exclusive Economic Zone, 2013
Christopher J. Schenk, Ronald R. Charpentier, Timothy R. Klett, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Janet K. Pitman, Michael E. Brownfield, Tracey J. Mercier, Craig J. Wandrey, Jean N. Weaver
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3101
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 19 million barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 244 billion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas in the Puerto Rico–U.S. Virgin Islands Exclusive Economic Zone....
An integrated model of environmental effects on growth, carbohydrate balance, and mortality of Pinus ponderosa forests in the southern Rocky Mountains
Christina L. Tague, Nathan G. McDowell, Craig D. Allen
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
Climate-induced tree mortality is an increasing concern for forest managers around the world. We used a coupled hydrologic and ecosystem carbon cycling model to assess temperature and precipitation impacts on productivity and survival of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). Model predictions were evaluated using observations of productivity and survival for three...
Petrologic and isotopic data from the Cretaceous (Campanian) Blackhawk Formation and Star Point Sandstone (Mesaverde Group), Wasatch Plateau, Utah
Neil S. Fishman, Christine E. Turner, Fred Peterson
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1254
The presence of discrete minerals associated with coal—whether (1) detrital or authigenic constituents of the coals or in thin mudstone or siltstone units interbedded with coals, or (2) authigenic phases that formed along cleats—might influence its utilization as an energy resource. The build-up of sintered ash deposits on the surfaces...
Streamflow statistics for unregulated and regulated conditions for selected locations on the Yellowstone, Tongue, and Powder Rivers, Montana, 1928-2002
Katherine J. Chase
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5173
Major floods in 1996 and 1997 on the Yellowstone River in Montana intensified public debate over the effects of human activities on the Yellowstone River. In 1999, the Yellowstone River Conservation District Council was formed to address conservation issues on the river. The Yellowstone River Conservation District Council partnered with...
Hydrogeology, distribution, and volume of saline groundwater in the southern midcontinent and adjacent areas of the United States
Noel I. Osborn, S. Jerrod Smith, Christian H. Seger
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5017
The hydrogeology, distribution, and volume of saline water in 22 aquifers in the southern midcontinent of the United States were evaluated to provide information about saline groundwater resources that may be used to reduce dependency on freshwater resources. Those aquifers underlie six States in the southern midcontinent—Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri,...
Estimated nitrogen loads from selected tributaries in Connecticut draining to Long Island Sound, 1999–2009
John R. Mullaney, Gregory E. Schwarz
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5171
The total nitrogen load to Long Island Sound from Connecticut and contributing areas to the north was estimated for October 1998 to September 2009. Discrete measurements of total nitrogen concentrations and continuous flow data from 37 water-quality monitoring stations in the Long Island Sound watershed were used to compute total...
Broad-scale patterns of Brook Trout responses to introduced Brown Trout in New York
James E. McKenna Jr., Michael T. Slattery, Kean M. Clifford
2013, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (33) 1221-1235
Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis and Brown Trout Salmo trutta are valuable sport fish that coexist in many parts of the world due to stocking introductions. Causes for the decline of Brook Trout within their native range are not clear but include competition with Brown Trout, habitat alteration, and repetitive stocking...
Methods for estimating water consumption for thermoelectric power plants in the United States
Timothy H. Diehl, Melissa Harris, Jennifer C. Murphy, Susan S. Hutson, David E. Ladd
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5188
Water consumption at thermoelectric power plants represents a small but substantial share of total water consumption in the U.S. However, currently available thermoelectric water consumption data are inconsistent and incomplete, and coefficients used to estimate consumption are contradictory. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has resumed the estimation of thermoelectric water...
Habitat heterogeneity and intraguild interactions modify distribution and injury rates in two coexisting genera of damselflies
Jonathan W. Witt, Rebecca E. Forkner, Richard T. Kraus
2013, Freshwater Biology (58) 2380-2388
1. Sublethal effects of predation can affect both population and community structure. Despite this, little is known about how the frequency of injury varies in relation to habitat, aquatic community characteristics or between trophically similar, coexisting taxa. 2. In a tidal freshwater ecosystem, we first examined injuries (lamellar autotomy)...
Land subsidence along the Delta-Mendota Canal in the northern part of the San Joaquin Valley, California, 2003-10
Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Mike Solt
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5142
Extensive groundwater withdrawal from the unconsolidated deposits in the San Joaquin Valley caused widespread aquifer-system compaction and resultant land subsidence from 1926 to 1970—locally exceeding 8.5 meters. The importation of surface water beginning in the early 1950s through the Delta-Mendota Canal and in the early 1970s through the California Aqueduct...
Mechanical properties of simulated Mars materials: gypsum-rich sandstones and lapilli tuff
Carolyn Morrow, David Lockner, Chris Okubo
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1242
Observations by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity, and other recent studies on diagenesis in the extensive equatorial layered deposits on Mars, suggest that the likely lithologies of these deposits are gypsum-rich sandstones and tuffaceous sediments (for example, Murchie and others, 2009; Squyres and others, 2012; Zimbelman and Scheidt, 2012)....
Developing and implementing the use of predictive models for estimating water quality at Great Lakes beaches
Donna S. Francy, Amie M. G. Brady, Rebecca B. Carvin, Steven R. Corsi, Lori M. Fuller, John H. Harrison, Brett A. Hayhurst, Jeremiah Lant, Meredith B. Nevers, Paul J. Terrio, Tammy M. Zimmerman
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5166
Predictive models have been used at beaches to improve the timeliness and accuracy of recreational water-quality assessments over the most common current approach to water-quality monitoring, which relies on culturing fecal-indicator bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli.). Beach-specific predictive models use environmental and water-quality variables that are easily and...
