U.S. Geological Survey Water Science Strategy
Eric J. Evenson, Randall C. Orndorff
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3064
This fact sheet describes the Water Science Strategy, presented in detail in Circular 1383-G, "U.S. Geological Survey Water Science Strategy--Observing, Understanding, Predicting, and Delivering Water Science to the Nation." This fact sheet looks at the relevant issues facing society and describes the strategy built around observing, understanding, predicting, and delivering...
The 2011 Mw 7.1 Van (Eastern Turkey) earthquake
John R. Elliot, Alex C. Copley, R. Holley, Katherine M. Scharer, Barry Parsons
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research (118) 1619-1637
We use interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), body wave seismology, satellite imagery, and field observations to constrain the fault parameters of the Mw 7.1 2011 Van (Eastern Turkey) reverse-slip earthquake, in the Turkish-Iranian plateau. Distributed slip models from elastic dislocation modeling of the InSAR surface displacements from ENVISAT and COSMO-SkyMed interferograms indicate up...
Use of lethal short-term chlorine exposures to limit release of non-native freshwater organisms
Christopher G. Ingersoll, Eric L. Brunson, Douglas K. Hardesty, Jamie P. Hughes, Brittany L. King, Catherine T. Phillips
2013, North American Journal of Aquaculture (75) 487-494
Fish hatcheries and other types of aquatic facilities are potential sources for the introduction of nonnative species of fish or aquatic invertebrates into watersheds. Chlorine has been suggested for use to kill organisms that might be released from the effluent of a facility. While acute LC50s (concentrations lethal to 50% of organisms...
Knowledge and understanding of dissolved solids in the Rio Grande–San Acacia, New Mexico, to Fort Quitman, Texas, and plan for future studies and monitoring
Douglas Moyer, Scott K. Anderholm, James F. Hogan, Fred M. Phillips, Barry J. Hibbs, James C. Witcher, Anne Marie Matherne, Sarah E. Falk
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1190
Availability of water in the Rio Grande Basin has long been a primary concern for water-resource managers. The transport and delivery of water in the basin have been engineered by using reservoirs, irrigation canals and drains, and transmountain-water diversions to meet the agricultural, residential, and industrial demand. In contrast, despite...
Velocity, water-quality, and bathymetric surveys of the Grays Landing and Maxwell Navigation Pools, and Selected Tributaries to the Monongahela River, Pennsylvania, 2010–11
Scott A. Hoffman, Mark A. Roland, Luther Schalk, John W. Fulton
2013, Data Series 784
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted velocity, water-quality, and bathymetric surveys from spring 2010 to summer 2011 in the Grays Landing and Maxwell navigation pools of the Monongahela River, Pennsylvania, and selected tributaries in response to elevated levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) recorded in early September 2009. Velocity data...
Monitoring to assess progress toward meeting the total maximum daily load for phosphorus in the Assabet River, Massachusetts: phosphorus loads, 2008 through 2010
Marc J. Zimmerman, Jennifer G. Savoie
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5140
Wastewater discharges to the Assabet River contribute substantial amounts of phosphorus, which support accumulations of nuisance aquatic plants that are most evident in the river’s impounded reaches during the growing season. To restore the Assabet River’s water quality and aesthetics, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency required the major wastewater-treatment plants...
Land change in the Central Corn Belt Plains Ecoregion and hydrologic consequences in developed areas: 1939-2000
Krista Karstensen, David Shaver, Randal Alexander, Thomas Over, David T. Soong
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1157
This report emphasizes the importance of a multi-disciplinary understanding of how land use and land cover can affect regional hydrology by collaboratively investigating how increases in developed land area may affect stream discharge by evaluating land-cover change from 1939 to 2000, urban housing density data from 1940 to 2010, and...
Whole-body concentrations of elements in three fish species from offshore oil platforms and natural areas in the Southern California Bight, USA
Milton S. Love, Michael K. Saiki, Thomas W. May, Julie L. Yee
2013, Bulletin of Marine Science (89) 717-734
There is concern that offshore oil platforms off Southern California may be contributing to environmental contaminants accumulated by marine fishes. To examine this possibility, 18 kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus Girard, 1854), 80 kelp rockfish (Sebastes atrovirens Jordan and Gilbert, 1880), and 98 Pacific sanddab (Citharichthys sordidus Girard, 1854) were collected...
Surface electric fields for North America during historical geomagnetic storms
Lisa H. Wei, Nichole Homeier, Jennifer L. Gannon
2013, Space Weather (11) 451-462
To better understand the impact of geomagnetic disturbances on the electric grid, we recreate surface electric fields from two historical geomagnetic storms—the 1989 “Quebec” storm and the 2003 “Halloween” storms. Using the Spherical Elementary Current Systems method, we interpolate sparsely distributed magnetometer data across North America. We find good agreement...
Geologic map of the Glen Canyon Dam 30’ x 60’ quadrangle, Coconino County, northern Arizona
George H. Billingsley, Susan S. Priest
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3268
The Glen Canyon Dam 30’ x 60’ quadrangle is characterized by nearly flat lying to gently dipping Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary strata that overlie tilted Proterozoic strata or metasedimentary and igneous rocks similar to those exposed at the bottom of Grand Canyon southwest of the quadrangle. Mississippian to Permian rocks...
Groundwater recharge to the Gulf Coast aquifer system in Montgomery and Adjacent Counties, Texas
Timothy D. Oden, Geoffrey N. Delin
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3043
Simply stated, groundwater recharge is the addition of water to the groundwater system. Most of the water that is potentially available for recharging the groundwater system in Montgomery and adjacent counties in southeast Texas moves relatively rapidly from land surface to surface-water bodies and sustains streamflow, lake levels, and wetlands....
Trajectory of the arctic as an integrated system
Larry Hinzman, Clara Deal, Anthony D. McGuire, Sebastian H. Mernild, Igor V. Polyakov, John E. Walsh
2013, Ecological Applications (23) 1837-1868
Although much remains to be learned about the Arctic and its component processes, many of the most urgent scientific, engineering, and social questions can only be approached through a broader system perspective. Here, we address interactions between components of the Arctic System and assess feedbacks and the extent to which...
Response of global soil consumption of atmospheric methane to changes in atmospheric climate and nitrogen deposition
Qianlai Zhuang, Min Chen, Kai Xu, Jinyun Tang, Eri Saikawa, Yanyu Lu, Jerry M. Melillo, Ronald G. Prinn, A. David McGuire
2013, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (27) 650-663
Soil consumption of atmospheric methane plays an important secondary role in regulating the atmospheric CH4 budget, next to the dominant loss mechanism involving reaction with the hydroxyl radical (OH). Here we used a process-based biogeochemistry model to quantify soil consumption during the 20th and 21st centuries. We estimated that global...
Flow variation and substrate type affect dislodgement of the freshwater polychaete, Manayunkia speciosa
David M. Malakauskas, Sarah J. Wilson, Margaret A. Wilzbach, Nicholas A. Som
2013, Freshwater Science (32) 862-873
We quantified microscale flow forces and their ability to entrain the freshwater polychaete, Manayunkia speciosa, the intermediate host for 2 myxozoan parasites (Ceratomyxa shasta and Parvicapsula minibicornis) that cause substantial mortalities in salmonid fishes in the Pacific Northwest. In a laboratory flume, we measured the shear stress associated with 2...
No trespassing: using a biofence to manipulate wolf movements
David E. Ausband, Michael S. Mitchell, Sarah B. Bassing, Craig White
2013, Wildlife Research (40) 207-216
Context: Conserving large carnivores can be challenging because of conflicts with human land use and competition with humans for resources. Predation on domestic stock can have negative economic impacts particularly for owners of small herds, and tools for minimising carnivore depredation of livestock are needed. Canids use scent marking to...
Geologic map of the Lead Mountain 15’ quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California
Keith A. Howard, Keith J. Jagiello, Todd T. Fitzgibbon, Barbara E. John
2013, Geologic Quadrangle 1766
The Lead Mountain 15’ quadrangle in the Mojave Desert contains a record of Jurassic, Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary magmatism. Small amounts of Mesoproterozoic(?) augen gneiss and Paleozoic and Mesozoic(?) metasedimentary rocks are preserved in small patches; they are intruded by voluminous Jurassic plutons of quartz diorite to granite composition and...
Review of a model to assess stranding of juvenile salmon by ship wakes along the Lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington
Tobias J. Kock, John M. Plumb, Noah S. Adams
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1229
Long period wake waves from deep draft vessels have been shown to strand small fish, particularly juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tschawytcha, in the lower Columbia River (LCR). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining the shipping channel in the LCR and recently conducted dredging operations to deepen...
Clarity versus complexity: land-use modeling as a practical tool for decision-makers
Terry L. Sohl, Peter R. Claggett
2013, Journal of Environmental Management (129) 235-243
The last decade has seen a remarkable increase in the number of modeling tools available to examine future land-use and land-cover (LULC) change. Integrated modeling frameworks, agent-based models, cellular automata approaches, and other modeling techniques have substantially improved the representation of complex LULC systems, with each method using a different...
Water resources and shale gas/oil production in the Appalachian Basin: critical issues and evolving developments
William M. Kappel, John Williams, Zoltan Szabo
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1137
Unconventional natural gas and oil resources in the United States are important components of a national energy program. While the Nation seeks greater energy independence and greener sources of energy, Federal agencies with environmental responsibilities, state and local regulators and water-resource agencies, and citizens throughout areas of unconventional shale gas...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Rhode Island
William J. Carswell Jr.
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3040
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Rhode Island, elevation data are critical for flood risk management, natural resources conservation, coastal zone management, sea level rise and subsidence, agriculture...
Catalog of earthquake hypocenters at Alaskan volcanoes: January 1 through December 31, 2012
James P. Dixon, Scott D. Stihler, John A. Power, Matthew M. Haney, Tom Parker, Cheryl Searcy, Stephanie Prejean
2013, Data Series 789
Between January 1 and December 31, 2012, the Alaska Volcano Observatory located 4,787 earthquakes, of which 4,211 occurred within 20 kilometers of the 33 volcanoes monitored by a seismograph network. There was significant seismic activity at Iliamna, Kanaga, and Little Sitkin volcanoes in 2012. Instrumentation highlights for this year include...
Some like it hot, some not!
Jayne Belnap
2013, Science (340) 1533-1534
Dryland ecosystems cover over 40% of Earth's terrestrial landmass (1). Biocrusts—soil communities consisting of cyanobacteria, mosses, and lichens—can cover up to 70% of the ground in these ecosystems (see the figure, panel A) (2). The crucial role played by these and other very small organisms in nutrient, carbon, and water...
Nest guarding by female Agassiz's desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) at a wind-energy facility near Palm Springs, California
Mickey Agha, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Joshua R. Ennen, Ethan Wilcox
2013, Southwestern Naturalist (58) 254-257
We observed behavior consistent with nest-guarding in Agassiz's desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) at two nests in a large wind-energy-generation facility near Palm Springs, California, locally known as the Mesa Wind Farm. As researchers approached the nests, female desert tortoises moved to the entrance of their burrows and positioned themselves sideways,...
An automated cross-correlation based event detection technique and its application to surface passive data set
Farnoush Forghani-Arani, Jyoti Behura, Seth S. Haines, Mike Batzle
2013, Geophysical Prospecting (61) 778-787
In studies on heavy oil, shale reservoirs, tight gas and enhanced geothermal systems, the use of surface passive seismic data to monitor induced microseismicity due to the fluid flow in the subsurface is becoming more common. However, in most studies passive seismic records contain days and months of data and...
Water levels in the aquifers of the Nacatoch Sand of southwestern and northeastern Arkansas and the Tokio Formation of southwestern Arkansas, February–March 2011
T.P. Schrader, Kirk D. Rodgers
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5130
The aquifers in the Nacatoch Sand and Tokio Formation in southwestern Arkansas and the Nacatoch Sand in northeastern Arkansas are sources of water for industrial, public supply, domestic, and agricultural uses. Potentiometric-surface maps were constructed from water-level measurements made in 47 wells completed in the Nacatoch Sand and 45 wells...
