Bauxite and alumina
E. Lee Bray
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 24-25
The United States is reliant upon imports for nearly all of the bauxite that it consumes. Small amounts of bauxite and bauxitic clays are produced in Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia for nonmetallurgical uses. Metallurgical-grade bauxite (crude dry) imports in 2012 totaled 10.3 Mt (11.3 million st), 8 percent more than...
Barite
M. Miller
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 23-24
Barite is the mineralogical name for barium sulfate, which is also referred to as barytes. The most basic marketable product is known as “crude barite,” which is barite that usually has undergone simple beneficiation methods, such as jigging, tabling and washing, or more complex methods, such as flotation, heavy-media separation...
Ball clay
R.L. Virta
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 22-23
Four companies — H.C. Spinks Clay Co., Inc., Imerys, Old Hickory Clay Co. and Unimin Corp. — mined ball clay in five U.S. states in 2012. Production, on the basis of preliminary data, was 900 kt (992,000 st), with an estimated value of $42.3 million. This was a slight increase...
Enhanced innate immune responses in a brood parasitic cowbird species: degranulation and oxidative burst
D. Caldwell Hahn, Scott G. Summers, Kenneth J. Genovese, Haiqi He, Michael H. Kogut
2013, Avian Diseases (57) 285-289
We examined the relative effectiveness of two innate immune responses in two species of New World blackbirds (Passeriformes, Icteridae) that differ in resistance to West Nile virus (WNV). We measured degranulation and oxidative burst, two fundamental components of phagocytosis, and we predicted that the functional effectiveness of these innate immune...
Simulation of groundwater flow in the "1,500-foot" sand and "2,000-foot" sand and movement of saltwater in the "2,000-foot" sand of the Baton Rouge area, Louisiana
Charles E. Heywood, Jason M. Griffith
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1153
Groundwater withdrawals have caused saltwater to encroach into freshwater-bearing aquifers beneath Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Groundwater investigations in the 1960s identified a freshwater-saltwater interface located at the Baton Rouge Fault, across which abrupt changes in water levels occur. Aquifers south of the fault generally contain saltwater, and aquifers north of the...
Total suspended solids concentrations and yields for water-quality monitoring stations in Gwinnett County, Georgia, 1996-2009
Mark N. Landers
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1145
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources, established a water-quality monitoring program during late 1996 to collect comprehensive, consistent, high-quality data for use by watershed managers. As of 2009, continuous streamflow and water-quality data as well as discrete water-quality samples were being collected...
A multi-decade time series of kelp forest community structure at San Nicolas Island, California
Kevin D. Lafferty, Michael C. Kenner, James A. Estes, M. Tim Tinker, James L. Bodkin, Robert K. Cowen, Christopher Harrold, Mark Novak, Andrew Rassweiler, Daniel C. Reed
2013, Ecology (94)
San Nicolas Island is surrounded by broad areas of shallow subtidal habitat, characterized by dynamic kelp forest communities that undergo dramatic and abrupt shifts in community composition. Although these reefs are fished, the physical isolation of the island means that they receive less impact from human activities than most reefs...
Ecological impacts of energy-wood harvests: Lessons from whole-tree harvesting and natural disturbance
Alaina L. Berger, Brian Palik, Anthony W. D’Amato, Shawn Fraver, John B. Bradford, Keith H. Nislow, David King, Robert T. Brooks
2013, Journal of Forestry (111) 139-153
Recent interest in using forest residues and small-diameter material for biofuels is generating a renewed focus on harvesting impacts and forest sustainability. The rich legacy of research from whole-tree harvesting studies can be examined in light of this interest. Although this research largely focused on consequences for forest productivity, in...
Consideration of vertical uncertainty in elevation-based sea-level rise assessments: Mobile Bay, Alabama case study
Dean B. Gesch
2013, Journal of Coastal Research (63) 197-210
The accuracy with which coastal topography has been mapped directly affects the reliability and usefulness of elevationbased sea-level rise vulnerability assessments. Recent research has shown that the qualities of the elevation data must be well understood to properly model potential impacts. The cumulative vertical uncertainty has contributions from elevation data...
The predicted influence of climate change on lesser prairie-chicken reproductive parameters
Blake A. Grisham, Clint W. Boal, David A. Haukos, D. Davis, Kathy K. Boydston, Charles Dixon, Willard R. Heck
2013, PLoS ONE (8) 1-10
The Southern High Plains is anticipated to experience significant changes in temperature and precipitation due to climate change. These changes may influence the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) in positive or negative ways. We assessed the potential changes in clutch size, incubation start date, and nest survival for lesser prairie-chickens for...
Geology, water-quality, hydrology, and geomechanics of the Cuyama Valley groundwater basin, California, 2008--12
Rhett R. Everett, Dennis R. Gibbs, Randall T. Hanson, Donald S. Sweetkind, Justin T. Brandt, Sarah E. Falk, Christopher R. Harich
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5108
To assess the water resources of the Cuyama Valley groundwater basin in Santa Barbara County, California, a series of cooperative studies were undertaken by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Santa Barbara County Water Agency. Between 2008 and 2012, geologic, water-quality, hydrologic and geomechanical data were collected from selected sites...
Construction of 3-D geologic framework and textural models for Cuyama Valley groundwater basin, California
Donald S. Sweetkind, Claudia C. Faunt, Randall T. Hanson
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5127
Groundwater is the sole source of water supply in Cuyama Valley, a rural agricultural area in Santa Barbara County, California, in the southeasternmost part of the Coast Ranges of California. Continued groundwater withdrawals and associated water-resource management concerns have prompted an evaluation of the hydrogeology and water availability for the...
Accuracy assessment of a mobile terrestrial lidar survey at Padre Island National Seashore
Samsung Lim, Cindy A. Thatcher, John Brock, Dustin R. Kimbrow, Jeffrey J. Danielson, B.J. Reynolds
2013, International Journal of Remote Sensing (34) 6355-6366
The higher point density and mobility of terrestrial laser scanning (light detection and ranging (lidar)) is desired when extremely detailed elevation data are needed for mapping vertically orientated complex features such as levees, dunes, and cliffs, or when highly accurate data are needed for monitoring geomorphic changes. Mobile terrestrial lidar...
Preliminary stratigraphic and hydrogeologic cross sections and seismic profile of the Floridan aquifer system of Broward County, Florida
Ronald S. Reese, Kevin J. Cunningham
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1141
To help water-resource managers evaluate the Floridan aquifer system (FAS) as an alternative water supply, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a study, in cooperation with the Broward County Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department, to refine the hydrogeologic framework of the FAS in the eastern part of Broward County. This...
Calcification rates of the massive coral Siderastrea siderea and crustose coralline algae along the Florida Keys (USA) outer-reef tract
I. B. Kuffner, T.D. Hickey, J.M. Morrison
2013, Coral Reefs (32) 987-997
Coral reefs are degrading on a global scale, and rates of reef-organism calcification are predicted to decline due to ocean warming and acidification. Systematic measurements of calcification over space and time are necessary to detect change resulting from environmental stressors. We established a network of calcification monitoring stations at four...
A kinematic model for the formation of the Siletz-Crescent forearc terrane by capture of coherent fragments of the Farallon and Resurrection plates
Patricia A. McCrory, Douglas S. Wilson
2013, Tectonics (32) 718-736
The volcanic basement of the Oregon and Washington Coast ranges has been proposed to represent a pair of tracks of the Yellowstone hotspot formed at a mid-ocean ridge during the early Cenozoic. This interpretation has been questioned on many grounds, especially that the range of ages does not match the...
The quality of our Nation’s waters--ecological health in the Nation's streams, 1993-2005
Daren M. Carlisle, Michael R. Meador, Terry M. Short, Cathy M. Tate, Martin E. Gurtz, Wade L. Bryant Jr., James A. Falcone, Michael D. Woodside
2013, Circular 1391
This report summarizes a national assessment of the ecological health of streams done by the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA). Healthy functioning stream ecosystems provide society with many benefits, including water purification, flood control, nutrient recycling, waste decomposition, fisheries, and aesthetics. The value to society of...
Detection of Mycoplasma agassizii in the Texas Tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri)
Amanda L. Guthrie, C. LeAnn White, Mary B. Brown, Thomas W. deMaar
2013, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (49) 704-708
Mycoplasma agassizii causes upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) in Texas tortoises (Gopherus berlandieri). To determine exposure to and shedding of M. agassizii, we collected blood samples and nasal swabs from 40 free-ranging Texas tortoises on public and private lands in Texas, USA, from May to October 2009. We used an...
Hydrologic conditions in New Hampshire and Vermont, water year 2011
Richard G. Kiah, Jason D. Jarvis, Robert F. Hegemann, Gregory S. Hilgendorf, Sanborn L. Ward
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1135
Record-high hydrologic conditions in New Hampshire and Vermont occurred during water year 2011, according to data from 125 streamgages and lake gaging stations, 27 creststage gages, and 41 groundwater wells. Annual runoff for the 2011 water year was the sixth highest on record for New Hampshire and the highest on...
Snake River fall Chinook salmon life history investigations: Annual report 2011 (April 2011 - March 2012)
Kenneth F. Tiffan, William P. Connor, Brian J. Bellgraph, Tobias J. Kock, Frank Mullins, R. Kirk Steinhorst, Helena E. Christiansen, Stephen D. McCormick, Lori A. Ortega, Kathleen M. Carter, Evan V. Arntzen, Katherine J.C. Klett, Z. Daniel Deng, Tylor K. Abel, Timothy J. Linley, Valerie I. Cullinan, Scott J. St John, John M. Erhardt, Brad K. Bickford, Amanda Schmidt, Tobyn N. Rhodes
2013, Report
Executive Summary Chapter One – This chapter was published in the Transactions of the American Fisheries Society in 2012. We conducted a three-year radiotelemetry study in the lower Snake River to answer the questions: do fall Chinook salmon juveniles pass dams during winter when bypass systems and structures designed to prevent...
Ecological health in the Nation's streams
Daren M. Carlisle, Michael D. Woodside
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3033
Aquatic biological communities, which are collections of organisms, are a direct measure of stream health because they indicate the ability of a stream to support life. This fact sheet highlights selected findings of a national assessment of stream health by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological...
Can law foster social-ecological resilience?
Ahjond S. Garmestani, Craig R. Allen, Melinda H. Benson
2013, Ecology and Society (18)
Law plays an essential role in shaping natural resource and environmental policy, but unfortunately, many environmental laws were developed around the prevailing scientific understanding that there was a “balance of nature” that could be managed and sustained. This view assumes that natural resource managers have the capacity to predict the...
Bayesian inversion of data from effusive volcanic eruptions using physics-based models: Application to Mount St. Helens 2004--2008
Kyle Anderson, Paul Segall
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (118) 2017-2037
Physics-based models of volcanic eruptions can directly link magmatic processes with diverse, time-varying geophysical observations, and when used in an inverse procedure make it possible to bring all available information to bear on estimating properties of the volcanic system. We develop a technique for inverting geodetic, extrusive flux, and other...
The simulated effects of wastewater-management actions on the hydrologic system and nitrogen-loading rates to wells and ecological receptors, Popponesset Bay Watershed, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Donald A. Walter
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5060
The discharge of excess nitrogen into Popponesset Bay, an estuarine system on western Cape Cod, has resulted in eutrophication and the loss of eel grass habitat within the estuaries. Septic-system return flow in residential areas within the watershed is the primary source of nitrogen. Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for...
Assessment of managed aquifer recharge at Sand Hollow Reservoir, Washington County, Utah, updated to conditions in 2012
Thomas M. Marston, Victor M. Heilweil
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5057
Sand Hollow Reservoir in Washington County, Utah, was completed in March 2002 and is operated primarily for managed aquifer recharge by the Washington County Water Conservancy District. From 2002 through 2011, surface-water diversions of about 199,000 acre-feet to Sand Hollow Reservoir have allowed the reservoir to remain nearly full since...
