Utah braces for the future
Michael N. Machette, William M. Brown
1995, Fact Sheet 166-95
Almost 75 percent of Utah's population lives near the Wasatch Fault. Earth scientists have shown that this fault has repeatedly experienced strong earthquakes of magnitude 7 or larger and will continue to do so in the future. Efforts to increase public awareness of earthquake hazards in Utah have resulted in...
Averting Surprises in the Pacific Northwest
Brian F. Atwater, Thomas S. Yelin, Craig S. Weaver, James W. Hendley II
1995, Fact Sheet 111-95
Saving lives through better design standards
Mehmet Çelebi, Paul A. Spudich, Robert A. Page, Peter H. Stauffer
1995, Fact Sheet 176-95
Over the past 30 years, scientists have put together a more complete picture of how the ground shakes during earthquakes. They have learned that shaking near the source of earthquakes is far more severe than once thought and that soft ground shakes more strongly than hard rock.This knowledge has enabled...
Stream Gaging and Flood Forecasting : A Partnership of the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Weather Service
Mason Jr., Benjamin A. Weiger
1995, Fact Sheet 209-95
Speeding earthquake disaster relief
Carl Mortensen, Carolyn Donlin, Robert A. Page, Peter Ward
1995, Fact Sheet 097-95
In coping with recent multibillion-dollar earthquake disasters, scientists and emergency managers have found new ways to speed and improve relief efforts. This progress is founded on the rapid availability of earthquake information from seismograph networks....
Reversal of declining ground-water levels in the Chicago area
Charles Avery
1995, Fact Sheet 222-95
Abundant water resources have been an important part of the economic development of the Chicago area for more than a century. The city of Chicago, Ill., and other lakefront towns have used Lake Michigan as a water supply. Where water from Lake Michigan was not available or a need for supplemental...
Selected herbicides in major streams in the Potomic River Basin upstream from Washington, D.C.
Gary T. Fisher
1995, Fact Sheet 107-95
Evaluating barnyard Best Management Practices in Wisconsin using upstream-downstream monitoring
Todd D. Stuntebeck
1995, Fact Sheet 221-95
The Nonpoint Source Water Pollution Abatement Program was created in 1978 by the Wisconsin Legislature. The goal of the program is to improve and protect the water quality of lakes, streams, wetlands, and ground water within selected priority watersheds by controlling sources of nonpoint pollution. For each selected watershed, the...
Pesticides in Streams in Central Nebraska
J. K. Stamer, Michael Wieczorek
1995, Fact Sheet 232-95
Contamination of surface and ground water from non-point sources is a national issue. Examples of nonpoint-source contaminants from agricultural activities are pesticides, which include fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides; sediment; nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus); and fecal bacteria. Of these contaminants, pesticides receive the most attention because of the potential toxicity to...
Nutrients in the South Platte River, 1993-95
David W. Litke
1995, Fact Sheet 105-95
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of its National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program has been collecting and analyzing water samples from streams in the South Platte River Basin in Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming to characterize the water-quality conditions within the basin. Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus compounds) have been a...
Directions of ground-water flow in the Lost River watershed near Orleans, Indiana
E. Randall Bayless, C.J. Taylor, M.S. Hopkins, D.V. Arvin
1995, Fact Sheet 211-95
Geochemical studies in the Coconino National Forest, Arizona
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
1995, Fact Sheet 206-95
Mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystems
David P. Krabbenhoft, David A. Rickert
1995, Fact Sheet 216-95
Mercury has been well known as an environmental pollutant for several decades. As early as the 1950's it was established that emissions of mercury to the environment could have serious effects on human health. These early studies demonstrated that fish and other wildlife from various ecosystems commonly attain mercury levels...
Overview of runoff of March 11, 1995, in Fortymile Wash and Amargosa River, southern Nevada
David A. Beck, Patrick A. Glancy
1995, Fact Sheet 210-95
USGS Tracks Acid Rain
John D. Gordon, Mark A. Nilles, LeRoy J. Schroder
1995, Fact Sheet 183-95
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been actively studying acid rain for the past 15 years. When scientists learned that acid rain could harm fish, fear of damage to our natural environment from acid rain concerned the American public. Research by USGS scientists and other groups began to show that...
Regional geochemistry of Prescott National Forest, Arizona
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
1995, Fact Sheet 198-95
Western United States Mine-Dump Data Retrievals
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
1995, Fact Sheet 184-95
USGS Laboratory Review Program Ensures Analytical Quality
David E. Erdmann
1995, Fact Sheet 187-95
The USGS operates a review program for laboratories that analyze samples for USGS environmental investigations. This program has been effective in providing QA feedback to laboratories while ensuring that analytical data are consistent, of satisfactory quality, and meet the data objectives of the investigation....
Monitoring environmental effects of irrigation projects in the West
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
1995, Fact Sheet 201-95
USGS reference materials
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
1995, Fact Sheet 207-95
Every year in the United States, millions of measurements are made on the chemical composition of items that affect us on a daily basis. Determining the accuracy of these measurements is based on the analysis of appropriate reference materials whose composition was previously determined through rigorous testing. Today, reference materials...
Water-quality assessment in the Trinity River Basin, Texas: Nutrient concentrations in streams winter and spring 1994
Allison A. Shipp
1995, Fact Sheet 231-95
A consistent, basin-wide set of data for streams in the Trinity River Basin is a necessary baseline to compare current conditions with historical data and to provide a reference for future studies. In addition, the basin-wide surveys begin the process of addressing the cause-effect relations for water quality in the...
Environmental effects of mineral deposits and mines in the Prescott National Forest, Arizona
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
1995, Fact Sheet 199-95
Flood of 1993—Mississippi River near the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Arch), St. Louis, Missouri
Rodney E. Southard, Brenda J. Smith
1995, Fact Sheet 188-95
River-flow data have been collected on the Mississippi River at St. Louis near the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Arch) since 1861. Water at this location is excess river flow from 13 States and part of Canada (drainage area of about 697,000 square miles). Many disaster conditions, including floods and droughts,...
USGS ensures quality of acid rain network
Mark A. Nilles, John D. Gordon
1995, Fact Sheet 182-95
Occurrence of pesticides in the White River, Indiana, 1991-95
Charles G. Crawford
1995, Fact Sheet 233-95
Pesticides (herbicides and insecticides) are used extensively in the White River Basin. Application of herbicides to corn and soybeans accounts for most of the use. The pesticides most frequently detected near the mouth of the White River during 1991-95 were the herbicides alachlor, atrazine, cyanazine, and metolachlor. The highest concentrations...