National Land Imaging Program
Steven M. Young
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3034
Changes taking place across the Earth’s land surface have the potential to affect people, economies, and the environment on a daily basis. Our Nation’s economic security and environmental vitality rely on continuous monitoring of the Earth’s continents, islands, and coastal regions to record, study, and understand land change at local,...
Water resources of Evangeline Parish, Louisiana
Chid J. Murphy, Vincent E. White
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3020
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. In 2014, about 282.66...
Water resources of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana
Vincent E. White
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3011
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. In 2014, about 70...
Citizen science collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska
Elizabeth Powers, Dee Williams
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3026
Citizen science is science undertaken by the public, usually in collaboration with professional scientific institutions. It encourages citizens to tackle real-world scientific problems and augments traditional science by expanding the coverage of data collection and by reducing costs of fieldwork in remote locations. Information collected by volunteers enables us all...
A not so sudden impact—Historical relations between conifers and insects can help predict damage by nonnative insects
Lekeah A. Durden, Ashley N. Schulz, Angela M. Mech, Kathryn A. Thomas
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3039
The arrival and establishment of nonnative insects in North America is increasingly problematic. International trade has created opportunities to move wood products and nursery stock worldwide, which has increased the risk of insect introduction to regions or countries where they are not native. One group of researchers, the High-impact Insect Invasions Working Group (HIIWG), has developed...
Flowering plants preferred by bees of the Prairie Pothole Region
Stacy C. Simanonok, Clint Otto
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3038
Land managers have stressed the need for improved pollinator habitat on private and public lands of the Prairie Pothole Region. Understanding flowering plant preferences of pollinators will improve the cost-effectiveness of conservation seeding mixes. The purpose of this fact sheet is to assist conservation planners and producers with developing seed...
U.S. Geological Survey STATEMAP Program—Geologic mapping for the public good
Abby Ackerman, Darcy McPhee
2020, Fact Sheet 2019-3060
As of 2020, STATEMAP has invested more than $150 million in 48 State geological surveys, matched dollar for dollar, to complete geologic mapping projects crucial to the health and security of State natural resources and residents. For more information about STATEMAP and other geologic mapping efforts supported by the National...
Hydrologic conditions in Kansas, water year 2019
Chantelle Davis
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3029
The U.S. Geological Survey Kansas Water Science Center, in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies, maintains a long-term network of hydrologic monitoring stations in the State of Kansas. These include a network of 217 real-time streamgages and 12 real-time reservoir-level monitoring stations in water year 2019. The data and associated analyses...
International geoscience collaboration to support critical mineral discovery
United States Geological Survey, Geoscience Australia, Geological Survey of Canada
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3035
The importance of critical minerals and the need to expand and diversify critical mineral supply chains has been endorsed by the Federal governments of Australia, Canada, and the United States. The geoscience organizations of Geoscience Australia, the Geological Survey of Canada and the U.S. Geological Survey have created the Critical...
NHDPlus High Resolution (NHDPlus HR)---A hydrography framework for the Nation
Susan G. Buto, Rebecca Anderson
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3033
Reliable and accurate high-resolution mapping of the Nation’s waters are critical inputs to models and decision support systems used to predict risk and enable response to impacts on water resources. It is necessary to know where the water is and how it relates to features beyond the stream network like...
Purpose and benefits of U.S. Geological Survey Trusted Digital Repositories
Natalie Latysh, Keith G. Kirk, John Faundeen
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3032
Federal mandates and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS, also known as the Bureau) Fundamental Science Practices (FSP) policies require that publicly funded scientific data, publications, and derivative works be openly accessible to researchers and the public. Open access helps to leverage the public investment by making the acquired data and published...
Ten ways Mount St. Helens changed our world—The enduring legacy of the 1980 eruption
Carolyn L. Driedger, Jon J. Major, John S. Pallister, Michael A. Clynne, Seth C. Moran, Elizabeth G. Westby, John W. Ewert
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3031
Mount St. Helens was once enjoyed for its serene beauty and was considered one of America’s most majestic volcanoes because of its perfect cone shape, similar to Japan’s beloved Mount Fuji. Nearby residents assumed that the mountain was solid and enduring. That perception changed during the early spring of 1980. Then,...
Trends in streamflow, nutrients, and total suspended solids in the Upper White River Basin, Indiana
G. F. Koltun, Cassie Hauswald
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3030
The U.S. Geological Survey, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, analyzed existing water-quality and streamflow data from three locations in the Upper White River Basin, Indiana, to estimate annual mean concentrations and fluxes and to identify and quantify changes in water quality and streamflow over time. Water-quality data used in...
Continuous water-quality and suspended-sediment transport monitoring in the San Francisco Bay, California, water years 2016–17
Darin C. Einhell, Maureen A. Downing-Kunz, Daniel N. Livsey
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3023
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitors water quality and suspended-sediment transport in the San Francisco Bay (Bay) as part of a multi-agency effort to address estuary management, water supply, and ecological concerns. The San Francisco Bay area is home to millions of people, and the Bay teems with plants and...
The importance of U.S. Geological Survey water-quality super gages
Angela S. Crain
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3019
Super gages are an important tool providing real-time, continuous water-quality data at streamgages or groundwater wells. They are designed to address specific water-resource threats such as water-related human health issues including harmful algal blooms, floods, droughts, and hazardous substance spills. In addition, super gages improve our understanding of the effects...
Groundwater quality in the Redding–Red Bluff shallow aquifer study unit of the northern Sacramento Valley, California
Jennifer S. Harkness, Jennifer L. Shelton
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3025
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to...
Nature’s Notebook-A tool for recording the timing of seasonal activity of plants and animals
Erin E. Posthumus, Mark P. Miller, Theresa Crimmins
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3022
Nature's Notebook is a customizable program used by individual observers and Federal Government partners to document patterns in phenology—the timing of seasonal activity of plants and animals over the course of the calendar year. The USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) established Nature's Notebook in 2009 to create a standard approach...
Indonesia and the United States team up to reduce impacts from dangerous volcanoes
Jacob B. Lowenstern, Kasbani, John S. Pallister, David W. Ramsey
2020, Fact Sheet 2019-3074
With 75 historically active volcanoes, Indonesia is the world’s most volcanically active nation. Its volcanoes are legendary throughout the world, with the notorious 19th-century eruptions at Mount Tambora (1815) and Krakatau (1883), and the eruption that created the giant Toba Caldera in Sumatra (75,000 years ago)—the Earth’s largest volcanic eruption...
Land change monitoring, assessment, and projection
Jennifer Rover, Jesslyn F. Brown, Roger F. Auch, Kristi L. Sayler, Terry L. Sohl, Heather J. Tollerud, George Z. Xian
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3024
There is a pressing need to monitor and understand the rapid land change happening around the world. The U.S. Geological Survey is developing a new capability, called Land Change Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection (LCMAP), to innovate the understanding of land change. This capability is the Earth Resources Observation and Science Center's...
Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in Lower Silurian Shales of the Arabian Peninsula, 2019
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Thomas M. Finn, Michael E. Brownfield, Kristen R. Marra, Phuong A. Le, Ronald M. Drake II, Scott A. Kinney
2020, Fact Sheet 2019-3070
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 4.6 billion barrels of oil and 561 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Lower Silurian Shale Total Petroleum System of the Arabian Peninsula....
Assessment of tight-gas resources in the Grand Erg/Ahnet Province of Algeria, 2019
Michael E. Brownfield, Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Cheryl A. Woodall, Thomas M. Finn, Phuong A. Le, Janet K. Pitman, Ronald M. Drake II, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3003
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 30.5 trillion cubic feet of tight gas in the Grand Erg/Ahnet Province of Algeria....
Assessing geohazards to the Denali National Park road with geologic mapping
Adam M. Hudson, Chester A. Ruleman, Denny M Capps
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3016
Denali National Park (DENA) is home to iconic and breathtaking landscapes surrounding the tallest mountain range in North America, the Alaska Range. The park, which covers 6 million acres, is a major draw for tourism and recreation, making it an important economic engine for central Alaska. However, the geologic forces...
Groundwater quality in the Biscayne aquifer, Florida
James A. Kingsbury
2020, Fact Sheet 2019-3056
Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water (Burow and Belitz, 2014). The Biscayne aquifer constitutes one of the important...
Groundwater quality in the Ozark Plateaus aquifer system, central United States
James A. Kingsbury
2020, Fact Sheet 2019-3057
Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water (Burow and Belitz, 2014). The Ozark Plateaus aquifer system constitutes one of...
Groundwater quality in the Columbia Plateau basaltic-rock aquifers, northwestern United States
MaryLynn Musgrove
2020, Fact Sheet 2019-3058
Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water. The Columbia Plateau basaltic-rock aquifers constitute one of the important resources being...
