Estimation of evaporation from open water - A review of selected studies, summary of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers data collection and methods, and evaluation of two methods for estimation of evaporation from five reservoirs in Texas
Glenn R. Harwell
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5202
Organizations responsible for the management of water resources, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), are tasked with estimation of evaporation for water-budgeting and planning purposes. The USACE has historically used Class A pan evaporation data (pan data) to estimate evaporation from reservoirs but many USACE Districts have...
Electrical anisotropy of gas hydrate-bearing sand reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico
Anne E. Cook, Barbara I. Anderson, John Rasmus, Keli Sun, Qiming Li, Timothy S. Collett, David S. Goldberg
2012, Marine and Petroleum Geology (34) 72-84
We present new results and interpretations of the electricalanisotropy and reservoir architecture in gashydrate-bearingsands using logging data collected during the Gulf of MexicoGasHydrate Joint Industry Project Leg II. We focus specifically on sandreservoirs in Hole Alaminos Canyon 21 A (AC21-A), Hole Green Canyon 955 H (GC955-H) and Hole Walker Ridge...
Toxicity of copper to early-life stage Kootenai River white sturgeon, Columbia River white sturgeon, and rainbow trout
E. E. Little, R.D. Calfee, G. Linder
2012, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (63) 400-408
White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) populations throughout western North America are in decline, likely as a result of overharvest, operation of dams, and agricultural and mineral extraction activities in their watersheds. Recruitment failure may reflect the loss of early-life stage fish in spawning areas of the upper Columbia River, which are...
Inferring local competition intensity from patch size distributions: a test using biological soil crusts
Matthew A. Bowker, Fernando T. Maestre
2012, Oikos (121) 1914-1922
Dryland vegetation is inherently patchy. This patchiness goes on to impact ecology, hydrology, and biogeochemistry. Recently, researchers have proposed that dryland vegetation patch sizes follow a power law which is due to local plant facilitation. It is unknown what patch size distribution prevails when competition predominates over facilitation, or if...
Optimal egg size in a suboptimal environment: reproductive ecology of female Sonora mud turtles (Kinosternon sonoriense) in central Arizona, USA
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Sheila V. Madrak, Charles A. Drost, Anthony J. Monatesti, Dennis Casper, Mohammed Znari
2012, Amphibia-Reptilia (33) 161-170
We studied the reproductive ecology of female Sonora mud turtles (Kinosternon sonoriense) at Montezuma Well, a chemically-challenging natural wetland in central Arizona, USA. Females matured between 115.5 and 125 mm carapace length (CL) and 36-54% produced eggs each year. Eggs were detected in X-radiographs from 23 April-28 September (2007-2008) and...
Design and implementation of a structural health monitoring and alerting system for hospital buildings in the United States
Hasan S. Ulusoy, Erol Kalkan, Jon Peter B. Fletcher, Paul A. Friberg, W. K. Leith, Krishna Banga
2012, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Portugal, 2012
This paper describes the current progress in the development of a structural health monitoring and alerting system to meet the needs of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to monitor hospital buildings instrumented in high and very high seismic hazard regions in the U.S. The system, using the measured vibration...
Semi-discrete biomass dynamic modeling: an improved approach for assessing fish stock responses to pulsed harvest events
Clay Pierce, Michael E. Colvin, Timothy W. Stewart
2012, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (69) 1710-1721
Continuous harvest over an annual period is a common assumption of continuous biomass dynamics models (CBDMs); however, fish are frequently harvested in a discrete manner. We developed semidiscrete biomass dynamics models (SDBDMs) that allow discrete harvest events and evaluated differences between CBDMs and SDBDMs using an equilibrium yield analysis with...
A history of herpetologists and herpetology in the U.S. Department of the Interior
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Norman J. Scott Jr., R. Bruce Bury, C. Kenneth Dodd Jr., Roy W. McDiarmid
2012, Herpetological Conservation and Biology (7)
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has a long and distinguished history of employing herpetologists to conduct basic and applied research to better manage amphibian and reptile populations on public lands and even outside the boundaries of the United States. This history extends back over 125 years with roots...
Relations between retired agricultural land, water quality, and aquatic-community health, Minnesota River Basin
Victoria G. Christensen, Kathy Lee, James M. McLees, Scott L. Niemela
2012, Journal of Environmental Quality (41) 1459-1472
The relative importance of agricultural land retirement on water quality and aquatic-community health was investigated in the Minnesota River Basin. Eighty-two sites, with drainage areas ranging from 4.3 to 2200 km2, were examined for nutrient concentrations, measures of aquatic-community health (e.g., fish index of biotic integrity [IBI] scores), and environmental...
Clutch and egg allometry of the turtle Mauremys leprosa (Chelonia: Geoemydidae) from a polluted peri-urban river in west-central Morocco
Mohamed Naimi, Mohammed Znari, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Youssef Feddadi, Moulay Abdeljalil Ait Baamrane
2012, Herpetological Journal (22) 43-49
We examined the relationships of clutch size (CS) and egg size to female body size (straight-line carapace length, CL) in a population of the turtle Mauremys leprosa from a polluted segment of oued (river) Tensift in arid west-central Morocco. Twenty-eight adult females were collected in May–July, 2009 and all were...
Description of 2005-10 domestic water use for selected U.S. cities and guidance for estimating domestic water use
Joan F. Kenny, Kyle E. Juracek
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5163
Domestic water-use and related socioeconomic and climatic data for 2005-10 were used in an analysis of 21 selected U.S. cities to describe recent domestic per capita water use, investigate variables that potentially affect domestic water use, and provide guidance for estimating domestic water use. Domestic water use may be affected...
Survey of roadside alien plants in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and adjacent residential areas 2001-2005
Keali’i F. Bio, Linda W. Pratt, James D. Jacobi
2012, Technical Report HCSU-032
The sides of all paved roads of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park (HAVO) were surveyed on foot in 2001 to 2005, and the roadside presence of 240 target invasive and potentially invasive alien plant species was recorded in mile-long increments. Buffer zones 5–10 miles (8–16 km) long along Highway 11 on...
Method for estimating potential wetland extent by utilizing streamflow statistics and flood-inundation mapping techniques: Pilot study for land along the Wabash River near Terre Haute, Indiana
Moon H. Kim, Christian T. Ritz, Donald V. Arvin
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5175
Potential wetland extents were estimated for a 14-mile reach of the Wabash River near Terre Haute, Indiana. This pilot study was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The study showed that potential wetland extents can be estimated...
Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys at highway bridges crossing the Missouri River in and into Missouri during summer flooding, July-August 2011
Richard J. Huizinga
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5204
Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys were conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Kansas and Missouri Departments of Transportation, in the vicinity of 36 bridges at 27 highway crossings of the Missouri River between Brownville, Nebraska and St. Louis, Missouri, from July 13 through August 3, 2011, during...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Ordovician Utica Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province, 2012
Mark A. Kirschbaum, Christopher J. Schenk, Troy A. Cook, Robert T. Ryder, Ronald R. Charpentier, Timothy R. Klett, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Katherine J. Whidden
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3116
The U.S. Geological Survey assessed unconventional oil and gas resources of the Upper Ordovician Utica Shale and adjacent units in the Appalachian Basin Province. The assessment covers parts of Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The geologic concept is that black shale of the Utica Shale and...
Database of the United States Coal Pellet Collection of the U.S. Geological Survey Organic Petrology Laboratory
Nikolaus J. Deems, Paul C. Hackley
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1151
The Organic Petrology Laboratory (OPL) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Eastern Energy Resources Science Center in Reston, Virginia, contains several thousand processed coal sample materials that were loosely organized in laboratory drawers for the past several decades. The majority of these were prepared as 1-inch-diameter particulate coal pellets (more...
Geophysical investigation of sentinel lakes in Lake, Seminole, Orange, and Volusia Counties, Florida
Christopher Reich, James Flocks, Jeffrey Davis
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1201
This study was initiated in cooperation with the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) to investigate groundwater and surface-water interaction in designated sentinel lakes in central Florida. Sentinel lakes are a SJRWMD established set of priority water bodies (lakes) for which minimum flows and levels (MFLs) are determined. Understanding...
Test drilling and data collection in the Calaveras County portion of the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Subbasin, California, December 2009-June 2011
Loren F. Metzger, John A. Izbicki, Joseph M. Nawikas
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1049
Two multiple-well monitoring sites were drilled in the Calaveras County portion of the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Subbasin, about 100 miles east of San Francisco, California, during December 2009 and January 2010. Site 3N/9E-12G1-4 was drilled to a depth of 503 feet below land surface (bls), and four wells were...
Storage capacity and sedimentation trends of Lago Garzas, Puerto Rico, 1996-2007
L.R. Soler-Lopez
2012, Scientific Investigations Map 3218
Lago Garzas is located in west-central Puerto Rico, about 3.5 kilometers southwest of the town of Adjuntas, in the confluence of the Río Vacas and three other unnamed tributaries (fig. 1). The dam is owned and operated by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), and was constructed in 1943...
Summary of oceanographic and water-quality measurements near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland, 2011
Neil K. Ganju, Patrick J. Dickhudt, Ellyn T. Montgomery, Patrick Brennand, R. Kyle Derby, Thomas W. Brooks, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Marinna A. Martini, Jonathan Borden, Sandra M. Baldwin
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1099
Suspended-sediment transport is a critical element governing the geomorphology of tidal marshes. Marshes rely on both organic material and inorganic sediment deposition to maintain their elevation relative to sea level. In wetlands near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland, portions of the salt marsh have been subsiding relative to sea...
Structures data collection for the national map using volunteered geographic information
Barbara S. Poore, Eric B. Wolf, Erin M. Korris, Jennifer L. Walter, Greg D. Matthews
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1209
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has historically sponsored volunteered data collection projects to enhance its topographic paper and digital map products. This report describes one phase of an ongoing project to encourage volunteers to contribute data to The National Map using online editing tools. The USGS recruited students studying geographic...
Currents, drag, and sediment transport induced by a tsunami
Jessica R. Lacy, David M. Rubin, Daniel Buscombe
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans (117)
We report observations of water surface elevation, currents, and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) from a 10-m deep site on the inner shelf in northern Monterey Bay during the arrival of the 2010 Chile tsunami. Velocity profiles were measured from 3.5 m above the bed (mab) to the surface at 2...
Projected climate-induced habitat loss for salmonids in the John Day River network, Oregon, U.S.A.
Aaron S. Ruesch, Christian E. Torgersen, Joshua J. Lawler, Julian D. Olden, Erin E. Peterson, Carol J. Volk, David J. Lawrence
2012, Conservation Biology (26) 873-882
Climate change will likely have profound effects on cold-water species of freshwater fishes. As temperatures rise, cold-water fish distributions may shift and contract in response. Predicting the effects of projected stream warming in stream networks is complicated by the generally poor correlation between water temperature and air temperature. Spatial dependencies...
Review of flow rate estimates of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Marcia K. McNutt, Rich Camilli, Timothy J. Crone, George D. Guthrie, Paul A. Hsieh, Thomas B. Ryerson, Omer Savas, Frank Shaffer
2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (109) 20260-20267
The unprecedented nature of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill required the application of research methods to estimate the rate at which oil was escaping from the well in the deep sea, its disposition after it entered the ocean, and total reservoir depletion. Here, we review what advances were made in...
Groundwater-quality and quality-control data for two monitoring wells near Pavillion, Wyoming, April and May 2012
Peter R. Wright, Peter B. McMahon, David K. Mueller, Melanie L. Clark
2012, Data Series 718
In June 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency installed two deep monitoring wells (MW01 and MW02) near Pavillion, Wyoming, to study groundwater quality. During April and May 2012, the U.S Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, collected groundwater-quality data and quality-control data from monitoring well...
