Summary and evaluation of the quality of stormwater in Denver, Colorado, 2006-2010
Michael R. Stevens, Cecil B. Slaughter
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1052
Stormwater in the Denver area was sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, in a network of 5 monitoring stations - 3 on the South Platte River and 2 on streams tributary to the South Platte River, Sand Creek, and Toll...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Paradox Basin Province, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, 2011
Katherine J. Whidden
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3031
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 560 million barrels of undiscovered oil, 12,701 billion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas, and 490 million barrels of undiscovered natural gas liquids in the Paradox Basin of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona....
Thermal profiles for selected river reaches of the Methow and Chewuch Rivers, Washington, August 2011
Andrew S. Gendaszek
2012, Data Series 682
Longitudinal profiles of near-streambed and near-surface temperatures were collected for selected reaches of the Methow and Chewuch Rivers, Washington, during August 2011 to facilitate development of a stream temperature model near the confluence of the Methow and Chewuch Rivers. Temperature was measured using a probe with an internal datalogger towed...
Primer for identifying cold-water refuges to protect and restore thermal diversity in riverine landscapes
Christian E. Torgersen, Joseph L. Ebersole, D.M. Keenan
2012, Report
In 2003, EPA issued Region 10 guidance for Pacific Northwest state and tribal temperature water quality standards. This document was the culmination of a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary effort to develop a temperature standard for the protection of salmon, steelhead, bull trout, and redband and Lahontan cutthroat trout (collectively termed coldwater salmonids)....
Archive of side scan sonar and swath bathymetry data collected during USGS cruise 10CCT03 offshore of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi, from East Ship Island, Mississippi, to Dauphin Island, Alabama, April 2010
Nancy T. DeWitt, James G. Flocks, William R. Pfeiffer, James N. Gibson, Dana S. Wiese
2012, Data Series 671
In April of 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a geophysical survey from the east end of East Ship Island, Miss., extending to the middle of Dauphin Island, Ala. (fig. 1). This survey had a dual purpose: (1) to interlink previously conducted nearshore geophysical surveys (shoreline to ~2...
Hydrologic, vegetation, and soil data collected in selected wetlands of the Big River Management area, Rhode Island, from 2008 through 2010
Meredith S. Borenstein, Francis C. Golet, David S. Armstrong, Robert F. Breault, Timothy D. McCobb, Peter K. Weiskel
2012, Data Series 666
The Rhode Island Water Resources Board planned to develop public water-supply wells in the Big River Management Area in Kent County, Rhode Island. Research in the United States and abroad indicates that groundwater withdrawal has the potential to affect wetland hydrology and related processes. In May 2008, the Rhode Island...
Sylvatic plague vaccine: combating plague in prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets
Tonie E. Rocke, Rachel C. Abbott
2012, The Wildlife Professional (6) 50-53
After achieving promising results in laboratory trials, researchers at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) and University of Wisconsin at Madison will soon begin field testing a new oral vaccine for sylvatic plague, a devastating disease affecting prairie dogs and other mammals, particularly the endangered black-footed ferret. Our team...
Comparison of two methods for estimating base flow in selected reaches of the South Platte River, Colorado
Joseph P. Capesius, L. Rick Arnold
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5034
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Colorado Water Conservation Board, compared two methods for estimating base flow in three reaches of the South Platte River between Denver and Kersey, Colorado. The two methods compared in this study are the Mass Balance and the Pilot Point methods. Base-flow estimates...
Modification of selected South Carolina bridge-scour envelope curves
Stephen T. Benedict, Andral W. Caldwell
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5029
Historic scour was investigated at 231 bridges in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain physiographic provinces of South Carolina by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation. These investigations led to the development of field-derived envelope curves that provided supplementary tools to assess the potential...
Flooded area and plant zonation in isolated wetlands in well fields in the Northern Tampa Bay Region, Florida, following reductions in groundwater-withdrawal rates
Kim H. Haag, William R. Pfeiffer
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5039
The extent and duration of the flooded area were compared in two reference wetlands and nine wetlands in well fields in the northern Tampa Bay region, Florida, to determine whether reductions in well-field groundwater-withdrawal rates resulted in increases in wetland flooded area. Flooded area, expressed as a percentage of the...
Copper pellets simulating oral exposure to copper ammunition: Absence of toxicity in American kestrels (Falco sparverius)
J. Christian Franson, Lesanna L. Lahner, Carol U. Meteyer, Barnett A. Rattner
2012, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (62) 145-153
To evaluate the potential toxicity of copper (Cu) in raptors that may consume Cu bullets, shotgun pellets containing Cu, or Cu fragments as they feed on wildlife carcasses, we studied the effects of metallic Cu exposure in a surrogate, the American kestrel (Falco sparverius). Sixteen kestrels were orally administered 5...
Calculating weighted estimates of peak streamflow statistics
Timothy A. Cohn, Charles Berenbrock, Julie E. Kiang, Mason Jr.
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3038
According to the Federal guidelines for flood-frequency estimation, the uncertainty of peak streamflow statistics, such as the 1-percent annual exceedance probability (AEP) flow at a streamgage, can be reduced by combining the at-site estimate with the regional regression estimate to obtain a weighted estimate of the flow statistic. The procedure...
Database for USGS Map I-1970 - Map showing the thickness and character of Quaternary sediments in the glaciated United States east of the Rocky Mountains
D. R. Soller, P.H. Packard, C.P. Garrity
2012, Data Series 656
No abstract available....
Optimum swimming pathways of fish spawning migrations in rivers
Brandon McElroy, Aaron DeLonay, Robert Jacobson
2012, Ecology (93) 29-34
Fishes that swim upstream in rivers to spawn must navigate complex fluvial velocity fields to arrive at their ultimate locations. One hypothesis with substantial implications is that fish traverse pathways that minimize their energy expenditure during migration. Here we present the methodological and theoretical developments necessary to test this and...
Estimated trichloroethene transformation rates due to naturally occurring biodegradation in a fractured-rock aquifer
Francis H. Chapelle, Pierre J. Lacombe, Paul M. Bradley
2012, Remediation Journal (22) 7-20
Rates of trichloroethene (TCE) mass transformed by naturally occurring biodegradation processes in a fractured rock aquifer underlying a former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) site in West Trenton, New Jersey, were estimated. The methodology included (1) dividing the site into eight elements of equal size and vertically integrating observed concentrations...
Characterizing mercury concentrations and fluxes in a Coastal Plain watershed: Insights from dynamic modeling and data
H.E. Golden, C.D. Knightes, P.A. Conrads, G. M. Davis, T.D. Feaster, C.A. Journey, S.T. Benedict, M. E. Brigham, P. M. Bradley
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research (117)
Mercury (Hg) is one of the leading water quality concerns in surface waters of the United States. Although watershed-scale Hg cycling research has increased in the past two decades, advances in modeling watershed Hg processes in diverse physiographic regions, spatial scales, and land cover types are needed. The goal of...
Bibliography of groundwater resources of the glacial aquifer systems in Washington, Idaho, and northwestern Montana, 1905-2011
Sue C. Kahle, Zoe O. Futornick
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1053
The U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Resources Program is undertaking a series of regional groundwater availability studies to improve our understanding of groundwater availability in major aquifers across the Nation. One of the objectives of the Glacial Principal Aquifers study (proposed) is to provide information on the occurrence of groundwater in...
Integrated geophysical surveys for mapping lati-andesite intrusive bodies, Chino Valley, Arizona
Hesham El-Kaliouby, Ben K. Sternberg, John P. Hoffmann, V.E. Langenheim
2012, Conference Paper, 25th Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems 2012 : (SAGEEP 2012) : Tucson, Arizona, USA, 25-29 March 2012
Three different geophysical methods (magnetic, transient electromagnetic (TEM) and gravity) were used near Chino Valley, Arizona, USA in order to map a suspected lati-andesite intrusive body (plug) previously located by interpretation of aeromagnetic data. The magnetic and TEM surveys provided the best indication of the location and depth of the...
On the reported ionospheric precursor of the 1999 Hector Mine, California earthquake
Jeremy N. Thomas, Jeffrey J. Love, Attila Komjathy, Olga P. Verkhoglyadova, Mark Butala, Nicholas Rivera
2012, Geophysical Research Letters (39)
Using Global Positioning System (GPS) data from sites near the 16 Oct. 1999 Hector Mine, California earthquake, Pulinets et al. (2007) identified anomalous changes in the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) starting one week prior to the earthquake. Pulinets (2007) suggested that precursory phenomena of this type could be useful...
Heterogeneous detection probabilities for imperiled Missouri River fishes: implications for large-river monitoring programs
J.T. Schloesser, Craig P. Paukert, W.J. Doyle, Tracy D. Hill, K.D. Steffensen, Vincent H. Travnichek
2012, Endangered Species Research (16) 211-224
Occupancy modeling was used to determine (1) if detection probabilities (p) for 7 regionally imperiled Missouri River fishes (Scaphirhynchus albus, Scaphirhynchus platorynchus, Cycleptus elongatus, Sander canadensis, Macrhybopsis aestivalis, Macrhybopsis gelida, and Macrhybopsis meeki) differed among gear types (i.e. stationary gill nets, drifted trammel nets, and otter trawls), and (2) how...
Groundwater quality in the San Fernando--San Gabriel groundwater basins, California
Justin T. Kulongoski, Kenneth Belitz
2012, Fact Sheet 2011-3139
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...
Status of groundwater quality in the San Fernando--San Gabriel study unit, 2005--California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Michael Land, Justin T. Kulongoski, Kenneth Belitz
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5206
Groundwater quality in the approximately 460-square-mile San Fernando--San Gabriel (FG) study unit was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study area is in Los Angeles County and includes Tertiary-Quaternary sedimentary basins situated within the Transverse Ranges of southern...
The regional abundance and size distribution of lakes and reservoirs in the United States and implication for estimates of global lake extent
Cory P. McDonald, Jennifer Rover, Edward G. Stets, Robert G. Striegl
2012, Limnology and Oceanography (57) 597-606
We analyzed complete geospatial data for the 3.5 million lakes and reservoirs larger than 0.001 km2, with a combined surface area of 131,000 km2, in the contiguous United States (excluding the Laurentian Great Lakes) and identified their regional distribution characteristics. For Alaska, we also analyzed (1) incomplete data that suggest...
Calculation of hydrocarbon-in-place in gas and gas-condensate reservoirs - Carbon dioxide sequestration
Mahendra K. Verma
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1033
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-140) authorized the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2), requiring estimation of hydrocarbon-in-place volumes and formation volume factors for all the oil, gas, and gas-condensate reservoirs within the U.S....
The Cottonwood Lake study area, a long-term wetland ecosystem monitoring site
David M. Mushet, Ned H. Euliss Jr.
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3040
The Cottonwood Lake study area is one of only three long-term wetland ecosystem monitoring sites in the prairie pothole region of North America; the other two are Orchid Meadows in South Dakota and St. Denis in Saskatchewan. Of the three, Cottonwood Lake has, by far, the longest continuous data-collection record....
