The effects of sediment and mercury mobilization in the South Yuba River and Humbug Creek confluence area, Nevada County, California: Concentrations, speciation, and environmental fate – Part 1: Field characterization
Jacob A. Fleck, Charles N. Alpers, Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, Roger L. Hothem, Scott Wright, Kevin Ellett, Elizabeth Beaulieu, Jennifer L. Agee, Evangelos Kakouros, Le H. Kieu, Dennis D. Eberl, Alex E. Blum, Jason T. May
2011, Open-File Report 2010-1325-A
Millions of pounds of mercury (Hg) were deposited in the river and stream channels of the Sierra Nevada from placer and hard-rock mining operations in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The resulting contaminated sediments are relatively harmless when buried and isolated from the overlying aquatic environment. The entrained Hg...
Resolving structural uncertainty in natural resources management using POMDP approaches
B. Kenneth Williams
2011, Ecological Modelling (222) 1092-1102
In recent years there has been a growing focus on the uncertainties of natural resources management, and the importance of accounting for uncertainty in assessing management effectiveness. This paper focuses on uncertainty in resource management in terms of discrete-state Markov decision processes (MDP) under structural uncertainty and partial observability. It...
Moderate-resolution sea surface temperature data for the nearshore North Pacific
Meredith C. Payne, Deborah A. Reusser, Henry Lee II, Cheryl A. Brown
2011, Open-File Report 2010-1251
Coastal sea surface temperature (SST) is an important environmental characteristic in determining the suitability of habitat for nearshore marine and estuarine organisms. This publication describes and provides access to an easy-to-use coastal SST dataset for ecologists, biogeographers, oceanographers, and other scientists conducting research on nearshore marine habitats or processes. The...
Total dissolved gas and water temperature in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, water year 2010: Quality-assurance data and comparison to water-quality standards
Dwight Q. Tanner, Heather M. Bragg, Matthew W. Johnston
2011, Open-File Report 2010-1293
Significant Findings When water is released through the spillways of dams, air is entrained in the water, increasing the downstream concentration of dissolved gases. Excess dissolved-gas concentrations can have adverse effects on freshwater aquatic life. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, collected...
Documentation for the State Variables Package for the Groundwater-Management Process of MODFLOW-2005 (GWM-2005)
David P. Ahlfeld, Paul M. Barlow, Kristine M. Baker
2011, Techniques and Methods 6-A36
Many groundwater-management problems are concerned with the control of one or more variables that reflect the state of a groundwater-flow system or a coupled groundwater/surface-water system. These system state variables include the distribution of heads within an aquifer, streamflow rates within a hydraulically connected stream, and flow rates into or...
Water budgets and groundwater volumes for abandoned underground mines in the Western Middle Anthracite Coalfield, Schuylkill, Columbia, and Northumberland Counties, Pennsylvania: Preliminary estimates with identification of data needs
Daniel J. Goode, Charles A. Cravotta III,, Roger J. Hornberger, Michael A. Hewitt, Robert E. Hughes, Daniel J. Koury, Lee W. Eicholtz
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5261
This report, prepared in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP), the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, and the Dauphin County Conservation District, provides estimates of water budgets and groundwater volumes stored in abandoned underground mines in the Western Middle Anthracite Coalfield, which encompasses an area...
Avian conservation in the Prairie Pothole Region, Northern Great Plains-Understanding the links between climate, ecosystem processes, wetland management, and bird communities
S. K. Skagen, Cynthia Melcher
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3030
2007 Volcanic activity in Alaska, Kamchatka, and the Kurile Islands: Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
Robert G. McGimsey, Christina A. Neal, James P. Dixon, Nataliya Malik, Marina Chibisova
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5242
The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) responded to eruptions, possible eruptions, and volcanic unrest at or near nine separate volcanic centers in Alaska during 2007. The year was highlighted by the eruption of Pavlof, one of Alaska's most frequently active volcanoes. Glaciated Fourpeaked Mountain, a volcano thought to have been inactive...
Removal of nonnative slider turtles (Trachemys scripta) and effects on native Sonora mud turtles (Kinosternon sonoriense) at Montezuma Well, Yavapai County, Arizona
Charles A. Drost, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Sheila V. Madrak, A.J. Monatesti
2011, Open-File Report 2010-1177
The National Park Service (NPS) estimates that 234 national parks contain nonnative, invasive animal species that are of management concern (National Park Service, 2004). Understanding and controlling invasive species is thus an important priority within the NPS (National Park Service, 1996). The slider turtle (Trachemys scripta) is one such invasive...
Rainfall and evapotranspiration data for southwest Medina County, Texas, August 2006-December 2009
Richard N. Slattery, William H. Asquith, Darwin J. Ockerman
2011, Data Series 554
During August 2006-December 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, collected rainfall and evapotranspiration data to help characterize the hydrology of the Nueces River Basin, Texas. The USGS installed and operated a station to collect continuous (30-minute interval) rainfall...
Chloride control and monitoring program in the Wichita River Basin, Texas, 1996–2009
M. M. Haynie, G. F. Burke, Stanley Baldys
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3018
Water resources of the Wichita River Basin in north-central Texas are vital to the water users in Wichita Falls, Tex., and surrounding areas. The Wichita River Basin includes three major forks of the Wichita River upstream from Lake Kemp, approximately 50 miles southwest of Wichita Falls, Tex. The main stem...
Petroleum hydrocarbons in sediment from the northern Gulf of Mexico shoreline, Texas to Florida
Robert J. Rosenbauer, Pamela L. Campbell, Angela Lam, T.D. Lorenson, Frances D. Hostettler, Burt Thomas, Florence L. Wong
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1014
Petroleum hydrocarbons were extracted and analyzed from shoreline sediment collected from the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) coastline that could potentially be impacted by Macondo-1 (M-1) well oil. Sediment was collected before M-1 well oil made significant local landfall and analyzed for baseline conditions by a suite of diagnostic petroleum...
The concept of geologic carbon sequestration
Douglas W. Duncan, Eric A. Morrissey
2011, Fact Sheet 2010-3122
Predicting spread of invasive exotic plants into dewatered reservoirs after dam removal on the Elwha River, Olympic National Park, Washington
Andrea Woodward, Christian E. Torgersen, Joshua Chenoweth, Katherine Beirne, Steve Acker
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1048
The National Park Service is planning to start the restoration of the Elwha River ecosystem in Olympic National Park by removing two high head dams beginning in 2011. The potential for dispersal of exotic plants into dewatered reservoirs following dam removal, which would inhibit restoration of native vegetation, is of...
Implications of community concordance for assessing stream integrity at three nested spatial scales in Minnesota, U.S.A.
Christine L. Dolph, David D. Huff, Christopher J. Chizinski, Bruce C. Vondracek
2011, Freshwater Biology (56) 1652-1669
1. Fish and invertebrate assemblage data collected from 670 stream sites in Minnesota (U.S.A.) were used to calculate concordance across three nested spatial scales (statewide, ecoregion and catchment). Predictive taxa richness models, calibrated using the same data, were used to evaluate whether concordant communities exhibited similar trends in human‐induced taxa...
Classifying the water table at regional to continental scales
Tom Gleeson, Lars Marklund, Leslie Smith, Andrew H. Manning
2011, Geophysical Research Letters (38)
Water tables at regional to continental scales can be classified into two distinct types: recharge-controlled water tables that are largely disconnected from topography and topography-controlled water tables that are closely tied to topography. We use geomatic synthesis of hydrologic, geologic and topographic data sets to quantify and map water-table type...
Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2004-November 30, 2005
Bruce E. Krejmas, Gary N. Paulachok, Stephen F. Blanchard
2011, Open-File Report 2010-1106
A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered in 1954, established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes diversions of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from certain reservoirs, owned by New York City,...
Effectiveness of catch basins equipped with hoods in retaining gross solids and hydrocarbons in highway runoff, Southeast Expressway, Boston, Massachusetts, 2008-09
Kirk P. Smith
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5182
Stormwater mobilizes litter and other debris along the roadway where it is transported to the highway drainage systems. Initial treatment for stormwater runoff typically is provided by catch basins in highway settings. Modification of catch basins to include hoods that cover the catch-basin outlet is intended to enhance catch-basin performance...
Inventory and protection of salt marshes from risks of sea-level rise at Acadia National Park, Maine
Robert W. Dudley, Martha G. Nielsen
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3015
Recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) climate studies in the northeastern United States have shown substantial evidence of climate-related changes during the last 100 years, including earlier snowmelt runoff, decreasing occurrence of river ice, and decreasing winter snowpack. These studies related to climate change are being expanded to include investigation of...
A digital terrain model of bathymetry and shallow-zone bottom-substrate classification for Spednic Lake and estimates of lake-level-dependent habitat to support smallmouth bass persistence modeling
Robert W. Dudley, Charles W. Schalk, Nicholas W. Stasulis, Joan G. Trial
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5255
In 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey entered into a cooperative agreement with the International Joint Commission, St. Croix River Board to do an analysis of historical smallmouth bass habitat as a function of lake level for Spednic Lake in an effort to quantify the effects, if any, of historical lake-level...
Shoreline surveys of oil-impacted marsh in southern Louisiana, July to August 2010
Raymond F. Kokaly, David Heckman, JoAnn Holloway, Sarai C. Piazza, Brady R. Couvillion, Gregory D. Steyer, Christopher T. Mills, Todd M. Hoefen
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1022
This report describes shoreline surveys conducted in the marshes of Louisiana in areas impacted by oil spilled from the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Three field expeditions were conducted on July 7-10, August 12-14, and August 24-26, 2010, in central Barataria Bay and the...
Self-potential investigations of a gravel bar in a restored river corridor
N. Linde, J. Doetsch, D. Jougnot, O. Genoni, Y. Durst, Burke J. Minsley, T. Vogt, N. Pasquale, J. Luster
2011, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (15) 729-742
Self-potentials (SP) are sensitive to water fluxes and concentration gradients in both saturated and unsaturated geological media, but quantitative interpretations of SP field data may often be hindered by the superposition of different source contributions and time-varying electrode potentials. Self-potential mapping and close to two months of SP monitoring on...
Keeping Hawai’i’s forest birds one step ahead of avian diseases in a warming world: a focus on Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge. A case study from the National Conservation and Training Center Structured Decision Making Workshop
Eben H. Paxton, Jeff Burgett, Eve McDonald-Fadden, Ellen Bean, Carter T. Atkinson, Donna Ball, Colleen Cole, Lisa H. Crampton, Jim Kraus, Dennis A. LaPointe, Loyal Mehrhoff, Michael D. Samuel, Donna Brewer, Sarah J. Converse, Steve Morey
2011, Conference Paper
This report is a product of a one-week workshop on using Structured Decision Making to identify and prioritize conservation actions to address the threat of climate change on Hawaii‟s native forest bird community. Specifically, t his report addresses the issue of global warming ‟s likely role in increasing disease prevalence...
Conceptual model and numerical simulation of the groundwater-flow system of Bainbridge Island, Washington
Lonna M. Frans, Matthew P. Bachmann, Steve S. Sumioka, Theresa D. Olsen
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5021
Groundwater is the sole source of drinking water for the population of Bainbridge Island. Increased use of groundwater supplies on Bainbridge Island as the population has grown over time has created concern about the quantity of water available and whether saltwater intrusion will occur as groundwater usage increases. A groundwater-flow...
Development and assessment of a landscape-scale ecological threat index for the Lower Colorado River Basin
Craig P. Paukert, K.L. Pitts, Joanna B. Whittier, Julian D. Olden
2011, Ecological Indicators (11) 3014-310
Anthropogenic disturbances impact freshwater biota but are rarely incorporated into conservation planning due to the difficulties in quantifying threats. There is currently no widely accepted method to quantify disturbances, and determining how to measure threats to upstream catchments using disturbance metrics can be time consuming and subjective. We compared four...
