Hydrologic change in the St. Louis River Basin from iron mining on the Mesabi Iron Range, northeastern Minnesota
Timothy K. Cowdery, Anna C. Baker, Megan J. Haserodt, Daniel T. Feinstein, Randall J. Hunt
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5124
This study compares the results of two regional steady-state U.S. Geological Survey Modular Three-Dimensional Finite-Difference Ground-Water Flow (MODFLOW) models constructed to quantify the hydrologic changes in the St. Louis River Basin from iron mining on the Mesabi Iron Range in northeastern Minnesota. The U.S. Geological Survey collaborated in this study...
Interaction of a legacy groundwater contaminant plume with the Little Wind River from 2015 through 2017, Riverton Processing site, Wyoming
David L. Naftz, Christopher C. Fuller, Robert L. Runkel, John Solder, W. Payton Gardner, Neil Terry, Martin A. Briggs, Terry M. Short, Daniel J. Cain, William L Dam, Patrick A. Byrne, James R. Campbell
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5089
The Riverton Processing site was a uranium mill 4 kilometers southwest of Riverton, Wyoming, that prepared uranium ore for nuclear reactors and weapons from 1958 to 1963. The U.S. Department of Energy completed surface remediation of the uranium tailings in 1989; however, groundwater below and downgradient from the tailings site...
Survey of fish communities in tributaries to the Mohawk River, New York, 2019
Scott D. George, Dylan R. Winterhalter, Barry P. Baldigo
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5121
Fish communities of the Mohawk River and associated sections of the New York State Canal System have been well documented but little information is available regarding the status of fish communities in the extensive network of tributaries that feed the Mohawk River. This lack of information is problematic because changes...
Estimating flood magnitude and frequency for unregulated streams in Wisconsin
Sara B. Levin, Christopher A. Sanocki
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5118
Flood frequency characteristics and estimated flood discharges for the 50-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent annual exceedance probabilities were computed at 299 streamgaged locations in Wisconsin. The State was divided into four flood frequency regions using a cluster analysis to produce regions which are homogeneous with respect...
Using Global Fiducials Library high-resolution imagery, commercial satellite imagery, Landsat and Sentinel satellite imagery, and aerial photography to monitor change at East Timbalier Island, Louisiana, 1953–2021
Gary B. Fisher, E. Terrence Slonecker, Shawn J. Dilles, Bruce F. Molnia, Kim M. Angeli
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5107
This report documents morphological changes between 1953 and 2021 at East Timbalier Island, Louisiana, a Gulf of Mexico barrier island. East Timbalier Island, which was located west of the Mississippi River Delta at the front of Timbalier Bay, was one of the most rapidly changing barrier islands on Earth. Since...
Recent history of glacial lake outburst floods, analysis of channel changes, and development of a two-dimensional flow and sediment transport model of the Snow River near Seward, Alaska
Robin A. Beebee
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5099
Snow Lake, a glacially dammed lake on the Snow Glacier near Seward, Alaska, drains rapidly every 14 months–3 years, causing flooding along the Snow River. Highway, railroad, and utility infrastructure on the lower Snow River floodplain is vulnerable to flood damage. Historical hydrology, geomorphology, and two-dimensional hydraulic and sediment transport...
Technical note—Performance evaluation of the PhytoFind, an in-place phytoplankton classification tool
Brett D. Johnston, Jennifer L. Graham, Guy M. Foster, Bryan D. Downing
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5103
In 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey evaluated the performance of the Turner Designs, Inc. PhytoFind, an in-place phytoplankton classification tool. The sensor was tested with sample blanks, monoculture and mixed phytoplankton cultures, and turbidity challenges in a laboratory, and was tested on a 120-mile survey of the Caloosahatchee and St....
Estimated effects of pumping on groundwater storage and Walker River stream efficiencies in Smith and Mason Valleys, west-central Nevada
Gwendolyn E. Davies, Ramon C. Naranjo
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5123
The Walker River originates in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and flows nearly 160 miles to its terminus at Walker Lake in west-central Nevada. The river provides a source of irrigation water for tens of thousands of acres of agricultural lands in California and Nevada and is the principal source of...
Optimizing satellite resources for the global assessment and mitigation of volcanic hazards—Suggestions from the USGS Powell Center Volcano Remote Sensing Working Group
M. E. Pritchard, Michael Poland, K. Reath, B. Andrews, M. Bagnardi, J. Biggs, S. Carn, D. Coppola, S.K. Ebmeier, M.A. Furtney, T. Girona, J. Griswold, T. Lopez, P. Lundgren, S. Ogburn, M. Pavolonis, E. Rumpf, G. Vaughan, C. Wauthier, R. Wessels, R. Wright, K.R. Anderson, M.G. Bato, A. Roman
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5116
A significant number of the world’s approximately 1,400 subaerial volcanoes with Holocene eruptions are unmonitored by ground-based sensors yet constitute a potential hazard to nearby residents and infrastructure, as well as air travel and global commerce. Data from an international constellation of more than 60 current satellite instruments provide...
Hydrogeologic characteristics of Hourglass and New Years Cave Lakes at Jewel Cave National Monument, South Dakota, from water-level and water-chemistry data, 2015–21
Colton J. Medler
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5108
Jewel Cave National Monument is in the western Black Hills of South Dakota and contains an extensive cave network, including various subterranean water bodies (cave lakes) that are believed to represent the regionally important Madison aquifer. Recent investigations have sought to improve understanding of hydrogeologic characteristics of cave lakes in...
Groundwater quality and geochemistry of the western wet gas part of the Marcellus Shale Oil and Gas Play in West Virginia
Mark D. Kozar, Mitchell A. McAdoo, Karl B. Haase
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5094
Thirty rural residential water wells in the wet gas region of the Marcellus Shale oil and gas play in northwestern West Virginia were sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2018, in cooperation with West Virginia State agencies, to analyze for a range of water-quality constituents, including major ions,...
BFS—A non-linear, state-space model for baseflow separation and prediction
Christopher P. Konrad
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5114
Streamflow in rivers can be separated into a relatively steady component, or baseflow, that represents reliably available surface water and more dynamic components of runoff that typically represent a large fraction of total streamflow. A spatially aggregated numerical time-series model was developed to separate the baseflow component of a...
Ungulate migrations of the western United States, volume 3
Matthew Kauffman, Blake Lowrey, Jodi Berg, Scott Bergen, Doug Brimeyer, Patrick Burke, Teal Cufaude, James W. Cain III, Jeffrey Cole, Alyson Courtemanch, Michelle Cowardin, Julie Cunningham, Melia DeVivo, Jennifer Diamond, Orrin Duvuvuei, Julien Fattebert, Joanna R. Ennis, Darby Finley, Jessica Fort, Gary Fralick, Eric Freeman, Jeff Gagnon, Julie Garcia, Emily Gelzer, Morgan Graham, Jacob Gray, Evan Greenspan, L. Embere Hall, Curtis Hendricks, Andy Holland, Brian Holmes, Katey Huggler, Mark A. Hurley, Emily Jeffreys, Aran Johnson, Lee Knox, Kevin Krasnow, Zack Lockyer, Hannah Manninen, Mike McDonald, Jennifer L. McKee, James Meacham, Jerod Merkle, Barb Moore, Tony W. Mong, Clayton Nielsen, Brendan Oates, Kim Olsen, Daniel Olson, Lucas Olson, Matt Pieron, Jake Powell, Annemarie Prince, Kelly Proffitt, Craig Reddell, Corinna Riginos, Robert Ritson, Sierra Robatcek, Shane Roberts, Hall Sawyer, Cody Schroeder, Jessie Shapiro, Nova Simpson, Scott Sprague, Alethea Steingisser, Nicole Tatman, Benjamin Turnock, Cody F. Wallace, Laura Wolf
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5088
Ungulates (hooved mammals) have a broad distribution across the western United States and play an important role in maintaining predator-prey dynamics, affecting vegetation communities, and providing economic benefits to regional communities through tourism and hunting. Throughout the diverse landscapes they occupy, many ungulate populations undertake seasonal migrations to exploit spatially...
Analysis of groundwater and surface water in areas of isoxaflutole application, Tuscola and Kalamazoo Counties, Michigan
Carol L. Luukkonen, Mark E. Brigham
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5100
The herbicide 5-cyclopropyl-4-(2-methylsulfonyl-4-trifluoromethylbenzoyl) isoxazole, also known as isoxaflutole (IXF), was conditionally approved for use on corn in Michigan in 2015. The fate of IXF and its degradates in different environmental settings and the processes by which these compounds move to groundwater or to surface-water bodies have been previously studied, but...
Precipitation-driven flood-inundation mapping of Muddy Creek at Harrisonville, Missouri
David C. Heimann, Paul H. Rydlund Jr.
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5084
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the city of Harrisonville, Missouri, assessed flooding of Muddy Creek resulting from varying precipitation magnitudes and durations, antecedent runoff conditions, and channel modifications (cleaned culverts and added detention storage). The precipitation scenarios were used to develop a library of flood-inundation maps that included...
Water-quality trends in the Delaware River Basin calculated using multisource data and two methods for trend periods ending in 2018
Megan E. Shoda, Jennifer C. Murphy
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5097
Many organizations in the Delaware River Basin (DRB) monitor surface-water quality for regulatory, scientific, and decision-making purposes. In support of these purposes, over 260,000 water-quality records provided by 8 different organizations were compiled, screened, and used to generate water-quality trends in the DRB. These trends, for periods of record that...
The Seamless Integrated Geologic Mapping (SIGMa) extension to the Geologic Map Schema (GeMS)
Kenzie J. Turner, Jeremiah B. Workman, Joseph P. Colgan, Amy K. Gilmer, Margaret E. Berry, Samuel Johnstone, Kathleen F. Warrell, Marieke Dechesne, D. Paco VanSistine, Ren A. Thompson, Adam M. Hudson, Kristine L. Zellman, Donald S. Sweetkind, Chester A. Ruleman
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5115
Geologic maps are the fundamental building blocks of surface and subsurface three-dimensional geologic framework models of the Earth’s crust. However, as the production and availability of geologic map databases continues to increase, inconsistent data models and the lack of synthesized, national geologic map data at scales appropriate for informed decision...
Flood-inundation maps for Schoharie Creek in North Blenheim, New York
Elizabeth A. Nystrom
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5119
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 2.4-mile reach of the Schoharie Creek in North Blenheim, New York, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the New York Power Authority. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science website at <a href="https://fim.wim.usgs.gov/fim/"...
Water quality of sand and gravel aquifers in McHenry County, Illinois, 2020 and comparisons to conditions in 2010
Amy M. Gahala, Lance R. Gruhn, Jennifer C. Murphy, Lisa A. Matson
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5110
McHenry County, Illinois, obtains most of its drinking water from shallow sand and gravel aquifers (groundwater). To evaluate this groundwater resource, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with McHenry County, Illinois, collected water-quality samples from 41 of 42 monitoring wells in the McHenry County Groundwater Monitoring Network and 4 monitoring...
Stormwater reduction and water budget for a rain garden on sandy soil, Gary, Indiana, 2016–18
David C. Lampe, E. Randall Bayless, Danielle D. Follette
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5101
Stormwater reduction measures, or green infrastructure, were implemented in the parking area at Gary City Hall, Gary, Indiana, with the intention of reducing stormwater discharge to the sewers. A study area, including a centrally located rain garden and the surrounding paved surfaces and green space, was instrumented during both a...
Verification of irrigated agricultural land acreage in 55 counties in Florida, 2013–21
Richard L. Marella, Joann F. Dixon
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5098
In 2012, the Florida Legislature mandated that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Office of Agricultural Water Policy, promote an agricultural water-conservation program that would include a cost-share program and best management practices and that would aid the five water management districts in the development of consistent...
Hydrology, water quality, and biological characteristics of Levittown Lake, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, April 2010–June 2011
Luis R. Soler-Lopez, Julieta M. Gómez-Fragoso, Nicole A. Val-Merniz
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5096
Levittown Lake is a 30-hectare, brackish waterbody located in the municipality of Toa Baja, on the northern coast of Puerto Rico. The lake is a small, man-made feature formed by draining the marshland over which the Levittown community was built. Levittown Lake has an average depth of about 5 meters...
Characterization of water quality, biology, and habitat of the Pearl River and selected tributaries contiguous to and within Tribal lands of the Pearl River Community of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, 2017–18
Lucas J. Driver, Matthew B. Hicks, Amy C. Gill
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5090
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI), conducted a baseline assessment of the physical, chemical, and biological quality of selected streams and rivers within and contiguous to the Pearl River Community (PRC) in 2017 and 2018. The MBCI is a federally recognized tribe...
Groundwater-level altitudes and groundwater-flow direction and nature and extent of volatile and semivolatile organic compounds at Petro-Chemical Systems, Inc. (Turtle Bayou), Superfund site, Liberty County, Texas, 2020
Christopher L. Braun, Kent D. Becher
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5104
The Petro-Chemical Systems, Inc. (Turtle Bayou), Superfund site is 15 miles southeast of Liberty, Texas, in Liberty County. Improper disposal of waste oils led to contamination of soil and groundwater at the site. In cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey collected water-quality samples from 11...
Stormwater quantity and quality in selected urban watersheds in Hampton Roads, Virginia, 2016–2020
Aaron J. Porter
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5111
Urbanization can substantially alter sediment and nutrient loadings to streams. Although a growing body of literature has documented these processes, conditions may vary widely by region and physiographic province (PP). Substantial investments are made by localities to meet federal, state, and local water-quality goals and locally relevant monitoring data are...
