Groundwater Quality in the Central Eastside San Joaquin Valley, California
Kenneth Belitz, Matthew K. Landon
2010, Fact Sheet 2010-3001
The Central Eastside study unit is located in California's San Joaquin Valley. The 1,695 square mile study unit includes three groundwater subbasins: Modesto, Turlock, and Merced (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). The primary water-bearing units consist of discontinuous lenses of gravel, sand, silt, and clay, which are derived largely...
Mercury assessment and monitoring protocol for the Bear Creek Watershed, Colusa County, California
Thomas H. Suchanek, Roger L. Hothem, James J. Rytuba, Julie L. Yee
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5018
This report summarizes the known information on the occurrence and distribution of mercury (Hg) in physical/chemical and biological matrices within the Bear Creek watershed. Based on these data, a matrix-specific monitoring protocol for the evaluation of the effectiveness of activities designed to remediate Hg contamination in the Bear Creek watershed...
Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the central-eastside San Joaquin Basin, 2006: California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Matthew K. Landon, Kenneth Belitz, Bryant C. Jurgens, Justin T. Kulongoski, Tyler D. Johnson
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5266
Groundwater quality in the approximately 1,695-square-mile Central Eastside San Joaquin Basin (Central Eastside) study unit was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project (PBP) of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The GAMA PBP was developed in response to the California Groundwater Quality Monitoring Act of 2001,...
Analysis of the Shallow Groundwater Flow System at Fire Island National Seashore, Suffolk County, New York
Christopher Schubert
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5259
Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS) occupies 42 kilometers of the barrier island for which it is named that lies off the southern shore of Suffolk County, N.Y. Freshwater in the highly permeable, sandy aquifer underlying Fire Island is bounded laterally by marine surface waters and at depth by saline groundwater....
River-corridor habitat dynamics, Lower Missouri River
Robert B. Jacobson
2010, Fact Sheet 2010-3022
Intensive management of the Missouri River for navigation, flood control, and power generation has resulted in substantial physical changes to the river corridor. Historically, the Missouri River was characterized by a shifting, multithread channel and abundant unvegetated sandbars. The shifting channel provided a wide variety of hydraulic environments and large...
Geomorphology and depositional subenvironments of Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi
Robert A. Morton, Bryan E. Rogers
2010, Open-File Report 2009-1250
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is studying coastal hazards and coastal change to improve our understanding of coastal ecosystems and to develop better capabilities of predicting future coastal change. One approach to understanding the dynamics of coastal systems is to monitor changes in barrier-island subenvironments through time. This involves examining...
Tsunami Preparedness Along the U.S. West Coast (video)
Kurt Loeffler, Justine Gesell
2010, General Information Product 105
Tsunamis are a constant threat to the coasts of our world. Although tsunamis are infrequent along the West coast of the United States, it is possible and necessary to prepare for potential tsunami hazards to minimize loss of life and property. Community awareness programs are important, as they strive to...
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center-Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Report
Janice S. Nelson
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1060
The Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) facility focused on providing science and imagery to better understand our Earth. As part of the USGS Geography Discipline, EROS contributes to the Land Remote Sensing (LRS) Program, the Geographic Analysis and Monitoring (GAM) Program, and...
The transition of benthic nutrient sources after planned levee breaches adjacent to upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, Oregon
James S. Kuwabara, Brent R. Topping, James L. Carter, Francis Parchaso, Jason M. Cameron, Jessica R. Asbill, Steven V. Fend, John H. Duff, Anita C. Engelstad
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1062
Four sampling trips were coordinated after planned levee breaches that hydrologically reconnected both Upper Klamath Lake and Agency Lake, Oregon, to adjacent wetlands. Sets of nonmetallic pore-water profilers were deployed during these trips in November 2007, June 2008, May 2009, and July 2009. Deployments temporally spanned the annual cyanophyte bloom...
Estimated Withdrawals and Use of Water in Colorado, 2005
Tamara Ivahnenko, Jennifer L. Flynn
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5002
The future health and economic welfare of the people and environment of Colorado depend on a continuous supply of fresh water. Detailed, comprehensive information on the use of water from Colorado's diverse surface-water and groundwater resources is important to water managers and planners by providing information they need to quantify...
Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS)
Gregory D. Steyer
2010, Fact Sheet 2010-3018
In 1990, the U.S. Congress enacted the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in response to growing awareness of a land loss crisis in Louisiana. Projects funded by CWPPRA require monitoring and evaluation of project effectiveness, and there is also a need to assess the cumulative effects of...
The pallid sturgeon: Scientific investigations help understand recovery needs
Aaron J. DeLonay
2010, Fact Sheet 2010-3024
Understanding of the pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) has increased significantly since the species was listed as endangered over two decades ago. Since 2005, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC) have been engaged in an interdisciplinary research program in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps...
Assessment of soil-gas, surface-water, and soil contamination at the Installation Railhead, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2008-2009
James Landmeyer, Larry G. Harrelson, W. Hagan Ratliff, John B. Wellborn
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1054
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Army Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, assessed soil gas, surface water, and soil for contaminants at the Installation Railhead (IR) at Fort Gordon, Georgia, from October 2008 to...
Documentation for initial seismic hazard maps for Haiti
Arthur Frankel, Stephen Harmsen, Charles Mueller, Eric Calais, Jennifer Haase
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1067
In response to the urgent need for earthquake-hazard information after the tragic disaster caused by the moment magnitude (M) 7.0 January 12, 2010, earthquake, we have constructed initial probabilistic seismic hazard maps for Haiti. These maps are based on the current information we have on fault slip rates and historical...
Reconnaissance geologic map of the Hayfork 15' quadrangle, Trinity County, California
William P. Irwin
2010, Scientific Investigations Map 3119
The Hayfork 15' quadrangle is located just west of the Weaverville 15' quadrangle in the southern part of the Klamath Mountains geologic province of northern California. It spans parts of six generally north-northwest-trending tectonostratigraphic terranes that are, from east to west, the Eastern Klamath, Central Metamorphic, North Fork, Eastern Hayfork,...
National GAP Conference 2007-Discussion Groups Report
Joan M. Ratz, Berton Lee Lamb
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1026
We led two discussion groups during the 2007 National GAP Conference. These discussion groups provided information to help develop a survey of National Gap Analysis Program (GAP) data users. One group discussed technical issues, and the second group discussed the use of GAP data for decisionmaking. Themes emerging from the...
Studies of Climate Change in the Yukon River Basin: Connecting Community and Science Through a Unique Partnership
Paul F. Schuster, Karonhiakta’tie Byran Maracle
2010, Fact Sheet 2010-3020
An exciting new partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) is yielding critical data for the assessment of climate change effects in the Yukon River Basin. The foundation of this partnership is a shared interest in the current and future water quality...
Fate of estrogenic compounds during municipal sludge stabilization and dewatering
Edward T. Furlong, James L. Gray, David M. Quanrud, S.E. Teske, K.J. Esposito, Jeremy Marine, Wendell P. Ela, Patrick J. Phillips, Dana W. Kolpin, B. Stinson
2010, Report
This project brought together a team of experts in the fields of environmental engineering, analytical chemistry and hydrogeology, and biological assay analysis to evaluate the occurrence and fate of estrogenic compounds and the estrogenicity of biosolids derived from wastewater treatment. The primary objective of the study was to provide key...
Geophysical investigations at Hidden Dam, Raymond, California: Summary of fieldwork and data analysis
Burke J. Minsley, Bethany L. Burton, Scott Ikard, Michael H. Powers
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1013
Geophysical field investigations have been carried out at the Hidden Dam in Raymond, California for the purpose of better understanding the hydrogeology and seepage-related conditions at the site. Known seepage areas on the northwest right abutment area of the downstream side of the dam are documented by Cedergren. Subsequent to...
Theme section on “Mesophotic coral ecosystems: Characterization, ecology, and management”
Lara M. Hinderstein, John C.A. Marr, Felix A. Martinez, Michael J. Dowgiallo, Richard L. Puglise, R. L. Pyle, David G Zawada, R. Appeldoorn
2010, Coral Reefs (29) 247-251
Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) are characterized by the presence of light-dependent corals and associated communities that are typically found at depths ranging from 30 to 40 m and extending to over 150 m in tropical and subtropical regions. The dominant communities providing structural habitat in the mesophotic zone can be comprised of...
Dissolution-reprecipitation of igneous zircon in mid-ocean ridge gabbro, Atlantis Bank, Southwest Indian Ridge
J. Schwartz, Barbara E John, Michael J. Cheadle, Joseph L. Wooden, F. Mazdab, Susan Swapp, Craig B. Grimes
2010, Chemical Geology (274)-68
Zircons recovered from oceanic gabbro exposed on Atlantis Bank, Southwest Indian Ridge, typically display oscillatory and sector zoning consistent with igneous crystallization from mafic magmas. In one rock (of twenty investigated), weak-oscillatory-zonation patterns are overprinted by secondary textural features characterized by mottled, convoluted and wavy internal zonation patterns that are...
Ferromanganese crusts as archives of deep water Cd isotope compositions
T. J. Horner, M. Schonbachler, M. Rehkämper, S.G. Nielsen, H. Williams, A. N. Halliday, Z. George Xue, James R. Hein
2010, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (11)
The geochemistry of Cd in seawater has attracted significant attention owing to the nutrient-like properties of this element. Recent culturing studies have demonstrated that Cd is a biologically important trace metal that plays a role in the sequestration of inorganic carbon. This conclusion is supported by recent isotope data for...
Multiple phases of basin formation along the Stateline fault system in the Pahrump and Mesquite Valleys, Nevada and California
Daniel S. Scheirer, Donald S. Sweetkind, John J. Miller
2010, Geosphere (6) 93-129
Two phases of deformation are needed to describe the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Pahrump and Mesquite basins in the southern Great Basin and eastern Mojave Desert, United States. By interpreting seismic reflection and gravity observations along with bedrock and surficial mapping, we infer an extensional phase of basin formation...
Distribution and trends in reference evapotranspiration in the North China plain
Z. W. Song, Hailin Zhang, Richard L. Snyder, Frank Anderson, F. Chen
2010, Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering (136) 240-247
The distribution and trends in reference evapotranspiration (ET(o)) are extremely important to water resources planning for agriculture, and it is widely believed that rates of ET(o) will increase with global warming. This is a big concern in China, where water deficits are common in the North China Plain (NCP). In...
Reconnaissance geochronology of tuffs in the Miocene Barstow Formation: implications for basin evolution and tectonics in the central Mojave Desert
D. M. Miller, S.R. Leslie, John W. Hillhouse, J. L. Wooden, J.A. Vazquez, R. E. Reynolds
2010, Book, Overboard in the Mojave: 20 million years of lakes and wetlands
Early to middle Miocene lacustrine strata of the Barstow Formation are well dated in just a few places, limiting our ability to infer basin evolution and regional tectonics. At the type section in the Mud Hills, previous studies have shown that the lacustrine interval of the Barstow Formation is...
