Earthquake hazard in the New Madrid Seismic Zone remains a concern
A.D. Frankel, D. Applegate, M.P. Tuttle, R. A. Williams
2009, Fact Sheet 2009-3071
There is broad agreement in the scientific community that a continuing concern exists for a major destructive earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone. Many structures in Memphis, Tenn., St. Louis, Mo., and other communities in the central Mississippi River Valley region are vulnerable and at risk from severe ground...
An Examination of Selected Historical Rainfall-Induced Debris-Flow Events within the Central and Southern Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States
Gerald F. Wieczorek, L. Scott Eaton, Benjamin A. Morgan, R.M. Wooten, M. Morrissey
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1155
Generally, every several years, heavy amounts of rainfall trigger a large number of debris flows within the central and southern Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States. These types of landslides damage buildings, disrupt infrastructure, and occasionally injure and kill people. One of the first large debris flows was described...
Relations between sinkhole density and anthropogenic contaminants in selected carbonate aquifers in the eastern United States
Bruce D. Lindsey, Brian G. Katz, Marian P. Berndt, Ann F. Ardis, Kenneth A. Skach
2009, Environmental Earth Sciences (60) 1073-1090
The relation between sinkhole density and water quality was investigated in seven selected carbonate aquifers in the eastern United States. Sinkhole density for these aquifers was grouped into high (>25 sinkholes/100 km2), medium (1–25 sinkholes/100 km2), or low (<1 sinkhole/100 km2) categories using a geographical information system that included four independent databases covering...
Simulation of the Regional Ground-Water-Flow System and Ground-Water/Surface-Water Interaction in the Rock River Basin, Wisconsin
Paul F. Juckem
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5094
A regional, two-dimensional, areal ground-water-flow model was developed to simulate the ground-water-flow system and ground-water/surface-water interaction in the Rock River Basin. The model was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Rock River Coalition. The objectives of the regional model were to improve understanding of the...
Characterization of Groundwater Quality Based on Regional Geologic Setting in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge Physiographic Provinces, North Carolina
Stephen L. Harden, Melinda J. Chapman, Douglas A. Harned
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5149
A compilation of groundwater-quality data collected as part of two U.S. Geological Survey studies provides a basis for understanding the ambient geochemistry related to geologic setting in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge Physiographic Provinces (hereafter referred to as Piedmont and Mountains Provinces) of North Carolina. Although the geology is complex,...
Evaluation of hazardous faults in the intermountain west region: Summary and recommendations of a workshop
Anthony J. Crone, Kathleen M. Haller, Joseph Z. Maharrey
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1140
The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) has the responsibility to provide nationwide information and knowledge about earthquakes and earthquake hazards as a step to mitigating earthquake-related losses. As part of this mission, USGS geologists and geophysicists continue to study faults and structures that have the potential to...
Preliminary study of the effect of the proposed Long Lake Valley project operation on the transport of larval suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon
Tamara M. Wood
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1060
A hydrodynamic model of Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, Oregon, was used to explore the effects of the operation of proposed offstream storage at Long Lake Valley on transport of larval suckers through the Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes system during May and June, when larval fish leave spawning sites...
Comparison of ASTER- and AVIRIS-derived mineral and vegetation maps of the White Horse replacement alunite deposit and surrounding area, Marysvale volcanic field, Utah
Barnaby W. Rockwell
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5117
This report presents and compares mineral and vegetation maps of parts of the Marysvale volcanic field in west-central Utah that were published in a recent paper describing the White Horse replacement alunite deposit. Detailed, field-verified maps of the deposit were produced from Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data acquired from...
Ecology of Greater Sage-Grouse in the Bi-State Planning Area Final Report, September 2007
Michael L. Casazza, Cory T. Overton, Melissa A. Farinha, Alicia A. Torregrosa, Joseph P. Fleskes, Michael R. Miller, James S. Sedinger, Eric J. Kolada
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1113
Conservation efforts for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), hereafter sage-grouse, are underway across the range of this species. Over 70 local working groups have been established and are implementing on-the-ground sage-grouse oriented conservation projects. Early on in this process, the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) recognized the need to...
Quality characteristics of ground water in the Ozark aquifer of northwestern Arkansas, southeastern Kansas, southwestern Missouri and northeastern Oklahoma, 2006-07
L. M. Pope, H. E. Mehl, R.L. Coiner
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5093
Because of water quantity and quality concerns within the Ozark aquifer, the State of Kansas in 2004 issued a moratorium on most new appropriations from the aquifer until results were made available from a cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Kansas Water Office. The purposes of the...
The Boring Volcanic Field of the Portland-Vancouver area, Oregon and Washington: Tectonically anomalous forearc volcanism in an urban setting
Russell C. Evarts, Richard M. Conrey, Robert J. Fleck, Jonathan T. Hagstrum
Jim O’Connor, Rebecca Dorsey, Ian P. Madin, editor(s)
2009, Book chapter, Volcanoes to vineyards: Geologic field trips through the dynamic landscape of the Pacific Northwest
More than 80 small volcanoes are scattered throughout the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area of northwestern Oregon and southwestern Washington. These volcanoes constitute the Boring Volcanic Field, which is centered in the Neogene Portland Basin and merges to the east with coeval volcanic centers of the High Cascade volcanic arc. Although the...
Spatial analysis of instream nitrogen loads and factors controlling nitrogen delivery to streams in the southeastern United States using spatially referenced regression on watershed attributes (SPARROW) and regional classification frameworks
Anne B. Hoos, Gerard McMahon
2009, Hydrological Processes (23) 2275-2294
Understanding how nitrogen transport across the landscape varies with landscape characteristics is important for developing sound nitrogen management policies. We used a spatially referenced regression analysis (SPARROW) to examine landscape characteristics influencing delivery of nitrogen from sources in a watershed to stream channels. Modelled landscape delivery ratio varies widely (by...
Effects of the upper Taum Sauk Reservoir embankment breach on the surface-water quality and sediments of the East Fork Black River and the Black River, southeastern Missouri–2006–07
Miya N. Barr
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5111
On December 14, 2005, a 680-foot wide section of the upper reservoir embankment of the Taum Sauk pump-storage hydroelectric powerplant located in Reynolds County, Missouri, suddenly failed. This catastrophic event sent approximately 1.5 billion gallons of water into the Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park and into the East Fork Black River,...
Flood of April 2007 and flood-frequency estimates at streamflow-gaging stations in western Connecticut
Elizabeth A. Ahearn
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5108
A spring nor’easter affected the East Coast of the United States from April 15 to 18, 2007. In Connecticut, rainfall varied from 3 inches to more than 7 inches. The combined effects of heavy rainfall over a short duration, high winds, and high tides led to widespread flooding, storm damage,...
Web-Based Geospatial Tools to Address Hazard Mitigation, Natural Resource Management, and Other Societal Issues
Hearn Jr.
2009, Fact Sheet 2009-3022
Federal, State, and local government agencies in the United States face a broad range of issues on a daily basis. Among these are natural hazard mitigation, homeland security, emergency response, economic and community development, water supply, and health and safety services. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) helps decision makers address...
Map Database for Surficial Materials in the Conterminous United States
David R. Soller, Marith C. Reheis, Christopher P. Garrity, D. R. Van Sistine
2009, Data Series 425
The Earth's bedrock is overlain in many places by a loosely compacted and mostly unconsolidated blanket of sediments in which soils commonly are developed. These sediments generally were eroded from underlying rock, and then were transported and deposited. In places, they exceed 1000 ft (330 m) in thickness. Where the...
Analysis of Effects of 2003 and Full-Allocation Withdrawals in Critical Area 1, East-Central New Jersey
Frederick J. Spitz
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1104
Critical Area 1 in east-central New Jersey was mandated in the early 1980s to address large drawdowns caused by increases in groundwater withdrawals. The aquifers involved include the Englishtown aquifer system, Wenonah-Mount Laurel aquifer, and the Upper and Middle Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifers. Groundwater levels recovered as a result of mandated cutbacks...
Water Resources and Natural Gas Production from the Marcellus Shale
Daniel J. Soeder, William M. Kappel
2009, Fact Sheet 2009-3032
The Marcellus Shale is a sedimentary rock formation deposited over 350 million years ago in a shallow inland sea located in the eastern United States where the present-day Appalachian Mountains now stand (de Witt and others, 1993). This shale contains significant quantities of natural gas. New developments in drilling technology,...
Surficial geologic map of the Evansville, Indiana, and Henderson, Kentucky, area
David W. Moore, Scott C. Lundstrom, Ronald C. Counts, Steven L. Martin, William M. Andrews Jr., Wayne L. Newell, Michael L. Murphy, Mark F. Thompson, Emily M. Taylor, Erik P. Kvale, Theodore R. Brandt
2009, Scientific Investigations Map 3069
The geologic map of the Evansville, Indiana, and Henderson, Kentucky, area depicts and describes surficial deposits according to their origin and age. Unconsolidated alluvium and outwash fill the Ohio River bedrock valley and attain maximum thickness of 33-39 m under Diamond Island, Kentucky, and Griffith Slough, south of Newburgh, Indiana....
Cone penetration test and soil boring at the Bayside Groundwater Project Site in San Lorenzo, Alameda County, California
Michael J. Bennett, Michelle Sneed, Thomas E. Noce, John C. Tinsley III
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1050
Aquifer-system deformation associated with ground-water-level changes is being investigated cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) at the Bayside Groundwater Project (BGP) near the modern San Francisco Bay shore in San Lorenzo, California. As a part of this project, EBMUD has proposed...
Continuous Turbidity Monitoring in the Indian Creek Watershed, Tazewell County, Virginia, 2006-08
Douglas Moyer, Kenneth Hyer
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5085
Thousands of miles of natural gas pipelines are installed annually in the United States. These pipelines commonly cross streams, rivers, and other water bodies during pipeline construction. A major concern associated with pipelines crossing water bodies is increased sediment loading and the subsequent impact to the ecology of the aquatic...
Geological processes and sedimentation rates of wind-tidal flats, Laguna Madre, Texas
Robert A Morton, Charles W. Holmes
2009, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions (59) 519-538
Coastal flats worldwide that are periodically exposed to arid climates and periodically flooded by marine waters are unique depositional environments because they receive sediments surficially and interstitially from both land and sea. The wind-tidal flats bordering Laguna Madre, Texas, which fit this unique category, are modified by eolian processes...
Simulation of Variable-Density Ground-Water Flow and Saltwater Intrusion beneath Manhasset Neck, Nassau County, New York, 1905-2005
Jack Monti Jr., Paul E. Misut, Ronald Busciolano
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5166
The coastal-aquifer system of Manhasset Neck, Nassau County, New York, has been stressed by pumping, which has led to saltwater intrusion and the abandonment of one public-supply well in 1944. Measurements of chloride concentrations and water levels in 2004 from the deep, confined aquifers indicate active saltwater intrusion in response...
Geologic Map of the Yukon-Koyukuk Basin, Alaska
William W. Patton Jr., Frederic H. Wilson, Keith A. Labay, Nora B. Shew
2009, Scientific Investigations Map 2909
This map and accompanying digital files represent part of a systematic effort to release geologic data for the United States in a uniform manner. All the geologic data in this series will be published as parts of the U.S. Geological Survey Data Series. The geologic data in this series have...
Methods of Mmax Estimation East of the Rocky Mountains
Russell L. Wheeler
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1018
Several methods have been used to estimate the magnitude of the largest possible earthquake (Mmax) in parts of the Central and Eastern United States and adjacent Canada (CEUSAC). Each method has pros and cons. The largest observed earthquake in a specified area provides an unarguable lower bound on Mmax in...
