Understanding the captivity effect on invertebrate communities transplanted into an experimental stream laboratory
Travis S. Schmidt, Holly Rogers, Janet L. Miller, Christopher A. Mebane, Laurie S. Balistrieri
2018, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (37) 2820-2834
Little is known about how design and testing methodologies affect the macroinvertebrate communities that are held captive in mesocosms. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a 32‐d test to determine how seeded invertebrate communities changed once removed from the natural stream and introduced to the laboratory. We evaluated larvae...
Timing and genesis of ore formation in the Qarachilar Cu-Mo-Au deposit, Ahar-Arasbaran metallogenic zone, NW Iran: Evidence from geology, fluid inclusions, O–S isotopes and Re–Os geochronology
Hossein Kouhestani, Mir Ali Asghar Mokhtari, Zhaoshan Chang, Holly J. Stein, Craig A. Johnson
2018, Ore Geology Reviews (102) 757-775
In the Qarachilar Cu-Mo-Au deposit of the Ahar–Arasbaran metallogenic zone (AAMZ), northwest Iran, mineralization occurs as three quartz-sulfide veins that cut granodiorite-quartz monzodiorite rocks of the Qaradagh batholith (QDB). Ore formation can be divided into three stages, with chalcopyrite, molybdenite, and gold-bearing pyrite appearing mainly in the first two stages....
Concentrations of nutrients at the water table beneath forage fields receiving seasonal applications of manure, Whatcom County, Washington, autumn 2011–spring 2015
Stephen E. Cox, Andrew R. Spanjer, Raegan L. Huffman, Robert W. Black, Jack E. Barbash, Nichole M. Embertson
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5124
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Whatcom Conservation District (WCD), collected groundwater-quality data for roughly 3 years (October 2011–May 2015) from near the water table beneath forage fields receiving regular seasonal applications of liquid dairy manure in Whatcom County, Washington. The work was done as part of...
Determination of representative uranium and selenium concentrations from groundwater, 2016, Homestake Mining Company Superfund site, Milan, New Mexico
Philip T. Harte, Johanna M. Blake, Kent Becher
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1055
In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, collected data on isotopes, age dating, and geochemistry including aqueous uranium concentrations of samples from 20 locations in the vicinity of the Homestake Mining Company Superfund site near Milan, New Mexico. The 20 sampled locations include...
Distribution of mining-related trace elements in streambed and flood-plain sediment along the middle Big River and tributaries in the Southeast Missouri Barite District, 2012–15
David C. Smith, John G. Schumacher
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5103
Lead mining first began in the Big River watershed during the 1700s. Lead was the primary metal mined throughout most of the 1700s and early 1800s and it continued to be mined until the mid-1900s. Barite mining began in the middle part of the watershed in the mid- to late...
The Central African Republic Diamond Database—A geodatabase of archival diamond occurrences and areas of recent artisanal and small-scale diamond mining
Jessica D. DeWitt, Peter G. Chirico, Sarah E. Bergstresser, Inga E. Clark
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1088
The alluvial diamond deposits of the Central African Republic (CAR) are mined almost exclusively by way of informal artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) methods. ASM sites range in diameter from a few meters to 30 meters or more, and are typically excavated by crews of diggers using hand tools, sieves,...
Bedrock mapping and seismic hazard assessment at Gold Basin landslide, Washington
Lydia M. Staisch
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1132
The Gold Basin landslide is located along the South Fork Stillaguamish River, within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in western Washington State. Recent concerns related to slope stability after the 2014 State Route 530 Landslide near Oso, Washington, forced the closure of the U.S. Forest Service Gold Basin Campground in...
Global and Arctic climate sensitivity enhanced by changes in North Pacific heat flux
Summer K. Praetorius, Maria A. Rugenstein, Geeta Persad, Ken Caldeira
2018, Nature Communications (9) 1-12
Arctic amplification is a consequence of surface albedo, cloud, and temperature feedbacks, as well as poleward oceanic and atmospheric heat transport. However, the relative impact of changes in sea surface temperature (SST) patterns and ocean heat flux sourced from different regions on Arctic temperatures are not well constrained. We modify...
A critical time for mercury science to inform global policy
Celia Y. Chen, Charles T. Driscoll, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Chris S. Eckley, David A. Gay, Heileen Hsu-Kim, S. E. Keane, Jane L. Kirk, Robert Mason, Daniel Obrist, Henrik Selin, Noelle Selin, Marcella R. Thompson
2018, Environmental Science & Technology (52) 9556-9561
Mercury is a global pollutant released into the biosphere by varied human activities including coal combustion, mining, artisanal gold mining, cement production, and chemical production. Once released to air, land and water, the addition of carbon atoms to mercury by bacteria...
Carving Grand Canyon’s inner gorge: A test of steady incision versus rapid knickzone migration
Ryan S. Crow, Karl E. Karlstrom, Laura J. Crossey, Victor Polyak, Yemane Asmerom, William C. McIntosh
2018, Geosphere (14) 1-17
A recent study posits that much of the 240-m-deep inner gorge of Grand Canyon was carved between 500 and 400 ka via passage of a migrating knickzone with incision rates of ~1600 m/Ma during that time period; this was based on dating of a ca. 500 ka travertine deposit perched...
Geochemistry and microbiology of groundwater and solids from extraction and monitoring wells and their relation to well efficiency at a Federally operated confined disposal facility, East Chicago, Indiana
Randall E. Bayless, Travis R. Cole, David C. Lampe, R.E. Travis, Marjorie S. Schulz, Paul M. Buszka
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5073
In cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District, the U.S. Geological Survey investigated the processes affecting water quality, geochemistry, and microbiology in representative extraction and monitoring wells at a confined disposal facility (CDF) in East Chicago, Indiana. The CDF is a 140-acre Federally-managed facility that was the...
Cadmium isotope fractionation during coal combustion: Insights from two U.S. coal-fired power plants
Fotio Fouskas, Ma Lin, Mark A. Engle, Leslie F. Ruppert, Nicholas J. Geboy, Matthew A. Costa
2018, Applied Geochemistry (96) 100-112
Coal combustion, one of the principal energy sources of electricity in the United States, produces over 100 million tons of coal combustion products (CCPs) per year in the U.S. The reuse and disposal of CCPs has the potential to release toxic trace elements, including cadmium (Cd), into the environment. In this study,...
Outburst floods provide erodability estimates consistent with long-term landscape evolution
Daniel Garcia-Castellanos, Jim E. O'Connor
2018, Scientific Reports (8) 1-9
Most current models for the landscape evolution over geological timescales are based on semi-empirical laws that consider riverbed incision proportional to rock erodability (dependent on lithology) and to the work performed by water flow (stream power). However, the erodability values obtained from these models are entangled with poorly known conditions...
Estimates of water use and trends in the Colorado River Basin, Southwestern United States, 1985–2010
Molly A. Maupin, Tamara I. Ivahnenko, Breton Bruce
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5049
The Colorado River Basin (CRB) drains 246,000 square miles and includes parts of California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, and all of Arizona (Basin States). This report contains water-use estimates by category of use for drainage basins (Hydrologic Unit Code 8; HUC‑8) within the CRB from 1985...
Quantifying anthropogenic contributions to century-scale groundwater salinity changes, San Joaquin Valley, California, USA
Jeffrey A. Hansen, Bryant Jurgens, Miranda S. Fram
2018, Science of the Total Environment (642) 125-136
Total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations in groundwater tapped for beneficial uses (drinking water, irrigation, freshwater industrial) have increased on average by about 100 mg/L over the last 100 years in the San Joaquin Valley, California (SJV). During this period land use in the SJV changed from natural vegetation and dryland...
Global and local sources of mercury deposition in coastal New England reconstructed from a multi-proxy, high-resolution, estuarine sediment record
William. F Fitzgerald, Daniel R Engstrom, Chad Hammerschmidt, Carl Lamborg, Prentiss Balcom, Ana Lima-Braun, Michael H. Bothner, Christopher M. Reddy
2018, Environmental Science & Technology (52) 7614-7620
Historical reconstruction of mercury (Hg) accumulation in natural archives, especially lake sediments, has been essential to understanding human perturbation of the global Hg cycle. Here we present a high-resolution chronology of Hg accumulation between 1727 and 1996 in a varved sediment...
Surface-water quality in the Lycoming Creek watershed, north-central Pennsylvania, August 1–3, 2011
Dennis W. Risser, Matthew D. Conlon
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5154
This report presents the methodology and results for a study of surface-water quality of the Lycoming Creek watershed in north-central Pennsylvania during August 1–3, 2011. The study was done in cooperation with the Williamsport Municipal Water Authority and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Samples of stream water were collected...
Uranium concentrations in groundwater, northeastern Washington
Sue C. Kahle, Wendy B. Welch, Alison E. Tecca, Devin M. Eliason
2018, Scientific Investigations Map 3401
A study of uranium in groundwater in northeastern Washington was conducted to make a preliminary assessment of naturally occurring uranium in groundwater relying on existing information and limited reconnaissance sampling. Naturally occurring uranium is associated with granitic and metasedimentary rocks, as well as younger sedimentary deposits, that occur in this...
Compilation of new and previously published geochemical and modal data for Mesoproterozoic igneous rocks of the St. Francois Mountains, southeast Missouri
Edward A. du Bray, Warren C. Day, Corey J. Meighan
2018, Data Series 1080
The purpose of this report is to present recently acquired as well as previously published geochemical and modal petrographic data for igneous rocks in the St. Francois Mountains, southeast Missouri, as part of an ongoing effort to understand the regional geology and ore deposits of the Mesoproterozoic basement rocks of...
Climate stability in Central Anatolia during the Messinian Salinity Crisis
Maud J.M. Meijers, Ahmet A Peynircioglu, Michael A. Cosca, Gilles Y. Brocard, Donna L. Whitney, Cor G. Langereis, Andreas Mulch
2018, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (498) 53-67
Deposition of large amounts of evaporites and erosion of deep canyons within the Mediterranean Basin as a result of reduced basin connectivity with the Atlantic Ocean and the epicontinental Paratethys Sea characterized the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC, 5.97–5.33 Ma). The influence of the MSC on Mediterranean environmental conditions within the basin itself...
In situ LA-ICPMS U–Pb dating of cassiterite without a known-age matrix-matched reference material: Examples from worldwide tin deposits spanning the Proterozoic to the Tertiary
Leonid A. Neymark, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Richard J. Moscati
2018, Chemical Geology (483) 410-425
Cassiterite (SnO2), a main ore mineral in tin deposits, is suitable for U–Pb isotopic dating because of its relatively high U/Pb ratios and typically low common Pb. We report a LA-ICPMS analytical procedure for U–Pb dating of this mineral with no need for an independently dated matrix-matched cassiterite standard....
New geologic mapping of the northwestern Willamette Valley, Oregon, and its American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)—A foundation for understanding their terroir
Ray E. Wells, Ralph A. Haugerud, Alan Niem, Wendy Niem, Lina Ma, Ian Madin, Russell C. Evarts
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1044
A geologic map of the greater Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area is planned that will document the region’s complex geology (currently in review: “Geologic map of the greater Portland metropolitan area and surrounding region, Oregon and Washington,” by Wells, R.E., Haugerud, R.A., Niem, A., Niem, W., Ma, L., Evarts, R., Madin,...
Hydrologic assessment and numerical simulation of groundwater flow, San Juan Mine, San Juan County, New Mexico, 2010–13
Anne M. Stewart
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5155
Coal combustion byproducts (CCBs), which are composed of fly ash, bottom ash, and flue gas desulfurization material, produced at the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station (SJGS), located in San Juan County, New Mexico, have been buried in former surface-mine pits at the San Juan Mine, also referred to as the...
Computational fluid dynamics simulations of the Late Pleistocene Lake Bonneville flood
Jose M. Abril-Hernandez, Raul Perianez, Jim E. O'Connor, Daniel Garcia-Castellanos
2018, Journal of Hydrology (561) 1-15
At approximately 18.0 ka, pluvial Lake Bonneville reached its maximum level. At its northeastern extent it was impounded by alluvium of the Marsh Creek Fan, which breached at some point north of Red Rock Pass (Idaho), leading to one of the largest floods on Earth. About 5320 km3 of water was discharged into...
Monogenetic origin of Ubehebe Crater maar volcano, Death Valley, California: Paleomagnetic and stratigraphic evidence
Duane E. Champion, Andrew J. Cyr, Judith Fierstein, Edward Hildreth
2018, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (354) 67-73
Paleomagnetic data for samples collected from outcrops of basaltic spatter at the Ubehebe Crater cluster, Death Valley National Park, California, record a single direction of remanent magnetization indicating that these materials were emplaced during a short duration, monogenetic eruption sequence ~ 2100 years ago. This conclusion is supported by geochemical data encompassing a narrow...
