Alaska Volcano Observatory
Dina Y. Venezky, Tom Murray, Cyrus Read
2008, General Information Product 79
Steam plume from the 2006 eruption of Augustine volcano in Cook Inlet, Alaska. Explosive ash-producing eruptions from Alaska's 40+ historically active volcanoes pose hazards to aviation, including commercial aircraft flying the busy North Pacific routes between North America and Asia. The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) monitors these volcanoes to provide...
Survival and migration behavior of juvenile coho salmon in the Klamath River relative to discharge at Iron Gate Dam, Northern California, 2007
John W. Beeman, Greg Stutzer, Steve Juhnke, Nicholas Hetrick
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1332
This report describes a study of survival and migration behavior of juvenile coho salmon in the Klamath River relative to discharge at Iron Gate Dam in 2006. This was the second year of a multi-year study with the goal of determining the effects of discharge at Iron Gate Dam on...
Cascades Volcano Observatory
Dina Y. Venezky, Carolyn Driedger, John Pallister
2008, General Information Product 75
Washington's Mount St. Helens volcano reawakens explosively on October 1, 2004, after 18 years of quiescence. Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey's Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) study and observe Mount St. Helens and other volcanoes of the Cascade Range in Washington, Oregon, and northern California that hold potential for future...
Volcano Hazards Program
Dina Y. Venezky, Bobbie Myers, Carolyn Driedger
2008, General Information Product 74
Diagram of common volcano hazards. The U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program (VHP) monitors unrest and eruptions at U.S. volcanoes, assesses potential hazards, responds to volcanic crises, and conducts research on how volcanoes work. When conditions change at a monitored volcano, the VHP issues public advisories and warnings to alert...
A Protocol for Aging Anurans Using Skeletochronology
Brome McCreary, Christopher A. Pearl, M. J. Adams
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1209
Age distribution information can be an important part of understanding the biology of any population. Age estimates collected from the annual growth rings found in tooth and bone cross sections, often referred to as Lines of Arrested Growth (LAGs), have been used in the study of various animals. In this...
Long Valley Observatory
Dina Y. Venezky, David Hill
2008, General Information Product 78
The ~300-year-old lava on Paoha Island in Mono Lake was produced by the most recent eruption in the Long Valley Caldera area in east-central California. The Long Valley Caldera was formed by a massive volcanic eruption 760,000 years ago. The region is monitored by the Long Valley Observatory (LVO), one...
Seismic hazard mapping of California incorporating spatial variability of site conditions
Erol Kalkan, Chris J. Wills, David M. Branum
2008, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the Third Conference on Earthquake Hazards in the Eastern San Francisco Bay Area: Science, hazard, engineering and risk
The U.S. Geological Survey has recently released a 2008 version of the probabilistic National Seismic Hazard Maps. These maps plot the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration (SA) ordinates at 0.2 and 1.0 sec with 2% and 10% probabilities of being exceeded in 50 years, corresponding to earthquake return...
Status and needs for seismic instrumentation of structures along the Hayward fault
Erol Kalkan, Mehmet Çelebi
2008, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the Third Conference on Earthquake Hazards in the Eastern San Francisco Bay Area: Science, hazard, engineering and risk
The inventory of structures in heavily urbanized communities within the greater San Francisco (SF) Bay area that will experience strong ground motions from the rupture of the Hayward Fault includes a variety of types of recent and older structures built with a variety of materials and to different code standards....
Understanding contaminants associated with mineral deposits
Philip L. Verplanck
2008, Circular 1328
Interdisciplinary studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have resulted in substantial progress in understanding the processes that controlthe release of metals and acidic water from inactive mines and mineralized areas,the transport of metals and acidic water to streams, andthe fate and effect of metals and acidity on downstream ecosystems.The...
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Seismic Data, January to December 2007
Jennifer S. Nakata, Paul G. Okubo
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1261
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) summary presents seismic data gathered during the year. The seismic summary is offered without interpretation as a source of preliminary data and is complete in that most data for events of M=1.5 are included. All latitude and longitude references in this...
The Significance of Accounting Order for Evapotranspiration and Recharge in Monthly and Daily Threshold-Type Water Budgets
Delwyn S. Oki
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5163
Most threshold-type water-budget models account for the loss of water by evapotranspiration before accounting for recharge. Recharge estimates can differ substantially, depending on whether recharge is counted before or after evapotranspiration in the water budget. This disparity is the source of uncertainty and is most pronounced for areas where soil-moisture...
Pliocene Invertebrates From the Travertine Point Outcrop of the Imperial Formation, Imperial County, California
Charles L. Powell II
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5155
Forty-four invertebrate taxa, including one coral, 40 mollusks (30 bivalves and 10 gastropods), and three echinoids are recognized from a thin marine interval of the Imperial Formation near Travertine Point, Imperial County, California. The Travertine Point outcrop lies about midway between exposures of the Imperial Formation around Palm Springs, Riverside...
The Virtual Data Center Tagged-Format Tool: Introduction and executive summary
John R. Evans, Melinda Squibb, Christopher D. Stephens, W.U. Savage, Hamid Haddadi, Charles A. Kircher, Mahmoud M. Hachem
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1327
This Report introduces and summarizes the new Virtual Data Center (VDC) Tagged Format (VTF) Tool, which was developed by a diverse group of seismologists, earthquake engineers, and information technology professionals for internal use by the COSMOS VDC and other interested parties for the exchange, archiving, and analysis of earthquake strong-ground-motion...
Geochemical trends and natural attenuation of RDX, nitrate, and perchlorate in the hazardous test area Fractured-Granite aquifer, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, 1996-2006
Jeff B. Langman, Andrew J. Robertson, Jamar Bynum, Fredrick E. Gebhardt
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5157
A fractured-granite aquifer at White Sands Missile Range is contaminated with the explosive compound RDX, nitrate, and perchlorate (oxidizer associated with rocket propellant) from the previous use of the Open Burn/Open Detonation site at the Hazardous Test Area. RDX, nitrate, and perchlorate ground-water concentrations were analyzed to examine source characteristics, spatial...
Geologic assessment of undiscovered gas resources of the Eastern Oregon and Washington Province
2008, Data Series 69-O
The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geology-based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States, focusing on the distribution, quantity, and availability of oil and natural gas resources. The USGS...
Preliminary Stratigraphic Cross Sections of Oil Shale in the Eocene Green River Formation, Uinta Basin, Utah
John R. Dyni
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1220
Oil shale units in the Eocene Green River Formation are shown on two east-west stratigraphic sections across the Uinta Basin in northeastern Utah. Several units have potential value for recovery of shale oil, especially the Mahogany oil shale zone, which is a high grade oil shale that can be traced...
Coastal circulation and sediment dynamics in Hanalei Bay, Kaua'i. Part IV: Measurements of waves, currents, temperature, salinity, and turbidity: June-September 2006
Curt D. Storlazzi, M. Katherine Presto, Joshua B. Logan, Michael E. Field
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1295
High-resolution measurements of waves, currents, water levels, temperature, salinity and turbidity were made in Hanalei Bay, northern Kaua'i, Hawai'i, during the summer of 2006 to better understand coastal circulation, sediment dynamics, and the potential impact of a river flood in a coral reef-lined embayment during quiescent summer conditions. A series...
First in situ investigation of a dark wind streak on Mars
Paul E. Geissler, J.R. Johnson, R. Sullivan, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, K Mittlefeldt, Robin L. Fergason, D. W. Ming, R. I. G. Morrison, S. W. Squyres, Laurence A. Soderblom, M. P. Golombek
2008, Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets (113)
[1] Prominent low-albedo wind streaks issue from embayments at the north end of Victoria crater in Meridiani Planum, the site of surface investigations by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Opportunity was sent to examine the darkest of these wind streaks and compare it to the adjacent...
Toward implementation of a national ground water monitoring network
Robert P. Schreiber, William L. Cunningham, Rick Copeland, Kevin D. Frederick
2008, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation, WEFTEC 2008
The Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information's (ACWI) Subcommittee on Ground Water (SOGW) has been working steadily to develop and encourage implementation of a nationwide, long-term ground-water quantity and quality monitoring framework. Significant progress includes the planned submission this fall of a draft framework document to the full committee. The...
Ground-Water Conditions and Studies in the Brunswick-Glynn County Area, Georgia, 2007
Gregory S. Cherry, John S. Clarke
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1297
The Upper Floridan aquifer is contaminated with saltwater in a 2-square-mile area of downtown Brunswick, Georgia. This contamination has limited the development of the ground-water supply in the Glynn County area. Hydrologic, geologic, and water-quality data are needed to effectively manage water resources. Since 1959, the U.S. Geological Survey has...
Water-Quality Characteristics of Ledge Creek and Holman Creek Upstream from Lake Rogers, Granville County, North Carolina, 2005 and 2008
Stephen L. Harden, Mary J. Giorgino
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1319
Water-quality and hydrologic data were collected during 2005 and 2008 to characterize potential source areas of nutrients and sediment within the Ledge and Holman Creek watersheds upstream from Lake Rogers in Granville County, North Carolina. Eight monitoring locations were established in all--five in Holman Creek and three in Ledge Creek--for...
Nutrient Loading and Algal Response in West Thompson Lake, Thompson, Connecticut, 2003-2005
Jonathan Morrison, Michael J. Colombo
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5072
Water quality and nutrient loads were characterized for parts of the Quinebaug River and West Thompson Lake in northeastern Connecticut during 2003 to 2005. The West Thompson Lake watershed is a mainly forested watershed that receives treated municipal wastewater from several point sources in Massachusetts. The lake is a flood-control...
Assessment of gas hydrate resources on the North Slope, Alaska, 2008
Timothy S. Collett, Warren F. Agena, Myung W. Lee, Margarita V. Zyrianova, Kenneth J. Bird, Ronald R. Charpentier, Troy Cook, David W. Houseknecht, Timothy R. Klett, Richard M. Pollastro, Christopher J. Schenk
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3073
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed the first assessment of the undiscovered technically recoverable gas-hydrate resources on the North Slope of Alaska. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS estimates that there are about 85 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas resources within gas hydrates in...
Geophysical Logs, Aquifer Tests, and Water Levels in Wells in and Near the North Penn Area 7 Superfund Site, Upper Gwynedd Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 2002-2006
Lisa A. Senior, Randall W. Conger, Philip H. Bird
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5154
Ground water in the vicinity of several industrial facilities in Upper Gwynedd Township and Lansdale Borough, Montgomery County, Pa., is contaminated with several volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The 2-square-mile area was placed on the National Priorities List as the North Penn Area 7 Superfund Site by the U.S. Environmental Protection...
A Brief Test of the Tokyo Sokushin VSE-355G3 Strong Motion Velocity Seismometer
Charles R. Hutt, John R. Evans, Isamu Yokoi
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1311
The VSE-355G3 seismometer is a broadband seismometer (called a 'servo velocity meter' by Tokyo Sokushin) with a specified clip level of 2 m/s and a flat response to earth velocity from 0.008 Hertz (Hz) to 70 Hz. Mr. Yokoi and Mr. Kurahashi of Tokyo Sokushin shipped one instrument to the...
