Two-dimensional seismic velocities and structural variations at three British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) dam sites, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Rufus D. Catchings, Kofi O. Addo, Mark R. Goldman, Joanne H. Chan, Robert R. Sickler, Coyn J. Criley
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1015
SummaryIn June, 2017, we acquired seismic data along five linear profiles at three British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro, a Canadian provincial Crown Corporation) dam sites (John Hart, Ladore, and Strathcona Dams) on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. We also attempted to acquire linear seismic profiles at two...
Arizona hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus triglochidiatus var. arizonicus)—A systematic data assessment in support of recovery
Kathryn A. Thomas, Daniel F. Shryock, Todd Esque
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1004
The Arizona hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus triglochidiatus var. arizonicus) is endemic to central Arizona in Gila and Pinal Counties, and has been federally listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) since 1979. Mining, mineral exploration, and highway development have resulted in habitat degradation and loss of...
Geologic map of the Hartsel Quadrangle, Park County, Colorado
Peter E. Barkmann, Karen J. Houck, Marieke Dechesne, Jonathan R. Lovekin, Erinn P. Johnson
2019, Open-File Report 17-04
The Hartsel quadrangle sits nearly in the center of the complex South Park Laramide structural basin. Generally, the basin can be described as an asymmetrical down-faulted feature, dipping to the east. It is bounded by two northwest-trending uplifts: the Sawatch uplift to the west and the Front Range uplift to...
Bridge scour countermeasure assessments at select bridges in the United States, 2016–18
Taylor J. Dudunake, Richard J. Huizinga, Ryan L. Fosness
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1008
In 2009, the Federal Highway Administration published Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 23 (HEC-23) to provide specific design and implementation guidelines for bridge scour and stream instability countermeasures. However, the effectiveness of countermeasures implemented over the past decade following those guidelines has not been evaluated. Therefore, in 2013, the U.S....
Planetary geologic mapping—Program status and future needs
James A. Skinner Jr., Alexandra E. Huff, Corey M. Fortezzo, Tenielle Gaither, Trent M. Hare, Marc A. Hunter, Holly Buban
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1012
The United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) Planetary Geologic Map Coordination Group (Flagstaff, Ariz.) surveyed planetary geoscience map makers and users to determine the importance, relevance, and usability of such products to their planetary science research and to current and future needs of the planetary science community. This survey was...
Shallow geology, sea-floor texture, and physiographic zones of the inner continental shelf from Aquinnah to Wasque Point, Martha’s Vineyard, and Eel Point to Great Point, Nantucket, Massachusetts
Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Wayne E. Baldwin, Seth D. Ackerman, David S. Foster, Brian D. Andrews, William C. Schwab, Laura L. Brothers
2019, Open-File Report 2018-1181
A series of interpretive maps that describe the shallow geology, distribution, and texture of sea-floor sediments, and physiographic zones of the sea floor along the south and west shores of Martha’s Vineyard and the north shore of Nantucket, Massachusetts, were produced by using high-resolution geophysical data (interferometric and multibeam swath...
Coagulant and sorbent efficacy in removing mercury from surface waters in the Cache Creek watershed, California
Erica R. De Parsia, Jacob A. Fleck, David P. Krabbenhoft, Kim Hoang, David A. Roth, Paul Randall
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1001
Cache Creek drains part of northern California’s Coast Ranges and is an important source of mercury (Hg) to the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. Cache Creek is contaminated with Hg from several sources, including historical Hg and gold mines, native Hg in the soils, and active mineral springs. In laboratory experiments in...
Evaluation of recommended revisions to Bulletin 17B
Timothy A. Cohn, Nancy A. Barth, John F. England Jr., Beth A. Faber, Robert R. Mason, Jr., Jery R. Stedinger
2019, Open-File Report 2017-1064
For the past 36 years, Bulletin 17B, published by the Interagency Committee on Water Data in 1982, has guided flood-frequency analyses in the United States. During this period, much has been learned about both hydrology and statistical methods. In keeping with the tradition of periodically updating the Bulletin 17B guidelines...
Evaluation of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) fry survival at Lookout Point Reservoir, western Oregon, 2017
Tobias J. Kock, Russell W. Perry, Gabriel S. Hansen, Philip V. Haner, Adam C. Pope, John M. Plumb, Karen M. Cogliati, Amy C. Hansen
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1011
A field study was conducted to estimate survival of fry-sized juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in Lookout Point Reservoir, western Oregon, during 2017. The field study consisted of releasing three groups of genetically marked fish in the reservoir and monthly fish sampling. Fish were released during April 18–19 (43,950...
Assessing causes of mortality for endangered juvenile Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) in mesocosms in Upper Klamath Lake, south-central Oregon, 2016
Danielle M. Hereford, Carla M. Conway, Summer M. Burdick, Diane G. Elliott, Todd M. Perry, Amari Dolan-Caret, Alta C. Harris
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1006
Executive SummaryThe recovery of endangered Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) in Upper Klamath Lake, south-central Oregon, has been impeded because juveniles are not recruiting into adult spawning populations. Adult sucker populations spawn each spring but mortality of age-0 suckers during their first summer is excessively high, and recruitment of...
Design and methods of the U.S. Geological Survey Northeast Stream Quality Assessment (NESQA), 2016
James F. Coles, Karen Riva-Murray, Peter C. Van Metre, Daniel T. Button, Amanda H. Bell, Sharon L. Qi, Celeste A. Journey, Rich W. Sheibley
2019, Open-File Report 2018-1183
During 2016, as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project (NAWQA), the U.S. Geological Survey conducted the Northeast Stream Quality Assessment (NESQA) to investigate stream quality in the northeastern United States. The goal of the NESQA was to assess the health of wadeable streams in the region by characterizing multiple...
Demographic responses of least terns and piping plovers to the 2011 Missouri River flood—A large-scale case study
Michael J. Anteau, Mark H. Sherfy, Terry L. Shaffer, Rose J. Swift, Dustin L. Toy, Colin M. Dovichin
2019, Open-File Report 2018-1176
A catastrophic flood event on the Missouri River system in 2011 led to substantial changes in abundance and distribution of unvegetated sand habitat. This river system is a major component of the breeding range for interior Least terns (Sternula antillarum; “terns”) and piping plovers (Charadrius melodus; “plovers”), both of which...
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2017 annual report
Linda Zeigenfuss, Ellen Aikens, Cameron L. Aldridge, Patrick J. Anderson, Timothy J. Assal, Zachary H. Bowen, Anna D. Chalfoun, Geneva W. Chong, Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller, Stephen S. Germaine, Tabitha A. Graves, Collin G. Homer, Christopher Huber, Aaron N. Johnston, Matthew J. Kauffman, Daniel J. Manier, Ryan R. McShane, Kirk A. Miller, Adrian P. Monroe, Anna Ortega, Annika W. Walters, Teal B. Wyckoff
2019, Open-File Report 2018-1188
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) was established in 2008 to address the scientific and conservation questions associated with land use changes because of energy development and other factors in southwest Wyoming. Over the past decade, partners from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), State and Federal land management agencies, universities, and...
Contaminant baselines and sediment provenance along the Puget Sound Energy Transport Corridor, 2015
Renee K. Takesue, Pamela L. Campbell
2019, Open-File Report 2018-1196
The transport of coal and oil can result in contaminated soil, water, and organisms from unintended releases. Trains carrying coal and crude oil regularly pass through Puget Sound, Washington, and an increase in the number of coal and oil trains is expected in the future. This study characterized levels of...
Optimization of salt marsh management at the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware, through use of structured decision making
Hilary A. Neckles, James E. Lyons, Jessica L. Nagel, Susan C. Adamowicz, Toni Mikula, Susan T. Guiteras, Laura R. Mitchell
2019, Open-File Report 2018-1160
Structured decision making is a systematic, transparent process for improving the quality of complex decisions by identifying measurable management objectives and feasible management actions; predicting the potential consequences of management actions relative to the stated objectives; and selecting a course of action that maximizes the total benefit achieved and balances...
Establishment of a vertical control network along the St. Croix River in New Brunswick and Maine
Pamela J. Lombard
2019, Open-File Report 2013-1236
Consistent elevations at stable benchmarks, referenced to a common datum, are important for measuring and comparing water levels and for computing flows throughout a watershed. Elevations are presented for 38 control points within the St. Croix River watershed, mostly along the main stem of the St. Croix River. Vertical control...
Analysis of groundwater response to tidal fluctuations, Operable Unit 1, Naval Base Kitsap, Keyport, Washington
Chad C. Opatz, Richard S. Dinicola
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1098
Chlorinated volatile organic compounds have affected groundwater beneath a former 9-acre landfill at Operable Unit 1 (OU 1) of Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) Keyport, in Keyport, Washington. The landfill was the primary disposal area for domestic and industrial waste generated by NBK Keyport from the 1930s through 1973. Naval Facilities...
A practical primer on geostatistics
Ricardo A. Olea
2018, Open-File Report 2009-1103
IntroductionThe Challenge—Most geological phenomena are extraordinarily complex in their interrelationships and vast in their geographical extension. Ordinarily, engineers and geoscientists are faced with corporate or scientific requirements to properly prepare geological models with measurements involving a small fraction of the entire area or volume of interest. Exact description of a...
Batrachochytrium salamandriovrans (Bsal) in Appalachia—Using scenario building to proactively prepare for a wildlife disease outbreak caused by an invasive amphibian chytrid fungus
M. Camille Hopkins, M. J. Adams, P.E. Super, D.H. Olson, C.R. Hickman, P. English, L. Sprague, I.B. Maska, A.B. Pennaz, K. A. Ludwig
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1150
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), a pathogenic chytrid fungus, is nonnative to the United States and poses a disease threat to vulnerable amphibian hosts. The Bsal fungus may lead to increases in threatened, endangered, and sensitive status listings at State, Tribal, and Federal levels, resulting in financial costs associated with implementing the...
Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) version 5.0 user guide
Emily A. Himmelstoss, Rachel E. Henderson, Meredith G. Kratzmann, Amy S. Farris
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1179
OverviewThe Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) is a freely available software application that works within the Esri Geographic Information System (ArcGIS) software. DSAS computes rate-of-change statistics for a time series of shoreline vector data. DSAS version 5.0 (v5.0) was released in December 2018 and has been tested for compatibility with...
Geologic map and database of the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range, Riverside and Imperial Counties, California
Robert E. Powell, Robert J. Fleck, Pamela M. Cossette
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1191
The northwest-trending Chocolate Mountains are situated along the northeastern margin of the southern Salton Trough. The Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range occupies most of the 75-km-long part of the Chocolate Mountains that lies between Salt Creek to the north and California State Highway 78 to the south. Mapping studies in...
On the potential duration of the aftershock sequence of the 2018 Anchorage earthquake
Andrew J. Michael
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1195
Currently, an aftershock sequence is ongoing in Alaska after the magnitude 7.0 Anchorage earthquake of November 30, 2018. Using two scenarios, determined with observations as of December 14, 2018, this report estimates that it will take between 2.5 years and 3 decades before the rate of aftershocks decays...
How and why Upper Colorado River Basin land, water, and fire managers choose to use drought tools (or not)
Amanda E. Cravens
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1173
On the Western Slope of Colorado, variable climate and precipitation conditions are typical. Periods of drought—which may be defined by lack of water, high temperatures, low soil moisture, or other indicators—cause a range of impacts across sectors, including water, land, and fire management.The Western Slope’s Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB)...
Analysis of groundwater response to tidal fluctuations, Site 10 Naval Magazine Indian Island, Port Hadlock, Washington
Chad C. Opatz, Richard S. Dinicola
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1192
Site 10 at Naval Magazine Indian Island is an approximately 3.7-acre inactive landfill. The site was used as the primary landfill for the island from about 1945 until the mid-1970s, receiving paints, batteries, trash, and materials. In a memorandum to Washington State Department of Ecology, Naval Facilities Engineering Command...
Map of sand and gravel mines, prospects, and occurrences, and the geologic units that host them in the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) study area, southwestern Wyoming
Anna B. Wilson
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1139
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) is a long-term science based effort to assess and enhance aquatic and terrestrial habitats at a landscape scale in southwest Wyoming, while facilitating responsible development through local collaboration and partnerships. The role of the U.S. Geological Survey is to build the scientifically defensible foundation...
