Streamflow of 2013: water year summary
Xiaodong Jian, David M. Wolock, Harry F. Lins, Steve Brady
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3030
The maps and graphs in this summary describe streamflow conditions for water year 2013 (October 1, 2012, to September 30, 2013) in the context of the 84-year period from 1930 through 2013, unless otherwise noted. The illustrations are based on observed data from the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Water...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for New Mexico
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3041
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of New Mexico, elevation data are critical for infrastructure and construction management, natural resources conservation, flood risk management, agriculture and precision farming, geologic...
Estimating suspended sediment in rivers using acoustic Doppler meters
Molly S. Wood
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3038
Key Points - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2009) estimates that excessive sediment is the leading cause of water-quality impairment in water bodies in the United States. The cost of damages attributable to sediment is high, estimated at more than $20 billion annually (Osterkamp and others, 2004). - Sediment monitoring...
Groundwater quality in the Borrego Valley, Central Desert, and Low-Use Basins of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, California
Mary C. Parsons, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3001
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s untreated groundwater quality and increases public access...
Assessment of potential unconventional lacustrine shale-oil and shale-gas resources, Phitsanulok Basin, Thailand, 2014
Christopher J. Schenk, Ronald R. Charpentier, Timothy R. Klett, Tracey J. Mercier, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Janet K. Pitman, Michael E. Brownfield
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3033
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed potential technically recoverable mean resources of 53 million barrels of shale oil and 320 billion cubic feet of shale gas in the Phitsanulok Basin, onshore Thailand....
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Louisiana
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3037
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Louisiana, elevation data are critical for flood risk management, natural resources conservation, agriculture and precision farming, infrastructure and construction management, water supply...
The USGS at Embudo, New Mexico: 125 years of systematic streamgaging in the United States
Mark A. Gunn, Anne Marie Matherne, Mason Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3034
John Wesley Powell, second Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, had a vision for the Western United States. In the late 1800s, Powell explored the West as head of the Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region. He devoted a large part of “Report on the Lands of...
Using high-resolution digital aerial imagery to map land cover
J.J. Dieck, Larry Robinson
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3009
The Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) has used aerial photography to map land cover/land use on federally owned and managed lands for over 20 years. Until recently, that process used 23- by 23-centimeter (9- by 9-inch) analog aerial photos to classify vegetation along the Upper Mississippi River System, on...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for North Dakota
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3036
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of North Dakota, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, natural resources conservation, water supply and quality, infrastructure and construction management,...
Water resources of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken, Vincent E. White, John K. Lovelace
2014, Fact Sheet 2013-3102
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for management of this vital resource. Information on the...
Characterization of stormwater at selected South Carolina Department of Transportation maintenance yards and section shed facilities in Ballentine, Conway, and North Charleston, South Carolina, 2010-12
Celeste A. Journey, Kevin J. Conlon
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3011
Increased impervious surfaces (driveways, parking lots, and buildings) and human activities (residential, industrial, and commercial) have been linked to substantial changes in both the quality and quantity of stormwater on a watershed scale (Brabec and others, 2002; Pitt and Maestre, 2005). Small-scale storage and equipment repair facilities increase impervious surfaces...
Extreme drought-summary of hydrologic conditions in Georgia, 2012
Andrew E. Knaak, Michael F. Peck
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3028
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Georgia Water Science Center (GaWSC) maintains a long-term hydrologic monitoring network of more than 330 real-time streamgages, including 10 real-time lake-level monitoring stations, 63 real-time water-quality monitors, and 48 water-quality sampling stations. Additionally, the GaWSC operates more than 180 groundwater monitoring wells, 42 of which...
The Southeast Stream Quality Assessment
Peter C. Van Metre, Celeste A. Journey
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3023
In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) is assessing stream quality across the Piedmont and southern Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States. The goal of the Southeast Stream Quality Assessment (SESQA) is to characterize multiple water-quality factors that are stressors to aquatic life—contaminants, nutrients,...
Groundwater studies: principal aquifer surveys
Karen R. Burow, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3024
In 1991, the U.S. Congress established the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to develop nationally consistent long-term datasets and provide information about the quality of the Nation’s streams and groundwater. The USGS uses objective and reliable data, water-quality models, and systematic scientific studies to...
Decision support system development at the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Timothy J. Fox, J. C. Nelson, Jason J. Rohweder
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3021
A Decision Support System (DSS) can be defined in many ways. The working definition used by the U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) is, “A spatially based computer application or data that assists a researcher or manager in making decisions.” This is quite a broad definition—and it...
Assessment of potential shale oil and tight sandstone gas resources of the Assam, Bombay, Cauvery, and Krishna-Godavari Provinces, India, 2013
Timothy R. Klett, Christopher J. Schenk, Craig J. Wandrey, Michael E. Brownfield, Ronald R. Charpentier, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Donald L. Gautier
2014, Fact Sheet 2013-3113
Using a well performance-based geologic assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a technically recoverable mean volume of 62 million barrels of oil in shale oil reservoirs, and more than 3,700 billion cubic feet of gas in tight sandstone gas reservoirs in the Bombay and Krishna-Godavari Provinces of India. The...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Missouri
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3020
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Missouri, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming; natural resources conservation; flood risk management; homeland security, law enforcement, and disaster...
Estimating flood magnitude and frequency for urban and small, rural streams in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, 2011
Toby D. Feaster, Anthony J. Gotvald, J. Curtis Weaver
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3015
Reliable estimates of the magnitude and frequency of floods are essential for the design of transportation and water-conveyance structures, flood insurance studies, and flood-plain management. Flood-frequency estimates are particularly important in densely populated urban areas. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) used a multistate approach to update methods for determining the...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Montana
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3022
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Montana, elevation data are critical for flood risk management, infrastructure and construction management, agriculture and precision farming, geologic resource assessment and hazard...
Continuous real-time water information: an important Kansas resource
Brian L. Loving, James E. Putnam, Donita M. Turk
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3003
Continuous real-time information on streams, lakes, and groundwater is an important Kansas resource that can safeguard lives and property, and ensure adequate water resources for a healthy State economy. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates approximately 230 water-monitoring stations at Kansas streams, lakes, and groundwater sites. Most of these stations...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Maine
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3013
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Maine, elevation data are critical for natural resources conservation, flood risk management, forest resources management, agriculture and precision farming, coastal zone management,...
Future scenarios of impacts to ecosystem services on California rangelands
Kristin Byrd, Pelayo Alvarez, Lorraine Flint, Alan Flint
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3019
The 18 million acres of rangelands in the Central Valley of California provide multiple benefits or “ecosystem services” to people—including wildlife habitat, water supply, open space, recreation, and cultural resources. Most of this land is privately owned and managed for livestock production. These rangelands are vulnerable to land-use conversion and...
Water resources of Cameron Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken
2014, Fact Sheet 2013-3076
This fact sheet presents a brief overview of groundwater and surface-water resources in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Information on the availability, use, and quality of water from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is discussed. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System...
Water resources of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken, John K. Lovelace
2014, Fact Sheet 2013-3073
This fact sheet presents a brief overview of groundwater and surface-water resources in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Information on the availability, use, and quality of water from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is discussed. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System...
A framework for assessing water and proppant use and flowback water extraction associated with development of continuous petroleum resources
Seth S. Haines, Troy Cook, Joanna N. Thamke, Kyle W. Davis, Andrew J. Long, Richard W. Healy, Sarah J. Hawkins, Mark A. Engle
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3010
The U.S. Geological Survey is developing approaches for the quantitative assessment of water and proppant involved with possible future production of continuous petroleum deposits. The assessment approach is an extension of existing U.S. Geological Survey petroleum-assessment methods, and it aims to provide objective information that helps decision makers understand the...
