The USGS National Streamflow Information Program and the importance of preserving long-term streamgages
Glenn A. Hodgkins, J. Michael Norris, Robert M. Lent
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3026
Long-term streamflow information is critical for use in several water-related areas that are important to humans and wildlife, including water management, computation of flood and drought flows for water infrastructure, and analysis of climate-related trends. Specific uses are many and diverse and range from informing water rights across state and...
Water resources of De Soto Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken, Vincent E. White
2014, Fact Sheet 2013-3107
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in De Soto 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 stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the...
Groundwater quality in the South Coast Interior Basins, California
Mary C. Parsons, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Fact Sheet 2013-3088
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...
Long-term soil monitoring at U.S. Geological Survey reference watersheds
Michael R. McHale, Jason Siemion, Gregory B. Lawrence, M. Alisa Mast
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3002
Monitoring the environment by making repeated measurements through time is essential to evaluate and track the health of ecosystems (fig. 1). Long-term datasets produced by such monitoring are indispensable for evaluating the effectiveness of environmental legislation and for designing mitigation strategies to address environmental changes in an era when human...
Invasive lionfish use a diversity of habitats in Florida
Pamela J. Schofield, Lad Akins, Denise R. Gregoire-Lucente, Rachel J. Pawlitz
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3032
Two species of lionfish (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) are the first marine fishes known to invade and establish self-sustaining populations along the eastern seaboard of the United States. First documented off the coast of Florida in 1985, lionfish are now found along the Atlantic coast of the United States...
Water resources of Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken, Vincent E. White, John K. Lovelace
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3017
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Orleans 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 stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability,...
Water resources of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken, John K. Lovelace, Vincent E. White
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3016
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Terrebonne 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 stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability,...
Estimating magnitude and frequency of floods using the PeakFQ 7.0 program
Andrea G. Veilleux, Timothy A. Cohn, Kathleen M. Flynn, Mason Jr., Paul R. Hummel
2014, Fact Sheet 2013-3108
Flood-frequency analysis provides information about the magnitude and frequency of flood discharges based on records of annual maximum instantaneous peak discharges collected at streamgages. The information is essential for defining flood-hazard areas, for managing floodplains, and for designing bridges, culverts, dams, levees, and other flood-control structures. Bulletin 17B (B17B) of the...
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...
