Modified mercalli intensities for nine earthquakes in central and western Washington between 1989 and 1999
Thomas M. Brocher, James W. Dewey, John F. Cassidy
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1104
We determine Modified Mercalli (Seismic) Intensities (MMI) for nine onshore earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 and larger that occurred in central and western Washington between 1989 and 1999, on the basis of effects reported in postal questionnaires, the press, and professional collaborators. The earthquakes studied include four earthquakes of M5 and...
Detecting temporal change in land-surface altitude using robotic land-surveying techniques and geographic information system applications at an earthen dam site in Southern Westchester County, New York
Michael L. Noll, Anthony Chu
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1028
In 2005, the U.S. Geological Survey began a cooperative study with New York City Department of Environmental Protection to characterize the local groundwater-flow system and identify potential sources of seeps on the southern embankment at the Hillview Reservoir in southern Westchester County, New York. Monthly site inspections at the reservoir...
Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) nesting and brood-rearing microhabitat in Nevada and California—Spatial variation in selection and survival patterns
Peter S. Coates, Brianne E. Brussee, Mark A. Ricca, Jonathan E. Dudko, Brian G. Prochazka, Shawn P. Espinosa, Michael L. Casazza, David J. Delehanty
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1087
Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereinafter, "sage-grouse") are highly dependent on sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) dominated vegetation communities for food and cover from predators. Although this species requires the presence of sagebrush shrubs in the overstory, it also inhabits a broad geographic distribution with significant gradients in precipitation and temperature that...
Hierarchical population monitoring of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Nevada and California—Identifying populations for management at the appropriate spatial scale
Peter S. Coates, Brian G. Prochazka, Mark A. Ricca, Gregory T. Wann, Cameron L. Aldridge, Steven E. Hanser, Kevin Doherty, Michael S. O’Donnell, David R. Edmunds, Shawn P. Espinosa
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1089
Population ecologists have long recognized the importance of ecological scale in understanding processes that guide observed demographic patterns for wildlife species. However, directly incorporating spatial and temporal scale into monitoring strategies that detect whether trajectories are driven by local or regional factors is challenging and rarely implemented. Identifying the...
Using object-based image analysis to conduct high-resolution conifer extraction at regional spatial scales
Peter S. Coates, K. Benjamin Gustafson, Cali L. Roth, Michael P. Chenaille, Mark A. Ricca, Kimberly Mauch, Erika Sanchez-Chopitea, Travis J. Kroger, William M. Perry, Michael L. Casazza
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1093
The distribution and abundance of pinyon (Pinus monophylla) and juniper (Juniperus osteosperma, J. occidentalis) trees (hereinafter, "pinyon-juniper") in sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems of the Great Basin in the Western United States has increased substantially since the late 1800s. Distributional expansion and infill of pinyon-juniper into sagebrush ecosystems threatens the...
A projection of lesser prairie chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) populations range-wide
Jonathan W. Cummings, Sarah J. Converse, Clinton T. Moore, David R. Smith, Clay T. Nichols, Nathan L. Allan, Chris M. O’Meilia
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1071
We built a population viability analysis (PVA) model to predict future population status of the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus, LEPC) in four ecoregions across the species’ range. The model results will be used in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) Species Status Assessment (SSA) for the LEPC. Our...
Synthesis of downstream fish passage information at projects owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Willamette River Basin, Oregon
Amy C. Hansen, Tobias J. Kock, Gabriel S. Hansen
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1101
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates the Willamette Valley Project (Project) in northwestern Oregon, which includes a series of dams, reservoirs, revetments, and fish hatcheries. Project dams were constructed during the 1950s and 1960s on rivers that supported populations of spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), winter steelhead...
Barrier island habitat map and vegetation survey—Dauphin Island, Alabama, 2015
Nicholas M. Enwright, Sinéad M. Borchert, Richard H. Day, Laura C. Feher, Michael J. Osland, Lei Wang, Hongqing Wang
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1083
Barrier islands are dynamic environments due to their position at the land-sea interface. Storms, waves, tides, currents, and relative sea-level rise are powerful forces that shape barrier island geomorphology and habitats (for example, beach, dune, marsh, and forest). Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in...
Precipitation, streamflow, suspended-sediment, and water-quality data for the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Carson and Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado, 1966–2015
L. R. Arnold
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1072
The U.S. Army Garrison Fort Carson (AGFC) and the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS) are facilities operated by the U.S. Department of the Army in southern Colorado. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Army, established a hydrologic and water-quality data-collection network at the AGFC...
Report from the Workshop on Coregonine Restoration Science
Charles R. Bronte, David B. Bunnell, Solomon R. David, Roger Gordon, Dimitry Gorsky, Mike Millard, Jennifer Read, Roy A. Stein, Lynn Vaccaro
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1081
SummaryGreat Lakes fishery managers have the opportunity and have expressed interest in reestablishing a native forage base in the Great Lakes consisting of various forms and species within the genus Coregonus. This report summarizes the proceedings of a workshop focused on a subset of the genus, and the term “coregonines”...
Suspended-sediment loads in the lower Stillaguamish River, Snohomish County, Washington, 2014–15
Scott A. Anderson, Christopher A. Curran, Eric E. Grossman
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1066
Continuous records of discharge and turbidity at a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgage in the lower Stillaguamish River were paired with discrete measurements of suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) in order to estimate suspended-sediment loads over the water years 2014 and 2015. First, relations between turbidity and SSC were developed and used...
Compilation of geospatial data for the mineral industries and related infrastructure of Latin America and the Caribbean
Michael S. Baker, Spencer D. Buteyn, Philip A. Freeman, Michael H. Trippi, Loyd M. Trimmer III
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1079
This report describes the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) ongoing commitment to its mission of understanding the nature and distribution of global mineral commodity supply chains by updating and publishing the georeferenced locations of mineral commodity production and processing facilities, mineral exploration and development sites, and mineral commodity exporting ports in...
Mapping the change of Phragmites australis live biomass in the lower Mississippi River Delta marshes
Elijah W. Ramsey III, Amina Rangoonwala
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1098
Multiyear remote sensing mapping of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was carried out as an indicator of live biomass composition of the Phragmites australis (hereafter Phragmites) marsh in the lower Mississippi River Delta (hereafter delta) from 2014 to 2017. Maps of NDVI change showed that the Phragmites condition was...
Determining the sources of fine-grained sediment using the Sediment Source Assessment Tool (Sed_SAT)
Lillian E. Gorman Sanisaca, Allen C. Gellis, David L. Lorenz
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1062
A sound understanding of sources contributing to instream sediment flux in a watershed is important when developing total maximum daily load (TMDL) management strategies designed to reduce suspended sediment in streams. Sediment fingerprinting and sediment budget approaches are two techniques that, when used jointly, can qualify and quantify the major...
Streamflow investigations on a reach of Hobble Creek near Springville, Utah
Steven J. Gerner
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1084
The Central Utah Water Conservancy District (CUWCD) is proposing to deliver supplemental flow to Hobble Creek from Strawberry Reservoir through the Mapleton-Springville Lateral pipeline. A substantial portion of the supplemental water is intended to benefit June Sucker recovery and other fish and wildlife along Hobble Creek. The objective of this...
The use of passive membrane samplers to assess organic contaminant inputs at five coastal sites in west Maui, Hawaii
Pamela L. Campbell, Nancy G. Prouty, Curt D. Storlazzi, Nicole D’antonio
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1097
Five passive membrane samplers were deployed for 28 continuous days at select sites along and near the west Maui coastline to assess organic compounds and contaminant inputs to diverse, shallow coral reef ecosystems. Daily and weekly fluctuations in such inputs were captured on the membranes using integrative sampling. The distribution...
Devils Hole, Nevada—A photographic story of a restricted subaqueous environment
Ray J. Hoffman
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1058
This report presents selected photographic images taken by the author during U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research into paleoclimatology and geochemistry in Devils Hole cavern during 1984 to 1993 in cooperation with the National Park Service. The unaltered suite of photographs was prepared by the USGS dive team as an aid...
A method for addressing differences in concentrations of fipronil and three degradates obtained by two different laboratory methods
Charles G. Crawford, Jeffrey D. Martin
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1056
In October 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began measuring the concentration of the pesticide fipronil and three of its degradates (desulfinylfipronil, fipronil sulfide, and fipronil sulfone) by a new laboratory method using direct aqueous-injection liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (DAI LC–MS/MS). This method replaced the previous method—in use since...
Status and trends of adult Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose (Chasmistes brevirostris) sucker populations in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2015
David A. Hewitt, Eric C. Janney, Brian S. Hayes, Alta C. Harris
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1059
Executive SummaryData from a long-term capture-recapture program were used to assess the status and dynamics of populations of two long-lived, federally endangered catostomids in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. Lost River suckers (LRS; Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (SNS; Chasmistes brevirostris) have been captured and tagged with passive integrated transponder (PIT)...
National assessment of shoreline change—Summary statistics for updated vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Atlantic coasts
Emily A. Himmelstoss, Meredith G. Kratzmann, E. Robert Thieler
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1015
Long-term rates of shoreline change for the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Atlantic regions of the United States have been updated as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Assessment of Shoreline Change project. Additional shoreline position data were used to compute rates where the previous rate-of-change assessment only included...
Case studies of riparian and watershed restoration in the southwestern United States—Principles, challenges, and successes
Barbara E. Ralston, Daniel A. Sarr
Barbara E. Ralston, Daniel A. Sarr, editor(s)
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1091
Globally, rivers and streams are highly altered by impoundments, diversions, and stream channelization associated with agricultural and water delivery needs. Climate change imposes additional challenges by further reducing discharge, introducing variability in seasonal precipitation patterns, and increasing temperatures. Collectively, these changes in a river or stream’s annual hydrology affects...
Lithofacies and sequence stratigraphic description of the upper part of the Avon Park Formation and the Arcadia Formation in U.S. Geological Survey G–2984 test corehole, Broward County, Florida
Kevin J. Cunningham, Edward Robinson
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1074
Rock core and sediment from U.S. Geological Survey test corehole G–2984 completed in 2011 in Broward County, Florida, provide an opportunity to improve the understanding of the lithostratigraphic, sequence stratigraphic, and hydrogeologic framework of the intermediate confining unit and Floridan aquifer system in southeastern Florida. A multidisciplinary approach including characterization...
Factors affecting marsh vegetation at the Liberty Island Conservation Bank in the Cache Slough region of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California
James L. Orlando, Judith Z. Drexler
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1077
The Liberty Island Conservation Bank (LICB) is a tidal freshwater marsh restored for the purpose of mitigating adverse effects on sensitive fish populations elsewhere in the region. The LICB was completed in 2012 and is in the northern Cache Slough region of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. The wetland vegetation at...
Grand challenges for integrated USGS science — A workshop report
Karen E. Jenni, Martin B. Goldhaber, Julio L. Betancourt, Jill S. Baron, Sky Bristol, Mary Cantrill, Paul E. Exter, Michael J. Focazio, John W. Haines, Lauren E. Hay, Leslie Hsu, Victor F. Labson, Kevin D. Lafferty, K. A. Ludwig, Paul C. D. Milly, Toni L. Morelli, Suzette A. Morman, Nedal T. Nassar, Timothy R. Newman, Andrea C. Ostroff, Jordan S. Read, Sasha C. Reed, Carl D. Shapiro, Richard A. Smith, Ward E. Sanford, Terry L. Sohl, Edward G. Stets, Adam J. Terando, Donald E. Tillitt, Michael A. Tischler, Patricia L. Toccalino, David J. Wald, Mark P. Waldrop, Anne Wein, Jake F. Weltzin, Christian E. Zimmerman
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1076
Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a long history of advancing the traditional Earth science disciplines and identifying opportunities to integrate USGS science across disciplines to address complex societal problems. The USGS science strategy for 2007–2017 laid out key challenges in disciplinary and interdisciplinary arenas, culminating in a call...
Description of gravity cores from San Pablo Bay and Carquinez Strait, San Francisco Bay, California
Donald L. Woodrow, John L. Chin, Florence L. Wong, Theresa A. Fregoso, Bruce E. Jaffe
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1078
Seventy-two gravity cores were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1990, 1991, and 2000 from San Pablo Bay and Carquinez Strait, California. The gravity cores collected within San Pablo Bay contain bioturbated laminated silts and sandy clays, whole and broken bivalve shells (mostly mussels), fossil tube structures, and fine-grained...
