Coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat—Potential concerns for human health and aquatic life
Barbara Mahler, Michael D. Woodside, Peter C. Van Metre
2016, Fact Sheet 2016-3017
Introduction Sealcoat is the black, viscous liquid sprayed or painted on many asphalt parking lots, driveways, and playgrounds to protect and enhance the appearance of the underlying asphalt. Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), academic institutions, and State and local agencies have identified coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat as a major source...
Simulation of streamflow and the effects of brush management on water yields in the Double Mountain Fork Brazos River watershed, western Texas 1994–2013
Glenn R. Harwell, Victoria G. Stengel, Johnathan R. Bumgarner
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5032
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Lubbock and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, developed and calibrated a Soil and Water Assessment Tool watershed model of the Double Mountain Fork Brazos River watershed in western Texas to simulate monthly mean streamflow and to evaluate...
A method for characterizing late-season low-flow regime in the upper Grand Ronde River Basin, Oregon
Valerie J. Kelly, Seth White
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5041
This report describes a method for estimating ecologically relevant low-flow metrics that quantify late‑season streamflow regime for ungaged sites in the upper Grande Ronde River Basin, Oregon. The analysis presented here focuses on sites sampled by the Columbia River Inter‑Tribal Fish Commission as part of their efforts to monitor habitat...
Tree island pattern formation in the Florida Everglades
Joel A. Carr, P. D’Odorico, Victor C. Engel, Jed Redwine
2016, Ecological Complexity (26) 37-44
The Florida Everglades freshwater landscape exhibits a distribution of islands covered by woody vegetation and bordered by marshes and wet prairies. Known as “tree islands”, these ecogeomorphic features can be found in few other low gradient, nutrient limited freshwater wetlands. In the last few decades, however, a large percentage of...
Total dissolved gas and water temperature in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, water year 2015
Heather M. Bragg, Matthew W. Johnston
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1212
Significant Findings An analysis of total-dissolved-gas (TDG) and water-temperature data collected at eight fixed monitoring stations on the lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington in water year 2015 indicated the following: All but 1 of the 85 TDG sensor laboratory checks that were performed after field deployment were within ±0.5-percent saturation...
Dairy-impacted wastewater is a source of iodinated disinfection byproducts in the environment
Michelle Hladik, Laura E. Hubbard, Dana W. Kolpin, Michael J. Focazio
2016, Environmental Science & Technology (3) 190-193
Iodinated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are among the most toxic DBPs, but they are not typically measured in treated water. Iodinated DBPs can be toxic to humans, and they also have the potential to affect aquatic communities. Because of the specific use of iodine and iodine-containing compounds in dairies, such livestock...
Using climate, energy, and spatial-based hypotheses to interpret macroecological patterns of North America chelonians
Joshua R. Ennen, Mickey Agha, Wilfredo A. Matamoros, Sarah C. Hazzard, Jeffrey E. Lovich
2016, Canadian Journal of Zoology (94) 453-461
Our study investigates how factors, such as latitude, productivity, and several environmental variables, influence contemporary patterns of the species richness in North American turtles. In particular, we test several hypotheses explaining broad-scale species richness patterns on several species richness data sets: (i) total turtles, (ii) freshwater turtles only, (iii) aquatic...
Perchlorate and selected metals in water and soil within Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota, 2011–15
Galen K. Hoogestraat, Barbara L. Rowe
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5030
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located in the east-central part of the Black Hills area of South Dakota and is challenged to provide drinking water to about 3 million annual visitors and year-round park personnel. An environmental concern to water resources within Mount Rushmore National Memorial has been the annual...
Forest cover changes due to hydrocarbon extraction disturbance in central Pennsylvania (2004–2010)
Coral Roig-Silva, E. Terrence Slonecker, Lesley Milheim, Jesse R. Ballew, S. Gail Winters
2016, Journal of Maps (12) 131-138
The state of Pennsylvania has a long history of oil and gas extraction. In recent years with advances in technology such as hydraulic fracturing, hydrocarbon sources that were not profitable in the past are now being exploited. Here, we present an assessment of the cumulative impact of oil and gas...
Proposed Auxiliary Boundary Stratigraphic Section and Point (ASSP) for the base of the Ordovician System at Lawson Cove, Utah, USA
James F. Miller, Kevin R. Evans, Raymond L. Ethington, Rebecca Freeman, James D. Loch, John E. Repetski, Robert Ripperdan, John F. Taylor
2016, Stratigraphy (12) 219-236
The Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Ordovician System is at the First Appearance Datum (FAD) of the conodont Iapetognathus fluctivagus at Green Point in Newfoundland, Canada. Strata there are typical graptolitic facies that were deposited near the base of the continental slope.We propose...
Flood-inundation maps for a 9.1-mile reach of the Coast Fork Willamette River near Creswell and Goshen, Lane County, Oregon
Glen W. Hess, Tana Haluska
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5029
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 9.1-mile reach of the Coast Fork Willamette River near Creswell and Goshen, Oregon, were developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science...
Selected low-flow frequency statistics for continuous-record streamgages in Georgia, 2013
Anthony J. Gotvald
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5037
This report presents the annual and monthly minimum 1- and 7-day average streamflows with the 10-year recurrence interval (1Q10 and 7Q10) for 197 continuous-record streamgages in Georgia. Streamgages used in the study included active and discontinued stations having a minimum of 10 complete climatic years of record as of September...
Phosphorus removal from aquaculture effluents at the Northeast Fishery Center in Lamar, Pennsylvania using iron oxide sorption media
Philip Sibrell, Thomas Kehler
2016, Aquacultural Engineering (72-73) 45-52
Three different iron oxide-based sorption media samples were tested for removal of phosphorus (P) from fish hatchery effluents using fixed bed processing. Two of the media samples were derived from residuals produced by the treatment of acid mine drainage, which were then compared to granular ferric hydroxide (GFH), a commercially...
The Chahnaly low sulfidation epithermal gold deposit, western Makran volcanic arc, southeastern Iran
Ali Sholeh, Ebrahim Rastad, David L. Huston, J. Bruce Gemmell, Ryan D. Taylor
2016, Economic Geology (111) 619-639
The Chahnaly low-sulfidation epithermal Au deposit and nearby Au prospects are located northwest of the intermittently active Bazman stratovolcano on the western end of the Makran volcanic arc, which formed as the result of subduction of the remnant Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust beneath the Lut block. The arc hosts the...
Estimating evapotranspiration and groundwater flow from water-table fluctuations for a general wetland scenario
Lisa C. Weber, Michael J. Wiley, Douglas Wilcox
2016, Ecohydrology (7) 378-390
The use of diurnal water-table fluctuation methods to calculate evapotranspiration (ET) and groundwater flow is of increasing interest in ecohydrological studies. Most studies of this type, however, have been located in riparian wetlands of semi-arid regions where groundwater levels are consistently below topographic surface elevations and precipitation events are infrequent....
Tree-ring-based estimates of long-term seasonal precipitation in the Souris River Region of Saskatchewan, North Dakota and Manitoba
Karen R. Ryberg, Aldo V. Vecchia, F. Adnan Akyuz, Wei Lin
2016, Canadian Water Resources Journal (41) 412-428
Historically unprecedented flooding occurred in the Souris River Basin of Saskatchewan, North Dakota and Manitoba in 2011, during a longer term period of wet conditions in the basin. In order to develop a model of future flows, there is a need to evaluate effects of past multidecadal climate variability and/or...
Hg concentrations in fish from coastal waters of California and Western North America
Jay Davis, John Ross, Shira Bezalel, Lawrence Sim, Autumn Bonnema, Gary Ichikawa, Wes Heim, Kenneth C Schiff, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Joshua T. Ackerman
2016, Science of the Total Environment (568) 1146-1156
The State of California conducted an extensive and systematic survey of mercury (Hg) in fish from the California coast in 2009 and 2010. The California survey sampled 3483 fish representing 46 species at 68 locations, and demonstrated that methylHg in fish presents a widespread exposure risk to fish consumers. Most...
Debris flow occurrence and sediment persistence, Upper Colorado River Valley, CO
Kyle J Grimsley, Sara L. Rathburn, Jonathan M. Friedman, Joseph F. Mangano
2016, Environmental Management (58) 76-92
Debris flow magnitudes and frequencies are compared across the Upper Colorado River valley to assess influences on debris flow occurrence and to evaluate valley geometry effects on sediment persistence. Dendrochronology, field mapping, and aerial photographic analysis are used to evaluate whether a 19th century earthen, water-conveyance ditch has altered the...
Hydraulic model and flood-inundation maps developed for the Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina
Douglas G. Smith, Chad R. Wagner
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5137
A one-dimensional step-backwater model was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina, to provide a means for predicting flood-plain inundation. The model was developed for selected reaches of the Pee Dee River, Brown Creek,...
An analysis of water data systems to inform the Open Water Data Initiative
David L. Blodgett, Emily K. Read, Jessica M. Lucido, Tad Slawecki, Dwane Young
2016, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (52) 845-858
Improving access to data and fostering open exchange of water information is foundational to solving water resources issues. In this vein, the Department of the Interior's Assistant Secretary for Water and Science put forward the charge to undertake an Open Water Data Initiative (OWDI) that would prioritize and accelerate work...
Tomographic Rayleigh-wave group velocities in the Central Valley, California centered on the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta
Jon Peter B. Fletcher, Jemile Erdem, Kevin Seats, Jesse Lawrence
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (121) 2429-2446
If shaking from a local or regional earthquake in the San Francisco Bay region were to rupture levees in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta then brackish water from San Francisco Bay would contaminate the water in the Delta: the source of fresh water for about half of California. As a prelude...
Influence of manatees' diving on their risk of collision with watercraft
Holly H. Edwards, Julien Martin, Charles J. Deutsch, Robert G Muller, Stacie M. Koslovsky, Alexander J. Smith, Margie E. Barlas
2016, PLoS ONE (11)
Watercraft pose a threat to endangered Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris). Mortality from watercraft collisions has adversely impacted the manatee population’s growth rate, therefore reducing this threat is an important management goal. To assess factors that contribute to the risk of watercraft strikes to manatees, we studied the diving behavior...
From "Duck Factory" to "Fish Factory": Climate induced changes in vertebrate communities of prairie pothole wetlands and small lakes
Kyle I. McLean, David M. Mushet, Craig A. Stockwell
2016, Wetlands (36) 407-421
The Prairie Pothole Region’s myriad wetlands and small lakes contribute to its stature as the “duck factory” of North America. The fishless nature of the region’s aquatic habitats, a result of frequent drying, freezing, and high salinity, influences its importance to waterfowl. Recent precipitation increases have resulted in higher water...
Integrated assessment of wastewater treatment plant effluent estrogenicity in the Upper Murray River, Australia, using the native Murray rainbowfish (Melanotaenia fluviatilis)
Alan M. Vajda, Anupama Kumar, Marianne Woods, Mike Williams, Hai Doan, Peter Tolsher, Rai S. Kookana, Larry B. Barber
2016, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (34) 1078-1087
The contamination of major continental river systems by endocrine-active chemicals (EACs) derived from the discharge of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents can affect human and ecosystem health. As part of a long-term effort to develop a native fish model organism for assessment of endocrine disruption in Australia's largest watershed, the...
Potentiometric surfaces, summer 2013 and winter 2015, and select hydrographs for the Southern High Plains aquifer, Cannon Air Force Base, Curry County, New Mexico
Jake Collison
2016, Scientific Investigations Map 3352
Cannon Air Force Base (Cannon AFB) is located in the High Plains physiographic region of east-central New Mexico, about 5 miles west of Clovis, New Mexico. The area surrounding Cannon AFB is primarily used for agriculture, including irrigated cropland and dairies. The Southern High Plains aquifer is the principal source...
