Timing of susceptibility to post-fire debris flows in the western USA
Jerome V. DeGraff, Susan H. Cannon, Joseph E. Gartner
2015, Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (21) 277-292
Watersheds recently burned by wildfires can have an increased susceptibility to debris flow, although little is known about how long this susceptibility persists, and how it changes over time. We here use a compilation of 75 debris-flow response and fire-ignition dates, vegetation and bedrock class, rainfall regime, and initiation process...
Hydrogeochemistry and microbiology of mine drainage: An update
D. Kirk Nordstrom, D.W Blowes, C.J. Ptacek
2015, Applied Geochemistry (57) 3-16
The extraction of mineral resources requires access through underground workings, or open pit operations, or through drillholes for solution mining. Additionally, mineral processing can generate large quantities of waste, including mill tailings, waste rock and refinery wastes, heap leach pads, and slag. Thus, through mining and mineral processing activities, large...
Archiving California’s historical duck nesting data
Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, Caroline Brady, John M. Eadie, Greg S. Yarris
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1131
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in partnership with the California Waterfowl Association (CWA) and other organizations, have compiled large datasets on the nesting ecology and management of dabbling ducks and associated upland nesting birds (Northern Harriers [Circus cyaneus], Short-eared Owls [Asio flammeus], Ring-necked Pheasants [Phasianus colchicus], and American Bitterns [Botaurus...
Annual and average estimates of water-budget components based on hydrograph separation and PRISM precipitation for gaged basins in the Appalachian Plateaus Region, 1900-2011
David L. Nelms, Terence Messinger, Kurt J. McCoy
2015, Data Series 944
As part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Groundwater Resources Program study of the Appalachian Plateaus aquifers, annual and average estimates of water-budget components based on hydrograph separation and precipitation data from parameter-elevation regressions on independent slopes model (PRISM) were determined at 849 continuous-record streamflow-gaging stations from Mississippi to New York...
Hydrogeology, groundwater levels, and generalized potentiometric-surface map of the Green River Basin lower Tertiary aquifer system, 2010–14, in the northern Green River structural basin
Timothy T. Bartos, Laura L. Hallberg, Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5090
In cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, groundwater levels in wells located in the northern Green River Basin in Wyoming, an area of ongoing energy development, were measured by the U.S. Geological Survey from 2010 to 2014. The wells were completed in the uppermost aquifers of the Green River...
A stochastic population model to evaluate Moapa dace (Moapa coriacea) population growth under alternative management scenarios
Russell W. Perry, Edward Jones, G. Gary Scoppettone
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1126
The primary goal of this research project was to evaluate the response of Moapa dace (Moapa coriacea) to the potential effects of changes in the amount of available habitat due to human influences such as ground water pumping, barriers to movement, and extirpation of Moapa dace from the mainstem Muddy...
Regional variability in dust-on-snow processes and impacts in the Upper Colorado River Basin
S. McKenzie Skiles, Thomas H. Painter, Jayne Belnap, Lacey Holland, Richard L. Reynolds, Harland L. Goldstein, J. Lin
2015, Hydrological Processes (29) 5397-5413
Dust deposition onto mountain snow cover in the Upper Colorado River Basin frequently occurs in the spring when wind speeds and dust emission peaks on the nearby Colorado Plateau. Dust loading has increased since the intensive settlement in the western USA in the mid 1880s. The effects of dust-on-snow have...
User’s guide to the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database 2.0
Gary S. Drew, John F. Piatt, Martin Renner
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1123
The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) was created in 2005 to consolidate data on the oceanic distribution of marine bird species in the North Pacific. Most of these data were collected on surveys by counting species within defined areas and at known locations (that is, on strip transects). The...
Methodology for assessing quantities of water and proppant injection, and water production associated with development of continuous petroleum accumulations
Seth S. Haines
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1117
The quantities of water and hydraulic fracturing proppant required for producing petroleum (oil, gas, and natural gas liquids) from continuous accumulations, and the quantities of water extracted during petroleum production, can be quantitatively assessed using a probabilistic approach. The water and proppant assessment methodology builds on the U.S. Geological Survey...
Water levels of the Ozark aquifer in northern Arkansas, 2013
Tony P. Schrader
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5088
The Ozark aquifer is the largest aquifer, both in area of outcrop and thickness, and the most important source of freshwater in the Ozark Plateaus physiographic province, supplying water to northern Arkansas, southeastern Kansas, southern Missouri, and northeastern Oklahoma. The study area includes 16 Arkansas counties lying completely or partially...
The effects of numerical-model complexity and observation type on estimated porosity values
Jeffrey Starn, Amvrossios C. Bagtzoglou, Christopher T. Green
2015, Hydrogeology Journal (23) 1121-1128
The relative merits of model complexity and types of observations employed in model calibration are compared. An existing groundwater flow model coupled with an advective transport simulation of the Salt Lake Valley, Utah (USA), is adapted for advective transport, and effective porosity is adjusted until simulated tritium concentrations match concentrations...
Design, analysis, and interpretation of field quality-control data for water-sampling projects
David K. Mueller, Terry L. Schertz, Jeffrey D. Martin, Mark W. Sandstrom
2015, Techniques and Methods 4-C4
The process of obtaining and analyzing water samples from the environment includes a number of steps that can affect the reported result. The equipment used to collect and filter samples, the bottles used for specific subsamples, any added preservatives, sample storage in the field, and shipment to the laboratory have...
Rapid water quality change in the Elwha River estuary complex during dam removal
Melissa M. Foley, Jeffrey J. Duda, Matthew M. Beirne, Rebecca Paradis, Andrew Ritchie, Jonathan A. Warrick
2015, Limnology and Oceanography (60) 1719-1732
Dam removal in the United States is increasing as a result of structural concerns, sedimentation of reservoirs, and declining riverine ecosystem conditions. The removal of the 32 m Elwha and 64 m Glines Canyon dams from the Elwha River in Washington, U.S.A., was the largest dam removal project in North...
Geologic and hydrostratigraphic map of the Anhalt, Fischer, and Spring Branch 7.5-minute quadrangles, Blanco, Comal, and Kendall Counties, Texas
Allan K. Clark, Robert R. Morris
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3333
This report describes the geology and hydrostratigraphy of the Edwards and Trinity Groups in the Anhalt, Fischer, and Spring Branch 7.5-minute quadrangles, Blanco, Comal, and Kendall Counties, Texas. The hydrostratigraphy was defined based on variations in the amount and type of porosity of each lithostratigraphic unit, which varies depending on...
Etheostoma brevirostrum (Holiday Darter)
Noel M. Burkhead
2015, Book chapter, Freshwater information network: Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute
The life history of the Holiday Darter is incompletely known. Only reproductive behavior (Johnston and Shute 1997; Anderson 2009), habitat use, and spawning seasons (Anderson 2009) have been studied. However, based on similarity of life history attributes among snubnose darters (Carney and Burr 1989; Johnston and Haag 1996; Khudamrongsawat et...
Holocene climate variability in Texas, USA: An integration of existing paleoclimate data and modeling with a new, high-resolution speleothem record
Corinne I. Wong, Jay L. Banner, MaryLynn Musgrove
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (127) 155-173
Delineating the climate processes governing precipitation variability in drought-prone Texas is critical for predicting and mitigating climate change effects, and requires the reconstruction of past climate beyond the instrumental record. We synthesize existing paleoclimate proxy data and climate simulations to provide an overview of climate variability in Texas during the...
Didymosphenia geminata in the Upper Esopus Creek: current status, variability, and controlling factors
Scott D. George, Barry P. Baldigo
2015, PLoS ONE (10) 1-20
In May of 2009, the bloom-forming diatom Didymosphenia geminata was first identified in the Upper Esopus Creek, a key tributary to the New York City water-supply and a popular recreational stream. The Upper Esopus receives supplemental flows from the Shandaken Portal, an underground aqueduct delivering waters from a nearby basin. The presence...
Potamochoerus porcus (Artiodactyla: Suidae)
David M. Leslie Jr., Brent A. Huffman
2015, Mammalian Species (47) 15-31
Potamochoerus porcus (Linnaeus, 1758) is a monotypic suid commonly known as the red river hog. It is 1 of 2 species in the genus Potamochoerus and among the smallest and most plesiomorphic (ancestral) of the 8 African suids. This is the brightest colored wild pig species and is identified by...
An evaluation of fish behavior upstream of the water temperature control tower at Cougar Dam, Oregon, using acoustic cameras, 2013
Noah S. Adams, Collin D. Smith, John M. Plumb, Gabriel S. Hansen, John W. Beeman
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1124
This report describes the initial year of a 2-year study to determine the feasibility of using acoustic cameras to monitor fish movements to help inform decisions about fish passage at Cougar Dam near Springfield, Oregon. Specifically, we used acoustic cameras to measure fish presence, travel speed, and direction adjacent to...
Installation of a groundwater monitoring-well network on the east side of the Uncompahgre River in the Lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, 2012
Judith C. Thomas, L. R. Arnold
2015, Data Series 923
The east side of the Uncompahgre River Basin has been a known contributor of dissolved selenium to recipient streams. Discharge of groundwater containing dissolved selenium contributes to surface-water selenium concentrations and loads; however, the groundwater system on the east side of the Uncompahgre River Basin is not well characterized. The...
Metamodels to bridge the gap between modeling and decision support
Michael N. Fienen, Bernard T. Nolan, Daniel T. Feinstein, J. Jeffrey Starn
2015, Groundwater (53) 511-512
Alteration, slope-classified alteration, and potential lahar inundation maps of volcanoes for the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Volcano Archive
John C. Mars, Bernard E. Hubbard, David Pieri, Justin Linick
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5035
This study identifies areas prone to lahars from hydrothermally altered volcanic edifices on a global scale, using visible and near infrared (VNIR) and short wavelength infrared (SWIR) reflectance data from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and digital elevation data from the ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model...
Groundwater quality in Geauga County, Ohio: status, including detection frequency of methane in water wells, 2009, and changes during 1978-2009
Martha L. Jagucki, Stephanie P. Kula, Brian E. Mailot
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5032
Domestic wells that are not safeguarded by regular water-quality testing provide drinking water for 79 percent of the residents of Geauga County, in northeastern Ohio. Since 1978, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has worked cooperatively with the Board of Commissioners and Geauga County Planning Commission to monitor the quality of...
Testing the thermal-niche oxygen-squeeze hypothesis for estuarine striped bass
Richard T. Kraus, D.H. Secor, Rebecca L. Wingate
2015, Environmental Biology of Fishes (98) 2083-2092
In many stratified coastal ecosystems, conceptual and bioenergetics models predict seasonal reduction in quality and quantity of fish habitat due to high temperatures and hypoxia. We tested these predictions using acoustic telemetry of 2 to 4 kg striped bass (Morone saxatilis Walbaum) and high-resolution spatial water quality sampling in the...
Slope activity in Gale crater, Mars
Colin M. Dundas, Alfred S. McEwen
2015, Icarus (254) 213-218
High-resolution repeat imaging of Aeolis Mons, the central mound in Gale crater, reveals active slope processes within tens of kilometers of the Curiosity rover. At one location near the base of northeastern Aeolis Mons, dozens of transient narrow lineae were observed, resembling features (Recurring Slope Lineae) that are potentially due...
