The upper bound of Pier Scour defined by selected laboratory and field data
Stephen Benedict, Andral W. Caldwell
2015, Conference Paper
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, conducted several field investigations of pier scour in South Carolina (Benedict and Caldwell, 2006; Benedict and Caldwell, 2009) and used that data to develop envelope curves defining the upper bound of pier scour. To expand upon this...
From mobile ADCP to high-resolution SSC: a cross-section calibration tool
Justin A. Boldt
2015, Conference Paper
Sediment is a major cause of stream impairment, and improved sediment monitoring is a crucial need. Point samples of suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) are often not enough to provide an understanding to answer critical questions in a changing environment. As technology has improved, there now exists the opportunity to obtain discrete...
Suspended sediment transport trough a large fluvial-tidal channel network
Scott Wright, Tara L. Morgan-King
2015, Conference Paper
The confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, CA, forms a large network of interconnected channels, referred to as the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (the Delta). The Delta comprises the transition zone from the fluvial influences of the upstream rivers and tidal influences of San Francisco Bay downstream. Formerly an...
Characterizing and simulating sediment loads and transport in the lower part of the San Antonio River Basin
J. Ryan Banta, Darwin J. Ockerman, Cassi Crow, Stephen P. Opsahl
2015, Conference Paper
This extended abstract is based on the U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Reports by Crow et al. (2013) and Banta and Ockerman (2014). Suspended sediment in rivers and streams can play an important role in ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers....
Large river bed sediment characterization with low-cost sidecan sonar: Case studies from two setting in the Colorado (Arizona) and Penobscot (Maine) Rivers
Daniel D. Buscombe, Paul E. Grams, Theodore S. Melis, Sean Smith
2015, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 3rd joint federal interagency conference on sedimentation and hydrologic modeling
Mapping subaqueous riverbed sediment grain size across channels and in nearshore areas typically used by fish and benthic invertebrates is difficult where and when the water flow is too swift or deep to wade yet impractical to access with large boats and instruments. Fluvial characteristics can further constrain sampling options,...
Evaluation and application of regional turbidity-sediment regression models in Virginia
Kenneth Hyer, John D. Jastram, Douglas Moyer, James S. Webber, Jeffrey G. Chanat
2015, Conference Paper
Conventional thinking has long held that turbidity-sediment surrogate-regression equations are site specific and that regression equations developed at a single monitoring station should not be applied to another station; however, few studies have evaluated this issue in a rigorous manner. If robust regional turbidity-sediment models can be developed successfully, their...
Estimating changes in riparian and channel features along the Trinity River downstream of Lewiston Dam, California, 1980 to 2011
Jennifer A. Curtis
2015, Conference Paper
Dam construction, flow diversion, and legacy landuse effects reduced the transport capacity, sediment supply, channel complexity and floodplain-connectivity along the Trinity River, CA below Lewiston Dam. This study documents the geomorphic evolution of the Trinity River Restoration Program’s intensively managed 65-km long restoration reach from 1980 to 2011. The nature...
Suspended-sediment concentrations, yields, total suspended solids, turbidity, and particle-size fractions for selected rivers in Minnesota, 2007 through 2011
Christopher A. Ellison, Brett E. Savage, Gregory D. Johnson
2015, Conference Paper, Proceedings of joint federal Interagency conference 2015
Excessive sediment transport in rivers causes problems for flood control, soil conservation, irrigation, aquatic health, and navigation, as well as transporting harmful contaminants like organic chemicals and eutrophication-causing nutrients. In Minnesota, more than 5,800 miles of streams are identified as impaired by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) due to...
Surrogate analysis and index developer (SAID) tool and real-time data dissemination utilities
Marian M. Domanski, Timothy D. Straub, Molly S. Wood, Mark N. Landers, Gary R. Wall, Steven J. Brady
2015, Conference Paper
The use of acoustic and other parameters as surrogates for suspended-sediment concentrations (SSC) in rivers has been successful in multiple applications across the Nation. Critical to advancing the operational use of surrogates are tools to process and evaluate the data along with the subsequent development of regression models from which...
Diel patterns and temporal trends in spawning activities of Robust Redhorse and River Redhorse in Georgia, assessed using passive acoustic monitoring
Carrie A. Straight, C. Rhett Jackson, Byron J. Freeman, Mary Freeman
2015, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (144) 563-576
The conservation of imperiled species depends upon understanding threats to the species at each stage of its life history. In the case of many imperiled migratory fishes, understanding how timing and environmental influences affect reproductive behavior could provide managers with information critical for species conservation. We used passive acoustic recorders...
The upper bound of abutment scour defined by selected laboratory and field data
Stephen Benedict, Andral W. Caldwell
2015, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 5th Federal Interagency Hydrologic Modeling Conference and the 10th Federal Interagency Sedimentation Conference
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, conducted a field investigation of abutment scour in South Carolina and used that data to develop envelope curves defining the upper bound of abutment scour. To expand upon this previous work, an additional cooperative investigation was initiated...
Geomorphic change in the Limitrophe reach of the Colorado River in response to the 2014 delta pulse flow, United States and Mexico
Erich R. Mueller, John C. Schmidt, David J. Topping, Paul E. Grams
2015, Conference Paper
A pulse of water was released from Morelos Dam into the dry streambed of the Colorado River in its former delta on March 23, 2014. Although small in relation to delta floods of a century ago, this was the first flow to reach the sea in nearly two decades. The...
Estimating concentrations of fine-grained and total suspended sediment from close-range remote sensing imagery
Adam R. Mosbrucker, Kurt R. Spicer, Tami S. Christianson, Mark A. Uhrich
2015, Conference Paper
Fluvial sediment, a vital surface water resource, is hazardous in excess. Suspended sediment, the most prevalent source of impairment of river systems, can adversely affect flood control, navigation, fisheries and aquatic ecosystems, recreation, and water supply (e.g., Rasmussen et al., 2009; Qu, 2014). Monitoring programs typically focus on suspended-sediment concentration...
Fine-scale pathways used by adult sea lampreys during riverine spawning migrations
Christopher M. Holbrook, Roger A. Bergstedt, Noah S. Adams, Tyson Hatton, Robert L. McLaughlin
2015, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (144) 549-562
Better knowledge of upstream migratory patterns of spawning Sea Lampreys Petromyzon marinus, an invasive species in the Great Lakes, is needed to improve trapping for population control and assessment. Although trapping of adult Sea Lampreys provides the basis for estimates of lake-wide abundance that are used to evaluate the Sea...
Climate trends and projections for Guam
Stephen B. Gingerich, Victoria Keener, Melissa L. Finucane
2015, Report
The island of Guam experiences a tropical marine climate, which is warm and humid moderated by seasonal tradewinds and a wet and dry season. The dry season lasts from January to June, while the rainy months are from July to December. Annual rainfall totals 84-116 inches (2133-2946 mm), of which...
Water quality of groundwater and stream base flow in the Marcellus Shale Gas Field of the Monongahela River Basin, West Virginia, 2011-12
Douglas B. Chambers, Mark D. Kozar, Terence Messinger, Michon L. Mulder, Adam J. Pelak, Jeremy S. White
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5233
The Marcellus Shale gas field underlies portions of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Development of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technology led to extensive development of gas from the Marcellus Shale beginning about 2007. The need to identify and monitor changes in water-quality conditions related...
Landsat surface reflectance data
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3034
Landsat satellite data have been produced, archived, and distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey since 1972. Users rely on these data for historical study of land surface change and require consistent radiometric data processed to the highest science standards. In support of the guidelines established through the Global Climate Observing...
Land-use impacts on water resources and protected areas: applications of state-and-transition simulation modeling of future scenarios
Tamara Wilson, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Jason T. Sherba, Dick Cameron
2015, Conference Paper, AIMS Environmental Science
Human land use will increasingly contribute to habitat loss and water shortages in California, given future population projections and associated land-use demand. Understanding how land-use change may impact future water use and where existing protected areas may be threatened by land-use conversion will be important if effective, sustainable management approaches...
Digital representation of oil and natural gas well pad scars in southwest Wyoming: 2012 update
Steven L. Garman, Jamie L. McBeth
2015, Data Series 934
The recent proliferation of oil and natural gas energy development in the Greater Green River Basin of southwest Wyoming has accentuated the need to understand wildlife responses to this development. The location and extent of surface disturbance that is created by oil and natural gas well pad scars are key...
Dynamic triggering
David P. Hill, Stephanie G. Prejean
Gerald Schubert, editor(s)
2015, Book chapter, Volume 4 of <i>Treatise on Geophysics</i> (Second Edition)
Dynamic stresses propagating as seismic waves from large earthquakes trigger a spectrum of responses at global distances. In addition to locally triggered earthquakes in a variety of tectonic environments, dynamic stresses trigger tectonic (nonvolcanic) tremor in the brittle–plastic transition zone along major plate-boundary faults, activity changes in hydrothermal and volcanic...
Organic sedimentation in modern lacustrine systems: A case study from Lake Malawi, East Africa
Geoffrey S. Ellis, Barry J. Katz, Christopher A. Scholz, Peter K. Swart
2015, Special Paper of the Geological Society of America (515) 19-47
This study examines the relationship between depositional environment and sedimentary organic geochemistry in Lake Malawi, East Africa, and evaluates the relative significance of the various processes that control sedimentary organic matter (OM) in lacustrine systems. Total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations in recent sediments from Lake Malawi range from 0.01 to...
Effects and empirical critical loads of Nitrogen for ecoregions of the United States
Linda H. Pardo, Molly J. Robin-Abbott, Mark E. Fenn, Christine L. Goodale, Linda H. Geiser, Charles T. Driscoll, Edith B. Allen, Jill Baron, Roland Bobbink, William D. Bowman, C M Clark, B. Emmett, Frank S Gilliam, Tara L. Greaver, Sharon J Hall, Erik A. Lilleskov, Lingli Liu, Jason A. Lynch, Knute J Nadelhoffer, Steven S. Perakis, John L Stoddard, Kathleen C. Weathers, Robin L. Dennis
2015, Book chapter, Critical loads and dynamic risk assessments
Human activity in the last century has increased nitrogen (N) deposition to a level that has caused or is likely to cause alterations to the structure and function of many ecosystems across the United States. We synthesized current research relating atmospheric N deposition to effects on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems...
Application of the FluEgg model to predict transport of Asian carp eggs in the Saint Joseph River (Great Lakes tributary)
Tatiana Garcia, Elizabeth A. Murphy, P. Ryan Jackson, Marcelo H. Garcia
2015, Journal of Great Lakes Research (41) 374-386
The Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator (FluEgg) is a three-dimensional Lagrangian model that simulates the movement and development of Asian carp eggs until hatching based on the physical characteristics of the flow field and the physical and biological characteristics of the eggs. This tool provides information concerning egg development and spawning...
Summary of hydrologic conditions in Kansas, water year 2014
Andrew L. Robison
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3027
The U.S. Geological Survey Kansas Water Science Center, in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies, maintains a long-term network of hydrologic monitoring gages in the State of Kansas. These include 206 real-time streamgages, 12 real-time reservoir-level monitoring stations, and 32 groundwater monitoring wells. These data and associated analyses, accumulated...
Accuracy testing of electric groundwater-level measurement tapes
Jim Jelinski, Christopher S. Clayton, Janice M. Fulford
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1236
Electric tapes are used to measure groundwater levels and to verify the accuracy of pressure transducers installed in wells. Electric tapes are generally assumed to be accurate to ±0.01 foot (ft), but little information is available from the manufacturers and no accuracy studies have been conducted to confirm this value....
