Geomorphic mapping to support river restoration on the Trinity River downstream from Lewiston Dam, California, 1980-2011
Jennifer A. Curtis, Timothy M. Guerrero
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1047
Historic land use, dam construction, water storage, and flow diversions in the Trinity River watershed have resulted in downstream geomorphic change, loss of salmonid habitat, and declines in salmonid populations. The USGS in cooperation with the Trinity River Restoration Program, a multi-agency partnership tasked with implementing federally mandated restoration, completed...
Late Holocene flood probabilities in the Black Hills, South Dakota with emphasis on the Medieval Climate Anomaly
Tessa M. Harden, James E. O'Connor, Daniel G. Driscoll
2015, Catena (130) 62-68
A stratigraphic record of 35 large paleofloods and four large historical floods during the last 2000 years for four basins in the Black Hills of South Dakota reveals three long-term flooding episodes, identified using probability distributions, at A.D.: 120–395, 900–1290, and 1410 to present. During the Medieval Climate Anomaly (~ A.D. 900–1300)...
Identifying multiple timescale rainfall controls on Mojave Desert ecohydrology using an integrated data and modeling approach for Larrea tridentata
Gene-Hua Crystal Ng, David R. Bedford, David M. Miller
2015, Water Resources Research (51)-3884
The perennial shrub Larrea tridentata is widely successful in North American warm deserts but is also susceptible to climatic perturbations. Understanding its response to rainfall variability requires consideration of multiple timescales. We examine intra-annual to multi-year relationships using model simulations of soil moisture and vegetation growth over 50 years in...
Using biotic ligand models to predict metal toxicity in mineralized systems
Kathleen S. Smith, Laurie S. Balistrieri, Andrew S. Todd
2015, Applied Geochemistry (57) 55-72
The biotic ligand model (BLM) is a numerical approach that couples chemical speciation calculations with toxicological information to predict the toxicity of aquatic metals. This approach was proposed as an alternative to expensive toxicological testing, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency incorporated the BLM into the 2007 revised aquatic life...
The fate of cyanide in leach wastes at gold mines: an environmental perspective
Craig A. Johnson
2015, Applied Geochemistry (57) 194-205
This paper reviews the basic chemistry of cyanide, methods by which cyanide can be analyzed, and aspects of cyanide behavior that are most relevant to environmental considerations at mineral processing operations associated with gold mines. The emphasis is on research results reported since 1999 and on data gathered for...
Characteristics and environmental aspects of slag: a review
Nadine M. Piatak, Michael B. Parsons, Robert R. Seal II
2015, Applied Geochemistry (57) 236-266
Slag is a waste product from the pyrometallurgical processing of various ores. Based on over 150 published studies, this paper provides an overview of mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of different types of slag and their environmental consequences, particularly from the release of potentially toxic elements to water. This chapter...
Field observations of artificial sand and oil agglomerates
Patricia (Soupy) Dalyander, Joseph W. Long, Nathaniel G. Plant, Molly R. McLaughlin, Rangley C. Mickey
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1057
Oil that comes into the surf zone following spills, such as occurred during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) blowout, can mix with local sediment to form heavier-than-water sand and oil agglomerates (SOAs), at times in the form of mats a few centimeters thick and...
Summary of urban stormwater quality in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2003-12
Erik F. Storms, Gretchen P. Oelsner, Evan A. Locke, Michael R. Stevens, Orlando C. Romero
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5006
Urban stormwater in the Albuquerque metropolitan area was sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority, the New Mexico Department of Transportation, and the University of New Mexico. Stormwater was sampled from a network of monitoring stations from...
Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys at highway bridges crossing the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers on the periphery of Missouri, June 2014
Richard J. Huizinga
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5048
Bathymetric and velocimetric data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation, in the vicinity of 8 bridges at 7 highway crossings of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers on the periphery of Missouri from June 3 to 11, 2014. A multibeam echosounder mapping...
Temperature impacts on the water year 2014 drought in California
Shraddhanand Shukla, Mohammad Safeeq, Amir AghaKouchak, Kaiyu Guan, Christopher C. Funk
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 4384-4393
California is experiencing one of the worst droughts on record. Here we use a hydrological model and risk assessment framework to understand the influence of temperature on the water year (WY) 2014 drought in California and examine the probability that this drought would have been less severe if temperatures resembled...
Analysis of regional rainfall-runoff parameters for the Lake Michigan Diversion hydrological modeling
David T. Soong, Thomas M. Over
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5053
The Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting (LMDA) system has been developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District (USACE-Chicago) and the State of Illinois as a part of the interstate Great Lakes water regulatory program. The diverted Lake Michigan watershed is a 673-square-mile watershed that is comprised of the...
U.S. Geological Survey water-resources programs in New Mexico, FY 2015
David P. Mau
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3039
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has collected hydrologic information in New Mexico since 1889, beginning with the first USGS streamflow-gaging station in the Nation, located on the Rio Grande near Embudo, New Mexico. Water-resources information provided by the USGS is used by many government agencies for issuing flood warnings to...
Results from laboratory and field testing of nitrate measuring spectrophotometers
Teri T. Snazelle
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1065
Five ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometer nitrate analyzers were evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) during a two-phase evaluation. In Phase I, the TriOS ProPs (10-millimeter (mm) path length), Hach NITRATAX plus sc (5-mm path length), Satlantic Submersible UV Nitrate Analyzer (SUNA, 10-mm path length), and S::CAN...
Evaluation of Xylem EXO water-quality sondes and sensors
Teri T. Snazelle
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1063
Two models of multiparameter sondes manufactured by Xylem, parent company of Yellow Springs Incorporated (YSI)—EXO1 and EXO2—equipped with EXO conductivity/temperature (C/T), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and turbidity sensors, were evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility. The sondes and sensors were evaluated in two phases for compliance with...
The source, discharge, and chemical characteristics of selected springs, and the abundance and health of associated endemic anuran species in the Mojave network parks
Roy A. Schroeder, Gregory A. Smith, Peter Martin, Alan L. Flint, Elizabeth Gallegos, Robert N. Fisher
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5027
Hydrological and biological investigations were done during 2005 and 2006 in cooperation with the U.S. National Park Service to investigate the source, discharge, and chemical characteristics of selected springs and the abundance and health of endemic anuran (frog and toad) species at Darwin Falls in Death Valley National Park, Piute...
Monitoring Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem wetlands: Can long-term monitoring help us understand their future?
Andrew M. Ray, Adam J. Sepulveda, Blake R. Hossack, Debra Patla, David Thoma, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Andrea R. Litt
2015, Yellowstone Science (23) 44-53
In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), changes in the drying cycles of wetlands have been documented. Wetlands are areas where the water table is at or near the land surface and standing shallow water is present for much or all of the growing season. We discuss how monitoring data can...
Flood-inundation maps for the White River at Indianapolis, Indiana, 2014
Elizabeth A. Nystrom
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5051
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.4-mile reach of the White River in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 0.3 miles upstream of Michigan Street to the Harding Street Generating Station dam (at the confluence with Lick Creek), were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community...
Scientific information in support of water resource management of the Big River area, Rhode Island
David S. Armstrong, John P. Masterson, Keith W. Robinson, Kathleen M. Crawley
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3035
The Rhode Island Water Resources Board (RIWRB) is concerned that the demand for water may exceed the available public water supply in central and southern Rhode Island. Although water is often assumed to be plentiful in Rhode Island because of abundant rainfall, an adequate supply of water is not always...
Gravity data from the Sierra Vista Subwatershed, Upper San Pedro Basin, Arizona
Jeffrey R. Kennedy
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1086
Observations of very small changes of Earth’s gravitational field (time-lapse gravity) provide a direct, non-invasive method for measuring changes in aquifer storage change. An existing network of gravity stations in the Sierra Vista Subwatershed was revised in 2014 to better understand the spatial distribution of changes in aquifer storage, especially...
The natural sediment regime in rivers: broadening the foundation for ecosystem management
Ellen E. Wohl, Brian P. Bledsoe, Robert B. Jacobson, N. LeRoy Poff, Sara L. Rathburn, David M. Walters, Andrew C. Wilcox
2015, BioScience (65) 358-371
Water and sediment inputs are fundamental drivers of river ecosystems, but river management tends to emphasize flow regime at the expense of sediment regime. In an effort to frame a more inclusive paradigm for river management, we discuss sediment inputs, transport, and storage within river systems; interactions among water, sediment,...
Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 report
Timothy S. Collett, M. Riedel, R. Boswell, J. Presley, P. Kumar, A. Sathe, A. Sethi, M.V. Lall, NGHP Expedition Scientists
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5054
Gas hydrate is a naturally occurring “ice-like” combination of natural gas and water that has the potential to serve as an immense resource of natural gas from the world’s oceans and polar regions. However, gas-hydrate recovery is both a scientific and a technical challenge and much remains to be learned...
Temporal and basin-specific population trends of quagga mussels on soft sediment of a multi-basin reservoir
Timothy J Caldwell, Michael R. Rosen, Sudeep Chandra, Kumud Acharya, Andrea M Caires, Clinton J. Davis, Melissa Thaw, Daniel M. Webster
2015, Book chapter, Biology and management of invasive Quagga and Zebra Mussels in the western United States
Invasive quagga (Dreissena bugnesis) and zebra (Dreissena ploymorpha) mussels have rapidly spread throughout North America. Understanding the relationships between environmental variables and quagga mussels during the early stages of invasion will help management strategies and allow researchers to predict patterns of future invasions. Quagga mussels were detected in Lake Mead,...
Peak flow regression equations For small, ungaged streams in Maine: Comparing map-based to field-based variables
Pamela J. Lombard, Glenn A. Hodgkins
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5049
Regression equations to estimate peak streamflows with 1- to 500-year recurrence intervals (annual exceedance probabilities from 99 to 0.2 percent, respectively) were developed for small, ungaged streams in Maine. Equations presented here are the best available equations for estimating peak flows at ungaged basins in Maine with drainage areas from...
Summary of oceanographic and water-quality measurements in Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Wells, Maine, in 2013
Ellyn T. Montgomery, Neil K. Ganju, Patrick J. Dickhudt, Jonathan Borden, Marinna A. Martini, Sandra M. Brosnahan
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1072
Suspended-sediment transport is a critical element controlling the geomorphology of tidal wetland complexes. Wetlands rely on organic material and inorganic sediment deposition to maintain their elevation relative to sea level. The U.S. Geological Survey performed observational deployments to measure suspended-sediment concentration and water flow rates in the tidal channels of...
Coupled interactions between volatile activity and Fe oxidation state during arc crustal processes
Madeleine C.S. Humphreys, R Brooker, D.C. Fraser, A Burgisser, Margaret T. Mangan, C McCammon
2015, Journal of Petrology 1-20
Arc magmas erupted at the Earth’s surface are commonly more oxidized than those produced at mid-ocean ridges. Possible explanations for this high oxidation state are that the transfer of fluids during the subduction process results in direct oxidation of the sub-arc mantle wedge, or that oxidation is caused by the...
