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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
Dissolved-solids loads discharged from irrigated areas near Manila, Utah, May 2007-October 2012, and relation of loads to selected variables
Susan A. Thiros, Steven J. Gerner
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5018
The Manila/Washam Salinity Project (MWSP) is a cooperative effort by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and local farmers and ranchers to reduce the transport of dissolved solids to Flaming Gorge Reservoir from irrigated agricultural lands near Manila, Utah. To estimate dissolved-solids loads from the MWSP area, discharge and water...
The river as a chemostat: fresh perspectives on dissolved organic matter flowing down the river continuum
Irena F. Creed, Diane M. McKnight, Brian A. Pellerin, Mark B. Green, Brian A. Bergamaschi, George R. Aiken, Douglas A. Burns, Stuart E G Findlay, James B. Shanley, Robert G. Striegl, Brent T. Aulenbach, David W. Clow, Hjalmar Laudon, Brian L. McGlynn, Kevin J. McGuire, Richard A. Smith, Sarah M. Stackpoole
2015, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (72) 1272-1285
A better understanding is needed of how hydrological and biogeochemical processes control dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition from headwaters downstream to large rivers. We examined a large DOM dataset from the National Water Information System of the US Geological Survey, which represents approximately 100 000...
Safety of spray-dried powder formulated Pseudomonas fluorescens strain CL145A exposure to subadult/adult unionid mussels during simulated open-water treatments
James A. Luoma, Kerry L. Weber, Diane L. Waller, Jeremy K. Wise, Denise A. Mayer, Douglas B. Aloisi
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1064
The exposure effects of a commercially prepared spray dried powder (SDP) formulation of Pseudomonas fluorescens (strain CL145A) on the survival of seven species of unionid mussels endemic to the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins was evaluated in this study. The study exposures were completed within replicated 350-liter test tanks contained within...
Exposure-related effects of Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pf-CL145A) on juvenile unionid mussels
Kerry L. Weber, James A. Luoma, Denise A. Mayer, Douglas B. Aloisi, Nathan L. Eckert
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1066
The exposure-related effects of a commercially prepared spray-dried powder (SDP) or freeze-dried powder (FDP) formulation of Pseudomonas fluorescens (strain CL145A) on the survival of seven species of newly metamorphosed (<72 hours old) freshwater unionid mussels was evaluated. Forty unionid mussels of each species were randomly distributed to test chambers and...
Characterization of streamflow, salinity, and selenium loading and land-use change in Montrose Arroyo, western Colorado, from 1992 to 2013
Rodney J. Richards, Jennifer L. Moore
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5039
Salinity and dissolved selenium are known water-quality impairments in the lower Gunnison River watershed of western Colorado. Salinity is a concern because of its adverse effects on agricultural land and equipment, and on municipal and industrial users. The Montrose Arroyo watershed in Montrose, Colorado, contains agricultural and residential areas as...
Carbon exchange between the atmosphere and subtropical forested cypress and pine wetlands
W. Barclay Shoemaker, Frank E. Anderson, Jordan G. Barr, Scott L. Graham, Daniel B. Botkin
2015, Biogeosciences (12) 2285-2300
Carbon dioxide exchange between the atmosphere and forested subtropical wetlands is largely unknown. Here we report a first step in characterizing this atmospheric–ecosystem carbon (C) exchange, for cypress strands and pine forests in the Greater Everglades of Florida as measured with eddy covariance methods at three locations (Cypress Swamp, Dwarf...
Surface geophysics and porewater evaluation at the Lower Darby Creek Area Superfund Site, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2013
Charles W. Walker, James R. Degnan, Michael J. Brayton, Roberto M. Cruz, Michelle M. Lorah
2015, Data Series 927
In cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 3, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is participating in an ongoing study to aid in the identification of subsurface heterogeneities that may act as preferential pathways for contaminant transport in and around the Lower Darby Creek Area (LDCA) Superfund Site,...
Sediment contributions from floodplains and legacy sediments to Piedmont streams of Baltimore County, Maryland
Mitchell Donovan, Andrew Miller, Matthew Baker, Allen C. Gellis
2015, Geomorphology (235) 88-105
Disparity between watershed erosion rates and downstream sediment delivery has remained an important theme in geomorphology for many decades, with the role of floodplains in sediment storage as a common focus. In the Piedmont Province of the eastern USA, upland deforestation and agricultural land use following European settlement led...
Physical habitat monitoring strategy (PHAMS) for reach-scale restoration effectiveness monitoring
Krista L. Jones, Scott J. O’Daniel, Tim J. Beechie, John Zakrajsek, John G. Webster
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1069
Habitat restoration efforts by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) have shifted from the site scale (1-10 meters) to the reach scale (100-1,000 meters). This shift was in response to the growing scientific emphasis on process-based restoration and to support from the 2007 Accords Agreement with the...
