Dam Removal Information Portal (DRIP)—A map-based resource linking scientific studies and associated geospatial information about dam removals
Jeffrey J. Duda, Daniel J. Wieferich, R. Sky Bristol, J. Ryan Bellmore, Vivian B. Hutchison, Katherine M. Vittum, Laura Craig, Jonathan A. Warrick
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1132
The removal of dams has recently increased over historical levels due to aging infrastructure, changing societal needs, and modern safety standards rendering some dams obsolete. Where possibilities for river restoration, or improved safety, exceed the benefits of retaining a dam, removal is more often being considered as a viable...
Numerical simulation of groundwater flow at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, Washington
Joseph L. Jones, Kenneth H. Johnson, Lonna M. Frans
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1135
Information about groundwater-flow paths and locations where groundwater discharges at and near Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is necessary for understanding the potential migration of subsurface contaminants by groundwater at the shipyard. The design of some remediation alternatives would be aided by knowledge of whether groundwater flowing at specific locations...
Estimating suspended sediment using acoustics in a fine-grained riverine system, Kickapoo Creek at Bloomington, Illinois
Amanda D. Manaster, Marian M. Domanski, Timothy D. Straub, Justin A. Boldt
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1117
Acoustic technologies have the potential to be used as a surrogate for measuring suspended-sediment concentration (SSC). This potential was examined in a fine-grained (97-100 percent fines) riverine system in central Illinois by way of installation of an acoustic instrument. Acoustic data were collected continuously over the span of 5.5...
Assessing climate-sensitive ecosystems in the southeastern United States
Jennifer Costanza, Scott Beck, Milo Pyne, Adam Terando, Matthew J. Rubino, Rickie White, Jaime Collazo
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1073
Climate change impacts ecosystems in many ways, from effects on species to phenology to wildfire dynamics. Assessing the potential vulnerability of ecosystems to future changes in climate is an important first step in prioritizing and planning for conservation. Although assessments of climate change vulnerability commonly are done for species, fewer...
Relations between continuous real-time physical properties and discrete water-quality constituents in the Little Arkansas River, south-central Kansas, 1998-2014
Patrick P. Rasmussen, Patrick J. Eslick, Andrew C. Ziegler
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1057
Water from the Little Arkansas River is used as source water for artificial recharge of the Equus Beds aquifer, one of the primary water-supply sources for the city of Wichita, Kansas. The U.S. Geological Survey has operated two continuous real-time water-quality monitoring stations since 1995 on the Little Arkansas River...
2014 annual summary of the lower Gunnison River Basin Selenium Management Program water-quality monitoring, Colorado
Mark F. Henneberg
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1129
Dissolved-selenium loading analyses of data collected at 18 water-quality sites in the lower Gunnison River Basin in Colorado were completed through water year (WY) 2014. A WY is defined as October 1–September 30. Selenium is a trace element that bioaccumulates in aquatic food chains and can cause reproductive failure, deformities,...
Demographics and movements of least terns and piping plovers in the Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska
Erin A. Roche, Mark H. Sherfy, Megan M. Ring, Terry L. Shaffer, Michael J. Anteau, Jennifer H. Stucker
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1061
The Central Platte River Valley provides breeding habitat for a variety of migratory birds, including federally endangered interior least terns (Sternula antillarum; least tern) and threatened piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). Since 2009, researchers have collected demographic data on both species that span their lifecycle (that is, from egg laying through...
A satellite model of Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) breeding habitat and a simulation of potential effects of tamarisk leaf beetles (Diorhabda spp.), southwestern United States
James R. Hatten
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1120
Executive Summary The study described in this report represents the first time that a satellite model has been used to identify potential Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) (hereinafter referred to as “flycatcher”) breeding habitat rangewide for 2013–15. Fifty-seven Landsat scenes were required to map the entire range of the flycatcher,...
Effects of climate change on tidal marshes along a latitudinal gradient in California
Karen M. Thorne, Glen M. MacDonald, Rich F. Ambrose, Kevin J. Buffington, Chase M. Freeman, Christopher N. Janousek, Lauren N. Brown, James R. Holmquist, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Katherine W. Powelson, Patrick L. Barnard, John Y. Takekawa
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1125
Public SummaryThe coastal region of California supports a wealth of ecosystem services including habitat provision for wildlife and fisheries. Tidal marshes, mudflats, and shallow bays within coastal estuaries link marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats, and provide economic and recreational benefits to local communities. Climate change effects such as sea-level rise...
Preliminary results from exploratory sampling of wells for the California oil, gas, and groundwater program, 2014–15
Peter B. McMahon, Justin T. Kulongoski, Michael T. Wright, Michael T. Land, Matthew K. Landon, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Avner Vengosh, George R. Aiken
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1100
Introduction In 2014 and 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sampled water wells in the Los Angeles Basin and southern San Joaquin Valley, California, and oil wells in the San Joaquin Valley for analysis of multiple chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers. The purpose of this reconnaissance sampling was to evaluate the utility of tracers for assessing the effects of oil...
Analysis of seafloor change at Breton Island, Gosier Shoals, and surrounding waters, 1869–2014, Breton National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana
James G. Flocks, Joseph F. Terrano
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1069
Characterizing bathymetric change in coastal environments is an important component in understanding shoreline evolution, especially along barrier island platforms. Bathymetric change is a function of the regional sediment budget, long-term wave and current patterns, and episodic impact from high-energy events such as storms. Human modifications may also cause changes in...
Soil data for a vegetation gradient located at Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research Site, interior Alaska
Kristen L. Manies, Jennifer W. Harden, Christopher C. Fuller, Xiaomei Xu, John P. McGeehin
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1034
Boreal soils play an important role in the global carbon cycle owing to the large amount of carbon stored within this northern region. To understand how carbon and nitrogen storage varied among different ecosystems, a vegetation gradient was established in the Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site,...
Seasonal flux and assemblage composition of planktic foraminifera from the northern Gulf of Mexico, 2008–14
Caitlin E. Reynolds, Julie N. Richey
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1115
The U.S. Geological Survey anchored a sediment trap in the northern Gulf of Mexico in January 2008 to collect seasonal time-series data on the flux and assemblage composition of live planktic foraminifers. This report provides an update of the previous time-series data to include continuous results from January 2013 through...
Agricultural irrigated land-use inventory for the counties in the Suwannee River Water Management District in Florida, 2015
Richard L. Marella, Joann F. Dixon, Darbi R. Berry
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1111
A detailed inventory of irrigated crop acreage is not available at the level of resolution needed to accurately estimate agricultural water use or to project future water demands in many Florida counties. A detailed digital map and summary of irrigated acreage during the 2015 growing season was developed for 13...
Catalog of microscopic organisms of the Everglades, Part 1—The cyanobacteria
Barry H. Rosen, Jan Mares
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1114
The microscopic organisms of the Everglades include numerous prokaryotic organisms, including the eubacteria, such as the cyanobacteria and non-photosynthetic bacteria, as well as several eukaryotic algae and protozoa that form the base of the food web. This report is part 1 in a series of reports that describe microscopic organisms...
Relative distribution and abundance of fishes and crayfish in 2010 and 2014 prior to saltcedar (Tamarix ssp.) removal in the Amargosa River Canyon, southeastern California
Mark E. Hereford
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1112
The Amargosa River Canyon, located in the Mojave Desert of southeastern California, contains the longest perennial reach of the Amargosa River. Because of its diverse flora and fauna, it has been designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern and a Wild and Scenic River by the Bureau of Land...
Hurricane Sandy washover deposits on southern Long Beach Island, New Jersey
James M. Bishop, Bruce M. Richmond, Nicholas J. Zaremba, Brent D. Lunghino, Haunani H. Kane
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1090
Sedimentologic and topographic data from Hurricane Sandy washover deposits were collected from southern Long Beach Island, New Jersey, in order to document changes to the barrier-island beaches, dunes, and coastal wetlands caused by Hurricane Sandy and subsequent storm events. These data will provide a baseline dataset for use in future...
Near-field receiving water monitoring of trace metals and a benthic community near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in south San Francisco Bay, California; 2015
Daniel J. Cain, Janet K. Thompson, Jeffrey Crauder, Francis Parchaso, A. Robin Stewart, Matthew A. Turner, Michelle I. Hornberger, Samuel N. Luoma
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1118
Trace-metal concentrations in sediment and in the clam Macoma petalum (formerly reported as Macoma balthica), clam reproductive activity, and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure were investigated in a mudflat 1 kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) in South San Francisco Bay,...
The structure and composition of Holocene coral reefs in the Middle Florida Keys
Lauren T. Toth, Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Ilsa B. Kuffner
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1074
The Florida Keys reef tract (FKRT) is the largest coral-reef ecosystem in the continental United States. The modern FKRT extends for 362 kilometers along the coast of South Florida from Dry Tortugas National Park in the southwest, through the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), to Fowey Rocks reef in...
Pacific walrus coastal haulout database, 1852-2016— Background report
Anthony S. Fischbach, Anatoly A. Kochnev, Joel L. Garlich-Miller, Chadwick V. Jay
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1108
Walruses are large benthic predators that rest out of water between foraging bouts. Coastal “haulouts” (places where walruses rest) are formed by adult males in summer and sometimes by females and young when sea ice is absent, and are often used repeatedly across seasons and years. Understanding the geography and historical...
Input-form data for the U.S. Geological Survey assessment of the Mississippian Barnett Shale of the Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin Province, 2015
Kristen R. Marra, Ronald R. Charpentier, Christopher J. Schenk, Michael D. Lewan, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Timothy R. Klett, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Phuong A. Le, Tracey J. Mercier, Janet K. Pitman, Marilyn E. Tennyson
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1097
In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released an updated assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil resources of the Mississippian Barnett Shale in north-central Texas (Marra and others, 2015). The Barnett Shale was assessed using the standard continuous (unconventional) methodology established by the USGS for two...
Low-flow frequency and flow duration of selected South Carolina streams in the Savannah and Salkehatchie River Basins through March 2014
Toby D. Feaster, Wladmir B. Guimaraes
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1101
An ongoing understanding of streamflow characteristics of the rivers and streams in South Carolina is important for the protection and preservation of the State’s water resources. Information concerning the low-flow characteristics of streams is especially important during critical flow periods, such as during the historic droughts that South Carolina has...
Report from the workshop on climate downscaling and its application in high Hawaiian Islands, September 16–17, 2015
David A. Helweg, Victoria Keener, Jeff M. Burgett
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1102
In the subtropical and tropical Pacific islands, changing climate is predicted to influence precipitation and freshwater availability, and thus is predicted to impact ecosystems goods and services available to ecosystems and human communities. The small size of high Hawaiian Islands, plus their complex microlandscapes, require downscaling of global climate models...
Structure of the 1906 near-surface rupture zone of the San Andreas Fault, San Francisco Peninsula segment, near Woodside, California
C.M. Rosa, R. D. Catchings, M. J. Rymer, Karen Grove, M. R. Goldman
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1063
High-resolution seismic-reflection and refraction images of the 1906 surface rupture zone of the San Andreas Fault near Woodside, California reveal evidence for one or more additional near-surface (within about 3 meters [m] depth) fault strands within about 25 m of the 1906 surface rupture. The 1906 surface rupture above the...
Identifying bird and reptile vulnerabilities to climate change in the southwestern United States
James R. Hatten, J. Tomasz Giermakowski, Jennifer A. Holmes, Erika M. Nowak, Matthew J. Johnson, Kirsten E. Ironside, Charles van Riper III, Michael Peters, Charles Truettner, Kenneth L. Cole
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1085
Current and future breeding ranges of 15 bird and 16 reptile species were modeled in the Southwestern United States. Rather than taking a broad-scale, vulnerability-assessment approach, we created a species distribution model (SDM) for each focal species incorporating climatic, landscape, and plant variables. Baseline climate (1940–2009) was characterized with Parameter-elevation...
