Understanding processes affecting mineral deposits in humid environments
Robert R. Seal II, Robert A. Ayuso
2011, Fact Sheet 2010-3105
Recent interdisciplinary studies by the U.S. Geological Survey have resulted in substantial progress toward understanding the influence that climate and hydrology have on the geochemical signatures of mineral deposits and the resulting mine wastes in the eastern United States. Specific areas of focus include the release, transport, and fate of...
Examination of brine contamination risk to aquatic resources from petroleum development in the Williston Basin
Robert A. Gleason, Joanna N. Thamke, Bruce D. Smith, Brian A. Tangen, Tara L. Chesley-Preston, Todd M. Preston
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3047
U.S. Geological Survey scientists and cooperating partners are examining the potential risk to aquatic resources (for example, wetlands, streams) by contamination from saline waters (brine) produced by petroleum development in the Williston Basin of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The primary goals of this study are to provide a...
Enhancement of USGS scientific investigations in Texas by using geophysical techniques, 2005-10
Gregory P. Stanton, Jason Payne, Andrew Teeple, Jonathan V. Thomas
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3037
Geophysical techniques are an increasingly important tool for scientific investigations, environmental planning, and resource management. During 2005-10 the U.S. Geological Survey Texas Water Science Center greatly expanded its capabilities of using surface and borehole geophysical techniques to gain insights into how groundwater systems work and the occurrence and distribution of...
Lead-soft and easy to cast
S.J. Kropschot, Jeff L. Doebrich
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3045
The National Map
Larry J. Sugarbaker, William J. Carswell Jr.
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3042
Evaluating the variability of sediment and nutrient loading from riverine systems into Texas estuaries and bays
Michael T. Lee
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3036
The water quality in estuaries and bays and the health of these coastal ecosystems are affected by sediment and nutrient loads transported by streams. Large sediment loads delivered to an estuary or bay can degrade water quality. Concentrations of suspended sediment are affected by natural conditions (such as soil erosion...
Groundwater quality in the Southern Sacramento Valley, California
George L. V Bennett V, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3006
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California's drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State's groundwater quality and increases public access to...
Floristic Quality Index: An assessment tool for restoration projects and monitoring sites in coastal Louisiana
K.F. Cretini, G.D. Steyer
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3044
The Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) program was established to assess the effectiveness of individual coastal restoration projects and the cumulative effects of multiple projects at regional and coastwide scales. In order to make these assessments, analytical teams have been assembled for each of the primary data types sampled under...
Groundwater quality in the Northern Sacramento Valley, California
George L. V Bennett V, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3004
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California's drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State's groundwater quality and increases public access to...
Groundwater quality in the Middle Sacramento Valley, California
George L. V Bennett V, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3005
The Yukon River Basin Active Layer Network: A cooperative project between the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council and the U.S. Geological Survey
Paul F. Schuster, Carol Thomas, Karonhiakta'tie Bryan Maracle
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3040
Wyoming groundwater-quality monitoring network
Gregory K. Boughton
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3041
A wide variety of human activities have the potential to contaminate groundwater. In addition, naturally occurring constituents can limit the suitability of groundwater for some uses. The State of Wyoming has established rules and programs to evaluate and protect groundwater quality based on identified uses. The Wyoming Groundwater-Quality Monitoring Network...
Condition of streams in Independence, Missouri: What is being done to protect stream health and how citizens can help
Shelley L. Niesen, Dorris L. Bender, Richard H. Champion Jr., Eric D. Christensen, Thomas E. Harris
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3033
No abstract available....
Hurricane impact and recovery shoreline change analysis of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA: 1855 to 2005
Sarah M. Fearnley, Michael Miner, John Brock
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3039
Results from historical (1855-2005) shoreline change analysis of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, demonstrate that tropical cyclone frequency dominates the long-term evolution of this barrier-island arc. The detailed results of this study were published in December 2009 as part of a special issue of Geo-Marine Letters that documents early results from...
Water Resources of Lafayette Parish
Robert B. Fendick Jr., Jason M. Griffith, Lawrence B. Prakken
2011, Fact Sheet 2010-3048
Fresh groundwater and surface water resources are available in Lafayette Parish, which is located in south-central Louisiana. In 2005, more than 47 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) were withdrawn from water sources in Lafayette Parish. About 92 percent (43.7 Mgal/d) of withdrawals was groundwater, and 8 percent (3.6 Mgal/d) was...
Holocene evolution of Apalachicola Bay, Florida
Lisa E. Osterman, David C. Twichell
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3028
A program of geophysical mapping and vibracoring was conducted in 2007 to better understand the geologic evolution of Apalachicola Bay and its response to sea-level rise. A detailed geologic history could help better understand how this bay may respond to both short-term (for example, storm surge) and long-term sea-level rise....
Early results from the Northern Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility Project
John Brock, Dawn L. Lavoie, Richard Z. Poore
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3031
The northern Gulf of Mexico coastal region and its diverse ecosystems are threatened by population and development pressure and by the impacts of rising sea level and severe storms such as the series of hurricanes that has impacted the northern Gulf in recent years. In response to the complex management...
Seafloor erosional processes offshore of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
David C. Twichell, John Brock
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3026
The Chandeleur Islands are a chain of barrier islands that lies along the eastern side of the modern Mississippi River Delta plain. The island chain is located near the seaward edge of the relict St. Bernard Delta, the part of the Mississippi Delta that formed between approximately 4,000 and 2,000...
Evidence of multidecadal climate variability in the Gulf of Mexico
Richard Z. Poore, John Brock
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3027
The northern Gulf of Mexico coastal region is vulnerable to a variety of natural hazards, many of which are linked to climate and climate variability. Hurricanes, which are one such climate-related hazard, are a major recurring problem, and the active hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005 raised interest in better...
Buffelgrass-Integrated modeling of an invasive plant
Tracy R. Holcombe
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3022
Buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) poses a problem in the deserts of the United States, growing in dense stands and introducing a wildfire risk in an ecosystem not adapted to fire. The Invasive Species Science Branch of the Fort Collins Science Center has worked with many partners to develop a decision support...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the West African Costal Province, West Africa
Michael E. Brownfield, Ronald R. Charpentier, Christopher J. Schenk, Timothy R. Klett, Troy A. Cook, Richard M. Pollastro
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3034
The West African Coastal Province along the west African coastline recently was assessed for undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids resources as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's USGS World Oil and Gas Assessment. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS estimated mean volumes of 3.2...
Sutter Buttes: The lone volcano in California's Great Valley
Brian P. Hausback, L.J. Patrick Muffler, Michael A. Clynne
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3024
The volcanic spires of the Sutter Buttes tower 2,000 feet above the farms and fields of California's Great Valley, just 50 miles north-northwest of Sacramento and 11 miles northwest of Yuba City. The only volcano within the valley, the Buttes consist of a central core of volcanic domes surrounded by...
The USA National Phenology Network; taking the pulse of our planet
Jake F. Weltzin
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3023
People have tracked phenology for centuries and for the most practical reasons: it helped them know when to hunt and fish, when to plant and harvest crops, and when to navigate waterways. Now phenology is being used as a tool to assess climate change and its effects on both natural...
Using terrestrial light detection and ranging (lidar) technology for land-surface analysis in the Southwest
Christopher E. Soulard, Rian Bogle
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3017
Emerging technologies provide scientists with methods to measure Earth processes in new ways. One of these technologies--ultra-high-resolution, ground-based light detection and ranging (lidar)--is being used by USGS Western Geographic Science Center scientists to characterize the role of wind and fire processes in shaping desert landscapes of the Southwest United States....
Drilling a deep geologic test well at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Arthur P. Schultz, Ellen Seefelt
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3032
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), is drilling a deep geologic test well at Hilton Head Island, S.C. The test well is scheduled to run between mid-March and early May 2011. When completed, the well will be about 1,000...
