Mercury in birds of San Francisco Bay-Delta, California: trophic pathways, bioaccumulation, and ecotoxicological risk to avian reproduction
Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Gary Heinz, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, John Y. Takekawa, A. Keith Miles, Terrence L. Adelsbach, Mark P. Herzog, Jill D. Bluso-Demers, Scott A. Demers, Garth Herring, David J. Hoffman, Christopher A. Hartman, James J. Willacker, Thomas H. Suchanek, Steven E. Schwarzbach, Thomas C. Maurer
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1251
San Francisco Bay Estuary in northern California has a legacy of mercury contamination, which could reduce the health and reproductive success of waterbirds in the estuary. The goal of this study was to use an integrated field and laboratory approach to evaluate the risks of mercury exposure to birds in...
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 2012 through September 2013) and statistical summaries of data for streams in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana
Kent A. Dodge, Michelle I. Hornberger, Jessica Dyke
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1244
Water, bed sediment, and biota were sampled in streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the upper Clark Fork Basin of western Montana. The sampling program was led by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to characterize...
National assessment of hurricane-induced coastal erosion hazards: Northeast Atlantic Coast
Justin J. Birchler, Hilary F. Stockdon, Kara S. Doran, David M. Thompson
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1243
Beaches serve as a natural buffer between the ocean and inland communities, ecosystems, and natural resources. However, these dynamic environments move and change in response to winds, waves, and currents. During extreme storms, changes to beaches can be great, and the results are sometimes catastrophic. Lives may be lost, communities...
Proper handling of animal tissues from the field to the laboratory supports reliable biomarker endpoints
Heather M. Olivier, Jill A. Jenkins
J. B. Alford, Mark S. Peterson, Christopher C. Green, editor(s)
2014, Book chapter, Impacts of oil spill disasters on marine habitats and fisheries in North America
In the endeavor to assess potential effects to the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem from the Mississippi Canyon 252 incident, referred to as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, various environmental data have been collected. Whereas initial efforts have included satellite tracking and sediment and water sampling to estimate the geographical scope...
Geospatial compilation of historical water-level changes in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers 1977-2013 and Jasper aquifer 2000-13, Gulf Coast aquifer system, Houston-Galveston region, Texas
Michaela R. Johnson, Joshua I. Linard
2014, Data Series 900
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, City of Houston, Fort Bend Subsidence District, Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, and Brazoria County Groundwater Conservation District has produced an annual series of reports that depict water-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers of the...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Michigan
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3107
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Michigan, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, natural resources conservation, flood risk management, water supply and quality, infrastructure and...
A 19-year record of chemical and isotopic composition of water from springs of the Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, 1995-2014
Eurybiades Busenberg, Niel Plummer, Tyler B. Coplen, Michael W. Doughten, Peggy K. Widman, Gerolamo C. Casile, Julian E. Wayland, David L. Nelms
2014, Data Series 893
During October 1995 through March 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Park Service, Luray, Virginia Station collected and analyzed samples of selected springs, air and unsaturated-zone gases in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. The 19-year record of measurements of chemical and isotopic composition of water discharging from...
Methods for estimating magnitude and frequency of floods in Arizona, developed with unregulated and rural peak-flow data through water year 2010
Nicholas V. Paretti, Jeffrey R. Kennedy, Lovina A. Turney, Andrea G. Veilleux
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5211
Flooding is among the worst natural disasters responsible for loss of life and property in Arizona, underscoring the importance of accurate estimation of flood magnitude for proper structural design and floodplain mapping. Twenty-four years of additional peak-flow data have been recorded since the last comprehensive regional flood frequency analysis conducted...
Evaluation of the magnitude and frequency of floods in urban watersheds in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona
Jeffrey R. Kennedy, Nicholas V. Paretti
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5121
Flooding in urban areas routinely causes severe damage to property and often results in loss of life. To investigate the effect of urbanization on the magnitude and frequency of flood peaks, a flood frequency analysis was carried out using data from urbanized streamgaging stations in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. Flood...
Methods for estimating magnitude and frequency of 1-, 3-, 7-, 15-, and 30-day flood-duration flows in Arizona
Jeffrey R. Kennedy, Nicholas V. Paretti, Andrea G. Veilleux
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5109
Large floods have historically caused extensive damage in Arizona. Although peak-flow frequency estimates are required for managing the risk posed by floods, estimates of the frequency of sustained flood flow (flood-duration flow) are also useful for planning and assessing the adequacy of retention and conveyance structures and for water-resource planning....
Predicting spatial and temporal distribution of Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans) in Biscayne Bay through habitat suitability modeling
Nicholas A. Bernal, Donald L. DeAngelis, Pamela J. Schofield, Kathleen Sullivan Sealey
2014, Biological Invasions (17) 1603-1614
Invasive species may exhibit higher levels of growth and reproduction when environmental conditions are most suitable, and thus their effects on native fauna may be intensified. Understanding potential impacts of these species, especially in the nascent stages of a biological invasion, requires critical information concerning spatial and temporal distributions of...
Quality-assurance and data-management plan for water-quality activities in the Kansas Water Science Center, 2014
Teresa J. Rasmussen, Trudy J. Bennett, Guy M. Foster, Jennifer L. Graham, James E. Putnam
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1233
As the Nation’s largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping information agency, the U.S. Geological Survey is relied on to collect high-quality data, and produce factual and impartial interpretive reports. This quality-assurance and data-management plan provides guidance for water-quality activities conducted by the Kansas Water Science Center. Policies...
Hydrogeologic framework and groundwater/surface-water interactions of the South Fork Nooksack River Basin, northwestern Washington
Andrew S. Gendaszek
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5221
A hydrogeologic framework of the South Fork (SF) Nooksack River Basin in northwestern Washington was developed and hydrologic data were collected to characterize the groundwater-flow system and its interaction with surface‑water features. In addition to domestic, agricultural, and commercial uses of groundwater within the SF Nooksack River Basin, groundwater has...
Water quality in Indiana: trends in concentrations of selected nutrients, metals, and ions in streams, 2000-10
Martin R. Risch, Aubrey R. Bunch, Aldo V. Vecchia, Jeffrey D. Martin, Nancy T. Baker
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5205
Water quality in Indiana streams generally improved during the 2000–10 study period, based on trends in selected nutrients, metals, and ions. This study combined water-quality data from the Indiana Fixed Station Monitoring Program (FSMP) with streamflow data from nearby U.S. Geological Survey streamgages. A parametric time-series model, QWTREND, was used...
Small crater modification on Meridiani Planum and implications for erosion rates and climate change on Mars
M.P. Golombek, N.H. Warner, V. Ganti, M.P. Lamb, T. J. Parker, Robin L. Fergason, R. Sullivan
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (119) 2522-2547
A morphometric and morphologic catalog of ~100 small craters imaged by the Opportunity rover over the 33.5 km traverse between Eagle and Endeavour craters on Meridiani Planum shows craters in six stages of degradation that range from fresh and blocky to eroded and shallow depressions ringed by planed off rim blocks....
Seepage investigation on the Rio Grande from below Caballo Reservoir, New Mexico, to El Paso, Texas, 2012
Mark A. Gunn, D. Michael Roark
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5197
A seepage investigation was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, along an approximately 106-mile reach of the Rio Grande from below Caballo Reservoir, New Mexico, to El Paso, Texas, during June 26–28, 2012, to determine gain or loss of streamflow due...
Competitive replacement of invasive congeners may relax impact on native species: Interactions among zebra, quagga, and native unionid mussels
Lyubov E. Burlakova, Brianne L. Tulumello, Alexander Y. Karatayev, Robert A. Krebs, Donald W. Schloesser, Wendy L. Paterson, Traci A. Griffith, Mariah W. Scott, Todd D. Crail, David T. Zanatta
2014, PLoS ONE (9) 1-20
Determining when and where the ecological impacts of invasive species will be most detrimental and whether the effects of multiple invaders will be superadditive, or subadditive, is critical for developing global management priorities to protect native species in advance of future invasions. Over the past century, the decline of freshwater...
Water-level changes and change in water in storage in the High Plains aquifer, predevelopment to 2013 and 2011-13
Virginia L. McGuire
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5218
The High Plains aquifer underlies 111.8 million acres (about 175,000 square miles) in parts of eight States—Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Water-level declines began in parts of the High Plains aquifer soon after the beginning of substantial irrigation with groundwater in the aquifer area...
Potash: a global overview of evaporate-related potash resources, including spatial databases of deposits, occurrences, and permissive tracts
Greta J. Orris, Mark D. Cocker, Pamela Dunlap, Jeff C. Wynn, Gregory T. Spanski, Deborah A. Briggs, Leila Gass, James D. Bliss, Karen S. Bolm, Chao Yang, Bruce R. Lipin, Stephen Ludington, Robert J. Miller, Miroslaw Slowakiewicz
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-S
Potash is mined worldwide to provide potassium, an essential nutrient for food crops. Evaporite-hosted potash deposits are the largest source of salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form, including potassium chloride, potassium-magnesium chloride, potassium sulfate, and potassium nitrate. Thick sections of evaporitic salt that form laterally continuous strata in sedimentary...
Lidar point density analysis: implications for identifying water bodies
Bruce B. Worstell, Sandra K. Poppenga, Gayla A. Evans, Sandra Prince
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5191
Most airborne topographic light detection and ranging (lidar) systems operate within the near-infrared spectrum. Laser pulses from these systems frequently are absorbed by water and therefore do not generate reflected returns on water bodies in the resulting void regions within the lidar point cloud. Thus, an analysis of lidar voids...
Mercury and halogens in coal
Allan Kolker, Jeffrey C. Quick
Evan J. Granite, Henry W. Pennline, Constance L. Senior, editor(s)
2014, Book chapter, Mercury control: For coal-derived gas streams
Apart from mercury itself, coal rank and halogen content are among the most important factors inherent in coal that determine the proportion of mercury captured by conventional controls during coal combustion. This chapter reviews how mercury in coal occurs, gives available concentration data for mercury in U.S. and international commercial...
Debris flow from 2012 failure of moraine-dammed lake, Three Fingered Jack volcano, Mount Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon
David R. Sherrod, Barton B. Wills
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5208
In the late spring or early summer of 2012, a flood emanated from a small moraine-dammed lake on the northeast flank of Three Fingered Jack in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. Channel erosion or slope collapse breached the natural dam of the lake, leading to a sudden lowering of lake level...
Fluvial sediment fingerprinting: literature review and annotated bibliography
Joyce E. Williamson, Adel E. Haj Jr., John F. Stamm, Joshua F. Valder, Vicki L. Prautzch
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1216
The U.S. Geological Survey has evaluated and adopted various field methods for collecting real-time sediment and nutrient data. These methods have proven to be valuable representations of sediment and nutrient concentrations and loads but are not able to accurately identify specific source areas. Recently, more advanced data collection and analysis...
Investigating organic matter in Fanno Creek, Oregon, Part 1 of 3: estimating annual foliar biomass for a deciduous-dominant urban riparian corridor
Steven Sobieszczyk, Mackenzie K. Keith, Stewart A. Rounds, Jami H. Goldman
2014, Journal of Hydrology (519) 3001-3009
For this study, we explored the amount, type, and distribution of foliar biomass that is deposited annually as leaf litter to Fanno Creek and its floodplain in Portland, Oregon, USA. Organic matter is a significant contributor to the decreased dissolved oxygen concentrations observed in Fanno Creek each year and leaf...
Drilling and geophysical logs of the tophole at an oil-and-gas well site, Central Venango County, Pennsylvania
John H. Williams, Philip H. Bird, Randall W. Conger, J. Alton Anderson
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1194
In a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey, drilling and geophysical logs were used to characterize the geohydrologic framework and the freshwater and saline-water zones penetrated by the tophole at an oil-and-gas...
