Water-quality data from lakes in the Yukon Flats, Alaska, 2010-2011
Douglas R. Halm, Brad Griffith
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1181
Over a two-year period (2010–2011), in-place measurements were made and water-quality samples were collected from 122 lakes in the Yukon Flats, Alaska, during a U.S. Geological Survey lake biological diversity inventory. The U.S. Geological Survey National Research Program performed the chemical analyses on the retrieved water-quality samples. Results from the...
Sources, transport, and trends for selected trace metals and nutrients in the Coeur d'Alene and Spokane River Basins, Idaho, 1990-2013
Gregory M. Clark, Christopher A. Mebane
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5204
Data collected at 18 streamflow-gaging and water-quality sampling sites in the Coeur d’Alene and Spokane River Basins of northern Idaho were used to estimate mean streamflow‑weighted concentrations and annual loads of total and dissolved cadmium, lead, and zinc, and total phosphorus (TP) and nitrogen (TN) for water years (WYs) 2009–13....
A new analysis of Mars "Special Regions": findings of the Second MEPAG Special Regions Science Analysis Group (SR-SAG2)
John D. Rummel, David W. Beaty, Melissa A. Jones, Corien Bakermans, Nadine G. Barlow, Penelope J. Boston, Vincent F. Chevrier, Benton C. Clark, Jean-Pierre P. de Vera, Raina V. Gough, John E. Hallsworth, James W. Head, Victoria J. Hipkin, Thomas L. Kieft, Alfred S. McEwen, Michael T. Mellon, Jill A. Mikucki, Wayne L. Nicholson, Christopher R. Omelon, Ronald Peterson, Eric E. Roden, Barbara Sherwood Lollar, Kenneth L. Tanaka, Donna Viola, James J. Wray
2014, Astrobiology (14) 887-968
A committee of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) has reviewed and updated the description of Special Regions on Mars as places where terrestrial organisms might replicate (per the COSPAR Planetary Protection Policy). This review and update was conducted by an international team (SR-SAG2) drawn from both the biological...
Persistence of DNA in carcasses, slime and avian feces may affect interpretation of environmental DNA data
Christopher M. Merkes, S. Grace McCalla, Nathan R. Jensen, Mark P. Gaikowski, Jon J. Amberg
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
The prevention of non-indigenous aquatic invasive species spreading into new areas is a goal of many resource managers. New techniques have been developed to survey for species that are difficult to capture with conventional gears that involve the detection of their DNA in water samples (eDNA). This technique is currently...
From streets to streams: assessing the toxicity potential in urban sediment
William R. Selbig
2014, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (10) 474-475
No abstract available....
Uncertainty analysis of a groundwater flow model in east-central Florida
Nicasio Sepulveda, John E. Doherty
2014, Groundwater
A groundwater flow model for east-central Florida has been developed to help water-resource managers assess the impact of increased groundwater withdrawals from the Floridan aquifer system on heads and spring flows originating from the Upper Floridan aquifer. The model provides a probabilistic description of predictions of interest to water-resource managers,...
Basin-scale simulation of current and potential climate changed hydrologic conditions in the Lake Michigan Basin, United States
Daniel E. Christiansen, John F. Walker, Randall J. Hunt
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5175
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is the largest public investment in the Great Lakes in two decades. A task force of 11 Federal agencies developed an action plan to implement the initiative. The U.S. Department of the Interior was one of the 11 agencies that entered into an interagency...
Response to comment on “PAH concentrations in lake sediment decline following ban on coal-tar-based pavement sealants in Austin, Texas”
Peter C. Van Metre, Barbara Mahler
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 14063-14064
No abstract available....
Exploring the long-term balance between net precipitation and net groundwater exchange in Florida seepage lakes
Terrie M. Lee, Laura A. Sacks, Amy Swancar
2014, Journal of Hydrology (519) 3054-3068
The long-term balance between net precipitation and net groundwater exchange that maintains thousands of seepage lakes in Florida’s karst terrain is explored at a representative lake basin and then regionally for the State’s peninsular lake district. The 15-year water budget of Lake Starr includes El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-related extremes...
Population viability and connectivity of the Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus)
Jared S. Laufenberg, Joseph D. Clark
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1228
In 1992, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) granted Ursus americanus luteolus (Louisiana black bear) threatened status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973, listing loss and fragmentation of habitat as the primary threats. A study was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the University of Tennessee,...
Turbidity and suspended sediment in the upper Esopus Creek watershed, Ulster County, New York
Michael R. McHale, Jason Siemion
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5200
Suspended-sediment concentrations (SSCs) and turbidity were measured for 2 to 3 years at 14 monitoring sites throughout the upper Esopus Creek watershed in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. The upper Esopus Creek watershed is part of the New York City water-supply system that supplies water to more than...
Area- and depth- weighted averages of selected SSURGO variables for the conterminous United States and District of Columbia
Michael Wieczorek
2014, Data Series 866
This digital data release consists of seven data files of soil attributes for the United States and the District of Columbia. The files are derived from National Resources Conservations Service’s (NRCS) Soil Survey Geographic database (SSURGO). The data files can be linked to the raster datasets of soil mapping unit...
A landscape-based reconnaissance survey of estrogenic activity in streams of the upper Potomac, upper James,and Shenandoah Rivers, USA
John A. Young, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Adam J. Sperry, Vicki Blazer
2014, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (186) 5531-5545
Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) are becoming of increasing concern in waterways of the USA and worldwide. What remains poorly understood, however, is how prevalent these emerging contaminants are in the environment and what methods are best able to determine landscape sources of EDCs. We describe the development of a spatially structured...
Measurement of unsaturated hydraulic properties and evaluation of property-transfer models for deep sedimentary interbeds, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho
Kimberlie Perkins, Brittany D. Johnson, Benjamin B. Mirus
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5206
Operations at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have the potential to contaminate the underlying Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer. Methods to quantitatively characterize unsaturated flow and recharge to the ESRP aquifer are needed to inform water-resources management decisions at INL. In particular, hydraulic properties are needed to parameterize distributed...
Assessing inundation hazards to nuclear powerplant sites using geologically extended histories of riverine floods, tsunamis, and storm surges
Jim O’Connor, Brian F. Atwater, Timothy A. Cohn, Thomas M. Cronin, Mackenzie K. Keith, Christopher G. Smith, Mason Jr.
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5207
Most nuclear powerplants in the United States are near rivers, large lakes, or oceans. As evident from the Fukushima Daiichi, Japan, disaster of 2011, these water bodies pose inundation threats. Geologic records can extend knowledge of rare hazards from flooding, storm surges, and tsunamis. This knowledge can aid in assessing...
Water and nutrient budgets for Vancouver Lake, Vancouver, Washington, October 2010-October 2012
Rich W. Sheibley, James R. Foreman, Cameron A. Marshall, Wendy B. Welch
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5201
Vancouver Lake, a large shallow lake in Clark County, near Vancouver, Washington, has been undergoing water-quality problems for decades. Recently, the biggest concern for the lake are the almost annual harmful cyanobacteria blooms that cause the lake to close for recreation for several weeks each summer. Despite decades of interest...
Science to support the understanding of Ohio's water resources, 2014-15
Kimberly Shaffer, Stephanie P. Kula
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3097
Ohio’s water resources support a complex web of human activities and nature—clean and abundant water is needed for drinking, recreation, farming, and industry, as well as for fish and wildlife needs. Although rainfall in normal years can support these activities and needs, occasional floods and droughts can disrupt streamflow, groundwater,...
Stream-water and groundwater quality in and near the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, 2012-13
Carol Becker
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5178
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation needs to characterize their existing surface-water and groundwater resources in and near their tribal jurisdictional area to complete a water-resource management plan. Water resources in this area include surface water from the North Canadian and Little Rivers and groundwater from the terrace and alluvial aquifers and...
Water quality and algal conditions in the North Umpqua River, Oregon, 1995-2007, and their response to Diamond Lake restoration
Kurt D. Carpenter, Chauncey W. Anderson, Mikeal E. Jones
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1098
The Wild and Scenic North Umpqua River is one of the highest-quality waters in the State of Oregon, supporting runs of wild salmon, steelhead, and trout. For many years, blooms of potentially toxic blue-green algae in Diamond and Lemolo Lakes have threatened water quality, fisheries, and public health. The blooms...
Flood-inundation maps and updated components for a flood-warning system or the City of Marietta, Ohio and selected communities along the Lower Muskingum River and Ohio River
Matthew T. Whitehead, Chad J. Ostheimer
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5195
Digital flood-inundation maps for lower reaches of the Muskingum River and a reach of the Ohio River in southeast Ohio were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District and the City of Marietta, Ohio. To complete the inundation maps, Ohio River and...
Multisensor earth observations to characterize wetlands and malaria epidemiology in Ethiopia
Alemayehu Midekisa, Gabriel B. Senay, Michael C. Wimberly
2014, Water Resources Research (50) 8791-8806
Malaria is a major global public health problem, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The spatial heterogeneity of malaria can be affected by factors such as hydrological processes, physiography, and land cover patterns. Tropical wetlands, for example, are important hydrological features that can serve as mosquito breeding habitats. Mapping and monitoring of...
Baseline well inventory and groundwater-quality data from a potential shale gas resource area in parts of Lee and Chatham Counties, North Carolina, October 2011-August 2012
Melinda J. Chapman, Laura N. Gurley, Sharon A. Fitzgerald
2014, Data Series 861
Records were obtained for 305 wells and 1 spring in northwestern Lee and southeastern Chatham counties, North Carolina. Well depths ranged from 26 to 720 feet and yields ranged from 0.25 to 100 gallons per minute. A subset of 56 wells and 1 spring were sampled for baseline groundwaterquality constituents...
Vulnerability of breeding waterbirds to climate change in the Prairie Pothole Region, U.S.A.
Valerie Steen, Susan K. Skagen, Barry R. Noon
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of the north-central U.S. and south-central Canada contains millions of small prairie wetlands that provide critical habitat to many migrating and breeding waterbirds. Due to their small size and the relatively dry climate of the region, these wetlands are considered at high risk for negative...
Simulation of the Lower Walker River Basin hydrologic system, west-central Nevada, using PRMS and MODFLOW models
Kip K. Allander, Richard G. Niswonger, Anne E. Jeton
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5190
Walker Lake is a terminal lake in west-central Nevada with almost all outflow occurring through evaporation. Diversions from Walker River since the early 1900s have contributed to a substantial reduction in flow entering Walker Lake. As a result, the lake is receding, and salt concentrations have increased to a level...
Abandoned floodplain plant communities along a regulated dryland river
L. V. Reynolds, Patrick B. Shafroth, P. K. House
2014, River Research and Applications (30) 1084-1098
Rivers and their floodplains worldwide have changed dramatically over the last century because of regulation by dams, flow diversions and channel stabilization. Floodplains no longer inundated by river flows following dam-induced flood reduction comprise large areas of bottomland habitat, but the effects of abandonment on plant communities are not well...
