Photomosaics and event evidence from the Frazier Mountain paleoseismic site, trench 1, cuts 1–4, San Andreas Fault Zone, southern California (2007–2009)
Katherine M. Scharer, Tom E. Fumal, Ray J. Weldon II, Ashley R. Streig
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1002
The Frazier Mountain paleoseismic site is located at the northwest end of the Mojave section of the San Andreas Fault, in a small, closed depression at the base of Frazier Mountain near Tejon Pass, California (lat 34.8122° N., long 118.9034° W.). The site was known to contain a good record...
Groundwater quality at Alabama Plating and Vincent Spring, Vincent, Alabama, 2007–2008
Mike Bradley, Amy C. Gill
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1298
The former Alabama Plating site in Vincent, Alabama, includes the location where the Alabama Plating Company operated an electroplating facility from 1956 until 1986. The operation of the facility generated waste containing cyanide, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, zinc, and other heavy metals. Contamination resulting from the site operations was...
Water movement through the unsaturated zone of the High Plains Aquifer in the Central Platte Natural Resources District, Nebraska, 2008-12
Gregory V. Steele, Jason J. Gurdak, Christopher M. Hobza
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5008
Uncertainty about the effects of land use and climate on water movement in the unsaturated zone and on groundwater recharge rates can lead to uncertainty in water budgets used for groundwater-flow models. To better understand these effects, a cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Central Platte Natural...
Capacitively coupled and direct-current resistivity surveys of selected reaches of Cozad, Thirty-Mile, Orchard-Alfalfa, Kearney, and Outlet Canals in Nebraska, 2012-13
Christopher M. Hobza, Bethany L. Burton, Jeffrey E. Lucius, Ryan E. Tompkins
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1007
Understanding the spatial characteristics of leakage from canals is critical to effectively managing and utilizing water resources for irrigation and hydroelectric purposes. Canal leakage in some parts of Nebraska is the primary source of water for groundwater recharge and helps maintain the base flow of streams. Because surface-water supplies depend...
Geologic and geophysical maps of the eastern three-fourths of the Cambria 30' x 60' quadrangle, central California Coast Ranges
R. W. Graymer, V.E. Langenheim, M. A. Roberts, Kristin McDougall
2014, Scientific Investigations Map 3287
The Cambria 30´ x 60´ quadrangle comprises southwestern Monterey County and northwestern San Luis Obispo County. The land area includes rugged mountains of the Santa Lucia Range extending from the northwest to the southeast part of the map; the southern part of the Big Sur coast in the northwest; broad...
Investigations into near-real-time surveying for geophysical data collection using an autonomous ground vehicle
Geoffrey A. Phelps, C. Ippolito, R. Lee, R. Spritzer, Y. Yeh
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1013
The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are cooperatively investigating the utility of unmanned vehicles for near-real-time autonomous surveys of geophysical data collection. Initially focused on unmanned ground vehicle collection of magnetic data, this cooperative effort has brought unmanned surveying, precision guidance, near-real-time communication, on-the-fly data...
Quantitative study of tectonic geomorphology along Haiyuan fault based on airborne LiDAR
Tao Chen, Pei Zhen Zhang, Jing Liu, Chuan You Li, Zhi Kun Ren, Kenneth W. Hudnut
2014, Chinese Science Bulletin (59) 2396-2409
High-precision and high-resolution topography are the fundamental data for active fault research. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) presents a new approach to build detailed digital elevation models effectively. We take the Haiyuan fault in Gansu Province as an example of how LiDAR data may be used to improve the study...
Ecological site-based assessments of wind and water erosion: informing accelerated soil erosion management in rangelands
Nicholas P. Webb, Jeffrey E. Herrick, Michael C. Duniway
2014, Ecological Applications (24) 1405-1420
Accelerated soil erosion occurs when anthropogenic processes modify soil, vegetation or climatic conditions causing erosion rates at a location to exceed their natural variability. Identifying where and when accelerated erosion occurs is a critical first step toward its effective management. Here we explore how erosion assessments structured in the context...
Borehole geophysical data for the East Poplar oil field area, Fort Peck Indian Reservation, northeastern Montana, 1993, 2004, and 2005
Bruce D. Smith, Joanna N. Thamke, Christa Tyrrell
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1288
Areas of high electrical conductivity in shallow aquifers in the East Poplar oil field area were delineated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, in order to interpret areas of saline-water contamination. Ground, airborne, and borehole geophysical data were collected in...
Regression models for estimating salinity and selenium concentrations at selected sites in the Upper Colorado River Basin, Colorado, 2009-2012
Joshua I. Linard, Keelin R. Schaffrath
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1015
Elevated concentrations of salinity and selenium in the tributaries and main-stem reaches of the Colorado River are a water-quality concern and have been the focus of remediation efforts for many years. Land-management practices with the objective of limiting the amount of salt and selenium that reaches the stream have focused...
Cenozoic planktonic marine diatom diversity and correlation to climate change
David Lazarus, John Barron, Johan Renaudie, Patrick Diver, Andreas Turke
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
Marine planktonic diatoms export carbon to the deep ocean, playing a key role in the global carbon cycle. Although commonly thought to have diversified over the Cenozoic as global oceans cooled, only two conflicting quantitative reconstructions exist, both from the Neptune deep-sea microfossil occurrences database. Total diversity shows Cenozoic increase...
Magnetic susceptibility data for some exposed bedrock in the western conterminous United States
Mark E. Gettings, Mark W. Bultman
2014, Data Series 804
In-place rock magnetic susceptibility measurements for 746 sites in the western conterminous United States are reported in a database. Of these 746 sites, 408 sites are in the Silverton Caldera area of the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. Of the 408 sites in the Silverton Caldera area, 106 sites...
Groundwater level and nitrate concentration trends on Mountain Home Air Force Base, southwestern Idaho
Marshall L. Williams
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1022
Mountain Home Air Force Base in southwestern Idaho draws most of its drinking water from the regional aquifer. The base is located within the State of Idaho's Mountain Home Groundwater Management Area and is adjacent to the State's Cinder Cone Butte Critical Groundwater Area. Both areas were established by the...
Digital representation of oil and natural gas well pad scars in southwest Wyoming
Steven L. Garman, Jamie L. McBeth
2014, Data Series 800
The recent proliferation of oil and natural gas energy development in southwest Wyoming has stimulated the need to understand wildlife responses to this development. Central to many wildlife assessments is the use of geospatial methods that rely on digital representation of energy infrastructure. Surface disturbance of the well pad scars...
The chronic toxicity of sodium bicarbonate, a major component of coal bed natural gas produced waters
Aida M. Farag, David D. Harper
2014, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (33) 532-540
Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) is the principal salt in coal bed natural gas produced water from the Powder River Structural Basin, Wyoming, USA, and concentrations of up to 3000 mg NaHCO3/L have been documented at some locations. No adequate studies have been performed to assess the chronic effects of NaHCO3 exposure. The...
Improving paleoecology studies for future predictions: Role of spatial and temporal scales for understanding ecology of the arid and semiarid landscape of the Southwest
David M. Miller, Gene-Hua Crystal Ng, Katharine Maher
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1029
Paleoecology (or ecological biogeography) describes the past distribution of species or communities and is an informative path used to understand the future in the face of climate change. Paleoecological changes in the Southwest over the past several thousand years happened in the presence of landscape manipulations by humans, a factor...
Gravity, aeromagnetic and rock-property data of the central California Coast Ranges
V.E. Langenheim
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1282
Gravity, aeromagnetic, and rock-property data were collected to support geologic-mapping, water-resource, and seismic-hazard studies for the central California Coast Ranges. These data are combined with existing data to provide gravity, aeromagnetic, and physical-property datasets for this region. The gravity dataset consists of approximately 18,000 measurements. The aeromagnetic dataset consists of...
A spatial modeling framework to evaluate domestic biofuel-induced potential land use changed and emissions
Joshua Elliot, Bhavna Sharma, Neil Best, Michael Glotter, Jennifer B. Dunn, Ian Foster, Fernando Miguez, Steffen Mueller, Michael Wang
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 2488-2486
We present a novel bottom-up approach to estimate biofuel-induced land-use change (LUC) and resulting CO2 emissions in the U.S. from 2010 to 2022, based on a consistent methodology across four essential components: land availability, land suitability, LUC decision-making, and induced CO2 emissions. Using high-resolution geospatial data and modeling, we construct probabilistic assessments...
Health of white sucker within the St. Louis River area of concern associated with habitat usage as assessed using stable isotopes
V. S. Blazer, J. Hoffman, H.L. Walsh, R.P. Braham, C. Hahn, P. Collins, Z. Jorgenson, T. Ledder
2014, Ecotoxicology (23) 236-251
In Spring 2011, 200 adult white sucker were collected in four areas of the St. Louis River area of concern (AOC), located in Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA. The areas included the upper AOC as a reference area, the upper estuary, St. Louis Bay and Superior Bay. Grossly visible abnormalities were...
Gunnison sage-grouse lek site suitability modeling
Douglas S. Ouren, Drew A. Ignizio, Melissa Siders, Theresa Childers, Karen Tucker, Nathan Seward
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1010
In order to better understand and protect species with minimal or decreasing populations, it is imperative to determine their actual existing population size. The focal species for this project is the Gunnison sage-grouse (GUSG), which became a proposed endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, thus confirming the need for...
Early indicators of change: divergent climate envelopes between tree life stages imply range shifts in the western United States
David M. Bell, John B. Bradford, William K. Lauenroth
2014, Global Ecology and Biogeography (23) 168-180
Aim To determine if differences in climate envelopes for six coniferous tree species and two life stages (trees and seedlings) suggest a potential for species range contractions, expansions or shifts in response to climate change and if these patterns differ between subalpine (i.e. cool-climate) and montane (i.e. warm-climate) species. Location The dry domain...
USGS field activities 11BHM03 and 11BHM04 on the west Florida shelf, Gulf of Mexico, September and November 2011
Lisa L. Robbins, Paul O. Knorr, Kendra L. Daly, Kira E. Barrera
2014, Data Series 822
During September and November 2011 the (USGS), in cooperation with (USF), conducted geochemical surveys on the west Florida Shelf to investigate the effects of climate change on ocean acidification within the northern Gulf of Mexico, specifically, the effect of ocean acidification on marine organisms and habitats. The first cruise was...
USGS field activities 11BHM01 and 11BHM02 on the west Florida shelf, Gulf of Mexico, May and June 2011
Lisa L. Robbins, Paul O. Knorr, Kendra L. Daly, Carl A. Taylor, Kira E. Barrera
2014, Data Series 712
During May and June 2011 the (USGS), in cooperation with (USF), conducted geochemical surveys on the west Florida Shelf to investigate the effects of climate change on ocean acidification within the northern Gulf of Mexico, specifically, the effect of ocean acidification on marine organisms and habitats. The first cruise was...
Field manual for the collection of Navajo Nation streamflow-gage data
Robert J. Hart, Gregory G. Fisk
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1107
The Field Manual for the Collection of Navajo Nation Streamflow-Gage Data (Navajo Field Manual) is based on established (standard) U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging methods and provides guidelines specifically designed for the Navajo Department of Water Resources personnel who establish and maintain streamflow gages. The Navajo Field Manual addresses field visits,...
A velocimetric survey of the Lower Missouri River from river mile 492.38 to 290.20, July-October 2011 and July 2012
Daniel J. Armstrong, Donald H. Wilkison, Richard D. Norman
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5197
Velocimetric surveys were made by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2011 and 2012 to provide data for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ ongoing study of bed degradation in the Lower Missouri River. Using Acoustic Doppler Current Profile technology, velocity data were collected at 87 river miles along the Lower...