Ultimate pier and contraction scour prediction in cohesive soils at selected bridges in Illinois
Timothy D. Straub, Thomas M. Over, Marian M. Domanski
2013, Illinois Center for Transportation Series FHWA‐ICT‐13‐025
The Scour Rate In COhesive Soils-Erosion Function Apparatus (SRICOS-EFA) method includes an ultimate scour prediction that is the equilibrium maximum pier and contraction scour of cohesive soils over time. The purpose of this report is to present the results of testing the ultimate pier and contraction scour methods for cohesive...
A spatial capture-recapture model to estimate fish survival and location from linear continuous monitoring arrays
Joshua K. Raabe, Beth Gardner, Joseph E. Hightower
2013, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (71) 120-130
We developed a spatial capture–recapture model to evaluate survival and activity centres (i.e., mean locations) of tagged individuals detected along a linear array. Our spatially explicit version of the Cormack–Jolly–Seber model, analyzed using a Bayesian framework, correlates movement between periods and can incorporate environmental or other covariates. We demonstrate the...
Extreme rainfall, vulnerability and risk: a continental-scale assessment for South America
Charles J. Vorosmarty, Lelys Bravo de Guenni, Wilfred M. Wollheim, Brian A. Pellerin, David M. Bjerklie, Manoel Cardoso, Cassiano D’Almeida, Lilybeth Colon
2013, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Extreme weather continues to preoccupy society as a formidable public safety concern bearing huge economic costs. While attention has focused on global climate change and how it could intensify key elements of the water cycle such as precipitation and river discharge, it is the conjunction of geophysical and socioeconomic forces...
Mapping risk for nest predation on a barrier island
Amanda D. Hackney, Robert F. Baldwin, Patrick G.R. Jodice
2013, Journal of Coastal Conservation (17) 615-621
Barrier islands and coastal beach systems provide nesting habitat for marine and estuarine turtles. Densely settled coastal areas may subsidize nest predators. Our purpose was to inform conservation by providing a greater understanding of habitat-based risk factors for nest predation, for an estuarine turtle. We expected that habitat conditions at...
U–Pb, Rb–Sr, and U-series isotope geochemistry of rocks and fracture minerals from the Chalk River Laboratories site, Grenville Province, Ontario, Canada
Leonid A. Neymark, Zell E. Peterman, Richard J. Moscati, R. H. Thivierge
2013, Applied Geochemistry (36) 10-33
As part of the Geologic Waste Management Facility feasibility study, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) is evaluating the suitability of the Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) site in Ontario, situated in crystalline rock of the southwestern Grenville Province, for the possible development of an underground repository for low- and...
Intrusive dike complexes, cumulate cores, and the extrusive growth of Hawaiian volcanoes
Ashton F. Flinders, Garrett Ito, Michael O. Garcia, John M. Sinton, Jim Kauahikaua, Brian Taylor
2013, Geophysical Research Letters (40) 3367-3373
The Hawaiian Islands are the most geologically studied hot-spot islands in the world yet surprisingly, the only large-scale compilation of marine and land gravity data is more than 45 years old. Early surveys served as reconnaissance studies only, and detailed analyses of the crustal-density structure have been limited. Here we present...
Comparison of methods for predicting shear-wave velocities of unconsolidated shallow sediments in the Gulf of Mexico
Myung W. Lee
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5141
Accurate shear-wave velocities for shallow sediments are important for a variety of seismic applications such as inver-sion and amplitude versus offset analysis. During the U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project Leg II, shear-wave velocities were measured at six wells in the Gulf of Mexico using the logging-while-drilling...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Colorado
William J. Carswell Jr.
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3050
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 Colorado, elevation data are critical for natural resources conservation, agriculture and precision farming, infrastructure and construction management, flood risk management, geologic resource...
In vitro prion protein conversion suggests risk of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
Christopher J. Johnson, A.R. Morawski, C.M. Carlson, H. Chang
2013, BMC Veterinary Research (9)
Background: Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) affect both domestic sheep (scrapie) and captive and free-ranging cervids (chronic wasting disease; CWD). The geographical range of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis; BHS) overlaps with states or provinces that have contained scrapie-positive sheep or goats and areas with present epizootics of CWD in cervids. No...
Analysis and inundation mapping of the April-May 2011 flood at selected locations in northern and eastern Arkansas and southern Missouri
Drew A. Westerman, Katherine R. Merriman, Jeanne L. De Lanois, Charles Berenbrock
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5148
Precipitation that fell from April 19 through May 3, 2011, resulted in widespread flooding across northern and eastern Arkansas and southern Missouri. The first storm produced a total of approximately 16 inches of precipitation over an 8-day period, and the following storms produced as much as 12 inches of precipitation...
Reconnaissance investigation of the alluvial gold deposits in the North Takhar Area of Interest, Takhar Province, Afghanistan
Peter G. Chirico, Katherine C. Malpeli, Thomas W. Moran
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1180
This study is a reconnaissance assessment of the alluvial gold deposits of the North Takhar Area of Interest (AOI) in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. Soviet and Afghan geologists collected data and calculated the gold deposit reserves in Takhar Province in the 1970s, prior to the development of satellite-based remote-sensing platforms and...
Reconnaissance investigation of the placer gold deposits in the Zarkashan Area of Interest, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan
Katherine C. Malpeli, Peter G. Chirico, Isabel H. McLoughlin
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1179
This study is a reconnaissance investigation of the placer gold deposits in the Zarkashan Area of Interest (AOI) in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. Detailed investigations of the Zarkashan gold deposits were conducted by Soviet and Afghan geologists in the 1960s and 1970s, prior to the development of satellite-based remote-sensing platforms and...
Assessing hazards along our Nation's coasts
Hilary F. Stockdon, Cheryl J. Hapke, E. Robert Thieler, Nathaniel G. Plant
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3077
Coastal areas are essential to the economic, cultural, and environmental health of the Nation, yet by nature coastal areas are constantly changing due to a variety of events and processes. Extreme storms can cause dramatic changes to our shorelines in a matter of hours, while sea-level rise can profoundly alter...
Carolinas coastal change processes project data report for nearshore observations at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
Brandy N. Armstrong, John C. Warner, George Voulgaris, Jeffrey H. List, Robert Thieler, Marinna A. Martini, Ellyn T. Montgomery, Jesse E. McNinch, Jeffrey W. Book, Kevin Haas
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1219
An oceanographic field study conducted in February 2010 investigated processes that control nearshore flow and sediment transport dynamics at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. This report describes the project background, field program, instrumentation setup, and locations of the sensor deployments. The data collected, and supporting meteorological and streamflow observations, are presented...
Florida Panhandle
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Barbara Albrecht, Karen Bruening, Alison McDowell, René Baumstark, Ryan Moyer, Cindy A. Thatcher
2013, Report, Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
Throughout the past century, emergent wetlands have been declining across the Gulf of Mexico. Emergent wetland ecosystems provide a multitude of resources, including plant and wildlife habitat, commercial and recreational economic activity, and natural barriers against storms. As emergent wetland losses increase, so does the need for information on the...
Effects of surface applications of biosolids on groundwater quality and trace-element concentrations in crops near Deer Trail, Colorado, 2004-2010
Tracy J.B. Yager, James G. Crock, David B. Smith, Edward T. Furlong, Philip L. Hageman, William T. Foreman, James L. Gray, Rhiannon C. ReVello
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5065
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Metro Wastewater Reclamation District (Metro District), studied biosolids composition and the effects of biosolids applications on groundwater quality and trace-element concentrations in crops of the Metro District properties near Deer Trail, Colorado, during 2004 through 2010. Priority parameters for each monitoring component...
Dissolved pesticide concentrations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Grizzly Bay, California, 2011-12
James L. Orlando, Megan McWayne, Corey Sanders, Michelle Hladik
2013, Data Series 779
Surface-water samples were collected from sites within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Grizzly Bay, California, during the spring in 2011 and 2012, and they were analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey for a suite of 99 current-use pesticides and pesticide degradates. Samples were collected and analyzed as part of a...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Idaho
William J. Carswell Jr.
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3053
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 Idaho, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, natural resources conservation, infrastructure and construction management, geologic resource assessment and hazard...
Time-lapse analysis of methane quantity in Mary Lee group of coal seams using filter-based multiple-point geostatistical simulation
C. Özgen Karacan, Ricardo A. Olea
2013, Mathematical Geosciences (45) 681-704
Coal seam degasification and its success are important for controlling methane, and thus for the health and safety of coal miners. During the course of degasification, properties of coal seams change. Thus, the changes in coal reservoir conditions and in-place gas content as well as methane emission potential into mines...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Virginia
William J. Carswell Jr.
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3052
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 Commonwealth of Virginia, elevation data are critical for urban and regional planning, natural resources conservation, flood risk management, agriculture and precision farming, resource mining,...
Monitoring of green infrastructure at The Grove in Bloomington, Illinois
Donald P. Roseboom, Timothy D. Straub
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3048
The City of Bloomington, Illinois, restored Kickapoo Creek to a more natural state by incorporating green infrastructure—specifically flood-plain reconnection, riparian wetlands, meanders, and rock riffles—at a 90-acre park within The Grove residential development. A team of State and Federal agencies and contractors are collecting data to monitor the effectiveness of...
Shallow geology, seafloor texture, and physiographic zones of the Inner Continental Shelf from Nahant to northern Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts
Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Wayne E. Baldwin, Walter A. Barnhardt, Seth D. Ackerman, David S. Foster, Brian D. Andrews, William C. Schwab
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1157
The Massachusetts inner continental shelf between Nahant and northern Cape Cod Bay has been profoundly affected by the occupation and retreat of glacial ice sheets and relative sea-level change during the Quaternary. Marine geologic mapping of this area is a component of a statewide cooperative effort involving the U.S. Geological...
Hybrid modeling of spatial continuity for application to numerical inverse problems
Michael J. Friedel, Fabio Iwashita
2013, Environmental Modelling and Software (43) 60-79
A novel two-step modeling approach is presented to obtain optimal starting values and geostatistical constraints for numerical inverse problems otherwise characterized by spatially-limited field data. First, a type of unsupervised neural network, called the self-organizing map (SOM), is trained to recognize nonlinear relations among environmental variables (covariates) occurring at various...
Groundwater-quality data in the Santa Barbara study unit, 2011: results from the California GAMA Program
Tracy A. Davis, Justin T. Kulongoski, Kenneth Belitz
2013, Data Series 742
Groundwater quality in the 48-square-mile Santa Barbara study unit was investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from January to February 2011, as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program’s Priority Basin Project (PBP). The GAMA-PBP was developed in response...
Groundwater-quality data in the Bear Valley and Selected Hard Rock Areas study unit, 2010: Results from the California GAMA Program
Timothy M. Mathany, Kenneth Belitz
2013, Data Series 747
Groundwater quality in the 112-square-mile Bear Valley and Selected Hard Rock Areas (BEAR) study unit was investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from April to August 2010, as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program’s Priority Basin Project (PBP)....
