Topographic data of selected areas along the Alabama River near Montgomery, Alabama, collected using mobile terrestrial light detection and ranging (T-LiDAR) technology
D.R. Kimbrow
2014, Data Series 826
Topographic data at selected areas within the Alabama River flood plain near Montgomery, Alabama, were collected using a truck-mounted mobile terrestrial light detection and ranging system. These data were collected for inclusion in a flood inundation model developed by the National Weather Service in Birmingham, Alabama. Data are presented as...
Evaluation of quality-control data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey for routine water-quality activities at the Idaho National Laboratory and vicinity, southeastern Idaho, 2002-08
Gordon W. Rattray
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5027
Quality-control (QC) samples were collected from 2002 through 2008 by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, to ensure data robustness by documenting the variability and bias of water-quality data collected at surface-water and groundwater sites at and near the Idaho National Laboratory. QC samples...
Annual exceedance probabilities and trends for peak streamflows and annual runoff volumes for the Central United States during the 2011 floods
Daniel G. Driscoll, Rodney E. Southard, Todd A. Koenig, David A. Bender, Robert R. Holmes Jr.
2014, Professional Paper 1798-D
During 2011, excess precipitation resulted in widespread flooding in the Central United States with 33 fatalities and approximately $4.2 billion in damages reported in the Red River of the North, Souris, and Mississippi River Basins. At different times from late February 2011 through September 2011, various rivers in these basins...
Comparative population structure of cavity-nesting sea ducks
John M. Pearce, John M. Eadie, Jean-Pierre L. Savard, Thomas K. Christensen, James Berdeen, Eric J. Taylor, Sean Boyd, Arni Einarsson
2014, The Auk (131) 195-207
A growing collection of mtDNA genetic information from waterfowl species across North America suggests that larger-bodied cavity-nesting species exhibit greater levels of population differentiation than smaller-bodied congeners. Although little is known about nest-cavity availability for these species, one hypothesis to explain differences in population structure is reduced dispersal tendency of...
Surface-water and karst groundwater interactions and streamflow-response simulations of the karst-influenced upper Lost River watershed, Orange County, Indiana
E. Randall Bayless, Peter J. Cinotto, Randy L. Ulery, Charles J. Taylor, Gregory K. McCombs, Moon H. Kim, Hugh L. Nelson
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5028
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA), conducted a study of the upper Lost River watershed in Orange County, Indiana, from 2012 to 2013. Streamflow and groundwater data were collected at 10...
Does water chemistry affect the dietary uptake and toxicity of silver nanoparticles by the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis?
Ana Lopez-Serrano Oliver, Marie-Noële Croteau, Tasha L. Stoiber, Mila Tejamaya, Isabella Römer, Jamie R. Lead, Samuel N. Luoma
2014, Environmental Pollution (189) 87-91
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are widely used in many applications and likely released into the aquatic environment. There is increasing evidence that Ag is efficiently delivered to aquatic organisms from AgNPs after aqueous and dietary exposures. Accumulation of AgNPs through the diet can damage digestion and adversely affect growth. It is...
Future scenarios of impacts to ecosystem services on California rangelands
Kristin Byrd, Pelayo Alvarez, Lorraine Flint, Alan Flint
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3019
The 18 million acres of rangelands in the Central Valley of California provide multiple benefits or “ecosystem services” to people—including wildlife habitat, water supply, open space, recreation, and cultural resources. Most of this land is privately owned and managed for livestock production. These rangelands are vulnerable to land-use conversion and...
Assessment of bird response to the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative using weather-surveillance radar
Mason L. Sieges, Jaclyn A. Smolinsky, Michael J. Baldwin, Wylie C. Barrow, Lori A. Randall, Jeffrey J. Buler
2014, Southeastern Naturalist (13) G36-G65
In response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in spring 2010, the Natural Resources Conservation Service implemented the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (MBHI) to provide temporary wetland habitat for migrating and wintering waterfowl, shorebirds, and other birds along the northern Gulf of Mexico via managed flooding of agricultural lands. We...
HydroClimATe: hydrologic and climatic analysis toolkit
Jesse E. Dickinson, Randall T. Hanson, Steven K. Predmore
2014, Techniques and Methods 4-A9
The potential consequences of climate variability and climate change have been identified as major issues for the sustainability and availability of the worldwide water resources. Unlike global climate change, climate variability represents deviations from the long-term state of the climate over periods of a few years to several decades. Currently,...
Assessment of sediments in the riverine impoundments of national wildlife refuges in the Souris River Basin, North Dakota
Brian A. Tangen, Murray K. Laubhan, Robert A. Gleason
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5018
Accelerated sedimentation of reservoirs and riverine impoundments is a major concern throughout the United States. Sediments not only fill impoundments and reduce their effective life span, but they can reduce water quality by increasing turbidity and introducing harmful chemical constituents such as heavy metals, toxic elements, and nutrients. U.S. Fish...
Water resources of Cameron Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken
2014, Fact Sheet 2013-3076
This fact sheet presents a brief overview of groundwater and surface-water resources in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Information on the availability, use, and quality of water from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is discussed. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System...
Water resources of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken, John K. Lovelace
2014, Fact Sheet 2013-3073
This fact sheet presents a brief overview of groundwater and surface-water resources in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Information on the availability, use, and quality of water from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is discussed. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System...
Simulation of groundwater flow in the "1,500-foot" sand and "2,000-foot" sand, with scenarios to mitigate saltwater migration in the "2,000-foot" sand of the Baton Rouge area, Louisiana
Charles E. Heywood, Jason M. Griffith, John K. Lovelace
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5227
Groundwater withdrawals have caused saltwater to encroach into freshwater-bearing aquifers beneath Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Groundwater investigations in the 1960s identified a freshwater-saltwater interface located at the Baton Rouge Fault, across which abrupt changes in water levels occur. Aquifers south of the fault generally contain saltwater, and aquifers north of the...
Floodplain biogeochemical processing of floodwaters in the Atchafalaya River Basin during the Mississippi River flood of 2011
Durelle T. Scott, Richard F. Keim, Brandon L. Edwards, C. Nathan Jones, Daniel E. Kroes
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (119) 537-546
The 2011 flood in the Lower Mississippi resulted in the second highest recorded river flow diverted into the Atchafalaya River Basin (ARB). The higher water levels during the flood peak resulted in high hydrologic connectivity between the Atchafalaya River and floodplain, with up to 50% of the Atchafalaya River water...
ListingAnalyst: A program for analyzing the main output file from MODFLOW
Richard B. Winston, Scott Paulinski
2014, Ground Water (52) 317-321
ListingAnalyst is a Windows® program for viewing the main output file from MODFLOW-2005, MODFLOW-NWT, or MODFLOW-LGR. It organizes and displays large files quickly without using excessive memory. The sections and subsections of the file are displayed in a tree-view control, which allows the user to navigate quickly to desired locations...
Mercury in fishes from 21 national parks in the Western United States: inter- and intra-park variation in concentrations and ecological risk
Collin A. Eagles-Smith, James J. Willacker, Colleen M. Flanagan Pritz
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1051
Mercury (Hg) is a global contaminant and human activities have increased atmospheric Hg concentrations 3- to 5-fold during the past 150 years. This increased release into the atmosphere has resulted in elevated loadings to aquatic habitats where biogeochemical processes promote the microbial conversion of inorganic Hg to methylmercury, the bioavailable...
Combined multibeam and bathymetry data from Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound: a regional perspective
Lawrence J. Poppe, Katherine Y. McMullen, William W. Danforth, Mark R. Blankenship, Andrew R. Clos, Kimberly A. Glomb, Peter G. Lewit, Megan A. Nadeau, Douglas A. Wood, Castleton E. Parker
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1012
Detailed bathymetric maps of the sea floor in Rhode Island and Block Island Sounds are of great interest to the New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts research and management communities because of this area's ecological, recreational, and commercial importance. Geologically interpreted digital terrain models from individual surveys provide important benthic...
Quantifying benthic nitrogen fluxes in Puget Sound, Washington: a review of available data
Richard W. Sheibley, Anthony J. Paulson
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5033
Understanding benthic fluxes is important for understanding the fate of materials that settle to the Puget Sound, Washington, seafloor, as well as the impact these fluxes have on the chemical composition and biogeochemical cycles of marine waters. Existing approaches used to measure benthic nitrogen flux in Puget Sound and elsewhere...
A framework for assessing water and proppant use and flowback water extraction associated with development of continuous petroleum resources
Seth S. Haines, Troy Cook, Joanna N. Thamke, Kyle W. Davis, Andrew J. Long, Richard W. Healy, Sarah J. Hawkins, Mark A. Engle
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3010
The U.S. Geological Survey is developing approaches for the quantitative assessment of water and proppant involved with possible future production of continuous petroleum deposits. The assessment approach is an extension of existing U.S. Geological Survey petroleum-assessment methods, and it aims to provide objective information that helps decision makers understand the...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Oregon
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3014
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of business uses, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. In the State of Oregon, elevation data are critical for river and stream resource management; forest resources management; water supply and quality; infrastructure and construction...
Detection limits and cost comparisons of human- and gull-associated conventional and quantitative PCR assays in artificial and environmental waters
Timothy E. Riedel, Amity G. Zimmer-Faust, Vanessa Thulsiraj, Tania Madi, Kaitlyn T. Hanley, Darcy L. Ebentier, Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli, Blythe Layton, Meredith Raith, Alexandria B. Boehm, John F. Griffith, Patricia A. Holden, Orin C. Shanks, Stephen B. Weisberg, Jennifer A. Jay
2014, Journal of Environmental Management (136) 112-120
Some molecular methods for tracking fecal pollution in environmental waters have both PCR and quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays available for use. To assist managers in deciding whether to implement newer qPCR techniques in routine monitoring programs, we compared detection limits (LODs) and costs of PCR and qPCR assays with identical...
Applying downscaled global climate model data to a hydrodynamic surface-water and groundwater model
Eric Swain, Lydia Stefanova, Thomas Smith
2014, American Journal of Climate Change (3) 33-49
Precipitation data from Global Climate Models have been downscaled to smaller regions. Adapting this downscaled precipitation data to a coupled hydrodynamic surface-water/groundwater model of southern Florida allows an examination of future conditions and their effect on groundwater levels, inundation patterns, surface-water stage and flows, and salinity. The downscaled rainfall data...
Water-quality trends for selected sampling sites in the upper Clark Fork Basin, Montana, water years 1996-2010
Steven K. Sando, Aldo V. Vecchia, David L. Lorenz, Elliott P. Barnhart
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5217
A large-scale trend analysis was done on specific conductance, selected trace elements (arsenic, cadmium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, and zinc), and suspended-sediment data for 22 sites in the upper Clark Fork Basin for water years 1996–2010. Trend analysis was conducted by using two parametric methods: a time-series model (TSM) and...
USGS Field Activities 11CEV01 and 11CEV02 on the West Florida Shelf, Gulf of Mexico, in January and February 2011
Lisa L. Robbins, Paul O. Knorr, Kendra L. Daly, Carl A. Taylor
2014, Data Series 711
During January and February 2011 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the University of South Florida (USF), conducted geochemical surveys on the west Florida Shelf. Data collected will allow USGS and USF scientists to investigate the effects of climate change on ocean acidification within the northern Gulf of...
Antecedent flow conditions and nitrate concentrations in the Mississippi River basin
Jennifer C. Murphy, Robert M. Hirsch, Lori A. Sprague
2014, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 967-979
The relationship between antecedent flow conditions and nitrate concentrations was explored at eight sites in the 2.9 million square kilometers (km2) Mississippi River basin, USA. Antecedent flow conditions were quantified as the ratio between the mean daily flow of the previous year and the mean daily flow from the period...
