California State Waters map series — Offshore of Scott Creek, California
Guy R. Cochrane, Peter Dartnell, Samuel Y. Johnson, H. Gary Greene, Mercedes D. Erdey, Bryan E. Dieter, Nadine E. Golden, Charles A. Endris, Stephen R. Hartwell, Rikk G. Kvitek, Clifton W. Davenport, Janet Watt, Lisa M. Krigsman, Andrew C. Ritchie, Ray W. Sliter, David P. Finlayson, Katherine L. Maier
Guy R. Cochrane, Susan A. Cochran, editor(s)
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1191
Introduction In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration,...
Marshes to mudflats—Effects of sea-level rise on tidal marshes along a latitudinal gradient in the Pacific Northwest
Karen M. Thorne, Bruce D. Dugger, Kevin J. Buffington, Chase M. Freeman, Christopher N. Janousek, Katherine W. Powelson, Glenn R. Gutenspergen, John Y. Takekawa
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1204
Summary In the Pacific Northwest, coastal wetlands support a wealth of ecosystem services including habitat provision for wildlife and fisheries and flood protection. The tidal marshes, mudflats, and shallow bays of coastal estuaries link marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats, and provide economic and recreational benefits to local communities. Climate change effects...
Behavior, passage, and downstream migration of juvenile Chinook salmon from Detroit Reservoir to Portland, Oregon, 2014–15
Tobias J. Kock, John W. Beeman, Amy C. Hansen, Hal C. Hansel, Gabriel S. Hansen, Tyson W. Hatton, Eric E. Kofoot, Matthew D. Sholtis, Jamie M. Sprando
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1220
An evaluation was conducted to estimate dam passage survival of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) at Detroit Dam during a period of spill. To estimate dam passage survival, we used a paired-release recapture study design and released groups of tagged fish upstream (997 fish) and downstream (625 fish) of Detroit...
The relationship between the ratio of strontium to calcium and sea-surface temperature in a modern Porites astreoides coral: Implications for using P. astreoides as a paleoclimate archive
Tess E. Busch, Jennifer A. Flannery, Julie N. Richey, Anastasios Stathakopoulos
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1182
An inverse relationship has been demonstrated between water temperature and the ratio of strontium to calcium (Sr/Ca) in coral aragonite for a number of Pacific species of the genus Porites. This empirically determined relationship has been used to reconstruct past sea-surface temperature (SST) from modern and Holocene age coral archives....
Hydraulic laboratory testing of Sontek-IQ Plus
Janice M. Fulford, Scott Kimball
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1139
The SonTek-IQ Plus (IQ Plus) is a bottom-mounted Doppler instrument used for the measurement of water depth and velocity. Evaluation testing of the IQ Plus was performed to assess the accuracy of water depth, discharge, and velocity measurements. The IQ Plus met the manufacturer’s specifications and the U.S. Geological Survey...
Groundwater quality in the Chemung River, Eastern Lake Ontario, and Lower Hudson River Basins, New York, 2013
Tia-Marie Scott, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, James E. Reddy
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1168
In a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, water samples were collected from 4 production wells and 4 domestic wells in the Chemung River Basin, 8 production wells and 7 domestic wells in the Eastern Lake Ontario...
smwrData—An R package of example hydrologic data, version 1.1.1
David L. Lorenz
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1103
A collection of 24 datasets, including streamflow, well characteristics, groundwater elevations, and discrete water-quality concentrations, is provided to produce a consistent set of example data to demonstrate typical data manipulations or statistical analysis of hydrologic data. These example data are provided in an R package called smwrData. The data in...
Seasonal microbial and environmental parameters at Crocker Reef, Florida Keys, 2014–2015
Christina A. Kellogg, Kimberly K. Yates, Stephanie N. Lawler, Christopher S. Moore, Nathan A. Smiley
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1203
Crocker Reef, located on the outer reef tract of the Florida Keys (fig. 1), was the site of an integrated “reefscape characterization” effort focused on calcification and related biogeochemical processes as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coral Reef Ecosystem STudies (CREST) project. It is characterized as a senile...
An overview of the National Earthquake Information Center acquisition software system, Edge/Continuous Waveform Buffer
John M. Patton, David C. Ketchum, Michelle R. Guy
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1174
This document provides an overview of the capabilities, design, and use cases of the data acquisition and archiving subsystem at the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center. The Edge and Continuous Waveform Buffer software supports the National Earthquake Information Center’s worldwide earthquake monitoring mission in direct station data acquisition,...
Performance evaluation of five turbidity sensors in three primary standards
Teri T. Snazelle
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1172
This report is temporarily unavailable....
Geologic map of Kundelan ore deposits and prospects, Zabul Province, Afghanistan; modified from the 1971 original map compilations of K.I. Litvinenko and others
Robert D. Tucker, Stephen G. Peters, Will R. Stettner, Linda M. Masonic, Thomas W. Moran
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1198
This map and cross sections are redrafted modified versions of the Geological map of the Kundelan ore deposit area, scale 1:10,000 (graphical supplement no. 18) and the Geological map of the Kundelan deposits, scale 1:2,000 (graphical supplement no. 3) both contained in an unpublished Soviet report by Litvinenko and others...
Strategy to evaluate persistent contaminant hazards resulting from sea-level rise and storm-derived disturbances—Study design and methodology for station prioritization
Timothy J. Reilly, Daniel K. Jones, Michael J. Focazio, Kimberly C. Aquino, Chelsea L. Carbo, Erika E. Kaufhold, Elizabeth K. Zinecker, William Benzel, Shawn C. Fisher, Dale W. Griffin, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Keith A. Loftin, William B. Schill
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1188-A
Coastal communities are uniquely vulnerable to sea-level rise (SLR) and severe storms such as hurricanes. These events enhance the dispersion and concentration of natural and anthropogenic chemicals and pathogenic microorganisms that could adversely affect the health and resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems in coming years. The U.S. Geological Survey...
Sea-floor texture and physiographic zones of the inner continental shelf from Salisbury to Nahant, Massachusetts, including the Merrimack Embayment and Western Massachusetts Bay
Elizabeth E. Pendleton, Walter A. Barnhardt, Wayne E. Baldwin, David S. Foster, William C. Schwab, Brian D. Andrews, Seth D. Ackerman
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1153
A series of maps that describe the distribution and texture of sea-floor sediments and physiographic zones of Massachusetts State waters from Nahant to Salisbury, Massachusetts, including western Massachusetts Bay, have been produced by using high-resolution geophysical data (interferometric and multibeam swath bathymetry, lidar bathymetry, backscatter intensity, and seismic reflection profiles),...
U.S. Geological Survey Chesapeake science strategy, 2015-2025—Informing ecosystem management of America’s largest estuary
Scott Phillips, Joel D. Blomquist, Mark Bennett, Alicia Berlin, Vicki Blazer, Peter R. Claggett, Stephen Faulkner, Kenneth Hyer, Cassandra Ladino, Douglas Moyer, Rachel Muir, Gregory E. Noe, Patrick J. Phillips
Scott Phillips, Joel D. Blomquist, editor(s)
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1162
Executive Summary The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has the critical role of providing scientific information to improve the understanding and management of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The USGS works with Federal, State, and academic science partners to provide research and monitoring, and communicate results of these activities to enhance ecosystem management...
Preliminary peak stage and streamflow data at selected USGS streamgaging stations for the South Carolina flood of October 2015
Toby D. Feaster, John M. Shelton, Jeanne C. Robbins
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1201
Heavy rainfall occurred across South Carolina during October 1–5, 2015, as a result of an upper atmospheric low-pressure system that funneled tropical moisture from Hurricane Joaquin into the State. The storm caused major flooding from the central to the coastal areas of South Carolina. Almost 27 inches of rain fell...
Uranium in the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative study area, southwestern Wyoming
Anna B. Wilson
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1123
Wyoming has led the nation as the producer of uranium ore since 1995 and contains the largest reserves of any state. Approximately one third of Wyoming’s total production came from deposits in, or immediately adjacent to, the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) study area in the southwestern corner of the...
Near-field receiving water monitoring of trace metals and a benthic community near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in south San Francisco Bay, California: 2014
Daniel J. Cain, Janet K. Thompson, Jeff Crauder, Francis Parcheso, A. Robin Stewart, Amy E. Kleckner, Jessica Dyke, Michelle I. Hornberger, Samuel N. Luoma
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1199
Trace-metal concentrations in sediment and in the clam Macoma petalum (formerly reported as Macoma balthica), clam reproductive activity, and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure were investigated in a mudflat 1 kilometer (km) south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) in South San Francisco...
Geologic and geophysical maps of the El Casco 7.5′ quadrangle, Riverside County, southern California, with accompanying geologic-map database
J. C. Matti, D. M. Morton, V. E. Langenheim
2015, Open-File Report 2010-1274
Introduction Earth materials and structures in the El Casco quadrangle provide considerable information about the late Cenozoic geologic evolution of southern California’s Inland Empire region (fig. 2). Important structural and stratigraphic elements include (1) modern traces of the right-lateral San Jacinto Fault zone, (2) older traces of the San Jacinto Fault...
Hindcast storm events in the Bering Sea for the St. Lawrence Island and Unalakleet Regions, Alaska
Li H. Erikson, Robert T. McCall, Arnold van Rooijen, Benjamin Norris
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1193
This study provides viable estimates of historical storm-induced water levels in the coastal communities of Gambell and Savoonga situated on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, as well as Unalakleet located at the head of Norton Sound on the western coast of Alaska. Gambell, Savoonga, and Unalakleet are small...
Surrogate Analysis and Index Developer (SAID) tool
Marian M. Domanski, Timothy D. Straub, Mark N. Landers
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1177
The use of acoustic and other parameters as surrogates for suspended-sediment concentrations (SSC) in rivers has been successful in multiple applications across the Nation. Tools to process and evaluate the data are critical to advancing the operational use of surrogates along with the subsequent development of regression models from which...
Realized detection and capture probabilities for giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) using modified floating aquatic funnel traps
Brian J. Halstead, Shannon M. Skalos, Michael L. Casazza, Glenn D. Wylie
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1200
Executive Summary Rigorous analysis and management of animal populations requires that observers account for limitations inherent to the detection of those populations and the individuals within them. Researchers are usually unable to see every individual of a population or to even detect some entire populations. Ignoring this imperfect detectability can...
Barrier Island Shorelines Extracted from Landsat Imagery
Kristy K. Guy
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1179
Introduction Changes to barrier islands occur at time scales that vary from the few hours it takes an individual storm to pass (Morton, 2008) to the millennia it takes for coastal systems to undergo geologic evolution. Developing an understanding of how barrier islands will respond to climate change, sea level rise,...
Accuracy testing of steel and electric groundwater-level measuring tapes: Test method and in-service tape accuracy
Janice M. Fulford, Christopher S. Clayton
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1137
The accuracy of groundwater-level tapes was investigated by developing a tape calibration method and device and testing the accuracy of a sample of groundwater-level tapes with the calibration method and device. The sample of tapes included in-service U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Science Center steel and electric groundwater-level tapes. The tape...
Identifying trout refuges in the Indian and Hudson Rivers in northern New York through airborne thermal infrared remote sensing
Anne G. Ernst, Barry P. Baldigo, Fred J. Calef, Douglas A. Freehafer, Robert L. Kremens
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1078
The locations and sizes of potential cold-water refuges for trout were examined in 2005 along a 27-kilometer segment of the Indian and Hudson Rivers in northern New York to evaluate the extent of refuges, the effects of routine flow releases from an impoundment, and how these refuges and releases might...
Analysis of bathymetric surveys to identify coastal vulnerabilities at Cape Canaveral, Florida
David M. Thompson, Nathaniel G. Plant, Mark E. Hansen
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1180
Cape Canaveral, Florida, is a prominent feature along the Southeast U.S. coastline. The region includes Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and a large portion of Canaveral National Seashore. The actual promontory of the modern Cape falls within the jurisdictional boundaries of...