Estimated anthropogenic nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to the land surface of the conterminous United States--1992, 1997, and 2002
Lori A. Sprague, Jo Ann M. Gronberg
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5241
Anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus to each county in the conterminous United States and to the watersheds of 495 surface-water sites studied as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program were quantified for the years 1992, 1997, and 2002. Estimates of inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus...
Hydrogeologic framework, hydrology, and water quality in the Pearce Creek Dredge Material Containment Area and vicinity, Cecil County, Maryland, 2010-11
Cheryl A. Dieter, Michael T. Koterba, Otto S. Zapecza, Charles W. Walker, Donald E. Rice
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5263
In 2009, to support an evaluation of the feasibility of reopening the Pearce Creek Dredge Material Containment Area (DMCA) in Cecil County, Maryland, for dredge-spoil disposal, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began to implement a comprehensive study designed to improve the understanding of the hydrogeologic framework, hydrology, and water quality...
Bedrock geologic map of the Nashua South quadrangle, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, and Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Gregory J. Walsh, Richard H. Jahns, John N. Aleinikoff
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3200
The bedrock geology of the 7.5-minute Nashua South quadrangle consists primarily of deformed Silurian metasedimentary rocks of the Berwick Formation. The metasedimentary rocks are intruded by a Late Silurian to Early Devonian diorite-gabbro suite, Devonian rocks of the Ayer Granodiorite, Devonian granitic rocks of the New Hampshire Plutonic Suite including...
Landsat surface reflectance quality assurance extraction (version 1.7)
J. W. Jones, M.J. Starbuck, Calli B. Jenkerson
2013, Techniques and Methods 11-C7
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Land Remote Sensing Program is developing an operational capability to produce Climate Data Records (CDRs) and Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) from the Landsat Archive to support a wide variety of science and resource management activities from regional to global scale. The USGS Earth Resources Observation...
What is the economic value of satellite imagery?
Ronald P. Raunikar, William M. Forney, Susan P. Benjamin
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3003
Does remote-sensing information, such as that from Landsat and similar Earth-observing satellites, provide economic benefits to society, and can this value be estimated? Using satellite data for northeastern Iowa, U.S. Geological Survey scientists modeled the relations among land uses, agricultural production, and dynamic nitrate (NO3-) contamination of aquifers. They demonstrated...
Historic distribution of Common Loons in Wisconsin in relation to changes in lake characteristics and surrounding land use
Kevin P. Kenow, Paul J. Garrison, Timothy J. Fox, Michael W. Meyer
2013, Book chapter, Potential effects of climate change on inland glacial lakes and implications for lake dependent biota in Wisconsin
A study was conducted to evaluate changes in water quality and land-use change associated with lakes that are south of the current breeding range of Common Loons in Wisconsin but that historically supported breeding loons. Museum collection records and published accounts were examined to identify lakes in southern Wisconsin with...
A framework for quantitative assessment of impacts related to energy and mineral resource development
Seth S. Haines, James Diffendorfer, Laurie S. Balistrieri, Byron R. Berger, Troy A. Cook, Donald L. Gautier, Tanya J. Gallegos, Margot Gerritsen, Elisabeth Graffy, Sarah Hawkins, Kathleen Johnson, Jordan Macknick, Peter McMahon, Tim Modde, Brenda Pierce, John H. Schuenemeyer, Darius J. Semmens, Benjamin Simon, Jason Taylor, Katherine Walton-Day
2013, Natural Resources Research (23) 3-17
Natural resource planning at all scales demands methods for assessing the impacts of resource development and use, and in particular it requires standardized methods that yield robust and unbiased results. Building from existing probabilistic methods for assessing the volumes of energy and mineral resources, we provide an algorithm for consistent,...
Relating hyporheic fluxes, residence times, and redox-sensitive biogeochemical processes upstream of beaver dams
Martin A. Briggs, Laura Lautz, Danielle K. Hare
2013, Freshwater Science (32) 622-641
Abstract. Small dams enhance the development of patchy microenvironments along stream corridors by trapping sediment and creating complex streambed morphologies. This patchiness drives intricate hyporheic flux patterns that govern the exchange of O2 and redox-sensitive solutes between the water column and the stream bed. We used multiple tracer techniques, naturally...
Extreme drought: summary of hydrologic conditions in Georgia, 2011
Andrew E. Knaak, Eric R. Frantz, Michael F. Peck
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3002
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Georgia Water Science Center (GaWSC) maintains a long-term hydrologic monitoring network of more than 320 realtime streamgages, including 10 real-time lake-level monitoring stations and 63 realtime water-quality monitors. Additionally, the GaWSC operates more than 180 groundwater wells, 35 of which are real-time. One of...
Application of sediment characteristics and transport conditions to resource management in selected main-stem reaches of the Upper Colorado River, Colorado and Utah, 1965-2007
Cory A. Williams, Keelin R. Schaffrath, John G. Elliott, Rodney J. Richards
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5195
The Colorado River Basin provides habitat for 14 native fish, including 4 endangered species protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973. These endangered fish species once thrived in the Colorado River system, but water-resource development, including the building of numerous diversion dams and several large reservoirs, and the...
Sampling efficiency of the Moore egg collector
Thomas A. Worthington, Shannon K. Brewer, Timothy B. Grabowski, Julia Mueller
2013, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (33) 79-88
Quantitative studies focusing on the collection of semibuoyant fish eggs, which are associated with a pelagic broadcast-spawning reproductive strategy, are often conducted to evaluate reproductive success. Many of the fishes in this reproductive guild have suffered significant reductions in range and abundance. However, the efficiency of the sampling gear used...
Summary and interpretation of discrete and continuous water-quality monitoring data, Mattawoman Creek, Charles County, Maryland, 2000-11
Jeffrey G. Chanat, Cherie V. Miller, Joseph M. Bell, Brenda Feit Majedi, David P. Brower
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5265
Discrete samples and continuous (15-minute interval) water-quality data were collected at Mattawoman Creek (U.S. Geological Survey station number 01658000) from October 2000 through January 2011, in cooperation with the Charles County (Maryland) Department of Planning and Growth Management, the Maryland Department of the Environment, and the Maryland Geological Survey. Mattawoman...
Accuracy assessment of NLCD 2006 land cover and impervious surface
James D. Wickham, Stephen V. Stehman, Leila Gass, Jon Dewitz, Joyce A. Fry, Timothy G. Wade
2013, Remote Sensing of Environment (130) 294-304
Release of NLCD 2006 provides the first wall-to-wall land-cover change database for the conterminous United States from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data. Accuracy assessment of NLCD 2006 focused on four primary products: 2001 land cover, 2006 land cover, land-cover change between 2001 and 2006, and impervious surface change between 2001...
Final report and archive of the swath bathymetry and ancillary data collected in the Puerto Rico Trench region in 2002 and 2003
Uri S. ten Brink, William W. Danforth, Christopher F. Polloni
2013, Open-File Report 2006-1210
In 2002 and 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), conducted three exploration cruises that mapped for the first time the morphology of the entire tectonic plate boundary stretching from the Dominican Republic in the west to the Lesser Antilles in...
Predicting thermal reference conditions for USA streams and rivers
Ryan A. Hill, Charles P. Hawkins, Daren M. Carlisle
2013, Freshwater Science (32) 39-55
Temperature is a primary driver of the structure and function of stream ecosystems. However, the lack of stream temperature (ST) data for the vast majority of streams and rivers severely compromises our ability to describe patterns of thermal variation among streams, test hypotheses regarding the effects of temperature on macroecological...
Approaches in highly parameterized inversion: bgaPEST, a Bayesian geostatistical approach implementation with PEST: documentation and instructions
Michael N. Fienen, Marco D'Oria, John E. Doherty, Randall J. Hunt
2013, Techniques and Methods 7-C9
The application bgaPEST is a highly parameterized inversion software package implementing the Bayesian Geostatistical Approach in a framework compatible with the parameter estimation suite PEST. Highly parameterized inversion refers to cases in which parameters are distributed in space or time and are correlated with one another. The Bayesian aspect of...
Effects of best-management practices in Bower Creek in the East River priority watershed, Wisconsin, 1991-2009
Steven R. Corsi, Judy A. Horwatich, Troy D. Rutter, Roger T. Bannerman
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5217
Hydrologic and water-quality data were collected at Bower Creek during the periods before best-management practices (BMPs), and after BMPs were installed for evaluation of water-quality improvements. The monitoring was done between 1990 and 2009 with the pre-BMP period ending in July 1994 and the post-BMP period beginning in October 2006....
An automated digital imaging system for environmental monitoring applications
Rian Bogle, Miguel Velasco, John Vogel
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1271
Recent improvements in the affordability and availability of high-resolution digital cameras, data loggers, embedded computers, and radio/cellular modems have advanced the development of sophisticated automated systems for remote imaging. Researchers have successfully placed and operated automated digital cameras in remote locations and in extremes of temperature and humidity, ranging from...
Distribution and environmental persistence of the causative agent of white-nose syndrome, Geomyces destructans, in bat hibernacula of the eastern United States
Jeffrey M. Lorch, Laura K. Muller, Robin E. Russell, Michael O’Connor, Daniel L. Lindner, David S. Blehert
2013, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (79) 1293-1301
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging disease of hibernating bats caused by the recently described fungus Geomyces destructans. First isolated in 2008, the origins of this fungus in North America and its ability to persist in the environment remain undefined. To investigate the correlation between manifestation of WNS and distribution...
Comparison of water consumption in two riparian vegetation communities along the central Platte River, Nebraska, 2008–09 and 2011
Brent M. Hall, David L. Rus
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5203
The Platte River is a vital natural resource for the people, plants, and animals of Nebraska. A recent study quantified water use by riparian woodlands along central reaches of the Platte River, Nebraska, finding that water use was mainly regulated below maximum predicted levels. A comparative study was launched through...
Mississippi River streamflow measurement techniques at St. Louis, Missouri
Chester C. Wastson, Robert R. Holmes Jr., David S. Biedenham
2013, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (139) 1062-1070
Streamflow measurement techniques of the Mississippi River at St. Louis have changed through time (1866–present). In addition to different methods used for discrete streamflow measurements, the density and range of discrete measurements used to define the rating curve (stage versus streamflow) have also changed. Several authors have utilized published water...
Methylmercury is the predominant form of mercury in bird eggs: a synthesis
Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, Steven E. Schwarzbach
2013, Environmental Science & Technology (47) 2052-2060
Bird eggs are commonly used in mercury monitoring programs to assess methylmercury contamination and toxicity to birds. However, only 6% of >200 studies investigating mercury in bird eggs have actually measured methylmercury concentrations in eggs. Instead, studies typically measure total mercury in eggs (both organic and inorganic forms of mercury),...
A support system for assessing local vulnerability to weather and climate
Alex Coletti, Peter D. Howe, Brent Yarnal, Nathan J. Wood
2013, Natural Hazards (65) 999-1008
The changing number and nature of weather- and climate-related natural hazards is causing more communities to need to assess their vulnerabilities. Vulnerability assessments, however, often require considerable expertise and resources that are not available or too expensive for many communities. To meet the need for an easy-to-use, cost-effective vulnerability assessment...
Testing the use of microfossils to reconstruct great earthquakes at Cascadia
S. E. Engelhart, B. P Horton, Alan R. Nelson, A. D. Hawkes, Robert C. Witter, K. Wang, P.-L. Wang, C. H. Vane
2013, Geology (41) 1067-1070
Coastal stratigraphy from the Pacific Northwest of the United States contains evidence of sudden subsidence during ruptures of the Cascadia subduction zone. Transfer functions (empirical relationships between assemblages and elevation) can convert microfossil data into coastal subsidence estimates. Coseismic deformation models use the subsidence values to constrain earthquake magnitudes. To...
Quantifying landscape change in an arctic coastal lowland using repeat airborne LiDAR
Benjamin M. Jones, Jason M. Stoker, Ann E. Gibbs, Guido Grosse, Vladimir E. Romanovsky, Thomas A. Douglas, Nichole E.M. Kinsman, Bruce M. Richmond
2013, Environmental Research Letters (8)
Increases in air, permafrost, and sea surface temperature, loss of sea ice, the potential for increased wave energy, and higher river discharge may all be interacting to escalate erosion of arctic coastal lowland landscapes. Here we use airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data acquired in 2006 and 2010 to...
