Sedimentological and radiochemical characteristics of marsh deposits from Assateague Island and the adjacent vicinity, Maryland and Virginia, following Hurricane Sandy
Christopher G. Smith, Marci E. Marot, Alisha M. Ellis, Cathryn J. Wheaton, Julie Bernier, C. Scott Adams
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1169
The effect of tropical and extratropical cyclones on coastal wetlands and marshes is highly variable and depends on a number of climatic, geologic, and physical variables. The impacts of storms can be either positive or negative with respect to the wetland and marsh ecosystems. Small to moderate amounts of inorganic...
Summary of the Ahankashan Area of Interest
Lawrence J. Drew, David M. Sutphin, John C. Mars, Anya K. Bogdanow
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1040
This report summarizes and interprets results of the work in the Ahankashan Area of Interest in northwestern Afghanistan and four study areas—the Ahankashan Prospect Area, Syahsang-Kushkak, Taghab-Soni, and Zakak-e ‘Olya—delineated for their potential undiscovered mineral occurrences with specific emphasis on porphyry copper and related occurrence types. The Area of Interest...
Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Level 1 Precision Terrain Corrected Registered At-Sensor Radiance (AST_L1T) Product, algorithm theoretical basis document
David Meyer, Dawn Siemonsma, Barbara Brooks, Lowell Johnson
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1171
This document provides an overview of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) supplemental algorithms in conjunction with the reuse of Landsat geometric algorithms modified by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) to create an ASTER Level 1 Precision...
A Crosswalk of Mineral Commodity End Uses and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes
James J. Barry, Grecia R. Matos, W. David Menzie
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1163
This crosswalk is based on the premise that there is a connection between the way mineral commodities are used and how this use is reflected in the economy. Raw mineral commodities are the basic materials from which goods, finished products, or intermediate materials are manufactured or made. Mineral commodities are...
Biological and geochemical data along Indian Point, Vermilion Bay, Louisiana
Kathryn A. Richwine, Marci E. Marot, Christopher G. Smith, Lisa E. Osterman, C. Scott Adams
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1143
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center collected shallow sediment cores and surface samples from a coastal salt marsh environment next to Vermilion Bay in southwest Louisiana in January 2013. The sampling was part of a larger USGS study to gather data for assessing...
Field and laboratory guide to freshwater cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms for Native American and Alaska Native communities
Barry H. Rosen, Ann E. St. Amand
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1164
Cyanobacteria can produce toxins and form harmful algal blooms. The Native American and Alaska Native communities that are dependent on subsistence fishing have an increased risk of exposure to these cyanotoxins. It is important to recognize the presence of an algal bloom in a waterbody and to distinguish a potentially...
USGS compilation of geographic information system (GIS) data of coal mines and coal-bearing areas in Mongolia
Michael H. Trippi, Harvey E. Belkin
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1144
Geographic information system (GIS) information may facilitate energy studies, which in turn provide input for energy policy decisions. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has compiled GIS data representing coal mines, deposits (including those with and without coal mines), occurrences, areas, basins, and provinces of Mongolia as of 2009. These data...
Fire patterns in the range of the greater sage-grouse, 1984-2013 - Implications for conservation and management
Matthew L. Brooks, John R. Matchett, Douglas J. Shinneman, Peter S. Coates
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1167
Fire ranks among the top three threats to the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) throughout its range, and among the top two threats in the western part of its range. The national research strategy for this species and the recent U.S. Department of the Interior Secretarial Order 3336 call for science-based...
Long-term effects of wildfire on greater sage-grouse - integrating population and ecosystem concepts for management in the Great Basin
Peter S. Coates, Mark A. Ricca, Brian G. Prochazka, Kevin E. Doherty, Matthew L. Brooks, Michael L. Casazza
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1165
Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereinafter, sage-grouse) are a sagebrush obligate species that has declined concomitantly with the loss and fragmentation of sagebrush ecosystems across most of its geographical range. The species currently is listed as a candidate for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Increasing wildfire frequency and...
Sea-floor morphology and sedimentary environments in southern Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island
Katherine Y. McMullen, Lawrence J. Poppe, Dann S. Blackwood, Matthew J. Nardi, Matthew A. Andring
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1149
Multibeam echosounder data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration along with sediment samples and still and video photography of the sea floor collected by the U.S. Geological Survey were used to interpret sea-floor features and sedimentary environments in southern Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, as part of a long-term...
Seismicity of the Earth 1900‒2013 Mediterranean Sea and vicinity
Matthew W. Herman, Gavin P. Hayes, Gregory M. Smoczyk, Rebecca Turner, Bethan Turner, Jennifer Jenkins, Sian Davies, Amy Parker, Allison Sinclair, Harley M. Benz, Kevin P. Furlong, Antonio Villaseñor
2015, Open-File Report 2010-1083-Q
The Mediterranean region is seismically active due to the convergence of the Africa Plate with the Eurasia plate. Present day Africa-Eurasia motion ranges from ~4 millimeters per year (mm/yr) in a northwest-southeast direction in the western Mediterranean to ~10 mm/yr (north-south) in the eastern Mediterranean. The Africa-Eurasia plate boundary is...
Range-wide network of priority areas for greater sage-grouse - a design for conserving connected distributions or isolating individual zoos?
Michele R. Crist, Steven T. Knick, Steven E. Hanser
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1158
The network of areas delineated in 11 Western States for prioritizing management of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) represents a grand experiment in conservation biology and reserve design. We used centrality metrics from social network theory to gain insights into how this priority area network might function. The network was...
Methods for evaluating potential sources of chloride in surface waters and groundwaters of the conterminous United States
Gregory E. Granato, Leslie A. DeSimone, Jeffrey R. Barbaro, Lillian C. Jeznach
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1080
Chloride exists as a major ion in most natural waters, but many anthropogenic sources are increasing concentrations of chloride in many receiving waters. Although natural concentrations in continental waters can be as high as 200,000 milligrams per liter, chloride concentrations that are suitable for freshwater ecology, human consumption, and agricultural...
Documentation of input datasets for the soil-water balance groundwater recharge model of the Upper Colorado River Basin
Fred D. Tillman
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1160
The Colorado River and its tributaries supply water to more than 35 million people in the United States and 3 million people in Mexico, irrigating more than 4.5 million acres of farmland, and generating about 12 billion kilowatt hours of hydroelectric power annually. The Upper Colorado River Basin, encompassing more...
Geophysical investigation of the pressure field produced by water guns at a pond site in La Crosse, Wisconsin
Ryan F. Adams, William S. Morrow
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1130
Three different geophysical sensor types were used to characterize the underwater pressure waves generated by the underwater firing of a seismic water gun and their suitability for establishing a pressure barrier to potentially direct or prevent the movement of the Asian carps. The sensors used to collect the seismic information...
Water withdrawals in Florida, 2012
Richard L. Marella
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1156
In 2012, the total amount of water withdrawn in Florida was estimated to be 14,237 million gallons per day (Mgal/d). Saline water accounted for 7,855 Mgal/d (55 percent), and freshwater accounted for 6,383 Mgal/d (45 percent). Groundwater accounted for 4,167 Mgal/d (65 percent) of freshwater withdrawals, and surface water accounted...
Photomosaics and event evidence from the Frazier Mountain paleoseismic site, trench 1, cuts 5–24, San Andreas Fault Zone, southern California (2010–2012)
Katherine M. Scharer, Tom E. Fumal, Ray J. Weldon II, Ashley R. Streig
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1147
The Frazier Mountain paleoseismic site is located within the northern Big Bend of the southern San Andreas Fault (lat 34.8122° N., lon 118.9034° W.), in a small structural basin formed by the fault (fig. 1). The site has been the focus of over a decade of paleoseismic study due to...
Summary of oceanographic measurements for characterizing light attenuation and sediment resuspension in the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary, New Jersey, 2013
Patrick J. Dickhudt, Neil K. Ganju, Ellyn T. Montgomery
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1146
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, measured suspended-sediment concentrations, currents, waves, light attenuation, and a variety of other water-quality parameters in the summer of 2013 in Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey. These measurements quantified light attenuation and sediment resuspension in three...
Vulnerability of larval lamprey to Columbia River hydropower system operations—effects of dewatering on larval lamprey movements and survival
Theresa L. Liedtke, Lisa K. Weiland, Matthew G. Mesa
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1157
Numbers of adult and juvenile Pacific lamprey ( Entosphenus tridentatus ) in the upper Columbia River Basin of the interior Pacific Northwest have decreased from historical levels (Close and others, 2002), raising concerns f rom State and Federal agencies and Tribal entities. In 1994, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service...
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources─South Florida Basin: Chapter L in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources
Tina L. Roberts-Ashby, Sean T. Brennan, Matthew D. Merrill, Madalyn S. Blondes, P.A. Freeman, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Celeste D. Lohr
Peter D. Warwick, M.D. Corum, editor(s)
2015, Open-File Report 2012-1024-L
This report presents five storage assessment units (SAUs) that have been identified as potentially suitable for geologic carbon dioxide sequestration within a 35,075-square-mile area that includes the entire onshore and State-water portions of the South Florida Basin. Platform-wide, thick successions of laterally extensive carbonates and evaporites deposited in highly cyclic...
National Earthquake Information Center systems overview and integration
Michelle R. Guy, John M. Patton, Jeremy Fee, Mike Hearne, Eric Martinez, D. Ketchum, Charles Worden, Vince Quitoriano, Edward Hunter, Gregory Smoczyk, Stan Schwarz
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1120
Overview The primary mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) is comprehensive global earthquake monitoring (M4.5 or larger) and complete seismic monitoring of the United States for all significant earthquakes (M3.0 or larger or felt). In recent years, the NEIC has assumed a more prominent role...
Collections management plan for the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Data Library
Kelleen M. List, Brian J. Buczkowski, Linda P. McCarthy, Alice M. Orton
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1141
The U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center has created a Data Library to organize, preserve, and make available the field, laboratory, and modeling data collected and processed by Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center staff. This Data Library supports current research efforts by providing unique,...
A conceptual model for site-level ecology of the giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) in the Sacramento Valley, California
Brian J. Halstead, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza, Eric C. Hansen, Rick D. Scherer, Laura C. Patterson
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1152
Giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) comprise a species of semi-aquatic snakes precinctive to marshes in the Central Valley of California (Hansen and Brode, 1980; Rossman and others, 1996). Because more than 90 percent of their historical wetland habitat has been converted to other uses (Frayer and others, 1989; Garone, 2007), giant...
The Boulder magnetic observatory
Jeffrey J. Love, Carol A. Finn, Kolby L. Pedrie, Cletus C. Blum
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1125
The Boulder magnetic observatory has, since 1963, been operated by the Geomagnetism Program of the U.S. Geological Survey in accordance with Bureau and national priorities. Data from the observatory are used for a wide variety of scientific purposes, both pure and applied. The observatory also supports developmental projects within the...
Earthquake forewarning in the Cascadia region
Joan S. Gomberg, Brian F. Atwater, Nicholas M. Beeler, Paul Bodin, Earl Davis, Arthur D. Frankel, Gavin P. Hayes, Laura McConnell, Tim Melbourne, David H. Oppenheimer, John G. Parrish, Evelyn A. Roeloffs, Gary D. Rogers, Brian L. Sherrod, John Vidale, Timothy J. Walsh, Craig S. Weaver, Paul M. Whitmore
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1151
This report, prepared for the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council (NEPEC), is intended as a step toward improving communications about earthquake hazards between information providers and users who coordinate emergency-response activities in the Cascadia region of the Pacific Northwest. NEPEC charged a subcommittee of scientists with writing this report about...
