Development of a grazing monitoring program for Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
Linda Zeigenfuss, Kathryn A. Schoenecker
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1136
National parks in the United States face the difficult task of managing natural resources within park boundaries that are influenced to a large degree by historical land uses or by forces outside of the park’s protection and mandate. Among the many challenges faced by parks is management of wildlife populations...
Results of mineral, chemical, and sulfate isotopic analyses of water, soil, rocks, and soil extracts from the Pariette Draw Watershed, Uinta Basin, Utah
Jean M. Morrison, Michele L. Tuttle, Juli W. Fahy
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1132
In 2010, Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Division of Water Quality (UDWQ, 2010) determined that water quality in Pariette Draw was in violation of Federal and State water quality criteria for total dissolved solids (TDS), selenium (Se), and boron (B). The measure of total dissolved solids is the sum...
California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of Bodega Head, California
Samuel Y. Johnson, Peter Dartnell, Nadine E. Golden, Stephen R. Hartwell, Mercedes D. Erdey, H. Gary Greene, Guy R. Cochrane, Rikk G. Kvitek, Michael W. Manson, Charles A. Endris, Bryan E. Dieter, Janet Watt, Lisa M. Krigsman, Ray W. Sliter, Erik N. Lowe, John L. Chin
Samuel Y. Johnson, Susan A. Cochran, editor(s)
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1140
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,...
Conceptual data modeling of wildlife response indicators to ecosystem change in the Arctic
Dennis H. Walworth, John M. Pearce
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1148
Large research studies are often challenged to effectively expose and document the types of information being collected and the reasons for data collection across what are often a diverse cadre of investigators of differing disciplines. We applied concepts from the field of information or data modeling to the U.S. Geological...
California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of Bolinas, California
Guy R. Cochrane, Peter Dartnell, Samuel Y. Johnson, H. Gary Greene, Mercedes D. Erdey, Nadine E. Golden, Stephen R. Hartwell, Michael W. Manson, Ray W. Sliter, Charles A. Endris, Janet Watt, Stephanie L. Ross, Rikk G. Kvitek, Eleyne L. Phillips, Terry R. Bruns, John L. Chin
Guy R. Cochrane, Susan A. Cochran, editor(s)
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1135
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,...
Updated tops file for Cretaceous and lower Tertiary units, Piceance Basin, northwest Colorado
Ronald C. Johnson, John D. Dietrich, Tracey J. Mercier
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1036
Introduction Depths to selected Cretaceous and lower Tertiary stratigraphic units in the Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado are presented here for 1,563 wells. This file is updated from the Piceance Basin Oil Shale Database with data for additional new drill holes. Also included in this report are elevations for the base of...
Literature review of giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) biology and conservation
Brian J. Halstead, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1150
This report reviews the available literature on giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) to compile existing information on this species and identify knowledge gaps that, if addressed, would help to inform conservation efforts for giant gartersnakes. Giant gartersnakes comprise a species of semi-aquatic snake precinctive to wetlands in the Central Valley of...
ShakeNet: a portable wireless sensor network for instrumenting large civil structures
Monica D. Kohler, Shuai Hao, Nilesh Mishra, Ramesh Govindan, Robert Nigbor
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1134
We report our findings from a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program-funded project to develop and test a wireless, portable, strong-motion network of up to 40 triaxial accelerometers for structural health monitoring. The overall goal of the project was to record ambient vibrations for several days from...
Preliminary geophysical interpretations of regional subsurface geology near the Questa Mine Tailing Facility and Guadalupe Mountain, Taos County, New Mexico
V. J. S. Grauch, Benjamin J. Drenth, Ren A. Thompson, Paul W. Bauer
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1129
This report presents geophysical interpretations of regional subsurface geology in the vicinity of the Tailing Facility of the Questa Mine near Guadalupe Mountain, Taos County, New Mexico, in cooperation with the New Mexico Environment Department. The interpretations were developed from aeromagnetic data, regional gravity data, data from four ground magnetic...
Frac sand in the United States: a geological and industry overview
Mary Ellen Benson, Anna B. Wilson, Donald I. Bleiwas
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1107
A new mineral rush is underway in the upper Midwest of the United States, especially in Wisconsin and Minnesota, for deposits of high-quality frac sand that the mining industry calls “Northern White” sand or “Ottawa” sand. Frac sand is a specialized type of sand that is added to fracking fluids...
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2014 annual report
Zachary H. Bowen, Cameron L. Aldridge, Patrick J. Anderson, Timothy J. Assal, Timothy T. Bartos, Laura R Biewick, Gregory K. Boughton, Anna D. Chalfoun, Geneva W. Chong, Marie K. Dematatis, Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller, Steven L. Garman, Steve Germaine, Collin G. Homer, Christopher Huber, Matthew J. Kauffman, Natalie Latysh, Daniel J. Manier, Cynthia P. Melcher, Alexander Miller, Kirk A. Miller, Edward M. Olexa, Spencer Schell, Annika W. Walters, Anna B. Wilson, Teal B. Wyckoff
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1091
This is the seventh report produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) to detail annual activities conducted by the USGS for addressing specific management needs identified by WLCI partners. In FY2014, there were 26 projects, including a new one that was completed, two...
Preliminary interpretation of industry two-dimensional seismic data from Susitna Basin, south-central Alaska
Kristen A. Lewis, Christopher J. Potter, Anjana K. Shah, Richard G. Stanley, Peter J. Haeussler, Richard W. Saltus
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1138
Located approximately 80 kilometers northwest of Anchorage, Alaska, the Susitna Basin is a complex sedimentary basin whose tectonic history has been poorly understood. Recent interpretation of two-dimensional seismic reflection data integrated with well, aeromagnetic, and gravity data provides new insights into the structural and stratigraphic nature of the basin. This report...
Groundwater levels, trends, and relations to pumping in the Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Project, Oregon and California
Marshall W. Gannett, Katherine H. Breen
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1145
The use of groundwater to supplement surface-water supplies for the Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Project in the upper Klamath Basin of Oregon and California markedly increased between 2000 and 2014. Pre-2001 groundwater pumping in the area where most of this increase occurred is estimated to have been about 28,600...
Assessment of existing and potential landslide hazards resulting from the April 25, 2015 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake sequence
Brian D. Collins, Randall W. Jibson
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1142
Introduction On April 25, 2015, a large (M7.8) earthquake shook much of central Nepal and was followed by a series of M>6 aftershocks, including a M7.3 event on May 12, 2015. This earthquake and aftershocks, referred to as the “Gorkha earthquake sequence,” caused thousands of fatalities, damaged and destroyed entire villages,...
Phosphate occurrence and potential in the region of Afghanistan, including parts of China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
Greta J. Orris, Pamela Dunlap, John Wallis, Jeff Wynn
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1121
As part of a larger study, the U.S. Geological Survey undertook a study to identify the potential for phosphate deposits in Afghanistan. As part of this study, a geographic information system was constructed containing a database of phosphate occurrences in Afghanistan and adjacent countries, and a database of potential host...
Design and methods of the Southeast Stream Quality Assessment (SESQA), 2014
Celeste A. Journey, Peter C. Van Metre, Amanda H. Bell, Jessica D. Garrett, Daniel T. Button, Naomi Nakagaki, Sharon L. Qi, Paul M. Bradley
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1095
During 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) assessed stream quality across the Piedmont and southern Appalachian Mountain regions of the southeastern United States. This Southeast Stream Quality Assessment (SESQA) simultaneously characterized watershed and stream-reach water-quality stressors along with instream biological conditions, in order to better...
A quarter century of research on the Colorado Plateau: A compilation of the Colorado Plateau Biennial Conference Proceedings for 1993-2015
Charles van Riper III, Charles A. Drost, S. Shane Selleck
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1115
This Open-File Report is a compilation of the work published in the Colorado Plateau Biennial Conference book series over the span of the past nearly quarter century (conferences held between 1991–2011). The primary focus of the conferences has been to work toward integrating new science findings into management of the...
Hydrologic conditions in Rhode Island during water year 2014
Richard J. Verdi, Roy S. Socolow
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1127
Hydrologic data and conditions throughout Rhode Island during water year 2014 are presented in this report. Stream discharge and groundwater level conditions varied geographically across the State. Ten streamgages reached record-low minimum monthly mean discharges during the year, and a record-high maximum groundwater level was observed at one groundwater well....
Archiving California’s historical duck nesting data
Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, Caroline Brady, John M. Eadie, Greg S. Yarris
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1131
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in partnership with the California Waterfowl Association (CWA) and other organizations, have compiled large datasets on the nesting ecology and management of dabbling ducks and associated upland nesting birds (Northern Harriers [Circus cyaneus], Short-eared Owls [Asio flammeus], Ring-necked Pheasants [Phasianus colchicus], and American Bitterns [Botaurus...
A stochastic population model to evaluate Moapa dace (Moapa coriacea) population growth under alternative management scenarios
Russell W. Perry, Edward Jones, G. Gary Scoppettone
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1126
The primary goal of this research project was to evaluate the response of Moapa dace (Moapa coriacea) to the potential effects of changes in the amount of available habitat due to human influences such as ground water pumping, barriers to movement, and extirpation of Moapa dace from the mainstem Muddy...
User’s guide to the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database 2.0
Gary S. Drew, John F. Piatt, Martin Renner
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1123
The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) was created in 2005 to consolidate data on the oceanic distribution of marine bird species in the North Pacific. Most of these data were collected on surveys by counting species within defined areas and at known locations (that is, on strip transects). The...
Methodology for assessing quantities of water and proppant injection, and water production associated with development of continuous petroleum accumulations
Seth S. Haines
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1117
The quantities of water and hydraulic fracturing proppant required for producing petroleum (oil, gas, and natural gas liquids) from continuous accumulations, and the quantities of water extracted during petroleum production, can be quantitatively assessed using a probabilistic approach. The water and proppant assessment methodology builds on the U.S. Geological Survey...
An evaluation of fish behavior upstream of the water temperature control tower at Cougar Dam, Oregon, using acoustic cameras, 2013
Noah S. Adams, Collin D. Smith, John M. Plumb, Gabriel S. Hansen, John W. Beeman
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1124
This report describes the initial year of a 2-year study to determine the feasibility of using acoustic cameras to monitor fish movements to help inform decisions about fish passage at Cougar Dam near Springfield, Oregon. Specifically, we used acoustic cameras to measure fish presence, travel speed, and direction adjacent to...
Depth-to-basement, sediment-thickness, and bathymetry data for the deep-sea basins offshore of Washington, Oregon, and California
Florence L. Wong, Muriel S. Grim
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1118
Contours and derivative raster files of depth-to-basement, sediment-thickness, and bathymetry data for the area offshore of Washington, Oregon, and California are provided here as GIS-ready shapefiles and GeoTIFF files. The data were used to generate paper maps in 1992 and 1993 from 1984 surveys of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone...
Monitoring population status of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska: options and considerations
George G. Esslinger, Daniel Esler, S. Howlin, L.A. Starcevich
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1119
After many decades of absence from southeast Alaska, sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are recolonizing parts of their former range, including Glacier Bay, Alaska. Sea otters are well known for structuring nearshore ecosystems and causing community-level changes such as increases in kelp abundance and changes in the size and number of...
