Soil data for a collapse-scar bog chronosequence in Koyukuk Flats National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, 2008
Jonathan A. O’Donnell, Jennifer W. Harden, Kristen L. Manies, M. Torre Jorgenson
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1230
Peatlands in the northern permafrost region store large amounts of organic carbon, most of which is currently stored in frozen peat deposits. Recent warming at high-latitudes has accelerated permafrost thaw in peatlands, which will likely result in the loss of soil organic carbon from previously frozen peat deposits to the...
Slope-Area Computation Program Graphical User Interface 1.0—A Preprocessing and Postprocessing Tool for Estimating Peak Flood Discharge Using the Slope-Area Method
D. Nathan Bradley
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3112
The slope-area method is a technique for estimating the peak discharge of a flood after the water has receded (Dalrymple and Benson, 1967). This type of discharge estimate is called an “indirect measurement” because it relies on evidence left behind by the flood, such as high-water marks (HWMs) on trees...
Preliminary catalog of the sedimentary basins of the United States
James L. Coleman Jr., Steven M. Cahan
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1111
One hundred forty-four sedimentary basins (or groups of basins) in the United States (both onshore and offshore) are identified, located, and briefly described as part of a Geographic Information System (GIS) data base in support of the Geologic Carbon Dioxide Sequestration National Assessment Project (Brennan and others, 2010). This catalog...
Temporal and spatial trends of chloride and sodium in groundwater in New Hampshire, 1960–2011
Laura Medalie
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1236
Data on concentrations of chloride and sodium in groundwater in New Hampshire were assembled from various State and Federal agencies and organized into a database. This report provides documentation of many assumptions and limitations of disparate data that were collected to meet wide-ranging objectives and investigates temporal and spatial trends...
Application of empirical predictive modeling using conventional and alternative fecal indicator bacteria in eastern North Carolina waters
Raul Gonzalez, Kathleen E. Conn, Joey Crosswell, Rachel Noble
2012, Water Research (46) 5871-5882
Coastal and estuarine waters are the site of intense anthropogenic influence with concomitant use for recreation and seafood harvesting. Therefore, coastal and estuarine water quality has a direct impact on human health. In eastern North Carolina (NC) there are over 240 recreational and 1025 shellfish harvesting water quality monitoring sites...
Effect of survey design and catch rate estimation on total catch estimates in Chinook salmon fisheries
Joshua L. McCormick, Michael C. Quist, Daniel J. Schill
2012, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (32) 1090-1101
Roving–roving and roving–access creel surveys are the primary techniques used to obtain information on harvest of Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in Idaho sport fisheries. Once interviews are conducted using roving–roving or roving–access survey designs, mean catch rate can be estimated with the ratio-of-means (ROM) estimator, the mean-of-ratios (MOR) estimator, or...
Evaluation of volatile organic compound (VOC) blank data and application of study reporting levels to groundwater data collected for the California GAMA Priority Basin Project, May 2004 through September 2010
Miranda S. Fram, Lisa D. Olsen, Kenneth Belitz
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5139
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were analyzed in quality-control samples collected for the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program Priority Basin Project. From May 2004 through September 2010, a total of 2,026 groundwater samples, 211 field blanks, and 109 source-solution blanks were collected and analyzed for concentrations of 85...
Spatial and temporal trends of freshwater mussel assemblages in the Meramec River Basin, Missouri, USA
Jo Ellen Hinck, Stephen E. McMurray, Andrew D. Roberts, M. Christopher Barnhart, Christopher G. Ingersoll, Ning Wang, Tom Augspurger
2012, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (3) 319-331
The Meramec River basin in east-central Missouri has one of the most diverse unionoid mussel faunas in the central United States with >40 species identified. Data were analyzed from historical surveys to test whether diversity and abundance of mussels in the Meramec River basin (Big, Bourbeuse, and Meramec rivers, representing...
Hydrogeology and water quality of the Floridan aquifer system and effect of Lower Floridan aquifer pumping on the Upper Floridan aquifer, Pooler, Chatham County, Georgia, 2011–2012
Gerard Gonthier
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5249
Two test wells were completed in Pooler, Georgia, in 2011 to investigate the potential of using the Lower Floridan aquifer as a source of water for municipal use. One well was completed in the Lower Floridan aquifer at a depth of 1,120 feet (ft) below land surface; the other well...
Assessment of photographs from wildlife monitoring cameras in Drakes Estero, Point Reyes National Seashore, California
William A. Lellis, Carrie J. Blakeslee, Laurie K. Allen, Bruce F. Molnia, Susan D. Price, R. Sky Bristol, Brent Stewart
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1249
Between 2007 and 2010, National Park Service (NPS) staff at the Point Reyes National Seashore, California, collected over 300,000 photographic images of Drakes Estero from remotely operated wildlife monitoring cameras. The purpose of the systems was to obtain photographic data to help understand possible relationships between anthropogenic activities and Pacific...
Alluvial diamond resource potential and production capacity assessment of Guinea
Peter G. Chirico, Katherine C. Malpeli, Mark Van Bockstael, Mamadou Diaby, Kabinet Cisse, Thierno Amadou Diallo, Mahmoud Sano
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5256
In May of 2000, a meeting was convened in Kimberley, South Africa, by representatives of the diamond industry and leaders of African governments to develop a certification process intended to assure that export shipments of rough diamonds were free of conflict concerns. Outcomes of the meeting were formally supported later...
Global exploration and production capacity for platinum-group metals from 1995 through 2015
David R. Wilburn
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5164
Platinum-group metals (PGMs) are required in a variety of commercial, industrial, and military applications for many existing and emerging technologies, yet the United States is highly dependent on foreign sources of PGMs. Information on global exploration for PGMs since 1995 has been used in this study as a basis for...
Soil-water dynamics and unsaturated storage during snowmelt following wildfire
Brian A. Ebel, E.S. Hinckley, Deborah A. Martin
2012, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (16) 1401-1417
Many forested watersheds with a substantial fraction of precipitation delivered as snow have the potential for landscape disturbance by wildfire. Little is known about the immediate effects of wildfire on snowmelt and near-surface hydrologic responses, including soil-water storage. Montane systems at the rain-snow transition have soil-water dynamics that are further...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Badakhshan mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter F in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis, Scott A. Arko, Michelle L. Harbin
2012, Data Series 709-F
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Aynak mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter E in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis, Laura E. Cagney, Scott A. Arko, Michelle L. Harbin
2012, Data Series 709-E
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Reference hydrologic networks II. Using reference hydrologic networks to assess climate-driven changes in streamflow
Donald H. Burn, Jamie Hannaford, Glenn A. Hodgkins, Paul H. Whitfield, Robin Thorne, Terry Marsh
2012, Hydrological Sciences Journal (57) 1-15
Reference hydrologic networks (RHNs) can play an important role in monitoring for changes in the hydrological regime related to climate variation and change. Currently, the literature concerning hydrological response to climate variations is complex and confounded by the combinations of many methods of analysis, wide variations in hydrology, and the...
Evaluation of streambed scour at bridges over tidal waterways in Alaska
Jeffrey S. Conaway, Paul V. Schauer
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5245
The potential for streambed scour was evaluated at 41 bridges that cross tidal waterways in Alaska. These bridges are subject to several coastal and riverine processes that have the potential, individually or in combination, to induce streambed scour or to damage the structure or adjacent channel. The proximity of a...
Reference hydrologic networks I. The status and potential future directions of national reference hydrologic networks for detecting trends
Paul H. Whitfield, Donald H. Burn, Jamie Hannaford, Helene Higgins, Glenn A. Hodgkins, Terry Marsh, Ulrich Looser
2012, Hydrological Sciences Journal (57) 1-18
Identifying climate-driven trends in river flows on a global basis is hampered by a lack of long, quality time series data for rivers with relatively undisturbed regimes. This is a global problem compounded by the lack of support for essential long-term monitoring. Experience demonstrates that, with clear strategic objectives, and...
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Greene and Tioga Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004-2010
E.T. Slonecker, L.E. Milheim, C.M. Roig-Silva, G.B. Fisher
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1220
Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau,...
Summary of the reconnaissance investigation of the diamond resource potential and production capacity of Côte d’Ivoire
Peter G. Chirico, Katherine C. Malpeli
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3130
This study presents the results of a multiyear effort to monitor the diamond mining activities of Côte d’Ivoire’s two main diamond regions, Séguéla and Tortiya. The innovative approach developed for this study integrates archival reports and maps, high-resolution satellite imagery, and terrain modeling to assess the diamond resource potential and...
Summary of the diamond resource potential and production capacity assessment of Guinea
Peter G. Chirico, Katherine C. Malpeli
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3129
In May of 2000, a meeting was convened in Kimberley, South Africa, by representatives of the diamond industry and leaders of African governments to develop a certification process intended to assure that export shipments of rough diamonds were free of conflict concerns. Outcomes of the meeting were formally supported later...
Modeling a thick unsaturated zone at San Gorgonio Pass, California: lessons learned after five years of artificial recharge
Alan L. Flint, Kevin M. Ellett, Allen H. Christensen, Peter Martin
2012, Vadose Zone Journal (11)
The information flow among the tasks of framework assessment, numerical modeling, model forecasting and hind casting, and system-performance monitoring is illustrated. Results provide an understanding of artificial recharge in high-altitude desert settings where large vertical distances may separate application ponds from their target aquifers.Approximately 3.8 million cubic meters of surface...
Groundwater quality in West Virginia, 1993-2008
Douglas B. Chambers, Mark D. Kozar, Jeremy S. White, Katherine S. Paybins
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5186
Approximately 42 percent of all West Virginians rely on groundwater for their domestic water supply. However, prior to 2008, the quality of the West Virginia’s groundwater resource was largely unknown. The need for a statewide assessment of groundwater quality prompted the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with West Virginia...
County-level estimates of nitrogen and phosphorus from commercial fertilizer for the Conterminous United States, 1987-2006
Jo Ann M. Gronberg, Norman E. Spahr
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5207
The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment program requires nutrient input for analysis of the national and regional assessment of water quality. Detailed information on nutrient inputs to the environment are needed to understand and address the many serious problems that arise from excess nutrients in the streams and groundwater...
An accessible method for implementing hierarchical models with spatio-temporal abundance data
Beth E. Ross, Melvin B. Hooten, David N. Koons
2012, PLoS ONE (7) 1-8
A common goal in ecology and wildlife management is to determine the causes of variation in population dynamics over long periods of time and across large spatial scales. Many assumptions must nevertheless be overcome to make appropriate inference about spatio-temporal variation in population dynamics, such as autocorrelation among data points,...
