Management of Urban Stormwater Runoff in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Dianna M. Hogan
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3101
Urban and suburban development is associated with elevated nutrients, sediment, and other pollutants in stormwater runoff, impacting the physical and environmental health of area streams and downstream water bodies such as the Chesapeake Bay. Stormwater management facilities, also known as Best Management Practices (BMPs), are increasingly being used in urban...
Limestone - A Crucial and Versatile Industrial Mineral Commodity
James D. Bliss, Timothy S. Hayes, Greta J. Orris
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3089
Limestone, as used by the minerals industry, is any rock composed mostly of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Although limestone is common in many parts of the United States, it is critically absent from some. Limestone is used to produce Portland cement, as aggregate in concrete and asphalt, and in an enormous...
Wild sheep and deer in Hawai'i: a threat to fragile ecosystems
Steven C. Hess
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3102
The unique native flora of the Hawaiian Islands, which evolved in the absence of ungulates (grazing animals), is highly vulnerable to damage by trampling and browsing. Wild ungulates introduced into Hawai'i in the past 150 years, including mouflon, axis deer, and mule deer, have severely harmed the native flora. Control...
Use of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to Obtain High-Resolution Elevation Data for Sussex County, Delaware
Roger A. Barlow, Mark R. Nardi, Betzaida Reyes
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3088
Sussex County, Delaware, occupies a 938-square-mile area of low relief near sea level in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The county is bounded on the east by the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, including a barrier-island system, and inland bays that provide habitat for valuable living resources. Eastern Sussex County...
Carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change
Eric Sundquist, Robert Burruss, Stephen Faulkner, Robert Gleason, Jennifer Harden, Yousif Kharaka, Larry Tieszen, Mark Waldrop
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3097
Human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas, have caused a substantial increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. This increase in atmospheric CO2 - from about 280 to more than 380 parts per million (ppm) over the last 250...
Relations of Water Quality to Agricultural Chemical Use and Environmental Setting at Various Scales - Results from Selected Studies of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2008, Fact Sheet 2007-3088
In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began studies of 51 major river basins and aquifers across the United States as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program to provide scientifically sound information for managing the Nation's water resources. The major goals of the NAWQA Program are to assess...
Management and research applications of long-range surveillance radar data for birds, bats, and flying insects
Janet M. Ruth, Jeffrey J. Buler, Robert H. Diehl, Richard S. Sojda
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3095
There is renewed interest in using long-range surveillance radar as a biological research tool due to substantial improvements in the network of radars within the United States. Technical improvements, the digital nature of the radar data, and the availability of computing power and geographic information systems, enable a broad range...
Hydrologic Streamflow Conditions for Georgia, 2007
Andrew E. Knaak, John K. Joiner
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3099
The U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS) Georgia Water Science Center (GaWSC) maintains a long-term hydrologic monitoring network of more than 260 real-time streamflow stations and more than 100 noncontinuous streamflow stations throughout Georgia. This network is operated by the USGS GaWSC in cooperation with more than 50 different partners at Federal,...
Man-made organic compounds in source water of nine community water systems that withdraw from streams, 2002-05
James A. Kingsbury, Gregory C. Delzer, Pixie A. Hamilton
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3094
Initial findings from a national study by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) characterize the occurrence of about 250 anthropogenic organic compounds in source water (defined as water collected at a surface-water intake prior to water treatment) at nine community water systems in nine...
TerraLook: GIS-Ready Time-Series of Satellite Imagery for Monitoring Change
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3024
TerraLook is a joint project of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with a goal of providing satellite images that anyone can use to see changes in the Earth's surface over time. Each TerraLook product is a user-specified collection...
Water quality of streams in Johnson County, Kansas, 2002-07
Teresa J. Rasmussen
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3090
Water quality of streams in Johnson County, Kansas was evaluated from October 2002 through December 2007 in a cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Johnson County Stormwater Management Program. Water quality at 42 stream sites, representing urban and rural basins, was characterized by evaluating benthic macroinvertebrates, water...
Organic compounds in Potomac River water used for public supply near Washington, D.C., 2003-05
Michael J. Brayton, Judith M. Denver, Gregory C. Delzer, Pixie A. Hamilton
2008, Fact Sheet 2007-3085
Organic compounds studied in this U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment generally are man-made, including, in part, pesticides, solvents, gasoline hydrocarbons, personal care and domestic-use products, and refrigerants and propellants. A total of 85 of 277 compounds were detected at least once among the 25 samples collected approximately monthly during 2003-05...
Western Mountain Initiative: predicting ecosystem responses to climate change
Jill S. Baron, David L. Peterson, J.T. Wilson
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3093
Mountain ecosystems of the western United States provide irreplaceable goods and services such as water, timber, biodiversity, and recreational opportunities, but their responses to climatic changes are complex and not well understood. The Western Mountain Initiative (WMI), a collaboration between USGS and U.S. Forest Service scientists, catalyzes assessment and synthesis...
Protecting Black-Footed Ferrets and Prairie Dogs against sylvatic plague
Tonie E. Rocke
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3087
Scientists at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC), in collaboration with colleagues at other federal agencies and the University of Wisconsin, are developing and testing vaccines that can be used to protect black-footed ferrets and prairie dogs against plague. The black-footed ferret is commonly regarded as the most endangered...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Williston Basin Province of North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota, 2008
Lawrence O. Anna, Richard M. Pollastro, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Michael D. Lewan, Paul G. Lillis, Laura N.R. Roberts, Christopher J. Schenk, Ronald R. Charpentier, Troy A. Cook, Timothy R. Klett
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3092
Using a geology-based assessment method, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered volumes of 3.8 billion barrels of undiscovered oil, 3.7 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 0.2 billion barrels of undiscovered natural gas liquids in the Williston Basin Province, North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota. (See “Introduction”...
Opening the Landsat Archive
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3091
The USGS Landsat archive holds an unequaled 36-year record of the Earth's surface that is invaluable to climate change studies, forest and resource management activities, and emergency response operations. An aggressive effort is taking place to provide all Landsat imagery [scenes currently held in the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science...
Isotope and Chemical Methods in Support of the U.S. Geological Survey Science Strategy, 2003-2008
R. O. Rye, C. A. Johnson, G. P. Landis, A. H. Hofstra, P. Emsbo, C. A. Stricker, A.G. Hunt, B.G. Rusk
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3083
Principal functions of the Mineral Resources Program are providing information to decision-makers related to mineral deposits on federal lands and predicting the environmental consequences of the mining or natural weathering of those deposits. Performing these functions requires that predictions be made of the likelihood of undiscovered deposits. The predictions are...
Assessment of gas hydrate resources on the North Slope, Alaska, 2008
Timothy S. Collett, Warren F. Agena, Myung W. Lee, Margarita V. Zyrianova, Kenneth J. Bird, Ronald R. Charpentier, Troy Cook, David W. Houseknecht, Timothy R. Klett, Richard M. Pollastro, Christopher J. Schenk
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3073
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed the first assessment of the undiscovered technically recoverable gas-hydrate resources on the North Slope of Alaska. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS estimates that there are about 85 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas resources within gas hydrates in...
Volusia Blue Spring — A hydrological treasure
Edward R. German
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3035
Springs are natural openings in the ground through which water beneath the surface discharges into hydrologic features such as lakes, rivers, or the ocean. The beautiful springs and spring rivers are among Florida's most valued natural resources; their gemlike refreshing waters have been a focal point of life from prehistoric...
U.S.-Mexico Border Geographic Information System
Jean W. Parcher
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3069
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the development of extensive geodatabases have become invaluable tools for addressing a variety of contemporary societal issues and for making predictions about the future. The United States-Mexico Geographic Information System (USMX-GIS) is based on fundamental datasets that are produced and/or approved by the national geography...
StreamStats: A water resources web application
Kernell G. Ries III, John D. Guthrie, Alan H. Rea, Peter A. Steeves, David W. Stewart
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3067
Streamflow statistics, such as the 1-percent flood, the mean flow, and the 7-day 10-year low flow, are used by engineers, land managers, biologists, and many others to help guide decisions in their everyday work. For example, estimates of the 1-percent flood (the flow that is exceeded, on average, once in...
Assessment of Moderate- and High-Temperature Geothermal Resources of the United States
Colin F. Williams, Marshall J. Reed, Robert H. Mariner, Jacob DeAngelo, S. Peter Galanis
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3082
Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of our Nation's geothermal resources. Geothermal power plants are currently operating in six states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. The assessment indicates that the electric power generation potential from identified geothermal systems is 9,057 Megawatts-electric (MWe), distributed...
CHIPS: Monitoring Colonias along the United States-Mexico border in Texas
Jean W. Parcher
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3079
Colonias, which are unincorporated border settlements in the United States, have emerged in rural areas without the governance and services normally provided by local government. The expansion of colonias in the United States-Mexico border region can be traced to the rapid growth associated with the Mexican Border Industrial Program during...
Pesticides in Ground Water of Central and Western Maryland
Scott W. Ator, Betzaida Reyes
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3068
Selected pesticides and degradates (products of pesticide degradation) are detectable in ground water in many parts of central and western Maryland, although concentrations are generally less than 0.1 micrograms per liter. Ground-water samples collected recently (1994-2003) from 72 wells in areas of Maryland underlain by consolidated carbonate, crystalline, or siliciclastic...
The National Map: Tactical Planning and Performance Monitoring in Fiscal Year 2008 and 2009
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3077
