Bed-material entrainment and associated transportation infrastructure problems in streams of the Edwards Plateau, central Texas
Franklin T. Heitmuller, William H. Asquith
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3047
The Texas Department of Transportation commonly builds and maintains low-water crossings (LWCs) over streams in the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. LWCs are low-height structures, typically constructed of concrete and asphalt, that provide acceptable passage over seasonal rivers or streams with relatively low normal-depth flow. They are designed to accommodate...
Advanced Remote Sensing Research
Terrence Slonecker, John Jones, Susan D. Price, Dianna Hogan
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3052
'Remote sensing' is a generic term for monitoring techniques that collect information without being in physical contact with the object of study. Overhead imagery from aircraft and satellite sensors provides the most common form of remotely sensed data and records the interaction of electromagnetic energy (usually visible light) with matter,...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Timan-Pechora Basin Province, Russia, 2008
Christopher J. Schenk, K. J. Bird, Ronald R. Charpentier, D. L. Gautier, David W. Houseknecht, T. R. Klett, T. Moore, M. J. Pawlewicz, Janet K. Pitman, Marilyn E. Tennyson
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3051
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Timan-Pechora Basin Province in Russia as part of the USGS Circum-Arctic Oil and Gas Resource Appraisal program. Geologically, the Timan-Pechora Basin Province is a triangular-shaped cratonic block bounded by the northeast-southwest trending Ural Mountains and...
Prehistoric Packrats Piled Up Clues to Climate Change
Kenneth L. Cole
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3053
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and Northern Arizona University studying climate change in the Southwestern United States are getting a helping hand?or would that be paw??from prehistoric packrats. By hoarding parts of animals and plants, including seeds and leaves, in garbage piles or ?middens,? these bushy-tailed rodents preserved crucial...
Availability of Ground-Water Data for California, Water Year 2007
Julia A. Huff, Thomas C. Haltom
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3048
The U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources, in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies, obtains a large amount of data pertaining to the ground-water resources of California each water year (October 1-September 30). These data constitute a valuable database for developing an improved understanding of the water resources of the...
Modeling and dynamic monitoring of ecosystem performance in the Yukon River Basin
Bruce K. Wylie, L. Zhang, Lei Ji, Larry L. Tieszen, N.B. Bliss
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3016
Central Alaska is ecologically sensitive and experiencing stress in response to marked regional warming. Resource managers would benefit from an improved ability to monitor ecosystem processes in response to climate change, fire, insect damage, and management policies and to predict responses to future climate scenarios. We have developed a method...
Space acquired photography
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3045
Interested in a photograph of the first space walk by an American astronaut, or the first photograph from space of a solar eclipse? Or maybe your interest is in a specific geologic, oceanic, or meteorological phenomenon? The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center is making...
Assessment of undiscovered biogenic gas resources, North-central Montana Province
Jennie L. Ridgley, Lawrence O. Anna, Steven M. Condon, Neil S. Fishman, Timothy C. Hester, Paul G. Lillis, Elisabeth L. Rowan, Ronald Charpentier, Troy A. Cook, Robert A. Crovelli, Timothy R. Klett, Christopher J. Schenk
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3036
Application of a geology-based assessment methodology by the U.S. Geological Survey resulted in an estimated mean of 6,192 billion cubic feet of shallow biogenic (continuous) undiscovered gas in the North-Central Montana Province. Oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in conventional accumulations were not assessed....
Watershed influences and in-lake processes - A regional-scale approach to monitoring a water-supply reservoir, Lake Houston near Houston, Texas
Timothy D. Oden, Jennifer L. Graham
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3033
Created in 1954 by an impoundment on the San Jacinto River, Lake Houston currently (2008) supplies about 20 percent of the total source water for the city of Houston. Houston historically has relied on ground water as the major source of supply. As a result of regulations to limit ground-water...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the West Greenland-East Canada Province, 2008
Christopher J. Schenk, Kenneth J. Bird, Philip J. Brown II, Ronald R. Charpentier, Donald L. Gautier, David W. Houseknecht, Timothy R. Klett, Mark J. Pawlewicz, Anjana Shah, Marilyn E. Tennyson
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3014
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the West Greenland-East Canada Province as part of the USGS Circum-Arctic Oil and Gas Resource Appraisal effort. The West Greenland-East Canada Province is essentially the offshore area between west Greenland and east Canada and includes Baffin...
Hydrologic droughts in Kansas— Are they becoming worse?
James E. Putnam, Charles A. Perry, David M. Wolock
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3034
Multi-year droughts have been a recurrent feature of the climate and hydrology of Kansas since at least the 1930s. Streamflow records collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) indicate that water years 2000 to 2006 (October 1, 1999, through September 30, 2006) represent the sixth hydrologic drought during the past...
Red-Rimmed Melania (Melanoides tuberculatus) - A snail in Biscayne National Park, Florida - Harmful invader or just a nuisance?
G. Lynn Wingard, James B. Murray, W. Bane Schill, Emily C. Phillips
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3006
Potentially harmful to humans and other animals, the red-rimmed melania snail (Melanoides tuberculatus; family Thiaridae) was discovered in Biscayne National Park, Florida, in 2003 by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers. The discovery raised concerns for park managers because this aquatic non-native snail is present in significant numbers in areas frequently...
Impacts of Low-Flow and Stream-Temperature Changes on Endangered Atlantic Salmon - Current Research
Robert W. Dudley, Glenn A. Hodgkins, Benjamin H. Letcher
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3044
Recent climate studies in New England and the northeastern United States have shown evidence of physical changes over time, including trends toward earlier snowmelt runoff, decreasing river ice, and increasing spring water temperatures. A U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study funded by the National Global Warming and Wildlife Science Center will...
Consumptive Water Use in the Great Lakes Basin
Kimberly H. Shaffer
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3032
Great Lakes state agencies and organizations view understanding consumptive water use as a critical component in water-resource management. To assist them in developing a better understanding of the factors involved in consumptive use, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has completed an inventory of consumptive-use coefficients for the Great Lakes Basin....
Assessing the vulnerability of public-supply wells to contamination—High Plains Aquifer near York, Nebraska
Martha L. Jagucki, Matthew K. Landon, Brian R. Clark, Sandra M. Eberts
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3025
The U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program found, in studies from 1991 to 2001, low levels of mixtures of contaminants in ground water near the water table in urban areas across the Nation. Although contaminants were detected less frequently in deeper ground water typically developed for public supply...
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program Western Pilot Project— Conditions of North Dakota perennial streams for water chemistry and mercury in fish tissue, 2000–2003
Kevin C. Vining, Robert F. Lundgren
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3028
Sixty-five sampling sites, selected by a statistical design to represent lengths of perennial streams in North Dakota, were chosen to be sampled for water chemistry and mercury in fish tissue to establish unbiased baseline data. From the assessment of all water chemistry constituents, the percentage of stream length considered to...
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program Western Pilot Project - Information about selected fish and macroinvertebrates sampled from North Dakota perennial streams, 2000-2003
Kevin C. Vining, Robert F. Lundgren
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3029
Sixty-five sampling sites, selected by a statistical design to represent lengths of perennial streams in North Dakota, were chosen to be sampled for fish and aquatic insects (macroinvertebrates) to establish unbiased baseline data. Channel catfish and common carp were the most abundant game and large fish species in the Cultivated...
Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum Resources of the North and East Margins of the Siberian Craton, Russian Federation
T. R. Klett
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3020
Four geologic provinces located along the north and east margins of the Siberian craton were assessed for undiscovered crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids/condensates resources as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Circum-Arctic Oil and Gas Resource Appraisal. Using a geology-based methodology, the USGS estimated the mean...
Pacific Walrus Response to Arctic Sea Ice Losses
Chadwick V. Jay, Anthony S. Fischbach
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3041
Sea ice plays an important role in the life of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are seeking to understand how losses of sea ice during summer over important foraging grounds in the Chukchi Sea will affect walruses. USGS scientists recently modified a remotely deployed...
Research to More Effectively Manage Critical Ground-Water Basins
James Nickles
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3037
As the regional management agency for two of the most heavily used ground-water basins in California, the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) plays a vital role in sheparding the water resources of southern Los Angeles County. WRD is using the results of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) studies...
Providing Data and Modeling to Help Manage Water Supplies
James Nickles
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3038
The Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) and other local water purveyors have partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to assess hydrologic conditions and to quan-tify the county-wide interconnections between surface water and ground water. Through this partnership, USGS scientists have completed assessments of the geohydrology and geochemistry of the Sonoma...
USGS Research Helps the County of Los Angeles Address New Arsenic Standards
James Nickles
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3043
In January 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) enacted stringent standards on arsenic in drinking water. The new limitsraised concerns about wells in the Antelope Valley of northern Los Angeles County that had high levels of naturally occurring arsenic. To meet the new standard, Los Angeles County Waterworks District...
Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Trace Contamination of Streams and Beaches
James Nickles
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3040
Concentrations of fecal-indicator bacteria in urban streams and ocean beaches in and around Santa Barbara occasionally can exceed public-health standards for recreation. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), working with the City of Santa Barbara, has used multi-disciplinary science to trace the sources of the bacteria. This research is helping local...
Science to Help Understand and Manage Important Ground-Water Resources
James Nickles
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3039
Throughout California, as pressure on water resources continues to grow, water-supply agencies are looking to the state?s biggest ?reservoir? ? its ground-water basins ? for supply and storage. To better utilize that resource, the Sweetwater Authority and other local partners, including the city of San Diego and Otay Water Districts,...
WaterWatch — Maps, graphs, and tables of current, recent, and past streamflow conditions
Xiaodong Jian, David Wolock, Harry F. Lins
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3031
WaterWatch (http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/) is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) World Wide Web site that displays maps, graphs, and tables describing real-time, recent, and past streamflow conditions for the United States. The real-time information generally is updated on an hourly basis. WaterWatch provides streamgage-based maps that show the location of more than...
