Sea-floor morphology and sedimentary environments in western Block Island Sound, offshore of Fishers Island, New York
Katherine Y. McMullen, Lawrence J. Poppe, William W. Danforth, Dann S. Blackwood, William G. Winner, Castle E. Parker
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1224
Multibeam-bathymetric and sidescan-sonar data, collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a 114-square-kilometer area of Block Island Sound, southeast of Fishers Island, New York, are combined with sediment samples and bottom photography collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from 36 stations in this area in order to interpret...
The distribution of submersed aquatic vegetation and water lettuce in the fresh and oligohaline tidal Potomac River, 2007
Sarah Hunter Campbell, Nancy B. Rybicki, Edward R. Schenk
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1259
Surveys documenting the composition of species of submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) have been conducted in the Potomac River for decades. These surveys can help managers assess the proportion of native and exotic plants in the river or can be used to determine relationships between native and exotic plants, environmental conditions,...
Geochemical maps of stream sediments in central Colorado, from New Mexico to Wyoming
Robert G. Eppinger, Stuart A. Giles, Terry L. Klein
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1025
The U.S. Geological Survey has completed a series of geologic, mineral resource, and environmental assessment studies in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, from Leadville eastward to the range front and from New Mexico to the Wyoming border. Regional stream-sediment geochemical maps, useful for assessing mineral resources and environmental effects...
Laboratory electrical resistivity analysis of geologic samples from Fort Irwin, California
Benjamin R. Bloss, Paul A. Bedrosian
David C. Buesch, editor(s)
2015, Open-File Report 2013-1024-E
Correlating laboratory resistivity measurements with geophysical resistivity models helps constrain these models to the geology and lithology of an area. Throughout the Fort Irwin National Training Center area, 111 samples from both cored boreholes and surface outcrops were collected and processed for laboratory measurements. These samples represent various lithologic types...
Fire history of Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve, southern Florida
Thomas J. Smith III, Ann M. Foster, John W. Jones
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1034
Fire occurs naturally in the environment on most continents, including Africa (Ryan and Williams, 2011), Asia (Kauhanen, 2008), Australia (Kutt and Woinarski, 2007), Europe (Eshel and others, 2000), South America (Fidelis and others, 2010), and North America (Van Auken, 2000). Antarctica appears to be the only continent that has no...
Estimation of occupancy, breeding success, and predicted abundance of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Diablo Range, California, 2014
J. David Wiens, Patrick S. Kolar, Mark R. Fuller, W. Grainger Hunt, Teresa Hunt
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1039
We used a multistate occupancy sampling design to estimate occupancy, breeding success, and abundance of territorial pairs of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Diablo Range, California, in 2014. This method uses the spatial pattern of detections and non-detections over repeated visits to survey sites to estimate probabilities of occupancy...
Validation of eDNA markers for New Zealand mudsnail surveillance and initial eDNA monitoring at Mississippi River Basin sites
Christopher M. Merkes, Keith N. Turnquist, Christopher B. Rees, Jon J. Amberg
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1037
The performance of newly developed New Zealand mudsnail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum; NZMS) genetic markers for environmental (eDNA) analysis of water were compared across two laboratories. The genetic markers were tested in four quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays targeting two regions of the NZMS mitochondrial genome, specifically the cytochrome c oxidase subunit...
Resilience and risk: a demographic model to inform conservation planning for polar bears
Eric V. Regehr, Ryan H. Wilson, Karyn D. Rode, Michael C. Runge
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1029
Climate change is having widespread ecological effects, including loss of Arctic sea ice. This has led to listing of the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and other ice-dependent marine mammals under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Methods are needed to evaluate the effects of climate change on population persistence to...
Obtaining valid geologic models from 3-D resistivity inversion of magnetotelluric data at Pahute Mesa, Nevada
Brian D. Rodriguez, Donald S. Sweetkind
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1019
We summarize the results of a three-dimensional (3-D) resistivity inversion simulation that we conducted with the intent of characterizing the subsurface 3-D distribution of volcanic composite units of Pahute Mesa, Nevada, without any a priori information on the actual 3-D distribution of the known subsurface geology. The 3-D methodology involved...
GRIDGEN Version 1.0: a computer program for generating unstructured finite-volume grids
Jyh-Ming Lien, Gaisheng Liu, Christian D. Langevin
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1109
GRIDGEN is a computer program for creating layered quadtree grids for use with numerical models, such as the MODFLOW–USG program for simulation of groundwater flow. The program begins by reading a three-dimensional base grid, which can have variable row and column widths and spatially variable cell top and bottom elevations....
Seismicity of the Earth 1900-2013, seismotectonics of South America (Nazca Plate Region)
Gavin P. Hayes, Gregory M. Smoczyk, Harley M. Benz, Kevin P. Furlong, Antonio Villaseñor
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1031-E
The South American arc extends over 7,000 kilometers (km), from the Chilean margin triple junction offshore of southern Chile, to its intersection with the Panama fracture zone, offshore of the southern coast of Panama in Central America. It marks the plate boundary between the subducting Nazca plate and the South...
Analysis of historic agricultural irrigation data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service monitoring and evaluation for Grand Valley, Lower Gunnison Basin, and McElmo Creek Basin, western Colorado, 1985 to 2003
John W. Mayo
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1261
The Natural Resources Conservation Service Monitoring and Evaluation for three salinity control units in western Colorado—Grand Valley, Lower Gunnison, and McElmo Creek—from 1985 to 2003 was a response to the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act, Public Law 93–320, July 24, 1974, and its amendments. The Natural Resources Conservation Service...
Modeling elk and bison carrying capacity for Great Sand Dunes National Park, Baca National Wildlife Refuge, and The Nature Conservancy's Medano Ranch, Colorado
Gary Wockner, Randall Boone, Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Linda Zeigenfuss
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1200
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and the neighboring Baca National Wildlife Refuge constitute an extraordinary setting that offers a variety of opportunities for outdoor recreation and natural resource preservation in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. Adjacent to these federal lands, the Nature Conservancy (TNC) manages the historic...
Occurrence and distribution of fecal indicator bacteria and gene markers of pathogenic bacteria in Great Lakes tributaries, March-October 2011
Angela K. Brennan, Heather E. Johnson, Alexander R. Totten, Joseph W. Duris
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1013
From March through October 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), conducted a study to determine the frequency of occurrence of pathogen gene markers and densities of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in 22 tributaries to the Great Lakes. This project was funded as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)...
Sediment transport and capacity change in three reservoirs, Lower Susquehanna River Basin, Pennsylvania and Maryland, 1900-2012
Michael J. Langland
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1235
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has conducted numerous sediment transport studies in the Susquehanna River and in particular in three reservoirs in the Lower Susquehanna River Basin to determine sediment transport rates over the past century and to document changes in storage capacity. The Susquehanna River is the largest tributary...
Environmental assessment of water, sediment, and biota collected from the Bear Creek watershed, Colusa County, California
James J. Rytuba, Roger L. Hothem, Brianne E. Brussee, Daniel Goldstein, Jason T. May
2015, Open-File Report 2013-1070
The Cache Creek watershed lies within California's North Coast Range, an area with abundant geologic sources of mercury (Hg) and a long history of Hg contamination (Rytuba, 2000). Bear Creek, Cache Creek, and the North Fork of Cache Creek are the major streams of the Cache Creek watershed, encompassing 2978...
Evaluating coastal landscape response to sea-level rise in the northeastern United States: approach and methods
Erika E. Lentz, Sawyer R. Stippa, E. Robert Thieler, Nathaniel G. Plant, Dean B. Gesch, Radley M. Horton
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1252
The U.S. Geological Survey is examining effects of future sea-level rise on the coastal landscape from Maine to Virginia by producing spatially explicit, probabilistic predictions using sea-level projections, vertical land movement rates (due to isostacy), elevation data, and land-cover data. Sea-level-rise scenarios used as model inputs are generated by using...
Changes in the saltwater interface corresponding to the installation of a seepage barrier near Lake Okeechobee, Florida
Scott T. Prinos, Robert Valderrama
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1256
In 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began monitoring the saltwater interface near Lake Okeechobee to evaluate changes in interface depth that could possibly be related to the repair of the Herbert Hoover Dike. A seepage barrier (or cut-off wall), installed by the U.S....
Water-level and wave measurements in the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, 2012 and 2013
Patrick J. Dickhudt, Christopher R. Sherwood, Nancy T. DeWitt
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1246
This report documents measurements of atmospheric pressure, water levels, and waves made by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, during 2012 and 2013 as part of the Barrier Island Evolution Research project. Simple, inexpensive pressure sensors mounted in shallow wells were buried in the beach and left...
Water-level measurements in Dauphin Island, Alabama, from the 2013 Hurricane Season
Patrick J. Dickhudt, Christopher R. Sherwood, Nancy T. DeWitt
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1245
This report describes the instrumentation, field measurements, and processing methods used by the U.S. Geological Survey to measure atmospheric pressure, water levels, and waves on Dauphin Island, Alabama, in 2013 at part of the Barrier Island Evolution Research project. Simple, inexpensive pressure sensors mounted in shallow wells were buried in...
Evaluation of aquifer interconnection from aquifer characteristics computed by using specific capacity data within the vicinity of the Tremont Barrel Fill site, Clark County, Ohio
Amy M. Gahala
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1026
The Tremont Barrel Fill site is immediately north of the Tremont City Landfill near Tremont City, Clark County, Ohio. The site was an unlined pit used as a repository for disposing industrial liquid wastes and sludge from 1976 through 1979. Previous investigations led the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to...
Magnetotelluric data collected to characterize aquifers in the San Luis Basin, New Mexico
Chad E. Ailes, Brian D. Rodriguez
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1248
The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a series of multidisciplinary studies of the San Luis Basin as part of the Geologic Framework of Rio Grande Basins project. Detailed geologic mapping, high-resolution airborne magnetic surveys, gravity surveys, magnetotelluric surveys, and hydrologic and lithologic data are being used to better understand the...
Strike-parallel and strike-normal coordinate system around geometrically complicated rupture traces: use by NGA-West2 and further improvements
Paul A. Spudich, Brian Chiou
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1028
We present a two-dimensional system of generalized coordinates for use with geometrically complex fault ruptures that are neither straight nor continuous. The coordinates are a generalization of the conventional strike-normal and strike-parallel coordinates of a single straight fault. The presented conventions and formulations are applicable to a single curved trace,...
Simulations of a hypothetical temperature control structure at Detroit Dam on the North Santiam River, northwestern Oregon
Norman L. Buccola, Adam J. Stonewall, Stewart A. Rounds
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1012
Water temperature models of Detroit Lake, Big Cliff Lake, and the North Santiam River in northwestern Oregon were used to assess the potential for a hypothetical structure with variable intake elevations and an internal connection to power turbines at Detroit Dam (scenario SlidingWeir) to release more natural, pre-dam temperatures year round....
Improved algorithms in the CE-QUAL-W2 water-quality model for blending dam releases to meet downstream water-temperature targets
Stewart A. Rounds, Norman L. Buccola
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1027
Water-quality models allow water resource professionals to examine conditions under an almost unlimited variety of potential future scenarios. The two-dimensional (longitudinal, vertical) water-quality model CE-QUAL-W2, version 3.7, was enhanced and augmented with new features to help dam operators and managers explore and optimize potential solutions for temperature management downstream of...
