Nearshore morphology, benthic structure, hydrodynamics, and coastal groundwater discharge near Kahekili Beach Park, Maui, Hawaii
Peter W. Swarzenski, Curt D. Storlazzi, M. Katherine Presto, Ann E. Gibbs, Christopher G. Smith, Natasha T. Dimova, Meghan L. Dailer, Joshua B. Logan
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1166
This report presents a brief summary of recent fieldwork conducted off Kahekili Beach Park, Maui, Hawaii, the site of the newly established U.S. Coral Reef Task Force priority study area at Kaanapali and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources, Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area...
Quantification of aquifer properties with surface nuclear magnetic resonance in the Platte River valley, central Nebraska, using a novel inversion method
Trevor P. Irons, Christopher M. Hobza, Gregory V. Steele, Jared D. Abraham, James C. Cannia, Duane D. Woodward
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5189
Surface nuclear magnetic resonance, a noninvasive geophysical method, measures a signal directly related to the amount of water in the subsurface. This allows for low-cost quantitative estimates of hydraulic parameters. In practice, however, additional factors influence the signal, complicating interpretation. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Central Platte...
Methods of practice and guidelines for using survey-grade global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) to establish vertical datum in the United States Geological Survey
Paul H. Rydlund Jr., Brenda K. Densmore
2012, Techniques and Methods 11-D1
Geodetic surveys have evolved through the years to the use of survey-grade (centimeter level) global positioning to perpetuate and post-process vertical datum. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) technology to monitor natural hazards, ensure geospatial control for climate and land use change, and gather data...
Storm-induced inner-continental shelf circulation and sediment transport: Long Bay, South Carolina
John C. Warner, Brandy N. Armstrong, Charlene S. Sylvester, George Voulgaris, Tim Nelson, William C. Schwab, Jane F. Denny
2012, Continental Shelf Research (42) 51-63
Long Bay is a sediment-starved, arcuate embayment located along the US East Coast connecting both South and North Carolina. In this region the rates and pathways of sediment transport are important because they determine the availability of sediments for beach nourishment, seafloor habitat, and navigation. The impact of storms...
Water-level altitudes 2012 and water-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers and compaction 1973-2011 in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers, Houston-Galveston region, Texas
Mark C. Kasmarek, Michaela R. Johnson, Jason K. Ramage
2012, Scientific Investigations Map 3230
Most of the subsidence in the Houston–Galveston region, Texas, has occurred as a direct result of groundwater withdrawals for municipal supply, commercial and industrial use, and irrigation that depressured and dewatered the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers and caused compaction of the clay layers of the aquifer sediments. This report—prepared by...
Comparison of no-purge and pumped sampling methods for monitoring concentrations of ordnance-related compounds in groundwater, Camp Edwards, Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2009-2010
Jennifer G. Savoie, Denis R. LeBlanc
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5084
Field tests were conducted near the Impact Area at Camp Edwards on the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to determine the utility of no-purge groundwater sampling for monitoring concentrations of ordnance-related explosive compounds and perchlorate in the sand and gravel aquifer. The no-purge methods included (1) a diffusion sampler...
Estimating contributions of nitrate and herbicides from groundwater to headwater streams, northern Atlantic Coastal Plain, USA
Scott Ator, Judith M. Denver
2012, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (48) 1075-1090
Groundwater transport often complicates understanding of surface-water contamination. We estimated the regional flux of nitrate and selected herbicides from groundwater to nontidal headwater streams of the Atlantic Coastal Plain (New Jersey through North Carolina) based on late-winter or spring base-flow samples from 174 streams. Sampled streams were selected randomly, and...
Movement of water infiltrated from a recharge basin to wells
David R. O'Leary, John A. Izbicki, Jean E. Moran, Tanya Meeth, Brandon Nakagawa, Loren Metzger, Chris Bonds, Michael J. Singleton
2012, Ground Water (50) 242-255
Local surface water and stormflow were infiltrated intermittently from a 40-ha basin between September 2003 and September 2007 to determine the feasibility of recharging alluvial aquifers pumped for public supply, near Stockton, California. Infiltration of water produced a pressure response that propagated through unconsolidated alluvial-fan deposits to 125 m below...
Assessment of soil-gas contamination at building 310 underground storage tank area, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2010-2011
Wladmir B. Guimaraes, W. Fred Falls, Andral W. Caldwell, W. Hagan Ratliff, John B. Wellborn, James Landmeyer
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1136
Soil gas was assessed for contaminants in the building 310 underground storage tank area adjacent to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Ft. Gordon, Georgia, from October 2010 to September 2011. The assessment, which also included the detection of organic compounds in soil gas, provides environmental contamination data...
Measurement and simulation of evapotranspiration at a wetland site in the New Jersey Pinelands
David M. Sumner, Robert S. Nicholson, Kenneth L. Clark
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5118
Evapotranspiration (ET) was monitored above a wetland forest canopy dominated by pitch-pine in the New Jersey Pinelands during November 10, 2004-February 20, 2007, using an eddy-covariance method. Twelve-month ET totals ranged from 786 to 821 millimeters (mm). Minimum and maximum ET rates occurred during December-February and in July, respectively. Relations...
Analysis of trends in selected streamflow statistics for the Concho River Basin, Texas, 1916-2009
Dana L. Barbie, Loren L. Wehmeyer, Jayne E. May
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5193
The Concho River Basin is part of the upper Colorado River Basin in west-central Texas. Monotonic trends in streamflow statistics during various time intervals from 1916-2009 were analyzed to determine whether substantial changes in selected streamflow statistics have occurred within the Concho River Basin. Two types of U.S. Geological Survey...
A benthic-macroinvertebrate index of biotic integrity and assessment of conditions in selected streams in Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1998-2009
Andrew G. Reif
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5116
The Stream Conditions of Chester County Biological Monitoring Network (Network) was established by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Chester County Water Resources Authority in 1969. Chester County encompasses 760 square miles in southeastern Pennsylvania and has a rapidly expanding population. Land-use change has occurred in response to this continual...
Flood inundation map library, Fort Kent, Maine
Pamela J. Lombard
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3119
Severe flooding occurred in northern Maine from April 28 to May 1, 2008, and damage was extensive in the town of Fort Kent (Lombard, 2010). Aroostook County was declared a Federal disaster area on May 9, 2008. The extent of flooding on both the Fish and St. John Rivers during...
Microgravity methods for characterization of groundwater-storage changes and aquifer properties in the karstic Madison aquifer in the Black Hills of South Dakota, 2009-12
Karl R. Koth, Andrew J. Long
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5158
A study of groundwater storage in the karstic Madison aquifer in the Black Hills of South Dakota using microgravity methods was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with West Dakota Water Development District, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Lawrence County. Microgravity measurements from 2009...
Simulation of groundwater and surface-water interaction and effects of pumping in a complex glacial-sediment aquifer, east central Massachusetts
Jack R. Eggleston, Carl S. Carlson, Gillian M. Fairchild, Phillip J. Zarriello
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5172
The effects of groundwater pumping on surface-water features were evaluated by use of a numerical groundwater model developed for a complex glacial-sediment aquifer in northeastern Framingham, Massachusetts, and parts of surrounding towns. The aquifer is composed of sand, gravel, silt, and clay glacial-fill sediments up to 270 feet thick over...
Groundwater quality in the Coastal Los Angeles Basin, California
Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3096
The Coastal Los Angeles Basin study unit is approximately 860 square miles and consists of the Santa Monica, Hollywood, West Coast, Central, and Orange County Coastal Plain groundwater basins (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). The basins are bounded in part by faults, including the Newport-Inglewood fault zone, and are...
Evaluation of the relation between evapotranspiration and normalized difference vegetation index for downscaling the simplified surface energy balance model
Jonathan V. Haynes, Gabriel B. Senay
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5197
The Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEB) model uses satellite imagery to estimate actual evapotranspiration (ETa) at 1-kilometer resolution. SSEB ETa is useful for estimating irrigation water use; however, resolution limitations restrict its use to regional scale applications. The U.S. Geological Survey investigated the downscaling potential of SSEB ETa from 1...
Persistence and extirpation in invaded landscapes: patch characteristics and connectivity determine effects of non-native predatory fish on native salamanders
David S. Pilliod, Robert S. Arkle, Bryce A. Maxell
2012, Biological Invasions (15) 671-685
Studies have demonstrated negative effects of non-native, predatory fishes on native amphibians, yet it is still unclear why some amphibian populations persist, while others are extirpated, following fish invasion. We examined this question by developing habitat-based occupancy models for the long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) and nonnative fish using survey data...
Status of groundwater quality in the Coastal Los Angeles Basin, 2006-California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Dara A. Goldrath, Miranda S. Fram, Michael Land, Kenneth Belitz
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5048
Groundwater quality in the approximately 860-square-mile (2,227-square-kilometer) Coastal Los Angeles Basin study unit (CLAB) was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study area is located in southern California in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. The GAMA Priority Basin...
Resource and hazard implications of gas hydrates in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Results of the 2009 Joint Industry Project Leg II Drilling Expedition
Timothy S. Collett, Ray Boswell
2012, Marine and Petroleum Geology (34) 1-3
In the 1970's, Russian scientists were the first to suggest that gas hydrates, a crystalline solid of water and natural gas, and a historical curiosity to physical chemists, should occur in abundance in the natural environment. Since this early start, the scientific foundation has been built for the realization that...
Shading decreases the abundance of the herbivorous California horn snail, Cerithidea californica
Julio Lorda, Kevin D. Lafferty
2012, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (432-433) 148-155
Most of the intertidal zone in estuaries of California, USA and Baja California, Mexico is covered with vascular vegetation. Shading by these vascular plants influences abiotic and biotic processes that shape benthic community assemblages. We present data on the effects of shading on the California horn snail, Cerithidea californica. This...
Streamflow gain and loss and water quality in the upper Nueces River Basin, south-central Texas, 2008-10
J. Ryan Banta, Rebecca B. Lambert, Richard N. Slattery, Darwin J. Ockerman
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5181
The U.S. Geological Survey-in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, The Nature Conservancy, the Real Edwards Conservation and Reclamation District, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department-investigated streamflow gain and loss and water quality in the upper Nueces River Basin, south-central Texas, specifically in the watersheds of the...
Dissolved organic carbon and chromophoric dissolved organic matter properties of rivers in the USA
Robert G.M. Spencer, Kenna D. Butler, George R. Aiken
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences (117)
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) parameters were measured over a range of discharge in 30 U.S. rivers, covering a diverse assortment of fluvial ecosystems in terms of watershed size and landscape drained. Relationships between CDOM absorption at a range of wavelengths (a254, a350, a440)...
Assessment of groundwater, soil-gas, and soil contamination at the Vietnam Armor Training Facility, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2009-2011
Wladmir B. Guimaraes, W. Fred Falls, Andral W. Caldwell, W. Hagan Ratliff, John B. Wellborn, James Landmeyer
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1160
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Army Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Georgia, assessed the groundwater, soil gas, and soil for contaminants at the Vietnam Armor Training Facility (VATF) at Fort Gordon, from October...
Temporal changes in aquatic-invertebrate and fish assemblages in streams of the north-central and northeastern U.S.
Jonathan G. Kennen, Daniel J. Sullivan, Jason T. May, Amanda H. Bell, Karen M. Beaulieu, Donald E. Rice
2012, Ecological Indicators (18) 312-329
Many management agencies seek to evaluate temporal changes in aquatic assemblages at monitoring sites, but few have sites with ecological time series that are long enough for this purpose. Trends in aquatic-invertebrate and fish assemblage composition were assessed at 27 long-term monitoring sites in the north-central and northeastern United States....
