Distribution and habitat use of the Missouri River and Lower Yellowstone River benthic fishes from 1996 to 1998: A baseline for fish community recovery
M. L. Wildhaber, D. W. Gladish, A. Arab
2011, River Research and Applications (28) 1780-1803
Past and present Missouri River management practices have resulted in native fishes being identified as in jeopardy. In 1995, the Missouri River Benthic Fishes Study was initiated to provide improved information on Missouri River fish populations and how alterations might affect them. The study produced a baseline against which to...
Development of flood-inundation maps for the West Branch Susquehanna River near the Borough of Jersey Shore, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
Mark A. Roland, Scott A. Hoffman
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5057
Streamflow data, water-surface-elevation profiles derived from a Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System hydraulic model, and geographical information system digital elevation models were used to develop a set of 18 flood-inundation maps for an approximately 5-mile reach of the West Branch Susquehanna River near the Borough of Jersey Shore, Pa....
Thematic accuracy of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001 land cover for Alaska
David J. Selkowitz, Stephen V. Stehman
2011, Remote Sensing of Environment (115) 1401--1407
The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001 Alaska land cover classification is the first 30-m resolution land cover product available covering the entire state of Alaska. The accuracy assessment of the NLCD 2001 Alaska land cover classification employed a geographically stratified three-stage sampling design to...
Exploring the potential for a fused Landsat-MODIS snow covered area product
David J. Selkowitz
2011, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 79th Annual Western Snow Conference
Results from nine 3 x 3 km study areas in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA demonstrate there is potential for using sporadically acquired Landsat images in combination with daily coarse resolution fractional snow covered area (SCA) images to produce daily high resolution binary SCA images. The results also highlight...
Monitoring and analysis of sand dune movement and growth on the Navajo Nation, southwestern United States
Margaret Hiza Redsteer, Rian Bogle, John M. Vogel
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3085
Recurring drought and rising temperatures have caused reactivation and renewed growth of sand dunes on the lands of the Navajo Nation on the Colorado Plateau. Migrating dunes threaten health, housing, and transportation pathways. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are conducting research to better understand the processes of dune growth and...
A survey of alterations in microbial community diversity in marine sediments in response to oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill: Northern Gulf of Mexico shoreline, Texas to Florida
John T. Lisle
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1059
Microbial community genomic DNA was extracted from sediment samples collected from the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) coast. These samples had a high probability of being impacted by Macondo-1 (M-1) well oil from the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) drilling site. The hypothesis for this project was that presence of M-1 oil...
Selected time-lapse movies of the east rift zone eruption of KĪlauea Volcano, 2004–2008
Tim R. Orr
2011, Data Series 621
Since 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has used mass-market digital time-lapse cameras and network-enabled Webcams for visual monitoring and research. The 26 time-lapse movies in this report were selected from the vast collection of images acquired by these camera systems during 2004–2008. Chosen for their content and...
Adjustment of pesticide concentrations for temporal changes in analytical recovery, 1992–2010
Jeffrey D. Martin, Michael Eberle
2011, Data Series 630
Recovery is the proportion of a target analyte that is quantified by an analytical method and is a primary indicator of the analytical bias of a measurement. Recovery is measured by analysis of quality-control (QC) water samples that have known amounts of target analytes added ("spiked" QC samples). For pesticides,...
2010 bathymetric survey and digital elevation model of Corte Madera Bay, California
Amy C. Foxgrover, David P. Finlayson, Bruce E. Jaffe, John Y. Takekawa, Karen M. Thorne, Kyle A. Spragens
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1217
A high-resolution bathymetric survey of Corte Madera Bay, California, was collected in early 2010 in support of a collaborative research project initiated by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The primary objective of the Innovative Wetland Adaptation in the Lower...
Status and trends of the rainbow trout population in the Lees Ferry reach of the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, 1991–2009
Andrew S. Makinster, William R. Persons, Luke A. Avery
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5015
The Lees Ferry reach of the Colorado River, a 25-kilometer segment of river located immediately downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, has contained a nonnative rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) sport fishery since it was first stocked in 1964. The fishery has evolved over time in response to changes in dam operations...
Using host-associated genetic markers to investigate sources of fecal contamination in two Vermont streams
Laura Medalie, Leslie J. Matthews, Erin A. Stelzer
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5113
The use of host-associated Bacteroidales-based 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid genetic markers was investigated as a tool for providing information to managers on sources of bacterial impairment in Vermont streams. The study was conducted during 2009 in two watersheds on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 303(d) List of Impaired Waters, the...
Audiomagnetotelluric data, Taos Plateau Volcanic Field, New Mexico
Chad E. Ailes, Brian D. Rodriguez
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1264
The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a series of multidisciplinary studies of the San Luis Basin as part of the Geologic framework of the Rio Grande Basins project. Detailed geologic mapping, high-resolution airborne magnetic surveys, gravity surveys, audiomagnetotelluric surveys, and hydrologic and lithologic data are being used to better understand...
Streamflow, groundwater hydrology, and water quality in the upper Coleto Creek watershed in southeast Texas, 2009–10
Christopher L. Braun, Rebecca B. Lambert
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5157
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Goliad County Groundwater Conservation District, Victoria County Groundwater Conservation District, Pecan Valley Groundwater Conservation District, Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, and San Antonio River Authority, did a study to examine the hydrology and stream-aquifer interactions in the upper Coleto Creek watershed. Findings of...
Volunteer map data collection at the USGS
B. Wolf Eric, Barbara S. Poore, Holly K. Caro, Greg D. Matthews
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3103
Since 1994, citizen volunteers have helped the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) improve its topographic maps. Through the Earth Science Corps program, citizens were able to "adopt a quad" and collect new information and update existing map features. Until its conclusion in 2001, as many as 300 volunteers annotated paper maps...
Results and evaluation of a survey to estimate Pacific walrus population size, 2006
Suzann G. Speckman, Vladimir I. Chernook, Douglas M. Burn, Mark S. Udevitz, Anatoly A. Kochnev, Alexander Vasilev, Chadwick V. Jay, Alexander Lisovsky, Anthony S. Fischbach, R. Bradley Benter
2011, Marine Mammal Science (27) 514-553
In spring 2006, we conducted a collaborative U.S.-Russia survey to estimate abundance of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). The Bering Sea was partitioned into survey blocks, and a systematic random sample of transects within a subset of the blocks was surveyed with airborne thermal scanners using standard strip-transect...
Geophysical bed sediment characterization of the Androscoggin River from the former Chlor-Alkali Facility Superfund Site, Berlin, New Hampshire, to the state border with Maine, August 2009
James R. Degnan, Andrew Teeple, Craig M. Johnston, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Darryl Luce
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5158
The former Chlor-Alkali Facility in Berlin, New Hampshire, was listed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Priorities List in 2005 as a Superfund site. The Chlor-Alkali Facility lies on the east bank of the Androscoggin River. Elemental mercury currently discharges from that bank into the Androscoggin River. The nature,...
Summary of oceanographic and water–quality measurements in West Falmouth Harbor and Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, 2009–2010
Neil K. Ganju, Patrick J. Dickhudt, Jennifer A. Thomas, Jonathan Borden, Christopher R. Sherwood, Ellyn T. Montgomery, Erin R. Twomey, Marinna A. Martini
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1113
This data report presents oceanographic and water-quality observations made at six locations in West Falmouth Harbor and Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, from August 2009 to September 2010. Both Buzzards Bay and West Falmouth Harbor are estuarine embayments; the input of freshwater on the eastern margin of Buzzards Bay adjacent to Cape...
PRISM: Processing routines in IDL for spectroscopic measurements (installation manual and user's guide, version 1.0)
Raymond F. Kokaly
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1155
This report describes procedures for installing and using the U.S. Geological Survey Processing Routines in IDL for Spectroscopic Measurements (PRISM) software. PRISM provides a framework to conduct spectroscopic analysis of measurements made using laboratory, field, airborne, and space-based spectrometers. Using PRISM functions, the user can compare the spectra of materials...
Quantifying viruses and bacteria in wastewater—Results, interpretation methods, and quality control
Donna S. Francy, Erin A. Stelzer, Rebecca N. Bushon, Amie M. G. Brady, Brian E. Mailot, Susan K. Spencer, Mark A. Borchardt, Ashley G. Elber, Kimberly R. Riddell, Terry M. Gellner
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5150
Membrane bioreactors (MBR), used for wastewater treatment in Ohio and elsewhere in the United States, have pore sizes small enough to theoretically reduce concentrations of protozoa and bacteria, but not viruses. Sampling for viruses in wastewater is seldom done and not required. Instead, the bacterial indicators Escherichia coli (E. coli)...
Proceedings of the third USGS modeling conference, June 7-11, 2010, Broomfield, Colorado-Understanding and predicting for a changing world
Shailaja R. Brady
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5147
The Third USGS Modeling Conference was held June 7th-11, 2010, in Broomfield, Colorado. The conference focused on the development and application of analytical and theoretical models and data availability that support managing the Nation's resources and help protect lives and property. Participants at the conference included scientists and managers from...
Developing a regional canopy fuels assessment strategy using multi-scale lidar
Birgit E. Peterson, Kurtis Nelson
2011, Conference Paper, Proceedings of SilviLaser 2011, 11th International Conference on LiDAR Applications for Assessing Forest Ecosystems, University of Tasmania, Australia, 16-20 October 2011
Accurate assessments of canopy fuels are needed by fire scientists to understand fire behavior and to predict future fire occurrence. A key descriptor for canopy fuels is canopy bulk density (CBD). CBD is closely linked to the structure of the canopy; therefore, lidar measurements are particularly well suited to assessments...
Alaska Geochemical Database (AGDB)-Geochemical data for rock, sediment, soil, mineral, and concentrate sample media
Matthew Granitto, Elizabeth A. Bailey, Jeanine M. Schmidt, Nora B. Shew, Bruce M. Gamble, Keith A. Labay
2011, Data Series 637
The Alaska Geochemical Database (AGDB) was created and designed to compile and integrate geochemical data from Alaska in order to facilitate geologic mapping, petrologic studies, mineral resource assessments, definition of geochemical baseline values and statistics, environmental impact assessments, and studies in medical geology. This Microsoft Access database serves as a...
Location and age of foraminifer samples examined by Chevron Petroleum Company paleontologists from more than 2,500 oil test wells in California
Earl E. Brabb
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1262
Chevron Petroleum Company in 2001 donated an estimated 50,000 foraminifer slides, 5,000 well logs, geologic and surface locality maps, and paleontologic reports to the California Academy of Sciences and Stanford University for safekeeping, because they stopped or cut back exploration for petroleum deposits in California. The material was loaned to...
Streamflow and streambed scour in 2010 at bridge 339, Copper River, Alaska
Jeffrey S. Conaway, Timothy P. Brabets
2011, Professional Paper 1784-C
The Copper River Highway traverses a dynamic and complex network of braided and readily erodible channels that constitute the Copper River Delta, Alaska, by way of 11 bridges. Over the past decade, several of these bridges and the highway have sustained serious damage from both high and low flows and...
The Alaska Geochemical Database: v. 1.0 - Geologic Materials
Jeanine M. Schmidt, Matthew Granitto
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3130
What is the AGDB?: The Alaska Geochemical Database (AGDB) is a new, comprehensive compilation of geologic, spatial, descriptive, mineralogical, and analytical geochemical data for samples collected in Alaska and surrounding waters by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from 1962 to 2009. Data for geologic materials (rocks, minerals and mineral separates, soils, lake...
