Helicopter electromagnetic and magnetic geophysical survey data, Hunton anticline, south-central Oklahoma
Bruce D. Smith, David V. Smith, Maryla Deszcz-Pan, Charles D. Blome, Patricia Hill
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1240
This report is a digital data release for multiple geophysical surveys conducted in the Hunton anticline area of south-central Oklahoma. The helicopter electromagnetic and magnetic surveys were flown on March 16–17, 2007, in four areas of the Hunton anticline in south-central Oklahoma. The objective of this project is to improve...
Science Goals of the U.S. Department of the Interior Southeast Climate Science Center
Melinda S. Dalton
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3138
In 2011, the U.S. Department of the Interior Southeast Climate Science Center (CSC) finalized the first draft of its goals for research needed to address the needs of natural and cultural partners for climate science in the Southeastern United States. The science themes described in this draft plan were established...
Mercury bioaccumulation and biomagnification in Ozark stream ecosystems
Christopher J. Schmitt, Craig A. Stricker, William G. Brumbaugh
2011, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (74) 2215-2224
Crayfish (Orconectes spp.), Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea), northern hog sucker (hog sucker; Hypentelium nigricans), and smallmouth bass (smallmouth; Micropterus dolomieu) from streams in southeastern Missouri (USA) were analyzed for total mercury (HgT) and for stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), and sulfur (δ34S) to discern Hg transfer pathways. HgT...
Palos Verdes Shelf oceanographic study; data report for observations December 2007–April 2008
Kurt J. Rosenberger, Marlene A. Noble, Christopher R. Sherwood, Marinna M. Martini, Joanne T. Ferreira, Ellyn T. Montgomery
2011, Open-File Report 2010-1240
Beginning in 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defined a contaminated section of the Palos Verdes Shelf region in southern California as a Superfund Site, initiating a continuing investigation of this area. The investigation involved the EPA, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Los Angeles County...
Development of a flood-warning network and flood-inundation mapping for the Blanchard River in Ottawa, Ohio
Matthew T. Whitehead
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5189
Digital flood-inundation maps of the Blanchard River in Ottawa, Ohio, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Village of Ottawa, Ohio. The maps, which correspond to water levels (stages) at the USGS streamgage at Ottawa...
Refugial isolation and divergence in the Narrowheaded Gartersnake species complex (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) as revealed by multilocus DNA sequence data
Dustin A. Wood, Amy G. Vandergast, A. Lemos Espinal, Robert N. Fisher, A.T. Holycross
2011, Molecular Ecology (20) 3856-3878
Glacial–interglacial cycles of the Pleistocene are hypothesized as one of the foremost contributors to biological diversification. This is especially true for cold‐adapted montane species, where range shifts have had a pronounced effect on population‐level divergence. Gartersnakes of the Thamnophis rufipunctatus species complex are restricted to cold headwater streams in the highlands of...
Reactive-transport modeling of iron diagenesis and associated organic carbon remineralization in a Florida (USA) subterranean estuary
Moutusi Roy, Jonathan B. Martin, Christopher G. Smith, Jaye E. Cable
2011, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (304) 191-201
Iron oxides are important terminal electron acceptors for organic carbon (OC) remineralization in subterranean estuaries, particularly where oxygen and nitrate concentrations are low. In Indian River Lagoon, Florida, USA, terrestrial Fe-oxides dissolve at the seaward edge of the seepage face and flow upward into overlying marine sediments where they precipitate...
Methods for processing and imaging marsh foraminifera
Chandra A. Dreher, James G. Flocks
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3098
This study is part of a larger U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) project to characterize the physical conditions of wetlands in southwestern Louisiana. Within these wetlands, groups of benthic foraminifera-shelled amoeboid protists living near or on the sea floor-can be used as agents to measure land subsidence, relative sea-level rise, and...
The biogeochemistry of anchialine caves: Progress and possibilities
John W. Pohlman
2011, Hydrobiologia (677) 33-51
Recent investigations of anchialine caves and sinkholes have identified complex food webs dependent on detrital and, in some cases, chemosynthetically produced organic matter. Chemosynthetic microbes in anchialine systems obtain energy from reduced compounds produced during organic matter degradation (e.g., sulfide, ammonium, and methane), similar to what occurs in deep ocean...
The Lake Tahoe Basin Land Use Simulation Model
William M. Forney, I. Benson Oldham
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1275
This U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report describes the final modeling product for the Tahoe Decision Support System project for the Lake Tahoe Basin funded by the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act and the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Analysis and Monitoring Program. This research was conducted by the U.S. Geological...
Vegetation and substrate properties of aeolian dune fields in the Colorado River corridor, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Amy E. Draut
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1195
This report summarizes vegetation and substrate properties of aeolian landscapes in the Colorado River corridor through Grand Canyon, Arizona, in Grand Canyon National Park. Characterizing these parameters provides a basis from which to assess future changes in this ecosystem, including the spread of nonnative plant species. Differences are apparent between...
Regional assessments of the Nation's water quality—Improved understanding of stream nutrient sources through enhanced modeling capabilities
Stephen D. Preston, Richard B. Alexander, Michael D. Woodside
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3114
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed assessments of stream nutrients in six major regions extending over much of the conterminous United States. SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes) models were developed for each region to explain spatial patterns in monitored stream nutrient loads in relation to human activities...
Cenozoic tectonic reorganizations of the Death Valley region, southeast California and southwest Nevada
Christopher J. Fridrich, Ren A. Thompson
2011, Professional Paper 1783
The Death Valley region, of southeast California and southwest Nevada, is distinct relative to adjacent regions in its structural style and resulting topography, as well as in the timing of basin-range extension. Cenozoic basin-fill strata, ranging in age from greater than or equal to 40 to approximately 2 million years...
Simulations of groundwater flow and particle-tracking analysis in the zone of contribution to a public-supply well in San Antonio, Texas
Richard L. Lindgren, Natalie A. Houston, MaryLynn Musgrove, Lynne S. Fahlquist, Leon J. Kauffman
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5149
In 2006, a public-supply well in San Antonio, Texas, was selected for intensive study to assess the vulnerability of public-supply wells in the Edwards aquifer to contamination by a variety of compounds. A local-scale, steady-state, three-dimensional numerical groundwater-flow model was developed and used in this study to evaluate the movement...
Land-use planning for nearshore ecosystem services—the Puget Sound Ecosystem Portfolio Model
Kristin Byrd
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3067
The 2,500 miles of shoreline and nearshore areas of Puget Sound, Washington, provide multiple benefits to people—"ecosystem services"—including important fishing, shellfishing, and recreation industries. To help resource managers plan for expected growth in coming decades, the U.S. Geological Survey Western Geographic Science Center has developed the Puget Sound Ecosystem Portfolio...
Hydrogeology, chemical characteristics, and water sources and pathways in the zone of contribution of a public-supply well in San Antonio, Texas
MaryLynn Musgrove, Lynne Fahlquist, Gregory P. Stanton, Natalie A. Houston, Richard J. Lindgren
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5146
In 2001, the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a series of studies on the transport of anthropogenic and natural contaminants (TANC) to public-supply wells (PSWs). The main goal of the TANC project was to better understand the source, transport, and receptor factors that control...
Rapid wetland expansion during European settlement and its implication for marsh survival under modern sediment delivery rates
Matthew L. Kirwan, A. Brad Murray, Jeffrey P. Donnelly, D. Reide Corbett
2011, Geology (39) 507-510
Fluctuations in sea-level rise rates are thought to dominate the formation and evolution of coastal wetlands. Here we demonstrate a contrasting scenario in which land-use–related changes in sediment delivery rates drive the formation of expansive marshland, and vegetation feedbacks maintain their morphology despite recent sediment supply reduction. Stratigraphic analysis and...
Tools and methods for evaluating and refining alternative futures for coastal ecosystem management—the Puget Sound Ecosystem Portfolio Model
Kristin B. Byrd, Jason R. Kreitler, William B. Labiosa
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1279
The U.S. Geological Survey Puget Sound Ecosystem Portfolio Model (PSEPM) is a decision-support tool that uses scenarios to evaluate where, when, and to what extent future population growth, urban growth, and shoreline development may threaten the Puget Sound nearshore environment. This tool was designed to be used iteratively in a...
Rapid cooling rates at an active mid-ocean ridge from zircon thermochronology
Axel K. Schmitt, Michael R. Perfit, Kenneth H. Rubin, Daniel F. Stockli, Matthew C. Smith, Laurie A. Cotsonika, Georg F. Zellmer, W. Ian Ridley
2011, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (302) 349-358
Oceanic spreading ridges are Earth's most productive crust generating environment, but mechanisms and rates of crustal accretion and heat loss are debated. Existing observations on cooling rates are ambiguous regarding the prevalence of conductive vs. convective cooling of lower oceanic crust. Here, we report the discovery and dating of zircon...
Constraints on the long‐period moment‐dip tradeoff for the Tohoku earthquake
Victor C. Tsai, Gavin P. Hayes, Zacharie Duputel
2011, Geophysical Research Letters (38)
Since the work of Kanamori and Given (1981), it has been recognized that shallow, pure dip‐slip earthquakes excite long‐period surface waves such that it is difficult to independently constrain the moment (M0) and the dip (δ) of the source mechanism, with only the product M0 sin(2δ) being well constrained. Because of this,...
Quantifying differences in the impact of variable chemistry on equilibrium uranium(VI) adsorption properties of aquifer sediments
Deborah L. Stoliker, Douglas B. Kent, John M. Zachara
2011, Environmental Science & Technology (45) 8733-8740
Uranium adsorption-desorption on sediment samples collected from the Hanford 300-Area, Richland, WA varied extensively over a range of field-relevant chemical conditions, complicating assessment of possible differences in equilibrium adsorption properties. Adsorption equilibrium was achieved in 500-1000 h although dissolved uranium concentrations increased over thousands of hours owing to changes in...
Seasonal seepage investigation on an urbanized reach of the lower Boise River, southwestern Idaho, water year 2010
Marshall L. Williams
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5181
The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Water Resources Treasure Valley Comprehensive Aquifer Management Planning effort investigated seasonal groundwater gains and losses on the Boise River, Idaho, starting in November 2009 through August 2010. The investigation was conducted using seepage runs in 11 subreaches over a...
Provenance and tectonic significance of the Palaeoproterozoic metasedimentary successions of central and nothern Madagascar
B. De Waele, Ronald J. Thomas, P. H. Macey, M. S. A. Horstwood, R. D. Tucker, P. E. J. Pitfield, D. I. Schofield, K. M. Goodenough, W. Bauer, R. M. Key, C. J. Potter, R. A. Armstrong, J. A. Miller, T. Randriamananjara, V. Ralison, J. M. Rafahatelo, M. Rabarimanana, M. Bejoma
2011, Precambrian Research (189) 18-42
New detrital zircon U–Pb age data obtained from various quartzite units of three spatially separated supracrustal packages in central and northern Madagascar, show that these units were deposited between 1.8 and 0.8 Ga and have similar aged provenances. The distribution of detrital zircon ages indicates an overwhelming contribution of sources with...
Projected evolution of California's San Francisco Bay-Delta-River System in a century of continuing climate change
James E. Cloern, Noah Knowles, Larry R. Brown, Daniel Cayan, Michael D. Dettinger, Tara L. Morgan, David H. Schoellhamer, Mark T. Stacey, Mick van der Wegen, R. Wayne Wagner, Alan D. Jassby
2011, PLoS ONE (6)
Background Accumulating evidence shows that the planet is warming as a response to human emissions of greenhouse gases. Strategies of adaptation to climate change will require quantitative projections of how altered regional patterns of temperature, precipitation and sea level could cascade to provoke local impacts such as modified water supplies,...
New U.S. Geological Survey method for the assessment of reserve growth
Timothy R. Klett, Emil D. Attanasi, Ronald R. Charpentier, Troy A. Cook, Philip A. Freeman, Donald L. Gautier, Phuong A. Le, Robert T. Ryder, Christopher J. Schenk, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Mahendra K. Verma
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5163
Reserve growth is defined as the estimated increases in quantities of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids that have the potential to be added to remaining reserves in discovered accumulations through extension, revision, improved recovery efficiency, and additions of new pools or reservoirs. A new U.S. Geological Survey...