Quality-assurance and data management plan for groundwater activities by the U.S. Geological Survey in Kansas, 2014
James E. Putnam, Cristi V. Hansen
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1060
As the Nation’s principle earth-science information agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is depended on to collect data of the highest quality. This document is a quality-assurance plan for groundwater activities (GWQAP) of the Kansas Water Science Center. The purpose of this GWQAP is to establish a minimum set of...
Investigation of methods for successful installation and operation of Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) hydrophones in the Willamette River, Oregon, 2012
Gary L. Rutz, Matthew D. Sholtis, Noah S. Adams, John W. Beeman
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1112
Acoustic telemetry equipment was installed at three sites in the Willamette River during October 2012 to test the effectiveness of using the Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System to monitor the movements of fish in a high-flow, high-velocity riverine environment. Hydrophones installed on concrete blocks were placed on the bottom of...
Compilation of gallium resource data for bauxite deposits
Ruth F. Schulte, Nora K. Foley
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1272
Gallium (Ga) concentrations for bauxite deposits worldwide have been compiled from the literature to provide a basis for research regarding the occurrence and distribution of Ga worldwide, as well as between types of bauxite deposits. In addition, this report is an attempt to bring together reported Ga concentration data into...
Hurricane Sandy: observations and analysis of coastal change
Kristin L. Sopkin, Hilary F. Stockdon, Kara S. Doran, Nathaniel G. Plant, Karen L.M. Morgan, Kristy K. Guy, Kathryn E. L. Smith
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1088
Hurricane Sandy, the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, made landfall on October 29, 2012, and impacted a long swath of the U.S. Atlantic coastline. The barrier islands were breached in a number of places and beach and dune erosion occurred along most of the Mid-Atlantic coast. As a part of...
Transmissivity and storage coefficient estimates from slug tests, Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey
Alex R. Fiore
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1020
Slug tests were conducted on 56 observation wells open to bedrock at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) in West Trenton, New Jersey. Aquifer transmissivity (T) and storage coefficient (S) values for most wells were estimated from slug-test data using the Cooper-Bredehoeft-Papadopulos method. Test data from three wells exhibited...
Electron microprobe analyses of glasses from Kīlauea tephra units, Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii
Rosalind L. Helz, David A. Clague, Larry G. Mastin, Timothy R. Rose
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1090
This report presents approximately 2,100 glass analyses from three tephra units of Kīlauea Volcano: the Keanakākoʻi Tephra, the Kulanaokuaiki Tephra, and the Pāhala Ash. It also includes some new analyses obtained as part of a re-evaluation of the MgO contents of glasses in two of the three original datasets; this...
Accuracy assessment of the U.S. Geological Survey National Elevation Dataset, and comparison with other large-area elevation datasets: SRTM and ASTER
Dean B. Gesch, Michael J. Oimoen, Gayla A. Evans
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1008
The National Elevation Dataset (NED) is the primary elevation data product produced and distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey. The NED provides seamless raster elevation data of the conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. island territories, Mexico, and Canada. The NED is derived from diverse source datasets that are processed...
The search for geologic evidence of distant-source tsunamis using new field data in California
Rick Wilson, Eileen Hemphill-Haley, Bruce Jaffe, Bruce Richmond, Robert Peters, Nick Graehl, Harvey Kelsey, Robert Leeper, Steve Watt, Mary McGann, Don F. Hoirup, Catherine Chague-Goff, James Goff, Dylan Caldwell, Casey Loofbourrow
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1170-C
A statewide assessment for geological evidence of tsunamis, primarily from distant-source events, found tsunami deposits at several locations, though evidence was absent at most locations evaluated. Several historical distant-source tsunamis, including the 1946 Aleutian, 1960 Chile, and 1964 Alaska events, caused inundation along portions of the northern and central California...
Geochemical and mineralogical maps for soils of the conterminous United States
David B. Smith, William F. Cannon, Laurel G. Woodruff, Federico Solano, Karl J. Ellefsen
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1082
The U.S. Geological Survey began sampling in 2007 for a low-density (1 site per 1,600 square kilometers, 4,857 sites) geochemical and mineralogical survey of soils in the conterminous United States as part of the North American Soil Geochemical Landscapes Project. The sampling protocol for the national-scale survey included, at each...
Mercury concentrations in water, and mercury and selenium concentrations in fish from Brownlee Reservoir and selected sites in Boise and Snake Rivers, Idaho and Oregon, 2013
Dorene E. MacCoy
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1099
Mercury (Hg) analyses were conducted on samples of sport fish and water collected from six sampling sites in the Boise and Snake Rivers, and Brownlee Reservoir to meet National Pollution Discharge and Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements for the City of Boise, Idaho. A water sample was collected from each...
Cruise report for P1-13-LA, U.S. Geological Survey gas hydrates research cruise, R/V Pelican April 18 to May 3, 2013, deepwater Gulf of Mexico
Seth S. Haines, Patrick E. Hart, Carolyn Ruppel, Thomas O'Brien, Wayne Baldwin, Jenny White, Eric Moore, Peter Dal Ferro, Peter Lemmond
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1080
The U.S. Geological Survey led a seismic acquisition cruise in the Gulf of Mexico from April 18 to May 3, 2013, with the objectives of (1) achieving improved imaging and characterization at two established gas hydrate study sites, and (2) refining geophysical methods for gas hydrate characterization in other locations....
Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter: outer mainland shelf and slope, Gulf of Santa Catalina, southern California
Peter Dartnell, James E. Conrad, Holly F. Ryan, David P. Finlayson
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1094
In 2010 and 2011, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Coastal and Marine Geology Program, acquired bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data from the outer shelf and slope region offshore of southern California. The surveys were conducted as part of the USGS Marine Geohazards Program. Assessment of the hazards posed by...
Earthquake catalog for estimation of maximum earthquake magnitude, Central and Eastern United States: Part A, Prehistoric earthquakes
Russell L. Wheeler
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1025-A
Computation of probabilistic earthquake hazard requires an estimate of Mmax, the maximum earthquake magnitude thought to be possible within a specified geographic region. This report is Part A of an Open-File Report that describes the construction of a global catalog of moderate to large earthquakes, from which one can estimate...
Events affecting gold exploration in Venezuela since 1999
David R. Wilburn
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1068
The structure of the gold mining industry in Venezuela has changed significantly since 1999 as a result of Government policy changes and industry response to these changes. This report documents the policy decisions that have affected the mining industry, discusses the response of the industry on a site by site...
The shallow stratigraphy and sand resources offshore from Cat Island, Mississippi
Jack L. Kindinger, Jennifer L. Miselis, Noreen A. Buster
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1070
In collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center collected over 487 line kilometers (> 300 miles) of high-resolution geophysical data around Cat Island, Mississippi, to improve understanding of the island's geologic evolution and identify potential...
Weekly resolution particulate flux from a sediment trap in the northern Gulf of Mexico, 2008-2012
Julie N. Richey, Caitlin E. Reynolds, Eric Tappa, Robert Thunell
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1035
The U.S. Geological Survey anchored a sediment trap in the northern Gulf of Mexico to collect time-series data on sediment flux from 2008 to 2012. There are continuous measurements of total mass flux and organic carbon flux (ogC) at 7–14 day resolution from 2008 to 2012. The flux of calcium...
Comparison of three DNA extraction kits to establish maximum yield and quality of coral-associated microbial DNA
Erin J. Baker, Christina A. Kellogg
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1066
Coral microbiology is an expanding field, yet there is no standard DNA extraction protocol. Although many researchers depend on commercial extraction kits, no specific kit has been optimized for use with coral samples. Both soil and plant DNA extraction kits from MO BIO Laboratories, Inc., have been used by many...
Technical implementation plan for the ShakeAlert production system: an Earthquake Early Warning system for the West Coast of the United States
Douglas D. Given, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Thomas Heaton, Egill Hauksson, Richard Allen, Peggy Hellweg, John Vidale, Paul Bodin
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1097
Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) systems can provide as much as tens of seconds of warning to people and automated systems before strong shaking arrives. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners are developing such an EEW system, called ShakeAlert, for the West Coast of the United States. This...
State-and-transition prototype model of riparian vegetation downstream of Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona
Barbara E. Ralston, Anthony M. Starfield, Ronald S. Black, Robert A. Van Lonkhuyzen
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1095
Facing an altered riparian plant community dominated by nonnative species, resource managers are increasingly interested in understanding how to manage and promote healthy riparian habitats in which native species dominate. For regulated rivers, managing flows is one tool resource managers consider to achieve these goals. Among many factors that can...
Nutrient budgets, marsh inundation under sea-level rise scenarios, and sediment chronologies for the Bass Harbor Marsh estuary at Acadia National Park
Thomas G. Huntington, Charles W. Culbertson, Christopher C. Fuller, Patricia Glibert, Luke Sturtevant
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1031
Eutrophication in the Bass Harbor Marsh estuary on Mount Desert Island, Maine, is an ongoing problem manifested by recurring annual blooms of green macroalgae species, principally Enteromorpha prolifera and Enteromorpha flexuosa, blooms that appear in the spring and summer. These blooms are unsightly and impair the otherwise natural beauty of...
Sediment-hosted gold deposits of the world: Database and grade and tonnage models
Vladimir I. Berger, Dan L. Mosier, James D. Bliss, Barry C. Moring
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1074
All sediment-hosted gold deposits (as a single population) share one characteristic—they all have disseminated micron-sized invisible gold in sedimentary rocks. Sediment-hosted gold deposits are recognized in the Great Basin province of the western United States and in China along with a few recognized deposits in Indonesia, Iran, and Malaysia. Three...
Characterization of potential transport pathways and implications for groundwater management near an anticline in the Central Basin area, Los Angeles County, California
Daniel J. Ponti, Brian J. Wagner, Michael Land, Matthew K. Landon
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1087
The Central Groundwater Basin (Central Basin) of southern Los Angeles County includes ~280 mi2 of the Los Angeles Coastal Plain and serves as the primary source of water for more than two million residents. In the Santa Fe Springs–Whittier–Norwalk area, located in the northeastern part of the basin, several sources...
Seismic profile analysis of sediment deposits in Brownlee and Hells Canyon Reservoirs near Cambridge, Idaho
James Flocks, Kyle Kelso, Ryan Fosness, Chris Welcker
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1019
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, in cooperation with the USGS Idaho Water Science Center and the Idaho Power Company, collected high-resolution seismic reflection data in the Brownlee and Hells Canyon Reservoirs, in March of 2013.These reservoirs are located along the Snake River, and...
Geodesy- and geology-based slip-rate models for the Western United States (excluding California) national seismic hazard maps
Mark D. Petersen, Yuehua Zeng, Kathleen M. Haller, Robert McCaffrey, William C. Hammond, Peter Bird, Morgan Moschetti, Zhengkang Shen, Jayne Bormann, Wayne Thatcher
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1293
The 2014 National Seismic Hazard Maps for the conterminous United States incorporate additional uncertainty in fault slip-rate parameter that controls the earthquake-activity rates than was applied in previous versions of the hazard maps. This additional uncertainty is accounted for by new geodesy- and geology-based slip-rate models for the Western United...
1964 Great Alaska Earthquake: a photographic tour of Anchorage, Alaska
Evan E. Thoms, Peter J. Haeussler, Rebecca Anderson, Robert G. McGimsey
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1086
On March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m., a magnitude 9.2 earthquake, the largest recorded earthquake in U.S. history, struck southcentral Alaska (fig. 1). The Great Alaska Earthquake (also known as the Good Friday Earthquake) occurred at a pivotal time in the history of earth science, and helped lead to the...
