Hydrogeology of the Old Faithful area, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, and its relevance to natural resources and infrastructure
Old Faithful Science Review Panel, Duncan Foley, Robert O. Fournier, Henry P. Heasler, Bern Hinckley, Steven E. Ingebritsen, Jacob B. Lowenstern, David D. Susong
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1058
A panel of leading experts (The Old Faithful Science Review Panel) was convened by Yellowstone National Park (YNP) to review and summarize the geological and hydrological understanding that can inform National Park Service management of the Upper Geyser Basin area. We give an overview of present geological and hydrological knowledge...
Laharz_py: GIS tools for automated mapping of lahar inundation hazard zones
Steve P. Schilling
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1073
Laharz_py is written in the Python programming language as a suite of tools for use in ArcMap Geographic Information System (GIS). Primarily, Laharz_py is a computational model that uses statistical descriptions of areas inundated by past mass-flow events to forecast areas likely to be inundated by hypothetical future events. The...
A brief test of the Hewlett-Packard MEMS seismic accelerometer
Brian D. Homeijer, Donald J. Milligan, Charles R. Hutt
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1047
Testing was performed on a prototype of Hewlett-Packard (HP) Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) seismic accelerometer at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory. This prototype was built using discrete electronic components. The self-noise level was measured during low seismic background conditions and found to be 9.8 ng/√Hz at periods below 0.2...
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Denver Basin, Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska
Ronald M. Drake II, Sean T. Brennan, Jacob A. Covault, Madalyn S. Blondes, P.A. Freeman, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Celeste D. Lohr
2014, Open-File Report 2012-1024-G
This is a report about the geologic characteristics of five storage assessment units (SAUs) within the Denver Basin of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska. These SAUs are Cretaceous in age and include (1) the Plainview and Lytle Formations, (2) the Muddy Sandstone, (3) the Greenhorn Limestone, (4) the Niobrara Formation and...
Projecting climate effects on birds and reptiles of the Southwestern United States
Charles van Riper III, James R. Hatten, J. Tomasz Giermakowski, David Mattson, Jennifer A. Holmes, Matthew J. Johnson, Erika M. Nowak, Kirsten Ironside, Michael Peters, Paul Heinrich, K.L. Cole, C. Truettner, Cecil R. Schwalbe
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1050
We modeled the current and future breeding ranges of seven bird and five reptile species in the Southwestern United States with sets of landscape, biotic (plant), and climatic global circulation model (GCM) variables. For modeling purposes, we used PRISM data to characterize the climate of the Western United States between 1980...
Post-release behavior and movement patterns of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) after capture using alternative commercial fish gear, lower Columbia River, Washington and Oregon, 2013
Theresa L. Liedtke, Tobias J. Kock, Scott D. Evans, Gabriel S. Hansen, Dennis W. Rondorf
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1069
Commercial salmon Oncorhynchus spp. fishers traditionally have used gill nets, and more recently tangle nets, to capture adult salmon in the lower Columbia River, Washington and Oregon, but these gear types are not selective and can result in unintentional injury or death to non-target species, which is a problem when...
Noble gas isotopes in mineral springs within the Cascadia Forearc, Washington and Oregon
Patricia A. McCrory, James E. Constantz, Andrew G. Hunt
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1064
This U.S. Geological Survey report presents laboratory analyses along with field notes for a pilot study to document the relative abundance of noble gases in mineral springs within the Cascadia forearc of Washington and Oregon. Estimates of the depth to the underlying Juan de Fuca oceanic plate beneath the sample...
Distribution and extent of heavy metal accumulation in Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia), upper Santa Cruz River watershed, southern Arizona, 2011-12
Michael B. Lester, Charles van Riper III
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1072
Riparian ecosystems in arid environments provide critical habitat for breeding, migratory, and wintering birds, yet are often at risk of contamination by heavy metals. Birds and other animals living in contaminated areas are susceptible to adverse health effects as a result of long-term exposure and bioaccumulation of heavy metals. We...
Airborne geophysical surveys conducted in western Nebraska, 2010: contractor reports and data
U.S.Geological Survey Crustal Geophysical and Geochemical Science Center
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1268
This report contains three contractor reports and data files for an airborne electromagnetic survey flown from June 28 to July 7, 2010. The first report; “SkyTEM Survey: Nebraska, USA, Data” describes data aquisition and processing from a time-domain electromagnetic and magnetic survey performed by SkyTEM Canada, Inc. (the North American...
Soils, vegetation, and woody debris data from the 2001 Survey Line fire and a comparable unburned site, Tanana Flats region, Alaska
Kristen L. Manies, Jennifer W. Harden, Teresa N. Holingsworth
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1049
This report describes the collection and processing methodologies for samples obtained at two sites within Interior Alaska: (1) a location within the 2001 Survey Line burn, and (2) an unburned location, selected as a control. In 2002 and 2004 U.S. Geological Survey investigators measured soil properties including, but not limited...
Measurements of slope currents and internal tides on the Continental Shelf and slope off Newport Beach, California
Kurt J. Rosenberger, Marlene A. Noble, Benjamin Norris
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1041
An array of seven moorings housing current meters and oceanographic sensors was deployed for 6 months at 5 sites on the Continental Shelf and slope off Newport Beach, California, from July 2011 to January 2012. Full water-column profiles of currents were acquired at all five sites, and a profile of...
High-resolution geophysical data collected aboard the U.S. Geological Survey research vessel Rafael to supplement existing datasets from Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts
Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Brian D. Andrews, William W. Danforth, David S. Foster
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1020
Geophysical and geospatial data were collected in Buzzards Bay, in the shallow-water areas of Vineyard Sound, and in the nearshore areas off the eastern Elizabeth Islands and northern coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, on the U.S. Geological Survey research vessel Rafael between 2007 and 2011, in a collaborative effort between...
Coalbed natural gas exploration, drilling activities, and geologic test results, 2007-2010
Arthur C. Clark
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1004
The U.S. Geological Survey, in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the North Slope Borough, and the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation conducted a four-year study designed to identify, define, and delineate a shallow coalbed natural gas (CBNG) resource with the potential to provide locally produced, affordable power to...
Preliminary interpretation of pre-2014 landslide deposits in the vicinity of Oso, Washington
Ralph A. Haugerud
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1065
High-resolution topographic surveys allow fairly precise mapping of landslide deposits and their relative ages. Relative ages are determined by cross-cutting relations and the amount of smoothing—more smoothed slide deposits are older—of these deposits. The Tulalip Tribes, in partnership with the Puget Sound Lidar Consortium, acquired a high-resolution lidar (light detection...
Hydrologic Drought Decision Support System (HyDroDSS)
Gregory E. Granato
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1003
The hydrologic drought decision support system (HyDroDSS) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Rhode Island Water Resources Board (RIWRB) for use in the analysis of hydrologic variables that may indicate the risk for streamflows to be below user-defined flow targets at a designated site...
Monitoring fine-sediment volume in the Colorado River ecosystem, Arizona: construction and analysis of digital elevation models
Matt Kaplinski, Joseph E. Hazel Jr., Paul E. Grams, Philip A. Davis
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1052
Digital elevation models (DEMs) of eleven 2–5 kilometer reaches of the Colorado River ecosystem (CRE) in Grand Canyon were constructed from repeat bathymetric and topographic surveys collected between August 2000 and December 2004. The DEMs will be used by researchers to study the effects of Glen Canyon Dam (GCD) operations...
The 1946 Unimak Tsunami Earthquake Area: revised tectonic structure in reprocessed seismic images and a suspect near field tsunami source
John J. Miller, Roland E. von Huene, Holly F. Ryan
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1024
In 1946 at Unimak Pass, Alaska, a tsunami destroyed the lighthouse at Scotch Cap, Unimak Island, took 159 lives on the Hawaiian Islands, damaged island coastal facilities across the south Pacific, and destroyed a hut in Antarctica. The tsunami magnitude of 9.3 is comparable to the magnitude 9.1 tsunami that...
Petrophysical properties, mineralogy, fractures, and flow tests in 25 deep boreholes at Yucca Mountain, Nevada
Philip H. Nelson, Joyce E. Kibler
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1023
As part of a site investigation for the disposal of radioactive waste, numerous boreholes were drilled into a sequence of Miocene pyroclastic flows and related deposits at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This report contains displays of data from 25 boreholes drilled during 1979–1984, relatively early in the site investigation program. Geophysical...
Magnetic and gravity studies of Mono Lake, east-central, California
Noah D. Athens, David A. Ponce, Angela S. Jayko, Matt Miller, Bobby McEvoy, Mae Marcaida, Margaret T. Mangan, Stuart K. Wilkinson, James S. McClain, Bruce A. Chuchel, Kevin M. Denton
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1043
From August 26 to September 5, 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected more than 600 line-kilometers of shipborne magnetic data on Mono Lake, 20 line-kilometers of ground magnetic data on Paoha Island, 50 gravity stations on Paoha and Negit Islands, and 28 rock samples on Paoha and Negit Islands,...
Analysis of pharmaceutical and other organic wastewater compounds in filtered and unfiltered water samples by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry
Steven D. Zaugg, Patrick J. Phillips, Steven G. Smith
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1297
Research on the effects of exposure of stream biota to complex mixtures of pharmaceuticals and other organic compounds associated with wastewater requires the development of additional analytical capabilities for these compounds in water samples. Two gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analytical methods used at the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality...
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 2011 through September 2012) and statistical summaries of data for streams in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana
Kent A. Dodge, Michelle I. Hornberger, Jessica Dyke
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1034
Water, bed sediment, and biota were sampled in streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the upper Clark Fork Basin of western Montana. The sampling program was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to characterize...
Summary and abstracts of the Planetary Data Workshop, June 2012
Lisa R. Gaddis, Trent M. Hare, Ross Beyer
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1056
The recent boom in the volume of digital data returned by international planetary science missions continues to both delight and confound users of those data. In just the past decade, the Planetary Data System (PDS), NASA’s official archive of scientific results from U.S. planetary missions, has seen a nearly 50-fold...
Evaluation of coral pathogen growth rates after exposure to atmospheric African dust samples
John T. Lisle, Virginia H. Garrison, Michael A. Gray
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1017
Laboratory experiments were conducted to assess if exposure to atmospheric African dust stimulates or inhibits the growth of four putative bacterial coral pathogens. Atmospheric dust was collected from a dust-source region (Mali, West Africa) and from Saharan Air Layer masses over downwind sites in the Caribbean [Trinidad and Tobago and...
Progress report: baseline monitoring of indicator species (butterflies) at tallgrass prairie restorations
Larry Allain, Malcolm Vidrine
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1044
This project provides baseline data of butterfly populations at two coastal prairie restoration sites in Louisiana, the Duralde Unit of Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge (hereafter, the Duralde site) and the Cajun Prairie Restoration Project in Eunice (hereafter, the Eunice site). In all, four distinct habitat types representing different planting methods...
Mercury in fishes from 21 national parks in the Western United States: inter- and intra-park variation in concentrations and ecological risk
Collin A. Eagles-Smith, James J. Willacker, Colleen M. Flanagan Pritz
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1051
Mercury (Hg) is a global contaminant and human activities have increased atmospheric Hg concentrations 3- to 5-fold during the past 150 years. This increased release into the atmosphere has resulted in elevated loadings to aquatic habitats where biogeochemical processes promote the microbial conversion of inorganic Hg to methylmercury, the bioavailable...
