Land subsidence, groundwater levels, and geology in the Coachella Valley, California, 1993-2010
Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Mike Solt
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5075
Land subsidence associated with groundwater-level declines has been investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Coachella Valley, California, since 1996. Groundwater has been a major source of agricultural, municipal, and domestic supply in the valley since the early 1920s. Pumping of groundwater resulted in water-level declines as much as...
Concentrations, loads, and yields of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor watershed, New Jersey, 1989-2011, at multiple spatial scales
Ronald J. Baker, Christine M. Wieben, Richard G. Lathrop, Robert S. Nicholson
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5072
Concentrations, loads, and yields of nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus) were calculated for the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor (BB-LEH) watershed for 1989–2011 at annual and seasonal (growing and nongrowing) time scales. Concentrations, loads, and yields were calculated at three spatial scales: for each of the 81 subbasins specified by...
Continuous water-quality monitoring and regression analysis to estimate constituent concentrations and loads in the Red River of the North at Fargo and Grand Forks, North Dakota, 2003-12
Joel M. Galloway
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5064
The Red River of the North (hereafter referred to as “Red River”) Basin is an important hydrologic region where water is a valuable resource for the region’s economy. Continuous water-quality monitors have been operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the North Dakota Department of Health, Minnesota Pollution...
Monitoring recharge in areas of seasonally frozen ground in the Columbia Plateau and Snake River Plain, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington
Mark Mastin, Edward Josberger
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5083
Seasonally frozen ground occurs over approximately one‑third of the contiguous United States, causing increased winter runoff. Frozen ground generally rejects potential groundwater recharge. Nearly all recharge from precipitation in semi-arid regions such as the Columbia Plateau and the Snake River Plain in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, occurs between October and...
Brine contamination to aquatic resources from oil and gas development in the Williston Basin, United States
Tara L. Chesley-Preston, James L. Coleman, Robert A. Gleason, Seth S. Haines, Karen E. Jenni, Timothy L. Nieman, Zell E. Peterman, Max Post van der Burg, Todd M. Preston, Bruce D. Smith, Brian A. Tangen, Joanna N. Thamke
Robert A. Gleason, Brian A. Tangen, editor(s)
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5017
The Williston Basin, which includes parts of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the United States and the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Canada, has been a leading domestic oil and gas producing region for more than one-half a century. Currently, there are renewed efforts to develop oil...
Spatial and stratigraphic distribution of water in oil shale of the Green River Formation using Fischer assay, Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado
Ronald C. Johnson, Tracey J. Mercier, Michael E. Brownfield
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5241
The spatial and stratigraphic distribution of water in oil shale of the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin of northwestern Colorado was studied in detail using some 321,000 Fischer assay analyses in the U.S. Geological Survey oil-shale database. The oil-shale section was subdivided into 17 roughly time-stratigraphic intervals,...
Occurrence and hydrogeochemistry of radiochemical constituents in groundwater of Jefferson County and surrounding areas, southwestern Montana, 2007 through 2010
Rodney R. Caldwell, David A. Nimick, Rainie M. DeVaney
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5235
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Jefferson County and the Jefferson Valley Conservation District, sampled groundwater in southwestern Montana to evaluate the occurrence and concentration of naturally-occurring radioactive constituents and to identify geologic settings and environmental conditions in which elevated concentrations occur. A total of 168 samples were collected...
Evaluation of seepage and discharge uncertainty in the middle Snake River, southwestern Idaho
Molly S. Wood, Marshall L. Williams, David M. Evetts, Peter J. Vidmar
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5091
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the State of Idaho, Idaho Power Company, and the Idaho Department of Water Resources, evaluated seasonal seepage gains and losses in selected reaches of the middle Snake River, Idaho, during November 2012 and July 2013, and uncertainty in measured and computed discharge at...
2010 Volcanic activity in Alaska, Kamchatka, and the Kurile Islands: Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
Christina A. Neal, Julie Herrick, O.A. Girina, Marina Chibisova, Alexander Rybin, Robert G. McGimsey, Jim Dixon
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5034
The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) responded to eruptions, possible eruptions, volcanic unrest or suspected unrest at 12 volcanic centers in Alaska during 2010. The most notable volcanic activity consisted of intermittent ash emissions from long-active Cleveland volcano in the Aleutian Islands. AVO staff also participated in hazard communication regarding eruptions...
An analysis of potential water availability from the Charles Mill, Clendening, Piedmont, Pleasant Hill, Senecaville, and Wills Creek Lakes in the Muskingum River Watershed, Ohio
G. F. Koltun
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5071
This report presents the results of a study to assess potential water availability from the Charles Mill, Clendening, Piedmont, Pleasant Hill, Senecaville, and Wills Creek Lakes, located within the Muskingum River Watershed, Ohio. The assessment was based on the criterion that water withdrawals should not appreciably affect maintenance of recreation-season...
Extending the turbidity record: making additional use of continuous data from turbidity, acoustic-Doppler, and laser diffraction instruments and suspended-sediment samples in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon
Nicholas Voichick, David J. Topping
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5097
Turbidity is a measure of the scattering and absorption of light in water, which in rivers is primarily caused by particles, usually sediment, suspended in the water. Turbidity varies significantly with differences in the design of the instrument measuring turbidity, a point that is illustrated in this study by side-by-side...
Proceedings of the U.S. Geological Survey Eighth Biennial Geographic Information Science Workshop and first The National Map Users Conference, Denver, Colorado, May 10-13, 2011
Jennifer B. Sieverling, Jeffrey Dietterle, editor(s)
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5053
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is sponsoring the first The National Map Users Conference in conjunction with the eighth biennial Geographic Information Science (GIS) Workshop on May 10-13, 2011, in Lakewood, Colorado. The GIS Workshop will be held at the USGS National Training Center, located on the Denver Federal Center,...
Simulation of natural flows in major river basins in Alabama
Alexandria M. Hunt, Ana María García
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5021
The Office of Water Resources (OWR) in the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) is charged with the assessment of the State’s water resources. This study developed a watershed model for the major river basins that are within Alabama or that cross Alabama’s borders, which serves as a...
Development of flood-inundation maps for the Mississippi River in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Christiana R. Czuba, James D. Fallon, Corby R. Lewis, Diane F. Cooper
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5079
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.3-mile reach of the Mississippi River in Saint Paul, Minnesota, were developed through a multi-agency effort by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and in collaboration with the National Weather Service. The inundation maps, which can be accessed...
Groundwater levels and water quality during a 96-hour aquifer test in Pickaway County, Ohio, 2012
Ralph J. Haefner, Donna L. Runkle, Brian E. Mailot
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5040
During October–November 2012, a 96-hour aquifer test was performed at a proposed well field in northern Pickaway County, Ohio, to investigate groundwater with elevated nitrate concentrations. Earlier sampling done by the City of Columbus revealed that some wells had concentrations of nitrate that approached 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L), whereas...
Glacial geology of the Shingobee River headwaters area, north-central Minnesota
Robert C. Melchior
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5165
During middle and late Wisconsin time in the Shingobee River headwaters area, the Laurentide Wadena lobe, Hewitt and Itasca phases, produced terminal and ground moraine along with a variety of associated glacial features. The stratigraphic record is accessible and provides details of depositional mode as well as principal glacial events...
Hydrogeology and water quality of the Nanticoke Creek stratified-drift aquifer, near Endicott, New York
Elizabeth A. Kreitinger, William M. Kappel
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5063
The Village of Endicott, New York, is seeking an alternate source of public drinking water with the potential to supplement their current supply, which requires treatment due to legacy contamination. The southerly-draining Nanticoke Creek valley, located north of the village, was identified as a potential water source and the local...
Impacts of white-tailed deer on red trillium (Trillium recurvatum): defining a threshold for deer browsing pressure at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Noel B. Pavlovic, Stacey A. Leicht-Young, Ralph Grundel
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5070
Overabundant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have been a concern for land managers in eastern North America because of their impacts on native forest ecosystems. Managers have sought native plant species to serve as phytoindicators of deer impacts to supplement deer surveys. We analyzed experimental data about red trillium (Trillium recurvatum),...
Creating a monthly time series of the potentiometric surface in the Upper Floridan aquifer, Northern Tampa Bay area, Florida, January 2000-December 2009
Terrie M. Lee, Geoffrey G. Fouad
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5038
In Florida’s karst terrain, where groundwater and surface waters interact, a mapping time series of the potentiometric surface in the Upper Floridan aquifer offers a versatile metric for assessing the hydrologic condition of both the aquifer and overlying streams and wetlands. Long-term groundwater monitoring data were used to generate a...
Water levels and water quality in the Sparta-Memphis aquifer (middle Claiborne aquifer) in Arkansas, spring-summer 2011
T.P. Schrader
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5044
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and the Arkansas Geological Survey, has monitored water levels in the Sparta Sand of Claiborne Group and Memphis Sand of Claiborne Group (herein referred to as “the Sparta Sand” and “the Memphis Sand,” respectively) since the 1920s. Groundwater...
Porphyry copper assessment of eastern Australia
Arthur A. Bookstrom, Richard A. Len, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Gilpin R. Robinson Jr., Michael L. Zientek, Benjamin J. Drenth, Subhash Jaireth, Pamela M. Cossette, John C. Wallis
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-L
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts national and global assessments of resources (mineral, energy, water, and biologic) to provide science in support of decision making. Mineral resource assessments provide syntheses of available information about where mineral deposits are known and suspected to occur in the Earth’s crust and which commodities...
Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the South Coast Interior groundwater basins, 2008: California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Mary C. Parsons, Justin T. Kulongoski, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5023
Groundwater quality in the approximately 653-square-mile (1,691-square-kilometer) South Coast Interior Basins (SCI) study unit was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The South Coast Interior Basins study unit contains eight priority groundwater basins grouped into three study areas, Livermore,...
Origins and delineation of saltwater intrusion in the Biscayne aquifer and changes in the distribution of saltwater in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Scott T. Prinos, Michael A. Wacker, Kevin J. Cunningham, David V. Fitterman
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5025
Intrusion of saltwater into parts of the shallow karst Biscayne aquifer is a major concern for the 2.5 million residents of Miami-Dade County that rely on this aquifer as their primary drinking water supply. Saltwater intrusion of this aquifer began when the Everglades were drained to provide dry land for...
Influence of the Kingak Shale ultimate shelf margin on frontal structures of the Brooks Range in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska
Natalie E. Stier, Christopher D. Connors, David W. Houseknecht
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5056
The Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous Kingak Shale in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) includes several southward-offlapping depositional sequences that culminate in an ultimate shelf margin, which preserves the depositional profile in southern NPRA. The Kingak Shale thins abruptly southward across the ultimate shelf margin and grades into condensed shale, which...
Platinum-group elements in southern Africa: mineral inventory and an assessment of undiscovered mineral resources
Michael L. Zientek, J. Douglas Causey, Heather L. Parks, Robert J. Miller
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-Q
The platinum-group elements, platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, and osmium, possess unique physical and chemical characteristics that make them indispensable to modern technology and industry. However, mineral deposits that are the main sources of these elements occur only in three countries in the world, raising concerns about potential disruption in...
