Summary of annual mean and annual harmonic mean statistics of daily mean streamflow for 620 U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations in Texas through water year 2007
William H. Asquith, Franklin T. Heitmuller
2008, Data Series 372
Analysts and managers of surface-water resources have interest in annual mean and annual harmonic mean statistics of daily mean streamflow for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow-gaging stations in Texas. The mean streamflow represents streamflow volume, whereas the harmonic mean streamflow represents an appropriate statistic for assessing constituent concentrations that might...
Relational database for the geology of the northern Rocky Mountains— Idaho, Montana, and Washington
J. Douglas Causey, Michael L. Zientek, Arthur A. Bookstrom, Thomas P. Frost, Karl V. Evans, Anna B. Wilson, Bradley S. Van Gosen, David E. Boleneus, Rebecca A. Pitts
2008, Data Series 371
A relational database was created to prepare and organize geologic map-unit and lithologic descriptions for input into a spatial database for the geology of the northern Rocky Mountains, a compilation of forty-three geologic maps for parts of Idaho, Montana, and Washington in U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 2005-1235. Not...
Description of Existing Data for Integrated Landscape Monitoring in the Puget Sound Basin, Washington
Danielle P. Aiello, Alicia A. Torregrosa, Allyson L. Jason, Tracy L. Fuentes, Edward G. Josberger
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1308
This report summarizes existing geospatial data and monitoring programs for the Puget Sound Basin in northwestern Washington. This information was assembled as a preliminary data-development task for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Puget Sound Integrated Landscape Monitoring (PSILM) pilot project. The PSILM project seeks to support natural resource decision-making by...
A Bernoulli Formulation of the Land-Use Portfolio Model
Richard A. Champion
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1310
Decision making for natural-hazards mitigation can be sketched as knowledge available in advance (a priori), knowledge available later (a posteriori), and how consequences of the mitigation decision might be viewed once future outcomes are known. Two outcomes - mitigating for a hazard event that will occur, and not mitigating for...
Applying the land use portfolio model to estimate natural-hazard loss and risk — A hypothetical demonstration for Ventura County, California
Laura B. Dinitz
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1309
With costs of natural disasters skyrocketing and populations increasingly settling in areas vulnerable to natural hazards, society is challenged to better allocate its limited risk-reduction resources. In 2000, Congress passed the Disaster Mitigation Act, amending the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief...
Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Breeding Site and Territory Summary - 2007
Scott L. Durst, Mark K. Sogge, Shay D. Stump, Hira A. Walker, Barbara E. Kus, Susan J. Sferra
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1303
The Southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus; hereafter references to willow flycatcher and flycatcher refer to E.t. extimus, except where specifically noted) is an endangered bird that breeds only in dense riparian habitats in parts of six Southwestern states (Arizona, New Mexico, southern California, extreme southern Nevada, southern Utah, and...
Mormon cricket control in Utah's west desert - Evaluation of impacts of the pesticide Diflubenzuron on nontarget arthropod communities
Tim B. Graham, Anne M.D. Brasher, Rebecca N. Close
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1305
Grasshopper and Mormon cricket (Orthoptera) populations periodically build to extremely high numbers and can cause significant economic damage in rangelands and agricultural fields of the Great Plains and Intermountain West. A variety of insecticides have been applied to control population outbreaks, with recent efforts directed at minimizing impacts to nontarget...
Major- and trace-element concentrations in soils from northern California: Results from the Geochemical Landscapes Project pilot study
Jean M. Morrison, Martin B. Goldhaber, JoAnn M. Holloway, David B. Smith
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1306
In 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), and the Mexican Geological Survey (Servicio Geologico Mexicano, or SGM) initiated pilot studies in preparation for a soil geochemical survey of North America called the Geochemical Landscapes Project. The purpose of this project is to provide...
Total mercury, methylmercury, methylmercury production potential, and ancillary streambed-sediment and pore-water data for selected streams in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida, 2003-04
Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Michelle A. Lutz, David P. Krabbenhoft, George R. Aiken, William H. Orem, Britt D. Hall, John F. DeWild, Mark E. Brigham
2008, Data Series 375
Mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystems is an issue of national concern, affecting both wildlife and human health. Detailed information on mercury cycling and food-web bioaccumulation in stream settings and the factors that control these processes is currently limited. In response, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA)...
Occurrence of endocrine active compounds and biological responses in the Mississippi River— Study design and data, June through August 2006
Kathy Lee, Christine S. Yaeger, Nathan D. Jahns, Heiko L. Schoenfuss
2008, Data Series 368
Concern that selected chemicals in the environment may act as endocrine active compounds in aquatic ecosystems is widespread; however, few studies have examined the occurrence of endocrine active compounds and identified biological markers of endocrine disruption such as intersex occurrence in fish longitudinally in a river system. This report presents...
Collection and analysis of samples for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in dust and other solids related to sealed and unsealed pavement from 10 cities across the United States, 2005-07
Peter C. Van Metre, Barbara Mahler, Jennifer T. Wilson, Teresa L. Burbank
2008, Data Series 361
Parking lots and driveways are dominant features of the modern urban landscape, and in the United States, sealcoat is widely used on these surfaces. One of the most widely used types of sealcoat contains refined coal tar; coal-tar-based sealcoat products have a mean polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentration of about...
Estimation of potential bridge scour at bridges on state routes in South Dakota, 2003-07
Ryan F. Thompson, Ryan L. Fosness
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5161
Flowing water can erode (scour) soils and cause structural failure of a bridge by exposing or undermining bridge foundations (abutments and piers). A rapid scour-estimation technique, known as the level-1.5 method and developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, was used to evaluate potential scour at bridges in South Dakota in...
Potentiometric Surface of the Ozark Aquifer in Northern Arkansas, 2007
Aaron L. Pugh
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5137
The Ozark aquifer in northern Arkansas is composed of dolomite, limestone, sandstone, and shale of Late Cambrian to Middle Devonian age, and ranges in thickness from approximately 1,100 feet to more than 4,000 feet. Hydrologically, the aquifer is complex, characterized by discrete and discontinuous flow components with large variations in...
WHE-PAGER Project: A new initiative in estimating global building inventory and its seismic vulnerability
K.A. Porter, K. S. Jaiswal, D.J. Wald, M. Greene, Craig Comartin
2008, Conference Paper, The 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquake’s Response (PAGER) Project and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute’s World Housing Encyclopedia (WHE) are creating a global database of building stocks and their earthquake vulnerability. The WHE already represents a growing, community-developed public database of global housing and its detailed...
Rapid exposure and loss estimates for the May 12, 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake provided by the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system
P.S. Earle, D.J. Wald, T.I. Allen, K. S. Jaiswal, K.A. Porter, M.G. Hearne
2008, Book, The 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
One half-hour after the May 12th Mw 7.9 Wenchuan, China earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) system distributed an automatically generated alert stating that 1.2 million people were exposed to severe-to-extreme shaking (Modified Mercalli Intensity VIII or greater). It was immediately clear that...
Controls on alluvial fan long-profiles
J. D. Stock, K. M. Schmidt, D. M. Miller
2008, Geological Society of America Bulletin (120) 619-640
Water and debris flows exiting confined valleys have a tendency to deposit sediment on steep fans. On alluvial fans where water transport of gravel predominates, channel slopes tend to decrease downfan from ~0.10–0.04 to ~0.01 across wide ranges of climate and tectonism. Some have argued that this pattern reflects grain-size...
Total Mercury, Methylmercury, and Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Data for Biota from Selected Streams in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida, 2002-04
Lia C. Chasar, Barbara C. Scudder, Amanda H. Bell, Dennis A. Wentz, Mark E. Brigham
2008, Data Series 349
The U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program conducted a multidisciplinary study to investigate the bioaccumulation of mercury from 2002 to 2004. Study areas were located in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida. Each study area included one urban site, and one or two nonurban sites that had the following attributes: high-percent...
Geographic Names of Iceland's Glaciers: Historic and Modern
Oddur Sigurdsson, Richard S. Williams Jr.
2008, Professional Paper 1746
Climatic changes and resulting glacier fluctuations alter landscapes. In the past, such changes were noted by local residents who often documented them in historic annals; eventually, glacier variations were recorded on maps and scientific reports. In Iceland, 10 glacier place-names are to be found in Icelandic sagas, and one of...
GIS Representation of Coal-Bearing Areas in North, Central, and South America
Susan J. Tewalt, Scott A. Kinney, Matthew D. Merrill
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1257
Worldwide coal consumption and international coal trade are projected to increase in the next several decades (Energy Information Administration, 2007). A search of existing literature indicates that in the Western Hemisphere, coal resources are known to occur in about 30 countries. The need exists to be able to depict these...
GIS Representation of Coal-Bearing Areas in Africa
Matthew D. Merrill, Susan J. Tewalt
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1258
The African continent contains approximately 5 percent of the world's proven recoverable reserves of coal (World Energy Council, 2007). Energy consumption in Africa is projected to grow at an annual rate of 2.3 percent from 2004 through 2030, while average consumption in first-world nations is expected to rise at 1.4...
Protocol for monitoring metals in Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri: Version 1.0
Christopher J. Schmitt, William G. Brumbaugh, John M. Besser, Jo Ellen Hinck, David E. Bowles, Lloyd W. Morrison, Michael H. Williams
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1269
The National Park Service is developing a monitoring plan for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in southeastern Missouri. Because of concerns about the release of lead, zinc, and other metals from lead-zinc mining to streams, the monitoring plan will include mining-related metals. After considering a variety of alternatives, the plan...
Streamflow and Topographic Characteristics of the Platte River near Grand Island, Nebraska, 1938-2007
Brenda K. Woodward
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5106
The central Platte River is a dynamic, braided, sand-bed river located near Grand Island, Nebraska. An understanding of the Platte River channel characteristics, hydrologic flow patterns, and geomorphic conditions is important for the operation and management of water resources by the City of Grand Island. The north channel of the...
Statistical Stationarity of Sediment Interbed Thicknesses in a Basalt Aquifer, Idaho National Laboratory, Eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho
Caleb N. Stroup, John A. Welhan, Linda C. Davis
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5167
The statistical stationarity of distributions of sedimentary interbed thicknesses within the southwestern part of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) was evaluated within the stratigraphic framework of Quaternary sediments and basalts at the INL site, eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho. The thicknesses of 122 sedimentary interbeds observed in 11 coreholes were...
Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho: Insights gained From limnological studies of 1991-92 and 2004-06
Molly S. Wood, Michael A. Beckwith
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5168
More than 100 years of mining and processing of metal-rich ores in northern Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene River basin have resulted in widespread metal contamination of the basin’s soil, sediment, water, and biota, including Coeur d’Alene Lake. Previous studies reported that about 85 percent of the bottom of Coeur d’Alene...
Recovery of Ground-Water Levels from 1988 to 2003 and Analysis of Effects of 2003 and Full-Allocation Withdrawals in Critical Area 2, Southern New Jersey
Frederick J. Spitz, Vincent T. dePaul
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5142
Water levels in the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system within Water Supply Critical Area 2 in the southern New Jersey Coastal Plain have recovered as a result of reductions in ground-water withdrawals initiated in the early 1990s. The Critical Area consists of the depleted zone and the threatened margin. The Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer...
