Basic Statistical Concepts and Methods for Earth Scientists
Ricardo A. Olea
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1017
INTRODUCTION Statistics is the science of collecting, analyzing, interpreting, modeling, and displaying masses of numerical data primarily for the characterization and understanding of incompletely known systems. Over the years, these objectives have lead to a fair amount of analytical work to achieve, substantiate, and guide descriptions and inferences....
Lithofacies, Age, and Sequence Stratigraphy of the Carboniferous Lisburne Group in the Skimo Creek Area, Central Brooks Range
Julie A. Dumoulin, Michael T. Whalen, Anita G. Harris
2008, Professional Paper 1739-B
The Lisburne Group, a mainly Carboniferous carbonate succession that is widely distributed across northern Alaska, contains notable amounts of oil and gas at Prudhoe Bay. Detailed studies of the Lisburne in the Skimo Creek area, central Brooks Range, delineate its lithofacies, age, conodont biofacies, depositional environments, and sequence stratigraphy and...
Physiographically sensitive mapping of climatological temperature and precipitation across the conterminous United States
Christopher Daly, Michael Halbleib, Joseph I. Smith, Wayne P. Gibson, Matthew K. Doggett, George H. Taylor, Jan Curtis, Phil Pasteris
2008, International Journal of Climatology (28) 2031-2064
Spatial climate data sets of 1971–2000 mean monthly precipitation and minimum and maximum temperature were developed for the conterminous United States. These 30‐arcsec (∼800‐m) grids are the official spatial climate data sets of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The PRISM (Parameter‐elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model) interpolation method was used...
Advancing process‐based watershed hydrological research using near‐surface geophysics: A vision for, and review of, electrical and magnetic geophysical methods
D.A. Robinson, A. Binley, N. Crook, F. D. Day-Lewis, T. P. A Ferre, V. J. S. Grauch, R. Knight, M. Knoll, V. Lakshmi, R. Miller, J. Nyquist, L. Pellerin, K. Singha, L. Slater
2008, Hydrological Processes (22) 3604-3635
We want to develop a dialogue between geophysicists and hydrologists interested in synergistically advancing process based watershed research. We identify recent advances in geophysical instrumentation, and provide a vision for the use of electrical and magnetic geophysical instrumentation in watershed scale hydrology. The focus of the paper is to identify...
GAP Analysis Bulletin Number 15
Jill Maxwell, Kevin Gergely, Jocelyn Aycrigg, Gabrielle Canonico, Anne Davidson, Nicole Coffey
2008, GAP Bulletin 15
The Mission of the Gap Analysis Project (GAP) <http://gapanalysis.nbii.gov> is to promote conservation by providing broad geographic information on biological diversity to resource managers, planners, and policy makers who can use the information to make informed decisions. As part of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) <http://www.nbii.gov>?a collaborative program to...
Head Observation Organizer (HObO)
Steven Predmore
2008, Open-File Report 2007-1383
The Head Observation Organizer, HObO, is a computer program that stores and manages measured ground-water levels. HObO was developed to help ground-water modelers compile, manage, and document water-level data needed to calibrate ground-water models. Well-construction and water-level data from the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Database (NWIS) easily can be...
Determination of premining geochemical background and delineation of extent of sediment contamination in Blue Creek downstream from Midnite Mine, Stevens County, Washington
Stan E. Church, Frederick E. Kirschner, LaDonna M. Choate, Paul J. Lamothe, James R. Budahn, Zoe Ann Brown
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5262
Geochemical and radionuclide studies of sediment recovered from eight core sites in the Blue Creek flood plain and Blue Creek delta downstream in Lake Roosevelt provided a stratigraphic geochemical record of the contamination from uranium mining at the Midnite Mine. Sediment recovered from cores in a wetland immediately downstream from...
Hydrogeology and water quality of the Leetown area, West Virginia
Mark D. Kozar, Kurt J. McCoy, David J. Weary, Malcolm S. Field, Herbert A. Pierce, William Bane Schill, John A. Young
2008, Open-File Report 2007-1358
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Leetown Science Center and the co-located U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture both depend on large volumes of cold clean ground water to support research operations at their facilities. Currently, ground-water demands are provided by three springs and two standby...
Algal Attributes: An Autecological Classification of Algal Taxa Collected by the National Water-Quality Assessment Program
Stephen D. Porter
2008, Data Series 329
Algae are excellent indicators of water-quality conditions, notably nutrient and organic enrichment, and also are indicators of major ion, dissolved oxygen, and pH concentrations and stream microhabitat conditions. The autecology, or physiological optima and tolerance, of algal species for various water-quality contaminants and conditions is relatively well understood for certain...
Calibration of a water-quality model for low-flow conditions on the Red River of the North at Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota, 2003
Robert F. Lundgren, Rochelle A. Nustad
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5007
A time-of-travel and reaeration-rate study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the North Dakota Department of Health, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and the cities of Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota, to provide information to calibrate a water-quality model for streamflows of less than 150...
Geomorphic map of Worcester County, Maryland, interpreted from a LIDAR-based, digital elevation model
Wayne L. Newell, Inga E. Clark
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1005
A recently compiled mosaic of a LIDAR-based digital elevation model (DEM) is presented with geomorphic analysis of new macro-topographic details. The geologic framework of the surficial and near surface late Cenozoic deposits of the central uplands, Pocomoke River valley, and the Atlantic Coast includes Cenozoic to recent sediments...
Near-shore and off-shore habitat use by endangered juvenile Lost River and Shortnose Suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon: 2006 data summary
Summer M. Burdick, Alexander X. Wilkens, Scott P. VanderKooi
2008, Open-File Report 2007-1356
Lost River suckers Deltistes luxatus and shortnose suckers Chasmistes brevirostris , listed as endangered in 1988 under the Endangered Species Act, have shown infrequent recruitment into adult populations in Upper Klamath Lake (NRC 2004). In an effort to understand the causes behind and provide management solutions to apparent recruitment failure,...
Geologic and Geophysical Framework of the Santa Rosa 7.5' Quadrangle, Sonoma County, California
R. J. McLaughlin, V.E. Langenheim, A.M. Sarna-Wojcicki, R.J. Fleck, D.K. McPhee, C. W. Roberts, C.A. McCabe, Elmira Wan
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1009
The geologic and geophysical maps of Santa Rosa 7.5? quadrangle and accompanying structure sections portray the sedimentary and volcanic stratigraphy and crustal structure of the Santa Rosa 7.5? quadrangle and provide a context for interpreting the evolution of volcanism and active faulting in this region. The quadrangle is located in...
Chemical Analyses of Pre-Holocene Rocks from Medicine Lake Volcano and Vicinity, Northern California
Julie M. Donnelly-Nolan
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1094
Chemical analyses are presented in an accompanying table (Table 1) for more than 600 pre-Holocene rocks collected at and near Medicine Lake Volcano, northern California. The data include major-element X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses for all of the rocks plus XRF trace element data for most samples, and instrumental neutron activation...
Private Domestic-Well Characteristics and the Distribution of Domestic Withdrawals among Aquifers in the Virginia Coastal Plain
Jason P. Pope, Randolph E. McFarland, R. Brent Banks
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5250
A comprehensive analysis of private domestic wells and self-supplied domestic ground-water withdrawals in the Coastal Plain Physiographic Province of Virginia indicates that the magnitudes of these withdrawals and their effects on local and regional ground-water flow are larger and more important than previous reports have stated. Self-supplied ground-water withdrawals for...
Ecosystem Services Derived from Wetland Conservation Practices in the United States Prairie Pothole Region with an Emphasis on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve and Wetlands Reserve Programs
Robert A. Gleason, Murray K. Laubhan, Ned H. Euliss Jr.
2008, Professional Paper 1745
Implementation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) has resulted in the restoration of approximately 2,200,000 ha (5,436,200 acres) of wetland and grassland habitats in the Prairie Pothole Region. These restored habitats are known to provide various ecosystem services; however, little...
Compilation of Stratigraphic Thicknesses for Caldera-Related Tertiary Volcanic Rocks, East-Central Nevada and West-Central Utah
D. S. Sweetkind, E. A. Du Bray
2008, Data Series 271
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Desert Research Institute (DRI), and a designee from the State of Utah are currently conducting a water-resources study of aquifers in White Pine County, Nevada, and adjacent areas in Nevada and Utah, in response to concerns about water availability and limited geohydrologic information relevant...
Estimating Water Fluxes Across the Sediment-Water Interface in the Lower Merced River, California
Celia Zamora
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5216
The lower Merced River Basin was chosen by the U.S. Geological Survey?s (USGS) National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) to be included in a national study on how hydrological processes and agricultural practices interact to affect the transport and fate of agricultural chemicals. As part of this effort, surface-water?ground-water (sw?gw)...
Preliminary integrated geologic map databases for the United States: Digital data for the reconnaissance geologic map for the Kuskokwim Bay region of southwest Alaska
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1001
INTRODUCTION The growth in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has highlighted the need for digital geologic maps that have been attributed with information about age and lithology. Such maps can be conveniently used to generate derivative maps for manifold special purposes such as mineral-resource assessment, metallogenic studies, tectonic studies,...
Preliminary integrated geologic map databases for the United States: Digital data for the reconnaissance geologic map for Prince William Sound and the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1002
The growth in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has highlighted the need for digital geologic maps that have been attributed with information about age and lithology. Such maps can be conveniently used to generate derivative maps for manifold special purposes such as mineral-resource assessment, metallogenic studies, tectonic studies,...
Real-Time and Delayed Analysis of Tree and Shrub Cores as Indicators of Subsurface Volatile Organic Compound Contamination, Durham Meadows Superfund Site, Durham, Connecticut, August 29, 2006
Don A. Vroblesky, Richard E. Willey, Scott Clifford, James J. Murphy
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5212
This study examined volatile organic compound concentrations in cores from trees and shrubs for use as indicators of vadose-zone contamination or potential vapor intrusion by volatile organic compounds into buildings at the Durham Meadows Superfund Site, Durham, Connecticut. The study used both (1) real-time tree- and shrub-core analysis, which involved...
Retrospective Review of Watershed Characteristics and a Framework for Future Research in the Sarasota Bay Watershed, Florida
George R. Kish, Arnell S. Harrison, Mark Alderson
2008, Open-File Report 2007-1349
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program conducted a retrospective review of characteristics of the Sarasota Bay watershed in west-central Florida. This report describes watershed characteristics, surface- and ground-water processes, and the environmental setting of the Sarasota Bay watershed. Population growth during the last 50 years...
Gathering, organizing, and accessing data for use in bird conservation across the Americas
Elizabeth Martin, Bruce G. Peterjohn, Steve Kelling
Terrell D. Rich, editor(s)
2008, Conference Paper, Tundra to tropics: Connecting birds, habitats and people, proceedings of the fourth International Partners in Flight Conference
The U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) Monitoring Subcommittee (2007) identified the need for a comprehensive plan for integrating and managing bird population monitoring data, and to adapt this as an integral component for improving monitoring activities across North America. While the Subcommittee provided a basic framework to begin...
Time-averaged near-bed suspended sediment concentrations under waves and currents: Comparison of measured and model estimates
D.A. Cacchione, P.D. Thorne, Y Agrawal, N.J. Nidzieko
2008, Article
Profiles of suspended sediment concentration and velocity were measured over a 15-day period at a near-shore site off Santa Cruz, CA in Monterey Bay. The concentration and velocity data were collected with an Acoustic Backscattering System (ABS) and Acoustic Current Profiler (ACP) that were mounted on a bottom tripod. High-resolution...
Catalog of earthquake hypocenters at Alaskan volcanoes: January 1 through December 31, 2006
James P. Dixon, Scott D. Stihler, John A. Power, Cheryl Searcy
2008, Data Series 326
Between January 1 and December 31, 2006, AVO located 8,666 earthquakes of which 7,783 occurred on or near the 33 volcanoes monitored within Alaska. Monitoring highlights in 2006 include: an eruption of Augustine Volcano, a volcanic-tectonic earthquake swarm at Mount Martin, elevated seismicity and volcanic unrest at Fourpeaked Mountain, and...
