Geochemical data for Upper Mineral Creek, Colorado, under existing ambient conditions and during an experimental pH modification, August 2005
Robert L. Runkel, Briant A. Kimball, Judy I. Steiger, Katherine Walton-Day
2009, Data Series 442
Mineral Creek, an acid mine drainage stream in south-western Colorado, was the subject of a water-quality study that employed a paired synoptic approach. Under the paired synoptic approach, two synoptic sampling campaigns were conducted on the same study reach. The initial synoptic campaign, conducted August 22, 2005, documented stream-water quality...
Recharge rates and chemistry beneath playas of the High Plains aquifer: A literature review and synthesis
Jason J. Gurdak, Cassia D. Roe
2009, Circular 1333
Playas are ephemeral, closed-basin wetlands that are important zones of recharge to the High Plains (or Ogallala) aquifer and critical habitat for birds and other wildlife in the otherwise semiarid, shortgrass prairie and agricultural landscape. The ephemeral nature of playas, low regional recharge rates, and a strong reliance on ground...
Potentiometric Surface of the Magothy Aquifer in Southern Maryland, September 2007
Stephen E. Curtin, David C. Andreasen, Andrew W. Staley
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1082
This report presents a map showing the potentiometric surface of the Magothy aquifer in the Magothy Formation of Late Cretaceous age in Southern Maryland during September 2007. The map is based on water-level measurements in 69 wells. The highest measured water level was 85 feet above sea level near the...
Navigability potential of Washington rivers and streams determined with hydraulic geometry and a geographic information system
Christopher S. Magirl, Theresa D. Olsen
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5122
Using discharge and channel geometry measurements from U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations and data from a geographic information system, regression relations were derived to predict river depth, top width, and bottom width as a function of mean annual discharge for rivers in the State of Washington. A new technique also...
An integrated approach to benthic habitat mapping using remote sensing and GIS: An example from the Hawaiian Islands
A. E. Gibbs, Susan A. Cochran
X. Yang, editor(s)
2009, Book chapter, Remote sensing and geospatial technologies for coastal ecosystem assessment and management: Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography
This chapter documents our effort to map benthic habitats within the KalokoHonokohau National Historic Park, Hawai`i, USA. We produce detailed benthichabitat maps by using a combination of color aerial photography, high-resolution bathymetry, and georeferenced underwater video and still photography. We classify individual habitat polygons using five basic attributes and additional...
SPARROW MODELING - Enhancing Understanding of the Nation's Water Quality
Stephen D. Preston, Richard B. Alexander, Michael D. Woodside, Pixie A. Hamilton
2009, Fact Sheet 2009-3019
The information provided here is intended to assist water-resources managers with interpretation of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) SPARROW model and its products. SPARROW models can be used to explain spatial patterns in monitored stream-water quality in relation to human activities and natural processes as defined by detailed geospatial information....
Assessing the Vulnerability of Public-Supply Wells to Contamination: Central Valley Aquifer System near Modesto, California
Martha L. Jagucki, Bryant C. Jurgens, Karen R. Burow, Sandra M. Eberts
2009, Fact Sheet 2009-3036
This fact sheet highlights findings from the vulnerability study of a public-supply well in Modesto, California. The well selected for study pumps on average about 1,600 gallons per minute from the Central Valley aquifer system during peak summer demand. Water samples were collected at the public-supply well and at monitoring...
Global Positioning System surveys of storm-surge sensors deployed during Hurricane Ike, Seadrift, Texas, to Lake Charles, Louisiana, 2008
Jason Payne, Brenda K. Woodward, John B. Storm
2009, Data Series 435
The U.S. Geological Survey installed a network of pressure sensors at 65 sites along the Gulf Coast from Seadrift, Texas, northeast to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to record the timing, areal extent, and magnitude of inland storm surge and coastal flooding caused by Hurricane Ike in September 2008. A Global Positioning...
High-Resolution Seismic-Reflection and Marine Magnetic Data Along the Hosgri Fault Zone, Central California
Ray W. Sliter, Peter J. Triezenberg, Patrick E. Hart, Janet T. Watt, Samuel Y. Johnson, Daniel S. Scheirer
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1100
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected high-resolution shallow seismic-reflection and marine magnetic data in June 2008 in the offshore areas between the towns of Cayucos and Pismo Beach, Calif., from the nearshore (~6-m depth) to just west of the Hosgri Fault Zone (~200-m depth). These data are in support of...
The framework of a coastal hazards model: A tool for predicting the impact of severe storms
Patrick L. Barnard, Bill O’Reilly, Maarten van Ormondt, Edwin Elias, Peter Ruggiero, Li H. Erikson, Cheryl Hapke, Brian D. Collins, Robert T. Guza, Peter N. Adams, Julie Thomas
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1073
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project in Southern California (Jones and others, 2007) is a five-year project (FY2007-FY2011) integrating multiple USGS research activities with the needs of external partners, such as emergency managers and land-use planners, to produce products and information that can be used to create more...
The Partition Intervalometer: A Programmable Underwater Timer for Marking Accumulated Sediment Profiles Collected in Anderson Sediment Traps: Development, Operation, Testing Procedures, and Field Results
Richard R. Rendigs, Roger Y. Anderson, Jingping Xu, Raymond E. Davis, Emile M. Bergeron
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1101
This manual illustrates the development of a programmable instrument designed to deploy a series of wafer-shaped discs (partitions) into the collection tube of a sediment trap in various aquatic environments. These hydrodynamically shaped discs are deployed at discrete time intervals from the Intervalometer and provide markers that delineate time intervals...
Geophysical Interpretations of the Southern Espanola Basin, New Mexico, That Contribute to Understanding Its Hydrogeologic Framework
V. J. S. Grauch, Jeffrey D. Phillips, Daniel Koning, Peggy S. Johnson, Viki Bankey
2009, Professional Paper 1761
The southern Espanola basin consists of a westward- and northward-thickening wedge of rift fill, composed primarily of Santa Fe Group sediments, that serves as an important aquifer for the city of Santa Fe and surrounding areas. Detailed aeromagnetic surveys were flown to better understand ground-water resources in this aquifer....
Filling a void: abundance estimation of North American populations of arctic geese using hunter recoveries
R.T. Alisauskas, K.L. Drake, J.D. Nichols
David L. Thomson, Evan G. Cooch, Michael J. Conroy, editor(s)
2009, Book chapter, Modeling demographic processes in marked populations
We consider use of recoveries of marked birds harvested by hunters, in conjunction with continental harvest estimates, for drawing inferences about continental abundance of a select number of goose species. We review assumptions of this method, a version of the Lincoln?Petersen approach, and consider its utility as a tool...
Methods for assessing the conservation value of rivers
P.J. Boon, Mary C. Freeman
P.J. Boon, C. M. Pringle, editor(s)
2009, Book chapter, Assessing the Conservation Value of Fresh Waters: An International Perspective
Analysis of Effects of 2003 and Full-Allocation Withdrawals in Critical Area 1, East-Central New Jersey
Frederick J. Spitz
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1104
Critical Area 1 in east-central New Jersey was mandated in the early 1980s to address large drawdowns caused by increases in groundwater withdrawals. The aquifers involved include the Englishtown aquifer system, Wenonah-Mount Laurel aquifer, and the Upper and Middle Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifers. Groundwater levels recovered as a result of mandated cutbacks...
Klamath River Water Quality Data from Link River Dam to Keno Dam, Oregon, 2008
Annett B. Sullivan, Michael L. Deas, Jessica Asbill, Julie D. Kirshtein, Kenna D. Butler, Jennifer Vaughn
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1105
This report documents sampling and analytical methods and presents field data from a second year of an ongoing study on the Klamath River from Link River Dam to Keno Dam in south central Oregon; this dataset will form the basis of a hydrodynamic and water quality model. Water quality was...
Acid neutralizing capacity and leachate results for igneous rocks, with associated carbon contents of derived soils, Animas River AML site, Silverton, Colorado
Douglas B. Yager, Mark R. Stanton, LaDonna M. Choate, Alison Burchell Alison
2009, Conference Paper, 26th annual meetings of the American Society of Mining and Reclamation and 11th Billings Land Reclamation Symposium 2009 : Billings, Montana, USA, 30 May-5 June 2009
Mine planning efforts have historically overlooked the possible acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) that local igneous rocks can provide to help neutralize acidmine drainage. As a result, limestone has been traditionally hauled to mine sites for use in neutralizing acid drainage. Local igneous rocks, when used as part of mine life-cycle...
Spatially referenced statistical assessment of dissolved-solids load sources and transport in streams of the Upper Colorado River Basin
Terry A. Kenney, Steven J. Gerner, Susan G. Buto, Lawrence E. Spangler
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5007
The Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) discharges more than 6 million tons of dissolved solids annually, about 40 to 45 percent of which are attributed to agricultural activities. The U.S. Department of the Interior estimates economic damages related to salinity in excess of $330 million annually in the Colorado River...
Relation between Streamflow of Swiftcurrent Creek, Montana, and the Geometry of Passage for Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus)
Gregor T. Auble, Christopher L. Holmquist-Johnson, Jim T. Mogen, Lynn R. Kaeding, Zachary H. Bowen
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5100
Operation of Sherburne Dam in northcentral Montana has typically reduced winter streamflow in Swiftcurrent Creek downstream of the dam and resulted in passage limitations for bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). We defined an empirical relation between discharge in Swiftcurrent Creek between Sherburne Dam and the downstream confluence with Boulder Creek and...
Social and Economic Considerations for Coastal and Watershed Restoration in the Puget Sound, Washington: A Literature Review
Holly M. Stinchfield, Lynne Koontz, Natalie R. Sexton
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1079
This literature review summarizes and synthesizes the available information regarding the impacts of socioeconomic factors on coastal and watershed restoration in the Puget Sound, Wash. Major topic areas which are explored include: institutions and restoration; beliefs, behaviors, and knowledge about restoration and the environment; stakeholder involvement in restoration, communication of...
Water Quality in the High Plains Aquifer, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming, 1999-2004
Jason J. Gurdak, Peter B. McMahon, Kevin Dennehy, Sharon L. Qi
2009, Circular 1337
This report contains the major findings of a 1999-2004 assessment of water quality in the High Plains aquifer. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings for principal and other aquifers and major river basins across the Nation. In...
Experimental removal of wetland emergent vegetation leads to decreased methylmercury production in surface sediment
Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, David P. Krabbenhoft, Jennifer L. Agee, Marisa H. Cox, Pilar Heredia-Middleton, Carolyn Coates, Evangelos Kakouros
2009, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (114) 1-14
We performed plant removal (devegetation) experiments across a suite of ecologically diverse wetland settings (tidal salt marshes, river floodplain, rotational rice fields, and freshwater wetlands with permanent or seasonal flooding) to determine the extent to which the presence (or absence) of actively growing plants influences the activity of the Hg(II)-methylating...
Feeding ecology of long-tailed ducks Clangula hyemalis wintering on the Nantucket Shoals
Timothy P. White, Richard R. Veit, Matthew C. Perry
2009, Waterbirds (32) 293-299
A substantial proportion, perhaps 30%, of the North American breeding population of Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis) winter in the vicinity of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. These birds spend the night on Nantucket Sound and commute during daylight hours to the Nantucket Shoals, which extend about 65 km offshore from the southeastern...
Biofuels, water resources and climate change: Solving the sustainability puzzle
Ralph Holzfaster, Duane Kristensen, Todd Sneller, Larry L. Tieszen, Kenneth Cassman
2009, Conference Paper, Proceedings from the 2008 climate change workshop
Nebraska is now the second-largest producer of corn ethanol in the U.S. This is largely because of the state’s comparative advantages. For one, the state’s water resources enable a huge capacity for irrigation – Nebraska ranks second in irrigated crop acres, behind California. Nebraska is the third-largest corn producer in...
Occurrence and distribution of iron, manganese, and selected trace elements in ground water in the glacial aquifer system of the northern United States
George E. Groschen, Terri Arnold, William S. Morrow, Kelly L. Warner
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5006
Dissolved trace elements, including iron and manganese, are often an important factor in use of ground water for drinking-water supplies in the glacial aquifer system of the United States. The glacial aquifer system underlies most of New England, extends through the Midwest, and underlies portions of the Pacific Northwest and...
