Oceanographic controls on sedimentary and geochemical facies on the Peru outer shelf and upper slope
Michael A. Arthur, Walter E. Dean
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1105
Concentrations and characteristics of organic matter in surface sediments deposited under an intense oxygen-minimum zone (OMZ) on the Peru margin were mapped and studied in samples from deck-deployed box cores and push cores acquired by submersible on two east-west transects spanning depths of 75 to 1,000 meters (m) at 12°S...
Emergency assessment of post-fire debris-flow hazards for the 2013 Powerhouse fire, southern California
Dennis M. Staley, Gregory M. Smoczyk, Ryan R. Reeves
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1248
Wildfire dramatically alters the hydrologic response of a watershed such that even modest rainstorms can produce dangerous flash floods and debris flows. Existing empirical models were used to predict the probability and magnitude of debris-flow occurrence in response to a 10-year recurrence interval rainstorm for the 2013 Powerhouse fire near...
Emergency assessment of post-fire debris-flow hazards for the 2013 Mountain fire, southern California
Dennis M. Staley, Joseph E. Gartner, Greg M. Smoczyk, Ryan R. Reeves
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1249
Wildfire dramatically alters the hydrologic response of a watershed such that even modest rainstorms can produce dangerous flash floods and debris flows. We use empirical models to predict the probability and magnitude of debris flow occurrence in response to a 10-year rainstorm for the 2013 Mountain fire near Palm Springs,...
Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science research plan 2013-18
E. Lynn Usery
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1189
The U.S. Geological Survey Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) was created in 2006 and since that time has provided research primarily in support of The National Map. The presentations and publications of the CEGIS researchers document the research accomplishments that include advances in electronic topographic map design,...
Seasonal flux and assemblage composition of planktic foraminifera from the northern Gulf of Mexico, 2008-2012
Caitlin E. Reynolds, Julie N. Richey, Richard Z. Poore
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1243
The U.S. Geological Survey anchored a sediment trap in the northern Gulf of Mexico beginning in 2008 to collect seasonal time-series data on the flux and assemblage composition of live planktic foraminifers. This report provides an update of the previous time-series data to include results from 2012. Ten species, or...
Partnering for science: proceedings of the USGS Workshop on Citizen Science
Megan Hines, Abigail Benson, David Govoni, Derek Masaki, Barbara Poore, Annie Simpson, Steven Tessler
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1234
What U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) programs use citizen science? How can projects be best designed while meeting policy requirements? What are the most effective volunteer recruitment methods? What data should be collected to ensure validation and how should data be stored? What standard protocols are most easily used by volunteers?...
Design tradeoffs for trend assessment in aquatic biological monitoring programs
Martin E. Gurtz, John Van Sickle, Daren M. Carlisle, Steven G. Paulsen
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1222
Assessments of long-term (multiyear) temporal trends in biological monitoring programs are generally undertaken without an adequate understanding of the temporal variability of biological communities. When the sources and levels of variability are unknown, managers cannot make informed choices in sampling design to achieve monitoring goals in a cost-effective manner. We...
Meeting of the Central and Eastern U.S. (CEUS) Earthquake Hazards Program October 28–29, 2009
Martitia Tuttle, Oliver Boyd, Natasha McCallister
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1155
On October 28th and 29th, 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program held a meeting of Central and Eastern United States investigators and interested parties in Memphis, Tennessee. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together the Central and Eastern United States earthquake-hazards community to present and discuss...
The U.S. Geological Survey Bird Banding Laboratory: an integrated scientific program supporting research and conservation of North American birds
Gregory J. Smith
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1238
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) was established in 1920 after ratification of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act with the United Kingdom in 1918. During World War II, the BBL was moved from Washington, D.C., to what is now the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC). The...
An exploration in mineral supply chain mapping using tantalum as an example
Yadira Soto-Viruet, W. David Menzie, John F. Papp, Thomas R. Yager
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1239
This report uses the supply chain of tantalum (Ta) to investigate the complexity of mineral and metal supply chains in general and show how they can be mapped. A supply chain is made up of all the manufacturers, suppliers, information networks, and so forth, that provide the materials and parts...
Laboratory evaluation of the Level TROLL 100 manufactured by In-Situ Inc.: results of pressure and temperature tests
Mark V. Carnley, Janice M. Fulford, Myron H. Brooks
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1173
The Level TROLL 100 manufactured by In-Situ Inc. was evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) for conformance to the manufacturer’s accuracy specifications for measuring pressure throughout the device’s operating temperature range. The Level TROLL 100 is a submersible, sealed, water-level sensing device with an operating...
Habitat quality and recruitment success of cui-ui in the Truckee River downstream of Marble Bluff Dam, Pyramid Lake, Nevada
G. Gary Scoppettone, Peter H. Rissler, J. Antonio Salgado, Beverly Harry
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1247
We compared cui-ui (Chasmistes cujus) recruitment from two reaches of the Truckee River with histories of severe erosional downcutting caused by a decline in Pyramid Lake surface elevation. In 1975, Marble Bluff Dam (MBD) was constructed 5 kilometers upstream of the extant mouth of the Truckee River to stabilize the...
Report of geomagnetic pulsation indices for space weather applications
Z. Xu, Jennifer L. Gannon, Erin J. Rigler
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1166
The phenomenon of ultra-low frequency geomagnetic pulsations was first observed in the ground-based measurements of the 1859 Carrington Event and has been studied for over 100 years. Pulsation frequency is considered to be “ultra” low when it is lower than the natural frequencies of the plasma, such as the ion...
Bedrock geology and outcrop fracture trends in the vicinity of the Savage Municipal Well Superfund site, Milford, New Hampshire
William C. Burton, Philip T. Harte
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1224
The Savage Municipal Well Superfund site consists of an eastward-directed plume of volatile organic compounds, principally tetrachloroethylene (PCE), in alluvium and glacial sand and gravel in the Souhegan River valley, just south of the river and about 4 kilometers west of the town of Milford, New Hampshire. Sampling of monitoring...
Biological and geochemical data of gravity cores from Mobile Bay, Alabama
Kathryn A. Richwine, Marci Marot, Christopher G. Smith, Lisa E. Osterman, C. Scott Adams
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1240
A study was conducted to understand the marine-influenced environments of Mobile Bay, Alabama, by collecting a series of box cores and gravity cores. One gravity core in particular demonstrates a long reference for changing paleoenvironmental parameters in Mobile Bay. Due to lack of abundance of foraminifers and (or) lack of...
Design of Cycle 3 of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program, 2013-23: Part 2: Science plan for improved water-quality information and management
Gary L. Rowe, Kenneth Belitz, Charlie R. Demas, Hedeff I. Essaid, Robert J. Gilliom, Pixie A. Hamilton, Anne B. Hoos, Casey J. Lee, Mark D. Munn, David W. Wolock
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1160
This report presents a science strategy for the third decade of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, which since 1991, has been responsible for providing nationally consistent information on the quality of the Nation's streams and groundwater; how water quality is changing over time; and the major natural and human...
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Lackawanna and Wayne Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004-2010
L.E. Milheim, E.T. Slonecker, C.M. Roig-Silva, A.R. Malizia
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1227
Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau,...
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Beaver and Butler Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004-2010
Coral M. Roig-Silva, E. Terry Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim, Alexander R. Malizia
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1226
Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau,...
Submergence Vulnerability Index development and application to Coastwide Reference Monitoring System Sites and Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act projects
Camille L. Stagg, Leigh A. Sharp, Thomas E. McGinnis, Gregg A. Snedden
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1163
Since its implementation in 2003, the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) in Louisiana has facilitated the creation of a comprehensive dataset that includes, but is not limited to, vegetation, hydrologic, and soil metrics on a coastwide scale. The primary impetus for this data collection is to assess land management activities,...
Environmental consequences of the Retsof Salt Mine roof collapse
Richard M. Yager
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1174
In 1994, the largest salt mine in North America, which had been in operation for more than 100 years, catastrophically flooded when the mine ceiling collapsed. In addition to causing the loss of the mine and the mineral resources it provided, this event formed sinkholes, caused widespread subsidence to land,...
Monitoring plan for mercury in fish tissue and water from the Boise River, Snake River, and Brownlee Reservoir, Idaho and Oregon
Christopher A. Mebane, Dorene E. MacCoy
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1068
The methylmercury criterion adopted as a water-quality standard in the State of Idaho is a concentration in fish tissue rather than a concentration in water. A plan for monitoring mercury in fish tissue and water was developed to evaluate whether fish in the Boise River, Idaho, upstream and downstream of...
Internet-based Modeling, Mapping, and Analysis for the Greater Everglades (IMMAGE; Version 1.0): web-based tools to assess the impact of sea level rise in south Florida
Paul Hearn, David Strong, Eric Swain, Jeremy Decker
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1185
South Florida's Greater Everglades area is particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, due to its rich endowment of animal and plant species and its heavily populated urban areas along the coast. Rising sea levels are expected to have substantial impacts on inland flooding, the depth and extent of surge from...
Massachusetts shoreline change project: a GIS compilation of vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the 2013 update
Theresa L. Smith, Emily A. Himmelstoss, E. Robert Thieler
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1183
Identifying the rates and trends associated with the position of the shoreline through time presents vital information on potential impacts these changes may have on coastal populations and infrastructure, and supports informed coastal management decisions. This report publishes the historical shoreline data used to assess the scale and timing of...
Dissolved methane in groundwater, Upper Delaware River Basin, Pennsylvania and New York, 2007-12
William M. Kappel
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1167
The prospect of natural gas development from the Marcellus and Utica Shales has raised concerns about freshwater aquifers being vulnerable to contamination. Well owners are asking questions about subsurface methane, such as, “Does my well water have methane and is it safe to drink the water?” and “Is my well...
Population vulnerability and evacuation challenges in California for the SAFRR tsunami scenario
Nathan Wood, Jamie Ratliff, Jeff Peters, Kimberley Shoaf
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1170-I
The SAFRR tsunami scenario models the impacts of a hypothetical yet plausible tsunami associated with a magnitude 9.1 megathrust earthquake east of the Alaska Peninsula. This report summarizes community variations in population vulnerability and potential evacuation challenges to the tsunami. The most significant public-health concern for California coastal communities during...
