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Trace-metal concentrations in sediment and in the clam Macoma petalum (formerly reported as Macoma balthica), clam reproductive activity, and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure were investigated in a mudflat 1 kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) in South San Francisco Bay, Calif....

Naturalists in the 1800s described the ʻIʻiwi (Vestiaria coccinea) as one of the most abundant forest birds, detected in forested areas from sea level to tree line across all the major Hawaiian Islands. However, in the late 1800s, ʻIʻiwi began to disappear from low elevation forests, and by the mid-1900s,...

Biomonitoring programs based on benthic macroinvertebrates are well-established worldwide. Their value, however, depends on the appropriateness of the analytical techniques used. All United States State, benthic macroinvertebrate biomonitoring programs were surveyed regarding the purposes of their programs, quality-assurance and quality-control procedures used, habitat and water-chemistry data collected, treatment of macroinvertebrate...

We evaluate the potential for serious games to be used as a scientifically based decision-support product that supports the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) mission--to provide integrated, unbiased scientific information that can make a substantial contribution to societal well-being for a wide variety of complex environmental challenges. Serious or pedagogical...

The Volcano Hazards Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is part of the Geologic Hazards Assessments subactivity, as funded by Congressional appropriation. Investigations are carried out by the USGS and with cooperators at the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, University of...

Permafrost has warmed throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere since the 1980s, with colder permafrost sites warming more rapidly (Romanovsky and others, 2010; Smith and others, 2010). Warming of the near-surface permafrost may lead to widespread terrain instability in ice-rich permafrost in the Arctic and the Subarctic, and may result...

This report documents the standard procedures, policies, and field methods used by the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Washington Water Science Center staff for activities related to the collection, processing, analysis, storage, and publication of groundwater data. This groundwater quality-assurance plan changes through time to accommodate new methods and requirements developed...

Streamflow and concentrations of sodium and chloride estimated from records of specific conductance were used to calculate loads of sodium and chloride during water year (WY) 2011 (October 1, 2010, to September 30, 2011), for tributaries to the Scituate Reservoir, Rhode Island. Streamflow and water-quality data used in the study...

We present geochronologic and geochemical data for Mesozoic rocks in the Black Mountain area northeast of Victorville, California, to supplement previous geologic mapping. These data, together with previously published results, limit the depositional age of the sedimentary Fairview Valley Formation to Early Jurassic, refine the ages and chemical compositions of...

Flow and water-quality models are being used to support the development of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plans for the Klamath River downstream of Upper Klamath Lake (UKL) in south-central Oregon. For riverine reaches, the RMA-2 and RMA-11 models were used, whereas the CE-QUAL-W2 model was used to simulate pooled...

From April through July 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey collected surface-water samples from 69 water-quality stations and 3 flood-control structures in 4 major subbasins of the Mississippi River Basin to characterize the water quality during the 2011 Mississippi River flood. Most stations were sampled at least monthly for field parameters...

Afghanistan is endowed with a vast amount of mineral resources, and it is believed that the current economic state of the country could be greatly improved through investment in the extraction and production of these resources. In 2007, the “Preliminary Non-Fuel Resource Assessment of Afghanistan 2007” was completed by members...

Colonies of three coral species, Montastraea faveolata, Diploria strigosa, and Siderastrea siderea, located in the Dry Tortugas National Park (DRTO), Florida, were sampled and analyzed to evaluate annual linear extension rates. Montastraea faveolata had the highest average linear extension and variability in (DRTO: C2 = 0.67 centimeters/year (cm yr-1) ± 0.04, B3 = 0.85 cm...

Groundwater withdrawals have caused saltwater to encroach into freshwater-bearing aquifers beneath Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Groundwater investigations in the 1960s identified a freshwater-saltwater interface located at the Baton Rouge Fault, across which abrupt changes in water levels occur. Aquifers south of the fault generally contain saltwater, and aquifers north of the...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources, established a water-quality monitoring program during late 1996 to collect comprehensive, consistent, high-quality data for use by watershed managers. As of 2009, continuous streamflow and water-quality data as well as discrete water-quality samples were being collected...

To help water-resource managers evaluate the Floridan aquifer system (FAS) as an alternative water supply, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a study, in cooperation with the Broward County Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department, to refine the hydrogeologic framework of the FAS in the eastern part of Broward County. This...

Record-high hydrologic conditions in New Hampshire and Vermont occurred during water year 2011, according to data from 125 streamgages and lake gaging stations, 27 creststage gages, and 41 groundwater wells. Annual runoff for the 2011 water year was the sixth highest on record for New Hampshire and the highest on...

In 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, compiled historical groundwater-quality data collected from 1948 to 2011 and water-well completion information in parts of Lincoln, Oklahoma, and Pottawatomie Counties in central Oklahoma to support the development of a comprehensive water-management plan for the Tribe’s...

The northeastern North Carolina coastal system, from False Cape, Virginia, to Cape Lookout, North Carolina, has been studied by a cooperative research program that mapped the Quaternary geologic framework of the estuaries, barrier islands, and inner continental shelf. This information provides a basis to understand the linkage between geologic framework,...

Marine subsidies can play an important role in the growth, survival, and migratory behavior of rearing juvenile salmonids. Availability of high-energy, marine-derived food sources during critical decision windows may influence the timing of emigration or the decision to forego emigration completely and remain in the freshwater environment. Increasing growth and...

Mercury (Hg) is a globally distributed pollutant that poses considerable risks to human and wildlife health. Over the past 150 years since the advent of the industrial revolution, approximately 80 percent of global emissions have come from anthropogenic sources, largely fossil fuel combustion. As a result, atmospheric deposition of Hg...

An assessment of the quantity and quality of stormwater runoff associated with industrial activities at Fort Gordon was conducted from January through August 2012. The assessment was provided to satisfy the requirements from a general permit that authorizes the discharge of stormwater under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System from...

Lake Michigan diversion accounting is the process used by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers to quantify the amount of water that is diverted from the Lake Michigan watershed into the Illinois and Mississippi River Basins. A network of streamgages within the Chicago area waterway system monitor tributary river...

The Department of the Interior (DOI) recognizes and embraces the unprecedented challenges of maintaining our Nation’s rich natural and cultural resources in the 21st century. The magnitude of these challenges demands that the conservation community work together to develop integrated adaptation and mitigation strategies that collectively address the impacts of...

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists have provided a model-based assessment of transport and deposition of residual Deepwater Horizon oil along the shoreline within the northern Gulf of Mexico in the form of mixtures of sand and weathered oil, known as surface residual balls (SRBs). The results of this USGS research,...