Coastal circulation and sediment dynamics in Pelekane and Kawaihae Bays, Hawaii--measurements of waves, currents, temperature, salinity, turbidity, and geochronology: November 2010--March 2011
Curt D. Storlazzi, Michael E. Field, M. Katherine Presto, Peter W. Swarzenski, Joshua B. Logan, Thomas E. Reiss, Timothy C. Elfers, Susan A. Cochran, Michael E. Torresan, Hank Chezar
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1264
Coral reef communities on the Island of Hawaii have been heavily affected by the construction of Kawaihae Harbor in the 1950s and by subsequent changes in land use in the adjacent watershed. Sedimentation and other forms of land-based pollution have led to declines in water quality and coral reef health...
Monitoring of endangered Roanoke logperch (Percina rex) in Smith River upstream from the Philpott Reservoir on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property near Martinsville, Virginia
James H. Roberts, Paul L. Angermeier
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1221
The purpose of this study was to continue annual monitoring of Roanoke logperch (Percina rex), an endangered fish, in the Smith River immediately upstream from Philpott Reservoir. This river reach is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which must ensure that appropriate actions are undertaken to aid...
Sampling history and 2009--2010 results for pesticides and inorganic constituents monitored by the Lake Wales Ridge Groundwater Network, central Florida
Anne F. Choquette, R. Scott Freiwald, Carol L. Kraft
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1231
The Lake Wales Ridge Monitoring (LWRM) Network was established to provide a long-term record of water quality of the surficial aquifer in one of the principal citrus-production areas of Florida. This region is underlain by sandy soils that contain minimal organic matter and are highly vulnerable to leaching of chemicals...
Low-flow frequency and flow duration of selected South Carolina streams in the Saluda, Congaree, and Edisto River basins through March 2009
Toby D. Feaster, Wladmir B. Guimaraes
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1253
Part of the mission of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is to protect and preserve South Carolina's water resources. Doing so requires an ongoing understanding of streamflow characteristics of the rivers and streams in South Carolina. A particular...
Implications of NGA for NEHRP site coefficients
Roger D. Borcherdt
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1269
Three proposals are provided to update tables 11.4-1 and 11.4-2 of Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (7-10), by the American Society of Civil Engineers (2010) (ASCE/SEI 7-10), with site coefficients implied directly by NGA (Next Generation Attenuation) ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs). Proposals include a recommendation to...
2008 Joint United States-Canadian program to explore the limits of the Extended Continental Shelf aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy--Cruise HLY0806
Jonathan R. Childs, Peter J. Triezenberg, William W. Danforth
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1210
In September 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), conducted bathymetric and geophysical surveys in the Arctic Beaufort Sea aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Healy. The principal objective of this mission to the high Arctic was to acquire...
Should ground-motion records be rotated to fault-normal/parallel or maximum direction for response history analysis of buildings?
Juan C. Reyes, Erol Kalkan
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1261
In the United States, regulatory seismic codes (for example, California Building Code) require at least two sets of horizontal ground-motion components for three-dimensional (3D) response history analysis (RHA) of building structures. For sites within 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of an active fault, these records should be rotated to fault-normal and...
Comparison of concentrations and profiles of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites in bile of fishes from offshore oil platforms and natural reefs along the California coast
Robert W. Gale, Michael J. Tanner, Milton S. Love, Mary M. Nishimoto, Donna M. Schroeder
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1248
To determine the environmental consequences of decommissioning offshore oil platforms on local and regional fish populations, contaminant loads in reproducing adults were investigated at seven platform sites and adjacent, natural sites. Specimens of three species (Pacific sanddab, Citharichthys sordidus; kelp rockfish, Sebastes atrovirens; and kelp bass, Paralabrax clathratus) residing at...
Future scenarios of land-use and land-cover change in the United States--the Marine West Coast Forests Ecoregion
Tamara S. Wilson, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Terry L. Sohl, Glenn Griffith, William Acevedo, Stacie Bennett, Michelle Bouchard, Ryan R. Reker, Christy Ryan, Kristi L. Sayler, Rachel Sleeter, Christopher E. Soulard
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1252
Detecting, quantifying, and projecting historical and future changes in land use and land cover (LULC) has emerged as a core research area for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Changes in LULC are important drivers of changes to biogeochemical cycles, the exchange of energy between the Earth’s surface and atmosphere, biodiversity,...
Advanced earthquake monitoring system for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical buildings--instrumentation
Erol Kalkan, Krishna Banga, Hasan S. Ulusoy, Jon Peter B. Fletcher, William S. Leith, Shahneam Reza, Timothy Cheng
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1241
In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the National Strong Motion Project (NSMP; http://nsmp.wr.usgs.gov/) of the U.S. Geological Survey has been installing sophisticated seismic systems that will monitor the structural integrity of 28 VA hospital buildings located in seismically active regions of the conterminous United...
Mars global digital dune database: MC-30
R.K. Hayward, L.K. Fenton, T.N. Titus, A. Colaprete, P. R. Christensen
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1259
The Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD3) provides data and describes the methodology used in creating the global database of moderate- to large-size dune fields on Mars. The database is being released in a series of U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Reports. The first report (Hayward and others, 2007) included dune...
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources
Peter D. Warwick, M.D. Corum, editor(s)
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1024
The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (Public Law 110–140) directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2) and to consult with other Federal and State agencies to locate the pertinent geological data needed for the assessment. The...
Establishment of sentinel sampling sites to monitor changes in water and sediment quality and biota related to visitor use at Lake Powell, Arizona and Utah, 2004-2006
Robert J. Hart, Howard E. Taylor, G.M. Anderson
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1237
Twenty sentinel sampling sites were established and sampled during 2004–06 at Lake Powell, Arizona and Utah, by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service—Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The sentinel sampling sites provide sampling locations on Lake Powell, the Nation’s second largest reservoir that can be visited and...
North Central Climate Science Center--science agenda 2012-2017
Jeffrey T. Morisette
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1265
The information presented here provides the five-year science agenda for the North Central Climate Science Center. It is meant to be a high-level guide that describes the spatial context of the center, the primary partners and stakeholders, and the strategic framework the center will use in applying climate science to...
Stratigraphic cross section of measured sections and drill holes of the Neslen Formation and adjacent formations, Book Cliffs Area, Colorado and Utah
Mark A. Kirschbaum, Brianne D. Spear
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1260
This study updates a stratigraphic cross section published as plate 2 in Kirschbaum and Hettinger (2004) Digital Data Series 69-G (http://pubs.usgs.gov/dds/dds-069/dds-069-g/). The datum is a marine/tidal ravinement surface within the Cozzette Sandstone Member of the Iles Formation and the Thompson Canyon Sandstone and Sulphur Canyon Sandstone Beds of...
Thermodynamic method for generating random stress distributions on an earthquake fault
Michael Barall, Ruth A. Harris
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1226
This report presents a new method for generating random stress distributions on an earthquake fault, suitable for use as initial conditions in a dynamic rupture simulation. The method employs concepts from thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. A pattern of fault slip is considered to be analogous to a micro-state of a...
Passage probabilities of juvenile Chinook salmon through the powerhouse and regulating outlet at Cougar Dam, Oregon, 2011
John W. Beeman, Amy C. Hansen, Scott D. Evans, Philip V. Haner, Hal C. Hansel, Collin D. Smith
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1250
Cougar Dam near Springfield, Oregon, is one of several federally owned and operated flood-control projects within the Willamette Valley of western Oregon that were determined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service in 2008 to impact the long-term viability of several salmonid stocks. In response to...
Recent strikes in South Africa’s platinum-group metal mines: effects upon world platinum-group metal supplies
Thomas R. Yager, Yadira Soto-Viruet, James J. Barry
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1273
The recent labor disputes over wages and working conditions that have affected South Africa’s three leading platinum-group metal (PGM) producers have affected an industry already plagued by market pressures and labor unrest and raised the specter of constraints in the world’s supply of these metals. Although low demand for these...
The Mekong Fish Network: expanding the capacity of the people and institutions of the Mekong River Basin to share information and conduct standardized fisheries monitoring
Harmony C. Patricio, Shaara M. Ainsley, Matthew E. Andersen, John W. Beeman, David A. Hewitt
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1246
The Mekong River is one of the most biologically diverse rivers in the world, and it supports the most productive freshwater fisheries in the world. Millions of people in the Lower Mekong River Basin (LMB) countries of the Union of Myanmar (Burma), Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Kingdom of Thailand,...
Fish population and habitat analysis in Buck Creek, Washington, prior to recolonization by anadromous salmonids after the removal of Condit Dam
M. Brady Allen, Jeanette Burkhardt, Carrie Munz, Patrick J. Connolly
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1270
We assessed the physical and biotic conditions in the part of Buck Creek, Washington, potentially accessible to anadromous fishes. This creek is a major tributary to the White Salmon River upstream of Condit Dam, which was breached in October 2011. Habitat and fish populations were characterized in four stream reaches....
Vitrinite reflectance data for Cretaceous marine shales and coals in the Bighorn Basin, north-central Wyoming and south-central Montana
Mark J. Pawlewicz, Thomas M. Finn
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1254
The Bighorn Basin is a large Laramide (Late Cretaceous through Eocene) structural and sedimentary basin that encompasses about 10,400 square miles in north-central Wyoming and south-central Montana. The purpose of this report is to present new vitrinite reflectance data collected from Cretaceous marine shales and coals in the Bighorn Basin...
Groundwater, surface-water, and water-chemistry data from C-aquifer monitoring program, northeastern Arizona, 2005-11
Christopher R. Brown, Jamie P. Macy
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1196
The C aquifer is a regionally extensive multiple-aquifer system supplying water for municipal, agricultural, and industrial use in northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. An increase in groundwater withdrawals from the C aquifer coupled with ongoing drought conditions in the study area increase the potential for drawdown within...
A standard operating procedure for the surgical implantation of transmitters in juvenile salmonids
T.L. Liedtke, J.W. Beeman, L.P. Gee
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1267
Biotelemetry is a useful tool to monitor the movements of animals and is widely applied in fisheries research. Radio or acoustic technology can be used, depending on the study design and the environmental conditions in the study area. A broad definition of telemetry also includes the use of Passive Integrated...
Updates to watershed modeling in the Potholes Reservoir basin, Washington-a supplement to Scientific Investigation Report 2009-5081
Mark Mastin
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1251
A previous collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Reclamation resulted in a watershed model for four watersheds that discharge into Potholes Reservoir, Washington. Since the model was constructed, two new meteorological sites have been established that provide more reliable real-time information. The Bureau of Reclamation...
Quaternary geologic map of the Glasgow 1° x 2° quadrangle, Montana
David S. Fullerton, Roger B. Colton, Charles A. Bush
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1217
The Glasgow quadrangle encompasses approximately 16,084 km2 (6,210 mi2). The northern boundary is the Montana/Saskatchewan (U.S./Canada) boundary. The quadrangle is in the Northern Plains physiographic province and it includes the Boundary Plateau, Peerless Plateau, and Larb Hills. The primary river is the Milk River. The map units are surficial deposits and...
