Geology topics

Adam E. Manaster

Publications and source records attributed to Adam E. Manaster.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2025

Detection of landslide-generated tsunami by shipborne GNSS precise point positioning

Precise point positioning (PPP) of ships using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data reveals the precise movements of marine vessels. This method may quantify anomalies in sea surface height with implications for oceanographic monitoring, exploration, and tsunami warning. The GNSS PPP data from the R/V Sikuliaq , a research ship of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, were processed to detect a small local tsunami generated by the Lowell Point landslide, which occurred near Seward, Alaska, on 8 May 2022 (UTC). The GNSS receiver aboard the R/V Sikuliaq recorded the waves generated by the landslide, with a maximum wave amplitude of 6 cm and wave periods between 40 and 50 s. These results are consistent with simulations of the landslide event.

Alaska↗

USGS2023

Nutrient and suspended-sediment concentrations, loads, and yields in upper Macoupin Creek, Illinois, 2017–21

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Macoupin County Soil and Water Conservation District and the American Farmland Trust, undertook a monitoring effort from 2017 to 2021 in the upper Macoupin Creek watershed. The monitoring effort was to determine and characterize nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment concentrations, loads, and yields for a 566.7 square kilometer area of the Macoupin Creek watershed at two locations on upper Macoupin Creek bracketing a segment of the watershed where increased implementation of conservation land-use practices was planned. Two monitoring stations were established, consisting of an upstream site (Macoupin Creek at Highway 108 near Carlinville, Illinois; U.S. Geological Survey streamgage 05586647) and a downstream site (Macoupin Creek at Highway 111 near Summerville, Ill.; U.S. Geological Survey streamgage 05586745). Data collected at these stations included continuous stream discharge and periodic samples for nutrients and suspended sediment. A Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season–Kalman model was implemented to estimate daily concentrations for nitrate plus nitrite, total phosphorus, and suspended sediment for both monitoring stations. These daily concentrations were used in conjunction with the continuous stream discharge data to derive estimates of constituent flux, loads, and yields. During the study period, the study area subbasin of the upper Macoupin Creek watershed reduced downstream nitrate and total phosphorus cummulative yields by approximately 54 and 21 percent, respectively; however, the cummulative yield of suspended sediment increased by approximately 10 percent from inputs within the study area. These data indicate that nitrate and phosphorus transport is greater from the upstream subbasin and being diluted in the combined subbasin by lower transport from the study area, whereas suspended sediment is being contributed from the study area reach, presumably through surface runoff and streambank and streambed erosion.

Illinois↗

USGS2022

Intake efficiency field results for Federal Interagency Sedimentation Project bag samplers

The Federal Interagency Sedimentation Project (FISP) standardizes and advances sediment science among federal agencies. It is important to ensure that the FISP bag samplers perform isokinetically under all tested and approved conditions and collect samples that are representative of the stream or river cross-section. A measure of a sampler’s isokinetic behavior is its intake efficiency, which is defined as the ratio of the velocity through the nozzle entrance of the sampler to the ambient stream velocity. The intake efficiencies of all FISP bag samplers and nozzle sizes were evaluated for this report. Samples were obtained across 31 U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations between July 15, 2013, and June 17, 2020, where data were collected with all four bag samplers (US D-96, D-96-A1, D-99, and DH-2), each using various 3/16-inch, 1/4-inch, or 5/16-inch diameter nozzles. Water temperature and ambient stream velocity outside the nozzle are two of several factors that are known to affect the intake efficiency of bag samplers. A regression curve was fitted to these data through LOWESS (locally weighted scatterplot smoothing), and a Kruskal-Wallis test was executed for the various samplers and nozzle sizes. Based on these results, there is no statistical evidence to indicate that water temperature and stream velocity have a noticeable effect on intake efficiency when the samplers are deployed under isokinetic conditions. Likewise, there is no statistical evidence to indicate that the type of bag sampler and nozzle diameter have a direct effect on intake efficiency.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2020

Field evaluation of the Sequoia Scientific LISST-ABS acoustic backscatter sediment sensor

Sequoia Scientific’s LISST-ABS is a submersible acoustic instrument that measures the acoustic backscatter sensor (ABS) concentration at a point within a river, stream, or creek. Compared to traditional physical methods for measuring suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), sediment surrogates like the LISST-ABS offer continuous data that can be calibrated with physical SSC samples. Data were collected at 10 U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations between January 10, 2016, and February 21, 2018, across the contiguous United States to test the accuracy and effectiveness of using the LISST-ABS as a surrogate for measuring the concentration of suspended sediment in a dynamic fluvial system. Correlation coefficients (Pearson’s r values) relating the ABS concentration and SSC from physical samples ranged from r = 0.718 to r = 0.956 at the 10 stations with the mean percentage of fines (percentage of the sediment less than 62.5 microns in diameter) ranging from 65 to 100 percent (with minimum and maximum values of 18 and 100 percent, respectively). The LISST-ABS instruments used in this field evaluation were factory-calibrated to accurately determine SSC for grains in the diameter range of 75–90 microns. Note that the sensor responds to grains of arbitrary sizes, but the accuracy varies at sizes other than this calibration size. For operational use, regression models could be determined for the ABS concentrations and SSC values or the instrument could be recalibrated to sediments for each fluvial environment. However, such calibrations were beyond the scope of this report.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2020

Flood-inundation maps for the Little Calumet River from Lansing to South Holland, Illinois, 2020

Digital flood-inundation maps for about an 8-mile reach of the Little Calumet River, Illinois, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science website at https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/flood-inundation-mapping-fim-program , depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to selected water levels (stages) at three USGS streamgages: Little Calumet River at South Holland, Ill. (USGS station 05536290); Little Calumet River at Munster, Indiana (USGS station 05536195); and Thorn Creek at Thornton, Ill. (USGS station 05536275). Near-real-time stages at these streamgages may be obtained on the internet from the USGS National Water Information System at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN or the National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service at https://water.weather.gov/ahps/ , which also forecasts flood hydrographs at these sites. Flood profiles were computed for the stream reaches using a one-dimensional unsteady flow step-backwater hydraulic model. The model performance was evaluated using historical streamflow measurements and the most current stage-discharge relations at the USGS streamgages at Little Calumet River at South Holland, Ill.; Little Calumet River at Munster, Ind.; and Thorn Creek at Thornton, Ill. The model was used to compute 24 water-surface profiles at 1-foot intervals referenced to the streamgage datum and ranging from bankfull to about the 0.2-percent annual-exceedance probability flood (500-year recurrence interval flood). The simulated water-surface profiles were then combined with a geographic information system digital elevation model (derived from light detection and ranging data having a 0.6-foot vertical accuracy and a 2-foot horizontal resolution) to delineate the area flooded at each water level. The availability of these maps, along with internet information regarding current stage from USGS streamgages and forecasted high-flow stages from the National Weather Service, will provide emergency management personnel and residents with information that is critical for flood-response activities such as evacuations and road closures, as well as for postflood recovery efforts.

Illinois↗

USGS2019

Time-series sediment acoustics and LISST-ABS testing

Acoustics and other surrogates can be used to accurately and cost-effectively provide time-series estimates of suspended-sediment concentration and load, which is essential for creating informed solutions to many sediment-related environmental, engineering, and agricultural concerns. Interagency efforts in recent years have advanced the testing, methods development, operational guidelines, and training on sediment acoustics. This extended abstract provides an update on horizontal profiling methodologies and introduces the testing of the LISST-ABS (Acoustic Backscatter Sensor).

Conference Paper↗