Geology topics

Rhonda J. Weakland

Publications and source records attributed to Rhonda J. Weakland.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2014

Water-quality and biological conditions in selected tributaries of the Lower Boise River, southwestern Idaho, water years 2009-12

Water-quality conditions were studied in selected tributaries of the lower Boise River during water years 2009–12, including Fivemile and Tenmile Creeks in 2009, Indian Creek in 2010, and Mason Creek in 2011 and 2012. Biological samples, including periphyton biomass and chlorophyll-a, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish were collected in Mason Creek in October 2011. Synoptic water-quality sampling events were timed to coincide with the beginning and middle of the irrigation season as well as the non-irrigation season, and showed that land uses and irrigation practices affect water quality in the selected tributaries. Large increases in nutrient and sediment concentrations and loads occurred over relatively short stream reaches and affected nutrient and sediment concentrations downstream of those reaches. Escherichia coli (E. coli) values increased in study reaches adjacent to pastured lands or wastewater treatment plants, but increased E. coli values at upstream locations did not necessarily affect E. coli values at downstream locations. A spatial loading analysis identified source areas for nutrients, sediment, and E. coli , and might be useful in selecting locations for water-quality improvement projects. Effluent from wastewater treatment plants increased nutrient loads in specific reaches in Fivemile and Indian Creeks. Increased suspended-sediment loads were associated with increased discharge from irrigation returns in each of the studied tributaries. Samples collected during or shortly after storms showed that surface runoff, particularly during the winter, may be an important source of nutrients in tributary watersheds with substantial agricultural land use. Concentrations of total phosphorus, suspended sediment, and E. coli exceeded regulatory water-quality targets or trigger levels at one or more monitoring sites in each tributary studied, and exceedences occurred during irrigation season more often than during non-irrigation season. As with water-quality sampling results, bottom-sediment samples analyzed for contaminants of emerging concern indicated that adjacent land uses can affect in-stream conditions. Contaminants of emerging concern were detected in four categories: urban compounds, industrial compounds, fecal steroids, and personal care products. Compounds in one or more of the four contaminant categories were detected at higher concentrations in upstream sites than in downstream sites in the tributaries and in the lower Boise River. High concentrations of compounds in upstream locations indicated that adjacent land use might be an important factor in contributing contaminants of emerging concern to the lower Boise River watershed. Expanded monitoring at Mason Creek near the mouth included a streamgage, a continuous water-quality monitor, and monthly water-quality sample collection. Data collected during expanded monitoring efforts at Mason Creek near the mouth provided information to develop and compare water-quality models. Regression models were developed using turbidity, discharge, and seasonality as surrogates to estimate concentrations of water-quality constituents. Daily streamflow also was used in a load model to estimate daily loads of water-quality constituents. Surrogate regression models may be useful for long-term monitoring and generally performed better than other models to estimate concentrations and loads of total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and suspended sediment in Mason Creek. Biological sampling results from Mason Creek showed low periphyton biomass and chlorophyll-a concentrations compared to those historically measured in the Boise River near Parma, Idaho, during October and November. The most abundant invertebrate found in Mason Creek was the highly tolerant and invasive New Zealand mudsnail ( Potamopyrgus antipodarum ). The presence of small rainbow trout (90 millimeters) may indicate salmonid spawning in Mason Creek. The rangeland-fish-index score of 58 for Mason Creek is comparable to rangeland-fish-index scores calculated for the Boise River near Middleton, indicating intermediate biotic condition.

Idaho↗

USGS2012

Sediment cores and chemistry for the Kootenai River White Sturgeon Habitat Restoration Project, Boundary County, Idaho

The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, in cooperation with local, State, Federal, and Canadian agency co-managers and scientists, is assessing the feasibility of a Kootenai River habitat restoration project in Boundary County, Idaho. This project is oriented toward recovery of the endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) population, and simultaneously targets habitat-based recovery of other native river biota. Projects currently (2010) under consideration include modifying the channel and flood plain, installing in-stream structures, and creating wetlands to improve the physical and biological functions of the ecosystem. River restoration is a complex undertaking that requires a thorough understanding of the river. To assist in evaluating the feasibility of this endeavor, the U.S. Geological Survey collected and analyzed the physical and chemical nature of sediment cores collected at 24 locations in the river. Core depths ranged from 4.6 to 15.2 meters; 21 cores reached a depth of 15.2 meters. The sediment was screened for the presence of chemical constituents that could have harmful effects if released during restoration activities. The analysis shows that concentrations of harmful chemical constituents do not exceed guideline limits that were published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2006.

Idaho↗

USGS2012

Bathymetric and underwater video survey of Lower Granite Reservoir and vicinity, Washington and Idaho, 2009-10

The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a bathymetric survey of the Lower Granite Reservoir, Washington, using a multibeam echosounder, and an underwater video mapping survey during autumn 2009 and winter 2010. The surveys were conducted as part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's study on sediment deposition and control in the reservoir. The multibeam echosounder survey was performed in 1-mile increments between river mile (RM) 130 and 142 on the Snake River, and between RM 0 and 2 on the Clearwater River. The result of the survey is a digital elevation dataset in ASCII coordinate positioning data (easting, northing, and elevation) useful in rendering a 3×3-foot point grid showing bed elevation and reservoir geomorphology. The underwater video mapping survey was conducted from RM 107.73 to 141.78 on the Snake River and RM 0 to 1.66 on the Clearwater River, along 61 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers established cross sections, and dredge material deposit transects. More than 900 videos and 90 bank photographs were used to characterize the sediment facies and ground-truth the multibeam echosounder data. Combined, the surveys were used to create a surficial sediment facies map that displays type of substrate, level of embeddedness, and presence of silt.

Washington;Idaho↗

USGS2012

Grain-size distribution and selected major and trace element concentrations in bed-sediment cores from the Lower Granite Reservoir and Snake and Clearwater Rivers, eastern Washington and northern Idaho, 2010

Lower Granite Dam impounds the Snake and Clearwater Rivers in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, forming Lower Granite Reservoir. Since 1975, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has dredged sediment from the Lower Granite Reservoir and the Snake and Clearwater Rivers in eastern Washington and northern Idaho to keep navigation channels clear and to maintain the flow capacity. In recent years, other Federal agencies, Native American governments, and special interest groups have questioned the negative effects that dredging might have on threatened or endangered species. To help address these concerns, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, collected and analyzed bed-sediment core samples (hereinafter cores) in Lower Granite Reservoir and impounded or backwater affected parts of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. Cores were collected during the spring and fall of 2010 from submerged sampling locations in the Lower Granite Reservoir, and Snake and Clearwater Rivers. A total of 69 cores were collected by using one or more of the following corers: piston, gravity, vibrating, or box. From these 69 cores, 185 subsamples were removed and submitted for grain size analyses, 50 of which were surficial-sediment subsamples. Fifty subsamples were also submitted for major and trace elemental analyses. Surficial-sediment subsamples from cores collected from sites at the lower end of the reservoir near the dam, where stream velocities are lower, generally had the largest percentages of silt and clay (more than 80 percent). Conversely, all of the surficial-sediment subsamples collected from sites in the Snake River had less than 20 percent silt and clay. Most of the surficial-sediment subsamples collected from sites in the Clearwater River contained less than 40 percent silt and clay. Surficial-sediment subsamples collected near midchannel at the confluence generally had more silt and clay than most surficial-sediment subsamples collected from sites on the Snake and Clearwater Rivers or even sites further downstream in Lower Granite Reservoir. Two cores collected at the confluence and all three cores collected on the Clearwater River immediately upstream from the confluence were extracted from a thick sediment deposit as shown by the cross section generated from the bathymetric surveys. The thick sediment deposits at the confluence and on the Clearwater River may be associated with floods in 1996 and 1997 on the Clearwater River. Fifty subsamples from 15 cores were analyzed for major and trace elements. Concentrations of trace elements were low, with respect to sediment quality guidelines, in most cores. Typically, major and trace element concentrations were lower in the subsamples collected from the Snake River compared to those collected from the Clearwater River, the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers, and Lower Granite Reservoir. Generally, lower concentrations of major and trace elements were associated with coarser sediments (larger than 0.0625 millimeter) and higher concentrations of major and trace elements were associated with finer sediments (smaller than 0.0625 millimeter).

Idaho, Washington↗

USGS2011

Bathymetric and sediment facies maps for China Bend and Marcus Flats, Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, Washington, 2008 and 2009

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) created bathymetric and sediment facies maps for portions of two reaches of Lake Roosevelt in support of an interdisciplinary study of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) and their habitat areas within Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, Washington. In October 2008, scientists from the USGS used a boat-mounted multibeam echo sounder (MBES) to describe bathymetric data to characterize surface relief at China Bend and Marcus Flats, between Northport and Kettle Falls, Washington. In March 2009, an underwater video camera was used to view and record sediment facies that were then characterized by sediment type, grain size, and areas of sand deposition. Smelter slag has been identified as having the characteristics of sand-sized black particles; the two non-invasive surveys attempted to identify areas containing black-colored particulate matter that may be elements and minerals, organic material, or slag. The white sturgeon population in Lake Roosevelt is threatened by the failure of natural recruitment, resulting in a native population that consists primarily of aging fish and that is gradually declining as fish die and are not replaced by nonhatchery reared juvenile fish. These fish spawn and rear in the riverine and upper reservoir reaches where smelter slag is present in the sediment of the river lake bed. Effects of slag on the white sturgeon population in Lake Roosevelt are largely unknown. Two recent studies demonstrated that copper and other metals are mobilized from slag in aqueous environments with concentrations of copper and zinc in bed sediments reaching levels of 10,000 and 30,000 mg/kg due to the presence of smelter slag. Copper was found to be highly toxic to 30-day-old white sturgeon with 96-h LC50 concentrations ranging from 3 to 5 (u or mu)g copper per liter. Older juvenile and adult sturgeons commonly ingest substantial amounts of sediment while foraging. Future study efforts in Lake Roosevelt should include sampling of bottom material to confirm the presence or absence of slag material indicated on the map. In addition, follow-up acoustic work to determine stream velocities at varying discharges, in conjunction with sediment mapping, would be helpful to more accurately identify areas of scour and areas of sediment deposition where slag deposits may accumulate within the Marcus Flats and China Bend reaches. MBES mapping could also be used to determine changes in bed elevation and sedimentation in the study reaches and could help evaluate annual deposition and provide estimates on fine-sediment thickness.

Washington↗

USGS2009

Water Budgets for Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho, Water Years 2000-2005

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Water Resources, calculated annual water budgets and a mean annual water budget for Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho, for water years 2000 through 2005. Mean annual inflow to Coeur d'Alene Lake, including precipitation, was about 167,110 million cubic feet. Mean annual outflow, including evaporation, but excluding wastewater effluent to the Spokane River, was about 167,850 million cubic feet. The amount of water lost from Coeur d'Alene Lake and the Spokane River to the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie aquifer was estimated at 7,250 million cubic feet. Mean annual precipitation into Coeur d'Alene Lake was 3,267 million cubic feet, which exceeded mean annual evaporation of 2,483 million cubic feet. Withdrawals directly from the lake and from wells within a 1,000 foot buffer of the lakeshore for domestic and municipal water uses were reported. However, only the estimate for the consumptive use part of the withdrawals, 265 million cubic feet, was considered in the budget. Mean annual change in lake storage resulted in a net loss of about 49 million cubic feet. The mean annual residual value was about -8,310 million cubic feet.

Scientific Investigations Report↗