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USGS1977

The Winona-Tallahatta Aquifer in Mississippi

This aquifer atlas describing the Winona-Tallahatta aquifer is the seventh in a series prepared in cooperation with the Mississippi Board of Water Commissioners. The atlas summarizes the large amount of unpublished data available in the files of the U.S. Geological Survey and it describes the extent, character, and present utilization of the aquifer and its potential for additional development. The Winona-Tallahatta aquifer, which contains freshwater having less than 1,000 mg/liter of dissolved solids in about 25 percent of the State occurs in northwestern and central Mississippi. The water-bearing zones extend into Tennessee and become part of the Memphis aquifer. In Arkansas and Louisiana the aquifer is in the Cane River Formation. The Tallahatta Formation which is the basal unit of the Claiborne Group includes, in ascending order, the Meridian Sand, Basic City Shale, and Neshoba Sand Members. The Winona-Tallahatta aquifer is the source of water for only a few large water users, but is the source of water for hundreds of small-yield domestic and stock wells less than 200 feet deep. Total water use in the State in 1977 from the Winona-Tallahatta is estimated to be about 3 mdg. (Woodard-USGS)

Mississippi↗

USGS1984

The ground-water resources in the Ross Barnett Reservoir area, Mississippi

The Ross Barnett Reservoir area occupies about 78 sq mi of a 490 sq mi study area northeast of the City of Jackson, MS. For several years, water use in the area has increased and during 1983 about 0.57 mil gal/day were obtained from groundwater sources. Virtually all groundwater in the area is used for public supplies. The principal aquifers currently used in the area are in the Sparta Sand and Cockfield Formations. The Sparta Sand is the most intensively developed and generally the highest yielding aquifer in the study area. Water level declines have averaged 2 to 3 ft/yr since 1940. The principal source of groundwater recharge to the aquifers is precipitation on outcrops of permeable strata northeast of the area. The base of freshwater is at the base of the Meridian-upper Wilcox aquifer except in the extreme northeast part of the area where the lower Wilcox aquifer contains freshwater. Water from the aquifers is suitable for public supply use without treatment except in a few places where iron concentrations are high, at from 0.10 to 9.3 mg/L. Excessive color is also a problem in the water from some wells in the area. Color was 20 units or greater in 8 of 25 wells sampled. (Author 's abstract)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

USGS1948

Public water supplies in eastern Texas

This report gives a summarized description of the public water supplies in 77 counties of eastern Texas, extending from the Louisiana boundary to a northsouth line approximately along the ninety-seventh meridian. It gives the available data as follows for each of 323 communities: The population of the community; the name of the official from whom the information was obtained; the ownership of the waterworks, whether private or municipal; the source of supply, whether ground or surface water; the amount of water consumed; the facilities for storage; the number of customers served; the character of the chemical and sanitary treatment of the water, if any; and the chemical analyses of the water. Where ground water is used the following is also given: Records of wells, including drillers' logs; character of the pumping equipment; yield of the wells and water level records where they are available.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1951

Public water supplies in western Texas

This report gives a summarized description of the public water supplies in a region comprising 81 counties of western Texas and lying generally west of the hundredth meridian. It is the fourth and last of this series of reports concerning the public water supplies of the State. It gives the available data for each of 142 communities, as follows: The population of the community; the name of the official from whom the information was obtained; the ownership of the waterworks, whether private or municipal; the source of supply, whether ground water or surface water; the amount of water consumed; the facilities for storage; the number of customers served; the character of the chemical and sanitary treatment of the water, if any; and the chemical analyses of the water. Where ground water is used the following also are given. Records of wells, including drillers' logs; character of the pumping equipment; and yield of the wells and water-level records where they are available. Of the 142 public supplies, 133 are obtained from ground water, 5 from surface water, and 4 from a combination of both. The total amount of water . used for public supply in the region averages about 78,000,000 gallons a day. Of this about 61,000,000 gallons a day is ground water and about 17,000,000 gallons a day is surface water. The ground-water resources of the region from which public water supplies are drawn are in rocks that range in age from Permian to Quaternary. The Ogallala formation of Tertiary age (Pliocene), which covers about 35,000 square miles of the High Plains in Texas, is the most important ground-water reservoir in the region. The formation furnishes water for 78 public supplies and for irrigating about 1,000,000 acres of land. The amount of water used for irrigating amounted to about 1,000,000 acre-feet in 1948. The Trinity and Fredericksburg groups of Lower Cretaceous age supply ground water in the western part of the Edwards Plateau, which constitutes an area of more than 22,000 square miles. These formations furnish small to large supplies to 20 municipalities. Sands of the Dockum group of Triassic refurnish meager to moderate supplies of water for 10 municipalities in areas east of the southern part of the High Plains and in the northern Pecos Valley in Texas. Local alluvial, bolson, or volcanic deposits furnish ground water in small to large amounts in scattered localities in the remainder of the region. The Permian rocks are of little importance as a source of ground water for public supply, owing to the highly mineralized water in them. The results of the chemical analyses of 206 samples of water obtained from the public supplies of the region are given in this report. The analyses are reported in parts per million and in equivalents per million for those ions entering into ionic balance. Of the samples analyzed 57 percent contained silica in excess of 20 parts per million; about 9 percent contained iron in excess of 0.3 part per million; 78 percent had hardness in excess of 200 parts per million; about 18 percent contained sulfate in excess of 250 parts per million; 10 percent contained chloride in excess of 250 parts per million; 3 percent contained nitrate in excess of 20 parts per million; 37 percent contained fluoride in excess of 2 parts per million; and 12 percent contained dissolved solids in excess of 1,000 parts per million.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1965

Geology and hydrology of the Claiborne Group in western Tennessee

The area of western Tennessee underlain by the Claiborne Group is about 7,200 square miles and lies on the east flank of the syncline that forms the Mississippi embayment. It includes the Mississippi Alluvial Plain and part of a dissected upland plateau. The Claiborne Group dips to the northwest at 10-25 feet per mile and ranges in altitude from 600 feet above mean sea level in the outcrop area to 900 feet below mean sea level near the embayment axis. The Claiborne Group is tentatively subdivided into five units including, in ascending order, the Meridian Sand Member of the Tallahatta Formation, the Basic City Shale Member of the Tallahatta Formation, the Sparta Sand, an unnamed clay unit, and an unnamed sand unit. The two major aquifers in the Claiborne Group are the '500-foot' sand and the unnamed sand unit. The top of the '500-foot' sand is correlated with the top of the Sparta Sand; and the base, with the base of the Claiborne Group. The '500-foot' sand ranges in thickness from 200 to 750 feet and consists mainly of very fine to coarse sand or gravel. It also contains layers of white to blue, pink, gray, or brown clay, which constitute only a small percentage of the total thickness. The unnamed sand unit ranges from 0 to 210 feet in thickness and consists mostly of white, gray, or brown fine-grained lignitic sand. An estimated 75 percent of the ground water withdrawn in western Tennessee (west of the northward-flowing segment of the Tennessee River) is taken from the '500-foot' sand and the unnamed sand unit. The quantities of water available to wells from the '500-foot' sand are currently adequate for all municipal and industrial needs. The permeability of this aquifer is about 570 gallons per day per square foot. An estimated 155 mgd (million gallons per day) is pumped from the '500-foot' sand, about 140 mgd is discharged from the aquifer as the base flow of surface streams, and about 40 mgd is discharged from the report area as underflow. Water from the '500-foot' sand contains objectionable quantities of iron in the western half of the report area. Otherwise the quality of the water is suitable for most needs. Quantities of water adequate for domestic use and for small municipal systems can be obtained from the unnamed sand unit in most of the report area. The field permeability of this aquifer is probably about 270 gallons per day per square foot. About 8 mgd is discharged into adjacent formations, and about 2 mgd is withdrawn by pumping. Water from the unnamed sand unit contains objectionable quantities of iron in the western half of the report area. Otherwise the water from this aquifer is of good quality. Ground-water supplies in both the '500-foot' sand and the unnamed sand unit will be adequate for the predicted rate of municipal growth and economic development for many years to come. If the hydraulic gradient in the '500-foot' sand were increased to 19 feet per mile, the average dip of the top of the aquifer, about 578 mgd would be transmitted downdip. Similarly, the unnamed sand unit would transmit about 34 mgd downdip under a hydraulic gradient of 10 feet per mile. Furthermore, additional amounts of water could be induced into the report area as underflow from adjacent States. The anticipated effects of additional large scale development are (1) a drop in local and regional water levels in proportion to the increase in pumpage, (2) an increase in the net inflow of ground water from adjacent States, and (3) an increase of recharge to the aquifers at the expense of streamflow.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1967

Ground-water resources of the Pascagoula River basin, Mississippi and Alabama

Abundant ground-water resources underlie the Pascagoula River basin. These resources have been developed intensively in only a few places--namely, Hattiesburg, Laurel, Meridian, and Pascagoula. Seepage from the ground water reservoirs sustains the base flows of the Leaf, Chickasawhay, Pascagoula, and Escatawpa Rivers and their tributaries. The fresh-water-bearing section is 300 to 3,500 feet thick and is composed chiefly of sand and clay of Eocene to Recent age. Major rock units represented are the Wilcox, Claiborne, Jackson, and Vicksburg Groups and formations of Miocene and Pliocene ages. Aquifers in the Claiborne Group provide water for all purposes in the northern third of the basin. The Claiborne is underlain by the potentially important but virtually untapped Wilcox Group. Miocene aquifers are the main source of water supplies in the southern half of the basin, but Pliocene aquifers furnish most supplies in the Jackson County area at the basin's southern extremity. Much of the fresh-water section has undergone no water-supply development because of the great depth of many aquifers and the availability, at shallow depths, of supplies adequate for present needs. However, a large part of any substantial increase in ground-water withdrawal will probably come from wells deeper than those commonly drilled in the region. Ground-water levels are within 50 feet of the surface in most places, and flowing wells are common in the valleys and near the coast. Water-level declines due to pumping have become serious problems only in a few localities of heavy withdrawal. In most of these places redistribution of pumpage would alleviate the problem of excessive drawdown. Although few wells in the basin yield more than 500 gallons per minute, yields of 2,000 gallons per minute or more could be reasonably expected from efficiently constructed wells almost anywhere in the region. Total ground-water pumpage is estimated to be about 60 million gallons per day. Potential pumpage is many times that figure. Well fields capable of yielding several million gallons of water per day would be feasible in most places. The ground water is of good to excellent quality. Most of it is a sodium bicarbonate type of water. It usually is soft and has a low to moderate dissolved-solids content. Excessive iron is a problem in places, particularly where water supplies are obtained from shallow aquifers, but at least a part of the excess iron comes from corrosion of well and distribution-line fittings by slightly acidic water. Salt-water encroachment is a potential problem in the coastal area, but little increase in salinity has been observed in monitor wells in the period 1960-65. Saline-water resources are available for development at considerable depth in most of the region.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1982

The modified polyconic projection for the IMW

The modified Polyconic map projection designed by Lallemand and adopted for the International Map of the World between 1909 and 1962 has two meridians and two parallels which are true to scale. Constructed geometrically in the past, forward and inverse coordinate transformations may be calculated analytically in order to transfer data from existing quadrangles to other maps. The equations for these transformations are derived and used to calculate representative tables of coordinates andscale factors. Although the projection is neither equal-area nor conformai, scale does not vary more than 0.06% throughout the quadrangle.

Cartographica: The International Journal for Geogr↗

USGS2020

Semantically enabling map projections knowledge

Map projections are an area of cartography with a firm mathematical foundation for their creation and display providing a basis for a knowledge representation. Using only variations on a single equation set, an infinite number of projections can be created, but less than 100 are in active use. Because each projection preserves specific characteristics, such as area, angles, global look, or a compromise of properties, classifications of map projections have been developed to aid in knowledge representation. These classifications are used for decision-making. They help select the correct projection for the map use. They assist users with determining the correct orientation, standard parallels and meridians. The classifications also inform the user how to adjust the selection based on size, extent, and latitude. Semantics can be used to automate map projections knowledge into a knowledge base that can be accessed by humans and machines. This work details a semantic representation of map projections knowledge and provides a simple example of a use case that exploits the knowledge base.

Cartography and Geoinformation↗

USGS2023

Winter distribution of golden eagles in the Eastern USA

Golden Eagles ( Aquila chrysaetos ) have a Holarctic distribution, but some details of that overall distribution are poorly understood, including parts of the range in eastern North America. Recent studies in the region suggest that Golden Eagles may be more widely distributed than previously recognized. For species specific conservation efforts to be effective, an understanding of the distribution of the species is essential. Thus, the goal of this study was to map the winter distribution of Golden Eagles in the eastern half of the USA. To accomplish this, we reviewed and compiled 11,981 Golden Eagle records from eight data sources, including literature and ornithology records, community science data, survey data, and telemetry data. We found that Golden Eagles were observed in winter in each of the 31 states that lie completely east of the 100th meridian and in 1244 of the 2045 counties (61%) in those states. The proportion of counties with records varied by physiographic province, with higher proportions in physiographic provinces with more rugged terrain and greater forest cover. Our study shows that Golden Eagles are more widely distributed during winter in eastern USA states than was previously recognized. This work provides an important foundation for future management and research at a time when threats to this species are expanding rapidly on the landscape.

Journal of Raptor Research↗

USGS2019

Editorial: Synthetic Aperture Radar and natural hazards: Applications and outlooks

The ability of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to image the Earth’s surface, even through dense cloud cover and in night-and-day conditions, can facilitate the evaluation and monitoring of natural hazards and the management of natural disasters. The family of SAR satellite sensors orbits the Earth at an altitude ranging from 500 to 800 km, following sun-synchronous, near-polar orbits, slightly inclined with respect to Earth meridians. The most commonly used bands in SAR applications are the C-band (5–6 GHz, ~5,6 cm wavelength), the X-band (8–12 GHz, ~3,1 cm wavelength) and the L-band (1–2 GHz ~23 cm wavelength) with a temporal resolution depending on the satellite revisiting time. The availability of SAR has made a new spectrum of measurements possible on a global and spatial scale not attainable by ground-based studies, revealing critical insights into remote or poorly understood areas (e.g., Biggs et al., 2014). This Research Topics presents a review of articles on the state-of-art in the application of SAR sensors to study surface deformation in different geologic environments and triggered by a variety of processes. The topics discussed range from the analysis of co-seismic deformation (Marryman Boncori) to studies of volcanic unrest (Dzurisin et al., Garthwaite et al.), monitoring of landslides (Bianchini et al.) and ground subsidence in urban areas (Solari et al.).

Frontiers in Earth Science↗

USGS2026

Improving estimates of spatially distributed agricultural land use using pesticide data

Accurate, spatially resolved agricultural land-use data are essential for estimating water demand, evaluating agricultural production, and understanding long-term changes in managed landscapes. However, existing land-use datasets are often temporally discontinuous, particularly for historical periods, and remotely sensed classifications face persistent challenges distinguishing spectrally similar crop types, capturing sub-annual rotations, and separating active from abandoned plantings. We developed the California Pesticide Use Reporting Land-Use Estimator (CalPUR-LUE), which converts grower-reported pesticide-application records into annual estimates of land use by crop class and cropped acreage at approximately 1-square-mile resolution across California. CalPUR-LUE performance was evaluated for 2018 using complementary spatial, categorical, and quantitative comparisons with California Department of Water Resources (CADWR) remotely sensed land-use data and county-level agricultural economic reports. At the county-meridian-township-range-section (COMTRS) scale, CalPUR-LUE and CADWR acreage estimates showed substantial proportional agreement (log-transformed Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient = 0.77) with a mean proportional bias of −15%. Crop-class agreement was high when CalPUR-LUE identified agricultural activity, with user’s accuracy exceeding 83% for all evaluated crop classes. Overall categorical agreement was 67% (Cohen’s kappa = 0.56). Grain crop underestimation contributed substantially to disagreement; however, there is evidence of CADWR systematic overestimation of grain during 2016–2019. County-level agricultural reports further corroborated CalPUR-LUE estimates and, in several cases, aligned more closely with CalPUR-LUE than with CADWR. These results demonstrate that pesticide-use reporting provides an independent and complementary source of agricultural land-use information that can corroborate contemporary estimates and reconstruct annual spatially distributed land use where historical data are limited.

California↗

USGS2015

Modeling the present and future geographic distribution of the Lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (Ixodida: Ixodidae ), in the continental United States

The Lone star tick ( Amblyomma americanum L.) is the primary vector for pathogens of significant public health importance in North America, yet relatively little is known about its current and potential future distribution. Building on a published summary of tick collection records, we used an ensemble modeling approach to predict the present-day and future distribution of climatically suitable habitat for establishment of the Lone star tick within the continental United States. Of the nine climatic predictor variables included in our five present-day models, average vapor pressure in July was by far the most important determinant of suitable habitat. The present-day ensemble model predicted an essentially contiguous distribution of suitable habitat extending to the Atlantic coast east of the 100th western meridian and south of the 40th northern parallel, but excluding a high elevation region associated with the Appalachian Mountains. Future ensemble predictions for 2061–2080 forecasted a stable western range limit, northward expansion of suitable habitat into the Upper Midwest and western Pennsylvania, and range contraction along portions of the Gulf coast and the lower Mississippi river valley. These findings are informative for raising awareness of A. americanum -transmitted pathogens in areas where the Lone Star tick has recently or may become established.

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene↗

USGS2020

A global shape model for Saturn's moon Enceladus from a dense photogrammetric control network

A planetary bodys global shape provides both insight into its geologic evolution, and a key element of any Planetary Spatial Data Infrastructure (PSDI). NASAs Cassini mission to Saturn acquired more than 600 moderate- to high-resolution images (< 500 m/pixel) of the small, geologically active moon Enceladus. The moons internal global ocean and intriguing geology mark it as a candidate for future exploration and motivates the development of a PSDI. Recently, Bland et al. (2018) provided two foundational elements of this PSDI: geodetic control and orthoimages. To provide the third foundational data set we generate a new shape model for Enceladus from Cassini images and a dense photogrammetric control network (nearly 1 million tie points) using the United States Geological Surveys Integrated Software for Imagers and Spectrometers (ISIS) and the Ames Stereo Pipeline (ASP). The new shape model is near-global in extent and gridded to 2.2 km/pixel, ~50 times better resolution than previous global models. Our calculated triaxial shape, rotation rate, and pole orientation for Enceladus is consistent with current IAU values to within the error; however, we determined a new prime meridian offset (Wo) of 7.063o. We calculate Enceladus long-wavelength topography by subtracting the best-fit triaxial ellipsoid from our shape model. The result is comparable to previous global models but can resolve topographic features as small as 5-7 km across in certain areas. To evaluate the spatially varying quality of the model we calculate the point density (variable from 5 to more than 50 per pixel), normalized median absolute deviation of the points within each pixel (typically less than 100 m), and the minimum expected vertical precision of each point (ranging from 2 km to 29 m).

Conference Paper↗

USGS2017

Guidance documents: Continued support to improve operations of fish hatcheries and field sites to reduce the impact or prevent establishment of New Zealand Mudsnails and other invasive mollusks

This project tested and revised a risk assessment/management tool authored by Moffitt and Stockton designed to provide hatchery biologists and others a structure to measure risk and provide tools to control, prevent or eliminate invasive New Zealand mudsnails (NZMS) and other invasive mollusks in fish hatcheries and hatchery operations. The document has two parts: the risk assessment tool, and an appendix that summarizes options for control or management. The framework of the guidance document for risk assessment/hatchery tool combines approaches used by the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) process with those developed by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, in the Tri-National Risk Assessment Guidelines for Aquatic Alien Invasive Species. The framework approach for this attached first document assesses risk potential with two activities: probability of infestation and consequences of infestation. Each activity is treated equally to determine the risk potential. These two activities are divided into seven basic elements that utilize scientific, technical, and other relevant information in the process of the risk assessment. To determine the probability of infestation four steps are used that have scores reported or determined and averaged. This assessment follows a familiar HACCP process to assess pathways of entry, entry potential, colonization potential, spread potential. The economic, environmental and social consequences are considered as economic impact, environmental impact, and social and cultural influences. To test this document, the Principal Investigator worked to identify interested hatchery managers through contacts at regional aquaculture meetings, fish health meetings, and through the network of invasive species managers and scientists participating in the Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species and the 100th Meridian Initiative's Columbia River Basin Team, and the Western New Zealand Mudsnail Conference in Seattle. Targeted hatchery workshops were conducted with staff at Dworshak National Fish Hatchery Complex (ID), Similkameen Pond, Oroville WA, and Ringold Springs State Hatchery (WA). As a result of communications with hatchery staff, invasive species managers, and on site assessments of hatchery facilities, the document was modified and enhanced. Additional resources were added to keep it up to date. The result is a more simplified tool that can lead hatchery or management personnel through the process of risk assessment and provide an introduction to the risk management and communication process. In addition to the typical HACCP processes, this tool adds steps to rate and consider uncertainty and the weight of evidence regarding options and monitoring results . Uncertainty of outcome exists in most tools that can be used to control or prevent NZMS or other invasive mollusks from infesting an area. In additional this document emphasizes that specific control tools and plans must be tailored to each specific setting to consider the economic, environmental and social influences. From the testing and evaluation process, there was a strong recognition that a number of control and prevention tools previously suggested and reported in the literature from laboratory and small scale trials may not be compatible with regional and national regulations, economic constraints, social or cultural constraints, engineering or water chemistry characteristics of each facility. The options for control are summarized in the second document, Review of Control Measures for Hatcheries Infested with NZMS (Appendix A) that provides sources for additional resources and specific tools, and guidance regarding the feasibility and success of each approach. This tool also emphasizes that management plans need to be adaptive and incorporate oversight from professionals familiar with measuring risks of fish diseases, and treatments (e.g. the fish health practitioners and water quality and effluent management teams). Finally, with such a team, the adaptive management approach must be ongoing, and become a regular component of hatchery operations. Although it was the intent that this two part document would be included as part of the revised National Management and Control Plan for the NZMS proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and others, it is provided as a stand-alone document.

Cooperator Science Series↗

USGS2005

Technology and the study of wildfire: Middle school students study the impacts of wildfire

Various technologies that can assist students in exploring the human and environmental impacts of wildfire and in communicating their findings are discussed. Wildfires occur in many parts of the world, and provide an excellent opportunity for students to study local and global interdisciplinary issues using technology. Prior to the beginning of the field study, students take instructions in both their math and science classes about the distinction and appropriate uses of quantitative and qualitative data. Use of computer programs such as Excel spreadsheets which can contain data, and interaction of research and technology group with students, can help them collect best of the information and in making an accurate report.

Meridian↗