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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
USGS2005

Water Resources Data New York Water Year 2004, Volume 3: Western New York

Water resources data for the 2004 water year for Western New York consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage and contents of lakes and reservoirs; ground-water levels and water quality; and quantity and chemical quality of precipitation. This volume contains records for water discharge at 71 gaging stations; stage only at 15 gaging stations; stage and contents at 6 gaging stations; water quality at 12 gaging stations, 29 wells, and 22 partial-record stations; water levels at 29 observation wells; daily precipitation totals at 1 site, and chemical quality of precipitation at 1 site. Also included are data for 38 crest-stage partial-record stations. Locations of these sites are shown on figure 1. Additional water data were collected at various sites not involved in the systematic data-collection program and are published as measurements made at miscellaneous sites. Surface-water, ground-water, and water-quality data at all sites are listed in Eastern Standard Time (EST), unless otherwise noted. These data together with the data in Volumes 1 and 2 represent that part of the National Water Information System operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State, local, and Federal agencies in New York.

Water Data Report↗
USGS2006

Water resources data New York water year 2005, volume 3: Western New York

Water resources data for the 2005 water year for Western New York consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage and contents of lakes and reservoirs; ground-water levels and water quality; and quantity and chemical quality of precipitation. This volume contains records for water discharge at 71 gaging stations; stage only at 15 gaging stations; stage and contents at 6 gaging stations; water quality at 12 gaging stations, 29 wells, and 22 partial-record stations; water levels at 29 observation wells; daily precipitation totals at 1 site, and chemical quality of precipitation at 1 site. Also included are data for 38 crest-stage partial-record stations. Locations of these sites are shown on figure 1. Additional water data were collected at various sites not involved in the systematic data-collection program and are published as measurements made at miscellaneous sites. Surface-water, ground-water, and water-quality data at all sites are listed in Eastern Standard Time (EST), unless otherwise noted. These data together with the data in Volumes 1 and 2 represent that part of the National Water Information System operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State, local, and Federal agencies in New York.

New York↗
USGS2007

The United States Polar Rock Repository: A geological resource for the Earth science community

The United States Polar Rock Repository (USPRR) is a U. S. national facility designed for the permanent curatorial preservation of rock samples, along with associated materials such as field notes, annotated air photos and maps, raw analytic data, paleomagnetic cores, ground rock and mineral residues, thin sections, and microfossil mounts, microslides and residues from Polar areas. This facility was established by the Office of Polar Programs at the U. S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to minimize redundant sample collecting, and also because the extreme cold and hazardous field conditions make fieldwork costly and difficult. The repository provides, along with an on-line database of sample information, an essential resource for proposal preparation, pilot studies and other sample based research that should make fieldwork more efficient and effective. This latter aspect should reduce the environmental impact of conducting research in sensitive Polar Regions. The USPRR also provides samples for educational outreach. Rock samples may be borrowed for research or educational purposes as well as for museum exhibits.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1964

Geological Survey research 1964, Chapter B

This collection of 46 short papers is one of a series to be released as chapters of Geological Survey Research 1964. The papers report on scientific and economic results of current work by members of the Geologic and Water Resources Divisions of the U.S. Geological Survey. Some of the papers present results of completed parts of continuing investigations; others announce new discoveries or preliminary results of investigations that will be discussed in greater detail in reports to be published in the future. Still others are scientific notes of limited scope, and short papers on techniques and instrumentation. Chapter A of this series will be published later in the year, and will present a summary of results of work done during the present fiscal year.

Professional Paper↗
USGS2015

Geological processes and orchid biogeography with applications to southeast central America

This contribution owes its origins to a paper presentation by Dr. Calloway H. Dodson at the Second International Conference on Neotropical Orchidology held in San José, Costa Rica in May of2003 (Dodson 2003). Dr. Dodson outlined some ofthe reasons to suspect that regional geological fac-tors may play important roles in orchid speciation and biogeography and gave examples from the northwestern South America. He also suggested that evolutionary change in orchid might occur over fairly short time periods, perhaps even as short as decades, centuries or millennia (Dodson 2003, SHK lecture notes). These ideas stimulated the author, a professional earth scientist, to begin thinking about how these exciting ideas could begin to be tested in Costa Rica neighboring and Central American countries, an area that has drawn him to return frequently over the last decade. The present contribution is a proposal for integrating geological observations, such as the chronology of arc volcanic activity in Nicaragua,Costa Rica, and Panama, in hypothesis forming and testing of the geographic distribution of orchids (and possibly other biota). I initially focus on comparisons between orchid inventories on the windward slopes of mountainous regions (elevation > 1000 m)with high rainfall (> 1-2 m) in tropical regions, the so-called tropical cloud forests. These regions represent the tropical pre-montane rain forestto lower montane tropical rain forest life zones of Holdridge(1967) and the montane vegetation zone applied to Costa Rica and Panama by Dressler (1993). An important message of this paper is that such tropical mountainous regions are not necessarily static, but may change in elevation over geologic time due to active tectonic deformation and uplift and that the presence of active volcanism in a mountain range may also introduce additional chemical factors, such as volcanic gases, acid rain, and volcanic soils, and also physical factors, such as interruption of gene flow by explosive eruptions and coverage by their air fall products such as ash (tephra), lava flows, and lahars (volcanic mudflows). Thus over a given geological time interval, forests may be slowly increasing in elevation by tectonic uplift or by the accumulation of volcanic products such as steep-sided strato volcanoes (built from both lavas and tephra), or by down-slope accumulations of lava flows or lahars. Mountains may also lose elevation by erosion or by tectonic subsidence. As we shall see, tropical Central America shows an extraordinarily high level of tectonic and volcanic history that has changed its geography and, by implication, climate, life zones,and likely orchid distribution. My working hypo thesis put forward for testing is that orchid adaptations to these changes may have led to the development of new species and endemism in this region.

Lankesteriana↗
USGS1994

Geologic maps of the Olympus Mons region of Mars

Olympus Mons is one of the broadest volcanoes and certainly the tallest in the Solar System. It has been extensively described and analyzed in scientific publications and frequently noted in the popular and nontechnical literature of Mars. However, the first name given to the feature-Nix Olympica (Schiaparelli, 1879)-was based on its albedo, not its size, because early telescopic observations of Mars revealed only albedo features and not topography (lnge and others, 1971). After Mariner 9 images acquired in 1971 showed that this albedo feature coincides with a giant shield volcano (McCauley and others, 1972), the name Olympus Mons was adopted for the shield to distinguish it from the albedo feature. Olympus Mons is one of the most photographed features on the planet. The Mariner 9 spacecraft obtained 126 images of Olympus Mons with resolutions of 60 m/pixel to 2.5 km/pixel. Later, the two Viking orbiters greatly enlarged this dataset, acquiring more than 2,150 images of the Olympus Mons region at various resolutions and altitudes; 925 images have resolutions of better than 50 m/pixel. More than 150 of the Viking images provide stereoscopic coverage of the shield region (Blasius and others, 1982).

IMAP↗
USGS2014

Welded rhyolitic tuffs in southeastern Idaho

Rocks of rhyolitic type in eastern Idaho and adjacent parts of Wyoming were observed by the Teton Division of the Hayden Surveys under Orestes St. John (Report of the geological field work of the Teton Division, U.S. Geol. and Geog. Surv. Terr., 11th Ann. Rep., pp. 498–504, 1879), who described them as trachytes. He noted their relations to different types of underlying sedimentary rocks and their tendency to conform with the preexisting topography, but considered them all as flows. ©1935. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Idaho↗
USGS2017

Hydrogeology and water quality of sand and gravel aquifers in McHenry County, Illinois, 2009–14, and comparison to conditions in 1979

Baseline conditions for the sand and gravel aquifers (groundwater) in McHenry County, Illinois, were assessed using data from a countywide network of 44 monitoring wells collecting continuous water-level data from 2009–14. In 2010, water-quality data were collected from 41 of the monitoring wells, along with five additional monitoring wells available from the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Program. Periodic water-quality data were collected from 2010–14 from selected monitoring wells. The continuous water-level data were used to identify the natural and anthropogenic factors that influenced the water levels at each well. The water-level responses to natural influences such as precipitation, seasonal and annual variations, barometric pressure, and geology, and to anthropogenic influences such as pumping were used to determine (1) likely hydrogeologic setting (degree of aquifer confinement and interconnections) that, in part, are related to lithostratigraphy; and (2) areas of recharge and discharge related to vertical flow directions. Water-level trends generally were determined from the 6 years of data collection (2009–14) to infer effects of weather variability (drought) on recharge. Precipitation adds an estimated 2.4 inches per year of recharge to the aquifer. Some of this recharge is subsequently discharged to streams and some is discharged to supply wells. A few areas in the eastern half of the county had higher average recharge rates, indicating a need for adequate protection of these recharge areas. Downward vertical flow gradients in upland areas indicate that recharge to the confined aquifer units occurs near upland areas. Upward vertical flow gradients in lowland areas indicate discharge at locations of surface water and groundwater interaction (wetlands, ponds, and streams). Monitoring wells were sampled for major and minor ions, metals, and nutrients and a subset of wells was sampled for trace elements, dissolved gases, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds. The results were compared to health ‑ based and aesthetically based standards, which include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Maximum Contaminant Level (EPA MCL), and EPA Secondary Maximum Contaminant Levels (SMCL), as well as EPA Health-based Standards Drinking Water Advisories. Health‑based standards were exceeded for arsenic in 22 percent, sodium in 20 percent, and nitrates in 2 percent of the monitoring wells sampled. Aesthetically based standards were exceeded for total dissolved solids in 33 percent, chloride in 11 percent, iron in 85 percent, and manganese in 30 percent of the wells sampled. Many of these same constituents, such as arsenic, iron, and manganese, are naturally occurring but become elevated in areas that have anoxic, mixed, and suboxic conditions. Some areas of potential vulnerability to anthropogenic-sourced constituents in the sand and gravel aquifers were evidenced by trace amounts of volatile organic compounds and pesticides detected in water-quality samples from shallow wells (total depth less of than 46 feet below land surface) near urban settings, and by the detection of elevated major ions (chloride, sodium, magnesium, and calcium) associated, in part, with road-salt applications. Source analysis for chloride indicates mixtures of road salt, water softeners, and sewage. Continuously measured specific conductance values were used as a surrogate for continuously measured chloride concentrations in the groundwater. The estimated chloride concentrations generally were highest in spring and lowest in summer, and occasionally peak during spring melt. Overall, the range of concentrations varied depending on the local thickness and hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer. Water levels and water quality from the countywide groundwater monitoring network were compared to water levels and water-quality results in 1979 from a previous U.S. Geological Survey study. Potentiometric surface maps show areas with inferred decreases of water levels near the southern and southeastern areas of McHenry County. Significant increases were noted for total dissolved solids and specific conductance. Chloride concentrations increased as much as 521 percent in three of six wells resampled in 2015 from the previous study.

Illinois↗
USGS1994

Effects of mesoscale vegetation distributions in mountainous terrain on local climate

Even a casual observer from an aircraft will note the varied landscape of mountainous terrain. These variations in land surface include the terrain features themselves as well as patchiness from different vegetation types, surface geology, urbanization, etc. There are two major questions related to climate system dynamics that need to be addressed concerning this landscape heterogeneity: (i) how would a large-scale climate change influence this landscape, and (ii) does landscape spatial and temporal structure influence the larger-scale climate?

Book chapter↗
USGS2003

Intrusive rock database for the Digital Geologic Map of Utah

Digital geologic maps offer the promise of rapid and powerful answers to geologic questions using Geographic Information System software (GIS). Using modern GIS and database methods, a specialized derivative map can be easily prepared. An important limitation can be shortcomings in the information provided in the database associated with the digital map, a database which is often based on the legend of the original map. The purpose of this report is to show how the compilation of additional information can, when prepared as a database that can be used with the digital map, be used to create some types of derivative maps that are not possible with the original digital map and database. This Open-file Report consists of computer files with information about intrusive rocks in Utah that can be linked to the Digital Geologic Map of Utah (Hintze et al., 2000), an explanation of how to link the databases and map, and a list of references for the databases. The digital map, which represents the 1:500,000-scale Geologic Map of Utah (Hintze, 1980), can be obtained from the Utah Geological Survey (Map 179DM). Each polygon in the map has a unique identification number. We selected the polygons identified on the geologic map as intrusive rock, and constructed a database (UT_PLUT.xls) that classifies the polygons into plutonic map units (see tables). These plutonic map units are the key information that is used to relate the compiled information to the polygons on the map. The map includes a few polygons that were coded as intrusive on the state map but are largely volcanic rock; in these cases we note the volcanic rock names (rhyolite and latite) as used in the original sources Some polygons identified on the digital state map as intrusive rock were misidentified; these polygons are noted in a separate table of the database, along with some information about their true character. Fields may be empty because of lack of information from references used or difficulty in finding information. The information in the database is from a variety of sources, including geologic maps at scales ranging from 1:500,000 to 1:24,000, and thesis monographs. The references are shown twice: alphabetically and by region. The digital geologic map of Utah (Hintze and others, 2000) classifies intrusive rocks into only 3 categories, distinguished by age. They are: Ti, Tertiary intrusive rock; Ji, Upper to Middle Jurassic granite to quartz monzonite; and pCi, Early Proterozoic to Late Archean intrusive rock. Use of the tables provided in this report will permit selection and classification of those rocks by lithology and age. This database is a pilot study by the Survey and Analysis Project of the U.S. Geological Survey to characterize igneous rocks and link them to a digital map. The database, and others like it, will evolve as the project continues and other states are completed. We release this version now as an example, as a reference, and for those interested in Utah plutonic rocks.

Utah↗
USGS2011

Groupers on the edge: Shelf edge spawning habitat in and around marine reserves of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico

The northeastern Gulf of Mexico contains some of the most diverse and productive marine habitat in the United States. Much of this habitat, located on the shelf edge in depths of 50 to 120 m, supports spawning for many economically important species, including groupers. Here, we couple acoustic surveys with georeferenced videography to describe the primary spatial and geologic features of spawning aggregation sites for four economically important species: gag ( Mycteroperca microlepis ), scamp ( M. phenax ), red grouper ( Epinephelus morio ), and red snapper ( Lutjanus campechanus ), with notes on fish distribution and abundance and spawning activities. We provide information on movement patterns of reef fish determined using acoustic telemetry. Finally, we discuss the possible coupling of geomorphology with hydrographic features to influence the overall productivity of the region and the importance of spatial fishery management in sustaining that productivity.

Northeastern Gulf of Mexico↗
USGS1997

Permo-Carboniferous sedimentary basins related to the distribution of planetary cryptoblemes

Massive/high velocity solar, galactic, and cosmic debris impacting the Earths surface may account for the enormous energy required for the formation of Permo-Carboniferous sedimentary basins and related mountain building orogenies. Analysis of satellite immagry, sea floor sonar, geophysical data, and geotectonic fabrics show a strong correlation throughout geologic time between sedimentary basin origin and planetary cryptoblemes. Cryptoblemes are subtile, multi-ringed, radial centric impact shock signatures covering the entire terrestrial surface and ocean floors, having a geometry and distribution strikingly similar to the surfaces of the lunar planetary bodies in the solar system. Investigations of Permo-Carboniferous basins show an intensely overprinted pattern of cryptoblemes coinciding with partial obliteration and elliptical compression of pre-existing basins and accompanying shock patterns. Large distorted cryptoblemes may incorporate thin skin deformation, localized sediment diagenesis, regional metamorphism, and juxtaposed exotic terrains. These data, related to basin morphogenic symmetry, suggest that large episodic impact events are the primary cause of tectonogenic features, geologic boundary formation and mass extinction episodes on the planet Earth. Plate tectonics may be only a slow moving, low energy secondary effect defined and set in motion by megacosmic accretion events. Permo-Carboniferous sediments of note are preserved or accumulated in relatively small rectangular to arcuate rift valleys and synclinal down warps, such as the Narraganset basin of Massachusetts, USA, and Paganzo basin in Argentina, S.A. These deposits and depocenters may originate from dynamic reinforcement/cancellation impact effects, as can be seen in the Basin Range of Nevada and Utah, USA. Large circular to oval sedimentary basins commonly include internal ring structures indicating post depositional subsidence and rebound adjustments with growth faulting, notable in the Illinois basin USA and Ordos basin in China. Recent impact events on the planet Jupiter, July 1994, lend increasing support towards an impact orogenic geologic paradigm on the planet Earth.

Prace - Panstwowego Instytutu Geologicznego↗
USGS2023

Pollinator conservation and climate science at the U.S. Geological Survey

Introduction Ecosystems—whether agricultural, urban, or natural—depend on pollinators, great and small. Pollinators in the form of bees, birds, butterflies, bats, and even moths provide vital, but often invisible services, from contributing to biodiverse terrestrial wildlife and plant communities to supporting healthy watersheds. Pollinator declines worldwide have been noted as land-use and climate changes occur on the landscape. This is alarming because up to 75 percent of crop species that are important for human food production depend on pollinators for production. Biodiversity of pollinators in the United States includes more than 4,000 species of insects, birds, and mammals. Pollinator species in the United States are in crisis based on broad-scale changes in land-use and climate. The Committee on the Status of Pollinators in North America summarized active and passive management alternatives to benefit pollinators and reduce their decline. Because assessment of pollinators in the United States has historically lagged behind other regions of the world, the Committee challenged the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to develop conservation plans, for pollinators, including quantification of the effects of climate change. As an example of the immediate need to focus efforts on pollinator conservation, Inouye and others cited the USFWS’s 2017 listing of the rusty-patched bumble bee ( Bombus affinis ) as Endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. Strategies are developed to accomplish pollinator conservation goals and the USGS is contributing scientific expertise toward those goals.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1995

United States Geological Survey, programs in Nevada

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been collecting and interpreting natural-resources data in Nevada for more than 100 years. This long-term commitment enables planners to manage better the resources of a State noted for paradoxes. Although Nevada is one of the most sparsely populated States in the Nation, it has the fastest growing population (fig. 1). Although 90 percent of the land is rural, it is the fourth most urban State. Nevada is the most arid State and relies heavily on water resources. Historically, mining and agriculture have formed the basis of the economy; now tourism and urban development also have become important. The USGS works with more than 40 local, State, and other Federal agencies in Nevada to provide natural-resources information for immediate and long-term decisions. Subjects included in this fact sheet: Low-Level Radioactive-Waste Disposal Mining and Water in the Humboldt Basin Aquifer Systems in the Great Basin Water Allocation in Truckee and Carson Basins National Water-Quality Assessment Program Minerals Assessment for Land Management Irrigation Drainage Ground-Water Movement at Nevada Test Site Oil and Gas Resources National Mapping Program Digital Mapping and Aerial Photography Collection of Hydrologlc Data Geologic Mapping Earthquake Hazards Assessing Mineral Resources of the Subsurface Earth Observation Data Cooperative Programs

Nevada↗
USGS2008

Age, distribution, and stratigraphic relationship of rock units in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California: Chapter 5 in Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California

The San Joaquin Basin is a major petroleum province that forms the southern half of California’s Great Valley, a 700-km-long, asymmetrical basin that originated between a subduction zone to the west and the Sierra Nevada to the east. Sedimentary fill and tectonic structures of the San Joaquin Basin record the Mesozoic through Cenozoic geologic history of North America’s western margin. More than 25,000 feet (>7,500 meters) of sedimentary rocks overlie the basement surface and provide a nearly continuous record of sedimentation over the past ~100 m.y. Further, depositional geometries and fault structures document the tectonic evolution of the region from forearc setting to strike-slip basin to transpressional margin. Sedimentary architecture in the San Joaquin Basin is complicated because of these tectonic regimes and because of lateral changes in depositional environment and temporal changes in relative sea level. Few formations are widespread across the basin. Consequently, a careful analysis of sedimentary facies is required to unravel the basin’s depositional history on a regional scale. At least three high-quality organic source rocks formed in the San Joaquin Basin during periods of sea level transgression and anoxia. Generated on the basin’s west side, hydrocarbons migrated into nearly every facies type in the basin, from shelf and submarine fan sands to diatomite and shale to nonmarine coarse-grained rocks to schist. In 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources and future additions to reserves in the San Joaquin Valley of California (USGS San Joaquin Basin Province Assessment Team, this volume, chapter 1). Several research aims supported this assessment: identifying and mapping the petroleum systems, modeling the generation, migration, and accumulation of hydrocarbons, and defining the volumes of rock to be analyzed for additional resources. To better understand the three dimensional relationships between hydrocarbon source and reservoir rocks, we compiled a database consisting of more than 13,000 well picks and of one-mile resolution seismic grids. Both the well picks and the seismic grids characterize the depths to the top of key stratigraphic units. This database formed the basis of subsequent numerical modeling efforts, including the construction of a three- dimensional geologic model (Hosford Scheirer, this volume, chapter 7) and simulation of the petroleum systems in space and time (Peters, Magoon, Lampe, and others, this volume, chapter 12). To accomplish this modeling, we synthesized the age, geographic distribution, lithology, and petroleum characteristics of hydrocarbon source and reservoir rocks in the basin. The results of that synthesis are presented in this paper in the form of new stratigraphic correlation columns for the northern, central, and southern San Joaquin Valley (fig. 5.1; note that all figures are at the back of this report, following the References Cited). The stratigraphic relationships and ages published here draw heavily on published and unpublished studies of the San Joaquin Basin. The stratigraphy presented in each of the columns necessarily idealizes the subsurface geology over a relatively large area, instead of representing the specific geology at an individual well, oil and gas field, or outcrop. In this paper we present the background rationale for defining the geographic divisions of the basin (inset map, fig. 5.1), the paleontological time scales used for assigning absolute ages to rock units (figs. 5.2 and 5.3), and the supporting maps illustrating the geographic distribution of each rock type included in the stratigraphic column (figs. 5.4 through 5.64).

California↗
USGS1996

Bibliography of selected water-resources publications by the U.S. Geological Survey for North Carolina, 1886-1995

More than 660 selected publications, written by scientists, engineers, and technicians of the U.S. Geological Survey during the period 1886-1995, compose the bulk of information about North Carolina?s water resources. The bibliography includes interpretive reports on water resources, ground water, surface water, water quality, and public-water supply and water use, as well as data reports on the same subjects. The interpretive reports are organized by geographic areas of the State. These areas include statewide, physiographic province, major river basin, and county. The data reports are listed by water-resource topic, and the introduction to each topic provides historical notes for data-collection and publication activities. Summary tables list Water-Supply Paper numbers for reports containing ground-water, surface-water, and water-quality data by calendar year or water year. A concluding section discusses the availability of U.S. Geological Survey publications.

North Carolina↗
USGS1982

On the availability of geoscientific data and scientific collaborators of an in Africa

In addition to the technical papers, the major topic of discussion at the symposium which formed the stepping-off point for this issue of Geoexplorution was the difficult communications between specialists on Africa and the lack of available geological and geophysical data. However, much of this difficulty stems from a lack of advice on where to turn for data and for eollaboration with other interested scientists. This short note attempts to address these problems with some possible solutions.

Geoexploration↗