Geology Reports⌕ Search

SEARCH · Geology Reports

Results for “Water Information Bulletin”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1977

The Guatemala earthquake and Caribbean Plate tectonics

The main fault along which the destructive Guatemala earthquake occurred was the Motagua fault. Ground breakage was observed in a continuous, well-defined line for 230 km. At its closest point, the fault is 25 km north of Guatemala City. Surface displacement across the fault was dominantly horizontal and sinistral (see back cover). The strike-slip component averaged 1.08m and was as high as 3.40m. Unlike many other earhtquake-related strike-slip displacements in the world (such as the San Andreas system in California), subsidiary faults, splays, and an echelon offsets are relatively rare along the Motagua fault. Most of the fault trace is marked by linear stream valleys, minor scarps, shutter ridges (a fault-displaced ridge which "shuts in" the adjacent canyon), and sag ponds (fault-formed depressions which fill with water).

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
USGS1954

Southern California Water Bulletin for 1953: General review of the water resources of Southern California for the water year of 1952-53 with special reference to the surface runoff for the water year of 1951-52

This WATER BULLETTIN is one of a series issued annually since June 1944. Its main purpose is to present a brief analysis of those phases of the local water supply associated with the work of the Geological Survey. The first part of this review deals with the water resources for the water year ending September 30, 1953. It contains a brief analysis of the annual precipitation, the provisional runoff at a few stations, the changes in water reserves both in surface reservoirs and underground, and the imported waters. It concludes by pointing out the deficiences in the local water reserves. This bulletin has been prepared by the Surface Water Branch; the section on ground-water conditions was prepared chiefly from information supplied by the Ground Hater Branch.

California↗
USGS2014

Estimating magnitude and frequency of floods using the PeakFQ 7.0 program

Flood-frequency analysis provides information about the magnitude and frequency of flood discharges based on records of annual maximum instantaneous peak discharges collected at streamgages. The information is essential for defining flood-hazard areas, for managing floodplains, and for designing bridges, culverts, dams, levees, and other flood-control structures. Bulletin 17B (B17B) of the Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data (IACWD; 1982) codifies the standard methodology for conducting flood-frequency studies in the United States. B17B specifies that annual peak-flow data are to be fit to a log-Pearson Type III distribution. Specific methods are also prescribed for improving skew estimates using regional skew information, tests for high and low outliers, adjustments for low outliers and zero flows, and procedures for incorporating historical flood information. The authors of B17B identified various needs for methodological improvement and recommended additional study. In response to these needs, the Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI, successor to IACWD; http://acwi.gov/ , Subcommittee on Hydrology (SOH), Hydrologic Frequency Analysis Work Group (HFAWG), has recommended modest changes to B17B. These changes include adoption of a generalized method-of-moments estimator denoted the Expected Moments Algorithm (EMA) (Cohn and others, 1997) and a generalized version of the Grubbs-Beck test for low outliers (Cohn and others, 2013). The SOH requested that the USGS implement these changes in a user-friendly, publicly accessible program.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1971

Hydrogeologic data for the Upper Connecticut River Basin, Connecticut

This report contains geologic, ground-water, and quality-of-water data collected and compiled for a water resources investigation of the upper Connecticut River basin, Connecticut by the U.S. Geological Survey in financial cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. These data, together with surface-water data, were collected at sites shown on plate A and are, with exceptions discussed below, presented herein. The interpretation of these data will be published separately in Connecticut Water Resources Bulletin No. 24. As defined for this investigation, the upper Connecticut River basin is a 508-square-mile area in north-central Connecticut (see front cover and plate A) drained by the Connecticut River and its tributaries including the Farmington River downstream from the community of Tariffville. The basin includes all or parts of the following 30 towns: Avon, Bloomfield, Bolton, Cromwell, East Granby, East Hampton, East Hartford, East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Hartford, Manchester, New Brltain, Newington, Plainville, Portland, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor, Stafford, Suffield, Tolland, Vernon, West Hartford, Wethersfield, Windsor, and Windsor Locks. The data compiled for this investigation consist of those collected specifically for the study during the period July 1967 - December 1969 and those collected during previous investigations. Many records of wells and test holes in thus report were published in Connecticut Water Resources Bulletin No. 4. This report is out of print, therefore these previously published records, together with newer ones, are published in this report to provide a readily available source of ground-water information. Previously published well numbers have been retained and are those published in this report. However, test holes previously published as wells have been assigned test-hole numbers; the former well number Is noted in table 3.

Connecticut↗
USGS1960

Ground-water areas and well logs, central Sevier Valley, Utah

Between September 1959 and June 1960 the United States Geological Survey and the Utah State Engineer, with financial assistance from Garfield, Millard, Piute, Sanpete, and Sevier Counties and from local water-users’ associations, cooperated in an investigation to determine the structural framework of the central Sevier Valley and to evaluate the valley’s ground-water potential. An important aspect of the study was the drilling of 22 test holes under private contract. These data and other data collected during the course of the larger ground-water investigation of which the test drilling was a part will be evaluated in a report on the geology and ground-water resources of the central Sevier Valley. The present report has been prepared to make available the logs of test holes and to describe in general terms the availability of ground water in the different areas of the valley.

Utah↗
USGS1970

Hydrogeologic data for the Upper Housatonic River basin, Connecticut

The upper Housatonic River basin covers an area of about 700 square miles in western Connecticut and includes the towns of Bridgewater, Brookfield, Canaan, Cornwall, Kent, New Fairfield, New Hilford, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Sherman and Warren and parts of Bethel, Bethlehem, Danbury, Goshen, Litchfield, Morris, Newtown, Norfolk, Ridgefield, Roxbury, Southbury, Torrington and Washington. The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Connecticut Water Resources Commission conducted a water resources investigation of this basin from July 1966 to November 1968. The interpretive results of this study are published separately in Connecticut Water Resources Bulletin No. 21. Streamflow and water-quality data and measurements of water levels In observation wells collected during the investigative period have been published in the 1967, 1968 and 1969 volumes of the annual series of U.S. Geological Survey reports entitled "Water Resources Data for Connecticut". The remaining significant information, consisting of records of 284 wells and 5 springs, logs of 322 wells and test holes, mechanical analyses of 58 sediment samples of stratified drift and records of 3 pumping tests is contained in this report. The locations of all sites at which hydrogeologic data were collected are shown on plate A (in pocket at back of report). The Information contained on the following pages together with data previously published~ document the companion interpretive report and should facilitate the planned development of water resources at specific localities.

Connecticut↗
USGS1978

Gilbert White talks about natural hazards

Dr. Gilbert White is Director of the Institute of Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he is responsible for natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center supported by the National Science Foundation. He served in the Executive Office of the president in 1941-42, on the Federal Flood Control Policy Task Force in 1964-65, and on the U.S Geological Survey Advisory Panel on Earthquake Studies. Dr. White has authored five books on the social and economic aspects of natural resources, including water supply and river development, and on floods and other natural hazards.

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
USGS1973

Hydrogeologic data for the Quinnipiac River basin, Connecticut

This report contains geologic, ground-water, and quality-of-water data collected for the ground-water part of a water-resources inventory of the Quinnipiac River basin, Connecticut. The study was made by the U.S. Geological Survey in fiscal cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. Collection sites for data used in the study are shown in plate A. A companion report interprets the ground-water, quality-of-water, and surfacewater data collected for the study (Connecticut Water Resources Bulletin No. 27, in parparation). The Quinnipiac River basin~ as used in this report~ is a 360-square-mile area in south-central Connecticut drained principally by the Quinnipiac River and its tributaries and several smaller streams~ which drain directly to Long Island Sound. (See front cover and plate A.) The study area includes all or parts of the following towns: Ansonia, Berlin, Bethany, Branford, Bristol, Cheshire, Derby, Durham, East Haven, Farmington, Guilford, Hamden, Meriden, Middlefield, Middletown, Milford, New Britain, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Plainville, Prospect, Southington, Wallingford, West Haven, Wolcott, and Woodbridge. Data collected for this investigation from July 1969 to December 1971 were supplemented by data collected during previous investigations. This report includes some records of wells and test holes published in Connecticut Water Resources Bulletin No. 5 and also includes some records used but not published in Connecticut Water Resources Bulletin No. 14. Table 5 contains old but previously unpublished analyses of water from wells in New Haven collected primarily from 1938 to 1949. Ownership of the sampled wells, as shown in table 1 and table 5, was determined at the time of the original inventory, and this information may now be outdated. Many of these wells have been destroyed since they were last sampled and others, though still in existence, are no longer in use.

Connecticut↗
USGS2007

Justification for a reduction in the crest-stage gage program in Louisiana

The crest-stage gage program in Louisiana was evaluated to determine if the data were adequate for use in developing regional flood-frequency equations and to determine if any crest-stage gage stations could be discontinued. An abundance of data at many crest-stage gage stations and a lack of data for urban areas and flat-slope areas indicated a need for a shift in the number, type, and locations of gages. Correlations and comparisons of annual peak discharges and watershed characteristics of 96 existing stations resulted in the elimination of 72 stations and the addition of one new station, reducing the total network to 25 stations that could be used for future flood-frequency analyses. The adequacy of the reduced network for development and verification of regional flood-frequency equations was tested by comparing a set of regional flood-frequency equations developed using data from the full network with a set developed using data from the reduced network. The results indicate that the crest-stage gage network can be reduced to 25 stations and still provide adequate information for future flood-frequency analyses.

Louisiana↗
USGS2003

Geoenvironmental Investigations of the Humboldt River Basin, Northern Nevada

Northern Nevada is one of the world's foremost regions of gold production. The Humboldt River Basin (HRB) covers 43,500 km2 in northern Nevada (Crompton, 1995), and it is home to approximately 18 active gold and silver mines (Driesner and Coyner, 2001) among at least 55 significant metallic mineral deposits (Long and others, 1998). Many of the gold mines are along the Carlin trend in the east-central portion of the HRB, and together they have produced 50 million ounces of gold from 1962 (when the Carlin mine first opened) through April 2002 (Nevada Mining Association, 2002). Mining is not new to the region, however. Beginning in 1849, mining has taken place in numerous districts that cover 39 percent of the land area in the HRB (Tingley, 1998). In addition to gold and silver, As, Ba, Cu, Fe, Hg, Li, Mn, Mo, Pb, S, Sb, V, W, Zn, and industrial commodities such as barite, limestone, fluorite, sand and gravel, gypsum, gemstones, pumice, zeolites, and building stone, have been extracted from the HRB (McFaul and others, 2000). All papers within this series of investigations can be found as lettered chapters of USGS Bulletin 2210, Geoenvironmental Investigations of the Humboldt River Basin, Northern Nevada. Each chapter is available separately online. The data and software utilized in this product (Chapter F) permit the user to view and analyze the geographic relationships among chemistry of stream sediments and surface waters, geology, and various cartographic base information such as but not limited to cities, county boundaries, and land ownership. Data for this product were compiled and or produced as part of a mineral and environmental assessment of the Humboldt River basin conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1995 - 2000.

Bulletin↗
USGS2007

Wetland Boundary Determination in the Great Dismal Swamp Using Weighted Averages

A weighted average method was used to analyze transition zone vegetation in the Great Dismal Swamp to determine if a more uniform determination of wetland boundaries can be made nationwide. The method was applied to vegetation data collected on four transects and three vertical layers across the wetland-to-upland transition zone of the swamp. Ecological index values based on water tolerance were either taken from the literature or derived from local species tolerances. Wetland index values were calculated for 25-m increments using species cover and rankings based on the ecological indices. Wetland index values were used to designate increments as either wetland, transitional, or upland, and to examine the usefulness of a provisional wetland-upland break-point. The weighted average method did not provide for an objective placement of an absolute wetland boundary, but did serve to focus attention on the transitional boundary zone where supplementary information is necessary to select a wetland-upland breakpoint.

Water Resources Bulletin↗
USGS1961

Developing ground water in the central Sevier Valley, Utah

This report presents a summary of conclusions reached from the recently completed State Engineer-United States Geological Survey cooperative investigation of the geology and ground water resources of the central Sevier River Valley. The detailed report will be published as a United States Geological Survey water supply paper and will be available to the public.

Utah↗
USGS1999

Peak-flow frequency relations and evaluation of the peak-flow gaging network in Nebraska

Estimates of peak-flow magnitude and frequency are required for the efficient design of structures that convey flood flows or occupy floodways, such as bridges, culverts, and roads. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Nebraska Department of Roads, conducted a study to update peak-flow frequency analyses for selected streamflow-gaging stations, develop a new set of peak-flow frequency relations for ungaged streams, and evaluate the peak-flow gaging-station network for Nebraska. Data from stations located in or within about 50 miles of Nebraska were analyzed using guidelines of the Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data in Bulletin 17B. New generalized skew relations were developed for use in frequency analyses of unregulated streams. Thirty-three drainage-basin characteristics related to morphology, soils, and precipitation were quantified using a geographic information system, related computer programs, and digital spatial data.For unregulated streams, eight sets of regional regression equations relating drainage-basin to peak-flow characteristics were developed for seven regions of the state using a generalized least squares procedure. Two sets of regional peak-flow frequency equations were developed for basins with average soil permeability greater than 4 inches per hour, and six sets of equations were developed for specific geographic areas, usually based on drainage-basin boundaries. Standard errors of estimate for the 100-year frequency equations (1percent probability) ranged from 12.1 to 63.8 percent. For regulated reaches of nine streams, graphs of peak flow for standard frequencies and distance upstream of the mouth were estimated.The regional networks of streamflow-gaging stations on unregulated streams were analyzed to evaluate how additional data might affect the average sampling errors of the newly developed peak-flow equations for the 100-year frequency occurrence. Results indicated that data from new stations, rather than more data from existing stations, probably would produce the greatest reduction in average sampling errors of the equations.

Nebraska↗
USGS2009

What is a picture worth? A history of remote sensing

Remote sensing is the use of electromagnetic energy to measure the physical properties of distant objects. It includes photography and geophysical surveying as well as newer techniques that use other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. The history of remote sensing begins with photography. The origin of other types of remote sensing can be traced to World War II, with the development of radar, sonar, and thermal infrared detection systems. Since the 1960s, sensors have been designed to operate in virtually all of the electromagnetic spectrum. Today a wide variety of remote sensing instruments are available for use in hydrological studies; satellite data, such as Skylab photographs and Landsat images are particularly suitable for regional problems and studies. Planned future satellites will provide a ground resolution of 10–80 m. Remote sensing is currently used for hydrological applications in most countries of the world. The range of applications includes groundwater exploration determination of physical water quality, snowfield mapping, flood-inundation delineation, and making inventories of irrigated land. The use of remote sensing commonly results in considerable hydrological information at minimal cost. This information can be used to speed-up the development of water resources, to improve management practices, and to monitor environmental problems.

Hydrological Sciences Bulletin↗