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On August 15-19, 1983, the U.S. Geological Survey 's Water Resources Division sponsored an advanced seminar on sedimentation at the National Training Center in Lakewood, Colorado. Topics discussed were modeling, mud, and debris flows, transport, sediment chemistry, channel morphology, instrumentation, and bed load. This circular presents summaries of 28 presentations. (USGS)
This report presents groundwater withdrawal data from 1900 through 1980 for Maryland counties lying with the Coastal Plain physiographic province, as well as a summary section for the total Maryland Coastal Plain. The types of water use included are domestic, military, water supplier, industrial/commercial, and irrigation. The data were obtained from state and county reports, biannual pumpage reports submitted to the Maryland Water Resources Administration, communication with individual owners, and estimates based on existing published data. The amount of groundwater withdrawn from aquifers in the Maryland Coastal Plain in 1900 was approximately 26 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) compared to nearly 134 Mgal/d in 1980. Jurisdictions withdrawing more than 10 Mgal/d for most of the 80-year period were Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties and Baltimore City. The greatest withdrawals for most of the early part of the period were for domestic and industrial/commercial uses; however, water-supplier use dominated after 1965. Groundwater use for irrigation became important in the Coastal Plain around 1960 and increased steadily from approximately 2 Mgal/d in 1960 to nearly 12 Mgal/d in 1980. (USGS)
This report provides current information about the National Research Program (NRP) of the U.S. Geological Survey's Water Resources Division (WRD) during fiscal year 1994. Organized by NRP's six research disciplines ecology, geomorphology and sediment transport, ground-water chemistry, ground-water hydrology, surface-water chemistry, and surface-water hydrology the volume contains a summary of the problem, objective, approach, and progress for each project that was active during fiscal year 1994. It also contains bibliographic information that, because of the long-term nature of the program, covers a 5-year period.
Established by an Act of Congress in 1879 and charged with responsibility for "classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain," the U. S. Department of the Interior's Geological Survey has been the Nation's principal source of information about its physical resources the configuration and character of the land surface, the composition and structure of the underlying rocks, and the quality, extent, and distribution of water and mineral resources. Although primarily a research and fact-finding agency, it has responsibility also for the classification of Federal mineral lands and waterpower sites, and since 1926 it has been responsible for the supervision of oil and mining operations authorized under leases on Federal land. From the outset, the Survey has been concerned with critical land and resource problems. Often referred to as the Mother of Bureaus, many of its activities led to the formation of new organizations where a management or developmental function evolved. These included the Reclamation Service (1902), the Bureau of Mines (1910), the Federal Power Commission (1920), and the Grazing Service (1934, since combined with other functions as the Bureau of Land Management). Mrs. Rabbitt's summary of the Survey's history in the following pages brings out well the development of these diverse activities and the Survey's past contributions to national needs related to land and resources.
Water, bed sediment, and biota were sampled in streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the upper Clark Fork basin. The sampling program was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to characterize aquatic resources in the Clark Fork basin of western Montana, with emphasis on trace elements associated with historic mining and smelting activities. Sampling sites were located on the Clark Fork and selected tributaries. Water samples were collected periodically at 20 sites from October 2009 through September 2010. Bed-sediment and biota samples were collected once at 13 sites during August 2010. This report presents the analytical results and quality-assurance data for water-quality, bed-sediment, and biota samples collected at sites from October 2009 through September 2010. Water-quality data include concentrations of selected major ions, trace elements, and suspended sediment. Turbidity was analyzed for water samples collected at the four sites where seasonal daily values of turbidity were being determined. Daily values of suspended-sediment concentration and suspended-sediment discharge were determined for four sites. Bed-sediment data include trace-element concentrations in the fine-grained fraction. Biological data include trace-element concentrations in whole-body tissue of aquatic benthic insects. Statistical summaries of water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data for sites in the upper Clark Fork basin are provided for the period of record since 1985.
This manual describes analytical methods used by the U.S. Geological Survey to determine organic substances in water, water-suspended-sediment mixtures, and bottom material. Some of the analytical procedures yield determinations for specific com-pounds, whereas others provide a measure of the quantity of groups of compounds present in the sample. Examples of the first category are procedures for the organochlorine and organophosphate insecticides, chlorophenoxy acid and triazine herbicides, and specific substituted phenols. Examples of the second category are the various organic carbon analyses and the polychlorinated biphenyl methods. The analytical methods are presented in a standard format; topics covered include conditions for application of the method, a summary of the method, interferences, required apparatus and reagents, analytical procedures, calculations, reporting of results, and estimation of precision.
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The Larimer-Weld, Colorado, regional Monitoring Program was begun in 1976 to provide information on the quality and quantity of the surface-water resources in the area. Three stations on the big Thompson River and five stations on the Cache La Poudre River were selected for a data-collection network. Four previously established stations were added to complete the data-collection network: Horsetooth Reservoir, Joe Wright Creek above and below Joe Wright Reservoir, and Michigan River near Cameron Pass. Station description, location, and period of record are given for each station. A statistical summary of the water-quality data for each station is tabulated. Frequency of occurrence is given at the 95th, 75th, 50th, and 25th percentiles. Monthly water-quality data and daily average streamflow data are tabulated for each streamflow station for which this data was collected; Monthly contents data are presented for Horsetooth Reservoir. All data tabulated and summarized are from the period October 1, 1975, through September 30, 1982. (USGS)
Introduction In 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a probabilistic assessment of the volume of technically recoverable oil resources that might be produced by using current carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO 2 -EOR) technologies in amenable conventional oil reservoirs underlying the onshore and State waters areas of the conterminous United States. The assessment also includes estimates of the mass of CO 2 that could be stored (retained) in the assessed oil reservoirs following the application of the CO 2 -EOR process. The USGS assessment team evaluated more than 3,500 oil reservoirs that were miscible to injected CO 2 . The assessed reservoirs are in 185 previously defined USGS plays in 33 petroleum provinces of 7 national regions. The team estimated that the total technically recoverable oil resulting from the application of the CO 2 -EOR process ranges from approximately 25,000 million barrels (MMbbl) at the P 5 percentile to as much as 32,000 MMbbl at the P 95 percentile, with a mean of 29,000 MMbbl. The associated CO 2 retention ranges from approximately 7,400 million metric tons (Mt) at the P 5 percentile to as much as 9,500 Mt at the P 95 percentile, with a mean of 8,400 Mt. The results are summarized in this fact sheet and are provided in more detail in the companion data release and circular. The West Texas and Eastern New Mexico region (primarily its Permian Basin) and the Gulf Coast region together contain 60 percent of the mean assessed CO 2 -EOR oil potential and 61 percent of the mean assessed CO 2 retention. Other regions with significant resource potential include the Midcontinent region and the Rocky Mountains and Northern Great Plains region.
The 72 basins of the 82,000-square-mile study area were grouped into five broad categories on the basis of their geohydrologic characteristics. Water-resources development has resulted in depletion of surface flow in several basins and overdraft of ground water in most developed basins. In places, water levels have declined more than 400 feet; declines of 50 to 200 feet are common in developed basins. Ground-water flow and geochemical models were developed for representative basins.
Water, bed sediment, and biota were sampled in selected streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the Clark Fork Basin of western Montana. The sampling program was led by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to characterize aquatic resources in the Clark Fork Basin and emphasize trace elements associated with historic mining and smelting activities. Sampling sites were on the Clark Fork and selected tributaries. Water samples were collected periodically at 20 sites from October 2016 through September 2017. Bed-sediment and biota samples were collected once at 13 sites during August 2017. This report presents the analytical results and quality-assurance data for water-quality, bed-sediment, and biota samples collected at sites from October 2016 through September 2017. Water-quality data include concentrations of selected major ions, dissolved organic carbon, turbidity, nitrogen (nitrate plus nitrite), trace elements, and suspended sediment. Seasonal daily values of turbidity were determined at four sites. Bed-sediment data include trace-element concentrations in the fine-grained (less than 0.063 millimeter) fraction. Biological data include trace-element concentrations in whole-body tissue of aquatic benthic insects. Statistical summaries of water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data for sites in the Clark Fork Basin are provided for the period of record.
Water shortages are a chronic problem in parts of the Taunton River basin and are caused by a combination of factors. Water use in this part of the Boston metropolitan area is likely to increase during the next decade. The Massachusetts Division of Water Resources projects that about 50% of the cities and towns within and on the perimeter of the basin may have water supply deficits by 1990 if water management projects are not pursued throughout the 1980s. Estimates of the long-term yield of the 26 regional aquifers indicate that the yields of the two most productive aquifers equal or exceed 11.9 and 11.3 cu ft/sec, 90% of the time, respectively, if minimum stream discharge is maintained at 99.5% flow duration. Eighteen of the 26 aquifers were pumped for public water supply during 1983. Further analysis of the yield characteristics of these 18 aquifers indicates that the 1983 pumping rate of each of these 18 aquifers can be sustained at least 70% of the time. Selected physical properties and concentrations of major chemical constituents in groundwater from the stratified-drift aquifers at 80 sampling sites were used to characterize general water quality in aquifers throughout the basin. The pH of the groundwater ranged from 5.4 to 7.0. Natural elevated concentrations of Fe and Mn in water in the stratified-drift aquifers are present locally in the basin. Natural concentrations of these two metals commonly exceed the limits of 0.3 mg/L for Fe and 0.05 mg/L for Mn recommended for drinking water. Fifty-one analyses of selected trace metals in groundwater samples from stratified-drift aquifers throughout the basin were used to characterize trace metal concentrations in the groundwater. Of the 10 constituents sampled that have US EPA limits recommended for drinking water, only the Pb concentration in water at one site (60 micrograms/L) exceeded the recommended limit of 50 micrograms/L. Analyses of selected organic compounds in water in the stratified-drift aquifers at 74 locations revealed that 13 of the sample contained one or more of the following compounds: chloroform; carbon tetrachloride; dichloroethane; dichloroethylene; tetrachloroethylene; and, toluene. (Lantz-PTT)
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of South Dakota, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, natural resources conservation, water supply and quality, infrastructure and construction management, flood risk management, geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation, and other business uses. Today, high-density light detection and ranging (lidar) data are the primary sources for deriving elevation models and other datasets. Federal, State, tribal, and local agencies work in partnership to (1) replace data that are older and of lower quality and (2) provide coverage where publicly accessible data do not exist. A joint goal of State and Federal partners is to acquire consistent, statewide coverage to support existing and emerging applications enabled by lidar data. The National Enhanced Elevation Assessment (NEEA; Dewberry, 2011) evaluated multiple elevation data acquisition options to determine the optimal data quality and data replacement cycle relative to cost to meet the identified requirements of the user community. The evaluation demonstrated that lidar acquisition at quality level 2 for the conterminous United States and quality level 5 ifsar data for Alaska with a 6- to 10-year acquisition cycle provided the highest benefit/cost ratios.The new 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) initiative selected an 8-year acquisition cycle for the respective quality levels. 3DEP, managed by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Office of Management and Budget Circular A–16 lead agency for terrestrial elevation data, responds to the growing need for high-quality topographic data and a wide range of other 3D representations of the Nation’s natural and constructed features.
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of North Dakota, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, natural resources conservation, water supply and quality, infrastructure and construction management, flood risk management, geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation, and other business uses. Today, high-density light detection and ranging (lidar) data are the primary sources for deriving elevation models and other datasets. Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies work in partnership to (1) replace data that are older and of lower quality and (2) provide coverage where publicly accessible data do not exist. A joint goal of State and Federal partners is to acquire consistent, statewide coverage to support existing and emerging applications enabled by lidar data. The National Enhanced Elevation Assessment evaluated multiple elevation data acquisition options to determine the optimal data quality and data replacement cycle relative to cost to meet the identified requirements of the user community. The evaluation demonstrated that lidar acquisition at quality level 2 for the conterminous United States and quality level 5 ifsar data for Alaska with a 6- to 10-year acquisition cycle provided the highest benefit/cost ratios.The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) initiative selected an 8-year acquisition cycle for the respective quality levels. 3DEP, managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Office of Management and Budget Circular A–16 lead agency for terrestrial elevation data, responds to the growing need for high-quality topographic data and a wide range of other 3D representations of the Nation’s natural and constructed features.
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Wyoming, elevation data are critical for geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation, flood risk management, water supply an quality, natural resources conservation, agriculture and precision farming, and other business uses. Today, high-density light detection and ranging (lidar) data are the primary sources for deriving elevation models and other datasets. Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies work in partnership to (1) replace data that are older and of lower quality and (2) provide coverage where publicly accessible data do not exist. A joint goal of State and Federal partners is to acquire consistent, statewide coverage to support existing and emerging applications enabled by lidar data. The National Enhanced Elevation Assessment evaluated multiple elevation data acquisition options to determine the optimal data quality and data replacement cycle relative to cost to meet the identified requirements of the user community. The evaluation demonstrated that lidar acquisition at quality level 2 for the conterminous United States and quality level 5 interferometric synthetic aperture radar (ifsar) data for Alaska with a 6- to 10-year acquisition cycle provided the highest benefit/cost ratios.The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) initiative selected an 8-year acquisition cycle for the respective quality levels. 3DEP, managed by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Office of Management and Budget Circular A–16 lead agency for terrestrial elevation data, responds to the growing need for high-quality topographic data and a wide range of other 3D representations of the Nation’s natural and constructed features.
The lower Colorado River discussed in this report consists of the 318- river-mile reach from Mansfield Dam near Austin, Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico. The river is underlain directly or indirectly by six regional aquifers the Trinity Group, Edwards, Carrizo-Wilcox, Queen City, Sparta, and Gulf Coast; the Trinity Group aquifer is further subdivided into the lower Trinity, middle Trinity, and upper Trinity aquifers. Generalized potentiometric-surface maps of each regional aquifer show the ground-water-flow pattern near the river valley. Each regional aquifer discharges water to the lower Colorado River valley, particularly in the outcrop area of each aquifer. Only the Gulf Coast aquifer in central Wharton County appears to be recharged by water in the river valley. A summary map shows those subreaches of the lower Colorado River that gain water from the aquifers and those subreaches that lose water to the aquifers.
Water, bed sediment, and biota were sampled in streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the upper Clark Fork Basin of western Montana. The sampling program was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to characterize aquatic resources in the Clark Fork Basin, with emphasis on trace elements associated with historic mining and smelting activities. Sampling sites were located on the Clark Fork and selected tributaries. Water samples were collected periodically at 20 sites from October 2011 through September 2012. Bed-sediment and biota samples were collected once at 13 sites during August 2012. This report presents the analytical results and quality-assurance data for water-quality, bed-sediment, and biota samples collected at sites from October 2011 through September 2012. Water-quality data include concentrations of selected major ions, trace elements, and suspended sediment. Turbidity was analyzed for water samples collected at the four sites where seasonal daily values of turbidity were being determined. Daily values of suspended-sediment concentration and suspended-sediment discharge were determined for four sites. Bed-sediment data include trace-element concentrations in the fine-grained fraction. Biological data include trace-element concentrations in whole-body tissue of aquatic benthic insects. Statistical summaries of water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data for sites in the upper Clark Fork Basin are provided for the period of record since 1985.