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At least 541 records · Page 30Linked to original sources
USGS2002

A critique of wildlife radio-tracking and its use in National Parks: a report to the National Park Service

Because of the naturalness of National Parks and because of the public’s strong interest in the parks, the National Park Service (NPS) must gather as much information as needed to help understand and preserve the natural functioning of its ecosystems, and especially of its wildlife. The most useful technique for studying wildlife is radio-tracking, or wildlife telemetry. Radio-tracking is the technique of determining information about an animal through the use of radio signals from or to a device carried by the animal. The basic components of a traditional radio-tracking system are (1) a transmitting subsystem consisting of a radio transmitter, a power source and a propagating antenna, and (2) a receiving subsystem including a “pick-up” antenna, a signal receiver with reception indicator (speaker and/or display) and a power source. Most radio tracking systems involve transmitters tuned to different frequencies (analogous to different AM/FM radio stations) that allow individual identification. Three distinct types of radio-tracking are in use today: (1)conventional, very-high-frequency (VHF) radio tracking, (2) satellite tracking, and (3) Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking. VHF radio-tracking is the standard technique that has been in use since 1963. However, radio-tracking can be considered intrusive in that it requires live-capturing animals and attaching a collar or other device to them. A person must then monitor signals from the device, thus usually requiring people in the field in vehicles, aircraft, and on foot. Nevertheless, most national parks have recognized the benefits of radio-tracking and have hosted radio-tracking studies for many years; in some parks, hundreds of animals have been, or are being, so studied. As a result, some NPS staff are concerned about actual or potential intrusiveness of radio-tracking. Ideally, wildlife studies would still be done but with no intrusion on animals or conflict with park visitors. Thus the NPS has decided to closely examine the technique and use of radio-tracking to determine (1) if any less-intrusive method could supply the same information, (2) what the full range of radio-tracking technology is, to determine if the least-intrusive techniques are being used, and (3) whether future technological improvements might lead to less-intrusive techniques. The present review is the result. We first present a simple overview of radio-tracking technology, its benefits, variety, cost, and availability, advantages and disadvantages, and recent refinements that, if used, could reduce research intrusiveness. Then we consider whether any less-intrusive, non-radio-tracking techniques could supply the same information. Next we discuss possible future improvements and suggest some that would help reduce intrusion during wildlife research in national parks. Last, we review radio-tracking technology in detail for readers who want a more complete understanding. This review should also allow administrators and scientists to determine whether the least-intrusive radio-tracking techniques are currently being used. We conclude that no substitute for radio-tracking appears to be on the horizon but that a few recent improvements in the technology can reduce some of its intrusiveness. Further, we recommend that the NPS (1) formally assess the extent of park visitors’ perceptions and concerns about any intrusiveness caused by wildlife radio-tracking studies (2) help minimize visitor concern about the technique by educating the public about radio-tracking and some of its findings in the parks, (3) promote use of the most up-to-date refinements and improvements in radio-tracking technology, and (4) encourage funding projects using such technology.

Report↗
USGS1970

Environmental conditions and resources of southwestern Mississippi

The impending phase-out of Saturn V testing by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at the Mississippi Test Facility (MTF) necessitates consideration of possible alternative uses for the Facility and surrounding region. To make a rapid and up-to-date study of pertinent environmental factors in that region, remote sensing techniques and data were used by discipline specialists in the U. S. Geological Survey, scientists in other Bureaus of the Department of the Interior and other agencies, and the Project Coordinator. Full cooperation was received from officials, planners, and business executives in Mississippi, as well as timely assistance from NASA Headquarters, the Manned Spacecraft Center/Houston, and the MTF staff. Results from a multi-sensor equipped RB-57F high altitude overflight on February 17, 1970, and a simultaneous helicopter overflight were compared with existing photographs, maps, reports, and locally collected field data to complete this report rapidly as a Geographic Applications Project of the EROS Program, U. S. Department of the Interior. Pertinent background materials, including a comprehensive, annotated bibliography of existing studies of the area, are attached. This report considers 19 potential uses of the MTF equipment, staff, and property in relation to 16 environmental factors.

Mississippi↗
USGS2023

Development of the North Carolina stormwater-treatment decision-support system by using the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)

The Federal Highway Administration and State departments of transportation nationwide need an efficient method to assess potential adverse effects of highway stormwater runoff on receiving waters to optimize stormwater-treatment decisions. To this end, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), developed a decision-support software tool based on a statewide version of the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM). This decision-support tool is designed to identify potential adverse effects of highway runoff by using a criterion based on a measurable change in water quality from a surrogate pollutant. The NCDOT worked with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to select a 25-percent change in suspended sediment concentration as the decision-rule criterion for identifying measurable downstream water-quality change; this selection was based on available data and widely accepted stormwater monitoring uncertainties. Development of the statewide tool and its application to the Piedmont ecoregion are described in this report. Because SELDM can be applied to build a similar decision-support tool in any State, this report describes practice-ready methods that other State departments of transportation and municipal permittees can use to streamline environmental permitting and project delivery while protecting the environment. Hydraulic design engineers can use this decision-support tool to establish stormwater-treatment goals for highway construction or improvement projects without having to learn SELDM or interpret its statistical output. The tool is a spreadsheet that determines if a selected highway segment can directly discharge highway runoff, if the highway segment can discharge runoff following treatment using a basic vegetated conveyance best management practice (BMP), or if treatment using an advanced BMP is needed to minimize effects of discharges on downstream water quality. To use the tool, hydraulic design engineers obtain upstream-basin characteristics from the U.S. Geological Survey StreamStats application and highway-site characteristics from preliminary design plans. They then enter these characteristics in the decision-support tool, which identifies the necessary stormwater-treatment goal. The Piedmont ecoregion was used as a case study to demonstrate the type of information the decision-support tool can provide. In this ecoregion, 100 percent of direct discharges meet the water-quality criterion when the drainage-area ratio is less than about 0.007 acres of highway per square mile of upstream basin. Advanced BMPs are needed in 100 percent of basins with drainage-area ratios greater than about 50 acres per square mile. Between these drainage-area ratios, the selection of direct discharge, a basic vegetated conveyance BMP, or an advanced BMP is a function of highway-site and upstream-basin properties.

North Carolina↗
USGS2008

Mapping vulnerability to disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1900–2007

The vulnerability of a population and its infrastructure to disastrous events is a factor of both the probability of a hazardous event occurring and the community's ability to cope with the resulting impacts. Therefore, the ability to accurately identify vulnerable populations and places in order to prepare for future hazards is of critical importance for disaster mitigation programs. This project created maps of higher spatial resolution of vulnerability to disaster in Latin America and the Caribbean from 1900 to 2007 by mapping disaster data by first-level administrative boundaries with the objective of identifying geographic trends in regional occurrences of disasters and vulnerable populations. The method of mapping by administrative level is an improvement on displaying and analyzing disasters at the country level and shows the relative intensity of vulnerability within and between countries in the region. Disaster mapping at the country level produces only a basic view of which countries experience various types of natural disasters. Through disaggregation, the data show which geographic areas of these countries, including populated areas, are historically most susceptible to different hazard types.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2007

Two-Dimensional Flood-Inundation Model of the Flint River at Albany, Georgia

Potential flow characteristics of future flooding along a 4.8-mile reach of the Flint River in Albany, Georgia, were simulated using recent digital-elevation-model data and the U.S. Geological Survey finite-element surface-water modeling system for two-dimensional flow in the horizontal plane (FESWMS-2DH). Simulated inundated areas, in 1-foot (ft) increments, were created for water-surface altitudes at the Flint River at Albany streamgage (02352500) from 192.5-ft altitude with a flow of 123,000 cubic feet per second (ft3/s) to 179.5-ft altitude with a flow of 52,500 ft3/s. The model was calibrated to match actual floods during July 1994 and March 2005 and Federal Emergency Management Administration floodplain maps. Continuity checks of selected stream profiles indicate the area near the Oakridge Drive bridge had lower velocities than other areas of the Flint River, which contributed to a rise in the flood-surface profile. The modeled inundated areas were mapped onto monochrome orthophoto imagery for use in planning for future floods. As part of a cooperative effort, the U.S. Geological Survey, the City of Albany, and Dougherty County, Georgia, conducted this study.

Georgia↗
USGS2022

Contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes: Science to inform management practices for protecting the health and integrity of wildlife populations from adverse effects: GLRI action plan I, focus area 1, goal 5

Executive Summary: Under Action Plan I (2010-2014) of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), Federal and Academic partners began an investigation of the presence and distribution of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in the Great Lakes and potential impacts on fish and wildlife. The term CECs is applied to a broad range of chemicals that are currently in use but for which we currently lack good understanding of whether fish, wildlife, or humans are being exposed and/or whether negative health or environmental effects are expected if exposure occurs. Pharmaceuticals, personal care products, flame retardants, many current use pesticides, and poly- and perfluorinated chemicals are some well-known groups of CECs, but there is no definitive or comprehensive list that can be used to support the management of CECs to reduce impacts on the Great Lakes ecosystem. Four overarching goals were identified for this collaborative investigation: 1. Evaluate the sources, occurrence, and distribution of CECs across the Great Lakes Basin. 2. Examine associations between the distribution of CECs and land-use patterns. 3. Review both scientific literature and field-generated data to determine the potential for CECs to cause adverse effects on Great Lakes fish and wildlife populations. 4. Develop efficient strategies to survey and/or monitor for threats that CECs may pose in order to take effective management actions before those threats evolve into large scale impacts on Great Lakes ecosystems or the services they provide. Achievement of these goals ensures progress towards Focus Area 1: Toxic Substances and Areas of Concern from GLRI Action Plan I, Goal 5: “ The health and integrity of wildlife populations and habitat are protected from adverse chemical and biological effects associated with the presence of toxic substances in the Great Lakes Basin ”. This large-scale research effort was comprised of individual and collaborative projects from multiple federal agencies and academic institutions, involving over 85 investigators, and overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5, Great Lakes National Program Office. Partners include the United States Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Saint Cloud State University, the U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Key findings: 1. Contaminants of emerging concern were found throughout the monitored Great Lakes tributaries, but types and concentrations vary in association with regional land use. CECs were detected in nearly all samples collected. The type and concentration of the specific contaminants detected varied considerably among field sites and in association with land use type, such as urban, agricultural, wetland, 2 or forest. Contaminants were detected in the water column, sediment, and tissues of all species surveyed in the current work (mussels, aquatic insects, fish, and insect-eating birds). 2. There were over 20 contaminants for which CEC concentrations approached or exceeded those reported to cause toxicity in laboratory experiments. This was based on detection in water, sediments and or biota at one or more field sites. These contaminants represent compounds that warrant further investigation and monitoring with respect to potential impacts in certain areas of the Great Lakes basin. Based on the present investigation, compounds of greatest concern include: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, associated with oil-based products and combustion of organic matter; atrazine, an herbicide; dichlorvos, an insecticide; and ibuprofen and venlafaxine, both pharmaceuticals. 3. Results suggest that mixtures of CECs presently found in most Great Lakes tributary locations surveyed may elicit subtle biological effects, but likely are not, alone, causing obvious detriment to current communities of fish and wildlife. CECs detected in the Great Lakes were associated with subtle biological effects like changes in gene expression, altered circulating glucose, etc. in both wild-caught and laboratory-reared organisms. These effects were generally not indicative of reproductive failure or mortality. However, the effects may have more serious implications when combined with other sources of stress like habitat degradation, changing climate conditions, and competition with invasive species. Due to limited historical data, it is unknown whether severe CEC-related impacts have already affected aquatic communities in waterbodies that have received long-term inputs of these contaminants. Likewise, under Action Plan I, biological effects were not necessarily evaluated at the sites where CEC concentrations exceeding laboratory toxicity thresholds were detected. As a result, strategic, ongoing surveillance and monitoring of CECs is warranted. This collaborative investigation resulted in new tools, approaches, and data that can be used to inform and support the management of CECs to reduce their impacts on Great Lakes natural resources. The following products of this research effort are available through https://communities.geoplatform.gov/glri/ or by contacting the investigators (see technical chapters found in Appendices A-F): 1. Database of CEC occurrence and concentrations in US tributary streams. The database includes CEC detections in water, sediment, and fish and wildlife tissues, and represents the most comprehensive survey of CECs in the Great Lakes Region. 2. Synopses of results and key findings. Integrated summaries of results, conclusions, and management implications of the CEC research are available through reports, topical fact sheets, and presentations. 3. Technical publications: This collaborative research effort has resulted in over 50 peer-reviewed publications, agency reports, and data releases that can be of use to resource managers, the scientific community, and members of the public. 4. Innovative tools. Innovative monitoring devices, sampling equipment, conceptual frameworks, and software applications were developed over the course of this 3 research. These tools are transferable to stakeholders via internet accessibility or via specifications, instructions, and demonstration detailed in technical publications. Hypotheses to guide CECs research under Action Plan II. Findings from 2010-2014 were used to guide further research in 2015-2018 for basin-wide surveillance of CECs and for sites warranting further study of potential biological impacts of CECs. Additional surveillance included both evaluation of additional classes of contaminants and expanded lists for chemical classes shown to be of greatest concern. Mixtures of some of the most frequently detected contaminants were also tested in laboratory studies to understand whether long term exposures to multiple contaminants may result in effects not evident from uncontrolled, short-term field experiments.

Great Lakes↗
USGS2005

Growth history of oil reserves in major California oil fields during the twentieth century

Oil reserves in 12 of California's 52 giant fields (fields with estimated recovery > 100 million barrels of oil) have continued to appreciate well past the age range at which most fields cease to show significant increases in ultimate recovery. Most of these fields were discovered between 1890 and 1920 and grew to volumes greater than 500 million barrels in their first two decades. Growth of reserves in these fields accelerated in th e1950s and 1960s and is mostly explained by application of secondary and tertiary recovery technicques, primarily waterflooding and thermal recovery. The remaining three-fourths of California's giant fields show a pattern of growth in which fields cease to grow significantly by 20-30 years following recovery. virtually all of these fields have estimated ultimate recoveries less than about 500 million barrels and most are in the 100-200 million barrel range. Three of six offshore giant fields, all discovered between 1966 and 1981, have shown decreases in their estimated ultimate sizes within about the first decade after production began, presumably because production volumes ailed to match initial projections. The data suggest that: 1. Only fields that attain an estimated ultimate size of several hundred million barrels shortly after discovery and have geologic characterisics that make them suceptible to advanced recovery techniques are likely to show substantial late growth. 2. Offshore fields are less likely to show significant growth, probably because projections based on modern seismic reflection and reservoir test data are unlikely to underestimate the volume of oil in the field. 3. Secondary and tertiary recovery programs rather than field extensions or new pool discoveries are responsible for most of the significant growth of reserves in California. 4. field size data collected ove rmany decades provide a more comprehensive context for inferring reasons for reserve appreciation than shorter data series such as the Oil and Gas Integrated Field file (OGIFF) from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA). 5. Efforts to project future growth in California fields, and perhaps fields in other regions, should focus on evaulating the potential for enhanced recovery in fields with current estimated ultimate recoveries of about 250-500 million barrels. 6. By analogy with oil, attempts to project growth in gas reservoirs, in California and perhaps elsewhere, should focus on larger fields with lower permeability reservoirs where advances in recovery technology, such as perhaps horizontal drilling, are more likely to add substantial reserves.

Bulletin↗
USGS2020

Wind River subbasin restoration: Annual report of US..Geological Survey activities, January 2018 through December 2018

We sampled juvenile wild Steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in headwater streams of the Wind River, WA, to characterize populations and investigate life-history metrics, particularly migratory patterns. We used Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT)-tagging and a series of instream PIT-tag interrogation systems (PTISs) to track juveniles. The Wind River subbasin is considered a wild Steelhead refuge by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). No hatchery Steelhead have been planted in the Wind River subbasin since 1997, and hatchery adults are estimated to be less than one percent of spawners in most years (pers comm. Thomas Buehrens, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife). Our repeated headwater sampling of consistent sites in the Wind River subbasin has also allowed us to track relative abundance of Brook Trout, a non-native species to the Wind River. Our work is contributing to understanding of Steelhead population response to numerous restoration actions in the subbasin, including removal of Hemlock Dam from Trout Creek in 2009, where our PTISs are helping to quantify adult response. Data from our study, and companion work by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, are contributing to Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) Research Monitoring and Evaluation (RM&E) Program Strategy of Fish Population Status Monitoring (www.cbfish.org/ProgramStrategy.mvc/ViewProgramStrategySummary/1). Specifically this work addresses the sub-strategies of: 1) Assessing the Status and Trends of Diversity of Natural Origin Fish Populations and to Uncertainties Research regarding differing life histories of a wild Steelhead population, 2) Assessing the Status and Trend of Adult Natural Origin Fish Populations, and 3) Monitoring and Evaluating the Effectiveness of Tributary Habitat Actions Relative to Environmental, Physical, or Biological Performance Objectives. Our headwaters parr PIT tagging, WDFW parr, smolt, and adult tagging and our instream PTISs are providing data on movements and life histories of parr, smolt, and adult Steelhead. During summer 2018, we PIT-tagged 1,592 age-0 and age-1 Steelhead parr in headwater areas of the Wind River subbasin to characterize population traits and investigate life-history diversity, including growth and pre-smolt downstream movement. Repeat headwater sampling and smolt trap operations provide opportunities for recapture, and instream PTISs and Columbia River infrastructure provide opportunity for detection of PIT-tagged fish. Throughout the year, we maintained a series of six instream PTISs to monitor movement of tagged Steelhead parr, smolts, and adults. Detections at the instream PTISs have demonstrated trends of age-0 and age-1 parr emigration from natal areas during summer and fall, in addition to the expected movement of parr and smolts in spring. Substantial numbers of parr make downstream movements as age-1 fish. We have estimated that from 15 to 33 percent of parr tagged as age-0 fish make downstream migrations at age-1 for additional rearing. We have estimated that from 1 to 27 percent of parr tagged as age-1 fish make downstream migrations during fall. These findings raise many questions about parr rearing strategies, habitat use, and success of these migrants and suggest a need for broader monitoring of juvenile Steelhead in some river systems to fully document juvenile production. Long-term monitoring of PIT-tagged fish is providing information on contribution of various life-history strategies to smolt production and adult returns. Movements of PIT-tagged adult Steelhead were recorded at instream PTISs. These data have allowed assessment of adult returns to tributary watersheds within the Wind River subbasin. Detection efficiency of adult PIT-tagged Steelhead at our primary adult-monitoring PTIS in Trout Creek has been greater than 92 percent during 6 of the past 7 years. This is providing excellent data to estimate adult returns to this watershed. Determination of adult use of tributary watersheds is providing data to help evaluate the efficacy of the removal of Hemlock Dam on Trout Creek. Hemlock Dam, located at rkm 2.0 of Trout Creek, was removed in summer 2009. The dam contributed to hydrologic impairment of Trout Creek and had potential negative effects on Steelhead. The improvements made to the upper Wind River PTIS (site code WRU at rkm 28.3; better site characteristics and grid power) during 2016 and 2017, and a planned new site in the Mine Reach of the upper Wind River, will allow estimates of subbasin adult escapement like those in Trout Creek. During 2018, we also completed planning and permitting with U.S. Forest Service for a new PTIS site at rkm 36 of the Wind River (the Mine Reach, mentioned above). This site will replace two sites (one in Paradise Creek and one at rkm 41 of the Wind River), which had operational challenges due to lack of adequate solar power and winter difficulties. The new Mine Reach PTIS site at rkm 36, will have better solar exposure, fewer winter operations difficulties, and provide opportunity to detect fish from juvenile sampling sites that were downstream of the previous two PTISs. The more consistent operation of the new Mine Reach PTIS site will increase our ability to estimate migrant abundance as all the juveniles tagged upstream of it will be subject to the same potential detection history, instead of three different potential detection histories as before. Additionally, with the new Mine Reach PTIS site lower in the watershed, it will subject more PIT-tagged adult Steelhead to detection and provide ability to generate a nonbiased adult-detection efficiency estimate for the WRU PTIS at rkm 28.3 of the Wind River. This will provide the opportunity to estimate yearly adult Steelhead abundance to the upper Wind watershed area. Permitting is complete and some supplies have been purchased to build and install this new site in 2019. Repeat sampling at consistent locations in the subbasin has allowed investigation into juvenile Steelhead growth patterns. Growth rates (relative change in weight) of age-0 PIT-tagged parr during summer are similar across the subbasin, but lower for age-1 parr in the Trout Creek watershed than the upper Wind River watershed. Yearly growth for parr tagged at age-0 is similar across the subbasin. Yearly growth for parr tagged at age-1 is lowest in Martha Creek, but similar elsewhere. Non-native Brook Trout are present in portions of the subbasin, chiefly the Trout Creek watershed, and repeat sampling has allowed us to index their prevalence. Percentage of catch that is Brook Trout at each of four sample sites in Trout Creek have declined from the period 1998 – 2003 to the period 2011 – 2018. There was a pattern of decline in percent of catch and number of Brook Trout at the Trout Creek sites from 2011 through 2016, though a slight upward trend during 2017 and 2018 has been evident. Evaluating and planning restoration efforts are of interest to many managers and agencies to ensure efficient use of resources. The evaluation of various life-histories of Steelhead within the Wind River subbasin will provide information to better track populations, and to direct habitat restoration and water allocation planning. Movement of Steelhead parr raises many questions regarding estimating juvenile abundance, origin, and habitat use within watersheds. Improved PTISs and focused PIT tagging of age-0 and age-1 Steelhead parr are increasingly allowing us to investigate such questions. Increasingly detailed Viable Salmonid Population information, such as that provided by PIT-tagging and instream PTISs networks like those in the Wind River subbasin, provide data to inform policy and management, as life-history strategies and production bottlenecks are identified and understood.

Washington↗
USGS1999

A global digital elevation model - GTOP030

GTOP030, the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) digital elevation model (DEM) of the Earth, provides the flrst global coverage of moderate resolution elevation data. The original GTOP30 data set, which was developed over a 3-year period through a collaborative effort led by the USGS, was completed in 1996 at the USGS EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The collaboration involved contributions of staffing, funding, or source data from cooperators including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United Nations Environment Programme Global Resource Information Database (UNEP/GRID), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica Geografia e Informatica (INEGI) of Mexico, the Geographical Survey Institute (GSI) of Japan, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research of New Zealand, and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). In 1999, work was begun on an update to the GTOP030 data set. Additional data sources are being incorporated into GTOP030 with an enhanced and improved data set planned for release in 2000.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1996

Scour at selected bridge sites in Alabama, 1991-94

Scour data were collected at 15 sites on streams in Alabama during high flow conditions. The recurrence intervals of the streamflows ranged from less than 2 to 10 years. Scour depths measured near bridge piers ranged from 0.3 to 5.8 feet. The Colorado State University (CSU) local scour equation recommended in the Federal Highway Administration Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 18 was used to estimate scour depths at the study sites. Estimated scour depths based on the CSU equation ranged from 2.5 to 12.7 feet with residuals (measured scour depth minus estimated scour depth) ranging from -8.1 to -1.4 feet. A comparison of the residuals with the estimated scour depths indicated that the CSU equation overestimated the measured scour depths throughout the range of measured data by an average of 434 percent.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2015

Sea-floor morphology and sedimentary environments in southern Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island

Multibeam echosounder data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration along with sediment samples and still and video photography of the sea floor collected by the U.S. Geological Survey were used to interpret sea-floor features and sedimentary environments in southern Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, as part of a long-term effort to map the sea floor along the northeastern coast of the United States. Sea-floor features include rocky areas and scour depressions in high-energy environments characterized by erosion or nondeposition, and sand waves and megaripples in environments characterized by coarse-grained bedload transport. Two shipwrecks are also located in the study area. Much of the sea floor is relatively featureless within the resolution of the multibeam data; sedimentary environments in these areas are characterized by processes associated with sorting and reworking. This report releases bathymetric data from the multibeam echosounder, grain-size analyses of sediment samples, and photographs of the sea floor and interpretations of the sea-floor features and sedimentary environments. It provides base maps that can be used for resource management and studies of topics such as benthic ecology, contaminant inventories, and sediment transport.

Rhode Island↗
USGS1975

The EROS Data Center

The EROS Data Center, 16 miles (25 km) northeast of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is operated by the EROS Program to provide access to NASA's LANDSAT [formerly Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS)] imagery, aerial photography acquired by the U.S. Department of the Interior, and photography and imagery acquired by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from research aircraft and from Skylab, Apollo, and Gemini spacecraft. The primary functions of the Center are data storage and reproduction, and user assistance and training. This publication describes the Data Center operations, data products, services, and procedures for ordering remotely sensed data. The EROS Data Center and its principal facility, the 120,000-square-foot (11,200 m 2 ) Karl E. Mundt Federal Building, were dedicated August 7, 1973.

General Information Product↗
USGS2012

Landsat: A global land-imaging mission

Across four decades since 1972, Landsat satellites have continuously acquired space-based images of the Earth's land surface, coastal shallows, and coral reefs. The Landsat Program, a joint effort of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was established to routinely gather land imagery from space. NASA develops remote-sensing instruments and spacecraft, then launches and validates the performance of the instruments and satellites. The USGS then assumes ownership and operation of the satellites, in addition to managing all ground reception, data archiving, product generation, and distribution. The result of this program is a long-term record of natural and human induced changes on the global landscape.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1998

Sea floor topographic map and perspective-view imagery of quadrangles 1-18, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off Boston, Massachusetts

The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Mapping Project is a cooperative effort of the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with support from the University of New Brunswick and the Canadian Hydrographic Survey. The survey was conducted on four cruises over a two-year period from the fall of 1994 to the fall of 1996. The project is mapping an area of 1100 square nautical miles. The maps show a series of 18 quadrangles (see location map) in which sea floor topography is presented at a scale of 1:25,000.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2021

Colored shaded-relief bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, and selected perspective views of the northern part of the California Continental Borderland, southern California

The California Continental Borderland is the complex continental margin in southern California that extends from Point Conception southward into northern Baja California (Fisher and others, 2009). This colored shaded-relief bathymetry map of the northern continental borderland in southern California was generated primarily from multibeam-echosounder data collected by the University of Washington in 2016, the Ocean Exploration Trust-Nautilus Exploration Program in 2015–17, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2017. These datasets were processed in part by the U.S. Geological Survey. Additional smaller amounts of publicly available multibeam-bathymetry data collected by other federal and local agencies, academic institutions, and private firms were also incorporated into this map. Since the production of this map, other multibeam-bathymetry data have been collected in this region.

California↗
USGS2007

A GIS library of multibeam data for Massachusetts Bay and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, offshore of Boston, Massachusetts

Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has mapped the sea floor of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and western Massachusetts Bay, offshore of Boston, Massachusetts (figure 1a, figure 1b). The mapping was carried out using a Simrad Subsea EM1000 Multibeam Echo Sounder (95 kHz) on the Frederick G. Creed on four cruises between 1994 and 1998. The mapping was conducted in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and with support from the Canadian Hydrographic Service and the University of New Brunswick. This GIS Library contains images and grids of bathymetry, shaded relief bathymetry, and backscatter intensity data from these surveys in an Environmental Systems Research Institute (http://www.esri.com) (ESRI) ArcMap 9.1 Geographic Information System (GIS) project. The shapefiles, images, grids and associated metadata may also be downloaded individually. Descriptions and interpretations of the data are available in a series of published maps.

Data Series↗
USGS1995

Geologic map of the Littlefield Quadrangle, northern Mohave County, Arizona

The Littlefield 7.5' quadrangle lies in the extreme northwestern corner of Mohave County, Arizona (fig. 1). Elevations range from about 536.5 m (1,760 ft) at the Virgin River (south-central edge of quadrangle) to 975 m (3,200 ft) in the Beaver Dam Mountains (northeastern corner of quadrangle). Interstate Arizona Highway 15 and U.S. Highway 91 provides a general access to the quadrangle while several unimproved dirt roads lead to remote areas of the quadrangle. The community of Littlefield, Arizona is just southeast of Interstate 15 along the west bank of the Virgin River, and the community of Beaver Dam, Arizona is just northwest of Interstate 15 in the valley of Beaver Dam Wash (fig. 1). Population of both communities is about 300 people. The environment, topography, and geography is typical of the Mohave Desert of Nevada and California. There are about 9 sections of private land in the quadrangle and 5 sections belonging to the state of Arizona. The balance is public land administrated by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Arizona Strip District in St. George, Utah. The area supports sparse growth of desert shrubs, mainly creosote bush and cactus. Dense growths of tamerisk (Salt Cedar), cottonwood, and willow trees thrive along the alluvial terraces and banks of the Virgin River. A variety of water loving plants thrive in warm spring waters on the east side of the Virgin River near the Interstate 15 bridge, and in Beaver Dam Wash, northwest corner of the quadrangle.

Arizona↗
USGS1997

Coal fields and federal lands of the conterminous United States

The map depicts the relationship of coal and public lands in the conterminous U. S. Multiple GIS layers are being created for the purpose of deriving estimates of how much coal is owned and administered by the Federal government. Federal coal areas have a profound effect on land-management decisions. Regulatory agencies attempt to balance energy development with alternative land-use and environmental concerns. A GIS database of Federal lands used in energy resource assessments is being developed by the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to integrate information on status of public land, and minerals owned by the Federal government with geologic information on coal resources, other spatial data, coal quality characteristics, and coal availability for development. Using national-scale data we estimate that approximately 60 percent of the area underlain by coal-bearing rocks in the conterminous United States are under Federal surface. Coal produced from Federal leases has tripled from about 12 percent of the total U.S. production in 1976 to almost 34 percent in 1995 (Energy Information Administration website ftp://ftp.eia.doe.gov/pub/coal/cia_95_tables/t13p01.txt). The reason for this increase is demand for low-sulfur coal for use in power plants and the fact that large reserves of this low-sulfur coal are in the western interior U.S., where the Federal government owns the rights to most of the coal reserves. The map was created using Arc/Info 7.0.3 on a UNIX system. The HPGL2 plot file for this map is available from the USGS Energy Resource Surveys Team from http://energy.cr.usgs.gov:8080/energy/coal.html.

Conterminous United States↗