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At least 595 records · Page 33Linked to original sources
USGS2014

Investigations into near-real-time surveying for geophysical data collection using an autonomous ground vehicle

The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are cooperatively investigating the utility of unmanned vehicles for near-real-time autonomous surveys of geophysical data collection. Initially focused on unmanned ground vehicle collection of magnetic data, this cooperative effort has brought unmanned surveying, precision guidance, near-real-time communication, on-the-fly data processing, and near-real-time data interpretation into the realm of ground geophysical surveying, all of which offer advantages over current methods of manned collection of ground magnetic data. An unmanned ground vehicle mission has demonstrated that these vehicles can successfully complete missions to collect geophysical data, and add advantages in data collection, processing, and interpretation. We view the current experiment as an initial phase in further unmanned vehicle data-collection missions, including aerial surveying.

California↗
USGS2014

Application of near-surface geophysics as part of a hydrologic study of a subsurface drip irrigation system along the Powder River floodplain near Arvada, Wyoming

Rapid development of coalbed natural gas (CBNG) production in the Powder River Basin (PRB) of Wyoming has occurred since 1997. National attention related to CBNG development has focused on produced water management, which is the single largest cost for on-shore domestic producers. Low-cost treatment technologies allow operators to reduce their disposal costs, provide treated water for beneficial use, and stimulate oil and gas production by small operators. Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) systems are one potential treatment option that allows for increased CBNG production by providing a beneficial use for the produced water in farmland irrigation. Water management practices in the development of CBNG in Wyoming have been aided by integrated geophysical, geochemical, and hydrologic studies of both the disposal and utilization of water. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have utilized multi-frequency airborne, ground, and borehole electromagnetic (EM) and ground resistivity methods to characterize the near-surface hydrogeology in areas of produced water disposal. These surveys provide near-surface EM data that can be compared with results of previous surveys to monitor changes in soils and local hydrology over time as the produced water is discharged through SDI. The focus of this investigation is the Headgate Draw SDI site, situated adjacent to the Powder River near the confluence of a major tributary, Crazy Woman Creek, in Johnson County, Wyoming. The SDI system was installed during the summer of 2008 and began operation in October of 2008. Ground, borehole, and helicopter electromagnetic (HEM) conductivity surveys were conducted at the site prior to the installation of the SDI system. After the installation of the subsurface drip irrigation system, ground EM surveys have been performed quarterly (weather permitting). The geophysical surveys map the heterogeneity of the near-surface geology and hydrology of the study area. The geophysical data are consistent between surveys using different techniques and between surveys carried out at different times from 2007 through 2011. This paper summarizes geophysical results from the 4-year monitoring study of the SDI system.

Wyoming↗
USGS2007

Hydrogeologic Setting and Ground-Water Flow in the Leetown Area, West Virginia

The Leetown Science Center is a research facility operated by the U.S. Geological Survey that occupies approximately 455-acres near Kearneysville, Jefferson County, West Virginia. Aquatic and fish research conducted at the Center requires adequate supplies of high-quality, cold ground water. Three large springs and three production wells currently (in 2006) supply water to the Center. The recent construction of a second research facility (National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture) operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and co-located on Center property has placed additional demands on available water resources in the area. A three-dimensional steady-state finite-difference ground-water flow model was developed to simulate ground-water flow in the Leetown area and was used to assess the availability of ground water to sustain current and anticipated future demands. The model also was developed to test a conceptual model of ground-water flow in the complex karst aquifer system in the Leetown area. Due to the complexity of the karst aquifer system, a multidisciplinary research study was required to define the hydrogeologic setting. Geologic mapping, surface- and borehole-geophysical surveys, stream base-flow surveys, and aquifer tests were conducted to provide the hydrogeologic data necessary to develop and calibrate the model. It would not have been possible to develop a numerical model of the study area without the intensive data collection and methods developments components of the larger, more comprehensive hydrogeologic investigation. Results of geologic mapping and surface-geophysical surveys verified the presence of several prominent thrust faults and identified additional faults and other complex geologic structures (including overturned anticlines and synclines) in the area. These geologic structures are known to control ground-water flow in the region. Results of this study indicate that cross-strike faults and fracture zones are major avenues of ground-water flow. Prior to this investigation, the conceptual model of ground-water flow for the region focused primarily on bedding planes and strike-parallel faults and joints as controls on ground-water flow but did not recognize the importance of cross-strike faults and fracture zones that allow ground water to flow downgradient across or through less permeable geologic formations. Results of the ground-water flow simulation indicate that current operations at the Center do not substantially affect either streamflow (less than a 5-percent reduction in annual streamflow) or ground-water levels in the Leetown area under normal climatic conditions but potentially could have greater effects on streamflow during long-term drought (reduction in streamflow of approximately 14 percent). On the basis of simulation results, ground-water withdrawals based on the anticipated need for an additional 150 to 200 gal/min (gallons per minute) of water at the Center also would not seriously affect streamflow (less than 8 to 9 percent reduction in streamflow) or ground-water levels in the area during normal climatic conditions. During drought conditions, however, the effects of current ground-water withdrawals and anticipated additional withdrawals of 150 to 200 gal/min to augment existing supplies result in moderate to substantial declines in water levels of 0.5-1.2 feet (ft) in the vicinity of the Center's springs and production wells. Streamflow was predicted to be reduced locally by approximately 21 percent. Such withdrawals during a drought or prolonged period of below normal ground-water levels would result in substantial declines in the flow of the Center's springs and likely would not be sustainable for more than a few months. The drought simulated in this model was roughly equivalent to the more than 1-year drought that affected the region from November 1998 through February 2000. The potential reduction in streamflow is a result of capture of ground water tha

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS1975

Geophysical logs from a geologic test hole near Charleston, South Carolina

On March 2, 1975, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a series of geophysical well logs in the Charleston Project Deep Core Hole No. 1 located at Latitude 32° 53.2 'N and Longitude 80° 21 . 5'W in Dorchester County near Charleston, South Carolina. The land surface is at an elevation of 5.4 m (18 ft) above mean sea level. The total depth of the test hole is 793 m (2,600 ft) and the geophysical logs were recorded through fresh barite mud to the bottom. The deep geologic. test hole penetrated the entire section of Atlantic Coastal Plain sediments and extended about 40 m (130 ft) into basement rock composed of basalt flows. The purpose of the logging is to assist in the interpretation of the depositional environments, stratigraphy, structural, and geological history of the onshore and offshore areas surrounding Charleston, S.C. The purpose of this report is to make the uninterpretated geophysical recordings of the entire log suite publicly available . The logs available are shown in table 1, along with the operating depth intervals, total footage, scale, units of measure, combination log, and other pertinent data.

South Carolina↗
USGS2021

Geophysical and video logs of selected wells at and near the former Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 2017-19

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected borehole geophysical and video logs in 17 open-hole wells in Northampton, Warminster, and Warwick Townships, Bucks County, Pennsylvania during 2017–19 to support detailed groundwater investigations at and near the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Warminster, where groundwater contamination with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) had become a concern since 2014. The area is underlain by the Triassic Stockton Formation, which forms a fractured-sedimentary-rock aquifer used for private, industrial, and public drinking-water supply. The geophysical and video logs were used to characterize the boreholes and identify potential water-bearing fractures for subsequent detailed investigations. Of the 17 wells that were logged, subsequent investigations were conducted by USGS in 15 wells and included hydraulic tests of discrete water-bearing zones using a straddle-packer system in 13 wells and depth-discrete point sampling in 2 wells. These 15 wells ranged in depth from about 210 to 604 feet (ft) below land surface (bls) and included six new 6-inch diameter wells drilled to initial depths of 600 ft bls on the former NAWC Warminster base property in 2018 and nine 8- to 12-inch diameter existing former production or unused test wells. Partial geophysical or video logs also were collected by USGS during 2018 in two other wells that were not included in subsequent detailed investigations. Most wells had numerous water-bearing fractures or openings throughout the depth of the open boreholes. Most of these water-bearing features appeared to be openings parallel to bedding or high-angle fractures approximately orthogonal to bedding. Casing lengths ranged from about 19 to 93 ft bls. Depth to the ambient water level at the time of logging ranged from about 1.8 ft above land surface in a flowing well to about 55 ft bls. Measured borehole flow was predominantly downward in most of the deepest wells (greater than 400 ft), which were commonly located at the highest land-surface elevations, and contained inflow from fractures at relatively shallow depths and outflow through fractures near or below depths of 500 ft bls. Borehole flow was predominantly upward in most wells less than 400 ft in depth.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS2012

High-resolution geophysical data collected within Red Brook Harbor, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, in 2009

The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a high-resolution geophysical survey within Red Brook Harbor, Massachusetts, from September 28 through November 17, 2009. Red Brook Harbor is located on the eastern edge of Buzzards Bay, south of the Cape Cod Canal. The survey area was approximately 7 square kilometers, with depths ranging from 0 to approximately 10 meters. Data were collected aboard the U.S. Geological Survey Research Vessel Rafael. The research vessel was equipped with a 234-kilohertz interferometric sonar system to collect bathymetry and backscatter data, a dual frequency (3.5- and 200-kilohertz) compression high-intensity radar pulse seismic reflection profiler to collect subbottom data, a sound velocity profiler to acquire speed of sound within the water column, and a sea floor sampling device to collect sediment samples, video, and photographs. The survey was part of an ongoing cooperative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management to map the geology of the Massachusetts inner continental shelf. In addition to inclusion within the cooperative geologic mapping effort, these data will be used to assess the shallow-water mapping capability of the geophysical systems deployed for this project, with an emphasis on identifying resolution benchmarks for the interferometric sonar system.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1979

High-resolution seismic profiling data from the upper continental slope of the northern Gulf of Mexico

From July 28 through December 20, 1975, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a high-resolution geophysical survey on the Upper Continental Slope in the Gulf of Mexico north of Latitude 26°N. The survey was limited to water depths between 100 m and 1000 m with seismic lines spaced from 7.5 to 18.5 km apart in a reconnaissance grid pattern. The data were collected by Western Geophysical Company of America under an exclusive contract with the Geological Survey.

Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas↗
USGS2017

Hydrogeophysical investigations of earthen dams – Two California case studies

Excessive groundwater seepage can be a common engineering concern with earthen dams. The application of geophysical methods, whether for characterization or for long-term monitoring, to help inform mitigation strategies is becoming a more common addition to these investigations. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has completed geophysical investigations at several earthen dams in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to help characterize subsurface hydrogeologic conditions and to identify potential sources of seepage. Summaries of the investigations of Martis Creek Dam and Hidden Dam, both located in California, are presented.

California↗
USGS2014

The use of resistivity‐methods in the location of salt‐water bodies in the El Paso, Texas, Area

During 1935 and 1936 the Ground‐Water Division of the United States Geological Survey made an investigation of the ground‐water resources of the El Paso, Texas, Area. Geological and hydrological studies comprised the principal part of the investigation, and these studies were supplemented by measurements of earth‐resistivity made largely by the Geophysical Section of the Geological Survey along traverses aggregating 51 miles. The extent to which resistivity‐methods may be useful in ground‐water work has been the subject of much discussion. A full evaluation of the method can not be made at this time. However, the work in the El Paso Area indicates that the presence of faults and of underground bodies of salt water may be definitely determined by resistivity‐measurements.

Texas↗
USGS1956

Geophysical studies in the intermontane basins in southern California

Geophysical surveys were made by the U. S. Geological Survey in Searles Lake basin and in the Mojave Desert near Barstow, California to test the application of geophysical exploration to the study of the geologic problems associated with the intermontane basins of southern California. In Searles Lake basin a coordinated gravity and seismic reflection and refraction survey indicated that the fill in the basin is about 3,300 feet thick with the greatest thickness occurring east of the center of the basin. The regional gravity data from the area near Barstow can be used to estimate the thickness and extent of the Tertiary and Quaternary deposits.

California↗
USGS2012

Data collection and compilation for a geodatabase of groundwater, surface-water, water-quality, geophysical, and geologic data, Pecos County Region, Texas, 1930-2011

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District, Pecos County, City of Fort Stockton, Brewster County, and Pecos County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1, compiled groundwater, surface-water, water-quality, geophysical, and geologic data for site locations in the Pecos County region, Texas, and developed a geodatabase to facilitate use of this information. Data were compiled for an approximately 4,700 square mile area of the Pecos County region, Texas. The geodatabase contains data from 8,242 sampling locations; it was designed to organize and store field-collected geochemical and geophysical data, as well as digital database resources from the U.S. Geological Survey, Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District, Texas Water Development Board, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality,and numerous other State and local databases. The geodatabase combines these disparate database resources into a simple data model. Site locations are geospatially enabled and stored in a geodatabase feature class for cartographic visualization and spatial analysis within a Geographic Information System. The sampling locations are related to hydrogeologic information through the use of geodatabase relationship classes. The geodatabase relationship classes provide the ability to perform complex spatial and data-driven queries to explore data stored in the geodatabase.

Texas↗
USGS1983

Hydrogeologic data from the US Geological Survey test wells near Waycross, Ware County, Georgia

Two wells were constructed near Waycross, Ware County, Georgia, from July 1980 to May 1981 to collect stratigraphic, structural, geophysical, hydrologic, hydraulic, and geochemical information for the U.S. Geological Survey Tertiary Limestone Regional Aquifer-System Analysis. Data collection included geologic sampling and coring, borehole geophysical logging, packer testing, water-level measuring, water-quality sampling, and aquifer testing. In the study area, the Tertiary limestone aquifer system is about 1,300 feet thick and is confined and overlain by about 610 feet of clastic sediments. The aquifer system consists of limestone, dolomite, and minor evaporites and has high porosity and permeability. A 4-day continuous discharge aquifer test was conducted, from which a transmissivity of about 1 million feet squared per day and a storage coefficient of 0.0001 were calculated. Water from the upper part of the aquifer is of a calcium bicarbonate type. The deeper highly mineralized zone produces a sodium bicarbonate type water in which concentrations of magnesium, sulfate, chloride, sodium, and some trace metals increase with depth. (USGS)

Georgia↗
USGS1977

Mineral resources of the Sheep Mountain Wilderness study area and the Cucamonga Wilderness and additions, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, California

A mineral survey of the Sheep Mountain Wilderness study area and Cucamonga Wilderness area and additions by the U.S. Geological Survey and Bureau of Mines in 1975 covered about 66,500 acres (26,500 ha) of the San Bernardino and Angeles National Forests in southern California. The two study areas are separated by San Antonio Canyon. The mineral resource potential was evaluated through geological, geochemical, and geophysical studies by the Geological Survey and through evaluation of mines and prospects by the Bureau of Mines.

California↗
USGS1952

A magnetic anomaly near Bear Lake, Houghton County, Michigan

A large magnetic anomaly of unknown origin occurs about 1 1/2 miles east of Bear Lake, Houghton County, Michigan, in secs. 24 and 258 T. 56 N., R. 34 W. The occurrence is isolated in an area of very weakly magnetic rocks and has special geologic interest because it is adjacent to a non-magnetic rhyolite porphyry body that is stratigraphically higher than any other known igneous rock in the Keweenawan series. An aeromagnetic survey of the Michigan copper district by the Geophysics Branch of the U. S. Geological Survey in 1948 first revealed the anomaly (Fig. 1). The anomalous area has been more fully outlined by a dip-needle survey, and briefly discusses the geology of the area and possible significance of the anomaly.

Michigan↗
USGS2010

Archive of digital Chirp sub-bottom profile data collected during USGS Cruise 07SCC01 offshore of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, June 2007

In June of 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a geophysical survey offshore of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) as part of the USGS Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) project. This project is part of a broader study focused on Subsidence and Coastal Change (SCC). The purpose of the study was to investigate the shallow geologic framework and monitor the enviromental impacts of Hurricane Katrina (Louisiana landfall was on August 29, 2005) on the Gulf Coast's barrier island chains. This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital 512i and 424 Chirp sub-bottom profile data, trackline maps, navigation files, Geographic Information System (GIS) files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, observer's logbook, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata. Gained (a relative increase in signal amplitude) digital images of the seismic profiles are also provided. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansion of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report. The USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) assigns a unique identifier to each cruise or field activity. For example, 07SCC01 tells us the data were collected in 2007 for the Subsidence and Coastal Change (SCC) study and the data were collected during the first field activity for that study in that calendar year. Refer to http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/definition/activity.html for a detailed description of the method used to assign the field activity identification (ID). All Chirp systems use a signal of continuously varying frequency; the Chirp systems used during this survey produce high resolution, shallow penetration profile images beneath the seafloor. The towfish is a sound source and receiver, which is typically towed 1 - 2 m below the sea surface. The acoustic energy is reflected at density boundaries (such as the seafloor or sediment layers beneath the seafloor), detected by a receiver, and recorded by a PC-based seismic acquisition system. This process is repeated at timed intervals (for example, 0.125 s) and recorded for specific intervals of time (for example, 50 ms). In this way, a two-dimensional vertical image of the shallow geologic structure beneath the ship track is produced. Figure 1 displays the acquisition geometry. Refer to table 1 for a summary of acquisition parameters. See the digital FACS equipment log (11-KB PDF) for details about the acquisition equipment used. Table 2 lists trackline statistics. Scanned images of the handwritten FACS logs and handwritten science logbook (449-KB PDF) are also provided. The archived trace data are in standard Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) SEG-Y rev 1 format (Norris and Faichney, 2002); ASCII character encoding is used for the first 3,200 bytes of the card image header instead of the SEG-Y rev 0 (Barry and others, 1975) EBCDIC format. The SEG-Y files may be downloaded and processed with commercial or public domain software such as Seismic Unix (SU) (Cohen and Stockwell, 2010). See the How To Download SEG-Y Data page for download instructions. The web version of this archive does not contain the SEG-Y trace files. These files are very large and would require extremely long download times. To obtain the complete DVD archive, contact USGS Information at 1-888-ASK-USGS or infoservices@usgs.gov. The printable profiles provided here are GIF images that were processed and gained using SU software; refer to the Software page for links to example SU processing scripts and USGS software for viewing the SEG-Y files (Zihlman, 1992). The processed SEG-Y data were also exported to Chesapeake Technology, Inc. (CTI) SonarWeb software to produce an interactive version of the profile that allows the user to obtain a geographic location and depth from the profile for a given cursor position. This information is displayed in the status bar of the browser.

Louisiana↗
USGS2018

Geophysical and geologic maps of Mountain Pass and vicinity, California and Nevada

U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3412 is a series of products that consists of geophysical and geologic maps of Mountain Pass and vicinity, California. Maps A and B (red outline in above map image) are gravity and aeromagnetic maps, respectively. The map series was begun as part of an effort to study regional crustal structures as an aid to understanding the geologic framework and mineral resources of the southeast Mojave Desert. Mountain Pass resides within the southeast Mojave Desert, and it is host to a one of the world’s largest rare earth element carbonatite deposits. The deposit is found along a north-northwest- trending, fault-bounded block that extends along the eastern parts of the Clark Mountain Range, Mescal Range, and Ivanpah Mountains. This Paleoproterozoic block is composed of a 1.7-Ga metamorphic complex of gneiss and schist that underwent widespread metamorphism and associated plutonism during the Ivanpah orogeny. The Paleoproterozoic rocks were intruded by a Mesoproterozoic (1.4 Ga) ultrapotassic alkaline intrusive suite and carbonatite body. The intrusive rocks include, from oldest to youngest, shonkinite, mesosyenite, syenite, quartz syenite, potassic granite, carbonatite, carbonatite dikes, and late shonkinite dikes. Each map in the series provides the basis for geophysical and geologic interpretations of the Mountain Pass carbonatite terrane. Combined, they provide a comprehensive framework of the regional subsurface geologic structure of the area. Together, they form the first publicly available series of geophysical and geologic maps of this part of the southeast Mojave Desert.

California, Nevada↗
USGS2025

Assessment of active sand volumes at Rockaway Beach and Fire Island in New York and Seven Mile Island in New Jersey

Between 2018 and 2023, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed shoreface sediment availability at three Atlantic Coast barrier island study sites in support of a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation project entitled, “Monitoring Hurricane Sandy Beach and Marsh Resilience in New York and New Jersey.” The three study sites are Seven Mile Island, New Jersey, Rockaway Beach peninsula, New York, and Fire Island, N.Y. Previously interpreted geologic boundaries from shoreface geophysical surveys and data from repeat bathymetric surveys at each of the study sites were integrated to quantify the active sediment volume, or the volume of sediment that could contribute to beach and shoreline behavior over annual to decadal time scales. This report describes the methods used to calculate these volumes and the variability of active sediment volume for each survey at the three study sites. Our data show that when shoreface volumes account for varying alongshore extent of each study site, Seven Mile Island and Rockaway Beach peninsula have about 1.5 times the active sediment volume measured at Fire Island.

New York, New Jersey↗