Results for “Regional Assessment Report” — Page 35

USGS2000

Environmental Setting and Effects on Water Quality in the Great and Little Miami River Basins, Ohio and Indiana

The Great and Little Miami River Basins drain approximately 7,354 square miles in southwestern Ohio and southeastern Indiana and are included in the more than 50 major river basins and aquifer systems selected for water-quality assessment as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Principal streams include the Great and Little Miami Rivers in Ohio and the Whitewater River in Indiana. The Great and Little Miami River Basins are almost entirely within the Till Plains section of the Central Lowland physiographic province and have a humid continental climate, characterized by well-defined summer and winter seasons. With the exception of a few areas near the Ohio River, Pleistocene glacial deposits, which are predominantly till, overlie lower Paleozoic limestone, dolomite, and shale bedrock. The principal aquifer is a complex buried-valley system of sand and gravel aquifers capable of supporting sustained well yields exceeding 1,000 gallons per minute. Designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a sole-source aquifer, the Buried-Valley Aquifer System is the principal source of drinking water for 1.6 million people in the basins and is the dominant source of water for southwestern Ohio. Water use in the Great and Little Miami River Basins averaged 745 million gallons per day in 1995. Of this amount, 48 percent was supplied by surface water (including the Ohio River) and 52 percent was supplied by ground water. Land-use and waste-management practices influence the quality of water found in streams and aquifers in the Great and Little Miami River Basins. Land use is approximately 79 percent agriculture, 13 percent urban (residential, industrial, and commercial), and 7 percent forest. An estimated 2.8 million people live in the Great and Little Miami River Basins; major urban areas include Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. Fertilizers and pesticides associated with agricultural activity, discharges from municipal and industrial wastewater-treatment and thermoelectric plants, urban runoff, and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes contribute contaminants to surface water and ground water throughout the study area. Surface water and ground water in the Great and Little Miami River Basins are classified as very hard, calcium-magnesiumbicarbonate waters. The major-ion composition and hardness of surface water and ground water reflect extensive contact with the carbonate-rich soils, glacial sediments, and limestone or dolomite bedrock. Dieldrin, endrin, endosulfan II, and lindane are the most commonly reported organochlorine pesticides in streams draining the Great and Little Miami River Basins. Peak concentrations of the herbicides atrazine and metolachlor in streams commonly are associated with post-application runoff events. Nitrate concentrations in surface water average 3 to 4 mg/L (milligrams per liter) in the larger streams and also show strong seasonal variations related to application periods and runoff events. Ambient iron concentrations in ground water pumped from aquifers in the Great and Little Miami River Basins often exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level (300 micrograms per liter). Chloride concentrations are below aesthetic drinking-water guidelines (250 mg/L), except in ground water pumped from low-yielding Ordovician shale; chloride concentrations in sodium-chloriderich ground water pumped from the shale bedrock can exceed 1,000 mg/L. Some of the highest average nitrate concentrations in ground water in Ohio and Indiana are found in wells completed in the buried-valley aquifer; these concentrations typically are found in those parts of the sand and gravel aquifer that are not overlain by clay-rich till. Atrazine was the most commonly detected herbicide in private wells. Concentrations of volatile organic compounds in ground water generally were below Federal drinking-water standards, except near areas of known or suspected contamination. Evaluation of fish and macroinvertebrate community performance in streams and rivers draining the Great and Little Miami River Basins indicates that most streams meet basic aquatic-life-use criteria set by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for warmwater habitat. Stream reaches whose biological community performance meet aquatic-lifeuse criteria defined for exceptional warmwater habitat are found in Twin Creek, the Upper Great Miami River, the Little Miami River, and the Whitewater River Basins. Other streams have exhibited significant improvements in biological community performance (and water quality)'that are attributed primarily to reduced pollutant loadings from wastewater-treatment plants upgraded since 1972. Four hydrogeomorphic regions were delineated in the Great and Little Miami River Basins based on distinct and relatively homogeneous natural characteristics. Primary features used to delineate the hydrogeomorphic regions include bedrock geology, surficial geology, physiography, hydrology, soil types, and vegetation. These four regions Till Plains, Drift Plains/Unglaciated, Interlobate, and Fluvial are used in the Great and Little Miami River Basins study to assess the influence of natural features of the environmental setting on surface- and ground-water quality.

Indiana, Ohio↗

USGS2017

Maintenance of influenza A viruses and antibody response in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) sampled during the non-breeding season in Alaska

Prevalence of influenza A virus (IAV) infections in northern-breeding waterfowl has previously been reported to reach an annual peak during late summer or autumn; however, little is known about IAV infection dynamics in waterfowl populations persisting at high-latitude regions such as Alaska, during winter. We captured mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos ) throughout the non-breeding season (August–April) of 2012–2015 in Fairbanks and Anchorage, the two largest cities in Alaska, to assess patterns of IAV infection and antibody production using molecular methods and a standard serologic assay. In addition, we used virus isolation, genetic sequencing, and a virus microneutralization assay to characterize viral subtypes and to evaluate the immune response of mallards captured on multiple occasions through time. We captured 923 mallards during three successive sampling years: Fairbanks in 2012/13 and 2013/14, and Anchorage in 2014/15. Prevalence varied by age, season, and year/site with high and relatively stable estimates throughout the non-breeding season. Infected birds were detected in all locations/seasons except early-winter in Fairbanks during 2013/14. IAVs with 17 combinations of hemagglutinin (H1–5, H7–9, H11, H12) and neuraminidase (N1–6, N8, N9) subtypes were isolated. Antibodies to IAVs were detected throughout autumn and winter for all sampling locations and years, however, seroprevalence was higher among adults and varied among years. Mallards exhibited individual heterogeneity with regard to immune response, providing instances of both seroconversion and seroreversion to detected viral subtypes. The probability that an individual transitioned from one serostatus to another varied by age, with juvenile mallards having higher rates of seroconversion and seroreversion than adults. Our study provides evidence that a diversity of IAVs circulate in populations of mallards wintering at urban locations in Alaska, and we suggest waterfowl wintering at high-latitudes may play an important role in maintenance of viruses across breeding seasons.

Alaska↗

USGS2009

Hurricane Ike: Observations and analysis of coastal change

Understanding storm-induced coastal change and forecasting these changes require knowledge of the physical processes associated with the storm and the geomorphology of the impacted coastline. The primary physical processes of interest are the wind field, storm surge, and wave climate. Not only does wind cause direct damage to structures along the coast, but it is ultimately responsible for much of the energy that is transferred to the ocean and expressed as storm surge, mean currents, and large waves. Waves and currents are the processes most responsible for moving sediments in the coastal zone during extreme storm events. Storm surge, the rise in water level due to the wind, barometric pressure, and other factors, allows both waves and currents to attack parts of the coast not normally exposed to those processes. Coastal geomorphology, including shapes of the shoreline, beaches, and dunes, is equally important to the coastal change observed during extreme storm events. Relevant geomorphic variables include sand dune elevation, beach width, shoreline position, sediment grain size, and foreshore beach slope. These variables, in addition to hydrodynamic processes, can be used to predict coastal vulnerability to storms The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards Project (http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes), strives to provide hazard information to those interested in the Nation's coastlines, including residents of coastal areas, government agencies responsible for coastal management, and coastal researchers. As part of the National Assessment, observations were collected to measure coastal changes associated with Hurricane Ike, which made landfall near Galveston, Texas, on September 13, 2008. Methods of observation included aerial photography and airborne topographic surveys. This report documents these data-collection efforts and presents qualitative and quantitative descriptions of hurricane-induced changes to the shoreline, beaches, dunes, and infrastructure in the region that was heavily impacted by Hurricane Ike.

Texas↗

USGS2022

Yuma Ridgway’s rail selenium exposure and occupancy within managed and unmanaged emergent marshes at the Salton Sea

Yuma Ridgway’s rail ( Rallus obsoletus yumanensis , hereafter, rail) is an endangered species for which patches of emergent marsh within the Salton Sea watershed comprise a substantial part of habitat for the species’ disjointed range in the southwestern United States. These areas of emergent marsh include (1) marshes managed by federal (particularly the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge), state (California Department of Fish and Wildlife), and local (Imperial Irrigation District) resource agencies that are sustained by direct deliveries of Colorado River water and (2) unmanaged marshes sustained by agricultural drainage water. Management of rail habitat in this arid environment is complicated by increasingly limited availability of unimpaired freshwater owing to water management decisions associated with the Quantification Settlement Agreement and risks posed by potentially harmful concentrations of selenium found in agricultural drainage water that can readily bioaccumulate in aquatic food webs. To provide timely science for managers, herein we report summary statistics for managed and unmanaged emergent marshes sampled at the Salton Sea during the rail breeding season of 2016 pertaining to (1) selenium concentrations in food webs representing dietary pathways of selenium exposure and (2) patterns of rail occupancy and inter-marsh movements, estimated abundance, and regional population size of rail. For selenium-specific objectives, we sampled unfiltered surface water, midge larvae (Chironomidae), water boatmen (Corixidae), mosquitofish ( Gambusia spp.), and crayfish (Astacidae). Selenium samples were collected from 15 fixed sampling points, each in managed and unmanaged marshes, during late February, April, and June 2016, which corresponded to rail pre-nesting, nesting, and fledgling reproductive life-stages, respectively. Two areas within the two treatment types (managed versus unmanaged marsh) were of particular interest to help assess risks associated with changing sea dynamics and different water-management strategies: (1) a large unmanaged marsh (Morton Bay) unintentionally created in approximately 2008 when it became separated from the Salton Sea as water inflows began to drop and a berm formed from accumulated sediment and (2) a restored marsh (HZ9A) managed by the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge, which is currently supplied with Colorado River water but may be sustained in the future by a blend of clean (that is, low selenium) Colorado River and agricultural drainage water with higher selenium from the Alamo River. Hence, baseline data for these marshes are important for future management decisions. We also report selenium concentrations in rail blood, head feathers, and breast feathers from rails captured as part of the movement study. Results indicated relatively higher risks from dietary selenium exposure for rails occupying unmanaged marshes compared to managed marshes and similar risks among unmanaged marshes. However, risks also were potentially elevated for rails occupying some managed marshes (that is, the Hazard Marshes), where relatively high proportions of Chironomidae and mosquitofish exceeded dietary thresholds for selenium effects on avian reproduction. For rail-specific objectives, we quantified occupancy and spatial distribution using call count data analyzed with imperfect detection models. Imperfect detection models allowed us to jointly estimate detection probability and abundance of detected rails in association with habitats. We then used estimates of detection probability and abundance at the habitat level to extrapolate rail population abundance for the Salton Sea region. Inter- and intra-marsh movements were described from over 5,000 locations obtained from 15 radio-marked rails. Resultant space use patterns indicated that, in general, selenium risk to individuals is not equally shared because of high levels of territoriality and very limited movement throughout the landscape. Moreover, the largest contiguous blocks of habitat are associated with unmanaged marshlands located on the former southeastern shoreline and outside traditional management areas and authorities. Thus, a substantial proportion of the rail population that is using unmanaged marsh on the southeastern shoreline may have disproportionate risk of elevated selenium exposure, yet how that risk translates to population-level effects remains unknown.

California↗

USGS1999

Cruise report for O1-99-SC Southern California Earthquake Hazards project

The focus of the Southern California Earthquake Hazards project is to identify the landslide and earthquake hazards and related ground-deformation processes occurring in the offshore areas that have significant potential to impact the inhabitants of the Southern California coastal region. The project activity is supported through the Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the Geologic Division of the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) and is a component of the Geologic Division's Science Strategy under Goal 1—Conduct Geologic Hazard Assessments for Mitigation Planning (Bohlen et al., 1998). The project research is specifically stated under Activity 1.1.2 of the Science Strategy: Earthquake Hazard Assessments and Loss Reduction Products in Urban Regions. This activity involves "research, seismic and geodetic monitoring, field studies, geologic mapping, and analyses needed to provide seismic hazard assessments of major urban centers in earthquake-prone regions including adjoining coastal and offshore areas." The southern California urban areas, which form the most populated urban corridor along the U.S. Pacific margin, are among a few specifically designated for special emphasis under the Division's science strategy (Bohlen et al., 1998). The primary objective of the project is to help mitigate the earthquake hazards for the Southern California region by improving our understanding of how deformation is distributed (spatially and temporally) in the offshore with respect to the onshore region. To meet this objective, we are conducting field investigations to observe the distribution, character, and relative intensity of active (i.e., primarily Holocene) deformation within the basins and along the shelf adjacent to the most highly populated areas (Fig. 1). In addition, acoustic imaging should help determine the subsurface dimensions of the faults and identify the size and frequency of submarine landslides, both of which are necessary for evaluating the potential for generating destructive tsunamis in the southern California offshore. In order to evaluate the strain associated with the offshore structures, the initial results from the field mapping under this project will be used to identify possible sites for deployment of acoustic geodetic instruments to monitor strain in the offshore region. A major goal of mapping under this project is to provide detailed geologic and geophysical information in GIS data bases that build on the earlier studies and use the new data to precisely locate active faults and to map recent submarine landslide deposits.

California↗

USGS2018

Mars global digital dune database (MGD3)—Composition, stability, and thermal inertia

The Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD 3 ) is an online repository that has catalogued dune fields larger than 1 km 2 located between latitudes 90° N. and 90° S. The work presented here expands upon previous MGD3 open-file reports, with a new emphasis upon characterizing dune fields through composition, stability, and thermal inertia. Included in this latest addition is a detailed compositional analysis and the associated observational data from Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) for dune fields 300 km 2 or larger; a near-global dune stability assessment; Mars Odyssey (MO1) Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) apparent thermal inertia values; and vertical near-surface thermophysical heterogeneities determined by fitting a two-layer thermal model to observed temperatures. These additional datasets are divided into two workbooks: equatorial and south polar regions. A detailed description for the layout of these workbooks can be found in the corresponding metadata document. The continuing goal of the MGD 3 is to provide a reliable and multifaceted repository of data for Mars’ dunes, with the intention that such data be easily accessible and useful to future research.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2013

The National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center annual report for 2012

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) Climate Science Centers (CSCs) annual report. In 2008, Congress created the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The center was formed to respond to the demands of natural resource managers for rigorous scientific information and effective tools for assessing and responding to climate change. Located at the USGS National Headquarters in Reston, Va., the NCCWSC has invested more than $70 million in cutting-edge climate change research and, in response to Secretarial Order No. 3289,established and is managing eight regional Department of Interior (DOI) Climate Science Centers (CSCs). The mission of the NCCWSC is to provide natural resource managers with the tools and information they need to develop and execute management strategies that address the impacts of climate and other ongoing global changes on fish and wildlife and their habitats. The DOI CSCs are joint Federal-university partnerships that focus their scientific work on regional priorities identified by DOI Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) as well as Federal, State, Tribal, and other resource managers. The CSCs provide access to a wide range of scientific capabilities through their network of university partners along with the USGS and other Federal agency scientists. The focus of the NCCWSC on multiregion and national priorities complements the regionally focused agendas of the CSCs.

Circular↗

USGS2021

Geologic influences on the quality of groundwater used for domestic supply in the northern Sierra Nevada Foothills

Approximately 2 million California residents depend on groundwater from domestic wells for their drinking-water supply. The State of California, in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey, created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program Priority Basin Project (GAMA-PBP) to assess the quality of groundwater used for domestic supply throughout the state and determine regional vulnerabilities to drinking-water resources. Many rural households in the northern Sierra Nevada foothills (hereafter referred to as “the foothills”) use domestic wells that pump water from fractured-bedrock aquifers. In the foothills, complicated and varied regional bedrock geology can cause substantial variation in groundwater chemistry and quality over relatively short distances. This factsheet presents findings from the GAMA-PBP assessment that highlight influences of geologic factors on groundwater quality in the foothills.

California↗

USGS2024

State of science, gap analysis, and prioritization for southeastern United States water-quality impacts from coastal storms—Fiscal year 2023 program report to the Water Resources Mission Area from the Water Availability Impacts of Extreme Events Program—Hurricanes

Tropical cyclones (coastal storm events that include tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes) cause landscape-scale disturbances that can lead to impaired water quality and thus reduce water availability for use. Stakeholders and scientists at local and national scales have illustrated a need for understanding these risks to water quality. A regional and comprehensive understanding of the impacts of tropical storms and hurricanes on surface-water and groundwater quality—and thus water availability—is lacking for potentially impacted coastal and inland areas. As the U.S. Geological Survey considers development of tools to predict the extent to which water-quality impacts of hurricanes affect water availability, an assessment of the state of the science of hurricane impacts is needed, including a gap analysis and prioritization of data and science needs. This assessment focuses on the southeastern coastal States.

southeastern United States↗

USGS1999

Water quality and habitat conditions in upper Midwest streams relative to riparian vegetation and soil characteristics, August 1997 : study design, methods, and data

Water-chemistry, biological, and habitat data were collected from 70 sites on Midwestern streams during August 1997 as part of an integrated, regional water-quality assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The study area includes the Corn Belt region of southern Minnesota, eastern Iowa, and west-central Illinois, one of the most intensive and productive agricultural regions of the world. The focus of the study was to evaluate the condition of woodedriparian zones and the influence of basin soildrainage characteristics on water quality and biological-community responses. This report includes a description of the study design and site-characterization process, sample-collection and processing methods, laboratory methods, quality-assurance procedures, and summaries of data on nutrients, herbicides and metabolites, stream productivity and respiration, biological communities, habitat conditions, and agriculturalchemical and land-use information.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1988

Peregrine falcon

Since 1975, 101 peregrine falcon breeding sites have been documented in Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas. Eyries were found in either riverine or montane canyons, habitats which supported dense and diverse avian prey and provided structural characteristics that may increase prey vulnerability. Approximately 85% of the sites visited each year were occupied. Egg-laying (mid-February to mid-May) typically occurred first in the south and at lower elevations, and later in the north and at higher elevations. Mean productivity of adult pairs (mean =1.55 young/year) was comparable to rates reported for healthy populations. Poor productivity and decreased territorial occupancy in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico occurred in the presence of high levels of environmental DDE. Estimates of the breeding population (141-187 occupied territories) are twice the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recovery goal for the region; however, the population is not considered recovered. The discrepancy of these assessments stems from the suitable-habitat approach used by the authors vs. the narrower eyrie-based USFWS recovery plan. Recommendations include reevaluation of recovery goals to ensure adequate habitat protection, elimination of regional sources of organochlorine pesticides, delineation of suitable habitat, formulation of habitat management prescriptions, winter habitat studies,continued monitoring of territorial occupancy and productivity, and accountability for sensitive information.

Book chapter↗

USGS2013

Observed changes in phenology across the USA: A regional review for the 2013 National Climate Assessment, Great Plains Regional Information Sheet.

This is one in a series of eight, geographic region-focused information sheets that summarizes documented changes in plant and animal phenology over the past century across the United States. This summary is based on long-term studies (10 years or more) published in the primary scientific literature since 2001. A forthcoming manuscript synthesizes the findings of the eight regional information sheets. This information was developed in support of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s National Climate Assessment and can be used to facilitate preparation for the cascading effects of ongoing climate change.

Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma,↗

USGS2013

Observed changes in phenology across the USA: A regional review for the 2013 National Climate Assessment, Pacific Northwest Regional Information Sheet

This is one in a series of eight, geographic region-focused information sheets that summarizes documented changes in plant and animal phenology over the past century across the United States. This summary is based on long-term studies (10 years or more) published in the primary scientific literature since 2001. A forthcoming manuscript synthesizes the findings of the eight regional information sheets. This information was developed in support of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s National Climate Assessment and can be used to facilitate preparation for the cascading effects of ongoing climate change.

Idaho, Oregon, Washington↗

USGS2013

Observed changes in phenology across the USA: A regional review for the 2013 National Climate Assessment, Northeast Regional Information Sheet

This is one in a series of eight, geographic region-focused information sheets that summarizes documented changes in plant and animal phenology over the past century across the United States. This summary is based on long-term studies (10 years or more) published in the primary scientific literature since 2001. A forthcoming manuscript synthesizes the findings of the eight regional information sheets. This information was developed in support of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s National Climate Assessment and can be used to facilitate preparation for the cascading effects of ongoing climate change.

Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachuse↗

USGS2013

Observed changes in phenology across the USA: A regional review for the 2013 National Climate Assessment, Alaska and the Arctic Regional Information Sheet

This is one in a series of eight, geographic region-focused information sheets that summarizes documented changes in plant and animal phenology over the past century across the United States. This summary is based on long-term studies (10 years or more) published in the primary scientific literature since 2001. A forthcoming manuscript synthesizes the findings of the eight regional information sheets. This information was developed in support of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s National Climate Assessment and can be used to facilitate preparation for the cascading effects of ongoing climate change.

Alaska↗

USGS2013

Observed changes in phenology across the USA: A regional review for the 2013 National Climate Assessment, Hawaii and Pacific Islands Regional Information Sheet

This is one in a series of eight, geographic region-focused information sheets that summarizes documented changes in plant and animal phenology over the past century across the United States. This summary is based on long-term studies (10 years or more) published in the primary scientific literature since 2001. A forthcoming manuscript synthesizes the findings of the eight regional information sheets. This information was developed in support of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s National Climate Assessment and can be used to facilitate preparation for the cascading effects of ongoing climate change.

Hawai‘i↗

USGS2013

Observed changes in phenology across the USA: A regional review for the 2013 National Climate Assessment, Southwest Regional Information Sheet

This is one in a series of eight, geographic region-focused information sheets that summarizes documented changes in plant and animal phenology over the past century across the United States. This summary is based on long-term studies (10 years or more) published in the primary scientific literature since 2001. A forthcoming manuscript synthesizes the findings of the eight regional information sheets. This information was developed in support of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s National Climate Assessment and can be used to facilitate preparation for the cascading effects of ongoing climate change.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico,↗

USGS2013

Observed changes in phenology across the USA: A regional review for the 2013 National Climate Assessment, Midwest Regional Information Sheet

This is one in a series of eight, geographic region-focused information sheets that summarizes documented changes in plant and animal phenology over the past century across the United States. This summary is based on long-term studies (10 years or more) published in the primary scientific literature since 2001. A forthcoming manuscript synthesizes the findings of the eight regional information sheets. This information was developed in support of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s National Climate Assessment and can be used to facilitate preparation for the cascading effects of ongoing climate change.

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Miss↗