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At least 847 records · Page 47Linked to original sources
USGS1996

Floods of July 12, 1972, March 19, 1979, and June 15, 1991, in the Turkey River Basin, northeast Iowa

Water-surface-elevation profiles and peak discharges for the floods of July 12, 1972, March 19, 1979, and June 15, 1991, in the Turkey River Basin, northeast Iowa, are presented in this report. The profiles illustrate the 1979 and 1991 floods along the Turkey River in Fayette and Clayton Counties and along the Volga River in Clayton County; the 1991 flood along Roberts Creek in Clayton County and along Otter Creek in Fayette County; and the 1972 flood along the Turkey River in Winneshiek and Fayette Counties. Watersurface elevations for the flood of March 19,1979, were collected by the Iowa Natural Resources Council. The June 15, 1991, flood on the Turkey River at Garber (station number 05412500) is the largest known flood-peak discharge at the streamflow-gaging station for the period 1902-95. The peak discharge for June 15, 1991, of 49,900 cubic feet per second was 1.4 times larger than the 100-year recurrence-interval discharge. The report provides information on flood stages and discharges and floodflow frequencies for streamflow-gaging stations in the Turkey River Basin using flood information collected during 1902-95. Information on temporary bench marks and reference points established in the Turkey River Basin during 1981, 1992, and 1996 also is included in the report. A flood history describes rainfall conditions for floods that occurred during 1922, 1947, 1972, 1979, and 1991.

Iowa↗
USGS1994

Multipurpose Wetlands Phase II/III: final design and ongoing research investigations

The Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD), the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), and the National Biological Survey (NBS), in consultation with other governmental agencies, the academic community, and environmental groups, are involved in a cooperative wetlands research and demonstration effort. This report reflects progress through the first 3 years of a 5-year program. The goal of the Multipurpose Wetlands Research and Demonstration Project is to evaluate and expand the use of reclaimed water and contaminated ground water through the incorporation of multipurpose constructed wetlands into EMWD's total water resources management program. The focus of the wetlands is the development of design, construction, and operation criteria that will provide a cost-effective and innovative alternative for managing water resources and provide other public benefits in arid areas. The program also recognizes the fact that naturally-occurring wetlands, both coastal and inland, have been disappearing at an alarming rate.

Report↗
USGS2017

Final Report fr critical thresholds and ecosystem services for coastal ecological and human climate adaptation

Understanding how climate change will impact natural and human communities is a crucial part of decision making and management related to the protection of our coasts. As the effects of climate change on ecological communities grow, the possibility of crossing tipping points or thresholds of viability increases the potential for rapid and possibly irreversible changes in ecosystems. Therefore, understanding thresholds related to climate change is critical for facilitating conservation and management actions, which could help to prevent more costly and possibly catastrophic effects in the future. As part of a broad effort to synthesize and deliver coastal resilience information through the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs), Climate Science Centers, states, and other partners along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, we synthesized existing quantitative threshold information for 45 priority coastal fish, wildlife, and plant species and habitats in response to sea level rise and storm projections. Additional information was synthesized on climate change adaptation actions that can increase the persistence and resilience of species and their habitats and how these actions relate to human community resilience. In addition to two peer-reviewed manuscripts, results from these synthesis efforts were disseminated online through easily accessible, topic-specific web pages in the Massachusetts Wildlife Climate Action Tool (climateactiontool.org) to make this information more easily accessible to stakeholders across the region. The compilation and dissemination of species and habitat threshold information will help to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how natural systems will respond to climate change and how land and resource management decisions could potentially help these species.

Report↗
USGS1996

Aftermath of Hurricane Fran in North Carolina; preliminary data on flooding and water quality

Floods resulting from Hurricane Fran, which passed through North Carolina on September 5-6, 1996, were some of the most severe and widespread in the State in recent memory. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is responsible for the collection and interpretation of water-resources information, including flood data, for the Nation. As such, the USGS, in cooperation with the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and numerous other State and local agencies, is continuing to document the effects of Hurricane Fran on the water resources of North Carolina. The purpose of this report is to present preliminary, selected information on the flooding and associated water-quality conditions which followed Hurricane Fran in North Carolina

North Carolina↗
USGS2010

Accuracy of EAARL lidar ground elevations using a bare-earth algorithm in marsh and beach grasses on the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana

The NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Lidar (EAARL) is an airborne lidar (light detection and ranging) instrument designed to map coastal topography and bathymetry. The EAARL system has the capability to capture each laser-pulse return over a large signal range and can digitize the full waveform of the backscattered energy. Because of this ability to capture the full waveform, the EAARL system can map features such as coral reefs, beaches, coastal vegetation, and trees, where extreme variations in the laser backscatter are caused by different physical and optical characteristics. Post-processing of the EAARL data is accomplished using the Airborne Lidar Processing System (ALPS) (Nayegandhi and others, 2009). In ALPS, the waveform of the lidar is analyzed and split into first and last returns. The 'first returns' are indicative of vegetation-canopy height, or bare ground in the absence of vegetation, whereas 'last returns' typically represent 'bare-earth' elevations under vegetation. To test the accuracy of the first-return and bare-earth EAARL data, topographic and vegetation height surveys were conducted in the Chandeleur Islands, concurrent with an EAARL lidar survey and an aerial oblique-photographic survey from September 20 to 27, 2006. The Chandeleur Islands are a north-south-oriented chain of low-lying islands located approximately 100 kilometers east of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. The islands are narrow north-south strips of land with marsh on the landward (west sides) and sandy beaches on their gulfward (east sides). Prior to Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall at Buras, Louisiana, as a Category 3 storm on August 29, 2005, prominent, 3- to 4-meter-high sand dunes were present in the northern Chandeleurs. The storm removed them, leaving post-storm island elevations of generally less than 2 meters above 0.0 NAVD88. This report is part of a study of the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Chandeleur Islands using pre-storm and post-storm lidar surveys to detect morphological changes. The islands lost over 80 percent of their land area during Hurricane Katrina, and in the first 2 years following Katrina, many of the islands experienced continued shoreline retreat (Sallenger and others, 2007). In addition to land-area losses, the loss of dunes made the islands increasingly vulnerable to future storm impacts. The U.S. Geological Survey, along with partners in the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, continues to monitor changes in shoreline position, land area, and elevation in the Chandeleur Islands.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2013

WICCI Wildlife Working Group Report

Wisconsin is world-renowned for its diversity of ecological landscapes and wildlife populations. The northern forests, southern prairies, and interior and coastal wetlands of the state are home to more than 500 terrestrial animal species. These animals supply the Wisconsin public with aesthetic, cultural, and economic benefits; our identity and economy are intertwined with these natural resources. Climate change is altering the behavior, distribution, development, reproduction, and survival of these animal populations. In turn, these changes will alter the aesthetic, cultural, and economic benefits we receive from them. The focus of the Wildlife Working Group is to document past and current impacts, anticipate changes in wildlife distribution and abundance, and develop adaptation strategies to maintain the vitality and diversity of Wisconsin's wildlife populations.

Report↗
USGS2008

High-resolution chirp and mini-sparker seismic-reflection data from the southern California continental shelf — Gaviota to Mugu Canyon

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected high-resolution shallow seismic-reflection data in September, 2007, and June-July, 2008, from the continental shelf offshore of southern California between Gaviota and Mugu Canyon, in support of the California's State Waters Mapping Program. Data were acquired using SIG 2mille mini-sparker and Edgetech chirp 512 instruments aboard the R/V Zephyr (Sept. 2007) and R/V Parke Snavely (June-July 2008). The survey area spanned approximately 120 km of coastline, and included shore-perpendicular transects spaced 1.0-1.5 km apart that extended offshore to at least the 3-mile limit of State waters, in water depths ranging from 10 m near shore to 300 m near the offshore extent of Mugu and Hueneme submarine canyons. Subbottom acoustic penetration spanned tens to several hundred meters, variable by location. This report includes maps of the surveyed transects, linked to Google Earth software, as well as digital data files showing images of each transect in SEG-Y, JPEG, and TIFF formats. The images of sediment deposits, tectonic structure, and natural-gas seeps collected during this study provide geologic information that is essential to coastal zone and resource management at Federal, State and local levels, as well as to future research on the sedimentary, tectonic, and climatic record of southern California.

California↗
USGS2006

High-resolution geologic mapping of the inner continental shelf: Nahant to Gloucester, Massachusetts

This report presents high-resolution maps of the seafloor offshore of Massachusetts, from Nahant to Gloucester. Approximately 134 km² of the inner shelf were mapped with a focus on the nearshore region in water depths less than 40 m (fig. 1.1). The maps were prepared as part of a cooperative mapping program between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM). They are based on marine geophysical data, sediment sampling, and bottom photography obtained on two research cruises carried out in 2003 and 2004. The primary objective of this program is to develop a suite of seafloor maps that provide geologic information for management of coastal and marine resources. Accurate maps of seafloor geology are important first steps toward protecting fish habitat, delineating marine reserves, and assessing environmental changes due to natural or human impacts. The maps also provide a geologic framework for scientific research, industry and the public. The organization of this report is outlined in the navigation bar along the left-hand margin of the page. This is section 1, the introduction. Section 2 briefly describes the mapping products contained in this report and has links to large-format map sheets, that can be viewed on line or downloaded. Section 3 is a description of the data collection, processing, and analysis procedures used to create the map products. Section 4 examines the geologic framework and late Quaternary evolution of the region, and presents two different strategies for mapping the complex seafloor. This report also contains four appendices that include GIS layers of all data collected in this study, and copies of the sample and photographic data used to validate the interpretations.

Massachusetts↗
USGS2023

U.S. Geological Survey science vision for native freshwater mussel research in the United States

Executive Summary North America is a global center for native freshwater mussel (order Unionida, hereinafter “mussels”) diversity, with more than 350 species. Mussels are among the most imperiled fauna on the planet. Reasons for both local and widespread declines in mussels are mostly unknown, although the threats may include habitat loss and fragmentation, diseases, environmental contaminants, altered flow regimes, migration barriers to larval hosts, non-native species, and climate change. Over the past three decades, research on mussels has been substantial. Nevertheless, current conservation and management efforts are limited by significant information gaps. For example, the effects of emerging stressors on mussels are largely unknown and identifying when habitats are rehabilitated and suitable for reestablishment of mussels remains challenging. Additionally, historical and current information on the distribution, taxonomy, and life histories are often unreliable or lacking altogether, and more reliable information is needed for many species. We identified focal research themes, goals, and objectives where research on mussels is needed based on information gaps identified through conversations with resource partners across local, regional, and national organizations. Research on biodiversity seeks to enhance the diversity of mussel species and populations to support healthy aquatic ecosystems. Research on emerging stressors seeks to improve the understanding of how mussel species, populations, and communities respond to emerging stressors, including environmental contaminants and climate change. Research on conservation seeks to enhance the recovery of species and populations and to identify data gaps limiting the conservation of mussels and their habitats. Mussels are in urgent need of proactive conservation because they are an integral part of our natural heritage, enhance biodiversity, and provide vital ecological services that support freshwater ecosystems. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been, and continues to be, a leader in mussel research. Although the USGS is well suited to address the broad-scale multidisciplinary research needed to conserve mussels, the USGS has had substantial loss of scientists with mussel expertise over the past 20 years. However, the breadth of the USGS expertise on mussels can be leveraged internally across other USGS mission and program areas and externally across research partners. Given the breadth and scope of the issues facing mussels across the United States, the research themes outlined in this science vision can only be accomplished through extensive collaborations between the USGS and the full spectrum of natural resource partners, including other Federal and State agencies, Tribal organizations, universities, industries, and nongovernmental organizations.

Circular↗
USGS1984

Steady-state computer model of the water-table aquifer in the Mullica River basin, the Pine Barrens, New Jersey

A two-dimensional steady-state model of the water-table aquifer of the Mullica River basin was made to evaluate the flow system and data required to simulate it. The Mullica River basin covers 570 sq mi and is drained by numerous shallow streams. The water-table aquifer consists of sand and gravel intermixed with clay and silt. The computer model is based on a finite-difference method with stream-seepage equations coupled to the groundwater equation. The model was applied to the approximately steady-state conditions of March 1979. Initial estimates of streambed hydraulic conductance and aquifer hydraulic conductivity were adjusted until model water level matched measured water level within 5 ft for 41 of 42 wells. Also, model streamflow was within 20 percent of measured streamflow at 12 of 15 sites. The 5,000-ft grid spacing should be adequate for a future predictive model. The natural flow system is adequately simulated by a two-dimensional model. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1996

Water Budget for the Lahaina District, Island of Maui, Hawaii

Ground-water recharge is estimated as the residual component of a monthly water budget calculated using long-term average rainfall, streamflow, irrigation, pan-evaporation data, and soil characteristics. The water-budget components are defined seasonally, through the use of monthly data, and spatially by topographic and geologic areas, through the use of a geographic information system model. The long-term average ground-water recharge for the Lahaina District was estimated for three scenarios using 1923-78 land-use and irrigation data, 1986-93 land-use and irrigation data, and natural conditions. The average annual ground-water recharge rate for 1923-78 conditions is 190 million gallons per day, which is 45 percent of the sum of rainfall and irrigation. The recharge rate for 1986-93 conditions is 163 million gallons per day, which is 42 percent of rainfall plus irrigation. The recharge rate for natural conditions is 145 million gallons per day, which is 44 percent of rainfall.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1983

The sky's the limit!

The National High Altitude Photography Program NHAP-The National High Altitude Photography program- is making recent aerial photographs, both black-and-white and color infrared, more easily accessible to you. Designed to help you acquire high altitude photographs quickly and efficiently, NHAP can help you save valuable research time as well as help: -Improve your resource management programsfrom agricultural monitoring to pollution detection. -Update your inventories of timber, mineral deposits, and other important natural resources. -Identify manmade and natural features to help you make land management planning more effective. -Interpret, evaluate, analyze, monitor, and control your resource projects more effectively.

Report↗
USGS1995

Relation of fracture orientation to linear terrain features, anisotropic transmissivity, and seepage to streams in the karst Prairie du Chien Group, southeastern Minnesota

Ground-water flow in the karst-terrane aquifers of southeastern Minnesota is not well defined. Variable fracture patterns in the bedrock affect permeability. Techniques to predict the effects of fracture patterns on ground-water flow in the karst-terrane aquifers of southeastern Minnesota are unavailable. The use of such techniques may be useful to officials responsible for the management and protection of ground water in these aquifers, which have a high susceptibility to contamination. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources, investigated fracture patterns, anisotropic transmissivity, and seepage to streams from the Prairie du Chien Group, which is the karst portion of the St. Peter-Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer, to improve the understanding of ground-water flow through karst-terrane aquifers in southeastern Minnesota. This report presents the results of testing hypotheses that (1) the major axes of linear terrain features correlate with the major axes of subsurface fractures in the Prairie du Chien Group, and that (2) the major axes of subsurface fractures in the Prairie du Chien Group correlate with seepage from the Prairie du Chien Group. The first hypothesis was tested by comparison of linear terrain features to fracture orientation measurements. Fracture orientations in 10 exposures of the Prairie du Chien Group at quarries, road cuts, and natural outcrops showed statistically significant directional trends at 8 of 10 sites. Directional trends of linear terrain features identified from 1:80,000 aerial photographs were significant in four of the ten 60-square mile areas that surround these sites. The fracture orientation measurements correlate with the local linear terrain features in 2 of the 10 sites. The second hypothesis was tested by analyzing the correlation between seepage rates into streams hydraulically connected to the Prairie du Chien Group and surrounding linear terrain features that were mapped in approximately 300 square mile areas. Data from Riceford Creek support this hypothesis; data from Crow Creek and Middle Fork of the Whitewater River and from Duschee Creek are inconclusive. This hypothesis could not be tested by the data from the Middle Fork of the Zumbro River, the South Branch of the Root River, and the South Branch of the Middle Fork of the Zumbro River because the surrounding linear terrain features lack directional trends. The transmissivity of the karst portion of the St. Peter-Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer is anisotropic at an aquifertest site in the study area. Results of the aquifer test indicate that the major axis of transmissivity is along a line N95°E. The aquifer-test results indicate that the principal axis of joint fractures at the test site is slightly clockwise from an east-west line because this axis is assumed to correlate with the major axis of horizontal transmissivity.

Minnesota↗
USGS2012

Nearshore morphology, benthic structure, hydrodynamics, and coastal groundwater discharge near Kahekili Beach Park, Maui, Hawaii

This report presents a brief summary of recent fieldwork conducted off Kahekili Beach Park, Maui, Hawaii, the site of the newly established U.S. Coral Reef Task Force priority study area at Kaanapali and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources, Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area (HFMA). The goals of this fieldwork are to provide new baseline information to help guide future studies and to provide first insights into rates and drivers of coastal groundwater discharge and associated constituent loadings into the priority study area's coastal waters. This study presents the first swath acoustic mapping information, in situ oceanographic instrument measurements, and coastal groundwater discharge estimates at this site based on the submarine groundwater discharge tracer radon-222 ( 222 Rn). Coastal groundwater discharge rates ranged from about 22 to 50 centimeters per day, depending on proximity of the sampling mooring to the primary discharge vent. The water chemistry of the discharging groundwater was at times dramatically different than ambient seawater. For example, at the primary vent site at Kahekili, the concentrations of total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), dissolved silicate (DSi), and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) in the discharging groundwater were 43.75 micromolar (μM), 583.49 μM, and 12.04 μM, respectively. These data extend our basic understanding of the morphology, benthic structure, and oceanographic setting of this vent site and provide a first estimate of the magnitude and physical forcings of submarine groundwater discharge and associated trace metals and nutrient loads here.

Hawai'i↗
USGS2016

Two Holocene paleofire records from Peten, Guatemala: Implications for natural fire regime and prehispanic Maya land use

Although fire was arguably the primary tool used by the Maya to alter the landscape and extract resources, little attention has been paid to biomass burning in paleoenvironmental reconstructions from the Maya lowlands. Here we report two new well-dated, high-resolution records of biomass burning based on analysis of macroscopic fossil charcoal recovered from lacustrine sediment cores. The records extend from the early Holocene, through the full arc of Maya prehistory, the Colonial, and post-Colonial periods (~ 9000 cal yr BP to the present). (Hereafter BP) The study sites, Lago Paixban and Lago Puerto Arturo, are located in northern Peten, Guatemala. Results provide the first quantitative analysis from the region demonstrating that frequent fires have occurred in the closed canopy forests since at least the early Holocene (~ 9000 BP), prior to occupation by sedentary agriculturalists. Following the arrival of agriculture around 4600 BP, the system transitioned from climate controlled to anthropogenic control. During the Maya period, changes in fire regime are muted and do not appear to be driven by changes in climate conditions. Low charcoal influx and fire frequency in the Earliest Preclassic period suggest that land use strategies may have included intensive agriculture much earlier than previously thought. Preliminary results showing concentrations of soot/black-carbon during the middle and late Preclassic periods are lower than modern background values, providing intriguing implications regarding the efficiency of Maya fuel consumption.

Peten↗
USGS1984

Bedrock aquifers in the northern San Rafael Swell area, Utah, with special emphasis on the Navajo Sandstone

This report presents the results of a study of bedrock aquifers in the northern San Rafael Swell area, Utah (fig. 1), with special emphasis on the Navajo Sandstone of Triassic(?) and Jurassic age. The study was made by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Rights. Fieldwork was done mainly during March 1979-July 1980, with supplemental testing and observations during August-December 1980. The principal objectives of this study were to determine: (1) Well yields of the bedrock formations, (2) the capability of formations to yield, over the long term, water chemically suitable for presently (1980) known uses, and (3) effects of withdrawals from wells on the surface-water supply in the Colorado River Basin.

Utah↗