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Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

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At least 847 records · Page 47Linked to original sources
USGS1967

Ground-water levels in observation wells in Oklahoma, 1965-66

The investigation of the ground-water resources of Oklahoma by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board includes a continuing program to collect records of water levels in selected observation wells on a systematic basis. These water-level records: (1) provide an index to available ground-water supplies; (2) facilitate the prediction of trends in water levels that will indicate likely changes in storage; (3) aid in the prediction of the base flow of streams; (4) provide information for use in basic research; (5) provide long-time continuous records of fluctuations of water levels in representative wells; and (6) serve as a framework to which other types of hydrologic data my be related. Prior to 1956, measurements of water levels in observation wells in Oklahoma were included in water-supply papers published annually by the U.S. Geological Survey. Beginning with the 1956 calendar year, however, Geological Survey water-level reports will contain only records of a selected network of observation wells, and will be published at 5-year intervals. The first of this series, for the 1956-59 period was published in 1962. This report has been prepared primarily to present water-level records of wells not included in the Federal network. However, for the sake of completeness it includes water-level records of Federal wells that either have been or will be published in water-supply papers since 1955. This report, which contains water-level records for the 2-year period (1965-66), is the fourth in a series presenting water-level records for all permanent observations wells in Oklahoma. The first report, published in 1963, contains water-level records for the 2-year period of (1961-62); the second report, published in 1964, contains water-level records for the 2-year period (1961-62); and the third report, published in 1965, contains water-level records for the 2-year period (1963-64). (available as photostat copy only)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1972

Ground-water levels in observation wells in Oklahoma, 1969-70

The investigation of the ground-water resources of Oklahoma by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board includes a continuing program to collect records of water levels in selected observation wells on a systematic basis. These water-level records: (1) provide an index to available ground-water supplies; (2) facilitate the prediction of trends in water levels that will indicate likely changes in storage; (3) aid in the prediction of the base flow of streams; (4) provide information for use in basic research; (5) provide long-time continuous records of fluctuations of water levels in representative wells; and (6) serve as a framework to which other types of hydrologic data my be related. Prior to 1956, measurements of water levels in observation wells in Oklahoma were included in water-supply papers published annually by the U.S. Geological Survey. Beginning with the 1956 calendar year, however, Geological Survey water-level reports will contain only records of a selected network of observation wells, and will be published at 5-year intervals. The first of this series, for the 1956-59 period was published in 1962. In addition to the water-supply papers, the U.S. Geological Survey, cooperation with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, has published the following informal reports on water levels in Oklahoma. Ground-water levels in observations wells in Oklahoma, 1956-60 Ground-water levels in observations wells in Oklahoma, 1961-62 Ground-water levels in observations wells in Oklahoma, 1963-64 Ground-water levels in observations wells in Oklahoma, 1965-66 Ground-water levels in observations wells in Oklahoma, 1967-68 Records of water-level measurements in wells in the Oklahoma Panhandle, 1966-70 Records of water-level measurements in wells in the Oklahoma Panhandle, 1971-72 The basic observation-well network in Oklahoma during the period 1969-70 included the following counties: Alfalfa, Beaver, Beckham, Caddo, Cimarron, Cleveland, Garfield, Garvin, Grady, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Kingfisher, LeFlore, Major, Muskogee, Oklahoma, Payne, Pontotoc, Rogers, Sequoyah, Texas, Tillman, Wagoner, Washita, and Woodward. Table 2 includes the basic observation-well network and other wells measured by the U.S. Geological Survey. The data in this report were compiled and prepared for publication under the cooperative agreement for ground-water investigations in Oklahoma between the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Oklahoma Geological Survey, and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Oklahoma↗
USGS2001

Systems identification and the adaptive management of waterfowl in the United States

Waterfowl management in the United States is one of the more visible conservation success stories in the United States. It is authorized and supported by appropriate legislative authorities, based on large-scale monitoring programs, and widely accepted by the public. The process is one of only a limited number of large-scale examples of effective collaboration between research and management, integrating scientific information with management in a coherent framework for regulatory decision-making. However, harvest management continues to face some serious technical problems, many of which focus on sequential identification of the resource system in a context of optimal decision-making. The objective of this paper is to provide a theoretical foundation of adaptive harvest management, the approach currently in use in the United States for regulatory decision-making. We lay out the legal and institutional framework for adaptive harvest management and provide a formal description of regulatory decision-making in terms of adaptive optimization. We discuss some technical and institutional challenges in applying adaptive harvest management and focus specifically on methods of estimating resource states for linear resource systems.

Wildlife Biology↗
USGS2025

Public, bottled, and private drinking water: Shared contaminant-mixture exposures and effects challenge

BACKGROUND: Humans are primary drivers of environmental contaminant exposures worldwide, including in drinking-water (DW). In the United States (US), point-of-use DW (POU DW) is supplied via private tapwater (TW, predominantly private wells), public-supply TW, and bottled water (BW). Differences in management, monitoring, and messaging and lack of directly intercomparable exposure data influence the actual and perceived quality and safety of different DW supplies and directly impact consumer decision making. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this paper is to provide a meta-analysis (quantitative synthesis) of POU DW contaminant mixture exposures and corresponding potential human health effects of private-TW, public-TW, and BW by aggregating exposure results and harmonizing apical health benchmark weighted and bioactivity weighted effects predictions across previous studies by this research group. DISCUSSION: Simultaneous exposures to multiple inorganic and organic contaminants of known or suspected human-health concern are common across all three DW supplies, with substantial variability observed in each and no systematic difference in predicted cumulative risk between supply chains. Differences in contaminant or contaminant class exposures (e.g., trace metals, disinfection byproducts), with important implications for DW quality improvements, were observed and attributed to corresponding differences in regulation and compliance monitoring. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that human-health risks from contaminant exposures are common to and comparable in all three DW supplies, including BW. Importantly, this study’s target analytical coverage, which exceeds that currently feasible for water purveyors or homeowners, nevertheless is a substantial underestimation of the full breadth of contaminant mixtures in the environment and potentially present in DW. Thus, the results emphasize the need for improved understanding of the adverse human-health implications of long-term exposures to low level inorganic /organic contaminant mixtures across all three distribution pipelines and do not support commercial messaging of BW as a systematically safer alternative to public-TW. Regardless of the supply, increased engagement in source-water protection and drinking-water treatment, including consumer point of use treatment, is necessary to reduce risks associated with long-term DW contaminant exposures, especially in vulnerable populations, and to reduce environmental waste and plastics contamination.

Environment International↗
USGS2003

Metals, trace elements, and organochlorine compounds in bottom sediment of Tuttle Creek Lake, Kansas, U.S.A.

Bottom-sediment cores were used to investigate the occurrence of 44 metals and trace elements, and 15 organochlorine compounds in Tuttle Creek Lake, a reservoir with an agricultural basin in northeast Kansas, U.S.A. On the basis of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sediment-quality guidelines, concentrations of Ag, As, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn frequently or typically exceeded the threshold-effects levels for toxic biological effects. Organochlorine compounds either were not detected or were detected at concentrations generally below the threshold-effects levels. Statistically significant positive depositional trends were determined for several elements. However, because the vertical profiles of element concentrations typically indicated a bimodal distribution and much of the variability could be attributable to analytical variance, the statistical trends may not represent actual trends. DDE concentrations reflected the history of DDT use. Substantial increases in grain corn and soybean production, irrigated land, and hog production in the basin have not had a discernible effect on sediment quality in the reservoir. Future research focused on small impoundments throughout the basin may enhance understanding of the effects of human activity on sediment quality within the Tuttle Creek Lake system and elsewhere.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2004

A resampling procedure for generating conditioned daily weather sequences

A method is introduced to generate conditioned daily precipitation and temperature time series at multiple stations. The method resamples data from the historical record “nens” times for the period of interest (nens = number of ensemble members) and reorders the ensemble members to reconstruct the observed spatial (intersite) and temporal correlation statistics. The weather generator model is applied to 2307 stations in the contiguous United States and is shown to reproduce the observed spatial correlation between neighboring stations, the observed correlation between variables (e.g., between precipitation and temperature), and the observed temporal correlation between subsequent days in the generated weather sequence. The weather generator model is extended to produce sequences of weather that are conditioned on climate indices (in this case the Niño 3.4 index). Example illustrations of conditioned weather sequences are provided for a station in Arizona (Petrified Forest, 34.8°N, 109.9°W), where El Niño and La Niña conditions have a strong effect on winter precipitation. The conditioned weather sequences generated using the methods described in this paper are appropriate for use as input to hydrologic models to produce multiseason forecasts of streamflow.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2010

Radiative forcing over the conterminous United States due to contemporary land cover land use change and sensitivity to snow and interannual albedo variability

Satellite-derived land cover land use (LCLU), snow and albedo data, and incoming surface solar radiation reanalysis data were used to study the impact of LCLU change from 1973 to 2000 on surface albedo and radiative forcing for 58 ecoregions covering 69% of the conterminous United States. A net positive surface radiative forcing (i.e., warming) of 0.029 Wm −2 due to LCLU albedo change from 1973 to 2000 was estimated. The forcings for individual ecoregions were similar in magnitude to current global forcing estimates, with the most negative forcing (as low as −0.367 Wm −2 ) due to the transition to forest and the most positive forcing (up to 0.337 Wm −2 ) due to the conversion to grass/shrub. Snow exacerbated both negative and positive forcing for LCLU transitions between snow-hiding and snow-revealing LCLU classes. The surface radiative forcing estimates were highly sensitive to snow-free interannual albedo variability that had a percent average monthly variation from 1.6% to 4.3% across the ecoregions. The results described in this paper enhance our understanding of contemporary LCLU change on surface radiative forcing and suggest that future forcing estimates should model snow and interannual albedo variation.

Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences↗
USGS2003

Multiple stressor effects in relation to declining amphibian populations

Original research discusses the protocols and approaches to studying the effects of multiple environmental stressors on amphibian populations and gives new perspectives on this complicated subject. This new publication integrates a variety of stressors that can act in concert and may ultimately cause a decline in amphibian populations. Sixteen peer-reviewed papers cover: Toxicity Assessment examines methods, which range from long-established laboratory approaches for evaluating adverse chemical effects to amphibians, to methods that link chemicals in surface waters, sediments, and soils with adverse effects observed among amphibians in the field. Field and Laboratory Studies illustrates studies in the evaluation of multiple stressor effects that may lead to declining amphibian populations. A range of laboratory and field studies of chemicals, such as herbicides, insecticides, chlorinated organic compounds, metals, and complex mixtures are also included. Causal Analysis demonstrates the range of tools currently available for evaluating "cause-effect" relationships between environmental stressors and declining amphibian populations. Audience: This new publication is a must-have for scientists and resource management professionals from diverse fields, including ecotoxicology, chemistry, ecology, field biology, conservation biology, and natural resource management.

Special Technical Report↗
USGS1993

Economics of utilization of high sulfur coal resources - an integrated market approach

Before the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, coal policies - especially coal research policies - were geared to find a solution to the sulfur emission problem. However, technologies to reduce sulfur emissions cannot be tailored for a single coal. A technology that will clean Illinois coal to compliance levels will do the same, or nearly the same, for most other types of coal. This paper will discuss an integrated approach to the analysis of the future of coals from different regions in the United States and its implications for coal-related policies by government and industry.

Mining Engineering↗
USGS2010

Guidelines for conducting Smolt survival studies in the Columbia River

For more than a decade, investigators from different research groups in the Pacific Northwest have been using electronic tags to estimate survival of salmonid smolts as they migrate seaward past hydroelectric dams and through impoundments on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. Over the years, they have refined both analytical and field methods associated with such studies. In this collaborative paper, they synthesize years of experience to formulate a set of guidelines that may assist others with the design and execution of survival studies involving smolts during their migratory phase.

Report↗
USGS2010

Considering native and exotic terrestrial reptiles in island invasive species eradication programmes in the Tropical Pacific

Most island restoration projects with reptiles, either as direct beneficiaries of conservation or as indicators of recovery responses, have been on temperate or xeric islands. There have been decades of research, particularly on temperate islands in New Zealand, on the responses of native reptiles to mammal eradications but very few studies in tropical insular systems. Recent increases in restoration projects involving feral mammal eradications in the tropical Pacific have led to several specific challenges related to native and invasive reptiles. This paper reviews these challenges and discusses some potential solutions to them. The first challenge is that the tropical Pacific herpetofauna is still being discovered, described and understood. There is thus incomplete knowledge of how eradication activities may affect these faunas and the potential risks facing critical populations of these species from these eradication actions. The long term benefit of the removal of invasives is beneficial, but the possible short term impacts to small populations on small islands might be significant. The second challenge is that protocols for monitoring the responses of these species are not well documented but are often different from those used in temperate or xeric habitats. Lizard monitoring techniques used in the tropical Pacific are discussed. The third challenge involves invasive reptiles already in the tropical Pacific, some of which could easily spread accidentally through eradication and monitoring operations. The species posing the greatest threats in this respect are reviewed, and recommendations for biosecurity concerning these taxa are made.

Conference Paper↗
USGS1975

Evaluation of stochastic models describing movement of sediment particles on riverbeds

Various stochastic models have been proposed to describe the movement of sediment particles on the riverbed. Here it is attempted to summarize in an integrated form and to generalize the most important theoretical results in this field. The approach adopted in this paper is based on the fact that most of the stochastic models are only special cases of a particular kind of random walk on the straight line.

Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey↗
USGS2005

The effects of captive rearing on the behavior of newly-released whooping cranes (Grus americana)

Rearing treatments used in captivity to prepare animals for reintroduction to the wild may have a profound effect on behavior and, possibly, affect their survival after reintroduction. This study examined the behaviors of captive-reared whooping cranes (Grus americana) upon their release in Florida to determine if rearing treatments may affect the behavior of the birds and how these affect their chances of survival in the wild. Individually tagged birds were observed at the rearing facility, the U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland, from hatch to 20 weeks of age and at the release site in Central Florida for up to 6 weeks post release. The rearing treatments were parent reared (PR), hand reared (HR), and hand reared with exercise (HRE). Observations at the rearing facility are described in a previous paper. At the release site, each bird was observed for 5 min every morning (0700?1000 h) and late afternoon (1500?1800 h) during the 6-week study period. Our results indicated that most of the time, the n = 34 birds were foraging (46.03 ? 1.48%), followed by nonvigilant (20.89 ? 0.73%), vigilant (19.21 ? 0.72%), or performing comfort behaviors (11.61 ? 1.28%). Data were analyzed using mixed models repeated measures ANOVA. There were no significant behavioral differences between HR and HRE birds. PR birds were found in larger groups than HR birds during the first 2 weeks post release and greater than HR and HRE birds afterwards. This may be interpreted as an antipredator strategy for birds that relied on parental guidance during rearing. HR and HRE birds foraged more than PR birds during the first 2 weeks post release and PR birds were more vigilant during the first 2 weeks post release. Across rearing treatments, the percentages of time spent foraging and engaged in vigilant behaviors during rearing were positively correlated with their behavior upon release. If any of these behaviors can be demonstrated to have relevance for the survival of the whooping cranes after release then it may be possible to establish behavioral interventions to increase the frequencies of such behavior, so that they are perpetuated after release.

Applied Animal Behaviour Science↗
USGS2010

Seabed photographs, sediment texture analyses, and sun-illuminated sea floor topography in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region off Boston, Massachusetts

The U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Sanctuary Program, conducted seabed mapping and related research in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region from 1993 to 2004. The mapped area is approximately 3,700 km (1,100 nmi) in size and was subdivided into 18 quadrangles. An extensive series of sea-floor maps of the region based on multibeam sonar surveys has been published as paper maps and online in digital format (PDF, EPS, PS). In addition, 2,628 seabed-sediment samples were collected and analyzed and are in the usSEABED: Atlantic Coast Offshore Surficial Sediment Data Release. This report presents for viewing and downloading the more than 10,600 still seabed photographs that were acquired during the project. The digital images are provided in thumbnail, medium (1536 x 1024 pixels), and high (3071 x 2048) resolution. The images can be viewed by quadrangle on the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center's photograph database. Photograph metadata are embedded in each image in Exchangeable Image File Format and also provided in spreadsheet format. Published digital topographic maps and descriptive text for seabed features are included here for downloading and serve as context for the photographs. An interactive topographic map for each quadrangle shows locations of photograph stations, and each location is linked to the photograph database. This map also shows stations where seabed sediment was collected for texture analysis; the results of grain-size analysis and associated metadata are presented in spreadsheet format.

Data Series↗
USGS2017

Developing criteria to establish Trusted Digital Repositories

This paper details the drivers, methods, and outcomes of the U.S. Geological Survey’s quest to establish criteria by which to judge its own digital preservation resources as Trusted Digital Repositories. Drivers included recent U.S. legislation focused on data and asset management conducted by federal agencies spending $100M USD or more annually on research activities. The methods entailed seeking existing evaluation criteria from national and international organizations such as International Standards Organization (ISO), U.S. Library of Congress, and Data Seal of Approval upon which to model USGS repository evaluations. Certification, complexity, cost, and usability of existing evaluation models were key considerations. The selected evaluation method was derived to allow the repository evaluation process to be transparent, understandable, and defensible; factors that are critical for judging competing, internal units. Implementing the chosen evaluation criteria involved establishing a cross-agency, multi-disciplinary team that interfaced across the organization.

Data Science Journal↗
USGS2008

Removal of phosphorus from wastewater using ferroxysorb sorption media produced from amd sludge

Treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD), whether with lime, limestone, caustic or simple aeration, nearly always results in generation of a metal hydroxide sludge. Disposal of the sludge often constitutes a significant fraction of the operating cost for the AMD treatment plant. Research at the USGS - Leetown Science Center has shown that AMD sludge, with its high content of aluminum and iron oxides, has a high affinity of phosphorus (P). Anthropogenic sources of P are associated with eutrophication and degradation of aquatic environments, resulting in anoxic dead zones in certain sensitive waterways. In this paper, we describe a method of converting the AMD sludge from a liability into an asset - Ferroxysorb P removal media - which can be used to remove excess P from wastewater. Three different Ferroxysorb media samples were produced from differing AMD sources and tested for P removal. Adsorption isotherms confirmed that the media had a high sorption capacity for P, as high as 19,000 mg/kg. The technology was demonstrated at an active fish hatchery, where the media remained in service for over three months without stripping or regeneration. Over that period of time, the calculated P removal was 50%, even at a very low influent P concentration of 60 parts per billion. In summary, use of the AMD-derived Ferroxysorb sorption media will reduce AMD treatment costs while at the same time helping to resolve the pressing environmental issue of eutrophication and degradation of sensitive waterways.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2000

Performance of the Taiwan Rapid Earthquake Information Release System (RTD) during the 1999 Chi-Chi (Taiwan) Earthquake

A major earthquake occurred near the town of Chi-Chi in Nantou County, Taiwan, at 1:47 am (local time), 21 September 1999, about 150 km south of Taipei. This is the largest earthquake to have occurred on land in Taiwan during the 20th century. Although Taiwan has an earthquake building code, thousands of buildings collapsed due to the earthquake, leaving more than 100,000 people homeless. The death toll exceeded 2,300 with more than 10,000 injured. Within 102 seconds after the earthquake's origin time, a good estimate of the hypocenter (23.87° N, 120.75° E, Depth = 10 km) and magnitude ( M L = 7.3), and a shaking map were determined automatically by the RTD system. The result was immediately disseminated to governmental emergency response agencies electronically in four ways, by e-mail, World Wide Web, fax, and pager. This rapid information system has been successfully operating in Taiwan for more than four years. During the Chi-Chi earthquake, the rapid availability of earthquake information facilitated the emergency response. The RTD system worked very well throughout the whole aftershock sequence (several aftershocks had local magnitude of 6 or larger). Again this timely information was useful to the emergency response teams. In this paper, we briefly describe the RTD system and summarize its performance during the Chi-Chi earthquake.

Seismological Research Letters↗
USGS2000

Origin of the 17 July 1998 Papua New Guinea tsunami: Earthquake or landslide

The tsunami that struck Papua New Guinea on 17 July 1998 shortly after a M w 7.0 earthquake ( Figure 1 ) was one of the deadliest tsunamis in this century. At least 2,200 people died from this event, essentially destroying an entire generation in some communities. In the months following the tsunami, several international survey teams collected data in an attempt to better understand the cause of this event. Elevations of waterline marks and displaced debris measured by the first International Tsunami Survey Team (ITST; Kawata et al., 1999 ) indicated an average runup of 10 m occurring over a 25 km length of coastline in the vicinity of Sissano Lagoon ( Figure 2 ). The maximum runup from this event was approximately 15 m. Tsunami runup heights of this size are commonly associated either with earthquakes of much larger magnitude or with “tsunami earthquakes” as defined by Kanamori ( 1972 ) and later discussed by Kanamori and Kikuchi ( 1993 ). Even for tsunami earthquakes, however, runup heights of 10-15 m seem only to occur for earthquakes M w > 7.5. Because these runup heights appear anomalously high for a M 7 earthquake, other sources have been postulated for the tsunami, including a submarine landslide or mass flow. Earlier this year, the bathymetry north of Papua New Guinea was surveyed by the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC) and the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC). In a report describing the preliminary results from these cruises ( Tappin et al. , 1999 ), bathymetric images are presented that show evidence both of a 40-km-long fault scarp and of collapse features within an approximately 10-km-wide bathymetric amphitheater ( Figure 2 ). The report suggests that a landslide was the sole cause for the tsunami. In this paper, I revisit the common assumption that local tsunami runup scales directly with moment magnitude and demonstrate that the tsunami generated by the earthquake cannot be disregarded to explain the runup observations.

Seismological Research Letters↗