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At least 973 records · Page 54Linked to original sources
USGS2001

Gold recycling in the United States in 1998

In 1998, 175 metric tons (t) of refined gold was recovered by U.S. refiners from old and new scrap. The overall recycling rate was 29 percent when scrap consumption was compared with apparent domestic supply. Sources of old scrap includes discarded jewelry, dental materials, plating solutions, and electronic equipment. A very high old scrap recycling efficiency of 96 percent was reached in 1998, the supply of old scrap peaked, gold prices were at an 18-year low, and substantial amounts of old scrap were exported. U.S. net exports of old scrap had a gold content of 28 t.

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USGS2003

Silver recycling in the United States in 2000

In 2000, the global silver supply deficit (the difference between mine and scrap supply and silver demand) was more than 3,000 metric tons. U.S. silver demand for photographic applications alone was nearly equal to annual U.S. silver production. Until 1968, the U.S. silver deficit was filled by withdrawals from the U.S. Treasury reserves. In 2000, the deficit was filled by destocking, imports, and recycling. Photographic wastes, spent catalysts, and electronic scrap are the major sources of materials for silver recycling. Nearly 1,800 metric tons of silver contained in these materials were available for recycling in 2000. Other recyclable silver-bearing materials include dental alloys, jewelry, and silverware. In 2000, an estimated 1,700 tons of silver were recovered from secondary sources in the United States. The U.S. recycling efficiency for old scrap was calculated to have been 97 percent in 2000; the recycling rate was estimated to be 32 percent.

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USGS2008

Report of the Federal Advisory Committee on the Bird Banding Laboratory

In the fall of 2005, the Directors of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) determined that to ensure that the Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) of the USGS maintains and continues its important support of conservation and management of birds, it should be guided by a clear vision for the future. In order to carry out this task, they impaneled a fourteen-member Federal Advisory Committee (FAC) on the Bird Banding Laboratory. It was made up of representatives of the broad bird-banding community, public and private, and was cochaired by a senior representative from each agency. The Committee met four times and a writing subgroup met three times over the course of its work. The Committee identified a new vision and mission for the BBL and identified six goals that it believes should be integral to the development of a strategic plan to achieve them. Those goals are: 1. Facilitate the identification of individual birds through marking. 2. Create automated, electronic systems that efficiently verify, accept, store, and manage data associated with individually marked birds. 3. Facilitate access to and use of data from marked birds for science, conservation, and management. 4. Administer permits in an efficient, timely, and modern manner, and use them to ensure that bird welfare and data quality remain top priorities. 5. Work closely with national and international partners to achieve the mission of the BBL. 6. Manage the BBL in an efficient, cost-effective manner to maximize use of available resources. Most of the report is structured around these goals. The Committee made 2 programmatic recommendations and identified 23 objectives and 58 specific recommendations. The programmatic recommendations are: (1) that the primary role of the BBL is and should continue to be to support the use of banding and banding data by researchers and managers engaged in science, conservation, and management of birds, and not to play a lead role in original research; and (2) that the BBL be managed nationally by USGS headquarters as a research and operational support unit and provided with the resources appropriate to its national and international functions and responsibilities; it should continue to be located physically at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC). In order to achieve its vision and mission, the Committee believes that the BBL must work towards achieving all of the recommendations in this report. Nevertheless, it identified five objectives that stand out as high priority, and they are as follows: *Objective 1.1?to ensure a continuing, adequate supply of high-quality, Federally issued numeric bands of required sizes, materials, and types; *Objective 2.1?to improve mechanisms for verifying, accepting, storing, and managing bird-banding data; *Objective 2.3?to accommodate recapture data; *Objective 4.1?to ensure through the permitting process that banders know how to safely handle birds, collect data accurately, and maintain birds in humane and healthful conditions; and *Objective 5.3?to encourage the development of banding programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Finally, this Committee believes that the BBL will be well served if it continues to support a Federal Advisory Committee, composed similarly to this one, to continue offering guidance and direction from the broad bird-banding community.

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USGS2019

National earthquake information center strategic plan, 2019–23

Executive Summary Damaging earthquakes occur regularly around the world; since the turn of the 20th century, hundreds of earthquakes have caused significant loss of life and (or) millions of dollars or more in economic losses. While most of these did not directly affect the United States and its Territories, by studying worldwide seismicity we can better understand how to mitigate the effects of earthquakes when they do occur within U.S. borders. Within the U.S. Government, this mandate falls on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC), which has the statutory responsibility for monitoring and reporting on earthquakes domestically and globally. The NEIC has been operating since 1966, and throughout its history has been recognized as a world leader for earthquake information. For much of this time, NEIC has been cooperating with a number of regional seismic networks (RSNs) which operate in areas of heightened seismicity in the United States. In 2000, the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) was founded as a cooperative umbrella for earthquake-related data collection, analysis, and dissemination in the United States, thereby promoting advanced interoperability between the NEIC and RSN partners. The NEIC also cooperates and coordinates with dozens of global seismic networks. At present (2019), NEIC acquires real-time waveform data from more than 2,000 seismic stations worldwide, contributed from more than 130 seismic networks. Since 2006, the NEIC has operated on a 24-hour, 7-days per week (24/7) basis, and reports on about 30,000 earthquakes per year. Soon after the occurrence of a significant global earthquake, notifications are issued to government representatives, aid agencies, the press, and members of the general public by the Earthquake Notification Service (ENS), electronic feeds, and through the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) website. Event-specific web pages provide detailed source parameter information outlining the location and magnitude of the earthquake, including more detailed source characteristics like moment magnitude and focal mechanisms and finite fault solutions. Further, NEIC produces a suite of real-time situational awareness products, including ShakeMap, ShakeCast, Did-You-Feel-It? (DYFI?), and Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER), to characterize the shaking resulting from the earthquake and the impact it is likely to have on nearby populations and infrastructure. All of these products are ultimately archived in the ANSS Comprehensive Catalog (ComCat), hosted and served by the NEIC. The NEIC also pursues an active research program to improve its ability to characterize earthquakes and understand their hazards. These efforts are all aimed at mitigating the risks of earthquakes to humankind. To maintain its prominent position in earthquake monitoring, the NEIC must continue to evolve, concurrently improving its operations and 24/7 robustness, streamlining services and infrastructure, and keeping pace with research and innovation in the field of seismology. This document outlines how the NEIC might best achieve such goals, by describing specific avenues and opportunities for development in the next five years (2019–23). Several key areas of operational and research focus are identified in this plan as being of the highest importance. First, NEIC must finalize improvements to its regional monitoring capabilities, including the implementation of a variety of improved earthquake detection and association algorithms. One of the most exciting avenues of recent research expansion in earthquake monitoring has involved the use of machine learning; NEIC must explore the benefits of machine learning for improved earthquake detection and source characterization. NEIC also needs to address issues related to the timeliness of earthquake information, exploring the benefits of distributing information as it becomes available, rather than when certain quality criteria are met. To that end, the incorporation of real-time Global Positioning System (GPS) data into the NEIC operational workflow will help improve the speed and accuracy of information for moderate-to-large earthquakes. Finally, NEIC should explore how to further expand and improve the quality and content of the products served during earthquake response efforts, including the generation of new earthquake sequence-specific products, adding an evolutionary component to earthquake information, and continued improvements to earthquake impact products.

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USGS1954

The Model VI transmission fluorimeter for the determination of uranium

An improved transmission fluorimeter (Model VI) for use in the determination of uranium consists of a line-operated, low-voltage d-c supply, powering a small 3-watt ultraviolet lamp as a source of long wavelength ultraviolet radiation; a Model V phototube housing and. fluorimeter head containing the sample holder, shutter, and primary and secondary filters; an end-window multiplier phototube powered by a stable, commercially available high-voltage supply; and an electronic microammeter for measuring the output current from the photomultiplier tube. The instrument has excellent electrical stability and operates over a wide range of sensitivity. Its versatility makes it useful for both routine and research work.

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USGS1985

Bibliography of borehole geophysics as applied to ground-water hydrology

Most of the references on borehole geophysics that are relevant to ground-water hydrology are contained in this bibliography, but it does not include every reference that is available under each subject heading; the literature is much too extensive to compile a complete listing. Some of the references may appear under more than one subject heading because the references commonly relate to more than one main topic. Many articles have been cross-referenced in order to assist the reader in locating an article. For example, the article entitled, 'Application of the acoustic televiewer to the characterization of hydraulic fractures in geothermal wells' is listed under both 'Acoustic televiewer,' and 'Geothermal'. The bibliography is intended to lead the reader to other articles on borehole-geophysical logging and related subjects, because each article cited also will have a list of references, which may be more specialized, covering many subjects with related applications, such as physics, mathematics, chemistry, geology, electronics, acoustics, hydrology, and surface geophysics. However, not all of these related subject headings could be included in this bibliography.

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USGS1990

International strategic minerals inventory summary report; tin

The International Strategic Minerals Inventory tin inventory contains records for 56 major tin deposits and districts in 21 countries. These countries accounted for 98 percent of the 10 million metric tons of tin produced in the period 1934-87. Tin is a good alloying metal and is generally nontoxic, and its chief uses are as tinplate for tin cans and as solder in electronics. The 56 locations consist of 39 lode deposits and 17 placers and contain almost 7.5 million metric tons of tin in identified economic resources (R1E) and another 1.5 million metric tons of tin in other resource categories. Most of these resources are in major deposits that have been known for over a hundred years. Lode deposits account for 44 percent of the R1E and 87 percent of the resources in other categories. Placer deposits make up the remainder. Low-income and middle-income countries, including Bolivia and Brazil and countries along the Southeast Asian Tin Belt such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia account for 91 percent of the R1E resources of tin and for 61 percent of resources in other categories. The United States has less than 0.05 percent of the world's tin R1E in major deposits. Available data suggest that the Soviet Union may have about 4 percent of resources in this category. The industrial market economy countries of the United States, Japan, Federal Republic of Germany, and the United Kingdom are major consumers of tin, whereas the major tin-producing countries generally consume little tin. The Soviet Union and China are both major producers and consumers of tin. At the end of World War II, the four largest tin-producing countries (Bolivia, the Belgian Congo (Zaire), Nigeria, and Malaysia) produced over 80 percent of the world's tin. In 1986, the portion of production from the four largest producers (Malaysia, Brazil, Soviet Union, Indonesia) declined to about 55 percent, while the price of tin rose from about $1,500 to $18,000 per metric ton. In response to tin shortages during World War II, the United States began stockpiling refined tin metal from approximately 1946 to 1953 to ensure a strategic supply in the event of another war. Since World War II, there have been six International Tin Agreements to maintain price and supply stability between tin producers and consumers. Artificially high prices set by the tin-producing members and a tin glut brought on by independent producers like Brazil caused the collapse of the world tin market in late 1985; the International Tin Council exhausted its credit to support the market price. By the year 2025, Bolivia's underground lode mines will likely have insignificant production, as will those in the United Kingdom. Tin mines in the Southeast Asian Tin Belt will still be active. Brazil, which has risen from the eighth-ranked tin-producing country in 1982 to the largest producer in 1988, will likely be a major influence on world tin production well into the 21st century. The future mining activity of deposits presently inactive in Australia is impossible to predict.

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USGS1992

International strategic minerals inventory summary report; zirconium

Zircon, a zirconium silicate, is currently the most important commercial zirconium-bearing mineral. Baddeleyite, a natural form of zirconia, is less important but has some specific end uses. Both zircon and baddeleyite occur in hard-rock and placer deposits, but at present all zircon production is from placer deposits. Most baddeleyite production is from hard-rock deposits, principally as a byproduct of copper and phosphate-rock mining. World zirconium resources in identified, economically exploitable deposits are about 46 times current production rates. Of these resources, some 71 percent are in South Africa, Australia, and the United States. The principal end uses of zirconium minerals are in ceramic applications and as refractories, abrasives, and mold linings in foundries. A minor amount, mainly of zircon, is used for the production of hafnium-free zirconium metal, which is used principally for sheathing fuel elements in nuclear reactors and in the chemical-processing industry, aerospace engineering, and electronics. Australia and South Africa are the largest zircon producers and account for more than 70 percent of world output; the United States and the Soviet Union account for another 20 percent. South Africa accounts for almost all the world's production of baddeleyite, which is about 2 percent of world production of contained zirconia. Australia and South Africa are the largest exporters of zircon. Unless major new deposits are developed in countries that have not traditionally produced zircon, the pattern of world production is unlikely to change by 2020. The proportions, however, of production that come from existing producing countries may change somewhat.

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USGS1993

International strategic minerals inventory summary report; niobium (columbium) and tantalum

Major world resources of niobium and tantalum are described in this summary report of information in the International Strategic Minerals Inventory (ISMI). ISMI is a cooperative data-collection effort of earth-science and mineral-resource agencies in Australia, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Part I of this report presents an overview of the resources and potential supply of niobium and tantalum based on inventory information; Part II contains tables of both geologic and mineral-resource information and includes production data collected by ISMI participants. Niobium is used principally as an alloying element in special steels and superalloys, and tantalum is used mainly in electronics. Minerals in the columbite-tantalite series are principal ore minerals of niobium and tantalum. Pyrochlore is a principal source of niobium. These minerals are found in carbonatite, certain rocks in alkaline igneous complexes, pegmatite, and placer deposits. ISMI estimates show that there are over 7 million metric tons of niobium and almost 0.5 million metric tons of tantalum in known deposits, outside of China and the former Soviet Union, for which reliable estimates have been made. Brazilian deposits, followed by Canadian deposits, contain by far the largest source of niobium. Tantalum production is spread widely among several countries, and Brazil and Canada are the most significant of these producers. Brazil's position is further strengthened by potential byproduct columbite from tin mining. Present economically exploitable resources of niobium appear to be sufficient for the near future, but Brazil will continue to be the predominant world supplier of ferrocolumbium. Tantalum, a byproduct of tin production, has been captive to the fluctuations of that market, but resources in pegmatite in Canada and Australia make it likely that future increases in the present modest demand will be met.

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USGS1984

Interlaboratory comparison of mineral constituents in a sample from the Herrin (No. 6) coal bed from Illinois

Approximately 20 kg of the Herrin (No. 6) coal was collected from a strip mine in St. Clair County, Ill. A 10-kg portion was ground to -60 mesh, homogenized, and riffled into 128 splits of 70-80 g each. Homogeneity of these splits was confirmed by moisture, ash, and sulfur analyses of six randomly selected splits. Results of these analyses were within the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) guidelines for interlaboratory precision. Splits of the Herrin (No. 6) coal were then transmitted to more than 30 laboratories for analysis. Low-temperature plasma oxidation was used to isolate inorganic matter for quantitative chemical and mineralogical analysis. Despite a wide variation in ashing conditions, only minor variations in ash yields were obtained; these variations were attributed to differences in operating temperature and moisture content. Mineralogical analyses of low-temperature ash (LTA) concentrates prepared by five different laboratories indicated variations within the limits of analytical error. The mean values, in weight percent, for the major minerals are as follows: calcite, 9; quartz, 20; pyrite, 23; kaolinite, 14; and illite+mixed-layer clays, 31. Normative mineralogical calculations and Fourier transform infrared analysis (FTIR) yielded results similar to those obtained from X-ray diffraction (XRD). Choosing appropriate mineral standards was found to be critical for the proper use of analytical techniques such as XRD and FTIR. Good interlaboratory agreement was obtained for most major, minor, and trace elements despite differences in analytical procedures and in the type of sample analyzed (coal, high-temperature ash, or LTA). Discrepancies between analyses for zinc, strontium, manganese, and iron may be attributed to sampling inhomogeneity problems. Mossbauer spectroscopy showed that approximately 44 percent of the pyritic sulfur was lost through weathering in the first year after preparation of the interlaboratory sample. Szomolnokite and possibly coquimbite and jarosite were also identified. Scanning electron microscopy studies indicated ubiquitous pyrite framboids and, less commonly, euhedral crystals, skeletal grains, irregularly shaped particles, and vein fillings. Minor accessory minerals such as rare-earth phosphates and possibly silicates, zircon, barium sulfate, titanium oxide, and sphalerite were also found. The textural evidence indicates that the minerals in the banded material are detrital whereas the minerals occurring as vein and pore fillings are authigenic. Magnetic measurements indicate that coal crushed in a steel pulverizer is contaminated by small quantities of abrasion fragments from the crusher, which seriously affect the measured magnetic properties of the coal.

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USGS2007

USGS Digital Spectral Library splib06a

Introduction We have assembled a digital reflectance spectral library that covers the wavelength range from the ultraviolet to far infrared along with sample documentation. The library includes samples of minerals, rocks, soils, physically constructed as well as mathematically computed mixtures, plants, vegetation communities, microorganisms, and man-made materials. The samples and spectra collected were assembled for the purpose of using spectral features for the remote detection of these and similar materials. Analysis of spectroscopic data from laboratory, aircraft, and spacecraft instrumentation requires a knowledge base. The spectral library discussed here forms a knowledge base for the spectroscopy of minerals and related materials of importance to a variety of research programs being conducted at the U.S. Geological Survey. Much of this library grew out of the need for spectra to support imaging spectroscopy studies of the Earth and planets. Imaging spectrometers, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Airborne Visible/Infra Red Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) or the NASA Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) which is currently orbiting Saturn, have narrow bandwidths in many contiguous spectral channels that permit accurate definition of absorption features in spectra from a variety of materials. Identification of materials from such data requires a comprehensive spectral library of minerals, vegetation, man-made materials, and other subjects in the scene. Our research involves the use of the spectral library to identify the components in a spectrum of an unknown. Therefore, the quality of the library must be very good. However, the quality required in a spectral library to successfully perform an investigation depends on the scientific questions to be answered and the type of algorithms to be used. For example, to map a mineral using imaging spectroscopy and the mapping algorithm of Clark and others (1990a, 2003b), one simply needs a diagnostic absorption band. The mapping system uses continuum-removed reference spectral features fitted to features in observed spectra. Spectral features for such algorithms can be obtained from a spectrum of a sample containing large amounts of contaminants, including those that add other spectral features, as long as the shape of the diagnostic feature of interest is not modified. If, however, the data are needed for radiative transfer models to derive mineral abundances from reflectance spectra, then completely uncontaminated spectra are required. This library contains spectra that span a range of quality, with purity indicators to flag spectra for (or against) particular uses. Acquiring spectral measurements and performing sample characterizations for this library has taken about 15 person-years of effort. Software to manage the library and provide scientific analysis capability is provided (Clark, 1980, 1993). A personal computer (PC) reader for the library is also available (Livo and others, 1993). The program reads specpr binary files (Clark, 1980, 1993) and plots spectra. Another program that reads the specpr format is written in IDL (Kokaly, 2005). In our view, an ideal spectral library consists of samples covering a very wide range of materials, has large wavelength range with very high precision, and has enough sample analyses and documentation to establish the quality of the spectra. Time and available resources limit what can be achieved. Ideally, for each mineral, the sample analysis would include X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microprobe (EM) or X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and petrographic microscopic analyses. For some minerals, such as iron oxides, additional analyses such as Mossbauer would be helpful. We have found that to make the basic spectral measurements, provide XRD, EM or XRF analyses, and microscopic analyses, document the results, and complete an entry of one spectral library sample, all takes about

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USGS2008

Digital atlas of the upper Washita River basin, southwestern Oklahoma

Numerous types of environmental data have been collected in the upper Washita River basin in southwestern Oklahoma. However, to date these data have not been compiled into a format that can be comprehensively queried for the purpose of evaluating the effects of various conservation practices implemented to reduce agricultural runoff and erosion in parts of the upper Washita River basin. This U.S. Geological Survey publication, 'Digital atlas of the upper Washita River basin, southwestern Oklahoma' was created to assist with environmental analysis. This atlas contains 30 spatial data sets that can be used in environmental assessment and decision making for the upper Washita River basin. This digital atlas includes U.S. Geological Survey sampling sites and associated water-quality, biological, water-level, and streamflow data collected from 1903 to 2005. The data were retrieved from the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System database on September 29, 2005. Data sets are from the Geology, Geography, and Water disciplines of the U.S. Geological Survey and cover parts of Beckham, Caddo, Canadian, Comanche, Custer, Dewey, Grady, Kiowa, and Washita Counties in southwestern Oklahoma. A bibliography of past reports from the U.S. Geological Survey and other State and Federal agencies from 1949 to 2004 is included in the atlas. Additionally, reports by Becker (2001), Martin (2002), Fairchild and others (2004), and Miller and Stanley (2005) are provided in electronic format.

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USGS2009

Data on mercury in water, bed sediment, and fish from streams across the United States, 1998-2005

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) and Toxic Substances Hydrology Programs conducted the National Mercury Pilot Study in 1998 to examine relations of mercury (Hg) in water, bed sediment and fish in streams across the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. Water and bed-sediment samples were analyzed for total Hg (THg), methylmercury (MeHg), and other constituents; fish were analyzed for THg. Similar sampling was conducted at additional streams across the country in 2002 and 2004-05. This report summarizes sample collection and processing protocols, analytical methods, environmental data, and quality-assurance data for stream water, bed sediment, and fish for these national studies. To extend the geographic coverage of the data, this report also includes four regional USGS Hg studies conducted during 1998-2001 and 2004. The environmental data for these national and regional Hg studies are provided in an electronic format.

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USGS2011

Data compilation and assessment for water resources in Pennsylvania state forest and park lands

As a result of a cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PaDCNR), available electronic data were compiled for Pennsylvania state lands (state forests and parks) to allow PaDCNR to initially determine if data exist to make an objective evaluation of water resources for specific basins. The data compiled included water-quantity and water-quality data and sample locations for benthic macroinvertebrates within state-owned lands (including a 100-meter buffer around each land parcel) in Pennsylvania. In addition, internet links or contacts for geographic information system coverages pertinent to water-resources studies also were compiled. Water-quantity and water-quality data primarily available through January 2007 were compiled and summarized for site types that included streams, lakes, ground-water wells, springs, and precipitation. Data were categorized relative to 35 watershed boundaries defined by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for resource-management purposes. The primary sources of continuous water-quantity data for Pennsylvania state lands were the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Weather Service (NWS). The USGS has streamflow data for 93 surface-water sites located in state lands; 38 of these sites have continuous-recording data available. As of January 2007, 22 of these 38 streamflow-gaging stations were active; the majority of active gaging stations have over 40 years of continuous record. The USGS database also contains continuous ground-water elevation data for 32 wells in Pennsylvania state lands, 18 of which were active as of January 2007. Sixty-eight active precipitation stations (primarily from the NWS network) are located in state lands. The four sources of available water-quality data for Pennsylvania state lands were the USGS, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP), and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission. The water-quality data, which were primarily collected after 1970, were summarized by categorizing the analytical data for each site into major groups (for example, trace metals, pesticides, major ions, etc.) for each type (streams, lakes, ground-water wells, and springs) of data compiled. The number of samples and number of detections for each analyte within each group also were summarized. A total of 410 stream sites and 205 ground-water wells in state lands had water-quality data from the available data sets, and these sites were well-distributed across the state. A total of 107 lakes and 47 springs in state lands had water-quality data from the available data sets, but these data types were not well-distributed across the state; the majority of water-quality data for lakes was in the western or eastern sections of the state and water-quality data for springs was primarily located in the central part of the Lower Susquehanna River Valley. The most common types of water-quality data collected were major ions, trace elements, and nutrients. Physical parameters, such as water temperature, stream discharge, or water level, typically were collected for most water-quality samples. Given the large database available from PaDEP for benthic macroinvertebrates, along with some data from other agencies, there is very good distribution of benthic-macroinvertebrate data for state lands. Benthic macroinvertebrate samples were collected at 1,077 locations in state lands from 1973 to 2006. Most (980 samples) of the benthic-macroinvertebrate samples were collected by PaDEP as part of the state assessment of stream conditions required by the Clean Water Act. Data compiled in this report can be used for various water-resource issues, such as basin-wide water-budget analysis, studies of ecological or instream flow, or water-quality assessments. The determination of an annual water budget in selected basins is best supported by the availab

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USGS1997

3-D reservoir characterization of the House Creek oil field, Powder River Basin, Wyoming

This CD-ROM is intended to serve a broad audience. An important purpose is to explain geologic and geochemical factors that control petroleum production from the House Creek Field. This information may serve as an analog for other marine-ridge sandstone reservoirs. The 3-D slide and movie images are tied to explanations and 2-D geologic and geochemical images to visualize geologic structures in three dimensions, explain the geologic significance of porosity/permeability distribution across the sandstone bodies, and tie this to petroleum production characteristics in the oil field. Movies, text, images including scanning electron photomicrographs (SEM), thin-section photomicrographs, and data files can be copied from the CD-ROM for use in external mapping, statistical, and other applications.

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USGS2008

Update to the Ground-Water Withdrawals Database for the Death Valley Regional Ground-Water Flow System, Nevada and California, 1913-2003

Ground-water withdrawal estimates from 1913 through 2003 for the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system are compiled in an electronic database to support a regional, three-dimensional, transient ground-water flow model. This database updates a previously published database that compiled estimates of ground-water withdrawals for 1913-1998. The same methodology is used to construct each database. Primary differences between the 2 databases are an additional 5 years of ground-water withdrawal data, well locations in the updated database are restricted to Death Valley regional ground-water flow system model boundary, and application rates are from 0 to 1.5 feet per year lower than original estimates. The lower application rates result from revised estimates of crop consumptive use, which are based on updated estimates of potential evapotranspiration. In 2003, about 55,700 acre-feet of ground water was pumped in the DVRFS, of which 69 percent was used for irrigation, 13 percent for domestic, and 18 percent for public supply, commercial, and mining activities.

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USGS2008

Total mercury, methylmercury, methylmercury production potential, and ancillary streambed-sediment and pore-water data for selected streams in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida, 2003-04

Mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystems is an issue of national concern, affecting both wildlife and human health. Detailed information on mercury cycling and food-web bioaccumulation in stream settings and the factors that control these processes is currently limited. In response, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) conducted detailed studies from 2002 to 2006 on various media to enhance process-level understanding of mercury contamination, biogeochemical cycling, and trophic transfer. Eight streams were sampled for this study: two streams in Oregon, and three streams each in Wisconsin and Florida. Streambed-sediment and pore-water samples were collected between February 2003 and September 2004. This report summarizes the suite of geochemical and microbial constituents measured, the analytical methods used, and provides the raw data in electronic form for both bed-sediment and pore-water media associated with this study.

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USGS2009

Terrestrial lidar datasets of New Orleans, Louisiana, levee failures from Hurricane Katrina, August 29, 2005

Hurricane Katrina made landfall with the northern Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, as one of the strongest hurricanes on record. The storm damage incurred in Louisiana included a number of levee failures that led to the inundation of approximately 85 percent of the metropolitan New Orleans area. Whereas extreme levels of storm damage were expected from such an event, the catastrophic failure of the New Orleans levees prompted a quick mobilization of engineering experts to assess why and how particular levees failed. As part of this mobilization, civil engineering members of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) performed terrestrial lidar topographic surveys at major levee failures in the New Orleans area. The focus of the terrestrial lidar effort was to obtain precise measurements of the ground surface to map soil displacements at each levee site, the nonuniformity of levee height freeboard, depth of erosion where scour occurred, and distress in structures at incipient failure. In total, we investigated eight sites in the New Orleans region, including both earth and concrete floodwall levee breaks. The datasets extend from the 17th Street Canal in the Orleans East Bank area to the intersection of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) with the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) in the New Orleans East area. The lidar scan data consists of electronic files containing millions of surveyed points. These points characterize the topography of each levee’s postfailure or incipient condition and are available for download through online hyperlinks. The data serve as a permanent archive of the catastrophic damage of Hurricane Katrina on the levee systems of New Orleans. Complete details of the data collection, processing, and georeferencing methodologies are provided in this report to assist in the visualization and analysis of the data by future users.

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