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At least 973 records · Page 54Linked to original sources

USGS2010

An overview of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission

The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is the follow-on mission to Landsat 7 and will be the eighth mission in the Landsat series. The mission is in development via an interagency partnership between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Interior (DOI) / United States Geological Survey (USGS). The LDCM satellite will carry two earth-observing sensors, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) to collect image data for nine spectral bands in the reflective portion of the spectrum and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) to collect coincident image data for two thermal spectral bands. The LDCM ground segment will control the satellite and will receive, process, archive, and distribute the science data collected by the OLI and TIRS instruments. The USGS Earth Resources Observation & Science Center (EROS) will distribute LDCM data products at no cost to requestors. The mission objective is to continues the Landsat program's collection, archive, and distribution of multispectral imagery affording global, synoptic, and repetitive coverage of the Earth's land surfaces at a scale where natural and human-induced changes can be detected, differentiated, characterized, and monitored over time. The LDCM launch readiness date is currently December, 2012.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2015

The Snowmastodon Project: cutting-edge science on the blade of a bulldozer

Cutting-edge science happens at a variety of scales, from the individual and intimate to the large-scale and collaborative. The publication of a special issue of Quaternary Research in Nov. 2014 dedicated to the scientific findings of the “Snowmastodon Project” highlights what can be done when natural history museums, governmental agencies, and academic institutions work toward a common goal.

Colorado↗

USGS2010

Environmental flow studies of the Fort Collins Science Center— Cherry Creek, Arizona

At the request of the U.S. Forest Service, an instream flow assessment was conducted at Cherry Creek, Ariz., to investigate habitat for native and introduced fish species and to describe the beneficial use of a possible instream flow water right. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fort Collins Science Center performed an intensive field study of two sections of Cherry Creek in September 2008 to provide base data for hydrodynamic simulation of the flow conditions in the stream. The USGS Arizona Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, at the University of Arizona School of Natural Resources, conducted a survey of the habitat requirements of the resident fish species in Cherry Creek and provided the habitat suitability criteria used in this study. The habitat suitability criteria were combined with hydrodynamic simulation results to quantify fish habitat for the full range of daily flow experienced in the creek and to produce maps of habitat occurrence for those flows. The flow record at the Cherry Creek stream gage was used to generate habitat response values over time. The long-term habitat response was incorporated into an Excel (Registered) spreadsheet to allow evaluation of habitat occurrence with and without an instream water right under different hypothetical water withdrawal scenarios. The spreadsheet displays information about the time sequence of habitat events, the duration of critical events, and habitat retention.

Arizona↗

USGS2026

Cascading consequences and interventions for hazards after wildfire in northern California

This report documents the process and outcomes of a workshop convened by the U.S. Geological Survey in December 2024 to identify cascading postfire hazards and other effects stemming from the 2021 Dixie Fire in northern California and to explore potential intervention strategies. The Postfire Hazards and Consequences Workshop brought together stakeholders with expertise across disciplines relevant to postfire management. The two-day workshop applied the chains of consequences methodology developed by the Department of the Interior Strategic Sciences Group. Workshop participants identified key issues emerging from postfire conditions and discussed actionable strategies to enhance resilience in fire-prone regions. Findings revealed a complex network of interacting consequences, many of which transcended disciplinary boundaries and affected multiple sectors of society, underscoring the systemic nature of wildfire recovery challenges and indicating that long-term planning approaches could be integrated to help reduce society’s risks from wildfire.

California↗

USGS2014

River meanders and vorticity theorem

T he serpentine windings of rivers, which in certain reaches attain a remarkable symmetry and are then called meanders, must represent one aspect of the tendency for establishment of quasi-equilibrium in natural streams. With the increase in knowledge of the interaction of forces operating in rivers, this tendency toward equilibrium has assumed a greater significance.

Eos, Earth and Space Science News↗

USGS2008

The impacts of mobile fishing gear on seafloor habitats in the Gulf of Maine (Northwest Atlantic): implications for conservation of fish populations

Fishing gear alters seafloor habitats, but the extent of these alterations, and their effects, have not been quantified extensively in the northwest Atlantic. Understanding the extent of these impacts, and their effects on populations of living marine resources, is needed to properly manage current and future levels of fishing effort and fishing power. For example, the entire U.S. side of the Gulf of Maine was impacted annually by mobile fishing gear between 1984 and 1990, based on calculations of area swept by trawl and dredge gear. Georges Bank was imparted three to nearly four times annually during the same period. Studies at three sites in the Gulf of Maine (off Swans Island, Jeffreys Bank, and Stellwagen Bank) showed that mobile fishing gear altered the physical structure (=complexity) of benthic habitats. Complexity was reduced by direct removal of biogenic (e.g., sponges, hydrozoans, bryozoans, amphipod tubes, holothurians, shell aggregates) and‐ sedimentary (e.g., sand waves, depressions) structures. Also, removal of organisms that create.structures (e.g., crabs, scallops) indirectly reduced complexity. Reductions in habitat complexity may lead to increased predation on juveniles of harvested species and ultimately recruitment to the harvestable stock. Because of a lack of reference sites, where use of mobile fishing is prohibited, no empirical studies have yet been conducted on a scale that could demonstrate population level effects of habitat‐management options. If marine fisheries management is to evolve toward an ecosystem or habitat management approach, experiments are required on the effects of habitat change, both anthropogenic and natural.

Maine↗

USGS2024

Model predictions of global geologic hydrogen resources

Geologic hydrogen could be a low-carbon primary energy resource; however, the magnitude of Earth’s subsurface endowment has not yet been assessed. Knowledge of the occurrence and behavior of natural hydrogen on Earth has been combined with information from geologic analogs to construct a mass balance model to predict the resource potential. Given the associated uncertainty, stochastic model results predict a wide range of values for the potential in-place hydrogen resource [10 3 to 10 10 million metric tons (Mt)] with the most probable value of ~5.6 × 10 6 Mt. Although most of this hydrogen is likely to be impractical to recover, a small fraction (e.g., 1 × 10 5 Mt) would supply the projected hydrogen needed to reach net-zero carbon emissions for ~200 years. This amount of hydrogen contains more energy (~1.4 × 10 16 MJ) than all proven natural gas reserves on Earth (~8.4 × 10 15 MJ). Study results demonstrate that further research into understanding the potential for geologic hydrogen resources is merited.

Science Advances↗

USGS1979

Carbon dioxide in the ocean surface: The homogeneous buffer factor

The amount of carbon dioxide that can be dissolved in surface seawater depends at least partially on the homogeneous buffer factor, which is a mathematical function of the chemical equilibrium conditions among the various dissolved inorganic species. Because these equilibria are well known, the homogeneous buffer factor is well known. Natural spatial variations depend very systematically on sea surface temperatures, and do not contribute significantly to uncertainties in the present or future carbon dioxide budget.

Science↗

USGS2023

The Lower Cretaceous sequence of western Alaska – demise of the Koyukuk terrane?

Lower Cretaceous marine sedimentary rocks, deposited in shallow shelf and basin settings and unconformity-bound, are well exposed in southwest Alaska. Collections of Early Cretaceous fossils from across western Alaska show that similar and coeval Lower Cretaceous clastic rocks are widely distributed though only locally exposed. Volcanic rocks become an important part of the Lower Cretaceous sequence in the Yukon-Koyukuk basin where they have been interpreted to represent a mobile intra-oceanic island arc, the Koyukuk terrane, that collided with Arctic Alaska to form the Brooks Range orogen. The volcanic rocks are chemically unlike Aleutian arc rocks but share compositional characteristics with spatially related, mid-Cretaceous alkaline intrusive rocks. The volcanic-bearing sequence was also deposited on an angular unconformity, includes both shallow shelf and basin depositional settings, and is unconformably overlain by mid-Cretaceous clastic rocks. The volcanic rocks are therefore considered part of the Lower Cretaceous sequence now identified across western Alaska. In this interpretation, the Lower Cretaceous volcanic rocks are an initial expression of the mid-Cretaceous tectonic regime that included extensional exhumation and subsidence, crustal and upper mantle melting, and high temperature metamorphism in the hinterland of the Brooks Range orogen. The Cretaceous heating that led to hinterland crust and upper mantle change may have been caused by deep mantle disturbances in a post-subduction setting. This interpretation has implications for the timing of contractional orogenesis, the location and nature of the related continental borderland, and the tectonic setting for development of the Anguyucham and related oceanic terranes.

Alaska↗

USGS2013

The distribution of uranium over Europe: Geological and environmental significance

The variation of baseline levels of uranium in soil and stream sediments over Europe is described, based on new data prepared by the Forum of European Geological Surveys (FOREGS). The samples have been collected and analysed according to the protocols established for the International Union of Geological Sciences/International Association of Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry (IUGS/IAGC) Working Group on Global Geochemical Baselines. The baseline levels of U vary between 0??21 to 53 mg kg-1 in topsoils, 0??19 to 30 mg kg-1 in subsoils and < 1 to 59 mg kg-1 in stream sediments. There is generally good agreement between the levels of U in the three sample types, and the median concentration in all three media is approximately 2 mg kg-1. The most anomalous baseline levels occur over the Variscan orogen, especially areas into which late post-orogenic radiothermal high heat production (HHP) granites were emplaced. Spiderdiagrams based on trace element levels and rare earth element (REE) plots, confirm the association between the highest U anomalies and evolved radiothermal granites. High values are also associated with parts of the Alpine terrain especially in Slovenia, where there are historical U workings, and Southern Italy, where high values of U reflect contemporary volcanism. In contrast, much of the Caledonides of North West Europe and the Precambrian of the Baltic Shield and East European craton and its overlying sedimentary cover have very low values, generally < 4 mg kg-1. The results suggest that the main concern for the environment and human health from U, and the Th and K with which it is generally associated, is the naturally occurring total gamma radiation and radon potential associated with radiothermal granites. This is likely to be especially important where the granites are mineralised and have been worked historically, for example in the North West of the Iberian Peninsula where U and its decay products are likely to be more dispersed in the surface environment. The study also indicates the value of multi-element data in distinguishing between anthropogenic and naturally occurring anomalies.

Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Meta↗

USGS1996

Raman spectroscopic characterization of gas mixtures. II. Quantitative composition and pressure determination of the CO2-CH4 system

Raman spectral parameters were determined for the v 1 band of CH4 and the v 1 and 2 v 2 bands (Fermi diad) of CO 2 in pure CO 2 and CO 2 -CH 4 mixtures at pressures up to 700 bars and room temperature. Peak position, area, height, and width were investigated as functions of pressure and composition. The peak positions of the CH 4 and CO 2 bands shift to lower relative wavenumbers as fluid pressure is increased. The peak position of the lower-wavenumber member of the Fermi diad for CO 2 is sensitive to fluid composition, whereas the peak positions of the CH 4 band and the upper Fermi diad member for CO 2 are relatively insensitive in the CO 2 -CH 4 system. The magnitude of the shifts in each of the three peak positions (as a function of pressure) is sufficient to be useful as a monitor of fluid pressure. The relative molar proportions in a CO 2 -CH 4 mixture may be determined from the peak areas: the ratio of the peak areas of the CH 4 band and the CO 2 upper Fermi diad member is very sensitive to composition, whereas above about 100 bars, it is insensitive to pressure. Likewise, the peak height ratio is very sensitive to composition but also to fluid pressure. The individual peak widths of CO 2 and CH 4 , as well as the ratios of the widths of the CH 4 peak to the CO 2 peaks are a sensitive function of pressure and, to a lesser extent, composition. Thus, upon determination of fluid composition, the peak width ratios may be used as a monitor of fluid pressure. The application of these spectral parameters to a suite of natural CO 2 -CH 4 inclusions has yielded internally-consistent, quantitative determinations of the fluid composition and density.

American Journal of Science↗

USGS2000

High-resolution seismic reflection to delineate shallow gas in Eastern Kansas

Unique amplitude characteristics of shallow gas sands within Pennsylvanian clastic-carbonate dominated sequences are discernible on high-resolution seismic reflection data in eastern Kansas. Upward grading sequences of sand into shale represent a potential gas reservoir with a low-impedence acoustic contrast at the base of the encasing layer. The gas sand and encasing shale, which define the gas reservoir studied here, are part of an erosional incised valley where about 30 m of carbonates and shale have been replaced by sandstone and shale confined to the incised valley. These consolidated geologic settings would normally possess high impedence gas sand reservoirs as defined by abrupt contacts between the gas sand and encasing shale. Based orr core and borehole logs, the gas sand studied here grades from sand into shale in a fashion analogous to that observed in classic low-impedance environments. Amplitude and phase characteristics of high-resolution seismic data across this approximately 400-m wide gas sand are indicative of a low-impedance reservoir. Shot gathers possess classic amplitude with offsett-dependent characteristics which are manifeted on the stacked section as "bright spots." Dominant Frequencies of around 120 Hz allow detection of several reflectors within the 30+ meters of sand/shale that make up this localized gas-rich incised valley fill. The gradational nature of the trapping mechanism observed in this gas reservoir would make detection with conventional seismic reflection methods unlikely.

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma ↗

USGS2014

Pollinators in peril? A multipark approach to evaluating bee communities in habitats vulnerable to effects from climate change

In 2010, collaborators from the National Park Service (Ann Rodman, Yellowstone National Park), USGS (Sam Droege and Ralph Grundel), and Harvard University (Jessica Rykken) were awarded funding from the NPS Climate Change Response Program to launch just such an investigation in almost 50 units of the National Park System (fig. 1). The main objectives of this multiyear project were to: Compare bee communities in three “vulnerable” habitats (high elevation, inland arid, coastal) and paired “common” habitats, representative of the landscape matrix, in order to determine whether vulnerable habitats have a distinctive bee fauna that may be at higher risk under climate change scenarios. Inform natural resource managers at each park about the bee fauna at their paired sites, including the presence of rare and endemic species, and make suggestions for active management strategies to promote native bee habitat if warranted. Increase awareness among park natural resource staffs, interpreters, and visitors of native bee diversity and natural history, the essential role of bees in maintaining healthy ecosystems, and potential threats from climate change to pollinator-dependent ecosystems.

Park Science↗

USGS2004

World heritage site - Bien du Patrimoine Mondial - Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek

The four parks depicted on this map make up a single World Heritage Site that covers 24.3 million acres. Together, they comprise the largest internationally protected land-based ecosystem on the planet. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established the World Heritage Program in 1972 for the identification and protection of the world?s irreplaceable natural and cultural resources. World Heritage Sites are important as storehouses of memory and evolution, as anchors for sustainable tourism and community, and as laboratories for the study and understanding of the earth and culture. This World Heritage Site protects the prominent mountain ranges of Kluane, Wrangell, Saint Elias, and Chugach. It includes many of the tallest peaks on the continent, the world's largest non-polar icefield, extensive glaciers, vital watersheds, and expanses of dramatic wilderness. [Les quatre parcs figurant sur cette carte ne constituent qu?un seul site du patrimoine mondial recouvrant plus de 99 millions de km2, ce qui en fait le plus grand ecosysteme terrestre protege par loi internationale. En 1972, L?UNESCO (l?organisation des Nations Unies pour les sciences, l'education et la culture) a etabli le programme du patrimoine mondial afin d?identifier et de proteger les ressources naturelles et culturelles irremplacables de notre plan?te. Si les sites du patrimoine mondial sont si importants c'est parce qu'ils representent a la fois des livres ouverts sur l?histoire de la Terre, le point de depart du tourisme durable et du developpement des collectivites, des laboratoires pour etudier et comprendre la nature et la culture. Ce site du patrimoine mondial assure la protection des chaines de montagnes de Kluane, Wrangell, Saint Elias, et Chugach. On y trouve plusieurs des plus hauts sommets du continent, le plus grand champ de glace non-polaire du monde, d?immenses glaciers, des bassins hydrologiques essentiels, et de la nature sauvage a perte de vue. ]

Scientific Investigations Map↗

USGS2001

Trace metal suites in Antarctic pre-industrial ice are consistent with emissions from quiescent degassing of volcanoes worldwide

Trace metals are more abundant in atmospheric load and deposition material than can be due to rock and soil dusts and ocean salt. In pre-industrial ice from coastal west Antarctica, dust and salt account for only a few percent of the lead, cadmium, and indium that is present in most samples, less than half in any sample. For these trace metals, the deposition rate to the pre-industrial ice is approximately matched by the output rate to the atmosphere by quiescent (non-explosive) degassing of volcanoes worldwide, according to a new estimate. The basis of the match is the masses and proportions of the metals, and the proportions of Pb isotopes, in ice and in volcano emissions. The isotopic compositions of Pb in ice are similar to those of a suite of ocean island volcanoes, mostly in the southern hemisphere. The natural baseline values for pre-industrial atmospheric deposition fluxes of trace metal suites at Taylor Dome, and the worldwide quiescent volcano emissions fluxes to which they are linked, constitute a reasonably well-constrained baseline component for deposition fluxes of metals in modern times. ?? 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS2012

Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter-outer mainland shelf, eastern Santa Barbara Channel, California

In 2010 and 2011, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC), acquired bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data from the outer shelf region of the eastern Santa Barbara Channel, California. These surveys were conducted in cooperation with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). BOEM is interested in maps of hard-bottom substrates, particularly natural outcrops that support reef communities in areas near oil and gas extraction activity. The surveys were conducted using the USGS R/V Parke Snavely, outfitted with an interferometric sidescan sonar for swath mapping and real-time kinematic navigation equipment. This report provides the bathymetry and backscatter data acquired during these surveys in several formats, a summary of the mapping mission, maps of bathymetry and backscatter, and Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata.

California↗

USGS2012

2011 Year in review - Earth Resources Observation and Science Center

The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center's 2011 Year in Review is an annual report recounting the broad scope of the Center's 2011 accomplishments. The report covers preparations for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) launch, the ever-increasing use of free Landsat data, monitoring the effects of natural hazards, and more to emphasize the importance of innovation in using satellite data to study change over time.

South Dakota↗

USGS2011

Developing an institutional framework to incorporate ecosystem services into decision making-Proceedings of a workshop

The routine and effective incorporation of ecosystem services information into resource management decisions requires a careful consideration of the value of goods and services provided by natural systems. A multidisciplinary workshop was held in October 2008 on "Developing an Institutional Framework to Incorporate Ecosystem Services into Decision Making." This report summarizes that workshop, which focused on examining the relationship between an institutional framework and consideration of ecosystem services in resource management decision making. This workshop was the third in a series of three preconference workshops associated with ACES 2008 (A Conference on Ecosystem Services): Using Science for Decision Making in Dynamic Systems. These workshops were designed to explore the ACES 2008 theme on decision making and how the concept of ecosystem services can more effectively be incorporated into conservation, restoration, resource management, and development decisions. Preconference workshop 1, "Developing a Vision: Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Decision Making," was held April 15, 2008, in Cambridge, MA. In this workshop, participants addressed what would have to happen to make ecosystem services more routinely and effectively used in conservation, restoration, resource management, and development decisions, and identified some key challenges to developing the analytical framework (Hogan and others, 2009). Preconference workshop 2, "Developing an Analytical Framework: Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Decision Making," was held July 28, 2008, in Naples, FL, and focused on the analytical process and identification of research priorities for ecosystem services, their production and use, their spatial and temporal characteristics, their relationship with natural systems, and their interdependencies (Hogan and others, 2010). The summary presented here synthesizes the discussion at workshop 3 and considers how institutional structures and policy instruments can be used to achieve the vision developed in workshop 1, while recognizing the analytical capabilities and limitations identified in workshop 2. Our purpose was to identify how to use ecosystem service information more effectively and broadly in resource management and development decisions. We recognized the need to facilitate an integrated understanding of (1) the natural capital that produces ecosystem services; (2) the geospatial and temporal aspects of ecosystem service production, values, and use; (3) the value of ecosystem services (monetary and nonmonetary); and (4) institutional instruments, processes, and structures (property rights, laws, governance structures, and courts, for example). Interdisciplinary collaboration and understanding is beneficial and needs to engage stakeholders. The appropriate use of institutional structures, including markets, to integrate ecosystem services into decision making depends on the players and characteristics of the specific situation (such as stakeholders, the ecosystem, resources, and the political environment). Incorporating ecosystem service values into decisions requires consideration of place-based social, cultural, economic, and landscape characteristics and institutions. Thus, a single, prescribed solution will not work-various institutional strategies must be used in different situations. Market-based approaches require appropriate regulations, monitoring, and enforcement, depending on the situation and place. Further, market approaches will need to be coupled with nonmarket approaches into an integrated institutional framework.

Open-File Report↗