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Geohydrology of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Rapid population growth in southeastern Pennsylvania has increased the demand for ground water. In an effort to address the increased ground-water needs, a ground-water investigation in a 5,200-square-mile area of southeastern Pennsylvania was initiated. Information on the geohydrologic system of the area and the water-bearing capabilities of 51 geohydrologic units in six physiographic provinces or sections (Coastal Plain, Piedmont Upland, Piedmont Lowland, Gettysburg-Newark Lowland, South Mountain, and Reading Prong) has been summarized. Also included are statistical summaries by geohydrologic unit for well construction and discharge data (according to water use), as well as inorganic and radiochemical ground-water-quality data. Characteristics of the ground-water-flow system in the study area, as well as aquifer hydrologic properties, are related to geology, but can be modified by human development. Ground-water flow in the Coastal Plain Physiographic Province, is through intergranular or primary openings under either unconfined or confined aquifer conditions. Historically, ground-water flowed toward the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, but the original flow paths and water quality have been altered significantly by urbanization. In igneous and metamorphic rocks (Piedmont Upland, South Mountain, and Reading Prong), ground-water flows through a network of interconnected secondary openings (fractures, joints, cleavage planes). Ground water in the carbonate rocks (Piedmont Lowland) also flows through a network of secondary openings, but these openings have been enlarged by solution. In the Triassic sedimentary rocks (Gettysburg-Newark Lowland), thin tabular aquifers are separated by much thicker, strata-bound aquitards. The fractured Triassic bedrock forms a very complex, anisotropic, and heterogeneous aquifer with horizontal permeability much greater than vertical permeability. In general, ground-water flow in southeastern Pennsylvania takes place within local flow systems that discharge within days or weeks to adjacent stream valleys or surface-water bodies. Intermediate (South Mountain) and regional (Gettysburg-Newark Lowland) scale systems, however, in which residence times have been measured in months or years discharge to major streams or rivers that are located in different physiographic provinces or sections or tens of miles distant. Well depths, casing lengths, reported yields, and specific capacities can vary significantly by geohydrologic unit, use of well, and topographic setting. Wells drilled in the Weverton and Loudon Formations, undivided, and the Montalto Quartzite Member (South Mountain) have median well and casing lengths of 374 and 130 feet, respectively, significantly greater than in almost every other geohydrologic unit in the study area. Wells drilled in the Peach Bottom Slate and Cardiff Conglomerate, undivided (Piedmont Upland) are typically shallow, with a median well depth of 90 feet. Wells in the Marburg Schist (Piedmont Upland) have the lowest median casing length—5.5 feet. Wells in the Stonehenge Formation (Piedmont Lowland), the most productive unit in the study area, have a median reported yield of 200 gallons per minute and a median specific capacity of 27 gallons per minute per foot. The Cocalico Formation (Piedmont Lowland) is the least productive unit with a median reported well yield of 2.5 gallons per minute and a median specific capacity of 0.01 gallons per minute per foot. In general, high-demand wells are significantly deeper, use significantly more casing, and have significantly greater yields than domestic wells drilled in the same unit. Commonly, wells drilled in valleys will have greater reported yields and specific capacities than wells drilled in the same unit on slopes or hilltops. Except where adversely affected by human activities, the quality of ground water in southeastern Pennsylvania is suitable for most purposes. Yet several water-quality criteria are exceeded in many wells throughout the area. Water from 51 percent of 2,075 wells sampled had a pH higher or lower than the range specified in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) secondary maximum contaminant level (SMCL). Of water samples analyzed, about 1 percent of 1,623 wells contained concentrations of chloride and 27 percent of 1,624 wells sampled contained concentrations of iron that exceeded the USEPA SMCL. Twenty-seven percent of 1,397 wells sampled contained water with manganese concentrations greater than the USEPA SMCL. Sulfate concentrations in the water of 3 percent of 1,699 wells sampled and total dissolved solids in the water from 10 percent of 1,590 wells sampled exceeded the USEPA SMCL. Concentrations of cadmium, chromium, cyanide, mercury, nickel, radium-226, selenium, and zinc in the water exceeded the USEPA maximum contaminant level (MCL) in less than 5 percent of the 183 to 620 wells sampled. Nine percent of 625 wells sampled contained water with lead concentrations that exceeded the USEPA MCL. Radon concentrations in the water of 92 percent of the 285 wells sampled exceeded the proposed USEPA MCL. Radium-228 in the water of 10 percent of the 240 wells sampled and nitrate in the water of 13 percent of 1,413 wells sampled exceeded the USEPA MCL. Gross-alpha activity in the water was measured only in the Chickies and Harpers Formations of the Piedmont Upland, with 23 percent of the 168 wells sampled exceeding the USEPA MCL.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

Geologic map of the Galaxias quadrangle (MTM 35217) of Mars

The Galaxias region (MTM 35217) is one of a series of 1:500,000-scale science study areas on Mars sponsored by NASA's Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program. Situated near the northern limit of lava flows associated with Elysium Mons, this region includes a mixture of volcanic and nonvolcanic terrains. The region is also of interest for the fluvial systems that originate along the distal margins of the Elysium lava flows. Resolution of Viking Orbiter images used to prepare the base map ranges from 40 to 160 m/pixel. High-resolution frames (40 to 80 m/pixel) are found in the southeastern part of the map area and along the north edge of the quadrangle, but over half the quadrangle is included in medium-resolution frames (150 m/pixel). Two 8 m/pixel, very high resolution scenes are available (see fig. 1). Interpretation is complicated by variable resolution and sun angles that vary from east to west illumination on different images. Mapping methods and principles are adapted from those developed for lunar photogeologic mapping by Shoemaker and Hackman (1962), refined by Wilhelms (1972), and successfully applied by many workers to a variety of planetary surfaces. Mapping units are distinguished by topography and texture and are ranked by relative age on the basis of superposition and transection relations. Material units are assigned to time-stratigraphic systems defined by Scott and Carr (1978) and Tanaka (1986). This area is included within earlier maps that used Mariner 9 images at 1:5,000,000 scale (Elston, 1979) and globally at 1:25,000,000 scale (Scott and Carr, 1978). Regional maps based on the much higher resolutions of Viking Orbiter allowed more detailed discrimination of materials by Greeley and Guest (1987) at 1:15,000,000 scale and Tanaka and others (1992) at 1:5,000,000 scale. Some map units on this 1:500,000-scale map correspond to, or are partially equivalent to, units on the larger scale maps of Greeley and Guest (1987) and Tanaka and others (1992). Established terminology is used where feasible, but the scale of this map requires that some new units be introduced and that some previous terminology be redefined. Photogeologic methods are limited; therefore, more than one geologic explanation is given for some material units that do not readily lend themselves to an unequivocal interpretation.

IMAP↗

California State Waters Map Series — Drakes Bay and vicinity, California

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visualization of swath sonar data, acoustic backscatter, seafloor video, seafloor photography, high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles, and bottom-sediment sampling data. The map products display seafloor morphology and character, identify potential marine benthic habitats, and illustrate both the surficial seafloor geology and shallow (to about 100 m) subsurface geology. The Drakes Bay and Vicinity map area is located in northern California, about 30 km north of San Francisco and about 65 km south of Fort Ross. The map area is in the northern part of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, and it includes all or parts of four California Marine Protected Areas. The largely undeveloped onshore part of the map area, which occupies much of the southern and southeastern parts of the Point Reyes peninsula, is used primarily for grazing, as well as recreation, as it is home to the Point Reyes National Seashore. The triangular Point Reyes peninsula, which lies completely west of the San Andreas Fault Zone, is bounded by the steep terrain of Inverness Ridge along its northeastern margin, Tomales Point at its northernmost tip, Point Reyes at its southwesternmost point, and Bolinas at its southern end. The landscape in between includes (from southeast to northwest) the sandy beaches along Drakes Bay, the estuaries of Drakes Estero and Estero de Limantour, and the long, windswept Point Reyes Beach, which is backed by an extensive dune field. The seafloor in the map area generally extends from the shoreline to water depths of about 40 to 50 m, except for the area south of the Point Reyes headland where water depths reach 60 to 70 m. This bathymetric gradient south and west of the Point Reyes headland is related to north-side-up motion along the Point Reyes Fault Zone. Except for the bathymetric gradient across the Point Reyes Fault Zone, the bedrock platform in the nearshore and inner shelf areas (50 to 60 m depth) is relatively flat (less than 1.0°) and is overlain by sand-sized to coarser grained sediment. Finer grained sediments are found in water depths greater than 60 m south of the Point Reyes headland, but they also extend into shallower (less than 40 m) water within Drakes Bay. Surficial and shallow sediments were deposited in the last about 21,000 years during the approximately 125-m sea-level rise that followed the last major lowstand associated with the Last Glacial Maximum, at which time the entire Drakes Bay and Vicinity map area was emergent and the shoreline was about 30 km south and west of the present-day shoreline. Tectonic influences that impact the shelf morphology and geology in the map area are related to local faulting, folding, uplift, and subsidence. Offshore of the Point Reyes headland, granitic basement rocks are offset vertically about 1.4 km along the Point Reyes Fault Zone; this uplift, combined with west-side-up offset on the San Andreas Fault Zone, has resulted in uplift of the Point Reyes peninsula and the adjacent shelf. Late Pleistocene uplift of marine terraces on the southern Point Reyes peninsula suggests active deformation of offshore structures west of the San Andreas Fault Zone. Pervasive stratal thinning within inferred uppermost Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits above the west strand of the Point Reyes Fault Zone suggests Quaternary active shortening of the curvilinear, northeast- to north-dipping Point Reyes Fault Zone. Lack of clear deformation in the uppermost Pleistocene and Holocene deposits suggests that activity along the Point Reyes Fault Zone has ceased or slowed since about 21,000 years ago. Seafloor habitats in the Drakes Bay and Vicinity map area range from unconsolidated continental-shelf sediment to hard substrate. Rocky-shelf outcrops and rubble are considered to be promising potential habitats for rockfish and lingcod, both of which are recreationally and commercially important species. Circulation over the continental shelf in the map area is dominated by the southward-flowing California Current, the eastern limb of the North Pacific Gyre. Associated upwelling brings cool, nutrient-rich waters to the surface, resulting in high biological productivity. The current flow generally is southeastward during the spring and summer; however, during the fall and winter, the otherwise persistent northwest winds are sometimes weak or absent, causing the California Current to move farther offshore and the Davidson Current, a weaker, northward-flowing countercurrent, to become active. Sediment transport in the map area largely is controlled by surface waves and tidal currents in the nearshore and, at depths greater than 20 to 30 m, by tidal and subtidal currents. In the map area, nearshore littoral drift of sand and coarse sediment is to the south, owing to the dominant west-northwest swell direction, and scour from large waves and tidal currents removes and redistributes sediment over large areas of the inner shelf. Tidal currents are particularly strong over the shelf in the map area, and they dominate the current regime in the nearshore. Further offshore, bottom currents generally flow to the northwest, distributing finer grained sediment accordingly.

California↗

An overview of coastal land loss with emphasis on the southeastern United States

This report represents a general overview of the primary causes and consequences of coastal land loss. Most of the examples and references are from states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean where the largest magnitudes and highest rates of coastal land losses in the United States are recorded (Dahl, 2000). The report serves as an introductory guide to the topics and literature on coastal land loss, and acts as a link to ongoing research being conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Open-File Report↗

Distribution of rutile in metamorphic rocks and implications for placer deposits

Pelitic units in the eastern Great Smoky Mountains of the North Carolina Blue Ridge contain rutile grains only in kyanite and higher zones. Adjacent non-pelitic rocks do not contain rutile at kyanite grade but commonly contain sphene. Detrital rutile breaks down at metamorphic grades lower than those at which metamorphic rutile forms. Similarly, pelitic rocks in southeastern Connecticut contain rutile grains above, but not below, the sillimanite isograd. Most non-pelitic rocks there contain rutile only in the hypersthene zone. The slight difference in behavior of rutile in the two terranes is attributed primarily to a slight difference in calcium content of the pelites. In both areas, rutile commonly appears first as inclusions in garnet. Geologic maps showing metamorphic and stratigraphic or compositional information should be useful as prospecting tools for placer deposits. A variety of rocks at granulite facies and pelitic rocks of the upper amphibolite facies contain rutile and these could provide an extensive source for rutile in rutile placer deposits. ?? 1978 Springer-Verlag.

Mineralium Deposita↗

Data on selected deep wells in south Florida

A data base of 870 deep wells was assembled for the south Florida part of the Southeastern Limestone Regional Aquifer Study. The data in this report are for wells in Broward, Collier , Dade, Hendry, Lee, Martin, Monroe, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie Counties. Data are compiled for water wells, oil test wells, injection wells, and monitor wells. These data consist of: (1) well identification and geographic location; (2) well construction and site use; (3) logs available (geologic and geophysical); and (4) selected water-quality parameters. The well locations are shown, by counties, on maps. The number of wells in each county are: Broward, 6; Collier, 237; Dade, 61; Hendry, 130; Lee, 226; Martin, 91; Monroe, 34; Palm Beach, 33; and St. Lucie, 52. Data are stored in the National Water Data Storage and Retrieval system (WATSTORE) in the following files: header, water-quality, and ground-water site inventory (GWSI). (USGS)

Open-File Report↗

Simulation of Hydrodynamics and Water Quality in Pueblo Reservoir, Southeastern Colorado, for 1985 through 1987 and 1999 through 2002

Pueblo Reservoir is west of Pueblo, Colorado, and is an important water resource for southeastern Colorado. The reservoir provides irrigation, municipal, and industrial water to various entities throughout the region. In anticipation of increased population growth, the cities of Colorado Springs, Fountain, Security, and Pueblo West have proposed building a pipeline that would be capable of conveying 78 million gallons of raw water per day (240 acre-feet) from Pueblo Reservoir. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Colorado Springs Utilities and the Bureau of Reclamation, developed, calibrated, and verified a hydrodynamic and water-quality model of Pueblo Reservoir to describe the hydrologic, chemical, and biological processes in Pueblo Reservoir that can be used to assess environmental effects in the reservoir. Hydrodynamics and water-quality characteristics in Pueblo Reservoir were simulated using a laterally averaged, two-dimensional model that was calibrated using data collected from October 1985 through September 1987. The Pueblo Reservoir model was calibrated based on vertical profiles of water temperature and dissolved-oxygen concentration, and water-quality constituent concentrations collected in the epilimnion and hypolimnion at four sites in the reservoir. The calibrated model was verified with data from October 1999 through September 2002, which included a relatively wet year (water year 2000), an average year (water year 2001), and a dry year (water year 2002). Simulated water temperatures compared well to measured water temperatures in Pueblo Reservoir from October 1985 through September 1987. Spatially, simulated water temperatures compared better to measured water temperatures in the downstream part of the reservoir than in the upstream part of the reservoir. Differences between simulated and measured water temperatures also varied through time. Simulated water temperatures were slightly less than measured water temperatures from March to May 1986 and 1987, and slightly greater than measured data in August and September 1987. Relative to the calibration period, simulated water temperatures during the verification period did not compare as well to measured water temperatures. In general, simulated dissolved-oxygen concentrations for the calibration period compared well to measured concentrations in Pueblo Reservoir. Spatially, simulated concentrations deviated more from the measured values at the downstream part of the reservoir than at other locations in the reservoir. Overall, the absolute mean error ranged from 1.05 (site 1B) to 1.42 milligrams per liter (site 7B), and the root mean square error ranged from 1.12 (site 1B) to 1.67 milligrams per liter (site 7B). Simulated dissolved oxygen in the verification period compared better to the measured concentrations than in the calibration period. The absolute mean error ranged from 0.91 (site 5C) to 1.28 milligrams per liter (site 7B), and the root mean square error ranged from 1.03 (site 5C) to 1.46 milligrams per liter (site 7B). Simulated total dissolved solids generally were less than measured total dissolved-solids concentrations in Pueblo Reservoir from October 1985 through September 1987. The largest differences between simulated and measured total dissolved solids were observed at the most downstream sites in Pueblo Reservoir during the second year of the calibration period. Total dissolved-solids data were not available from reservoir sites during the verification period, so in-reservoir specific-conductance data were compared to simulated total dissolved solids. Simulated total dissolved solids followed the same patterns through time as the measured specific conductance data during the verification period. Simulated total nitrogen concentrations compared relatively well to measured concentrations in the Pueblo Reservoir model. The absolute mean error ranged from 0.21 (site 1B) to 0.27 milligram per liter as nitrogen (sites 3B and 7

Scientific Investigations Report↗

Assessment of water chemistry of the Coconino aquifer in northeastern Arizona

The Coconino aquifer was investigated as a potential groundwater resource for the Hopi Tribe and Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona. Basic groundwater chemistry, including major ions, total dissolved solids, and selected trace metal concentrations, are presented and analyzed to characterize the Coconino aquifer. The geochemical compositions of groundwater are associated with changes in geology and groundwater movement and are compared to drinking-water standards to determine suitable areas for potential groundwater resource development. Dissolved-solids concentrations in much of the Coconino aquifer water were higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s secondary drinking-water standard of 500 milligrams per liter (mg/L) due to a buried halite body in the southeastern part of the study area. However, trace metal concentrations were generally low. Groundwater may need to be treated for high dissolved-solids concentrations before it is suitable for use as a resource for the Hopi Tribe and Navajo Nation.

Arizona↗

Saker falcon research and conservation efforts in Mongolia, 1997

This past summer. our small field team followed a 4000 km route through central and eastern Mongolia. Even though there was a population crash underway for picas (Ochotona sp.) and voles (Microtus sp.). we found 38 new saker nests and visited 60 eyries found in previous years. Many of the former eyries were unoccupied. Others were occupied but without young. Productivity was good at eyries with large young. and southeastern Mongolia seemed unaffected by food shortages. The main goal for 1997 was to create new eyries and enlarge. stabilise. or otherwise alter marginal eyries. \Ve created 65 eyries as follows: 8 on wooden powerlines or telephone supports, 8 on metal power line towers, 3 in trees, 3 on boulders, 11 on cliffs, 17 on abandoned buildings, 9 on metal geological survey towers, and 6 on miscellaneous structures. \Ve also enlarged or repaired three establishedeyries and did minor repairs on several others. Lesser accomplishments include what may be the first observation of siblicide for the saker falcon (please contact us immediately if you have other records of sakerchicks attacking or killing their nest mates) and the description of a new saker flight display. We also documented an unusual golden eagle eyrie containing the remains of nearly 30 foxes, several predatory birds, and a number of gazelle. In 1998. we plan to return to Mongolia to see how many of our 'fake eyries' attracted falcons. Our work in 1997 was supported by Mr. Howell. another philanthropist (anonymous) and the Institute of Raptor Studies.

Falco↗

Drainage modifications in southeastern Ohio and adjacent parts of West Virginia and Kentucky

The field work upon which this paper is based was carried on intermittently for several years. During the season of 1899 the work in Washington County, Ohio, was conducted under the direction of the Ohio State Academy of Science, the expenses being covered by a grant from the Emerson McMillin special research fund. The field work of the season of 1900 was done under the direction of Dr. T. C. Chamberlin, chief of the Division of Pleistocene Geology of the United States Geological Survey, and to him the author is greatly indebted for many valuable suggestions in relation to the work, and for an extended correspondence concerning the interpretations, during the preparation of this report. The study of this particular region was the natural result of earlier studies of drainage modifications in Ohio, in the region more nearly adjacent to the glaciated area. Until a few years ago but very little systematic study of the drainage features of Ohio had been made. It is not intended at present to make a complete review of the early literature, but to refer only to such portions of it as bear directly on the problem in hand. On account of the lack of good maps of Ohio it has not been possible to make the maps which accompany this paper as accurate as might be desired. They have been constructed from various published maps and from personal observations in the field; and, while they are not strictly accurate, it is hoped that they will set forth the facts with reference to the drainage modifications with sufficient clearness to enable anyone to follow the features in the field, or to serve for purposes of correlation. The map of Flatwoods and Teays valleys has been constructed from four topographic sheets of the United States Geological Survey Ironton, Kenova, Huntington, and Charleston. The author is under obligations to Mr. H. M. Wilson, geographer of the Survey, for data furnished from the unpublished map of the Kenova quadrangle. The photographs illustrating the report were all taken by the author.

Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia↗

High-resolution stratigraphy of a Mississippi subdelta-lobe progradation in the Barataria Bight, north-central Gulf of Mexico

The coastal zone of southeastern Louisiana is the product of numerous cycles of progradation, abandonment, and marine transgression of the Mississippi River delta. Currently, the shoreline in the Barataria Bight is undergoing significant erosion and retreat, and understanding its evolution is crucial in stabilization efforts. This study uses an extensive collection of geophysical and sediment core data from Barataria Bay and offshore to develop a geologic model of the shallow (< 10 m) subsurface. The purpose of the model is twofold: (1) establish the stratigraphic architecture of a subdelta lobe of the Bayou des Families delta, deposited by the Mississippi River approximately 4000 years before present; and (2) provide a high-resolution description of the geologic framework in a context that can be applied to coastal management issues in similar fluvially dominated coastal environments worldwide. The results of the study demonstrate how high-quality geologic data from the coastal environment can be used not only to further our understanding of shoreline evolution but also to provide pertinent information for coastal management needs.

Louisiana↗

Ground-water-quality data from the northern Powder River Basin, southeastern Montana

Water-quality data collected during 1973-77 for hydrologic studies in the northern Powder River basin of southeastern Montana provide a data base for shallow ground water. The 665 water samples collected were analyzed for major cations and anions. Of the samples, 516 were from wells and 149 were from springs. About 10 percent of the samples were also analyzed for trace constituents and radiochemistry. The majority of analyses were performed by the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology laboratory in Butte, Montana. The remaining analyses, including all trace constituent and radiochemical analyses, were performed by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory in Denver, Colorado. (Kosco-USGS)

Open-File Report↗

Metallogenic belt and mineral deposit maps of northeast Asia

This report contains explanatory material and summary tables for lode mineral deposits and placer districts (Map A, sheet 1) and metallogenic belts of Northeast Asia (Maps B, C, and D on sheets 2, 3, and 4, respectively). The map region includes eastern Siberia, southeastern Russia, Mongolia, northeast China, and Japan. A large group of geologists—members of the joint international project, Major Mineral Deposits, Metallogenesis, and Tectonics of Northeast Asia—prepared the maps, tables, and introductory text. This is a cooperative project with the Russian Academy of Sciences, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Mongolian National University, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolian Technical University, Mineral Resources Authority of Mongolia, Geological Research Institute, Jilin University, China Geological Survey, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Geological Survey of Japan, and U.S. Geological Survey. This report is one of a series of reports on the mineral resources, geodynamics, and metallogenesis of Northeast Asia. Companion studies include (1) a detailed geodynamics map of Northeast Asia (Parfenov and others, 2003); (2) a compilation of major mineral deposit models (Rodionov and Nokleberg, 2000; Rodionov and others, 2000); (3) a series of metallogenic belt maps (Obolenskiy and others, 2004); (4) location map of lode mineral deposits and placer districts of Northeast Asia (Ariunbileg and others, 2003b); (5) descriptions of metallogenic belts (Rodionov and others, 2004); (6) a database on significant metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous lode deposits and selected placer districts (Ariunbileg and others, 2003a); and (7) a series of summary project publications (Ariunbileg and 74 others, 2003b).

Asia↗

Stratigraphic sections of the Phosphoria formation in Idaho, 1947-48, Part III

.The U.S. Geological Survey has measured and sampled the Phosphoria formation at many localities in Idaho and other western states. These data will not be fully synthesized and analyzed for several years but segments of the data, accompanied by little or no interpretation, are published as preliminary reports as they are assembled. This report, which contains abstracts of many of the sections in southeastern Idaho (fig. 1), is one of this series and is the third report of data gathered in Idaho during 1947 and 1948. The field and laboratory procedures adopted in these investigations are described rather fully in a companion report (McKelvey and others, 1953). Many people have taken part in this investigation, which was organized and supervised by V. E. McKelvey. D. A. Bostwick, R. M. Campbell, R. A. Gulbrandsen, R. A. Harris, R. L. Parker, R. A. Smart, J. E. Smedley, R. H. Thurston, and R. G. Waring participated in the description of strata and collection of samples referred to in this report. D. B. Dimick, Jack George, W. S. Hunziker, J. E. Jones, H. A. Larsen, and T. K. Rigby assisted in the preparation of trenches and collection, crushing, and splitting of samples in the field. The laboratory preparation of samples for chemical analysis was done in Denver, Colo., under the direction of W. P. Huleatt.

Idaho↗

Stratigraphic sections of the phosphoria formation in Idaho, 1950-51

The U.S. Geological Survey has recently measured and sampled the Phosphoria formation at many localities in Idaho and other western states. These data will not be fully synthesized and analyzed for several years, but segments of the data, accompanied by little or no interpretation, are published as preliminary reports as they are assembled. This report, which contains abstracts of the sections measured in southeastern Idaho (fig. 1), is one of this series and is the sixth report of data gathered in Idaho; it includes the data gathered in Idaho during 1950 and 1951. The field and laboratory procedures adopted in these investigations are described in a previous report (McKelvey and others, 1953a). Many people have taken part in this investigation. E. R. Cressman, F. D. Frieske, R. A. Gulbrandsen, H. W. Peirce, J. A. Peterson, B. K. Replogle, and M. A. Warner participated in the description of the strata and the collection of samples referred to in this report. Crushing and splitting of samples in the field were done by T. K. Rigby. The laboratory preparation of samples for chemical analysis was done in Denver, Colo., under the direction of W. P. Huleatt.

Idaho↗

Summary of U.S. Geological Survey studies conducted in cooperation with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, central Oklahoma, 2011–14

The U.S. Geological Survey conducted hydrologic studies and published three U.S. Geological Survey scientific investigations reports in cooperation with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation from 2011 to 2014 to characterize the quality and quantity of water resources. The study areas of those reports consisted of approximately 960 square miles in parts of three counties in central Oklahoma. This study area has multiple abundant sources of water, being underlain by three principal aquifers (alluvial/terrace, Central Oklahoma, and Vamoosa-Ada), being bordered by two major rivers (North Canadian and Canadian), and having several smaller drainages including the Little River in the central part of the study area and Salt Creek in the southeastern part of the study area. The Central Oklahoma aquifer (also referred to as the &ldquo;Garber-Wellington aquifer&rdquo;) underlies approximately 3,000 square miles in central Oklahoma in parts of Cleveland, Logan, Lincoln, Oklahoma, and Pottawatomie Counties and much of the study area. Water from these aquifers is used for municipal, industrial, commercial, agricultural, and domestic supplies. Much of the water in the study area is of good quality; however, in some parts of this area water quality was impaired by very hard surface water and groundwater, large chloride concentrations in some smaller streams, relatively large concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients and large counts of fecal-indicator bacteria in the North Canadian River, and uranium concentrations that exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Maximum Contaminant Level of 30 micrograms per liter for public water supplies in water samples collected from a small number of wells. Most stream-water samples collected from the Little River by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2012&ndash;13 had dissolved solids concentrations exceeding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level for public water supplies of 500 milligrams per liter. Larger numbers of organic compounds were measured in water samples collected from the North Canadian River than the Little River. Numerical groundwater-flow models were created to characterize flow systems in aquifers underlying this study area and areas of particular interest within the study area. Those models were used to estimate sustainable groundwater yields from parts of the North Canadian River alluvial aquifer, characterize groundwater/surface-water interactions, and estimate the effects of a 10-year simulated drought on streamflows and water levels in alluvial and bedrock aquifers. Pumping of wells at the Iron Horse Industrial Park was estimated to cause negligible infiltration of water from the adjoining North Canadian River. A 10-year simulated drought of 50 percent of normal recharge was tested for the period 1990&ndash;2000. For this period, the total amount of groundwater in storage was estimated to decrease by 8.6 percent in the North Canadian River alluvial aquifer and approximately 0.2 percent in the Central Oklahoma aquifer, and groundwater flow to streams was estimated to decrease by 28&ndash;37 percent. This volume of groundwater loss showed that the Central Oklahoma aquifer is a bedrock aquifer that has relatively low rates of recharge from the land surface. The simulated drought decreased simulated streamflow, composed of base flow, in the North Canadian River at Shawnee, Okla., which did not recover to predrought conditions until the relatively wet year of 2007 after the simulated drought period.

Oklahoma↗

Minimum age of the Neoproterozoic Seven Hundred Acre Island Formation and the tectonic setting of the Islesboro Formation, Islesboro block, Maine

Two plat formal stratigraphic sequences occur on Islesboro, Penobscot Bay, Maine. The older Seven Hundred Acre Island Formation is at least 200 m thick, its base is not exposed, and it makes up fault-bounded blocks of siliceous colour-banded dolomitic marble, muscovite-rich quartzite, coarse-grained splendent muscovite-garnet-staurolite-andalusite schist, and calcareous metapelite, with minor garnet amphibolite and amphibolite. It was initially metamorphosed to lower amphibolite facies and was later retrograded to lower greenschist facies. The lower amphibolite facies metamorphism is Neoproterozoic (670 to 650 Ma) as inferred from the 40 Ar/ 39 Ar high temperature release spectra of hornblende separates. A U-Pb zircon age of 646.7 ± 2.7 Ma obtained for a pegmatite that intruded deformed rocks is taken to be the minimum age of the Formation. The platformal Islesboro Formation probably unconformably overlies the Seven Hundred Acre Island Formation. It is primarily turbiditic pelite with many beds of quartzite, impure dolomitic marble, some conglomerate, and a few feldspar-rich volcaniclastic beds and is thought to be either Neoproterozoic or Cambrian. It was metamorphosed only to lower greenschist facies, possibly in the same event that retrograded the Seven Hundred Acre Island Formation. Geochemical interpretations of minor and trace element analyses of six amphibolite and four schist samples from the Seven Hundred Acre Island Formation show that the protoliths of the amphibolite samples were intermediate between tholeiitic and within-plate type basaltic flows or dikes that intruded attenuated continental crust, or were eroded from these basalts. Four amphibolite and three schist samples analyzed for Pb isotopes were found to be enriched in radiogenic Pb. The Pb isotopic compositions are similar to those in peri-Gondwanan basement rocks from Atlantic Canada. The peri-Gondwanan Islesboro block was placed against the peri-Gondwanan Middle and Late Cambrian Ellsworth terrane on the cast by significant Late Silurian strike-slip faulting. The Late Silurian or Early Devonian Turtle Head dextral strike-slip fault separates the Islesboro block from the peri-Gondwanan St. Croix terrane to the west. The timing and nature of the movements of these faults are given from offsets of the isograds around the zircon-dated Laic Silurian Sedgwick Granite (419.5 ± 1.4 Ma) and South Penobscot Intrusive Suite (419.2 ± 2.2 Ma). These terranes and others like them in Atlantic Canada make up a composite terrane that is different from the composite Avalonian terranes sensu stricto of southeastern New England and Atlantic Canada. The composite peri-Gondwanan terrane that included the Islesboro block was amalgamated with the margin of ancestral North America in the Silurian.

Maine↗

Kansas Energy Sources: A Geological Review

Kansas produces both conventional energy (oil, gas, and coal) and nonconventional (coalbed gas, wind, hydropower, nuclear, geothermal, solar, and biofuels) and ranks the 22nd in state energy production in the U.S. Nonrenewable conventional petroleum is the most important energy source with nonrenewable, nonconventional coalbed methane gas becoming increasingly important. Many stratigraphic units produce oil and/or gas somewhere in the state with the exception of the Salina Basin in north-central Kansas. Coalbed methane is produced from shallow wells drilled into the thin coal units in southeastern Kansas. At present, only two surface coal mines are active in southeastern Kansas. Although Kansas has been a major exporter of energy in the past (it ranked first in oil production in 1916), now, it is an energy importer.

Kansas↗