Earth-science information in land-use planning; guidelines for earth scientists and planners
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Circular↗
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Results for “Science Report”
Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.
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The Thames science plan: suggested hydrologic investigations to support nutrient-related water-quality improvements in the Thames River basin, Connecticut
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Open-File Report↗
Spatial mapping and attribution of Wyoming wind turbines, 2012
These data represent locations of wind turbines found within Wyoming as of August 2012. We assigned each wind turbine to a wind farm and, in these data, provide information about each turbine’s potential megawatt output, rotor diameter, hub height, rotor height, the status of the land ownership where the turbine exists, the county each turbine is located in, wind farm power capacity, the number of units currently associated with each wind farm, the wind turbine manufacturer and model, the wind farm developer, the owner of the wind farm, the current purchaser of power from the wind farm, the year the wind farm went online, and the status of its operation. Some of the attributes are estimates based on the information we found via the American Wind Energy Association and other on-line reports. The locations are derived from National Agriculture Imagery Program (2009 and 2012) true color aerial photographs and have a positional accuracy of approximately +/-5 meters. These data will provide a planning tool for wildlife- and habitat-related projects underway at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Fort Collins Science Center and other government and non-government organizations. Specifically, we will use these data to support quantifying disturbances of the landscape as related to wind energy as well as to quantify indirect disturbances to flora and fauna. This data set represents an update to a previous version by O’Donnell and Fancher (2010).
Wyoming↗
Economic impacts of Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative Conservation projects in Wyoming
Executive Summary This report estimates the economic impacts on the Wyoming economy from investments made by the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) on conservation and restoration projects. The WLCI has been working in southwestern Wyoming since 2007 to coordinate science and management decisions among government and private entities that invest in conservation projects aimed at restoring and enhancing wildlife habitat. These investments support jobs and generate business activities within the Wyoming economy. WLCI conservation and restoration projects occur on both publicly managed and privately owned lands and are supported by leveraging funds from Federal bureaus, Wyoming State and local government agencies, and private contributions. During 2007–2018, the WLCI invested a total of more than $ 69,100,000 (in 2018 dollars) on conservation projects within the State of Wyoming. These pooled funds have been used to purchase conservation easements and hire business contractors to complete restoration projects, with 98 percent of project funds awarded to Wyoming-based businesses. Including both direct and secondary effects, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that local spending on these conservation and restoration projects during 2007–2018 supported an estimated 1,055 job-years (the number of annualized full- and part-time jobs generated or supported), more than $ 30,500,000 in labor income, almost $ 40,900,000 in value added, and almost $ 68,200,000 in economic output within the Wyoming economy. These results demonstrate how investments in WLCI conservation projects support jobs, livelihoods, small businesses, and rural economies in Wyoming.
Wyoming↗
usSEABED: Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands) offshore surficial sediment data release
Over the past 50 years there has been an explosion in scientific interest, research effort and information gathered on the geologic sedimentary character of the United States continental margin. Data and information from thousands of publications have greatly increased our scientific understanding of the geologic origins of the shelf surface but rarely have those data been combined and integrated. This publication is the first release of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands) coastal and offshore data from the usSEABED database. The report contains a compilation of published and previously unpublished sediment texture and other geologic data about the sea floor from diverse sources. usSEABED is an innovative database system developed to bring assorted data together in a unified database. The dbSEABED system is used to process the data. Examples of maps displaying attributes such as grain size and sediment color are included. This database contains information that is a scientific foundation for the USGS Marine Aggregate Resources and Processes Assessment and Benthic Habitats projects, and will be useful to the marine science community for other studies of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean continental margins. This publication is divided into ten sections: Home, Introduction, Content, usSEABED (data), dbSEABED (processing), Data Catalog, References, Contacts, Acknowledgments and Frequently Asked Questions. Use the navigation bar on the left to navigate to specific sections of this report. Underlined topics throughout the publication are links to more information. Links to specific and detailed information on processing and those to pages outside this report will open in a new browser window.
Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico↗
Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, Volume 15
Summary Professional Paper 1814— Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, Volume 15 —continues a long-running series of collected volumes of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientific reports on Alaska. This series presents new and sometimes preliminary findings that are of interest to Earth and biological scientists in academia, government, and industry; to land and resource managers; and to the general public. The series covers a broad spectrum of scientific topics, from various parts of Alaska, serving to emphasize the diversity of USGS efforts to meet the Nation’s needs for Earth-science information in the State. The USGS provides reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.
Professional Paper↗
Ecological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Lower Missouri River: Annual report 2010
The Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project is a multiyear, multiagency collaborative research framework developed to provide information to support pallid sturgeon recovery and Missouri River management decisions. The project strategy integrates field and laboratory studies of sturgeon reproductive ecology, early life history, habitat requirements, and physiology. The project scope of work is developed annually with cooperating research partners and in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri River Recovery—Integrated Science Program. The research consists of several interdependent and complementary tasks that engage multiple disciplines. The research tasks in the 2010 scope of work primarily address spawning as a probable factor limiting pallid sturgeon survival and recovery, although limited pilot studies also have been initiated to examine the requirements of early life stages. The research is designed to inform management decisions affecting channel re-engineering, flow modification, and pallid sturgeon population augmentation on the Missouri River, and throughout the range of the species. Research and progress made through this project are reported to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers annually. This annual report details the research effort and progress made by the Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project during 2010.
South Dakota;Nebraska;Iowa;Missouri↗
Assessing carbon stocks, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the United States under present conditions and future scenarios
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) requires the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to develop a methodology and conduct an assessment of carbon storage, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse-gas (GHG) fluxes in the Nation's ecosystems. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed and published the methodology (U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5233) and has assembled an interdisciplinary team of scientists to conduct the assessment over the next three to four years, commencing in October 2010. The assessment will fulfill specific requirements of the EISA by (1) quantifying, measuring, and monitoring carbon sequestration and GHG fluxes using national datasets and science tools such as remote sensing, and biogeochemical and hydrological models, (2) evaluating a range of management and restoration activities for their effects on carbon-sequestration capacity and the reduction of GHG fluxes, and (3) assessing effects of climate change and other controlling processes (including wildland fires) on carbon uptake and GHG emissions from ecosystems.
Fact Sheet↗
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.
Circular↗
Clarification of the term “normal material” used for standard atomic weights (IUPAC Technical Report)
The standard atomic weights of the elements apply to normal materials. Since 1984, the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights (Commission) has defined a normal material as: “The material is a reasonably possible source for this element or its compounds in commerce, for industry or science; the material is not itself studied for some extraordinary anomaly and its isotopic composition has not been modified significantly in a geologically brief period.” The term “a geologically brief period” in this definition is confusing, and confusion can be reduced by revising this definition to the following, which was accepted by the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights at its meeting in Groningen, Netherlands in September 2017: “ Normal materials include all substances, except (1) those subjected to substantial deliberate, undisclosed, or inadvertent artificial isotopic modification, (2) extraterrestrial materials, and (3) isotopically anomalous specimens, such as natural nuclear reactor products from Oklo (Gabon) or other unique occurrences.”
Pure and Applied Chemistry↗
U.S. Geological Survey Georgia Water Science Center and Albany Water, Gas, and Light Commission Cooperative Water Program— Summary of activities, July 2005 through June 2006
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been working with the Albany Water, Gas, and Light Commission to monitor ground-water quality and availability since 1977. This report presents the findings for July 2005 through June 2006 and summarizes the ground-water and surface-water conditions for 2005. Water levels in 14 wells were continuously monitored in Dougherty County, Georgia. Water levels in 12 of those wells were above normal, one was normal, and one was below normal. Ground-water samples collected from the Upper Floridan aquifer indicate that nitrate levels have increased in 13 wells and decreased in two wells from a year earlier. A sample also was collected from the Flint River. A trilinear diagram showing the percent composition of selected major cations and anions indicates that the ground-water quality of the Upper Floridan aquifer at the Albany wellfield is distinctly different from the water quality of the Flint River. To improve the understanding of the ground-water flow system and nitrate movement in the Upper Floridan aquifer, the USGS is developing a ground-water flow model in the southwest Albany area, Georgia.
Georgia↗
Landscape connectivity planning for adaptation to future climate and land-use change
Purpose of Review We examined recent literature on promoting habitat connectivity in the context of climate change (CC) and land-use change (LUC). These two global change forcings have wide-reaching ecological effects that are projected to worsen in the future. Improving connectivity is a common adaptation strategy, but CC and LUC can also degrade planned connections, potentially reducing their effectiveness. We synthesize advances in connectivity design approaches, identify challenges confronted by researchers and practitioners, and offer suggestions for future research. Recent Findings Recent studies incorporated future CC into connectivity design more often than LUC and rarely considered the two drivers jointly. When considering CC, most studies have focused on relatively broad spatial and temporal extents and have included either species-based targets or coarse-filter targets like geodiversity and climate gradients. High levels of uncertainty about future LUC and lack of consistent, readily available model simulations are likely hindering its inclusion in connectivity modeling. This high degree of uncertainty extends to efforts to jointly consider future CC and LUC. Summary We argue that successful promotion of connectivity as a means to adapt to CC and LUC will depend on (1) the velocity of CC, (2) the velocity of LUC, and (3) the degree of existing landscape fragmentation. We present a new conceptual framework to assist in identifying connectivity networks given these three factors. Given the high uncertainty associated with future CC and LUC, incorporating insights from decision science into connectivity planning will facilitate the development of more robust adaptation strategies.
Current Landscape Ecology Reports↗
Satellite imagery maps Hurricane Katrina-induced flooding and oil slicks
In the early morning of 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall near Buras, Louisiana, as a Category 4 hurricane. With wind speeds of about 233 kilometers per hour, a storm surge of 8.5 meters, and heavy rains, Katrina pounded the U.S. Gulf Coast states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi with lifethreatening flooding and destruction. Katrina's high winds and storm surge breached the levees protecting New Orleans, a city located below sea level, and flooded approximately 80% of the city. Katrina also caused major damage to the region's oil and natural gas production and refining capabilities. On 2 September 2005, the Associated Press reported that Katrina had damaged 58 oil platforms, 30 of which were reported lost; one damaged platform had been blown nearly 100 km from its original location.
Eos, Earth and Space Science News↗
Land Cover Applications, Landscape Dynamics, and Global Change
The Land Cover Applications, Landscape Dynamics, and Global Change project at U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) seeks to integrate remote sensing and simulation models to better understand and seek solutions to national and global issues. Modeling processes related to population impacts, natural resource management, climate change, invasive species, land use changes, energy development, and climate mitigation all pose significant scientific opportunities. The project activities use remotely sensed data to support spatial monitoring, provide sensitivity analyses across landscapes and large regions, and make the data and results available on the Internet with data access and distribution, decision support systems, and on-line modeling. Applications support sustainable natural resource use, carbon cycle science, biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and robust simulation modeling approaches that evaluate ecosystem and landscape dynamics.
Fact Sheet↗
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Western Region: Coastal and Ocean Science
USGS Western Region Coastal and Ocean Science is interdisciplinary, collaborative, and integrates expertise from all USGS Disciplines, and ten of its major Science Centers, in Alaska, Hawai'i, California, Washington, and Oregon. The scientific talent, laboratories, and research vessels in the Western Region and across the Nation, strategically position the USGS to address broad geographic and oceanographic research topics. USGS information products inform resource managers and policy makers who must balance conservation mandates with increasing demands for resources that sustain the Nation's economy. This fact sheet describes but a few examples of the breadth of USGS science conducted in coastal, nearshore, and ocean environments along our Nation's West Coast and Pacific Islands.
Fact Sheet↗
Greater Platte River Basins - Science to sustain ecosystems and communities
The Greater Platte River Basins (GPRB), located in the heartland of the United States, provides a collaborative opportunity for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners to understand the sustainability of natural and managed ecosystems under changing climate and resource requirements.The Greater Platte River Basins, an area of about 140,000 square miles, sustains thousands of acres of lakes and wetlands, which provide a staging and resting area for the North American Central Flyway. Part of the GPRB is within the U.S. Corn Belt, one of the most productive agricultural ecosystems on Earth. Changes in water and land use, changing patterns of snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains, drought, and increasing demands for irrigation have reduced flows in the Platte River. These changes raise questions about the sustainability of the region for both wildlife and agriculture.The USGS and partners are developing a science strategy that will help natural-resource managers address and balance the needs of this region.
Fact Sheet↗
U.S. Geological Survey Colorado River Basin Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology (ASIST)—Information Management Technology Plan
Introduction More than 840 publications, 575 data releases, and 330 project web pages from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) pertain to the Colorado River Basin. Limited interconnections between Colorado River Basin publications, data, and web pages restrict the ability to synthesize and interpret scientific resources. Currently, these pieces are spread across multiple isolated locations, internal systems, data repositories, and local offices. The increasing size, complexity, and diversity of Colorado River Basin data creates additional need for integration. These different data types—including discrete, continuous, aerial, remote sensing, geophysical, geospatial, and other types in varied formats—are collected over numerous time and space scales and require data-intensive science and technology to integrate. Information management technology (IMT) resources are enterprise capabilities that the USGS workforce can leverage at multiple scales with consistent interoperable solutions to better facilitate integrated science. The USGS 21st Century Science Strategy directs the USGS to establish enterprise IMT capabilities that support integrated work through interoperable software and database solutions at multiple scales. This Information Management Technology Plan identifies nine steps to leverage new and existing technologies, data, models, and scientific knowledge to support integrated science projects conducted across the Colorado River Basin. These steps are transferable to integrated-science studies in other locations.
Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyomi↗