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At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
USGS2017

National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program: Appalachian National Scenic Trail vegetation mapping project

The National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program classifies, describes, and maps existing vegetation of national park units for the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. The NPS VMI Program is managed by the NPS I&M Division and provides baseline vegetation information to the NPS Natural Resource I&M Program. The U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, NatureServe, NPS Northeast Temperate Network, and NPS Appalachian National Scenic Trail (APPA) have completed vegetation classification and mapping of APPA for the NPS VMI Program. Mappers, ecologists, and botanists collaborated to affirm vegetation types within the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) of APPA and to determine how best to map the vegetation types by using aerial imagery. Analyses of data from 1,618 vegetation plots were used to describe USNVC associations of APPA. Data from 289 verification sites were collected to test the field key to vegetation associations and the application of vegetation associations to a sample set of map polygons. Data from 269 validation sites were collected to assess vegetation mapping prior to submitting the vegetation map for accuracy assessment (AA). Data from 3,265 AA sites were collected, of which 3,204 were used to test accuracy of the vegetation map layer. The collective of these datasets affirmed 280 USNVC associations for the APPA vegetation mapping project. To map the vegetation and land cover of APPA, 169 map classes were developed. The 169 map classes consist of 150 that represent natural (including ruderal) vegetation types in the USNVC, 11 that represent cultural (agricultural and developed) vegetation types in the USNVC, 5 that represent natural landscapes with catastrophic disturbance or some other modification to natural vegetation preventing accurate classification in the USNVC, and 3 that represent nonvegetated water (non-USNVC). Features were interpreted from viewing 4-band digital aerial imagery using digital onscreen three-dimensional stereoscopic workflow systems in geographic information systems (GIS). (Digital aerial imagery was collected each fall during 2009–11 to capture leaf-phenology change of hardwood trees across the latitudinal range of APPA.) The interpreted data were digitally and spatially referenced, thus making the spatial-database layers usable in GIS. Polygon units were mapped to either a 0.5-hectare (ha) or 0.25-ha minimum mapping unit, depending on vegetation type or scenario; however, polygon units were mapped to 0.1 ha for alpine vegetation. A geodatabase containing various feature-class layers and tables provide locations and support data to USNVC vegetation types (vegetation map layer), vegetation plots, verification sites, validation sites, AA sites, project boundary extent and zones, and aerial image centers and flight lines. The feature-class layer and related tables of the vegetation map layer provide 30,395 polygons of detailed attribute data covering 110,919.7 ha, with an average polygon size of 3.6 ha; the vegetation map coincides closely with the administrative boundary for APPA. Summary reports generated from the vegetation map layer of the map classes representing USNVC natural (including ruderal) vegetation types apply to 28,242 polygons (92.9% of polygons) and cover 106,413.0 ha (95.9%) of the map extent for APPA. The map layer indicates APPA to be 92.4% forest and woodland (102,480.8 ha), 1.7% shrubland (1866.3 ha), and 1.8% herbaceous cover (2,065.9 ha). Map classes representing park-special vegetation (undefined in the USNVC) apply to 58 polygons (0.2% of polygons) and cover 404.3 ha (0.4%) of the map extent. Map classes representing USNVC cultural types apply to 1,777 polygons (5.8% of polygons) and cover 2,516.3 ha (2.3%) of the map extent. Map classes representing nonvegetated water (non-USNVC) apply to 332 polygons (1.1% of polygons) and cover 1,586.2 ha (1.4%) of the map extent.

Appalachian National Scenic Trail↗
USGS2009

Digital representation of 1:1,000,000-scale hydrographic areas of the Great Basin

Hydrographic areas (HA) in Nevada were delineated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Nevada Division of Water Resources in the late 1960s for scientific and administrative purposes. The official HA names, numbers, and boundaries continue to be used in USGS scientific reports and Nevada State Division of Water Resources administrative activities. HAs for the Great Basin region of the United States were mapped in the late 1980’s as part of a USGS regional assessment of aquifer systems in the Great Basin. The Great Basin HAs are being published in digital format to document the data as the basic accounting unit for past and recent hydrologic investigations in the Great Basin.

Great Basin↗
USGS1950

Ground-water data collected in the Missouri River basin units in Kansas during 1949

Ground-water studies in the Missouri River Basin were begun by the United States Geological Survey during the fall of 1945 as a part of the program for development of the resources of the basin by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and other Federal Agencies. The studies of the ground-water resources in the part of Kansas that lies within the Basin have been coordinated with the cooperative program of ground-water studies already being carried on in Kansas by the Federal Geological Survey and the State Geological Survey of Kansas with the cooperation of the Division of Sanitation of the Kansas State Board of Health and the Division of Water Resources of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture. Areas in which ground-water data have been collected under the Missouri Basin program include the Almena Unit in Norton and Phillips Counties; the Bostwick Unit in Jewell, Republic, and Cloud Counties; the Cedar Bluff Unit in Ellis, Rush, and Trego Counties; the Glen Elder Unit in Mitchell County; the Webster Unit in Osborne County; and the Wilson Unit in Lincoln County. Most of the ground-water data presented in this report were collected during 1949. Most of the data collected in these areas prior to the end of 1947 were presented in a report that was mimeographed in September 1948 and most of the data collected during 1948 were presented in a report that was mimeographed in November 1949. This report is the third of a series of annual reports on ground-water data collected in the Missouri Basin units in Kansas. These annual reports are a means of more promptly releasing for administrative use the data collected each year. Data that are included in the annual reports for a given area will be assembled later in a report on the geology and hydrology of that area. An index of the data collected and presented in the 1947, 1948, and 1949 reports is given in table 1.

Kansas↗
USGS1994

Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility of the U.S. Geological Survey, annual report for fiscal year 1993

The Hydrologic lnstrumentation Facility (HIF) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has nationwide responsibility for all aspects of hydrologic field instrumentation in support of Survey data-collection programs. Each year the HIF publishes a report to inform Water Resources Division (WRD) personnel of progress made by the HIF in fulfilling its mission to improve instrumentation services to the Division. The report for fiscal year 1993 (FY93) describes the activities of the HIF, including major accomplish- ments for the year; personnel actions; active projects (reported by section--Technical Services Section, Administrative Services Section, Field Coordination, Applications and Development Section, Test and Evaluation Section, Field Service and Supply Section); and planned activities for the coming year. Also presented in the appendixes are detailed listings of the memberships of the Instrumentation Committee and the Instrumentation Technical Advisory Subcommittee; district, sub- district, and field office visits by HIF personnel; professional and technical meetings attended by HIF personnel; vendor visits; and reports prepared by HIF personnel.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2014

Withdrawal and consumption of water by thermoelectric power plants in the United States, 2010

Estimates of water use at thermoelectric plants were developed by the U.S. Geological Survey based on linked heat and water budgets, and complement reported thermoelectric water withdrawals and consumption. The heat- and water-budget models produced withdrawal and consumption estimates, including thermodynamically plausible ranges of minimum and maximum withdrawal and consumption, for 1,290 water-using plants in the United States for 2010. Total estimated withdrawal for 2010 was about 129 billion gallons per day (Bgal/d), and total estimated consumption was about 3.5 Bgal/d. In contrast, total withdrawal reported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration (EIA), was about 24 percent higher than the modeled estimates, and total EIA-reported consumption was about 8 percent lower. Most thermoelectric generation in 2010 was not associated with thermodynamically plausible EIA-reported values of both withdrawal and consumption. An analysis of 2005 and 2010 EIA-reported water use indicated that withdrawal and consumption declined 18 percent and 34 percent, respectively. Alternative water types (types other than freshwater) accounted for approximately 25 percent of all withdrawals in 2010, most of which occurred at plants with once-through cooling systems using saline and brackish tidal waters. Differences among withdrawal and consumption coefficients based on EIA-reported water use for 2005 and 2010 and heat-budget model results for 2010 reveal opportunities for improving consistency and accuracy of reporting of water-use information at the plant scale.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS1989

Functional requirements of computer systems for the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, 1988-97

Investigating the occurrence, quantity, quality, distribution, and movement of the Nation 's water resources is the principal mission of the U.S. Geological Survey 's Water Resources Division. Reports of these investigations are published and available to the public. To accomplish this mission, the Division requires substantial computer technology to process, store, and analyze data from more than 57,000 hydrologic sites. The Division 's computer resources are organized through the Distributed Information System Program Office that manages the nationwide network of computers. The contract that provides the major computer components for the Water Resources Division 's Distributed information System expires in 1991. Five work groups were organized to collect the information needed to procure a new generation of computer systems for the U. S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division. Each group was assigned a major Division activity and asked to describe its functional requirements of computer systems for the next decade. The work groups and major activities are: (1) hydrologic information; (2) hydrologic applications; (3) geographic information systems; (4) reports and electronic publishing; and (5) administrative. The work groups identified 42 functions and described their functional requirements for 1988, 1992, and 1997. A few new functions such as Decision Support Systems and Executive Information Systems, were identified, but most are the same as performed today. Although the number of functions will remain about the same, steady growth in the size, complexity, and frequency of many functions is predicted for the next decade. No compensating increase in the Division 's staff is anticipated during this period. To handle the increased workload and perform these functions, new approaches will be developed that use advanced computer technology. The advanced technology is required in a unified, tightly coupled system that will support all functions simultaneously. The new approaches and expanded use of computers will require substantial increases in the quantity and sophistication of the Division 's computer resources. The requirements presented in this report will be used to develop technical specifications that describe the computer resources needed during the 1990's. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS2020

2019 fiscal year state of the Survey

This first of its kind publication, the USGS “2019 Fiscal Year State of the Survey” report, highlights notable USGS accomplishments over the past year that have contributed to meeting our goals and priorities in support of the Department of the Interior Strategic Plan. The activities summarized in this report demonstrate how integrated science and administrative support contribute to fulfilling our vision of being a world leader in the natural sciences through our scientific excellence and responsiveness to society’s need. And it celebrates the great work and dedication of our employees in helping advance our scientific knowledge and understanding of the Earth and its processes. The "State of the Survey" is much more than a simple listing of accomplishments. It is a colorful visual tour through our diverse scientific endeavors. Within its pages you will find short videos on algal blooms, ShakeAlert, flood prediction, and more. You will find maps of where our centers and stations are located, charts of our funding sources, and pictures of our researchers at work.

State of the Survey↗
USGS1886

On the organization of scientific work of the general government

Extracts from the testimony taken by the Joint commission of the Senate and House of representatives to "consider the present organizations of the Signal service, Geological survey, Coast and geodetic survey, and the Hydrographic office of the Navy department, with the view to secure greater efficiency and economy of administration."

Report↗
USGS1950

Ground-water data collected in the Missouri River basin units in Kansas during 1948

Ground-water studies in the Missouri River Basin were begun by the U.S. Geological Survey during the fall of 1945 as a part of the program for development of the resources of the basin by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and other Federal agencies. The studies of the ground-water resources in the part of Kansas that lies within the basin have been coordinated with the cooperative program of ground-water studies already being carried on in Kansas by the Federal Geological Survey and the Kansas State Geological Survey with the cooperation of the Division of Sanitation of the Kansas State Board of health and the Division of Water Resources of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture. Areas in which ground-water data have been collected under the Missouri Basin program include the Almena Unit in Norton and Phillips Counties; the Bostwick Unit in Jewell, Republic, and Cloud Counties; the Cedar Bluff Unit in Ellis and Trego Counties; the Glen Elder Unit in Mitchell County; the Kanopolis Unit in McPherson and Saline Counties; the Kirwin Unit in Phillips, Smith, and Osborne Counties; the St. Francis Unit in Cheyenne County; the Webster Unit in Osborne County; and the Wilson Unit in Lincoln County. Most of the ground-water data presented in this report were collected during 1948. Most of the data collected in these areas prior to the end of 1947 were presented in a report mimeographed in September 1948. This report and the previous report are the first two of a series of annual reports on ground-water studies in the Missouri Basin units in Kansas. These reports are a means of more promptly releasing for administrative use the data collected each year. Data for a given area that are included in the annual reports will be assembled later in a report on the geology and hydrology of that area.

Kansas↗
USGS2023

Unrecorded tundra fires of the Arctic Slope, Alaska USA

Few fires are known to have burned the tundra of the Arctic Slope north of the Brooks Range in Alaska, USA. A total of 90 fires between 1969 and 2022 are known. Because fire has been rare, old burns can be detected by the traces of thermokarst and distinct vegetation they leave in otherwise uniform tundra, which are visible in aerial photograph archives. Several prehistoric tundra burns have been found in this way. Detection of tundra fires in this sparsely populated and remote area has been historically inconsistent and opportunistic, relying on reports by aircraft pilots. Fire reports have been logged into an administrative database which, out of necessity, has been used to scientifically evaluate changes in the fire regime. To improve the consistency of the record, we completed a systematic search of Landsat Collection 2 for the Brooks Range Foothills ecoregion over the period 1972–2022. We found 57 unrecorded tundra burns, about 41% of the total, which now numbers 138. Only 15% and 33% of all fires appear in MODIS and VIIRS satellite-borne thermal anomaly products, respectively. The fire frequency in the first 37 years of the record is 0.89 y −1 for natural ignitions that spread ≥10 ha. Frequency in the last 13 years is 2.5 y −1 , indicating a nearly three-fold increase in fire frequency.

Alaska↗
USGS1935

Fifty-sixth annual report of the Director of the Geological Survey

During the fiscal year 1934-35, although directly appropriated funds for the support of the Survey's regular activities have been at a low ebb (see details in later pages), these have been augmented by substantial allocations for closely related work made by the Public Works Administration.

Annual Report↗
USGS2021

Statistical methods for simulating structural stormwater runoff best management practices (BMPs) with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)

This report documents statistics for simulating structural stormwater runoff best management practices (BMPs) with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM). The U.S. Geological Survey developed SELDM and the statistics documented in this report in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration to indicate the risk for stormwater flows, concentrations, and loads to exceed user-selected water-quality goals and the potential effectiveness of mitigation measures to reduce such risks. In SELDM, three treatment variables—hydrograph extension, volume reduction, and water-quality treatment—are simulated by using the trapezoidal distribution and the rank correlation with the associated runoff variables. This report describes methods for calculating the trapezoidal distribution statistics and rank correlation coefficients for these treatment variables and methods for estimating the minimum irreducible concentration (MIC), which is the lowest expected effluent concentration from a BMP site or a category of BMPs. These statistics are different from the statistics commonly used to characterize or compare BMPs; they are designed to provide a stochastic transfer function to approximate the quantity, duration, and quality of BMP effluent given the associated inflow values for a population of storm events. Analyses for this study were done with data extracted from a modified copy of the December 2019 version of the International Stormwater Best Management Practices Database. Statistics for volume reduction, hydrograph extension, and water-quality treatment were developed with selected data. The medians of the best-fit statistics for selected constituents were used to construct generalized cumulative distribution functions for the three treatment variables. For volume reduction and hydrograph extension, selection of a Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (rho) value that is the average of the median and maximum values for the BMP category may help generate realistic simulation results in SELDM. The median rho value may be selected to help generate realistic simulation results for water-quality treatment variables. Water-quality treatment statistics, including trapezoidal ratios and MIC values, were developed for 51 runoff-quality constituents commonly measured in highway and urban runoff studies. Statistics were calculated for water-quality properties, sediment and solids, nutrients, major and trace inorganic elements, organic compounds, and biologic constituents. Analysis of MIC values provides information to guide professional judgement for selecting values for simulating water quality at sites of interest. The MIC is a lower bound for BMP discharge concentrations and will therefore replace simulated BMP discharge concentrations below the selected value. A new method for estimating MIC values, the lognormal variate of inflow concentrations, was developed in this report and these statistics were calculated for individual constituents and constituent categories. Inflow quality is correlated to MIC values for some constituents, but regional soil concentrations were not strongly correlated to MIC values.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2017

Hydrogeologic characteristics and geospatial analysis of water-table changes in the alluvium of the lower Arkansas River Valley, southeastern Colorado, 2002, 2008, and 2015

The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District measures groundwater levels periodically in about 100 wells completed in the alluvial material of the Arkansas River Valley in Pueblo, Crowley, Otero, Bent, and Prowers Counties in southeastern Colorado, of which 95 are used for the analysis in this report. The purpose of this report is to provide information to water-resource administrators, managers, planners, and users about groundwater characteristics in the alluvium of the lower Arkansas Valley extending roughly 150 miles between Pueblo Reservoir and the Colorado-Kansas State line. This report includes three map sheets showing (1) bedrock altitude at the base of the alluvium of the lower Arkansas Valley; (2) estimated spring-to-spring and fall-to-fall changes in water-table altitude between 2002, 2008, and 2015; and (3) estimated saturated thickness in the alluvium during spring and fall of 2002, 2008, and 2015, and thickness of the alluvium in the lower Arkansas Valley. Water-level changes were analyzed by geospatial interpolation methods. Available data included all water-level measurements made between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2015; however, only data from fall and spring of 2002, 2008, and 2015 are mapped in this report. To account for the effect of John Martin Reservoir in Bent County, Colorado, lake levels at the reservoir were assigned to points along the approximate shoreline and were included in the water-level dataset. After combining the water-level measurements and lake levels, inverse distance weighting was used to interpolate between points and calculate the altitude of the water table for fall and spring of each year for comparisons. Saturated thickness was calculated by subtracting the bedrock surface from the water-table surface. Thickness of the alluvium was calculated by subtracting the bedrock surface from land surface using a digital elevation model. In order to analyze the response of the alluvium to varying environmental and anthropogenic conditions, the percentage of area of the lower Arkansas Valley showing an absolute change of 3 feet or less was calculated for each of the six water-table altitude change maps. For fall water-table altitude change maps, the periods between 2002 and 2008, 2008 and 2015, and 2002 and 2015 showed that 86.5 percent, 85.2 percent, and 66.3 percent of the study area, respectively, showed a net change of 3 feet or less. In the spring water-table altitude change maps these periods showed a net change of 3 feet or less in 94.4 percent, 96.1 percent, and 90.2 percent of the study area, respectively. While the estimated change in water-table altitude was slightly greater and more variable in fall-to-fall comparisons, these high percentages of area with relatively small net changes indicated that, at least in comparisons of the years presented, there was not a large amount of fluctuation in the altitude of the water table. The saturated thickness in the lower Arkansas Valley was between 25 and 50 feet in 34.4 to 35.9 percent of the study area, depending on the season and year. Between 30.2 and 35.6 percent of the area showed saturated thicknesses between 0 and 25 feet. Less than 1 percent of the area showed a saturated thickness greater than 200 feet in all mapped seasons and years.

Colorado↗
USGS1981

Map showing mineral resource potential of the Sierra Ancha Wilderness and Salome Study Area, Gila County, Arizona

The Wilderness Act (Public Law 88-577, Sept. 3, 1964) and certain related Acts require the Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines to survey certain areas on Federal lands to determine their mineral-resource potential. Results must be made available to the public and be submitted to the Administration and the Congress. These maps and reports present the results of a geologic and mineral survey of the Sierra Ancha Wilderness and Salome Study Area, Gila County, Arizona.

Arizona↗