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At least 1,099 records · Page 61Linked to original sources
USGS2007

Factors affecting the reproduction, recruitment, habitat, and population dynamics of pallid sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon in the Missouri River

For more than a hundred years, human activities have modified the natural forces that control the Missouri River and its native fish fauna. While the ecological effects of regulation and channel engineering are understood in general, the current understanding is not sufficient to guide river restoration and management. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is in the third year of a multiagency research effort to determine the ecological requirements for reproduction and survival of the endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) and shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorhynchus) in the Missouri River. The multidisciplinary research strategy includes components of behavior, physiology, habitat use, habitat availability, and population modeling of all life stages. Shovelnose sturgeon are used to design the strategy because they are closely related to the pallid sturgeon and are often used as a surrogate species to develop new research tools or to examine the effects of management actions or environmental variables on sturgeon biology and habitat use. During fiscal years 2005 and 2006, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) provided funds to USGS for tasks associated with the Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Program (CSRP) and for tasks associated with evaluation of the Sturgeon Response to Flow Modifications (SRFM). Because work activities of CSRP and SRFM are so integrated, we are providing information on activities that have been consolidated at the task level. These task activities represent chapters in this report.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2007

Project overview: Chapter A in Factors affecting the reproduction, recruitment, habitat, and population dynamics of pallid sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon in the Missouri River

For more than a hundred years, human activities have modified the natural forces that control the Missouri River and its native fish fauna. While the ecological effects of regulation and channel engineering are understood in general, the current understanding is not sufficient to guide river restoration and management. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is in the third year of a multiagency research effort to determine the ecological requirements for reproduction and survival of the endangered pallid sturgeon ( Scaphirhynchus albus ) and shovelnose sturgeon ( Scaphirhynchus platorhynchus ) in the Missouri River. The multidisciplinary research strategy includes components of behavior, physiology, habitat use, habitat availability, and population modeling of all life stages. Shovelnose sturgeon are used to design the strategy because they are closely related to the pallid sturgeon and are often used as a surrogate species to develop new research tools or to examine the effects of management actions or environmental variables on sturgeon biology and habitat use. During fiscal years 2005 and 2006, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) provided funds to USGS for tasks associated with the Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Program (CSRP) and for tasks associated with evaluation of the Sturgeon Response to Flow Modifications (SRFM). Because work activities of CSRP and SRFM are so integrated, we are providing information on activities that have been consolidated at the task level. These task activities represent chapters in this report.

Missouri River↗
USGS2008

User's Guide to the Water-Analysis Screening Tool (WAST): A Tool for Assessing Available Water Resources in Relation to Aquatic-Resource Uses

A water-analysis screening tool (WAST) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, to provide an initial screening of areas in the state where potential problems may exist related to the availability of water resources to meet current and future water-use demands. The tool compares water-use information to an initial screening criteria of the 7-day, 10-year low-flow statistic (7Q10) resulting in a screening indicator for influences of net withdrawals (withdrawals minus discharges) on aquatic-resource uses. This report is intended to serve as a guide for using the screening tool. The WAST can display general basin characteristics, water-use information, and screening-indicator information for over 10,000 watersheds in the state. The tool includes 12 primary functions that allow the user to display watershed information, edit water-use and water-supply information, observe effects downstream from edited water-use information, reset edited values to baseline, load new water-use information, save and retrieve scenarios, and save output as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2013

Salton Sea ecosystem monitoring and assessment plan

The Salton Sea, California’s largest lake, provides essential habitat for several fish and wildlife species and is an important cultural and recreational resource. It has no outlet, and dissolved salts contained in the inflows concentrate in the Salton Sea through evaporation. The salinity of the Salton Sea, which is currently nearly one and a half times the salinity of ocean water, has been increasing as a result of evaporative processes and low freshwater inputs. Further reductions in inflows from water conservation, recycling, and transfers will lower the level of the Salton Sea and accelerate the rate of salinity increases, reduce the suitability of fish and wildlife habitat, and affect air quality by exposing lakebed playa that could generate dust. Legislation enacted in 2003 to implement the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA) stated the Legislature’s intent for the State of California to undertake the restoration of the Salton Sea ecosystem. As required by the legislation, the California Resources Agency (now California Natural Resources Agency) produced the Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Study and final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIR; California Resources Agency, 2007) with the stated purpose to “develop a preferred alternative by exploring alternative ways to restore important ecological functions of the Salton Sea that have existed for about 100 years.” A decision regarding a preferred alternative currently resides with the California State Legislature (Legislature), which has yet to take action. As part of efforts to identify an ecosystem restoration program for the Salton Sea, and in anticipation of direction from the Legislature, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) established a team to develop a monitoring and assessment plan (MAP). This plan is the product of that effort. The goal of the MAP is to provide a guide for data collection, analysis, management, and reporting to inform management actions for the Salton Sea ecosystem. Monitoring activities are directed at species and habitats that could be affected by or drive future restoration activities. The MAP is not intended to be a prescriptive document. Rather, it is envisioned to be a flexible, program-level guide that articulates high-level goals and objectives, and establishes broad sideboards within which future project-level investigations and studies will be evaluated and authorized. As such, the MAP, by design, does not, for example, include detailed protocols describing how investigations will be implemented. It is anticipated that detailed study proposals will be prepared as part of an implementation plan that will include such things as specific sampling objectives, sampling schemes, and statistical and spatial limits.

California↗
USGS2015

Strategy to evaluate persistent contaminant hazards resulting from sea-level rise and storm-derived disturbances—Study design and methodology for station prioritization

Coastal communities are uniquely vulnerable to sea-level rise (SLR) and severe storms such as hurricanes. These events enhance the dispersion and concentration of natural and anthropogenic chemicals and pathogenic microorganisms that could adversely affect the health and resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems in coming years. The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a strategy to define baseline and post-event sediment-bound environmental health (EH) stressors (hereafter referred to as the Sediment-Bound Contaminant Resiliency and Response [SCoRR] strategy). A tiered, multimetric approach will be used to (1) identify and map contaminant sources and potential exposure pathways for human and ecological receptors, (2) define the baseline mixtures of EH stressors present in sediments and correlations of relevance, (3) document post-event changes in EH stressors present in sediments, and (4) establish and apply metrics to quantify changes in coastal resilience associated with sediment-bound contaminants. Integration of this information provides a means to improve assessment of the baseline status of a complex system and the significance of changes in contaminant hazards due to storm-induced (episodic) and SLR (incremental) disturbances. This report describes the purpose and design of the SCoRR strategy and the methods used to construct a decision support tool to identify candidate sampling stations vulnerable to contaminants that may be mobilized by coastal storms.

Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine↗
USGS1975

Sediments, structural framework, petroleum potential, environmental conditions, and operational considerations of the United States North Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf

The area designated for possible oil and gas lease sale as modified from BLM memorandum 3310 #42 (722) and referred to therein as the North Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) contains about 58,300 sq km of shelf beneath water depths of less than 200 m and lies chiefly within the Georges Bank basin. The oldest sediments drilled or dredged on the bordering Continental Slope are sandstone, clay, and silt of Upper Cretaceous age. In Upper Cretaceous exposures, on Marthas Vineyard and nearby New England islands, the predominant lithology appears to be clay. About 125 km northeast of the eastern tip of Georges Bank, the Shell B-93 well penetrated clays and silts of Upper and Lower Cretaceous age above dense Jurassic carbonate rocks which overlie a basement of lower Paleozoic slate, schist, quartzite, and granite. Structurally, the Georges Bank basin is a westerly trending trough which opens to the west-southwest. Post-Paleozoic sediments are more than 8 km thick in parts of the basin. Major structural features appear to be directly related to basement structures. Local anticlines, probably caused by differential compaction over basement flexures and horst blocks or by later uplift along basement faults are reflected principally in Lower Cretaceous and older sediments, though some of these features continue upward to within 0.7 of a second (about 650 m) of the seafloor. Tertiary deposits in the Georges Bank basin are probably up to a kilometre thick and are made up of poorly consolidated sand, silt, and clay. The Cretaceous section is inferred to be up to 3.5 km thick and to be mainly clastics -- shale, siltstone, calcareous shale, changing to limestone in the lowest part of the system. Jurassic rocks in the deepest part of the basin appear to be about 3.6 to 4.0 km thick and probably consist mainly of dense carbonates. Potential source rocks in the Georges Bank basin may include organic-rich Cretaceous shale and carbonaceous Jurassic limestone. By analogy with the Scotian Shelf, Cretaceous sandstones are considered to be potential reservoir rocks. Local zones of porous dolomite are believed to be present in carbonate rocks of Jurassic age and should not be overlooked as potential reservoirs. Structural highs related to draping and differential compaction over basement blocks could be important potential petroleum traps. Additional traps may include reef structures near the shelf edge, updip pinchouts, and stratigraphic traps in both clastic and carbonate sediment. A statistical mean for the undiscovered recoverable petroleum resources is calculated to be 0.9 billion barrels of oil and 4.2 trillion cubic feet of gas. At the 5 percent probability level (1 in 20 chance) the undiscovered recoverable petroleum resources are calculated to be 2.4 billion barrels of oil and 12.5 trillion cubic feet of gas. These undiscovered recoverable petroleum resources are those quantities of oil and gas that may be reasonably expected to exist in favorable settings, but which have not yet been identified by drilling. Such estimates, therefore, carry a high degree of uncertainty. Environmental studies of Georges Bank indicated a low-moderate risk from petroleum development. However, the risk estimate is based on very limited data. Drift bottle returns used to infer oil spill trajectories show about a 2% overall recovery rate. Meteorologic data comes mainly from nearby land areas and from ships attempting to avoid storms. Seismicity on Georges Bank is low. This may reflect, in large part, the difficulty of land-based stations in recording earthquakes far from the coast. Direct data on the engineering properties of shallow buried sediment comes mainly from two Texas Tower surveys of limited areas on Georges Shoal and Nantucket Shoals made in the early 1950's. The 17 holes (most less than 30 m deep) reveal some silty layers below loose sand and much lateral variability in sediment type over short distances. The technology for exploration at the required water depths (20 m - 200 m) is available. Mobil drilling units are in great demand around the world and will have to be brought in from other areas along with skilled manpower. Our highest estimates indicate 50 platforms, 800 producing wells, 1,100 km of pipeline, and 5 onshore terminals may be needed. The time frame for production, using our high estimates (5% probability) for the undiscovered recoverable resources, could include 4-5 years for significant development, 6-7 years until production commences, and 18 years until peak production.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2010

Conifer health classification for Colorado, 2008

Colorado has undergone substantial changes in forests due to urbanization, wildfires, insect-caused tree mortality, and other human and environmental factors. The U.S. Geological Survey Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center evaluated and developed a methodology for applying remotely-sensed imagery for assessing conifer health in Colorado. Two classes were identified for the purposes of this study: healthy and unhealthy (for example, an area the size of a 30- x 30-m pixel with 20 percent or greater visibly dead trees was defined as ?unhealthy?). Medium-resolution Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper imagery were collected. The normalized, reflectance-converted, cloud-filled Landsat scenes were merged to form a statewide image mosaic, and a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Renormalized Difference Infrared Index (RDII) were derived. A supervised maximum likelihood classification was done using the Landsat multispectral bands, the NDVI, the RDII, and 30-m U.S. Geological Survey National Elevation Dataset (NED). The classification was constrained to pixels identified in the updated landcover dataset as coniferous or mixed coniferous/deciduous vegetation. The statewide results were merged with a separate health assessment of Grand County, Colo., produced in late 2008. Sampling and validation was done by collecting field data and high-resolution imagery. The 86 percent overall classification accuracy attained in this study suggests that the data and methods used successfully characterized conifer conditions within Colorado. Although forest conditions for Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) are easily characterized, classification uncertainty exists between healthy/unhealthy Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa), Pi?on (Pinus edulis), and Juniper (Juniperus sp.) vegetation. Some underestimation of conifer mortality in Summit County is likely, where recent (2008) cloud-free imagery was unavailable. These classification uncertainties are primarily due to the spatial and temporal resolution of Landsat, and of the NLCD derived from this sensor. It is believed that high- to moderate-resolution multispectral imagery, coupled with field data, could significantly reduce the uncertainty rates. The USGS produced a four-county follow-up conifer health assessment using high-resolution RapidEye remotely sensed imagery and field data collected in 2009.

Scientific Investigations Map↗
USGS2020

Water-quality trends for selected sites and constituents in the international Red River of the North Basin, Minnesota and North Dakota, United States, and Manitoba, Canada, 1970–2017

A comprehensive study to evaluate water-quality trends, while considering natural hydroclimatic variability, in the Red River of the North Basin and assess water-quality conditions for the Red River of the North crossing the international boundary near Emerson, Manitoba, Canada (the binational site), was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the International Joint Commission, North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and in collaboration with Manitoba Sustainable Development and Environment and Climate Change Canada. The international Red River of the North Basin encompasses 3 U.S. States (South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota) and 1 Canadian Province (Manitoba). Water quality in the Red River of the North Basin is of concern for both Federal governments and State and Provincial governments. Water-quality objectives have been previously established for selected dissolved ions and recently (2019) proposed for selected nutrients for the binational site. In the current (2020) study, water-quality data from State, Provincial, and Federal agencies in the United States and Canada for sites in the Red River of the North Basin from 1970 to 2017 were compiled and used for trend analysis. Trend analysis using a water-quality dataset from multiple agencies that collect water-quality data for various objectives presented multiple challenges. The trend-analysis approach was able to accommodate differences in water-quality data caused by field-collection and laboratory-analytical method differences, disparities in sampling frequencies, and spatial and temporal gaps in data. Most of these challenges were overcome by the statistical tool, R–QWTREND, which identifies trends in concentration unrelated to variability in streamflow. The integrated basin approach used in the current study, combined with comparing current data trends with historical trends, provided valuable insights into understanding how water quality is changing spatially (34 sites analyzed for a recent period, 2000–15) and temporally (5 sites analyzed for a 45-year historical period, 1970–2015) within the Red River of the North Basin. One of the most consistent spatial and temporal changes observed in the current study was increasing concentrations of sulfate among tributary and main-stem sites since 2000. For some sites, increases were detected starting as early as 1985. Total dissolved solids and chloride concentrations had spatial and temporal patterns like sulfate. Although R–QWTREND removes the variability in constituent concentration caused by natural streamflow variability, all variability in sulfate caused by hydroclimatic variability may not be captured because of changes in hydrologic pathways and changes in the contributions of sulfate from various natural sources. Nutrient concentrations demonstrated less consistent spatial and temporal changes than sulfate, and changes in nutrient concentrations were assumed to be more closely tied to human-induced rather than natural changes. Nitrate-plus-nitrite concentrations were mostly increasing in the upper Red River of the North subbasin, and for nitrate plus nitrite and total nitrogen, the Sheyenne River subbasin had consistent decreasing concentrations. Since 2000, total phosphorus has decreased in the upper Red River of the North subbasin, but total phosphorus concentration has increased for sites in the lower Red River of the North subbasin, and for some main-stem sites, concentrations have been increasing since 1985. Unlike sulfate, the pattern in historical trends for total phosphorus for the main-stem sites differed from tributary sites, indicating that human-induced changes affected tributaries and main-stem sites differently. The more detailed evaluation of flow-averaged water-quality conditions for the binational site provided an understanding of how loads have changed over time and what proportion of the year and season concentrations are expected to exceed water-quality objectives. In a basin with highly variable streamflow like the Red River of the North, the trend in flow-averaged load (assuming streamflow conditions are the same year after year) provided a robust measure of change over time. Increasing concentrations of sulfate, chloride, total dissolved solids, and total phosphorus since 1985 for the binational site resulted in longer periods of exceedance of water-quality objectives per year occurring over time. For total nitrogen, decreasing concentrations resulted in shorter periods of exceedance per year during 1980 to 2015, but concentrations were still expected to exceed the water-quality objective about half the year. Periods of when exceedances were likely to occur during the year were affected by the source and transport mechanisms of the constituent. Trend results from this effort identified how water quality has changed across the basin, and further investigation would help to identify causes for the trends observed here. Information from the current study provides a basis for future trend attribution studies, evaluation of water-quality objectives, and development of comprehensive strategies for reducing nutrients to desired targets and establishes a baseline for tracking future progress in the Red River of the North Basin.

Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Manitoba↗
USGS2024

Groundwater quality near the Placerita Oil Field, California, 2018

Groundwater-quality data and potential fluid-migration pathways near the Placerita Oil Field in Los Angeles County, California, were examined by the U.S. Geological Survey to determine if oil-field fluids (water and gas from oil-producing and non-producing zones) have mixed with groundwater resources. Six of the 13 new groundwater samples collected for this study contained petroleum hydrocarbons, thermogenic gas, inorganic chemical signatures, and (or) isotopic values consistent with potential mixing with fluids from hydrocarbon-bearing formations. For historical groundwater samples, benzene was the most detected petroleum hydrocarbon. The historical groundwater samples with a benzene concentration greater than 0.5 micrograms per liter were from environmental monitoring wells at industrial or commercial facilities unrelated to oil and gas development that, in many cases, have identified soil or groundwater contamination and were not typically analyzed for other constituents that could provide additional lines of evidence for potential mixing with oil-field fluids. Methane was not detected in any of the 12 historical samples with a reported measurement. Reviewing historical data revealed factors that could potentially adversely affect groundwater quality in the study area. These factors include modified hydraulic gradients caused by large volumes of water extracted from the main production area and reinjected downgradient into nonproducing zones, well-barrier failures in wells constructed in the northern part of the oil field before the 1970s, well-barrier failures in produced-water disposal wells downgradient from the main production area, and naturally occurring hydrocarbons at shallow intervals. The groundwater samples most geochemically similar to samples from hydrocarbon-bearing formations were in areas where hydrocarbons are naturally occurring at shallow intervals and where oil development is at shallow depths. Additional data for hydraulic heads, water quality, and formation temperatures at multiple depths in areas with large injection volumes and well-integrity issues are needed to evaluate whether those factors have contributed to mixing between fluids from oil-producing or injection formations and groundwater resources.

California↗
USGS2025

Predictions of elk, chronic wasting disease dynamics, and socioeconomics under alternative D at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming, and surrounding areas

This chapter presents a description and quantitative evaluation of a collaborative alternative (alternative D) focused on near-term elk population reduction and chronic wasting disease (CWD) monitoring as part of winter elk and bison feedground operations on the National Elk Refuge adjacent to Jackson, Wyoming. Alternative D was developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the lead agency of an Environmental Impact Statement, in consultation with cooperating agencies, including the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Wyoming Game and Fish Department. In evaluating alternative D, the U.S. Geological Survey considered four distinct scenarios that incorporated whether the agencies were able to meet their elk population reduction goals, and the effects of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stopping feeding after CWD prevalence was measured at or above 7 percent in the Jackson Elk Herd Unit. The modeled scenarios in which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stopped feeding elk at 7 percent CWD prevalence had higher elk population sizes and generally lower CWD prevalence overall at the end of the 20-year simulation period. Further, three of the four alternative D scenarios resulted in fewer elk-use days on sensitive aspen, willow, and cottonwood habitat types compared to continuing to feed; the 7 percent CWD trigger scenario resulted in higher elk-use days on cottonwood and willow habitats compared to continued feeding, but fewer elk-use days on aspen habitats. When considering brucellosis risk, alternative D scenarios without the 7 percent CWD stop feeding trigger had lower risk than the alternative that stopped feeding elk immediately.

Wyoming↗
USGS1982

Hydrogeologic and water-quality characteristics of the Ironton-Galesville aquifer, southeast Minnesota

Quality of water in the Ironton-Galesville aquifer is generally acceptable for all kinds of uses. Calcium magnesium bicarbonate type water is most common. The dissolved-solids concentration ranges from about 200 to 1,000 milligrams per liter. The lowest values are in the northern part of the aquifer, where the bedrock is at or close to land surface, and the lowest ones are in the southwestern part, where leakage into the aquifer from overlying Cretaceous deposits is highly mineralized water. The concentrations of the major ions, except for bicarbonate and chloride, also increase toward the southwest. Confining beds protect the aquifer from surface pollutants, but high sulfate and iron concentrations and hardness degrade water quality locally in some places. The aquifer was deposited from Paleozoic seas that occupied a shallow depression known as the Hollandale embayment. The surface of the Ironton-Galesville aquifer dips toward the interior of the embayment. The aquifer is as deep as 1,000 feet below land surface and as thick as 325 feet. The Ironton and Galesville Sandstones are both white and medium grained. The aquifer is used mainly in the northern and western parts of the study area, where it is the uppermost bedrock aquifer, This report is one of a series on the hydrogeology and water quality of the 14 principal aquifers in Minnesota prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requested these studies because of the need for information to develop its Underground Injection Control Program.

Minnesota↗
USGS1983

Hydrogeologic and water-quality characteristics of the Mount Simon-Hinckley aquifer, southeast Minnesota

The Mount Simon-Hinckley aquifer in southeast Minnesota consists of a thick sequence of sandstone that generally yields large quantities of good-quality water to wells. The aquifer is most important as a source of water supply in the Twin Cities area, where it supplies approximately 10 percent of the ground water used. It is the uppermost bedrock aquifer and, locally, the principal source of domestic supply where it is present north of the Twin Cities. Yield to wells are generally about 500 gallons per minute but may be as high as 2,000 gallons per minute. The aquifer is a good potential source of water because of (1) large quantities of water in storage, (2) adequate yields to wells, and (3) good water quality. The quality of water in the aquifer is generally acceptable for municipal, industrial, and domestic uses. The dissolved-solids concentration in water from the aquifer ranges from a minimum of 48 milligrams per liter to a maximum of 2,810 milligrams per liter. The lowest values are in the eastern and northern parts of the aquifer, where bedrock is at or close to land surface. The highest concentrations are in the southwestern part of the aquifer, where leakage from over lying Cretaceous rocks is highly mineralized water. Magnesium and sulfate concentrations are also high in the southwest. The dissolved-solids concentration generally increases with depth in the aquifer. The predominant water type in the aquifer is calcium magnesium bicarbonate, although sodium chloride waters are present at depth and in the discharge areas along large rivers. This report is one of a series of the hydrogeology and water quality of the 14 principal aquifers in Minnesota prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requested these studies because of the need for information to develop its Underground Injection Control Program.

Minnesota↗
USGS1983

Hydrogeologic and water-quality characteristics of the Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer, Southeast Minnesota

Quality of water in the Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer is generally good, except for some localized contamination, Coal-tar derivatives that contaminate the aquifer in St. Louis Park, a western suburb in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, pose the most serious threat to water quality. High hardness and iron concentration limit suitability for municipal and industrial use in parts of extreme southeast Minnesota. Confining beds of bedrock and drift, however, protect most of the aquifer from surface pollutants. The Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer is part of a sequence of sedimentary bedrock units in southeast Minnesota. The Jordan Sandstone is a white to yellow, fine- to coarse-grained sandstone. The Prairie du Chien Group comprises two dolomitic formations that are vuggy and fractured and interbedded with thin layers of shale. The aquifer formations were deposited in Paleozoic seas that occupied the Hollandale embayment. The aquifer dips toward the interior of the embayment where it is as deep as 750 feet below land surface and as thick as 500 feet. Permeability is secondary in the Prairie du Chien Group because of solution cavities and fractures, and intergranular in the Jordan Sandstone. Water in the aquifer is confined except in the eastern part. Water generally flows to the north and east into the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. A ground-water divide separates part of the flow southward into Iowa. This aquifer supplies more water than any other bedrock one in the State. Calcium magnesium bicarbonate type water is most common in the aquifer. Calcium and sulfate and, to a lesser degree sodium and magnesium, increase in concentration toward the southwestern part of the study area. Bicarbonate concentration, on the other hand, decreases toward the southwestern corner of the study area. Leakage from overlying Cretaceous deposits is the source of much of the sulfate and other minerals in the southwest. This report is one of a series on the hydrogeology and water quality of the 14 principal aquifers in Minnesota prepared by the U. S. Geological Survey. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency requested these studies because of the need for information to develop its Underground Injection Control Program.

Minnesota↗
USGS1999

Use of environmental tracers to evaluate ground-water age and water-quality trends in a buried-valley aquifer, Dayton area, southwestern Ohio

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC method) and tritium and helium isotopes (3H-3He method) were used as environmental tracers to estimate ground-water age in conjunction with efforts to develop a regional ground-water flow model of the buried-valley aquifer in the Dayton area, southwestern Ohio. This report describes results of CFC and water-quality sampling, summarizes relevant aspects of previously published work, and describes the use of 3H-3He ages to characterize temporal trends in ground-water quality of the buried-valley aquifer near Dayton, Ohio. Results of CFC sampling indicate that approximately 25 percent of the 137 sampled wells were contaminated with excess CFC's that rendered the ground water unsuitable for age dating. Evaluation of CFC ages obtained for the remaining samples indicated that the CFC compounds used for dating were being affected by microbial degradation. The degradation occurred under anoxic conditions that are found in most parts of the buried-valley aquifer. As a result, ground-water ages derived by the CFC method were too old and were inconsistent with measured tritium concentrations and independently derived 3H-3He ages. Limited data indicate that dissolved methane may play an important role in the degradation of the CFC's. In contrast, the 3H-3He technique was found to yield ground-water ages that were chemically and hydrologically reasonable. Ground-water ages derived by the 3H-3He technique were compared to values for selected water- quality characteristics to evaluate temporal trends in ground-water quality in the buried- valley aquifer. Distinct temporal trends were not identified for pH, alkalinity, or calcium and magnesium because of rapid equilibration of ground-water with calcite and dolomite in aquifer sediments. Temporal trends in which the amount of scatter and the number of outlier concentrations increased as ground-water age decreased were noted for sodium, potassium, boron, bromide, chloride, ammonia, nitrate, phosphate, sulfate, and organic carbon. Elevated concentrations of these constituents in shallow ground water are probably related to human activities. Temporal trends in which concentrations declined as ground-water age increased may reflect natural processes that reduce constituent concentrations to low levels. For example, the absence of nitrate detections in ground water recharged before 1980 may indicate natural removal of nitrate by bacterially mediated denitrification. Temporal trends observed for dissolved oxygen, iron, nitrate and silica indicate that these constituents may help identify recently (post-1990) recharged ground water.

Ohio↗
USGS2019

Overhauling ocean spatial planning to improve marine megafauna conservation

Tracking data have led to evidence-based conservation of marine megafauna, but a disconnect remains between the many thousands of individual animals that have been tracked and the use of these data in conservation and management actions. Furthermore, the focus of most conservation efforts is within Exclusive Economic Zones despite the ability of these species to move thousands of kilometres across multiple national jurisdictions. To assist the goal of the United Nations General Assembly’s recent effort to negotiate a global treaty to conserve biodiversity on the high seas, we propose the development of a new frontier in dynamic marine spatial management. We argue that a global approach combining tracked movements of marine megafauna and human activities at-sea, and using existing and emerging technologies (e.g., through new tracking devices and big data approaches) can be applied to deliver near real-time diagnostics on existing risks and threats to mitigate global risks for marine megafauna. With technology developments over the next decade expected to catalyse the potential to survey marine animals and human activities in ever more detail and at global scales, the development of dynamic predictive tools based on near real-time tracking and environmental data will become crucial to address increasing risks. Such global tools for dynamic spatial and temporal management will, however, require extensive synoptic data updates and will be dependent on a shift to a culture of data sharing and open access. We propose a global mechanism to store and make such data available in near real-time, enabling a holistic view of space use by marine megafauna and humans that would significantly accelerate efforts to mitigate impacts and improve conservation and management of marine megafauna.

Frontiers in Marine Science↗
USGS2023

Laboratory and field comparisons of TFM bar formulations used to treat small streams for larval sea lamprey

A solid formulation of the pesticide TFM (4-nitro-3-(trifluoromethyl)-phenol) was developed in the 1980s for application in small tributaries during treatments to control invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus, 1758). Several initial inert ingredients were discontinued and substituted, culminating with an interim formulation that unacceptably softens and rapidly decays in warm conditions. A new TFM bar formulation was developed to resolve poor thermal stability and it was registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Health Canada Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency in 2020. Laboratory studies compared the thermostability and dissolution (i.e., TFM release) of the interim and new formulation of TFM bars that were held at 20 C or 45 C for 24 hours prior to evaluation. Field tests compared the dissolution of the interim and new formulation of TFM bars when applied in three small tributaries in Michigan. Laboratory tests show that the new formulation bars remain usable when held at 45 C for 24 hours; whereas, the interim formulation bars partially liquify and are not usable. Field tests indicate the new formulation bars have superior characteristics including a near consistent release of TFM for 1013 hours when applied in waters with a velocity of < 0.06 m/sec. A near consistent release of TFM was observed for a maximum of about 6 hours in one field application of the interim formulation bars. Water temperature and water velocity influenced both formulations; however, the greatest effects were observed with interim formulation bars where higher initial TFM concentrations were followed by precipitous TFM concentration decreases in tributaries with the highest water temperature or velocity. Field treatment applications will provide data for refining application parameters such as the number of bars required per unit discharge at various water temperatures and the acceptable water velocity range for applications.

Michigan↗
USGS2024

A workshop to advance invasive species early detection capacity of The Rapid Environmental DNA Assessment and Deployment Initiative & Network (READI-Net)

Early detection and rapid response (EDRR) can minimize the impacts of invasive species, which cost billions of dollars globally. To bolster EDRR across the United States, the U.S. Department of the Interior is working with the U.S. Geological Survey and other partners to advance a National EDRR Framework that strengthens tools, actions, and processes to find and eradicate invasive species before they establish and cause negative impacts. An important component of this framework is to strengthen molecular tools for detecting new invasions. The Rapid Environmental (e)DNA Assessment and Deployment Initiative & Network (READI-Net) project is developing automating eDNA sampling tools, processes to ensure that eDNA results are reliable for management decision-making, and information structures to deliver eDNA results to end-users. To improve the potential uptake of this molecular EDRR toolbox, READI-Net investigators met with a group of end-users, partners, developers and subject-matter experts from federal agencies, tribes, universities, and an NGO representing state agencies from February 28 to March 1, 2023, in Moss Landing, CA. Here, we summarize the READI-Net project and the corresponding participant feedback.

Management of Biological Invasions↗
USGS2017

DNA-based detection of the fungal pathogen Geomyces destructans in soil from bat hibernacula

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging disease causing unprecedented morbidity and mortality among bats in eastern North America. The disease is characterized by cutaneous infection of hibernating bats by the psychrophilic fungus Geomyces destructans . Detection of G. destructans in environments occupied by bats will be critical for WNS surveillance, management and characterization of the fungal lifecycle. We initiated an rRNA gene region-based molecular survey to characterize the distribution of G. destructans in soil samples collected from bat hibernacula in the eastern United States with an existing PCR test. Although this test did not specifically detect G. destructans in soil samples based on a presence/absence metric, it did favor amplification of DNA from putative Geomyces species. Cloning and sequencing of PCR products amplified from 24 soil samples revealed 74 unique sequence variants representing 12 clades. Clones with exact sequence matches to G. destructans were identified in three of 19 soil samples from hibernacula in states where WNS is known to occur. Geomyces destructans was not identified in an additional five samples collected outside the region where WNS has been documented. This study highlights the diversity of putative Geomyces spp. in soil from bat hibernacula and indicates that further research is needed to better define the taxonomy of this genus and to develop enhanced diagnostic tests for rapid and specific detection of G. destructans in environmental samples.

Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Min↗