Results for “Science Report” — Page 66

USGS1990

Map showing the distribution of molybdenum in stream-sediment samples, Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah

This map of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah, shows the regional distribution of molybdenum in the less-than-0.180-mm (minus-80-mesh) fraction of stream-sediments. It is part of a folio of maps of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah, prepared under the Conterminuous United States Mineral Assessment Program. Other published geochemical maps in this folio are listed in the references (this publication). The Richfield quadrangle is located in west-central Utah and includes the eastern part of the Pioche-Marysvale igneous and mineral belt, which extends from the vicinity of Pioche in southeastern Nevada, east-northeastward for 155 miles into central Utah. The western two-thirds of the Richfield quadrangle is part of the Basin and Range province, whereas the eastern third is part of the High Plateaus of Utah, a subprovince of the Colorado Plateau. Bedrock in the northern part of the Richfield quadrangle consists predominantly of Late Proterozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary strata that were thrust eastward during the Sevier orogeny in Cretaceous time onto an autochthon of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks located in the eastern part of the quadrangle. The southern part of the quadrangle is largely underlain by Oligocene and younger volcanic rocks and related intrusions. Extensional tectonism in late Cenozoic time broke the bedrock terrain into a series of north-trending fault blocks; the uplifted mountain areas were eroded to various degrees and the resulting debris was deposited in adjacent basins. Most of the mineral deposits in the Pioche-Marysvale mineral belt were formed as a result of igneous activity in the middle and late Cenozoic time. A more complete description of the geology and a mineral-resource appraisal of the Richfield quadrangle appears in Steven and Morris (1984 and 1987). The regional sampling program was designed to define broad geochemical patterns and trends that can be utilized along with geological and geophysical data to assess the mineral-resource potential for this quadrangle. Reconnaissance geochemical surveys are valuable tools in mineral exploration, especially when used in conjunction with data obtained from other earth science disciplines. Identifying specific exploration targets generally involves additional, more detailed investigations.

Utah↗

USGS1990

Map showing the distribution of silver in stream-sediment samples, Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah

This map of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah, shows the regional distribution of silver in the less-than-0.180-mm (minus-80-mesh) fraction of stream-sediments. It is part of a folio of maps of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah, prepared under the Conterminuous United States Mineral Assessment Program. Other published geochemical maps in this folio are listed in the references (this publication). The Richfield quadrangle is located in west-central Utah and includes the eastern part of the Pioche-Marysvale igneous and mineral belt, which extends from the vicinity of Pioche in southeastern Nevada, east-northeastward for 155 miles into central Utah. The western two-thirds of the Richfield quadrangle is part of the Basin and Range province, whereas the eastern third is part of the High Plateaus of Utah, a subprovince of the Colorado Plateau. Bedrock in the northern part of the Richfield quadrangle consists predominantly of Late Proterozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary strata that were thrust eastward during the Sevier orogeny in Cretaceous time onto an autochthon of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks located in the eastern part of the quadrangle. The southern part of the quadrangle is largely underlain by Oligocene and younger volcanic rocks and related intrusions. Extensional tectonism in late Cenozoic time broke the bedrock terrain into a series of north-trending fault blocks; the uplifted mountain areas were eroded to various degrees and the resulting debris was deposited in adjacent basins. Most of the mineral deposits in the Pioche-Marysvale mineral belt were formed as a result of igneous activity in the middle and late Cenozoic time. A more complete description of the geology and a mineral-resource appraisal of the Richfield quadrangle appears in Steven and Morris (1984 and 1987). The regional sampling program was designed to define broad geochemical patterns and trends that can be utilized along with geological and geophysical data to assess the mineral-resource potential for this quadrangle. Reconnaissance geochemical surveys are valuable tools in mineral exploration, especially when used in conjunction with data obtained from other earth science disciplines. Identifying specific exploration targets generally involves additional, more detailed investigations.

Utah↗

USGS1990

Map showing the distribution of thorium in stream-sediment samples, Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah

This map of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah, shows the regional distribution of thorium in the less-than-0.180-mm (minus-80-mesh) fraction of stream-sediments. It is part of a folio of maps of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah, prepared under the Conterminuous United States Mineral Assessment Program. Other published geochemical maps in this folio are listed in the references (this publication). The Richfield quadrangle is located in west-central Utah and includes the eastern part of the Pioche-Marysvale igneous and mineral belt, which extends from the vicinity of Pioche in southeastern Nevada, east-northeastward for 155 miles into central Utah. The western two-thirds of the Richfield quadrangle is part of the Basin and Range province, whereas the eastern third is part of the High Plateaus of Utah, a subprovince of the Colorado Plateau. Bedrock in the northern part of the Richfield quadrangle consists predominantly of Late Proterozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary strata that were thrust eastward during the Sevier orogeny in Cretaceous time onto an autochthon of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks located in the eastern part of the quadrangle. The southern part of the quadrangle is largely underlain by Oligocene and younger volcanic rocks and related intrusions. Extensional tectonism in late Cenozoic time broke the bedrock terrain into a series of north-trending fault blocks; the uplifted mountain areas were eroded to various degrees and the resulting debris was deposited in adjacent basins. Most of the mineral deposits in the Pioche-Marysvale mineral belt were formed as a result of igneous activity in the middle and late Cenozoic time. A more complete description of the geology and a mineral-resource appraisal of the Richfield quadrangle appears in Steven and Morris (1984 and 1987). The regional sampling program was designed to define broad geochemical patterns and trends that can be utilized along with geological and geophysical data to assess the mineral-resource potential for this quadrangle. Reconnaissance geochemical surveys are valuable tools in mineral exploration, especially when used in conjunction with data obtained from other earth science disciplines. Identifying specific exploration targets generally involves additional, more detailed investigations.

Utah↗

USGS1990

Map showing the distribution of tin in stream-sediment samples, Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah

This map of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah, shows the regional distribution of tin in the less-than-0.180-mm (minus-80-mesh) fraction of stream-sediments. It is part of a folio of maps of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah, prepared under the Conterminuous United States Mineral Assessment Program. Other published geochemical maps in this folio are listed in the references (this publication). The Richfield quadrangle is located in west-central Utah and includes the eastern part of the Pioche-Marysvale igneous and mineral belt, which extends from the vicinity of Pioche in southeastern Nevada, east-northeastward for 155 miles into central Utah. The western two-thirds of the Richfield quadrangle is part of the Basin and Range province, whereas the eastern third is part of the High Plateaus of Utah, a subprovince of the Colorado Plateau. Bedrock in the northern part of the Richfield quadrangle consists predominantly of Late Proterozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary strata that were thrust eastward during the Sevier orogeny in Cretaceous time onto an autochthon of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks located in the eastern part of the quadrangle. The southern part of the quadrangle is largely underlain by Oligocene and younger volcanic rocks and related intrusions. Extensional tectonism in late Cenozoic time broke the bedrock terrain into a series of north-trending fault blocks; the uplifted mountain areas were eroded to various degrees and the resulting debris was deposited in adjacent basins. Most of the mineral deposits in the Pioche-Marysvale mineral belt were formed as a result of igneous activity in the middle and late Cenozoic time. A more complete description of the geology and a mineral-resource appraisal of the Richfield quadrangle appears in Steven and Morris (1984 and 1987). The regional sampling program was designed to define broad geochemical patterns and trends that can be utilized along with geological and geophysical data to assess the mineral-resource potential for this quadrangle. Reconnaissance geochemical surveys are valuable tools in mineral exploration, especially when used in conjunction with data obtained from other earth science disciplines. Identifying specific exploration targets generally involves additional, more detailed investigations.

Utah↗

USGS1990

Map showing the distribution of uranium in stream-sediment samples, Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah

This map of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah, shows the regional distribution of uranium in the less-than-0.180-mm (minus-80-mesh) fraction of stream-sediments. It is part of a folio of maps of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah, prepared under the Conterminuous United States Mineral Assessment Program. Other published geochemical maps in this folio are listed in the references (this publication). The Richfield quadrangle is located in west-central Utah and includes the eastern part of the Pioche-Marysvale igneous and mineral belt, which extends from the vicinity of Pioche in southeastern Nevada, east-northeastward for 155 miles into central Utah. The western two-thirds of the Richfield quadrangle is part of the Basin and Range province, whereas the eastern third is part of the High Plateaus of Utah, a subprovince of the Colorado Plateau. Bedrock in the northern part of the Richfield quadrangle consists predominantly of Late Proterozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary strata that were thrust eastward during the Sevier orogeny in Cretaceous time onto an autochthon of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks located in the eastern part of the quadrangle. The southern part of the quadrangle is largely underlain by Oligocene and younger volcanic rocks and related intrusions. Extensional tectonism in late Cenozoic time broke the bedrock terrain into a series of north-trending fault blocks; the uplifted mountain areas were eroded to various degrees and the resulting debris was deposited in adjacent basins. Most of the mineral deposits in the Pioche-Marysvale mineral belt were formed as a result of igneous activity in the middle and late Cenozoic time. A more complete description of the geology and a mineral-resource appraisal of the Richfield quadrangle appears in Steven and Morris (1984 and 1987). The regional sampling program was designed to define broad geochemical patterns and trends that can be utilized along with geological and geophysical data to assess the mineral-resource potential for this quadrangle. Reconnaissance geochemical surveys are valuable tools in mineral exploration, especially when used in conjunction with data obtained from other earth science disciplines. Identifying specific exploration targets generally involves additional, more detailed investigations.

Utah↗

USGS1990

Map showing the distribution of zinc in stream-sediment samples, Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah

This map of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah, shows the regional distribution of zinc in the less-than-0.180-mm (minus-80-mesh) fraction of stream-sediments. It is part of a folio of maps of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, Utah, prepared under the Conterminuous United States Mineral Assessment Program. Other published geochemical maps in this folio are listed in the references (this publication). The Richfield quadrangle is located in west-central Utah and includes the eastern part of the Pioche-Marysvale igneous and mineral belt, which extends from the vicinity of Pioche in southeastern Nevada, east-northeastward for 155 miles into central Utah. The western two-thirds of the Richfield quadrangle is part of the Basin and Range province, whereas the eastern third is part of the High Plateaus of Utah, a subprovince of the Colorado Plateau. Bedrock in the northern part of the Richfield quadrangle consists predominantly of Late Proterozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary strata that were thrust eastward during the Sevier orogeny in Cretaceous time onto an autochthon of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks located in the eastern part of the quadrangle. The southern part of the quadrangle is largely underlain by Oligocene and younger volcanic rocks and related intrusions. Extensional tectonism in late Cenozoic time broke the bedrock terrain into a series of north-trending fault blocks; the uplifted mountain areas were eroded to various degrees and the resulting debris was deposited in adjacent basins. Most of the mineral deposits in the Pioche-Marysvale mineral belt were formed as a result of igneous activity in the middle and late Cenozoic time. A more complete description of the geology and a mineral-resource appraisal of the Richfield quadrangle appears in Steven and Morris (1984 and 1987). The regional sampling program was designed to define broad geochemical patterns and trends that can be utilized along with geological and geophysical data to assess the mineral-resource potential for this quadrangle. Reconnaissance geochemical surveys are valuable tools in mineral exploration, especially when used in conjunction with data obtained from other earth science disciplines. Identifying specific exploration targets generally involves additional, more detailed investigations.

Utah↗

USGS2013

Native Prairie Adaptive Management: a multi region adaptive approach to invasive plant management on Fish and Wildlife Service owned native prairies

Much of the native prairie managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of the northern Great Plains is extensively invaded by the introduced cool-season grasses, smooth brome ( Bromus inermis ) and Kentucky bluegrass ( Poa pratensis ). Management to suppress these invasive plants has had poor to inconsistent success. The central challenge to managers is selecting appropriate management actions in the face of biological and environmental uncertainties. In partnership with the FWS, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed an adaptive decision support framework to assist managers in selecting management actions under uncertainty and maximizing learning from management outcomes. This joint partnership is known as the Native Prairie Adaptive Management (NPAM) initiative. The NPAM decision framework is built around practical constraints faced by FWS refuge managers and includes identification of the management objective and strategies, analysis of uncertainty and construction of competing decision models, monitoring, and mechanisms for model feedback and decision selection. Nineteen FWS field stations, spanning four states of the PPR, have participated in the initiative. These FWS cooperators share a common management objective, available management strategies, and biological uncertainties. Though the scope is broad, the initiative interfaces with individual land managers who provide site-specific information and receive updated decision guidance that incorporates understanding gained from the collective experience of all cooperators. We describe the technical components of this approach, how the components integrate and inform each other, how data feedback from individual cooperators serves to reduce uncertainty across the whole region, and how a successful adaptive management project is coordinated and maintained on a large scale. During an initial scoping workshop, FWS cooperators developed a consensus management objective: increase the composition of native grasses and forbs on native sod while minimizing cost. Cooperators agreed that decision guidance should be provided annually and should account for local, real-time vegetation conditions observed on the ground. Over the course of development, two prototypes of the decision framework were considered. The final framework recognized four alternative actions that managers could take in any given year: (1) Graze—targeted use of grazing ungulates to achieve defoliation, (2) Burn—application of prescribed fire as the single form of defoliation, (3) Burn/Graze—a combination treatment, and (4) Rest—no action. The study area included northern mixed-grass and tallgrass prairie. Native vegetation in mixed–grass prairie has a strong cool-season component and thus the dominant native species have a phenology similar to that of smooth brome and Kentucky bluegrass, making management of those species challenging. In contrast, tallgrass prairie has a strong warm-season native component, leading to an existence of cool-season windows, periods of time in the fall and spring when cool‐season invasive grass species are actively growing and vulnerable to damage via select management actions, but warm‐season grass species are not active and are thus less susceptible to damage via the same actions. This dichotomy between prairie types necessitated the development of separate but parallel decision support systems for mixed-grass and tallgrass biomes. Management units are parcels of native prairie that receive a single management treatment at any one time over their entire extent. At any particular time, the vegetation state of each management unit is characterized by the amount of cover of native grasses and forbs and the type of invasive grass that is dominant. In addition, each unit has a defoliation state which reflects the number of years since the last defoliation event and an index to how intensively the unit was managed during the previous 7 years. State-transition models are used to predict the state of a management unit in year t+1 from its state in year t and a prescribed management action that was applied between the two monitoring events. Alternative models are built around key uncertainties that make choice of a management action difficult. Three uncertainties revolve around whether the effect of management actions depends on (1) type of dominant invader, (2) past defoliation history, and (3) level of invasion. Two additional uncertainties are considered when choosing a management action for tallgrass units: (4) the effectiveness of grazing within the cool-season window as a surrogate for burning when smooth brome is the dominant invader, and (5) the differential effect of active management outside the window as compared to rest. Because data on the probability of transitioning from one state to another under the various models were lacking, expert opinion and elicitation were used to parameterize the models. In addition, cooperators participated in elicitation exercises to extract their beliefs regarding the value of having native prairie compared to the cost of achieving it. Quantifying the subjective expression of utility in this way allowed for mathematical representation of the management objective into an objective function. By maximizing the objective function, cumulative utility is maximized, leading to the identification of a sequence of decisions that will achieve the management objective. The NPAM system adopted a vegetation monitoring protocol that was rapid, inexpensive, and familiar to many of the cooperators. The monitoring protocol served three purposes: (1) determining current vegetation and defoliation states of each unit, (2) evaluating progress toward the management objective, and (3) assessing predictive performance of the alternative models. The management year runs from September 1 to August 31. Management can be applied anytime during that period and monitoring takes places from late June to mid-August. Cooperators enter vegetation data and management information into a centralized database by August 25 of each year. Given the current state of the system (vegetation and defoliation states) and the current understanding of the system (or the belief state), identifying the current best management decision is a matter of looking up the combination (that is, system state and belief state) in the appropriate (mixed-grass or tallgrass) optimal decision table. Given complete uncertainty at the outset of decision-making, initial assignment of equal belief weights to each model was believed reasonable. The decisions in the optimal decision table that correspond to the current belief state constitute the current optimal decision policy. By August 31 of each year, individual cooperators are provided with a recommended management action for each of their management units for the upcoming management year. Upon receiving the management recommendations for their units, managers consider the recommendation, along with other relevant information, and at some point during the year one of the management alternatives is carried out. This iterative cycle of making and implementing a management decision, predicting the response, monitoring the outcome, comparing predicted and observed outcomes, updating model weights, and recommending a management action for the next cycle is expected to result in an accumulation of weight on a representative model of system dynamics, thereby increasing understanding needed to effectively manage native prairies. The NPAM system is now entering its second full year of complete operation, and represents one of only a few fully implemented applications of adaptive management within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. NPAM is truly unique in that it originated from the ground up as a result of the leadership and steadfastness of several refuge biologists and managers confronted with a common problem. These biologists recognized that working together across a large landscape presented perhaps the best opportunity for halting and reversing the invasion of native grasslands by non-native cool-season grasses. Importantly, the NPAM system encapsulates the collective thinking and experience of tens if not hundreds of individuals who have battled this vexing problem for much of their careers. The NPAM initiative is rooted in principles of adaptive management, thereby affording the opportunity for grassland managers to pursue management objectives while acquiring information to reduce uncertainty and improve future management. The project introduced a number of technical innovations that will serve as templates for conservation efforts throughout and beyond the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. First, NPAM is an on-the-ground implementation of active adaptive management—possibly the first of its kind in conservation management—in which recommended management actions result from a prospective analysis of future learning (Williams, 1996). Second, by the use of dynamic optimization, NPAM demonstrates how decisions can be made that take into account possible future transitions of the system. Third, NPAM demonstrates how models of partial controllability are an effective means of accommodating unpredictable circumstances that cause a manager to follow a different course than was intended. Finally, the database developed for NPAM is an unparalleled system that enables the rapid integration of data from the field for the generation of ‘just-in-time’ management recommendations. In all, NPAM provides an example of how a science-management partnership can be forged to achieve large-scale conservation objectives.

Minnesota;Montana;North Dakota;South Dakota↗

USGS1995

Surface-water-quality assessment of the lower Kansas River Basin, Kansas and Nebraska: Distribution of trace-element concentrations in dissolved and suspended phases, streambed sediment, and fish samples, May 1987 through April 1990

The distribution of trace elements in dissolved and suspended phases, streambed sediment, and fish samples is described for principal streams in the lower Kansas River Basin, Kansas and Nebraska, from May 1987 through April 1990. Large median concentrations of dissolved lithium and strontium in the Kansas River were related to saline ground-water discharge, and large median concentrations of dissolved strontium in Mill Creek near Paxico, Kansas were related to Permian limestone and shale. Large concentrations of arsenic, chromium, and lead in water were identified downstream from three reservoirs, which may be attributed to resuspension of bed sediment in turbulent flow near the dams or release of water from near the bottom of the reservoirs. Trace elements in streambed sediments greater than background concentrations were identified downstream from the Aurora, Nebraska, wastewater-treatment plant, from industrial or urban areas near Kansas City, Kansas, and from the dam at Perry Lake, Kansas. Median and 90th-percentile concentrations of mercury in fish-tissue samples approximately doubled from 1979-86 to 1987-90. However, concentrations in samples collected during the latter period were less than the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering 1972 criterion of 500 micrograms per kilogram for mercury in fish tissue.

Kansas, Nebraska↗

USGS1991

The library as a reference tool: online catalogs

Online catalogs are computerized listings of materials in a particular library or group of libraries. General characteristics of online catalogs include ability for searching interactively and for locating descriptions of books, maps, and reports on regional or topical geology. Suggestions for searching, evaluating results, modifying searches, and limitations of searching are presented. -Author

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma ↗

USGS2016

Developing fish trophic interaction indicators of climate change for the Great Lakes

This project addressed regional climate change effects on aquatic food webs in the Great Lakes. We sought insights by examining Lake Erie as a representative system with a high level of anthropogenic impacts, strong nutrient gradients, seasonal hypoxia, and spatial overlap of cold- and cool-water fish guilds. In Lake Erie and in large embayments throughout the Great Lakes basin, this situation is a concern for fishery managers, as climate change may exacerbate hypoxia and reduce habitat volume for some species. We examined fish community composition, fine-scale distribution, prey availability, diets, and biochemical tracers for dominant fishes from study areas with medium-high nutrient levels (mesotrophic, Fairport study area), and low nutrient levels (oligotrophic, Erie study area). This multi-year database (2011-2013) provides the ability to contrast years with wide variation in rainfall, winter ice-cover, and thermal stratification. In addition, multiple indicators of dietary and distributional responses to environmental variability will allow resource managers to select the most informative approach for addressing specific climate change questions. Our results support the incorporation of some relatively simple and cost-efficient approaches into existing agency monitoring programs to track the near-term condition status of fish and fish community composition by functional groupings. Other metrics appear better suited for understanding longer-term changes, and may take more resources to implement on an ongoing basis. Although we hypothesized that dietary overlap and similarity in selected species would be sharply different during thermal stratification and hypoxic episodes, we found little evidence of this. Instead, to our surprise, this study found that fish tended to aggregate at the edges of hypoxia, highlighting potential spatial changes in catch efficiency of the fishery. This work has had several positive impacts on a wide range of resource management and stakeholder activities, most notably in Lake Erie. The results were instrumental in the development of an interim decision rule for dealing with data collected during hypoxic events to improve stock assessment of Yellow Perch. In addition, novel findings from this study regarding spatial and temporal variability in hypoxia have aided US-Environmental Protection Agency in the development of a modified sampling protocol to more accurately quantify the central basin hypoxic zone, and this directly addressed a goal of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 2012 to reduce the extent and severity of hypoxia. Finally, the study areas developed in this project formed the basis for food web sampling in the 2014 bi-national Coordinated Science and Monitoring Initiative work in Lake Erie.

Report↗

USGS2005

Attitudinal survey component of the study Quantity, quality, and support for research in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: An organizational assessment : Report of methods and frequencies

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is responsible for managing the Nation’s fish and wildlife resources so that these trust resources are preserved for the present and future use and enjoyment of the citizens of the United States. The FWS achieves this mission by managing many programs. These include the national system of refuges and fish hatcheries, Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance Offices, migratory birds program, law enforcement, and working with tribal, state, and other Federal agencies to ensure protection of threatened and endangered species. Another role of the FWS is consulting with tribal, state, and other Federal agencies and private sector interests on the best conservation management practices consistent with Federal law. Each of these activities requires a workforce that is recognized for its professionalism, dedication to public service, and command of expert knowledge. Recognition for expert knowledge in fish and wildlife conservation is demonstrated, in part, when FWS personnel direct, conduct, or report research that is well-designed to answer questions of importance for natural resource management. The data reported in this document are one part of a three-part study of the status of organizational support for research in FWS, which was commissioned by the Directorate of the FWS. Funding for this study was provided by the FWS, and the Science Support Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). In 1994, the biological research functions of the FWS were transferred to the National Biological Survey, and subsequently into the USGS. This transfer was principally accomplished by moving whole research units from one agency to another. The result was that some employees whose positions were involved with research were not transferred. In addition, some research, information, and management needs of the FWS have continued to be met by studies conducted within the FWS itself. Although the FWS relies on the USGS and others for most basic research investigations, the FWS also conducts its own studies to meet management needs. Because it is vital for FWS employees to be able to conduct such tactical and applied research tasks in a timely manner, the agency must promote the culture necessary to support and encourage these activities. Such research activities are spread widely across the various programs of the FWS, and there is presently no collective, formal, or systematic record of planned or existing research activities. In commissioning this organizational assessment research, the Directorate of the FWS recognized that it would be to the advantage of the agency to more fully understand its research capacity. To develop a clearer picture of the nature, extent, quality, and degree of administrative support available for conducting research within the FWS, investigations have been undertaken to: 1. identify positions in the FWS that may include, in whole or in part, a component of scientific research; 2. identify organizational units within the FWS that may conduct research as a significant portion of their mission; and 3. assess the attitudes of employees and managers about the obstacles and opportunities for scientific research existing within the FWS by using a scaled-response survey instrument. The findings presented in this report represent the basic results derived from the attitude assessment survey conducted in the last quarter of 2004. The findings set forth in this report are the frequency distributions for each question in the survey instrument for all respondents. The only statistics provided are descriptive in character - namely, means and associated standard deviations.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2004

Report of the U.S. Geological Survey Lidar Workshop sponsored by the Land Remote Sensing Program and held in St. Petersburg, FL, November 2002

The first United States Geological Survey (USGS) Light Detection And Ranging (lidar) Workshop was held November 20-22, 2002 in St. Petersburg, Florida to bring together scientists and managers from across the agency. The workshop agenda focused on six themes: 1) current and future lidar technologies, 2) lidar applications within USGS science and disciplines, 3) calibration and accuracy assessment, 4) tools for processing and evaluating lidar data sets, 5) lidar data management, and 6) commercial and contracting issues. These six themes served as the topics for workshop plenary sessions as well as the general focus for associated breakout sessions. A number of recommendations are presented regarding the role the USGS should play in the future application and development of lidar technology.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2024

U.S. Geological Survey Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center: Proceedings of the fiscal year 2023 annual reporting meeting to the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program

This proceedings is prepared for the USBR and Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP) to account for work conducted and products delivered in FY 2023 by SBSC's Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) and to inform the Technical Work Group of science conducted by GCMRC and its cooperators in support of the GCDAMP. It includes a summary of accomplishments, modifications to work plans, and results related to projects included in GCMRC’s FY 2021-23 Triennial Work Plan. This work was done to support the 11 resource goals identified in the Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision.

Arizona, Nevada, Utah↗

USGS1992

Map showing sediment isopachs in the deep-sea basins of the Pacific continental margin, Point Conception to Point Loma

The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a series of cruises, EEZSCAN 84 (EEZ-SCAN 84 Scientific Staff, 1986), to collect reconnaissance data on the newly proclaimed Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the area out to 200 nautical miles from the coastline of the United States. The cruises systematically surveyed the entire conterminous United States west coast EEZ using the Geological Long-Range Inclined Asdic (GLORIA) side-scan sonar, a 160-in 3 airgun seismic-reflection profiler, a 3.5-kHz high-resolution seismic-reflection profiler, a 10-kHz echo sounder, and a proton-precession magnetometer. The nominal trackline spacing throughout the survey was 30 km. Derivative maps of sediment thickness (I-2089-A, I-2090-A, I-2091-A) and depth to basement (I-2089-B, I-2090-B, I-2091-B) in the basins of the west coast EEZ were compiled from both the sonar-image dala and the deep-penetration seismic data obtained on these cruises. Only EEZ-SCAN 84 data were used for the map compilations because available data from other cruises in this region are sparsely located, have poor navigational control, or were obtained with seismic systems that were not powerful enough to resolve oceanic basement. For this map series, sediment thickness and depth to basement were determined only in the deep-ocean basin regions because the seismic system used on the EEZ-SCAN 84 cruises could not resolve oceanic basement beneath the thick sediments of the continental slope. All the data used to compile the maps are presented in the "Atlas of the Exclusive Economic Zone, Western Conterminous United States" (EEZ-SCAN 84 Scientific Staff, 1986). Basement Outcrops GLORIA imagery was used to locate areas of basement outcrop throughout the region. Where possible, sediment thickness on and immediately adjacent to basement outcrops was measured from seismic data. Where there was no bathymetric or seismic control, a seamount peak was assumed to have no sediment cover. A pattern is used on the map to indicate all basement outcrops. Data Reduction Acoustic basement in the basins, invariably oceanic Layer 2, was observed on all of the seismic records. One-way traveltime was measured from the sea floor to acoustic basement. Because the trackline spacing of about 30 km is relatively large compared to the data density along track, we chose to measure the sediment thickness every 0.5 hour or at an interval of approximately 7.5 km. Water depth was measured with a 10-kHz profiler. Depth to basement was calculated using the sea surface as the zero datum and adding the corrected water depth (Carter, 1980) to the sediment thickness. Acoustic travel times were converted to depths by first calculating a regression equation from the interval velocity versus depth data of Connard and others (1984). Their data base comprises a compilation of all available Deep Sea Drilling Project data plus wide-angle refraction data, which were collected in Cascadia Basin west of Oregon and represents the best data set available for the United States west coast EEZ. The regression equation was integrated to determine sediment thickness as a function of one-way traveltime . The resulting equation is z = 1400t + 0 .5t 2 where z is sediment thickness in meters, and t is one-way traveltime in seconds. Sediment thicknesses calculated using this equation were compared to values calculated from the general equation of Carlson and others (1986). Values for sediment thickness calculated by the two equations differed by no greater than 10 percent throughout the range of travel times. Bathymetry The bathymetry is from Chase and others (1981). The bathymetric data were compiled from a variety of sources, and data quality is inconsistent. Because of differences in navigational precision and density of coverage, the bathymetric contours of a feature may be at a different location than the corresponding isopleths derived from the EEZ-SCAN 84 data, or a feature may not be indicated on the bathymetry at all. These situations occur because either the feature is poorly located in the bathymetric data set or, especially in the outer EEZ, the bathymetric data are too sparse to have defined the existence of a feature. Acknowledgments Topographic digital data bases were corrected and verified by Christina Lief. Gerald Evenden developed the computer software system MAPGEN, used to compose this map. Reviews, suggestions, and technical contributions from Edward C. Escowitz and Florence Wong and advice about cartographic design from Will Stettner substantially improved the quality of this map. References Cited Carlson, R.L., Gangi, A.F., and Snow, K.R., 1986, Empirical reflection-traveltime/ depth and velocity/depth functions for the deep-sea sediment column: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 91, no. B8, p. 8249-8266. Carter, D.J.T., 1980, Echo-sounding correction tables: Taunton, United Kingdom, Hydrographic Department, Ministry of Defence, 150 p. Chase, T.E., Wilde, Pat, Normark, W.R, Miller, C.P., Seekins, B.A., and Young, J.D., 1981, Offshore topography of the Western United States between 32° and 49° North latitudes: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-443, scale 1:864,518 at 38° latitude, 2 sheets. Connard, G., Couch, R., Keeling , K., Roy, J., and Troseth, S., 1984, Abyssal plain and continental net-objective sedimentary thicknesses, in Kulm, L.D., and others, eds., Western North America continental margin and adjacent ocean floor off Oregon and Washington, Atlas 1 of Regional Atlas Series, Ocean Margin Drilling Program: Woods Hole, Mass., Marine Science International, sheet 7. EEZ-SCAN 84 Scientific Staff, 1986, Atlas of the Exclusive Economic Zone, Western Conterminous United States: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series I-1792, scale 1:500,000, 152 p. index map for I-2089-A See Also "U.S. Pacific West Coast Field Activities" (Paskevich and others, 2011; http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1332/htmldocs/pc/pc_overview.html). Paskevich, V.F., Wong, F.L., O?Malley, J.J., Stevenson, A.J., and Gutmacher, C.E., 2011, GLORIA sidescan-sonar imagery for parts of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and adjacent areas: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010?1332, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1332/.

IMAP↗

USGS1992

Map showing depth to basement in the deep-sea basins of the Pacific continental margin, Point Conception to Point Loma

The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a series of cruises, EEZSCAN 84 (EEZ-SCAN 84 Scientific Staff, 1986), to collect reconnaissance data on the newly proclaimed Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the area out to 200 nautical miles from the coastline of the United States. The cruises systematically surveyed the entire conterminous United States west coast EEZ using the Geological Long-Range Inclined Asdic (GLORIA) side-scan sonar, a 160-in 3 airgun seismic-reflection profiler, a 3.5-kHz high-resolution seismic-reflection profiler, a 10-kHz echo sounder, and a proton-precession magnetometer. The nominal trackline spacing throughout the survey was 30 km. Derivative maps of sediment thickness (I-2089-A, I-2090-A, I-2091-A) and depth to basement (I-2089-B, I-2090-B, I-2091-B) in the basins of the west coast EEZ were compiled from both the sonar-image dala and the deep-penetration seismic data obtained on these cruises. Only EEZ-SCAN 84 data were used for the map compilations because available data from other cruises in this region are sparsely located, have poor navigational control, or were obtained with seismic systems that were not powerful enough to resolve oceanic basement. For this map series, sediment thickness and depth to basement were determined only in the deep-ocean basin regions because the seismic system used on the EEZ-SCAN 84 cruises could not resolve oceanic basement beneath the thick sediments of the continental slope. All the data used to compile the maps are presented in the "Atlas of the Exclusive Economic Zone, Western Conterminous United States" (EEZ-SCAN 84 Scientific Staff, 1986). Basement Outcrops GLORIA imagery was used to locate areas of basement outcrop throughout the region. Where possible, sediment thickness on and immediately adjacent to basement outcrops was measured from seismic data. Where there was no bathymetric or seismic control, a seamount peak was assumed to have no sediment cover. A pattern is used on the map to indicate all basement outcrops. Data Reduction Acoustic basement in the basins, invariably oceanic Layer 2, was observed on all of the seismic records. One-way traveltime was measured from the sea floor to acoustic basement. Because the trackline spacing of about 30 km is relatively large compared to the data density along track, we chose to measure the sediment thickness every 0.5 hour or at an interval of approximately 7.5 km. Water depth was measured with a 10-kHz profiler. Depth to basement was calculated using the sea surface as the zero datum and adding the corrected water depth (Carter, 1980) to the sediment thickness. Acoustic travel times were converted to depths by first calculating a regression equation from the interval velocity versus depth data of Connard and others (1984). Their data base comprises a compilation of all available Deep Sea Drilling Project data plus wide-angle refraction data, which were collected in Cascadia Basin west of Oregon and represents the best data set available for the United States west coast EEZ. The regression equation was integrated to determine sediment thickness as a function of one-way traveltime . The resulting equation is z = 1400t + 0 .5t 2 where z is sediment thickness in meters, and t is one-way traveltime in seconds. Sediment thicknesses calculated using this equation were compared to values calculated from the general equation of Carlson and others (1986). Values for sediment thickness calculated by the two equations differed by no greater than 10 percent throughout the range of travel times. Bathymetry The bathymetry is from Chase and others (1981). The bathymetric data were compiled from a variety of sources, and data quality is inconsistent. Because of differences in navigational precision and density of coverage, the bathymetric contours of a feature may be at a different location than the corresponding isopleths derived from the EEZ-SCAN 84 data, or a feature may not be indicated on the bathymetry at all. These situations occur because either the feature is poorly located in the bathymetric data set or, especially in the outer EEZ, the bathymetric data are too sparse to have defined the existence of a feature. Acknowledgments Topographic digital data bases were corrected and verified by Christina Lief. Gerald Evenden developed the computer software system MAPGEN, used to compose this map. Reviews, suggestions, and technical contributions from Edward C. Escowitz and Florence Wong and advice about cartographic design from Will Stettner substantially improved the quality of this map. References Cited Carlson, R.L., Gangi, A.F., and Snow, K.R., 1986, Empirical reflection-traveltime/ depth and velocity/depth functions for the deep-sea sediment column: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 91, no. B8, p. 8249-8266. Carter, D.J.T., 1980, Echo-sounding correction tables: Taunton, United Kingdom, Hydrographic Department, Ministry of Defence, 150 p. Chase, T.E., Wilde, Pat, Normark, W.R, Miller, C.P., Seekins, B.A., and Young, J.D., 1981, Offshore topography of the Western United States between 32° and 49° North latitudes: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-443, scale 1:864,518 at 38° latitude, 2 sheets. Connard, G., Couch, R., Keeling , K., Roy, J., and Troseth, S., 1984, Abyssal plain and continental net-objective sedimentary thicknesses, in Kulm, L.D., and others, eds., Western North America continental margin and adjacent ocean floor off Oregon and Washington, Atlas 1 of Regional Atlas Series, Ocean Margin Drilling Program: Woods Hole, Mass., Marine Science International, sheet 7. EEZ-SCAN 84 Scientific Staff, 1986, Atlas of the Exclusive Economic Zone, Western Conterminous United States: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series I-1792, scale 1:500,000, 152 p. index map for I-2089-A See Also "U.S. Pacific West Coast Field Activities" (Paskevich and others, 2011; http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1332/htmldocs/pc/pc_overview.html). Paskevich, V.F., Wong, F.L., O?Malley, J.J., Stevenson, A.J., and Gutmacher, C.E., 2011, GLORIA sidescan-sonar imagery for parts of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and adjacent areas: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010?1332, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1332/.

IMAP↗

USGS2003

Natural science and public health; prescription for a better environment; April 1-3, 2003, Reston, Virginia : conference abstracts

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2016

Development of a decision support tool for water and resource management using biotic, abiotic, and hydrological assessments of Topock Marsh, Arizona

Topock Marsh is a large wetland adjacent to the Colorado River and the main feature of Havasu National Wildlife Refuge (Havasu NWR) in southern Arizona. In 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Bureau of Reclamation began a project to improve water management capabilities at Topock Marsh and protect habitats and species. Initial construction required a drawdown, which caused below-average inflows and water depths in 2010–11. U.S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) scientists collected an assemblage of biotic, abiotic, and hydrologic data from Topock Marsh during the drawdown and immediately after, thus obtaining valuable information needed by FWS. Building upon that work, FORT developed a decision support system (DSS) to better understand ecosystem health and function of Topock Marsh under various hydrologic conditions. The DSS was developed using a spatially explicit geographic information system package of historical data, habitat indices, and analytical tools to synthesize outputs for hydrologic time periods. Deliverables include high-resolution orthorectified imagery of Topock Marsh; a DSS tool that can be used by Havasu NWR to compare habitat availability associated with three hydrologic scenarios (dry, average, wet years); and this final report which details study results. This project, therefore, has addressed critical FWS management questions by integrating ecologic and hydrologic information into a DSS framework. This DSS will assist refuge management to make better informed decisions about refuge operations and better understand the ecological results of those decisions by providing tools to identify the effects of water operations on species-specific habitat and ecological processes. While this approach was developed to help FWS use the best available science to determine more effective water management strategies at Havasu NWR, technologies used in this study could be applied elsewhere within the region.

Arizona↗

USGS2016

Report from the workshop on climate downscaling and its application in high Hawaiian Islands, September 16–17, 2015

In the subtropical and tropical Pacific islands, changing climate is predicted to influence precipitation and freshwater availability, and thus is predicted to impact ecosystems goods and services available to ecosystems and human communities. The small size of high Hawaiian Islands, plus their complex microlandscapes, require downscaling of global climate models to provide future projections of greater skill and spatial resolution. Two different climate modeling approaches (physics-based dynamical downscaling and statistics-based downscaling) have produced dissimilar projections. Because of these disparities, natural resource managers and decision makers have low confidence in using the modeling results and are therefore are unwilling to include climate-related projections in their decisions. In September 2015, the Pacific Islands Climate Science Center (PICSC), the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative (PICCC), and the Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (Pacific RISA) program convened a 2-day facilitated workshop in which the two modeling teams, plus key model users and resource managers, were brought together for a comparison of the two approaches, culminating with a discussion of how to provide predictions that are useable by resource managers. The proceedings, discussions, and outcomes of this Workshop are summarized in this Open-File Report.

Hawaii↗