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Abundance Trends and Status of the Little Colorado River Population of Humpback Chub: An Update Considering Data From 1989-2008

Mark-recapture methods have been used for the past two decades to assess trends in adult abundance and recruitment of the Little Colorado River (LCR) population of humpback chub. These methods indicate that the adult population declined through the 1980s and early 1990s but has been increasing for the past decade. Recruitment appears also to have increased, particularly in the 2003-4 period. Considering a range of assumed natural mortality-rates and magnitude of ageing error, it is unlikely that there are currently less than 6,000 adults or more than 10,000 adults. Our best estimate of the current adult (age 4 years or more) population is approximately 7,650 fish. Recent humpback chub assessments using the Age-Structured Mark-Recapture model (ASMR) and reported in 2006 (Melis and others, 2006) and 2008 (Coggins, 2008a,b) have provided abundance and recruitment trend estimates that have changed progressively over time as more data are considered by the model. The general pattern of change implies a less severe decline in adult abundance during the late 1980s through early 1990s, with attendant changes in recruitment supporting this demographic pattern. We have been concerned that these changes are not indicative of the true population and may be associated with a 'retrospective' bias as additional data are included in the ASMR model. To investigate this possibility, we developed a realistic individual-based simulation model (IBM) to generate replicate artificial data sets with similar characteristics to the true humpback chub data. The artificial data have known abundance trends and we analyzed these data with ASMR. On the basis of these simulations, we believe that errors in assigning age (and therefore brood-year) to fish based on their length are likely to have caused the retrospective bias pattern seen in the assessments and to have caused both less severe trends in the adult abundance estimates and progressively more severe downward bias in estimates of adult mortality-rates. This 'smearing', or assignment of fish from a single brood-year into multiple incorrect brood-years, is a result of variation in growth rates. The IBM simulations indicate that as a result of this error source, the best estimates of abundance and recruitment for any calendar year are those obtained from data collected previous to and within a year or two after each calendar year.

Open-File Report↗

2007 Weather and Aeolian Sand-Transport Data from the Colorado River Corridor, Grand Canyon, Arizona

Weather data constitute an integral part of ecosystem monitoring in the Colorado River corridor and are particularly valuable for understanding processes of landscape change that contribute to the stability of archeological sites. Data collected in 2007 are reported from nine weather stations in the Colorado River corridor through Grand Canyon, Ariz. The stations were deployed in February and March 2007 to measure wind speed and direction, rainfall, air temperature, relative humidity, and barometric pressure. Sand traps near each weather station collect windblown sand, from which daily aeolian sand-transport rates are calculated. The data reported here were collected as part of an ongoing study to test and evaluate methods for quantifying processes that affect the physical integrity of archeological sites along the river corridor; as such, these data can be used to identify rainfall events capable of causing gully incision and to predict likely transport pathways for aeolian sand, two landscape processes integral to the preservation of archeological sites. Weather data also have widespread applications to other studies of physical, cultural, and biological resources in Grand Canyon. Aeolian sand-transport data reported here, collected in the year before the March 2008 High-Flow Experiment (HFE) at Glen Canyon Dam, represent baseline data against which the effects of the 2008 HFE on windblown sand will be compared in future reports.

Open-File Report↗

Data from theodolite measurements of creep rates on San Francisco Bay region faults, California

Introduction Our purpose is to annually update our creep-data archive on San Francisco Bay region active faults for use by the scientific research community. Earlier data (1979-2001) were reported in Galehouse (2002) and were analyzed and described in detail in a summary report (Galehouse and Lienkaemper, 2003). A complete analysis of our earlier results obtained on the Hayward Fault was presented in Lienkaemper, Galehouse and Simpson (2001) and updated in Lienkaemper and others (2012). Lienkaemper and others (2014) provide a new overview and analysis of fault creep along all sections of the northern San Andreas Fault system, from which they estimate by how much fault creep reduces the seismic hazard for each fault section. From 1979 until his retirement from the project in 2001, Jon Galehouse of San Francisco State University (SFSU) and many student research assistants measured creep (aseismic slip) rates on these faults. The creep measurement project, which was initiated by Galehouse, continued through the Geosciences Department at SFSU from 2001-2006 under the direction of Karen Grove and John Caskey (Grove and Caskey, 2005) and since 2006 under Caskey (2007). Forrest McFarland has managed most of the technical and logistical project operations, as well as data processing and compilation since 2001. Data from 2001-2007 are found in McFarland and others (2007). From 2009 onward, we have released the raw data annually using this report (OF2009-1119) as a permanent publication link, while publishing more detailed analyses of these data in the scientific literature, such as Lienkaemper and others (2014). We maintain a project Web site (http://funnel.sfsu.edu/creep/) that includes the following information: project description, project personnel, creep characteristics and measurement, map of creep-measurement sites, creep-measurement site information, and links to data plots for each measurement site. Our most current, annually updated results are, therefore, accessible to the scientific community and to the general public. Information about the project can currently be requested by the public by an email link ( fltcreep@sfsu.edu) found on our project Web site.

California↗

Results and Interpretations of U.S. Geological Survey Data Collected In and Around the Tuba City Open Dump, Arizona

This Open-File Report was originally an Administrative Report presentation to the Bureau of Indian Affairs based on U.S. Geological Survey data that has been collected and presented in four previous reports (Open-File Reports 2009-1020, 2008-1380, and 2008-1374, and an Administrative Report on geophysical data). This presentation was given at a technical meeting requested by the BIA on March 3 and 4, 2009, in Phoenix, Arizona. The idea for this meeting was for all the technical people working on issues related to the Tuba City Open Dump site to come together and share their data collection procedures, results, interpretations, and working hypotheses. The meeting goal was to have a clear record of each party's interpretations and a summary of additional data that would be needed to solve differences of opinion. The intention of this presentation is not to provide an exhaustive summary of U.S. Geological Survey efforts at the Tuba City Open Dump site given in the four previously published Open-File Reports listed above, since these reports have already been made available. This presentation briefly summarizes the data collected for those reports and provides results, interpretations, and working hypotheses relating to the data available in these reports. The major questions about the Tuba City Open Dump addressed by the U.S. Geological Survey are (1) what are the sources for uranium and other constituents found in the ground water in and around the Tuba City Open Dump, (2) what is the current distribution of ground water contaminants away from the Tuba City Open Dump (can plume limits be delineated), and (3) what controls the mobility of uranium and other constituents in and around the Tuba City Open Dump? Data collection, results, and interpretations by the U.S. Geological Survey that address these questions are presented herein.

Open-File Report↗

Integrated Multibeam and LIDAR Bathymetry Data Offshore of New London and Niantic, Connecticut

Nearshore areas within Long Island Sound are of great interest to the Connecticut and New York research and resource management communities because of their ecological, recreational, and commercial importance. Although advances in multibeam echosounder technology permit the construction of high-resolution representations of sea-floor topography in deeper waters, limitations inherent in collecting fixed-angle multibeam data make using this technology in shallower waters (less than 10 meters deep) difficult and expensive. These limitations have often resulted in data gaps between areas for which multibeam bathymetric datasets are available and the adjacent shoreline. To address this problem, the geospatial data sets released in this report seamlessly integrate complete-coverage multibeam bathymetric data acquired off New London and Niantic Bay, Connecticut, with hydrographic Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data acquired along the nearshore. The result is a more continuous sea floor representation and a much smaller gap between the digital bathymetric data and the shoreline than previously available. These data sets are provided online and on CD-ROM in Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) raster-grid and GeoTIFF formats in order to facilitate access, compatibility, and utility.

Open-File Report↗

Hydrologic Data for Deep Creek Lake and Selected Tributaries, Garrett County, Maryland, 2007-08

Introduction Recent and ongoing efforts to develop the land in the area around Deep Creek Lake, Garrett County, Maryland, are expected to change the volume of sediment moving toward and into the lake, as well as impact the water quality of the lake and its many tributaries. With increased development, there is an associated increased demand for groundwater and surface-water withdrawals, as well as boat access. Proposed dredging of the lake bottom to improve boat access has raised concerns about the adverse environmental effects such activities would have on the lake. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDDNR) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) entered into a cooperative study during 2007 and 2008 to address these issues. This study was designed to address several objectives to support MDDNR?s management strategy for Deep Creek Lake. The objectives of this study were to: Determine the current physical shape of the lake through bathymetric surveys; Initiate flow and sediment monitoring of selected tributaries to characterize the stream discharge and sediment load of lake inflows; Determine sedimentation rates using isotope analysis of sediment cores; Characterize the degree of hydraulic connection between the lake and adjacent aquifer systems; and Develop an estimate of water use around Deep Creek Lake. Summary of Activities Data were collected in Deep Creek Lake and in selected tributaries from September 2007 through September 2008. The methods of investigation are presented here and all data have been archived according to USGS policy for future use. The material presented in this report is intended to provide resource managers and policy makers with a broad understanding of the bathymetry, surface water, sedimentation rates, groundwater, and water use in the study area. The report is structured so that the reader can access each topic separately using any hypertext markup (HTML) language reader. In order to establish a base-line water-depth map of Deep Creek Lake, a bathymetric survey of the lake bottom was conducted in 2007. The data collected were used to generate a bathymetric map depicting depth to the lake bottom from a full pool elevation of 2,462 feet (National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929). Data were collected along about 90 linear miles across the lake using a fathometer and a differentially corrected global positioning system. As part of a long-term monitoring plan for all surface-water inputs to the lake, streamflow data were collected continuously at two stations constructed on Poland Run and Cherry Creek. The sites were selected to represent areas of the watershed under active development and areas that are relatively stable with respect to development. Twelve months of discharge data are provided for both streams. In addition, five water-quality parameters were collected continuously at the Poland Run station including pH, specific conductance, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity. Water samples collected at Poland Run were analyzed for sediment concentration, and the results of this analysis were used to estimate the annual sediment load into Deep Creek Lake from Poland Run. To determine sedimentation rates, cores of lake-bottom sediments were collected at 23 locations. Five of the cores were analyzed using a radiometric-dating method, allowing average rates of sedimentation to be estimated for the time periods 1925 to 2008, 1925 to 1963, and 1963 to 2008. Particle-size data from seven cores collected at locations throughout the study area were analyzed to provide information on the amount of fine material in lake-bed sediments. Groundwater levels were monitored continuously in four wells and weekly in nine additional wells during October, November, and December of 2008. Water levels were compared to recorded lake levels and precipitation during the same period to determine the effect of lake-level drawdown and recovery on the adjacent aquifer systems. Water use in the Deep Creek Lake wa

Open-File Report↗

Palos Verdes Shelf oceanographic study; data report for observations December 2007–April 2008

Beginning in 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defined a contaminated section of the Palos Verdes Shelf region in southern California as a Superfund Site, initiating a continuing investigation of this area. The investigation involved the EPA, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (LACSD) data, and other allied agencies. In mid-2007, the Palos Verdes Shelf project team identified the need for additional data on the sediment properties and oceanographic conditions at the Palos Verdes Superfund Site and deployed seven bottom platforms, three subsurface moorings, and three surface moorings on the shelf. This additional data was needed to support ongoing modeling and feasibility studies and to improve our ability to model the fate of the effluent-affected deposit over time. It provided more detail on the spatial variability and magnitude of resuspension of the deposit during multiple storms that are expected to transit the region during a winter season. The operation began in early December 2007 and ended in early April 2008. The goal was to measure the sediment response (threshold of resuspension, suspended-sediment concentrations, and suspended-sediment transport rates) to bed stresses associated with waves and currents. Other objectives included determining the structure of the bottom boundary layer (BBL) relating nearbed currents with those measured at 10 m above bottom (mab) and comparing those with the long-term data from the LACSD Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) deployments for nearbed current speed and direction. Low-profile tripods with high-frequency ADCPs co-located with two of the large tripods were selected for this goal. This report describes the data obtained during the field program, the instruments and data-processing procedures used, and the archive that contains the data sets that have passed our quality-assurance procedures.

California↗

Aqueous geochemical data from the analysis of stream-water samples collected in June and August 2008—Taylor Mountains 1:250,000- and Dillingham D-4 1:63,360-scale quadrangles, Alaska

We report on the chemical analysis of water samples collected from the Taylor Mountains 1:250,000- and Dillingham D-4 1:63,360-scale quadrangles, Alaska. Reported parameters include pH, conductivity, water temperature, major cation and anion concentrations, and trace-element concentrations. We collected the samples as part of a multiyear U.S. Geological Survey project entitled "Geologic and Mineral Deposit Data for Alaskan Economic Development." Data presented here are from samples collected in June and August 2008. Minimal interpretation accompanies this data release. This is the fourth release of aqueous geochemical data from this project; data from samples collected in 2004, 2005, and 2006 were published previously. The data in this report augment but do not duplicate or supersede the previous data releases. Site selection was based on a regional sampling strategy that focused on first- and second-order drainages. Water sample sites were selected on the basis of landscape parameters that included physiography, wetland extent, lithological changes, and a cursory field review of mineralogy from pan concentrates. Stream water in the study area is dominated by bicarbonate (HCO 3 - ), although in a few samples more than 50 percent of the anionic charge can be attributed to sulfate (SO 4 2- ). The major-cation chemistry of these samples ranges from Ca 2+ -Mg 2+ dominated to a mix of Ca 2+ -Mg 2+ -Na + +K 2+ . In most cases, analysis of duplicate samples showed good agreement for the major cation and major anions with the exception of the duplicate samples at site 08TA565. At site 08TA565, Ca, Mg, Cl, and CaCO 3 exceeded 25 percent and the concentrations of trace elements As, Fe and Mn also exceeded 25 percent in this duplicate pair. Chloride concentration varied by more than 25 percent in 5 of the 11 duplicated samples. Trace-element concentrations in these samples generally were at or near the detection limit for the method used and, except for Co at site 08TA565, generally good agreement was determined between duplicate samples for elements with detectable concentrations. Major-ion concentrations were below detection limits in all field blanks, and the trace-element concentrations also were generally below detection limits; however, Co, Mn, Na, Zn, Cl, and Hg were detected in one or more field blank samples.

Alaska↗

A program for the conversion of The National Map data from proprietary format to resource description framework (RDF)

To expand data functionality and capabilities for users of The National Map of the U.S. Geological Survey, data sets for six watersheds and three urban areas were converted from the Best Practices vector data model formats to Semantic Web data formats. This report describes and documents the conver-sion process. The report begins with an introduction to basic Semantic Web standards and the background of The National Map. Data were converted from a proprietary format to Geog-raphy Markup Language to capture the geometric footprint of topographic data features. Configuration files were designed to eliminate redundancy and make the conversion more efficient. A SPARQL endpoint was established for data validation and queries. The report concludes by describing the results of the conversion.

Open-File Report↗

Carolinas Coastal Change Processes Project data report for observations near Diamond Shoals, North Carolina, January-May 2009

This Open-File Report provides information collected for an oceanographic field study that occurred during January - May 2009 to investigate processes that control the sediment transport dynamics at Diamond Shoals, North Carolina. The objective of this report is to make the data available in digital form and to provide information to facilitate further analysis of the data. The report describes the background, experimental setup, equipment, and locations of the sensor deployments. The edited data are presented in time-series plots for rapid visualization of the data set, and in data files that are in the Network Common Data Format (netcdf). Supporting observational data are also included.

North Carolina↗

Identification of mineral resources in Afghanistan—Detecting and mapping resource anomalies in prioritized areas using geophysical and remote sensing (ASTER and HyMap) data

As part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) natural resources revitalization activities in Afghanistan (Peters and others, 2011), three new datasets have been collected, compiled, and analyzed. These data have been used to more fully evaluate the areas of interest (AOIs; fig. 1 ) where, on the basis of previous U.S.S.R. and Afghanistan studies, the opportunity for early economic development of a number of different mineral, commodity, and deposit types had been identified (Peters and others, 2007; Peters and others, 2011). The new data compilations include (1) regional magnetic and gravity data for use in the characterization of subsurface composition and structure (Sweeney and others, 2006a,b; Ashan and others, 2007; Sweeney and others, 2007; Ashan and others, 2008; Shenwary and others, 2011), (2) Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data to identify and evaluate surficial alteration patterns related to industrial minerals and other selected targets, and (3) HyMap imaging spectrometer data for characterization and mapping of surficial mineralogy (Cocks and others, 1998; Kokaly and others, 2008; Peters and others, 2011). These datasets have served as fundamental building blocks for the resource evaluation by Peters and others (2011). During the independent analysis of the geophysical, ASTER, and imaging spectrometer (HyMap) data by USGS scientists, previously unrecognized targets of potential mineralization were identified using evaluation criteria most suitable to the individual dataset. These anomalous zones offer targets of opportunity that warrant additional field verification. This report describes the standards used to define the anomalies, summarizes the results of the evaluations for each type of data, and discusses the importance and implications of regions of anomaly overlap between two or three of the datasets.

Open-File Report↗

Shallow coal exploration drill-hole data--Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas

Coal exploration drill-hole data from over 24,000 wells in 10 States are discussed by State in the chapters of this report, and the data are provided in an accompanying spreadsheet. The drill holes were drilled between 1962 and 1984 by Phillips Coal Company, a division of Phillips Petroleum Company (Phillips). The data were donated to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2001 by the North American Coal Corporation, which purchased the Phillips assets as part of a larger dataset. Under the terms of the agreement with North American Coal Corporation, the data were deemed proprietary until February 2011, a period of 10 years after the donation (Appendix of Chapter A). Now that the required period of confidentiality has passed, the data have been digitized from tabulated data files to create unified and spatially consistent coal exploration drill-hole maps and reports for the States of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. The data are made publicly available by this report.

Alabama; Georgia; Kentucky; Louisiana; Mississippi↗

Shallow coal exploration drill-hole data—Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas

Coal exploration drill-hole data from over 24,000 wells in 10 States are discussed by State in the chapters of this report, and the data are provided in an accompanying spreadsheet. The drill holes were drilled between 1962 and 1984 by Phillips Coal Company, a division of Phillips Petroleum Company (Phillips). The data were donated to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2001 by the North American Coal Corporation, which purchased the Phillips assets as part of a larger dataset. Under the terms of the agreement with North American Coal Corporation, the data were deemed proprietary until February 2011, a period of 10 years after the donation (Appendix of Chapter A). Now that the required period of confidentiality has passed, the data have been digitized from tabulated data files to create unified and spatially consistent coal exploration drill-hole maps and reports for the States of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. The data are made publicly available by this report.

Open-File Report↗

Hydrologic data for an investigation of the Smith River Watershed through water year 2010

Hydrologic data collected through water year 2010 and compiled as part of a U.S. Geological Survey study of the water resources of the Smith River watershed in west-central Montana are presented in this report. Tabulated data presented in this report were collected at 173 wells and 65 surface-water sites. Figures include location maps of data-collection sites and hydrographs of streamflow. Digital data files used to construct the figures, hydrographs, and data tables are included in the report. Data collected by the USGS are also stored in the USGS National Water Information System database and are available through the USGS National Water Information System Water Data for Montana Web page at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mt/nwis/ .

Montana↗

Airborne digital-image data for monitoring the Colorado River corridor below Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, 2009 - Image-mosaic production and comparison with 2002 and 2005 image mosaics

Airborne digital-image data were collected for the Arizona part of the Colorado River ecosystem below Glen Canyon Dam in 2009. These four-band image data are similar in wavelength band (blue, green, red, and near infrared) and spatial resolution (20 centimeters) to image collections of the river corridor in 2002 and 2005. These periodic image collections are used by the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) of the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor the effects of Glen Canyon Dam operations on the downstream ecosystem. The 2009 collection used the latest model of the Leica ADS40 airborne digital sensor (the SH52), which uses a single optic for all four bands and collects and stores band radiance in 12-bits, unlike the image sensors that GCMRC used in 2002 and 2005. This study examined the performance of the SH52 sensor, on the basis of the collected image data, and determined that the SH52 sensor provided superior data relative to the previously employed sensors (that is, an early ADS40 model and Zeiss Imaging's Digital Mapping Camera) in terms of band-image registration, dynamic range, saturation, linearity to ground reflectance, and noise level. The 2009 image data were provided as orthorectified segments of each flightline to constrain the size of the image files; each river segment was covered by 5 to 6 overlapping, linear flightlines. Most flightline images for each river segment had some surface-smear defects and some river segments had cloud shadows, but these two conditions did not generally coincide in the majority of the overlapping flightlines for a particular river segment. Therefore, the final image mosaic for the 450-kilometer (km)-long river corridor required careful selection and editing of numerous flightline segments (a total of 513 segments, each 3.2 km long) to minimize surface defects and cloud shadows. The final image mosaic has a total of only 3 km of surface defects. The final image mosaic for the western end of the corridor has areas of cloud shadow because of persistent inclement weather during data collection. This report presents visual comparisons of the 2002, 2005, and 2009 digital-image mosaics for various physical, biological, and cultural resources within the Colorado River ecosystem. All of the comparisons show the superior quality of the 2009 image data. In fact, the 2009 four-band image mosaic is perhaps the best image dataset that exists for the entire Arizona part of the Colorado River.

Arizona↗

High-resolution seismic-reflection and marine-magnetic data from offshore central California--San Gregorio to Point Sur

The U.S. Geological Survey collected high-resolution seismic-reflection data on four surveys (S-N1-09-MB, S-15-10-NC, S-06-11-MB, and S-04-12-MB) and marine-magnetic data on one survey (S-06-11-MB) between 2009 and 2012, offshore of central California between San Gregorio and Point Sur. This work was supported in part by the California Seafloor Mapping Program. The survey areas span about 120 km of California's coast (including Monterey Bay). Most data were collected aboard the U.S. Geological Survey R/V Parke Snavely. Cumulatively, approximately 1,410 km of single-channel seismic-reflection data were acquired, mainly using a SIG 2mille minisparker. About 44 km of data were collected simultaneously using an EdgeTech Chirp 512. Subbottom acoustic penetration spanned tens to several hundreds of meters, variable by location. Marine magnetic data were collected on approximately 460 km of track lines (mainly in southern Monterey Bay) using a Geometrics G882 cesium-vapor marine magnetometer. This report includes maps and navigation files of the surveyed transects, linked to Google Earth™ software, as well as digital data files showing images of each transect in SEG-Y and JPEG formats. The images of bedrock, sediment deposits, and tectonic structure provide geologic information that is essential to hazard assessment, regional sediment management, and coastal and marine spatial planning at Federal, State and local levels, as well as to future research on the geomorphic, sedimentary, tectonic, and climatic record of central California.

California↗

Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) Program Summary Report: Data and Analyses 2006 through 2010

The Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program was implemented under the Louisiana Coastal Area Science and Technology (LCA S&T) office as a component of the System Wide Assessment and Monitoring (SWAMP) program. The BICM project was developed by the State of Louisiana (Coastal Protection Restoration Authority [CPRA], formerly Department of Natural Resources [DNR]) to complement other Louisiana coastal monitoring programs such as the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System-Wetlands (CRMS-Wetlands) and was a collaborative research effort by CPRA, University of New Orleans (UNO), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The goal of the BICM program was to provide long-term data on the barrier islands of Louisiana that could be used to plan, design, evaluate, and maintain current and future barrier-island restoration projects. The BICM program used both historical and newly acquired (2006 to 2010) data to assess and monitor changes in the aerial and subaqueous extent of islands, habitat types, sediment texture and geotechnical properties, environmental processes, and vegetation composition. BICM datasets included aerial still and video photography (multiple time series) for shoreline positions, habitat mapping, and land loss; light detection and ranging (lidar) surveys for topographic elevations; single-beam and swath bathymetry; and sediment grab samples. Products produced using BICM data and analyses included (but were not limited to) storm-impact assessments, rate of shoreline and bathymetric change, shoreline-erosion and accretion maps, high-resolution elevation maps, coastal-shoreline and barrier-island habitat-classification maps, and coastal surficial-sediment characterization maps. Discussions in this report summarize the extensive data-collection efforts and present brief interpretive analyses for four coastal Louisiana geographic regions. In addition, several coastal-wide and topical themes were selected that integrate the data and analyses within a broader coastal context: (1) barrier-shoreline evolution driven by rapid relative sea-level rise (RSLR), (2) hurricane impacts to the Chandeleur Islands and likelihood of island recovery, (3) impact of tropical storms on barrier shorelines, (4) Barataria Bay tidal-inlet management, and (5) habitat changes related to RSLR. The final theme addresses potential future goals of the BICM program, including rotational annual to semi-decadal monitoring, proposed new-data collection, how to incorporate technological advances with previous data-collection and monitoring protocols, and standardizing methods and quality-control assessments for continued coastal monitoring and restoration.

Louisiana↗

The United States Geological Survey Science Data Lifecycle Model

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data represent corporate assets with potential value beyond any immediate research use, and therefore need to be accounted for and properly managed throughout their lifecycle. Recognizing these motives, a USGS team developed a Science Data Lifecycle Model (SDLM) as a high-level view of data—from conception through preservation and sharing—to illustrate how data management activities relate to project workflows, and to assist with understanding the expectations of proper data management. In applying the Model to research activities, USGS scientists can ensure that data products will be well-described, preserved, accessible, and fit for re-use. The Model also serves as a structure to help the USGS evaluate and improve policies and practices for managing scientific data, and to identify areas in which new tools and standards are needed.

Open-File Report↗