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At least 1,333 records · Page 74Linked to original sources
USGS2006

GFDL's CM2 global coupled climate models. Part I: Formulation and simulation characteristics

The formulation and simulation characteristics of two new global coupled climate models developed at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) are described. The models were designed to simulate atmospheric and oceanic climate and variability from the diurnal time scale through multicentury climate change, given our computational constraints. In particular, an important goal was to use the same model for both experimental seasonal to interannual forecasting and the study of multicentury global climate change, and this goal has been achieved. Tw o versions of the coupled model are described, called CM2.0 and CM2.1. The versions differ primarily in the dynamical core used in the atmospheric component, along with the cloud tuning and some details of the land and ocean components. For both coupled models, the resolution of the land and atmospheric components is 2?? latitude ?? 2.5?? longitude; the atmospheric model has 24 vertical levels. The ocean resolution is 1?? in latitude and longitude, with meridional resolution equatorward of 30?? becoming progressively finer, such that the meridional resolution is 1/3?? at the equator. There are 50 vertical levels in the ocean, with 22 evenly spaced levels within the top 220 m. The ocean component has poles over North America and Eurasia to avoid polar filtering. Neither coupled model employs flux adjustments. The co ntrol simulations have stable, realistic climates when integrated over multiple centuries. Both models have simulations of ENSO that are substantially improved relative to previous GFDL coupled models. The CM2.0 model has been further evaluated as an ENSO forecast model and has good skill (CM2.1 has not been evaluated as an ENSO forecast model). Generally reduced temperature and salinity biases exist in CM2.1 relative to CM2.0. These reductions are associated with 1) improved simulations of surface wind stress in CM2.1 and associated changes in oceanic gyre circulations; 2) changes in cloud tuning and the land model, both of which act to increase the net surface shortwave radiation in CM2.1, thereby reducing an overall cold bias present in CM2.0; and 3) a reduction of ocean lateral viscosity in the extratropics in CM2.1, which reduces sea ice biases in the North Atlantic. Both models have be en used to conduct a suite of climate change simulations for the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report and are able to simulate the main features of the observed warming of the twentieth century. The climate sensitivities of the CM2.0 and CM2.1 models are 2.9 and 3.4 K, respectively. These sensitivities are defined by coupling the atmospheric components of CM2.0 and CM2.1 to a slab ocean model and allowing the model to come into equilibrium with a doubling of atmospheric CO2. The output from a suite of integrations conducted with these models is freely available online (see http://nomads.gfdl.noaa.gov/). ?? 2006 American Meteorological Society.

Journal of Climate↗
USGS1979

Progress in remote sensing as it applies to missions of Committee for Coordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral Resources in Asian Offshore Areas

The major thrusts of investigations of the use of space data for understanding our Earth continue to focus on the land and near-shore environments. This is expectable; people live on the land, draw most of their resources from the land or near-shore areas, and in these areas environmental degradation or improvement are most clearly observable. An exception to this focus of investigation was the launch of Seasat, a satellite dedicated to marine investigations. Seasat was short lived but the data produced strongly supported the use of imaging radar for land investigation, and, although studies are incomplete, suggest eventual benefits for the navigator, searchers for marine resources, and mariners--provided that the data and/or interpretations can be available to the marine users shortly after collection. In this regard, the positive steps now being taken in Southeast Asia to establish reception, processing, and interpretation centers are a major development.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1992

Sedimentology, behavior, and hazards of debris flows at Mount Rainier, Washington

Mount Rainier is potentially the most dangerous volcano in the Cascade Range because of its great height, frequent earthquakes, active hydrothermal system, and extensive glacier mantle. Many debris flows and their distal phases have inundated areas far from the volcano during postglacial time. Two types of debris flows, cohesive and noncohesive, have radically different behavior that relates empirically to clay content. The two types represent the observable end members of a continuum of debris flow characteristics at Mount Rainier. Cohesive flows exhibit behavior affected by the cohesion and adhesion of particles; noncohesive flows are dominated by particle collisions to the extent of extensive particle cataclasis during near-boundary shear. Cohesive debris flows contain more than 3 to 5 percent of clay-size sediment. The composition of these flows changed little during flow for more than 100 kilometers from Mount Rainier where they inundate parts of the now-populated Puget Sound Lowland. They originate as deep-seated failures of sectors of the volcanic edifice at a frequency indicating that such failures are the major destructional process of its morphologic evolution. In several deposits of large cohesive flows, a lateral, megaclast-bearing facies (with a mounded or hummocky surface) contrasts with a more clay-rich facies in the center of valleys and downstream. Cohesive flows at Mount Rainier do not correlate strongly with volcanic activity and thus can recur without warning, possibly triggered by nonmagmatic seismicity or by destabilization associated with the hydrothermal system. Noncohesive debris flows contain less than 3 to 5 percent of clay-size sediment. They form most commonly by hulking of sediment in water surges, but some originate directly or indirectly from shallow slope failures that do not penetrate the hydrothermally altered core of the volcano. In contrast with cohesive flows, most noncohesive flows transform both from and to other flow types, so that the debris flows are the middle segments of flow waves beginning and ending as flood surges. Proximally, through the bulking of poorly sorted, volcaniclastic debris on the flanks of the volcano, flow waves expand rapidly in volume by transforming from water surges through hyperconcentrated streamflow (20 to 60 percent sediment by volume) to debris flow. Distally, the transformations occur more slowly in reverse order--from debris flow, to hyperconcentrated flow, and finally to normal streamflow with less than 20 percent sediment by volume. During runout of the largest noncohesive flows, hyperconcentrated flow has occurred for as much as 40 to 70 kilometers. Lahars (volcanic debris flows and their deposits) occurred at Mount Rainier throughout later postglacial time and not as groups of closely time-related flows during discrete eruptive periods as at Mount St. Helens. An exception is a period of large noncohesive flows during and after construction of the modern summit cone. Laharrunout flows, the hyperconcentrated flows forming the distal phases of lahars, document the frequency and extent of noncohesive lahars. Deposits record the following transformations of debris flows: (1) the direct, progressive dilution of debris flow to hyperconcentrated flow, (2) deposition of successively finer grained lobes of debris until only the hyperconcentrated tail of the flow remains to continue downstream, and (3) dewatering of coarse debris flow deposits to yield fine-grained debris flow or hyperconcentrated flow. Three planning or design case histories represent different lengths of postglacial time. Case I is representative of large, infrequent (500 to 1,000 years on average) cohesive debris flows. These flows need to be considered in long-term planning in valleys around the volcano. Case II generalizes the noncohesive debris flows of intermediate size and recurrence (100 to 500 years). This case is appropriate for consideration in some structural design. Case III flows are relatively small but more frequent (less than 100 years on average).

Washington↗
USGS1989

Use of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes to trace the larval striped bass food chain in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary, California, April to September 1985

To assess one potential cause for the decline of the striped bass fishery in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were used to examine the trophic structures of the larval striped bass food chain, and to trace the flux of these elements through the food chain components. Study results generally confirm a food chain consisting of the elements, phytoplankton/detritus-->zooplankton/Neomysis shrimp-->larval striped bass. The stable isotope ratios generally become more positive as one progresses from the lower to the higher trophic level food chain components, and no unusual trophic structure was found in the food chain. However, the data indicate an unidentified consumer organism occupying an intermediate position between the lower and higher trophic levels of the larval striped bass food chain. Based on expected trophic interactions, this unidentified consumer would have a stable carbon isotope ratio of about 28/mil and a stable nitrogen isotope ratio of about 8/mi. Three possible feeding stages for larval striped bass also were identified, based on their lengths. The smallest length fish seem to subsist on their yolk sac remnants, and the largest length fish subsist on Neomysis shrimp and zooplankton. The intermediate-length fish represent a transition stage between primary food sources and/or use of a mixture of food sources. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1963

Ground-water geology of Bexar County, Texas

The investigation in Bexar County was part of a comprehensive study of a large area in south-central Texas underlain by the Edwards and associated limestones (Comanche Peak and Georgetown) of Cretaceous age. The limestones form an aquifer which supplies water to the city of San Antonio, several military installations, many industrial plants, and many irrigated farms. The geologic formations that yield water to wells in Bexar County are sedimentary rocks of Mesozoic and Cenozoic age. The rocks strike northeastward and dip southeastward toward the Gulf of Mexico. In the northern part of the county, in an erosional remnant of the Edwards Plateau, the rocks are nearly flat and free from faulting. In the central and southern parts of the county, however, the rocks dip gulfward at gentle to moderately steep angles and are extensively faulted in the Balcones and Mexia fault zones. Individual faults or shatter zones were traced as much as 25 miles; the maximum displacement is at least 600 feet. In general, the formations are either monoclinal or slightly folded; in the western part of the county the broad Culebra anticline plunges southwestward. Most of the large-capacity wells in Bexar County draw water from the Edwards and associated limestones, but a few draw from the Glen Rose limestone, the Austin chalk, and surficial sand and gravel. The Hosston formation, Glen Rose limestone, Buda limestone, and Austin chalk, all of Cretaceous age, generally yield small to large supplies of water; the Wilcox group and Carrizo sand of Tertiary age yield moderate supplies and alluvium of Pleistocene and Recent age generally yield small supplies. The Edwards and associated limestones are recharged primarily by groundwater underflow into Bexar County from the west, and secondarily by seepage from streams that cross the outcrop of the aquifer in Bexar County. During the period 1934-47 the recharge to the aquifer in Bexar County is estimated to have averaged between 400,000 and 430,000 acre-feet per year. Discharge from the aquifer takes place by means of wells and springs and by underflow into Comal and Guadalupe Counties on the northeast. During the period 1934-47 the estimated average discharge from wells and springs was about 174,000 acre-feet per year. The discharge by underflow out of the county during the same period is estimated to have averaged between 220,000 and 260,000 acre-feet per year. Probably only a small amount of water moves downdip southeast of San Antonio. The presence of highly mineralized water in that area suggests that the circulation of water is poor because of the low permeability of the aquifer. During the period 1934-56 the discharge from the Edwards and associated limestones greatly exceeded the recharge; consequently, water levels in wells declined. The decline was greatest in the northwestern part of the county, where the water levels in wells dropped as much as 100 feet. The decline was progressively less toward the east, averaging 40 feet along the Bexar-Comal County line. The area of the greatest concentration of discharge, which includes San Antonio and extends to the southwest and northeast, coincides with the area of maximum faulting and maximum recorded yields from wells and is not the area of greatest decline. The ability of the Edwards and associated limestones to transmit and store water in the San Antonio area apparently is so great that the discharge from wells results in much smaller declines of water level than do similar or even smaller discharges in other areas. The water from the Edwards is almost uniformly a calcium bicarbonate water of good quality, although hard. In the southern part of the San Antonio area the water is charged with hydrogen sulfide; farther downdip it becomes highly mineralized.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS2026

Advancing monitoring approaches to enhance tidal Chesapeake Bay habitat assessment for submerged aquatic vegetation, water clarity, chlorophyll a and dissolved oxygen

Water quality monitoring capacity has been declining for the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) at a time when information needs are growing, and data gaps exist to address critical decision-support for managers. The CBP Scientific Technical Assessment and Reporting Team is leading a Principal’s Staff Committee requested gap analyses toward understanding support needed to improve water quality monitoring and analysis programming. Advanced technologies and alternative monitoring approaches in the form of satellite-based measurements, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) algorithms for data interpretation, continuous water quality in-situ sensor arrays, and community science efforts offer a growing portfolio of valuable opportunities for expanding data collections and analysis program capacities. However, since 1985, each of these options are examples of growing opportunities to enhance water quality assessments yet has seen limited adoption into elements of Chesapeake Bay water quality monitoring programs. Where new technologies have been adopted (e.g., shallow water continuous water quality monitoring), such temporally rich data streams have supported Bay health insights yet had limited use in regulatory water quality criteria assessment. This Scientific Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) supported workshop provided the ideal forum for engaging our CBP partnership regarding the maturity of new and evolving monitoring and analysis capacities to address program information needs while appreciating limitations with adopting new tools and approaches. Improving natural resources monitoring efficiency and effectiveness will expand the scientific and technical foundations for making robust, strategic choices on decisions for CBP Partnership community-based priorities, policies, and management actions. Workshop findings and recommendations reflect progress in science, technology, and analyses addressing long-standing programmatic limitations in data collection and analysis capacities. State-of-the-science updates highlighted in the workshop span the spectrum of efforts representing improvements, successes, remaining challenges toward operationalizing protocols, and guidance toward research, or adoption and implementation by monitoring programs.

Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia↗
USGS2012

Bathymetry and digital elevation models of Coyote Creek and Alviso Slough, South San Francisco Bay, California

In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center completed three cruises to map the bathymetry of the main channel and shallow intertidal mudflats in the southernmost part of south San Francisco Bay. The three surveys were merged to generate comprehensive maps of Coyote Creek (from Calaveras Point east to the railroad bridge) and Alviso Slough (from the bay to the town of Alviso) to establish baseline bathymetry prior to the breaching of levees adjacent to Alviso and Guadalupe Sloughs as part of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project ( http://www.southbayrestoration.org ). Since 2010, the USGS has conducted fourteen additional surveys to monitor bathymetric change in this region as restoration progresses. The bathymetric surveys were conducted using the state-of-the-art research vessel R/V Parke Snavely outfitted with an interferometric sidescan sonar for swath mapping in extremely shallow water. This publication provides high-resolution bathymetric data collected by the USGS. For the 2010 baseline survey we have merged the bathymetry with aerial lidar data that were collected for the USGS during the same time period to create a seamless, high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) of the study area. The series of bathymetric datasets are provided at 1 m resolution and the 2010 bathymetric/topographic DEM at 2 m resolution. The data are formatted as both X, Y, Z text files and ESRI Arc ASCII files that are accompanied by Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) compliant metadata.

California↗
USGS2016

The Integrated Landscape Modeling partnership - Current status and future directions

The Integrated Landscape Modeling (ILM) partnership is an effort by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to identify, evaluate, and develop models to quantify services derived from ecosystems, with a focus on wetland ecosystems and conservation effects. The ILM partnership uses the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) modeling platform to facilitate regional quantifications of ecosystem services under various scenarios of land-cover change that are representative of differing conservation program and practice implementation scenarios. To date, the ILM InVEST partnership has resulted in capabilities to quantify carbon stores, amphibian habitat, plant-community diversity, and pollination services. Work to include waterfowl and grassland bird habitat quality is in progress. Initial InVEST modeling has been focused on the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of the United States; future efforts might encompass other regions as data availability and knowledge increase as to how functions affecting ecosystem services differ among regions. The ILM partnership is also developing the capability for field-scale process-based modeling of depressional wetland ecosystems using the Agricultural Policy/Environmental Extender (APEX) model. Progress was made towards the development of techniques to use the APEX model for closed-basin depressional wetlands of the PPR, in addition to the open systems that the model was originally designed to simulate. The ILM partnership has matured to the stage where effects of conservation programs and practices on multiple ecosystem services can now be simulated in selected areas. Future work might include the continued development of modeling capabilities, as well as development and evaluation of differing conservation program and practice scenarios of interest to partner agencies including the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). When combined, the ecosystem services modeling capabilities of InVEST and the process-based abilities of the APEX model should provide complementary information needed to meet USDA and the Department of the Interior information needs.

Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dak↗
USGS1969

Geologic history of the Colorado River: Chapter C in The Colorado River region and John Wesley Powell (Professional Paper 669)

John Wesley Powell clearly recognized that the spectacular features of the Colorado River - its many grand canyons - were dependent upon the structural history of the mountainous barriers crossed by the river. He conceived of three different historical relationships between rivers and structural features: (1) Newly uplifted land surfaces have rivers that flow down the initial slope of the uplift; these relationships he termed consequent. (2) A river may be older than an uplift that it crosses because it has been able to maintain its course by eroding downward as the uplift progresses; this relationship he named antecedent. (3) An uplifted block may have been buried by younger deposits upon which a river becomes established. The river, in cutting downward, uncovers the uplifted block and becomes incised into it; this relationship he called superimposed. The geologic history of the Colorado River involves all three relationships. In addition, although the position of the river course through a particular structural barrier may have been the result of superposition, the depth of the canyon at that point may be largely due to renewed uplift of the barrier; such deepening of the canyon, therefore, is due to antecedence. The problem of the Colorado River remains today very much as G. K. Gilbert stated it nearly 100 years ago: "How much is antecedent and how much is superimposed?" The question must be asked separately for each stretch of the river.

Colorado River↗
USGS2009

Alligators and crocodiles as indicators for restoration of Everglades ecosystems

Alligators and crocodiles integrate biological impacts of hydrological operations, affecting them at all life stages through three key aspects of Everglades ecology: (1) food webs, (2) diversity and productivity, and (3) freshwater flow. Responses of crocodilians are directly related to suitability of environmental conditions and hydrologic change. Correlations between biological responses and environmental conditions contribute to an understanding of species' status and trends over time. Positive or negative trends of crocodilian populations relative to hydrologic changes permit assessment of positive or negative trends in restoration. The crocodilian indicator uses monitoring parameters (performance measures) that have been shown to be both effective and efficient in tracking trends. The alligator component uses relative density (reported as an encounter rate), body condition, and occupancy rates of alligator holes; the crocodile component uses juvenile growth and hatchling survival. We hypothesize that these parameters are correlated with hydrologic conditions including depth, duration, timing, spatial extent and water quality. Salinity is a critical parameter in estuarine habitats. Assessments of parameters defined for crocodilian performance measures support these hypotheses. Alligators and crocodiles are the charismatic megafauna of the Everglades. They are both keystone and flagship species to which the public can relate. In addition, the parameters used to track trends are easy to understand. They provide answers to the following questions: How has the number of alligators or crocodiles changed? Are the animals fatter or thinner than they should be? Are the animals in the places (in terms of habitat and geography) where they should be? As surely as there is no other Everglades, no other single species defines the Everglades as does the American alligator. The Everglades is the only place in the world where both alligators and crocodiles exist. Crocodilians clearly respond to changes in hydrologic parameters of management interest. These relationships are easy to communicate and mean something to managers, decision makers, and the public. Having crocodilians on the list of system-wide, general indicators provides us with one of the most powerful tools we have to communicate progress of ecosystem restoration in Greater Everglades ecosystems to diverse audiences.

Florida↗
USGS1940

Formalin for external protozoan parasites: A report on the prevention and control of Costia necatrix

The smallest and most destructive of the ectoparasitic protozoans infecting salmon and trout, Costia necatrix , has unfortunately been relegated to virtual obscurity during the past few years. Few references to this parasite can be found in the recent literature and, where such things are discussed, one seldom hears a mention of Costia necatrix . This apparent lack of interest in Costia certainly does not result from the infrequency of its appearances nor from any lack of pathogenicity on its part when it does occur. Preserved specimens of ailing trout an dsalmon submitted to the Seattle Pathology Laboratory for diagnosis have yielded very surprising indications concerning the frequency, intensity, and geographic distribution of Costiasis - surprising in that a parasite should be so widespread, so pathogenic, and yet so seldom mentioned. The answer undoubtedly lies in the fact that Costia , being small in size and usually sedentary in its habits, is being overlooked during parasitic examinations. Although Costia is not at all difficult to recognize, even well-trained workers unfamiliar with its appearance almost invariably pass it by.

Progressive Fish-Culturist↗
USGS1985

Hydrogeologic data from a test well in east-central Duval County, Florida

A 2,112-foot test well was drilled in east-central Duval County, Florida, to obtain geologic, hydrologic, and water chemistry data. Drill cuttings and water samples were collected, and water-level measurements and lithologic and geophysical logs were made. Deposits to a depth of 575 feet consist of sand, clayey sand, phosphatic sandy clay, coquina, sandy limestone, and dolostone. Below 575 feet, the deposits consist of fragmented and granular limestone, dolomitic limestone, and massive to finely crystalline dolostone, which comprise the Floridan aquifer system in the area. Water levels were measured near or at the bottom of the drill hole through the drill stem and in the annular space between the drilled hole and drill stem at the well head as drilling progressed from 770 to 2,112 feet in depth. Water levels measured through the drill stem ranged from 1.17 feet above land surface at a depth of 2,107 feet to 15.0 feet above land surface at a depth of 1,574 feet. Water levels measured in the annular space ranged from 7.5 feet above land surface at a depth of 770 feet to 14.9 feet at various depths from 1,574 to 1,721 feet. Chloride concentrations of water sampled through the drill stem from a depth of 711 to 1 ,616 feet ranged from 22 to 150 milligrams per liter at 1,648 feet. Chloride concentrations then ranged from 345 to about 800 milligrams per liter to a depth of 2,071 feet and then increased to a maximum of 5,450 milligrams per liter at 2,107 feet. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1982

Test well DO-CE 88 at Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland

Test well DO-CE 88 at Cambridge, Maryland, penetrated 3,299 feet of unconsolidated Quaternary, Tertiary and Cretaceous sediments and bottomed in quartz-monzonite gneiss. The well was drilled to provide data for a study of the aquifer system of the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain. Twenty-one core samples were collected. Six sand zones were tested for aquifer properties and sampled for ground-water chemistry. Point-water heads were measured at seven depths. Environmental heads (which ranged from -18.33 to +44.16 feet relative to sea level) indicate an upward component of flow. A temperature log showed a maximum temperature of 41.9 degrees Celsius and a mean temperature gradient of 0.00838 degrees Celsius per foot. The water analyses delineated the freshwater-saltwater transition zone between 2,650 and 3,100 feet. The ground water changes progressively downward from a sodium bicarbonate to a sodium chloride character. Clays in the analyzed core samples belong to the montmorillonite and kaolinite groups, and mean cation exchange capacity ranged from 8.3 to 38.9 milliequivalents per 100 grams. Vertical and horizontal hydraulic conductivities measured in cores ranged from 1.5 x 10-s to 1.3 feet per day and from 7.3 x 10-6 to 1.3 feet per day, respectively, but the most permeable sands were not cored. Porosity was 1.5 percent in the quartz monzonite bedrock and ranged from 22.4 to 41 percent in the overlying sediments. Transmissivities from aquifer tests ranged from 25 to 850 feet squared per day, horizontal hydraulic conductivities ranged from 2.5 to 85 feet squared per day, and intrinsic permeabilities ranged from 0.8 to 23 micrometers squared. Fossils identified in core samples include palynomorphs, dinoflagellates, and foraminifers.

Maryland↗
USGS1916

The Navajo country: A geographic and hydrographic reconnaissance of parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah

To my mind the period of direct contact with nature is the true "heroic age" of human history, an age in which heroic accomplishment and heroic endurance are parts of the daily routine. The activities of people on this stage of progress deserve a place among the cherished traditions of the human race. I believe also that the sanest missionary effort includes an endeavor to assist the uncivilized man in his adjustment to natural laws. With these ideas in mind the opportunity to conduct exploratory work in the Navajo country appealed to me with peculiar force. Within this little-known region are the remnants of an almost extinct race whose long occupation of the country is recorded in ruined dwellings and abandoned fields. This country is also the home of the vigorous and promising Navajos - a tribe in remarkably close adjustment to their physical surroundings. To improve the condition of this long-neglected but capable race, to render their life more intelligently wholesome by applying scientific knowledge, gives pleasure in no degree less than that obtained by the study of the interesting geologic problems which this country affords.

Arizona, New Mexico, Utah↗
USGS2014

Particle-tracking investigation of the retention of sucker larvae emerging from spawning grounds in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon

This study had two objectives: (1) to use the results of an individual-based particle-tracking model of larval sucker dispersal through the Williamson River delta and Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, to interpret field data collected throughout Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, and (2) to use the model to investigate the retention of sucker larvae in the system as a function of Williamson River flow, wind, and lake elevation. This is a follow-up study to work reported in Wood and others (2014) in which the hydrodynamic model of Upper Klamath Lake was combined with an individual-based, particle-tracking model of larval fish entering the lake from spawning areas in the Williamson River. In the previous study, the performance of the model was evaluated through comparison with field data comprising larval sucker distribution collected in 2009 by The Nature Conservancy, Oregon State University (OSU), and the U.S. Geological Survey, primarily from the (at that time) recently reconnected Williamson River Delta and along the eastern shoreline of Upper Klamath Lake, surrounding the old river mouth. The previous study demonstrated that the validation of the model with field data was moderately successful and that the model was useful for describing the broad patterns of larval dispersal from the river, at least in the areas surrounding the river channel immediately downstream of the spawning areas and along the shoreline where larvae enter the lake. In this study, field data collected by OSU throughout the main body of Upper Klamath Lake, and not just around the Williamson River Delta, were compared to model simulation results. Because the field data were collected throughout the lake, it was necessary to include in the simulations larvae spawned at eastern shoreline springs that were not included in the earlier studies. A complicating factor was that the OSU collected data throughout the main body of the lake in 2011 and 2012, after the end of several years of larval drift collection in the Williamson River by the U.S. Geological Survey. Those larval drift data provided necessary boundary-condition information for the earlier studies, but there were no measured boundary conditions for larval input into model simulations during the years of this study (2011−12). Therefore, we developed a method to estimate a time series of larval drift in the Williamson River, and of the emergence of larvae from the gravel at the eastern shoreline springs, that captured the approximate timing of the larval pulse of the Lost River sucker (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose sucker (Chasmistes brevirostris) and the relative magnitude of the pulses by species and spawning location. The method is not able to predict larval drift on any given day, but it can reasonably predict the approximate temporal progression of the larval drift through the season, based on counts of adult suckers returning to spawn. The accuracy in the timing of the larval pulses is not better than about plus or minus 5 days. Model results and field data were consistent in the basic progression of both catch per unit effort (CPUE) and larval length through time. The model simulation results also duplicated some of the characteristics of the spatial patterns of density in the field data, notably the tendency for high larval densities closer to the eastern and western shorelines. However, the model simulations could not explain high densities in the northern part of the lake or far into Ball Bay, locations that are far from the source of larvae in the Williamson River or eastern shoreline springs (as measured along the predominant transport pathways simulated in the model). This suggests the possibility of unaccounted-for spawning areas in the northern part of the lake and also that the period during which larvae are transported passively by the currents is shorter than the 46 days simulated in the model. Similarly, the progression of larval lengths in the field data is not a simple progression from smaller to larger fish away from sources in the river and springs, as simulated by the particle-tracking model; the smallest fish were caught at different times near the Williamson River, in the northwestern part of the lake, and in the southernmost part of the lake. This again suggests that fish may be spawning at places other than the river and eastern springs, that our understanding of larval transport is incomplete, or both. The model was used to run 96 numerical “experiments” in which lake elevation, river discharge, and wind forcing were varied systematically in order to investigate the sensitivity of particle retention to each variable, and with particular emphasis on the idea of managing lake elevation to control emigration. The estimates of particle retention cannot be equated directly to retention of fish larvae, primarily because there was no mortality included in the simulations, but the relative comparison of retention and emigration around the matrix of experimental conditions provided several “big picture” results: - Variables that cannot be controlled—winds and discharge—had the largest effect on retention. For example, at the lowest river discharge (20 cubic meters per second), simulated retention was high regardless of wind or lake elevation, whereas at the highest river discharge (100 cubic meters per second), retention was low regardless of wind or lake elevation. - When river discharge and wind were held constant, a higher elevation delayed the onset of the most rapid exit of particles by 1 (from the springs) to 4 (from the river) days, but did not determine overall retention. Only under the combination of conditions consisting of low discharge (50 cubic meters per second or less) and strong wind reversals for several days was there a consistent effect of lake elevation on overall retention several weeks into the simulation, and, under those conditions, retention was at the high end of the possible range regardless of lake elevation. - Under most combinations of conditions tested, after particles had been in the system for several days, the complex interaction between wind, elevation, and river discharge resulted in particle pathways, and therefore retention, being highly variable and unpredictable, at which point controlling lake elevation could not produce a predictable result. Therefore, on the basis of the model predictions, managing lake elevation probably is not a way to reliably provide any particular level of retention.

Oregon↗
USGS2001

Trichloroethylene and 1,1-dichloroethylene concentrations in ground water after temporary shutdown of the reclamation well field at Air Force Plant 44, Tucson, Arizona, 1999

Industrial activities beginning in the early 1940s resulted in extensive contamination of ground water near the Tucson International Airport, Tucson, Arizona, including an area around Air Force Plant 44, an industrial facility located on land owned by the U.S. Air Force and operated by a defense contractor. Principal ground-water contaminants are volatile organic compounds, primarily trichloroethylene (also called trichloroethene) and 1,1-dichloroethylene (also called 1,1-dichloroethene). A ground- water reclamation system was put into operation in 1987 to extract and treat contaminated ground water at Air Force Plant 44 and the downgradient area that is south of Los Reales Road. The ground- water reclamation system consists of 25 extraction wells, 22 recharge wells, and a water-treatment facility. Soil-vapor extraction techniques are being used to remove volatile organic compounds from the unsaturated zone. More than 120,000 pounds of volatile organic compounds have been removed from the regional aquifer and overlying unsaturated zone at Air Force Plant 44 and adjacent downgradient areas south of Los Reales Road. Air Force Plant 44 and adjacent areas being remediated by the ground-water reclamation system are about 7 square miles. To assess ground-water cleanup progress at Air Force Plant 44 and surrounding areas south of Los Reales Road, and possibly to identify areas that are resistant to cleanup attempts, ground-water samples were collected and analyzed after water levels had returned to near-equilibrium conditions following a 3-week shutdown of extraction and recharge wells. Modifications of the standard ground-water sampling procedures used at the site also were tested. The modifications included tests of a reduced-flow purging and sampling method in six monitoring wells and vertical- profile sampling in five extraction wells at the reclamation well field. The water treatment facility and all extraction and recharge wells at the reclamation well field were shut down on April 15, 1999, and water levels were allowed to recover for about 3 weeks before samples of ground water were obtained from 102 wells at Air Force Plant 44 and surrounding areas. Concentrations of trichloroethylene and 1,1-dichloroethylene were determined for samples obtained during the sitewide sampling effort. Data for 101 wells sampled in February 1999 before shutdown were compared with data obtained for wells sampled in May 1999 after shutdown. Concentrations of trichloroethylene increased in 36 wells, remained the same in 32 wells, and decreased in 33 wells. Increases in concentrations of trichloroethylene of as much as 1,476 micrograms per liter and decreases of as much as 2,292 micrograms per liter were reported after shutdown. Concentrations of trichloroethylene remained the same for the two sampling periods in wells that had concentrations that were at, or close to, the lower reporting limit (0.5 micrograms per liter) before shutdown. Net change in concentrations of trichloroethylene after shutdown on a percentage basis ranged from an increase of 1,300 percent to a decrease of 100 percent. Increases in concentrations of 1,1-dichloroethylene after shutdown of the reclamation well field of as much as 66 micrograms per liter and decreases of as much as 411.6 micro- grams per liter were reported. Concentrations of 1,1-dichloroethylene remained the same for the two sampling periods in wells that had concentrations that were at, or close to, the lower reporting limit (0.5 micrograms per liter) before shutdown. Net change in concentrations of 1,1-dichloroethylene after shutdown on a percentage basis ranged from an increase of 660 percent to a decrease of 100 percent. Data obtained from the water samples indicate that the largest changes in concentrations of trichloroethylene and 1,1-dichloroethylene occurred in samples collected from wells completed in the upper zone of the regional aquifer, along the axis of the contaminant plume, in close proximity to previously identified historical disposal areas. Changes in contaminant concentrations observed after shutdown of the well field probably were the result of changes in ground-water flow directions under nonpumping conditions compared with those present when the extraction and recharge wells were operating. Minimal changes occurred at the perimeter of the plume, which suggests that operation of the reclamation well field has been successful at containing the spread of the plume. New contaminant-source areas were not identified within the perimeter of the plume. A modification of the standard sampling technique used at Air Force Plant 44 was tested in six wells. In these wells, greatly reduced flow rates were used for well purging and sampling. Results indicate no distinct pattern of change of contaminant concentrations compared with concentrations in samples subsequently obtained using the standard technique, and no advantage was evident for using this method in routine sampling of the monitoring wells at Air Force Plant 44. Temperature profiles obtained before vertical-profile sampling of selected wells indicate little temperature variation with depth. The temperature-profile information suggests that under nonpumping conditions, most of the water enters these wells near the top of the screened interval and moves downward in response to a hydraulic gradient in the regional aquifer. Samples at depths below the top of the screened interval probably do not accurately represent water from the adjacent sediments. Vertical-profile samples were obtained in five wells and analyzed for concentrations of trichloroethylene. None of the wells showed large enough variation of contaminant concentrations with depth to indicate that a major improvement in extraction efficiency could be obtained by pumping selectively from a restricted interval. The largest variation in concentrations of trichloroethylene with depth that was observed ranged from 62 micrograms per liter near the top of the screened interval to 42 micrograms per liter near the bottom of the screened interval of one of the wells. The lack of large variation is probably the result of downward water flow in the casing of these wells.

Arizona↗
USGS2001

Diagenesis and fracture development in the Bakken Formation, Williston Basin: Implications for reservoir quality in the middle member

The middle member of the Bakken Formation is an attractive petroleum exploration target in the deeper part of the Williston Basin because it is favorably positioned with respect to source and seal units. Progressive rates of burial and minor uplift and erosion of this member led to a stable thermal regime and, consequently, minor variations in diagenesis across much of the basin. The simple diagenetic history recorded in sandstones and siltstones in the middle member can, in part, be attributed to the closed, low-permeability nature of the Bakken petroleum system during most of its burial history. Most diagenesis ceased in the middle member when oil entered the sandstones and siltstones in the Late Cretaceous. Most oil in the Bakken Formation resides in open, horizontal fractures in the middle member. Core analysis reveals that sandstones and siltstones associated with thick mature shales typically have a greater density of fractures than sandstones and siltstones associated with thin mature shales. Fractures were caused by superlithostatic pressures that formed in response to increased fluid volumes in the source rocks during hydrocarbon generation

North Dakota↗
USGS2011

Paleomagnetic correlation of surface and subsurface basaltic lava flows and flow groups in the southern part of the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, with paleomagnetic data tables for drill cores

Paleomagnetic inclination and polarity studies have been conducted on thousands of subcore samples from 51 coreholes located at and near the Idaho National Laboratory. These studies are used to paleomagnetically characterize and correlate successive stratigraphic intervals in each corehole to similar depth intervals in adjacent coreholes. Paleomagnetic results from 83 surface paleomagnetic sites, within and near the INL, are used to correlate these buried lava flow groups to basaltic shield volcanoes still exposed on the surface of the eastern Snake River Plain. Sample handling and demagnetization protocols are described as well as the paleomagnetic data averaging process. Paleomagnetic inclination comparisons between coreholes located only kilometers apart show comparable stratigraphic successions of mean inclination values over tens of meters of depth. At greater distance between coreholes, comparable correlation of mean inclination values is less consistent because flow groups may be missing or additional flow groups may be present and found at different depth intervals. Two shallow intersecting cross-sections, A-A- and B-B- (oriented southwest-northeast and northwest-southeast, respectively), drawn through southwest Idaho National Laboratory coreholes show the corehole to corehole or surface to corehole correlations derived from the paleomagnetic inclination data. From stratigraphic top to bottom, key results included the (1) Quaking Aspen Butte flow group, which erupted from Quaking Aspen Butte southwest of the Idaho National Laboratory, flowed northeast, and has been found in the subsurface in corehole USGS 132; (2) Vent 5206 flow group, which erupted near the southwestern border of the Idaho National Laboratory, flowed north and east, and has been found in the subsurface in coreholes USGS 132, USGS 129, USGS 131, USGS 127, USGS 130, USGS 128, and STF-AQ-01; and (3) Mid Butte flow group, which erupted north of U.S. Highway 20, flowed northwest, and has been found in the subsurface at coreholes ARA-COR-005 and STF-AQ-01. The high K20 flow group erupted from a vent that may now be buried south of U.S. Highway 20 near Middle Butte, flowed north, and is found in the subsurface in coreholes USGS 131, USGS 127, USGS 130, USGS 128, USGS 123, STF-AQ-01, and ARA-COR-005 ending near the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center. The vent 5252 flow group erupted just south of U.S. Highway 20 near Middle and East Buttes, flowed northwest, and is found in the subsurface in coreholes ARA-COR-005, STF-AQ-01, USGS 130, USGS 128, ICPP 214, USGS 123, ICPP 023, USGS 121, USGS 127, and USGS 131. The Big Lost flow group erupted from a now-buried vent near the Radioactive Waste Management Complex, flowed southwest to corehole USGS 135, and northeast to coreholes USGS 132, USGS 129, USGS 131, USGS 127, USGS 130, STF-AQ-01, and ARA-COR-005. The AEC Butte flow group erupted from AEC Butte near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex and flowed south to corehole Middle 1823, northwest to corehole USGS 134, northeast to coreholes USGS 133 and NRF 7P, and south to coreholes USGS 121, ICPP 023, USGS 123, and USGS 128. Evidence of progressive subsidence of the axial zone of the ESRP is shown in these cross-sections, distorting the original attitudes of the lava flow groups and interbedded sediments. A deeper cross-section, C-C- (oriented west to east), spanning the entire southern Idaho National Laboratory shows correlations of the lava flow groups in the saturated part of the ESRP aquifer. Areally extensive flow groups in the deep subsurface (from about 100-800 meters below land surface) can be traced over long distances. In cross-section C-C-, the flow group labeled "Matuyama" can be correlated from corehole USGS 135 to corehole NPR Test/W-02, a distance of about 28 kilometers (17 miles). The flow group labeled "Matuyama 1.21 Ma" can be correlated from corehole Middle 1823 to corehole ANL-OBS-A-001, a distance of 26 kilometers (16 miles). Other flo

Idaho↗