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At least 1,765 records · Page 98Linked to original sources
USGS2000

Water Resources Data, Pennsylvania, Water Year 1999. Volume 2. Susquehanna and Potomac River Basins

Introduction The Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with State, municipal, and Federal agencies, collects a large amount of data pertaining to the water resources of Pennsylvania each water year. These data, accumulated during many water years, constitute a valuable data base for developing an improved understanding of the water resources of the State. To make these data readily available to interested parties outside the Geological Survey, these data are published annually in this report series entitled "Water Resources Data - Pennsylvania, Volumes 1, 2, and 3." Volume 1 contains data for the Delaware River Basin; Volume 2, the Susquehanna and Potomac River Basins; and Volume 3, the Ohio River and St. Lawrence River Basins. This report, Volume 2, contains: (1) discharge records for 83 continuous-record streamflow-gaging stations, 16 partial-record stations, and 24 special study and miscellaneous streamflow sites; (2) elevation and contents records for 12 lakes and reservoirs; (3) water-quality records for 11 streamflow gaging stations and 45 partial-record and project stations; and (4) water-level records for 30 ground-water network observation wells and water-quality analyses of ground water from 8 wells; and (5) water-quality analyses at 44 special study ground-water wells. Additional water data collected at various sites not involved in the systematic data-collection program may also be presented. Publications similar to this report are published annually by the Geological Survey for all States. For the purpose of archiving, these official reports have an identification number consisting of the two-letter State abbreviation, the last two digits of the water year, and the volume number. For example, this volume is identified as "U.S. Geological Survey Water-Data Report PA-99-2." These water-data reports, beginning with the 1971 water year, are for sale as paper copy or microfiche by the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. The annual series of Water Data Reports for Pennsylvania began with the 1961 water-year report and contained only data relating to quantities of surface water. With the 1964 water year, a companion report (part 2) was introduced that contained only data relating to water quality. Beginning with the 1975 water year the report was changed to three volumes (by river basin), with each volume containing data on quantities of surface water, quality of surface and ground water, and ground-water levels. Prior to the introduction of this series and for several years concurrent with it, water-resources data for Pennsylvania were published in U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Papers. Data on stream discharge and stage, and on lake or reservoir contents and stage, through September 1960, were published annually under the title "Surface-Water Supply of the United States," which was released in numbered parts as determined by natural drainage basins. For the 1961-70 water years, these data were published in two 5-year reports. Data prior to 1961 are included in two reports: "Compilation of Records of Surface Waters of the United States through 1950," and "Compilation of Records of Surface Waters of the United States, October 1950 to September 1960." Data for Pennsylvania are published in Parts 1, 3, and 4. Data on chemical quality, temperature, and suspended sediment for the 1941-70 water years were published annually under the title "Quality of Surface Waters of the United States," and ground-water levels for the 1935-74 water years were published annually under the title "Ground-Water Levels in the United States." The above mentioned Water-Supply Papers may be consulted in the libraries of the principal cities of the United States and may be purchased from the U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services, Box 25286, Denver, CO 80225. Information for ordering specific reports may be obtained from the Pennsylvania District Office at the address on the back of the title page or by phoning the Scientific and Technical Products Section at (717) 730-6940. Information on the availability of unpublished data or statistical analyses may be obtained from the District Information Specialist (telephone (717) 730-6916) or FAX (717) 730-6997.

Water Data Report↗
USGS2000

Water Resources Data, Pennsylvania, Water Year 1999. Volume 3. Ohio and St. Lawrence River Basins

The Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with State, municipal, and Federal agencies, collects a large amount of data pertaining to the water resources of Pennsylvania each water year. These data, accumulated during many water years, constitute a valuable data base for developing an improved understanding of the water resources of the State. To make these data readily available to interested parties outside the Geological Survey, these data are published annually in this report series entitled "Water Resources Data - Pennsylvania, Volumes 1, 2, and 3." Volume 1 contains data for the Delaware River Basin; Volume 2, the Susquehanna and Potomac River Basins; and Volume 3, the Ohio and St. Lawrence River Basins. This report, Volume 3, contains: (1) discharge records for 57 continuous-record streamflow-gaging stations, 5 partial-record stations, and 16 special study and miscellaneous streamflow sites; (2) elevation and contents records for 11 lakes and reservoirs; (3) water-quality records for 1 streamflow gaging station and 121 partial-record and project stations; and (4) water-level records for 15 ground-water network observation wells and. Additional water data collected at various sites not involved in the systematic data-collection program may also be presented. Publications similar to this report are published annually by the Geological Survey for all States. For the purpose of archiving, these official reports have an identification number consisting of the two-letter State abbreviation, the last two digits of the water year, and the volume number. For example, this volume is identified as "U.S. Geological Survey Water-Data Report PA-99-3." These water-data reports, beginning with the 1971 water year, are for sale as paper copy or microfiche by the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. The annual series of Water Data Reports for Pennsylvania began with the 1961 water-year report and contained only data relating to quantities of surface water. With the 1964 water year, a companion report (part 2) was introduced that contained only data relating to water quality. Beginning with the 1975 water year the report was changed to three volumes (by river basin), with each volume containing data on quantities of surface water, quality of surface and ground water, and ground-water levels. Prior to the introduction of this series and for several years concurrent with it, water-resources data for Pennsylvania were published in U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Papers. Data on stream discharge and stage, and on lake or reservoir contents and stage, through September 1960, were published annually under the title "Surface-Water Supply of the United States," which was released in numbered parts as determined by natural drainage basins. For the 1961-70 water years, these data were published in two 5-year reports. Data prior to 1961 are included in two reports: "Compilation of Records of Surface Waters of the United States through 1950," and "Compilation of Records of Surface Waters of the United States, October 1950 to September 1960." Data for Pennsylvania are published in Parts 1, 3, and 4. Data on chemical quality, temperature, and suspended sediment for the 1941-70 water years were published annually under the title "Quality of Surface Waters of the United States," and ground-water levels for the 1935-74 water years were published annually under the title "Ground-Water Levels in the United States." The above mentioned Water-Supply Papers may be consulted in the libraries of the principal cities of the United States and may be purchased from the U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services, Box 25286, Denver, CO 80225. Information for ordering specific reports may be obtained from the Pennsylvania District Office at the address on the back of the title page or by phoning the Scientific and Technical Products Section at (717) 730-6940. Information on the availability of unpublished data or statistical analyses may be obtained from the District Information Specialist (telephone (717) 730-6916) or FAX (717) 730-6997.

Water Data Report↗
USGS2001

Statewide water-quality network for Massachusetts

A water-quality monitoring program is proposed that would provide data to meet multiple information needs of Massachusetts agencies and other users concerned with the condition of the State's water resources. The program was designed by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Watershed Management, with input from many organizations involved in water-quality monitoring in the State, and focuses on inland surface waters (streams and lakes). The proposed monitoring program consists of several components, or tiers, which are defined in terms of specific monitoring objectives, and is intended to complement the Massachusetts Watershed Initiative (MWI) basin assessments. Several components were developed using the Neponset River Basin in eastern Massachusetts as a pilot area, or otherwise make use of data from and sampling approaches used in that basin as part of a MWI pilot assessment in 1994. To guide development of the monitoring program, reviews were conducted of general principles of network design, including monitoring objectives and approaches, and of ongoing monitoring activities of Massachusetts State agencies.Network tiers described in this report are primarily (1) a statewide, basin-based assessment of existing surface-water-quality conditions, and (2) a fixed-station network for determining contaminant loads carried by major rivers. Other components, including (3) targeted programs for hot-spot monitoring and other objectives, and (4) compliance monitoring, also are discussed. Monitoring programs for the development of Total Maximum Daily Loads for specific water bodies, which would constitute another tier of the network, are being developed separately and are not described in this report. The basin-based assessment of existing conditions is designed to provide information on the status of surface waters with respect to State water-quality standards and designated uses in accordance with the reporting requirements [Section 305(b)] of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Geographic Information System (GIS)-based procedures were developed to inventory streams and lakes in a basin for these purposes. Several monitoring approaches for this tier and their associated resource requirements were investigated. Analysis of the Neponset Basin for this purpose demonstrated that the large number of sites needed in order for all the small streams in a basin to be sampled (about half of stream miles in the basin were headwater or first-order streams) pose substantial resource-based problems for a comprehensive assessment of existing conditions. The many lakes pose similar problems. Thus, a design is presented in which probabilistic monitoring of small streams is combined with deterministic or targeted monitoring of large streams and lakes to meet CWA requirements and to provide data for other information needs of Massachusetts regulatory agencies and MWI teams.The fixed-station network is designed to permit the determination of contaminant loads carried by the State's major rivers to sensitive inland and coastal receiving waters and across State boundaries. Sampling at 19 proposed sites in 17 of the 27 major basins in Massachusetts would provide information on contaminant loads from 67 percent of the total land area of the State; unsampled areas are primarily coastal areas drained by many small streams that would be impossible to sample within realistic resource limitations. Strategies for hot-spot monitoring, a targeted monitoring program focused on identifying contaminant sources, are described with reference to an analysis of the bacteria sampling program of the 1994 Neponset Basin assessment. Finally, major discharge sites permitted under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) were evaluated as a basis for ambient water-quality monitoring. The discharge sites are well distributed geographically among basins, but are primarily on large rivers (two-thirds or more

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2001

Ground water near Newton, Jasper County, Iowa

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the city of Newton, Iowa, conducted an investigation of the ground-water resources of Jasper County, Iowa, near Newton during 1999-2001. The purpose of the investigation was to provide additional information on the South Skunk River alluvial aquifer from which Newton obtains its present municipal supply and to summarize the available information on other groundwater resources in the county. The South Skunk River alluvial aquifer consists of unconsolidated deposits of sand and gravel of glacial and fluvial origin. These deposits overlie bedrock composed primarily of shale and limestone of Pennsylvanian or Mississippian age. Information on the South Skunk River alluvial aquifer and other Jasper County alluvial aquifers is limited to a few test holes in a few locations. Additional thickness and lithologic information was collected using seismic refraction and test hole drilling to increase the understanding of the South Skunk River alluvial aquifer near Newton. Water-level and water-quality information also was collected. The alluvial deposits along the South Skunk River near Newton range from less than 30 to more than 60 feet thick. Three areas of deposits exceeding 60 feet thick occur near the present city of Newton well field about 5,000 feet west of the present well field, at the present well field, and about 5,000 feet southeast of the present well field. Ground water in the South Skunk River alluvial aquifer near the Newton well field flows toward the municipal well field. Ground-water levels on the well-field side of the South Skunk River were lower than water levels in the river, indicating flow from the river toward the well field. The water quality in the South Skunk River and the alluvial aquifer was similar, except most ground-water samples contained low dissolved oxygen concentrations. The low dissolved-oxygen concentrations in ground water resulted in high concentrations of iron and manganese in some locations and reduced forms of nitrogen.

Iowa↗
USGS1982

Evaluation of the streamflow-data program in Pennsylvania

The stream-gaging program in Pennsylvania is subject to budgetary constraints in the next several years. Elimination of those gaging stations that have no current-purpose use and little utility in providing regional flow-characteristic information is the most effective way to reduce costs. The efficient design of a network of gaging stations for obtaining regional information requires knowledge of the information in the data base and an assessment of the potential for improving the accuracy of data-transfer mechanisms. The analytical technique known as Network Analysis for Regional Information is used to assess acquired streamflow information and to evaluate its transferability within previously determined regions of homogenous streamflow characteristics. Regression equations that relate low-, mean-, and flood-flow characteristics to basin parameters are the data-transfer mechanisms used in the evaluation. This analysis showed that only minor improvements in the regression equations can be expected after 20 additional years of data collection at gages in the 1980 program. Transfer mechanisms with less model error are needed for improved data transferability. A more efficient program can be achieved by discontinuing selected gages in the planning-and-design network. To this end, 11 continuous-record and 25 partial-record gages were selected to be discontinued by April 1, 1980. Additionally, 6 continuous-record and 29 partial-record gages are suggested to be discontinued at the end of the 1985 water year.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1986

Development of a water-use data system in Minnesota

The Minnesota State Legislature passed laws as early as 1937 to regulate use of Minnesota's ground water and surface water through a permit system. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to computerize water-use data reported to the State. The U.S. Geological Survey, through the National Water-Use Information Program, assisted the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota State Planning Agency, Land Management Information Center, in developing MWUDS (Minnesota Water-Use Data System). The Minnesota Water-Use Data System stores data on the quantity of individual annual water withdrawals and discharges in relation to the water resources affected, provides descriptors for aggregation of data and trend analysis, and enables access to additional data contained in other data bases. MWUDS is stored on a computer at the Land Management Information Center, an agency associated with the State Planning Agency. Interactive menu-driven programs simplify data entry, update, and retrieval and are easy to use. Estimates of unreported water use supplement reported water use to completely describe the stress on the hydrologic system. Links or common elements developed in the MWUDS enable access to data available in other State waterrelated data bases, forming a water-resource information system. Water-use information can be improved by developing methods for increasing accuracy of reported water use and refining methods for estimating unreported water use.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1996

Atlas of ground-water resources in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

This atlas presents an overview of the ground-water resources of the main island of Puerto Rico; two of its larger offshore islands, Isla de Culebra and Isla de Vieques; and the three principal islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. The atlas presents the most important ground-water information available for these islands, and is written for water managers and the general public. It describes, through the use of maps, graphs, and hydrogeologic sections, the most important aspects of the geohydrology, ground-water flow system, and groundwater withdrawals for the principal aquifers in these islands. Most of the information presented in the atlas is from published reports, although unpublished data from ongoing studies by the U.S. Geological Survey were used to prepare parts of the atlas. This report provides a useful compilation of information concerning major aquifers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and provides a first step in gaining a general knowledge of these aquifers. More detailed information is available from the primary sources referenced in the report. The atlas contains an introductory section and 15 sections describing the ground-water resources of 12 regions within the 7 ground-water areas of the main island of Puerto Rico, Isla de Culebra and Isla de Vieques (described in a single section of the atlas), and the U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas and St. John are described in one section of the atlas and St. Croix in another), and a concluding section describing present and potential problems related to the development of ground-water resources. Information presented in each of 15 descriptive sections of the atlas include the (1) location and major geographic features of the area covered by that section, (2) population and estimated (4) hydrogeology of the area, (5) ground-water levels and movements, and (6) a description of soil permeabilities.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1996

Estimated water use and general hydrologic conditions for Oregon, 1985 and 1990

Water-use information is vital to planners, engineers, and hydrologists in water resources. This report is a compilation of water-use information for Oregon for calendar years 1985 and 1990. The report presents water-use data by geographic region for several categories of use, including public supply, domestic, commercial, industrial, mining, thermoelectric power, hydroelectric power, live-stock, irrigation, reservoir evaporation, and wastewater treatment. Hydroelectric power is the only instream use discussed; all other uses are considered offstream. The Appendix presents 1985 and 1990 data by region and by drainage basin for the previously mentioned categories of use. The Cascade Range divides Oregon into two distinct climatic zones. The area west of the Cascade Range has an average annual precipitation that ranges from 40 to 200 inches, and precipitation in the area east of the Cascade Range ranges from 10 to 20 inches. The differences in precipitation and geology have an effect on the sources, uses, and amounts of water withdrawn. Most of the large public-supply systems west of the Cascade Range rely on surface water, whereas many of the large public-supply systems east of the Cascade Range use on wells or springs. Irrigators west of the Cascade Range rely primarily on nearby surface- water sources; however, irrigators east of the Cascade Range use primarily surface water that commonly is delivered from distant sources through irrigation ditches. A variety of methods was used to estimate water-use information. Most withdrawals for public-water suppliers were metered; however, irrigation withdrawals usually were estimated by using information on crops, climate, application efficiencies, and conveyance losses. The accuracy of the estimated total withdrawal values for public supply was estimated to be within 4 percent of the values that would be obtained if all public-supply withdrawals were metered. Total withdrawals for irrigation were estimated to be within 40 percent of metered irrigation withdrawals. The estimates-of-error are presented to show the relative, rather than absolute, accuracy of the data for each water-use category. A total of 8,400 million gallons of water per day was withdrawn in Oregon during 1990, about 1,900 million gallons per day more than the 6,500 million gallons per day withdrawn in 1985. Whereas actual water use increased in 1990, the major differences between 1985 and 1990 were attributed to the inclusion of offstream fish hatcheries, the use of different crop coefficients to estimate irrigation, and the availability of more detailed information in the 1990 estimates. Surface-water withdrawals accounted for 92 percent of the total withdrawals in 1990; irrigation was the largest category of water use, accounting for 82 percent of the total withdrawals.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1997

Water-quality assessment of the Lower Susquehanna River Basin, Pennsylvania and Maryland: sources, characteristics, analysis and limitations of nutrient and suspended-sediment data, 1975-90

This report describes analyses of available information on nutrients and suspended sediment collected in the Lower Susquehanna River Basin during water years 1975-90. Most of the analyses were applied to data collected during water years 1980-89. The report describes the spatial and temporal availability of nutrient and suspended-sediment data and presents a preliminary concept of the spatial and temporal patterns of concentrations and loads within the basin. Where data were available, total and dissolved forms of nitrogen and phosphorus species from precipitation, surface water, ground water, and springwater, and bottom material from streams and reservoirs were evaluated. Suspended-sediment data from streams also were evaluated. The U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (NWIS) database was selected as the primary database for the analyses. Precipitation-quality data from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) and bottom-material-quality data from the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) were used to supplement the water-quality data from NWIS. Concentrations of nutrients were available from 3 precipitation sites established for longterm monitoring purposes, 883 wells (854 synoptic areal survey sites and 29 project and research sites), 23 springs (17 synoptic areal survey sites and 6 project and research sites), and 894 bottom-material sites (840 synoptic areal survey sites and 54 project and research sites). Concentrations of nutrients and (or) suspended sediment were available from 128 streams (36 long-term monitoring sites, 51 synoptic areal survey sites, and 41 project and research sites). Concentrations of nutrients and suspended sediment in streams varied temporally and spatially and were related to land use, agricultural practices, and streamflow. A general north-to-south pattern of increasing median nitrate concentrations, from 2 to 5 mg/L, was detected in samples collected in study unit streams. In streams that drain areas dominated by agriculture, concentrations of nutrients and suspended sediment tend to be elevated with respect to those found in areas of other land-use types and are related to the amount of commercial fertilizer and animal manure applied to the area drained by the streams. Animal manure is the dominant source of nitrogen for the streams in the lower, agricultural part of the basin. Concentrations of nutrients in samples from wells varied with season and well depth and were related to hydrogeologic setting. Median concentrations of nitrate were 2.5 and 3.5 mg/L for wells drawing water at depths of 0 to 100 ft and 101 to 200 ft, respectively. The lowest median concentrations for nitrate in ground water from wells were generally found in siliciclastic-bedrock, forested settings of the Ridge and Valley Physiographic Province, and the highest were found in carbonate-bedrock agricultural settings of the Piedmont Physiographic Province. Twenty-five percent of the measurements from wells in carbonate rocks in the Piedmont Physiographic Province exceeded the Pennsylvania drinking-water standard. An estimate of mass balance of nutrient loads within the Lower Susquehanna River Basin was produced by combining the available information on stream loads, atmosphericdeposition loads, commercial-fertilizer applications, animal-manure production, privateseptic-system nonpoint-source loads, and municipal and industrial point-source loads. The percentage of the average annual nitrate load carried in base flow of streams in the study unit ranged from 45 to 76 percent, and the average annual phosphorus load carried in base flow ranged from 20 to 33 percent. Average annual yields of nutrients and suspended sediment from tributary basins are directly related to percentage of drainage area in agriculture and inversely to drainage area. Information required to compute loads of nitrogen and phosphorus were available for all sources except atmospheric deposition, for which only nitrogen data were available. Atmospheric deposition is the dominant source of nitrogen for the mostly forested basins draining the upper half of the study unit. The estimate of total annual nitrogen load to the study unit from precipitation is 98.8 million pounds. Nonpoint and point sources of nutrients were estimated. Nonpoint and point sources combined, including atmospheric deposition, provide a potential annual load of 390 million pounds of nitrogen and 79.5 million pounds of phosphorus. The range of percentages of the estimated nonpoint and point sources that were measured in the stream was 20 to 47 percent for nitrogen and 6 to 14 percent for phosphorus. On the average, the Susquehanna River discharges 141,000 pounds of nitrogen and 7,920 pounds of phosphorus to the Lower Susquehanna River reservoir system each year. About 98 percent of the nitrogen and 60 percent of the phosphorus passes through the reservoir system. Interpretations of available water-quality data and conclusions about the water quality of the Lower Susquehanna River Basin were limited by the scarcity of certain types of water-quality data and current ancillary data. A more complete assessment of the water quality of the basin with respect to nutrients and suspended sediment would be enhanced by the availability of additional data for multiple samples over time from all water environments; samples from streams in the northern and western part of the basin; samples from streams and springs throughout the basin during high base-flow or stormflow conditions; and information on current land-use, and nutrient loading from all types of land-use settings.

Maryland, Pennsylvania↗
USGS2021

Animal reservoirs and hosts for emerging alphacoronaviruses and betacoronaviruses

The ongoing global pandemic caused by coronavirus disease has once again demonstrated the role of the family Coronaviridae in causing human disease outbreaks. Because severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was first detected in December 2019, information on its tropism, host range, and clinical manifestations in animals is limited. Given the limited information, data from other coronaviruses might be useful for informing scientific inquiry, risk assessment, and decision-making. We reviewed endemic and emerging infections of alphacoronaviruses and betacoronaviruses in wildlife, livestock, and companion animals and provide information on the receptor use, known hosts, and clinical signs associated with each host for 15 coronaviruses detected in humans and animals. This information can be used to guide implementation of a One Health approach that involves human health, animal health, environmental, and other relevant partners in developing strategies for preparedness, response, and control to current and future coronavirus disease threats.

Emerging Infectious Diseases↗
USGS2024

USGS and social media user dialogue and sentiment during the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii

Responsive and empathic communication by scientists is critical for building trust and engagement with communities, which, in turn, promotes receptiveness toward authoritative hazard information during times of crisis. The 2018 eruption of Hawai‘i's Kīlauea Volcano was the first volcanic crisis event in which communication via the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) social media group, “USGS Volcanoes,” played a major role in providing eruption information to publics. Providing a concrete assessment of the social media effort during the eruption is necessary for optimizing future social media hazard crisis communication. We present qualitative and quantitative analyses of USGS Volcanoes' Facebook posts and over 22,000 follow-on comments spanning the 2018 eruption. Our analyses reveal that, for the 16 posts with the highest user engagement, USGS Volcanoes and informed non-USGS users directly answered 73% of questions and directly corrected or called out inaccuracies in over 54% of comments containing misinformation. User sentiments were 66% positive on average per comment thread regarding eruption information, and user feedback toward USGS Volcanoes, USGS scientists, or the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory was 86% positive on average. Quantitative sentiment analysis reveals a 61% correlation between users' overall expressed sentiments and frequency of the word “thank,” providing further evidence that social media engagement by USGS Volcanoes and informed users positively impacted collective user sentiment. Themes emerging from our qualitative thematic analysis illustrate how communication strategies employed by USGS Volcanoes successfully engaged and benefitted users, providing insights for communicating with publics on social media during crisis situations.

Hawaii↗
USGS2022

HydroBench: Jupyter supported reproducible hydrological model benchmarking and diagnostic tool

Evaluating whether hydrological models are right for the right reasons demands reproducible model benchmarking and diagnostics that evaluate not just statistical predictive model performance but also internal processes. Such model benchmarking and diagnostic efforts will benefit from standardized methods and ready-to-use toolkits. Using the Jupyter platform, this work presents HydroBench, a model-agnostic benchmarking tool consisting of three sets of metrics: 1) common statistical predictive measures, 2) hydrological signature-based process metrics, including a new time-linked flow duration curve and 3) information-theoretic diagnostics that measure the flow of information among model variables. As a test case, HydroBench was applied to compare two model products (calibrated and uncalibrated) of the National Hydrologic Model - Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (NHM-PRMS) at the Cedar River watershed, WA, United States. Although the uncalibrated model has the highest predictive performance, particularly for high flows, the signature-based diagnostics showed that the model overestimates low flows and poorly represents the recession processes. Elucidating why low flows may have been overestimated, the information-theoretic diagnostics indicated a higher flow of information from precipitation to snowmelt to streamflow in the uncalibrated model compared to the calibrated model, where information flowed more directly from precipitation to streamflow. This test case demonstrated the capability of HydroBench in process diagnostics and model predictive and functional performance evaluations, along with their tradeoffs. Having such a model benchmarking tool not only provides modelers with a comprehensive model evaluation system but also provides an open-source tool that can further be developed by the hydrological community.

Frontiers in Earth Sciences↗
USGS2022

Medium spatial resolution mapping of global land cover and land cover change across multiple decades from Landsat

Land cover maps are essential for characterizing the biophysical properties of the Earth’s land areas. Because land cover information synthesizes a rich array of information related to both the ecological condition of land areas and their exploitation by humans, they are widely used for basic and applied research that requires information related to land surface properties (e.g., terrestrial carbon models, water balance models, weather, and climate models) and are core inputs to models and analyses used by natural resource scientists and land managers. As the Earth’s global population has grown over the last several decades rates of land cover change have increased dramatically, with enormous impacts on ecosystem services (e.g., biodiversity, water supply, carbon sequestration, etc.). Hence, accurate information related to land cover is essential for both managing natural resources and for understanding society’s ecological, biophysical, and resource management footprint. To address the need for high-quality land cover information we are using the global record of Landsat observations to compile annual maps of global land cover from 2001 to 2020 at 30 m spatial resolution. To create these maps we use features derived from time series of Landsat imagery in combination with ancillary geospatial data and a large database of training sites to classify land cover at annual time step. The algorithm that we apply uses temporal segmentation to identify periods with stable land cover that are separated by breakpoints in the time series. Here we provide an overview of the methods and data sets we are using to create global maps of land cover. We describe the algorithms used to create these maps and the core land cover data sets that we are creating through this effort, and we summarize our approach to accuracy assessment. We also present a synthesis of early results and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our early map products and the challenges that we have encountered in creating global land cover data sets from Landsat. Initial accuracy assessment for North America shows good overall accuracy (77.0 ± 2.0% correctly classified) and 79.8% agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) WorldCover product. The land cover mapping results we report provide the foundation for robust, repeatable, and accurate mapping of global land cover and land cover change across multiple decades at 30 m spatial resolution from Landsat.

Frontiers in Remote Sensing↗
USGS2014

Integrating land cover modeling and adaptive management to conserve endangered species and reduce catastrophic fire risk

Land cover modeling is used to inform land management, but most often via a two-step process, where science informs how management alternatives can influence resources, and then, decision makers can use this information to make decisions. A more efficient process is to directly integrate science and decision-making, where science allows us to learn in order to better accomplish management objectives and is developed to address specific decisions. Co-development of management and science is especially productive when decisions are complicated by multiple objectives and impeded by uncertainty. Multiple objectives can be met by the specification of tradeoffs, and relevant uncertainty can be addressed through targeted science (i.e., models and monitoring). We describe how to integrate habitat and fuel monitoring with decision-making focused on the dual objectives of managing for endangered species and minimizing catastrophic fire risk. Under certain conditions, both objectives might be achieved by a similar management policy; other conditions require tradeoffs between objectives. Knowledge about system responses to actions can be informed by developing hypotheses based on ideas about fire behavior and then applying competing management actions to different land units in the same system state. Monitoring and management integration is important to optimize state-specific management decisions and to increase knowledge about system responses. We believe this approach has broad utility and identifies a clear role for land cover modeling programs intended to inform decision-making.

Land↗
USGS2023

America's most wanted fishes: Cataloging risk assessments to prioritize invasive species for management action

Hundreds of fish species enter the United States through human intervention (e.g., importation) and some of these fishes pose a substantial risk to the nation’s assets and ecosystems. Prevention, early detection, and rapid response (EDRR) are vital to stop species invasions, but time and resources to manage the large suite of fish species that enter the nation are limited. Evaluating the risk of a species’ invasion in a location is one way to prioritize among many species for management action. Species risk assessments are often associated with information systems or are published within grey literature or peer-reviewed journal articles. Improving access to available risk assessments could help in prioritizing management action for the most potentially invasive fish species. We aggregated fish species risk assessments, synthesizing the current knowledge on the risk of fish invasions in the United States. To accomplish this, we searched information systems and conducted a literature review. We then summarized risk assessment results along with the importation statuses of fish species and identified if imported, high-risk species are managed under federal or state policy. Within the scope of the conterminous U.S., we found 98 high-risk fish species. Eighteen of these species are imported to the country, but only three species have been recently prohibited from importation according to the Lacey Act. We observed similar patterns at the scales of the Great Lakes region and Florida. Collectively, our work provides a baseline estimate of the high-risk fish invaders that enter the U.S. through importation, underscoring species to consider for priority management action, as well as a benchmark of species that lack risk assessments. Insights from this work can be enriched when joined with other invasive species information, which could be accomplished through a national EDRR information system, an information sharing hub in development by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Management of Biological Invasions↗
USGS2021

Horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios from California sites: Open-source database and data interpretation to establish site parameters

Frequency-dependent horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVSR) of Fourier amplitudes from three-component recordings can provide information on one or more site resonant frequencies and relative levels of amplification at those frequencies. Such information is potentially useful for predicting site amplification but is not present in site databases that have been developed over the last 15–20 years for the Next-Generation Attenuation (NGA) projects, which instead use the time-averaged shear-wave velocity (VS) in the upper 30 m of the site (VS30) as the primary site parameter and are supplemented with basin depth terms where available. As a consequence, HVSR parameters are also not used in NGA ground motion models. In order for HVSR-based parameters to be used in future versions of site databases, a publicly accessible repository of this information is needed. We adapt a relational database developed to archive and disseminate VS data to also include HVSR. The database provides relevant microtremor-based HVSR data (mHVSR) and supporting metadata. We consider the most relevant data to be the frequency-dependent mHVSR, where the horizontal is taken as the median component and also as a function of horizontal azimuth (referred to as polar plots). Relevant metadata includes site location information, details about the equipment used to make the measurements, and processing details related to windowing, anti-trigger routines, and filtering. We describe the database schema developed to organize and present this information.

California↗
USGS2022

Southeast Utah Group climate and drought adaptation report: Exposure and perennial grass sensitivity

National Park Service (NPS) managers face growing challenges resulting from the effects of climate change. In particular, as temperatures rise in coming decades, natural resource management in the western United States must cope with expectations for elevated severity and frequency of droughts. These challenges are particularly pronounced for vegetation managers in dryland environments. Developing adaptive strategies requires specific information about the expected magnitude of change in climate and drought conditions as well as insights into how those changes will affect important vegetation resources. This report describes research focused on Southeast Utah Group (SEUG) park units designed to provide information about exposure and sensitivity of perennial grasses to aridification. Analyses at larger regional scales are also reported for context and comparison. This report is a product of an ongoing climate adaptation collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), NPS, and Northern Arizona University. The study it summarizes contributes quantitative ingredients for vulnerability assessments that are needed in the Climate-Smart Conservation framework. As such, the results informed a series of climate adaptation workshops conducted between 2018 and 2021 for Colorado Plateau scientists and managers. This is a giant step forward in science-informed management. The information in this report can be used to craft management strategies that can be implemented at the right place and time for individual species of concern.

Colorado, Utah↗
USGS1977

Tactical approach for determining impact of energy development on wildlife in Wyoming: special report number 1

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, within the Department of Interior, is responsible for providing national leadership in the management and protection of the nation's fish and wildlife resources, their habitat, and environment. Specifically, the Office of Biological Services obtains and assimilates biological and environmental data and identifies additional informational needs and means necessary to provide biological input into major natural resource decisions. The Wyoming Coal Coordinator for the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service is assigned the duty of becoming attuned to the ramifications of energy development within the State and its potential impact upon wildlife. In order for the Coal Coordinator to fulfill his obligations in becoming an "energy expert" for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Wyoming, it will be necessary for him to develop a means of obtaining an overview of the energy development situation. Similarly, in order for him to identify those area of critical concern to wildlife resources, it will be necessary that he determine or predict where energy development will occur, the nature of this development, and the cumulative effects of energy development upon wildlife. Likewise, in order to identify where wildlife data gaps occur and to determine future wildlife information needs, it will be necessary for him to compile and synthesize relevant existing data resources. It therefore becomes apparent that a need exists for him to gather and interpret pertinent information in a systematic way to meet these ends. The following is an account of the tactical number in which the Wyoming Coal Coordinator intends to approach the duties outlined above the rationale to be followed in meeting these needs. First, a general discussion on assessing impacts on wildlife is provided to form a basis for obtaining an overview. Secondly, a series of reports which will be generated to summarize existing information and to help identify potential problem areas is outlined. These reports will be further utilized to determine wildlife data gaps and future information needs related to wildlife and future energy development.

Wyoming↗