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Orlo A. Crosby

Publications and source records attributed to Orlo A. Crosby.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1987

Hydrology of area 46, Northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountain coal provinces, North Dakota

This report is one of a series that describes the hydrology of coal provinces nationwide. The Northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountain Coal Provinces are divided into 20 separate reporting areas which are numbered 43 to 62. This report provides general hydrologic information for Area 46 using a brief text with accompanying maps, charts, or graphs. This information may be used to describe the hydrology of the general area of any existing or proposed mine. Some of the more obvious hydrologic problems of coal development that will need to be addressed before development are disruption of aquifers and potential contamination of streams, aquifers, and the atmosphere. Area 46 is in northwestern North Dakota and is composed of parts or all of 14 hydrologic units based on surface-water drainage basins. The area is drained by the Missouri and Souris Rivers. Lignite-bearing rocks of late Paleocene age underlie nearly all of Area 46. The thickest and most continuous lignite beds occur in the Sentinel Butte and Tongue River Members of the Fort Union Formation. Alluvial deposits and a veneer of glacial drift of late Pleistocene age overlie the lignite-bearing rocks. The climate of the area is semiarid. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 13.9 to 17.8 inches. Mean annual temperatures range from 37.7°F at Bowbells to 40.9°F at Williston. Mean monthly temperatures at Williston range from 8.3°F to 70°F. The growing season is about 125 days. A fairly comprehensive data base for streamflow and water quality in streams is available for Area 46. Many of the small-stream monitoring sites have been operated during the last few years to provide a data base before coal development. With the exception of the Missouri River, which is controlled by several dams, both the quantity and quality of water varies greatly in all streams. A ground-water observation network for water levels and water quality has been established through county ground-water resource investigations and other ground-water studies and provides an adequate data base. Three activities within the U.S. Geological Survey identify and provide access to hydrologic data. These are the National Water-Data Exchange (NAWDEX), the National Water-Data Storage and Retrieval System (WATSTORE), and the Office of Water-Data Coordination (OWDC).

Open-File Report↗
USGS1975

Magnitude and frequency of floods in small drainage basins in North Dakota

This report describes methods for estimating flood-peak discharges having 2- to 50-year recurrence intervals on North Dakota streams draining less than 100 square miles ( 259 square kilometres). For gaged sites, frequency estimates are provided directly. For ungaged sites, flood peaks are estimated from multiple-regression equations using drainage-area size and, in two regions, soil-infiltration index as estimating variables. Nomographs provide simple solutions for the equations for flood-peak discharges having recurrence intervals of 10, 25, and 50 years. The methods described are not applicable to streams draining urban areas or basins affected by man-made regulation. Information is also provided on the maximum flood magnitude experienced.

North Dakota↗
USGS1974

An investigation of basin effects on flood discharges in North Dakota

An investigation of the relationship of peak discharge to causative storm variables and drainage-basin characteristics was made to provide guidelines for future analyses of frequency and magnitudes of floods from small drainage areas. The procedure used was (l) to estimate peak discharges on the ll study basins from multiple-regression models developed from the storm variables and (2) to relate the peak discharges to the basin characteristics through regression or correlation with particular attention given to the effect of basin shape. The average standard error of estimate for the peak discharges ranged from n5 to 119 percent when only the four storm variables common to most basins were used.

North Dakota↗
USGS1971

Thermal study of the Missouri River in North Dakota using infrared imagery

Studies of infrared imagery obtained from aircraft at 305- to 1,524- meter altitudes indicate the feasibility of monitoring thermal changes attributable to the operation of thermal-electric plants and storage reservoirs, as well as natural phenomena such as tributary inflow and ground-water seeps, in large rivers. No identifiable sources of ground-water inflow below t he surface of the river could be found in the imagery. The thermal patterns from the generating plants and the major tri butary inflow are readily apparent in imagery obtained from an altitude of 305 meters. Though the patterns are generally discernible in the imagery from 1,067-meter and 1,524-meter altitudes, there is not sufficient ground resolution to make any but the most general qualitative analyses. The quality of the imagery varied with land-water temperature relations as well as with instrument properties. Portions of the tape-recorded imagery were processed in a color-coded quantization to enhance the displays and to attach quantitative significance to the data. Apparent radiant temperature computations from the 305-meter imagery were generally within l° Celsius of ground-truth data. The study indicates a marked decrease in water temperature in the Missouri River prior to early fall and a moderate increase in temperature in late fall because of the Lake Sakakawea impoundment. At the present time, thermal additions generated by the powerplants have little effect on the temperature regimen of the Missouri River at high rates of river discharge.

North Dakota↗
USGS1966

Floods of June 24-25, 1966 in southwest-central North Dakota

A severe thunderstorm accompanied by much hail swept through southwest-central North Dakota on the afternoon of June 24. Rainfall of up to 13 inches caused floods higher than any previously known in the area. The isohyetal map (fig. 1) indicates the extent and magnitude of the storm. This map was derived from rainfall data at 20 U.S. Weather Bureau gages (4 recording), 26 Geological Survey gages (5 recording) and 124 sites located in a bucket survey made by the Geological Survey (table 1).

North Dakota↗
USGS1959

Floods in North and South Dakota: Frequency and magnitude

The magnitude of a flood of a selected frequency for any point in the two states may be determined by methods outlined in this report, with two limitations. These methods are not applicable for regulated streams or for small-drainage areas (in general, less than 100 square miles). The determination of the magnitude of a flood of a selected frequency in the two-state area is accomplished by the use of composite frequency curves for 2 flood regions and curves showing variation of mean annual flood with drainage area for 9 hydrologic areas and 10 main-stem streams. These curves are based on all flood data collected in North and South Dakota with some use made of records from adjoining states. These data are tabulated in the report. Also included in the report is a tabulation of maximum flood experiences at gaging stations and outstanding floods at many miscellaneous sites.

North Dakota, South Dakota↗