Search USGS⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search USGS

Results for “Washington Geology”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
USGS2006

Selected Natural Attenuation Monitoring Data, Operable Unit 1, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport, Washington, June 2005

Previous investigations have shown that natural attenuation and biodegradation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are substantial in shallow ground water beneath the 9-acre former landfill at Operable Unit 1 (OU-1), Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport, Washington. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has continued to monitor ground-water geochemistry to assure that conditions remain favorable for contaminant biodegradation. This report presents the ground-water geochemical and selected VOC data collected at OU-1 by the USGS during June 21-24, 2005, in support of long-term monitoring for natural attenuation. For June 2005, the strongly reducing conditions (sulfate reduction and methanogenesis) most favorable for reductive dechlorination of chlorinated VOCs were detected in fewer upper-aquifer wells than were detected during 2004. Redox conditions in ground water from the intermediate aquifer just downgradient of the landfill remained somewhat favorable for reductive dechlorination. Overall, the changes in redox conditions observed at individual wells have not been consistent or substantial throughout either the upper or the intermediate aquifers. In apparent contrast to changes in redox conditions, the chlorinated VOC concentrations were lower than previously measured in many of the piezometers in the northern phytoremediation plantation. The decrease in contaminant concentrations beneath the northern plantation and the end-product (ethane and ethene) evidence for reductive dechlorination are consistent with 2000-04 results. In the southern phytoremediation plantation, changes in chlorinated VOC concentrations were variable. Most notable was a substantial decrease in the sum of trichloroethene, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, and vinyl chloride concentrations at piezometer P1-9 from 75,000 to 1,000 micrograms per liter between 2004 and 2005. The high concentrations of the reductive dechlorination end-products ethane and ethene measured at the most contaminated sites (P1-6 and P1-7), as well as measurable concentrations at sites P1-9 and P1-10, are reliable evidence that reductive dechlorination of chlorinated VOCs is ongoing in the southern plantation. In the 10 passive-diffusion samplers deployed beneath the marsh stream, the highest chlorinated VOC concentrations measured were at a site (S-4) about midway along the sampled stream reach. In 2005, the sum of trichloroethene, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, and vinyl chloride concentrations increased nearly twofold in comparison to 2004. It is not certain that the apparent increase in concentrations is representative of site conditions. However, the chlorinated VOC concentrations have increased each time at the two most contaminated passive-diffusion sampler sites that have been sampled for multiple years. In the marsh stream, chlorinated VOC concentrations in surface water were low at the site (SW-S6) near the upgradient margin of the former landfill. Concentrations in the stream increased substantially after flowing past the southern phytoremediation plantation to the downstream site (MA-12). Overall, the 2005 data were consistent with previous findings of continued biodegradation of chlorinated VOCs in ground water, along with continued discharge of some chlorinated VOCs to surface water in the marsh stream.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2007

Selected Natural Attenuation Monitoring Data, Operable Unit 1, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport, Washington, June 2006

Previous investigations have shown that natural attenuation and biodegradation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are substantial in shallow ground water beneath the 9-acre former landfill at Operable Unit 1 (OU 1), Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport, Washington. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has continued to monitor ground-water geochemistry to assure that conditions remain favorable for contaminant biodegradation. This report presents ground-water geochemical and selected VOC data collected at OU 1 by the USGS during June 12-14, 2006, in support of long-term monitoring for natural attenuation. For June 2006, the strongly reducing conditions (sulfate reduction and methanogenesis) most favorable for reductive dechlorination of VOCs were inferred for 5 of 15 upper-aquifer sites in the northern and southern phytoremediation plantations. Predominant redox conditions in ground water from the intermediate aquifer just downgradient from the landfill remained mildly reducing and somewhat favorable for reductive dechlorination. Since about 2003, measured dissolved hydrogen concentrations in the upper aquifer generally have been lower than those previously measured, although methane and sulfide have continued to be detected throughout the upper aquifer beneath the landfill. Overall, no widespread changes in ground-water redox conditions were measured that should result in either more or less efficient biodegradation of chlorinated VOCs. For the northern plantation in 2006, chlorinated VOC concentrations at piezometers P1-3 and P1-4 were lower than previously measured, and trichloroethene (TCE), cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cis-DCE), or vinyl chloride (VC) were not detected at piezometers P1-1 and P1-5. The steady decrease in contaminant concentrations and the continued detection of the reductive dechlorination end-products ethene and ethane have been consistent throughout the upper aquifer beneath the northern plantation. For the southern plantation in 2006, changes in chlorinated VOC concentrations at the piezometers were highly variable. At piezometer P1-9, the 2006 total chlorinated VOC concentration as well as the concentrations of cis-DCE and VC were measured at their highest levels to date; contaminant concentrations substantially decreased at piezometer P1-9 between June 2004 and June 2005. The reasons for the 2004-05 decrease in concentrations or the 2005-06 increase in concentrations are unknown. At piezometer P1-10, the consistent temporal trend of decreasing chlorinated VOC concentrations measured since 1999 ended, and the concentration of total chlorinated VOC in 2006 was the highest measured since 1999. The reductive dechlorination end-product ethene was measured at concentrations as high as 1,300 micrograms per liter in the upper aquifer beneath the southern plantation, which is reliable evidence that reductive dechlorination of VOCs is ongoing.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2013

Conservation and Ecology of Marine Forage Fishes--Proceedings of a Research Symposium, September 2012

Locally and globally, there is growing recognition of the critical roles that herring, smelt, sand lance, eulachon, and other forage fishes play in marine ecosystems. Scientific and resource management entities throughout the Salish Sea, agree that extensive information gaps exist, both in basic biological knowledge and parameters critical to fishery management. Communication and collaboration among researchers also is inadequate. Building on the interest and enthusiasm generated by recent forage fish workshops and symposia around the region, the 2012 Research Symposium on the Conservation and Ecology of Marine Forage Fishes was designed to elucidate practical recommendations for science and policy needs and actions, and spur further collaboration in support for the precautionary management of forage fish. This dynamic and productive event was a joint venture of the Northwest Straits Commission Forage Fish Program, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and The Puget Sound Partnership. The symposium was held on September 12–14, 2012, at the University of Washington, Friday Harbor Laboratories campus. Sixty scientists, graduate students, and fisheries policy experts convened; showcasing ongoing research, conservation, and management efforts targeting forage fish from regional and national perspectives. The primary objectives of this event were to: (1) review current research and management related to marine forage fish species; and (2) identify priority science and policy needs and actions for Washington, British Columbia, and the entire West Coast. Given the diversity of knowledge, interests, and disciplines surrounding forage fish on both sides of the international border, the organizing committee made a concerted effort to contact many additional experts who, although unable to attend, provided valuable insights and ideas to the symposium structure and discussions. The value of the symposium format was highlighted in the closing remarks delivered by Joseph Gaydos, SeaDoc Society and Chair of the Puget Sound Science Panel. Dr. Gaydos’ presentation referenced the 2011 paper by Murray Rudd in the journal Conservation Biology , “How research-prioritization exercises affect conservation policy.” The paper points out that policy makers and funding agencies are more likely to gain a full understanding of issues when they are presented with research findings from an aligned research program. That is, compared to unaligned research strategies, where work is not based on identified research priorities.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1989

Selected ground-water information for the Pasco basin and adjacent areas, Washington, 1986-1989

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the United States Department of Energy, conducted a study of the Pasco basin and adjacent areas, Washington, in support of the Basalt Waste Isolation Project at the Hanford site, Washington. The purpose of the study was to develop a data set that would help define the groundwater-flow system of the Pasco Basin. This report contains the basic data, without interpretation, that were collected from the start of the project in February 1986 through January 1989. Information presented is from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, State of Washington Department of Ecology , US Army Corps of Engineers, Kennewick Irrigation District, and the Survey, and consists of well location and construction data, records of water levels in the wells, and aquifer designations for each well. The aquifer designation represents the geohydrologic unit to which the well is reported to be open. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS2025

Cascading consequences and interventions for hazards after wildfire in Okanogan County, Washington

This report details the application of the chains of consequences method within the postfire hazard context after the 2021 Cedar Creek and Muckamuck Fires around Okanogan County, Washington. The U.S. Geological Survey Social and Economic Analysis branch convened 20 stakeholders with content- and context-specific knowledge related to these fires and their postfire hazards in an April 2023 Postfire Hazards Chains of Consequences Workshop. Guided by U.S. Geological Survey facilitators, workshop participants identified the cascading consequences of a specific postfire hazard scenario before brainstorming interventions to reduce the likelihood and severity of those consequences. The participants worked across disciplinary boundaries to identify gaps in understanding around cascading postfire hazard consequences and to brainstorm multidisciplinary interventions.

Washington↗
USGS2023

Identifying research in support of the management and control of dreissenid mussels in the western United States

On February 9–10, 2022, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Washington State University hosted a workshop to establish research priorities that support the implementation of action items listed in a current invasive species management plan, the Quagga and Zebra Mussel Action Plan (QZAP) 2.0, that are intended to limit the establishment and spread of quagga and zebra mussels in the western United States. The workshop focus was on developing research priorities for the thematic areas that are addressed in QZAP 2.0: 1) early detection monitoring, 2) prevention and containment, 3) control and management, and 4) rapid response. In addition, research priorities were developed for a fifth thematic area that addressed dreissenid mussel biology. Forty scientists participated in the two-day workshop. Prior to the workshop, participants were asked to review and rank research priorities that were established for a previous version of the QZAP and to offer suggestions on emerging research priorities. During the workshop, subject matter experts presented information describing current knowledge of research and information associated with the thematic areas of early detection monitoring, prevention and containment, rapid response, control and management, and biology in the context of strategies and actions listed in QZAP 2.0. The rankings of previous research priorities and suggestions of emerging priorities were then reviewed, and a revised list of research priorities was formed. The list of research priorities is presented by thematic area.

Management of Biological Invasions↗
USGS1970

Hydrogeologic data for the Upper Housatonic River basin, Connecticut

The upper Housatonic River basin covers an area of about 700 square miles in western Connecticut and includes the towns of Bridgewater, Brookfield, Canaan, Cornwall, Kent, New Fairfield, New Hilford, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Sherman and Warren and parts of Bethel, Bethlehem, Danbury, Goshen, Litchfield, Morris, Newtown, Norfolk, Ridgefield, Roxbury, Southbury, Torrington and Washington. The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Connecticut Water Resources Commission conducted a water resources investigation of this basin from July 1966 to November 1968. The interpretive results of this study are published separately in Connecticut Water Resources Bulletin No. 21. Streamflow and water-quality data and measurements of water levels In observation wells collected during the investigative period have been published in the 1967, 1968 and 1969 volumes of the annual series of U.S. Geological Survey reports entitled "Water Resources Data for Connecticut". The remaining significant information, consisting of records of 284 wells and 5 springs, logs of 322 wells and test holes, mechanical analyses of 58 sediment samples of stratified drift and records of 3 pumping tests is contained in this report. The locations of all sites at which hydrogeologic data were collected are shown on plate A (in pocket at back of report). The Information contained on the following pages together with data previously published~ document the companion interpretive report and should facilitate the planned development of water resources at specific localities.

Connecticut↗
USGS2025

Preprint: Simulated seasonal loads of total nitrogen and total phosphorus by major source from watersheds draining to Washington waters of the Salish Sea, 2005 through 2020

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) have developed watershed models of seasonal load estimates of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) discharging into the Washington waters of the Salish Sea from 2005 through 2020. The modeling approach used was dynamic SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes), a statistical-physical watershed modeling technique, initially applied at large spatial scales to represent long-term average stream loads throughout a stream network, refined here to estimate seasonal TN and TP loads across watersheds to clarify upstream contributions from discernable point and nonpoint sources delivered to marine waters at surface water confluences along the shoreline and quantify when, where, and why they were high or low. Upstream contributing sources included permitted treated wastewater facilities, crop fertilizer, animal feeding operations, septic systems, urban land and stormwater, atmospheric deposition (TN only), nitrogen fixation by Red Alder Alnus rubra trees (TN only), and background geologic material (TP only). Instream load magnitudes and their source compositions varied widely across watersheds, and even within each watershed, yet the largest loads typically occurred in the large rivers during winter and fall when streamflow was highest. Likewise, instream loads were typically lowest in summer during low streamflow, yet the relative instream aquatic decay was highest. The seasonal storage lag component of those nonpoint sources was estimated to contribute a quarter of the seasonal instream load during winter and fall high streamflow and sometimes half of the instream load during summer low streamflow. A key aspect of Ecology’s current Puget Sound Nutrient Source Reduction Project is consideration of upstream watershed contributions of nutrients to their marine-water discharge points. Simulated seasonal loads carried by streams to 63 river mouth marine discharge points 9 ranged by several orders-of-magnitude for both TN and TP due to the spatial and seasonal differences in hydrologic flows, magnitude and timing of contributing sources, and in-stream decay. The Snohomish and Skagit Rivers discharged the largest TN and TP loads, yet the Samish River was shown to have some of the highest TN and TP yields and concentrations. Additionally, a reference scenario was developed to provide an estimate of the pre-industrial local and regional loads.

ESS Open Archive↗
USGS2004

Issues of scale, location and geologic terrain related to Salt Lake City and Baltimore-Washington metropolitan areas

Planning and development of expanding metropolitan regions require consideration of earth science issues related to issues involving scale, space (location), geologic terrain and physiographic units, and information transfer. This paper explores these matters with examples from the Salt Lake City, Utah area and Mid-Atlantic region of Baltimore-Washington that include water supply and natural hazards (earthquakes, landslides, and sinkholes.) Information transfer methods using physiographic units at national, regional, local and site scales serve to communicate relevant geologic constraint and natural resource information.

Conference Paper↗
USGS1987

U. S. Geological Survey begins seismic ground response experiments in Washington State

Residents of a West Seattle neighborhood must have been puzzled one Saturday morning in December 1986. Two men were leaning against the wall of a house and rhythmically pushing against it, and were being urged on by the shouts of another man standing on the roof. A horizontal seismometer was fastened to the top of the roof with a wad of beeswax; a thin cable trailed from the seismometer over the roof edges across the lawn and into a van parked at the curb. A digital seismograph in the van was recording the minute vibrations that were produced by the two men pushing on the wall and that were detected by the seismometer. From those recordings, the men could determine the predominant frequency and damping characteristics of the house when it is forced to oscillate in a horizontal direction as, for example, in an earthquake. The men were Denver-based U.S Geological Survey (USGS) geophysicists working on the Urban Hazards Field Investigations project. On the previous day they had recorded two events on their seismographs-a distant nuclear explosion in Nevada and a blast at amine near Centralia, Washington. On another day, they used seismic refraction equipment to locate the depth of bedrock and seismic velocity to it at several locations in West Seattle and in the Seward Park-Brighton district of southeast Seattle.

Washington↗
USGS2024

Evaluation of groundwater resources in the Upper White River Basin within Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State, 2020

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Park Service, investigated groundwater gains and losses on the upper White River within Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. This investigation was conducted using stream discharge measurements at 14 locations within 7 reaches over a 6.5-mile river length from near the White River’s origin at the terminus of the Emmons Glacier on Mount Rainier to the White River Entrance near the northeast boundary of Mount Rainier National Park. Locations selected for the stream discharge measurements were on the main channel of the White River and on tributary streams near their confluence with the White River. A soil-water-balance (SWB) model analysis was also performed on the White River basin to estimate groundwater recharge throughout the basin during the time of the study. Analyses were made for the White River basin at the sub-basin (zone) scale to determine groundwater input to the stream for individual stream reaches. The gridded SWB model was simulated at a 10-meter (m) horizontal resolution, where recharge simulations were constructed using five spatially distributed datasets. Daily climate data as input for the simulation included gridded daily precipitation and air temperature. Upon analysis of the seepage run results, three of the seven reaches showed groundwater gains in this study. The SWB model results were used in conjunction with the baseflow gain totals in the reaches to estimate the length of time for recharge to become base flow. Further analysis estimated the rates of groundwater flow in the zones with adjacent gaining reaches. A streamflow gain curve was created from a simple flow model for each of the zones to relate the recharge from the zones to the adjacent reaches on the White River and tributaries. The fit of the streamflow gain curve to the calculated streamflow gain during the seepage run was used to analyze where the recharge from each zone resulted as streamflow gain. Consecutive reach losses from zones D and L were immediately followed downstream by a relatively large gain in zone GH, indicating that the gain in the reach adjacent to zone GH could be from the recharge in zones D and L.

Washington↗
USGS2014

Lidar-revised geologic map of the Poverty Bay 7.5' quadrangle, King and Pierce Counties, Washington

For this map, we interpreted a 6-ft-resolution lidar digital elevation model combined with the geology depicted on the Geologic Map of the Poverty Bay 7.5' Quadrangle, King and Pierce Counties, Washington (Booth and others, 2004b). The authors of the 2004 map described, interpreted, and located the geology on the 1:24,000-scale topographic map of the Poverty Bay 7.5' quadrangle. The topographic map, published in 1997 but compiled in 1957, includes planimetry derived from 1990 imagery and 20-ft contours, nominal horizontal resolution of 40 ft (12 m), and nominal vertical accuracy of 10 ft (3 m). Similar to many surficial geologic maps, much of the geology in Booth and others (2004b) was interpreted from landforms portrayed on the topographic map. In 2003, the Puget Sound Lidar Consortium obtained a lidar-derived digital elevation model (DEM) for the Puget Sound region including all of the Poverty Bay 7.5' quadrangle. For a brief description of lidar (LIght Detection And Ranging) and this data acquisition program, see Haugerud and others (2003). This new DEM has a horizontal resolution and accuracy of 6 ft (2 m) and vertical accuracy of approximately 1 ft (0.3 m). The greater resolution and accuracy of the lidar DEM have facilitated a new interpretation of the geology, especially the distribution and relative age of some surficial deposits.

Washington↗
USGS2009

Assessment of Undiscovered Hydrocarbon Resources of the Western Oregon and Washington Province

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean volumes of 2.2 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of undiscovered natural gas and 15 million barrels of oil (MMBO) in the Western Oregon and Washington Province. More than 67 percent, or 1.5 TCF, of the undiscovered natural gas is continuous gas estimated to be coalbed gas in Tertiary coals in western Oregon and Washington.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2018

Crustal structure and quaternary acceleration of deformation rates in central Washington revealed by stream profile inversion, potential field geophysics, and structural geology of the Yakima folds

Post‐Miocene tectonic uplift along fault‐cored anticlines within central Washington produced the Yakima Fold Province, a region of active NNE‐SSW shortening in the Cascadian backarc. The relative timing and rate of deformation along individual structures is coarsely defined yet imperative for seismic hazard assessment. In this work, we use geomorphic and geophysical mapping, stream profile inversion, and balanced cross‐section methods to constrain fault geometries and slip rates in the Yakima Canyon region. We extract stream profiles from LiDAR data and analytically solve for the rate of relative rock uplift along several active fault‐cored anticlines. To constrain the fault geometries at depth and the long‐term magnitude of deformation, we constructed two line‐balanced cross sections across the folds with forward‐modeled magnetic and gravity anomaly data. Our stream profile results indicate an increase of incision rates in the Pleistocene, and we infer the increase is tectonically controlled. We estimate modern slip rates between 0.4 and 0.6 mm/year accommodated on reverse faults that core the Manastash Ridge, Umtanum Ridge, and Selah Butte anticlines and establish that these faults reactivate and invert older normal faults in basement rocks. Finally, we calculate the time required to accumulate sufficient strain energy for a large magnitude earthquake (M ≥ 7) along individual structures in the Yakima Fold Province. Results show that the Yakima folds likely accommodate large magnitude earthquakes and that it takes several hundred to several thousand years to accumulate sufficient strain energy for an M ≥ 7 earthquake.

Washington↗
USGS2020

Latest Pleistocene to present geology of Mount Baker Volcano, northern Cascade Range, Washington

Mount Baker is the prominent andesitic stratocone that forms the youngest volcanic center in the Mount Baker volcanic field. Its heavily glaciated cone, rising to 3,286 meters, is an international landmark, dominating the skyline of Vancouver, British Columbia, even though the volcano is located 25 kilometers south of the international border. Mount Baker caught the attention of scientists and the public alike in 1975–76 during a period of increased steaming, thermal output, and near-vent lithic tephra falls. Although a magmatic eruption did not ensue, it awoke the populace to the possibility of renewed volcanic activity in the Cascade Range (the first since the 1914–17 eruptions of Lassen Peak, Calif.)—a possibility fulfilled just five short years later with the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in southwest Washington. The 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, with its dramatic edifice collapse, extraordinary pyroclastic density current, and catastrophic lahars, invigorated the scientific community into studying these then little-known processes. It also highlighted the need to better understand eruptive histories at other Cascade Range volcanoes in order to prepare for future eruptions. The 1975 unrest also spawned one of the earliest volcano hazard assessments in the Cascade Range, which recognized the rich history of postglacial events at Mount Baker and identified the risk posed by volcanic mudflows, or lahars. The focus of this study is to more fully describe the late-glacial to present surficial geology, to better constrain the timing of events (including 19th-century floods), and to dovetail this history with Hildreth and others’ (2003) bedrock study.

Washington↗
USGS2014

Noble gas isotopes in mineral springs within the Cascadia Forearc, Washington and Oregon

This U.S. Geological Survey report presents laboratory analyses along with field notes for a pilot study to document the relative abundance of noble gases in mineral springs within the Cascadia forearc of Washington and Oregon. Estimates of the depth to the underlying Juan de Fuca oceanic plate beneath the sample sites are derived from the McCrory and others (2012) slab model. Some of these springs have been previously sampled for chemical analyses (Mariner and others, 2006), but none currently have publicly available noble gas data. Helium isotope values as well as the noble gas values and ratios presented below will be used to determine the sources and mixing history of these mineral waters.

Oregon;Washington↗