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USGS2012

Groundwater quality in West Virginia, 1993-2008

Approximately 42 percent of all West Virginians rely on groundwater for their domestic water supply. However, prior to 2008, the quality of the West Virginia’s groundwater resource was largely unknown. The need for a statewide assessment of groundwater quality prompted the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), Division of Water and Waste Management, to develop an ambient groundwater-quality monitoring program. The USGS West Virginia Water Science Center sampled 300 wells, of which 80 percent were public-supply wells, over a 10-year period, 1999–2008. Sites for this statewide ambient groundwater-quality monitoring program were selected to provide wide areal coverage and to represent a variety of environmental settings. The resulting 300 samples were supplemented with data from a related monitoring network of 24 wells and springs. All samples were analyzed for field measurements (water temperature, pH, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen), major ions, trace elements, nutrients, volatile organic compounds, fecal indicator bacteria, and radon-222. Sub-sets of samples were analyzed for pesticides or semi-volatile organic compounds; site selection was based on local land use. Samples were grouped for comparison by geologic age of the aquifer, Groups included Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Pennsylvanian, Permian, and Quaternary aquifers. A comparison of samples indicated that geologic age of the aquifer was the largest contributor to variability in groundwater quality. This study did not attempt to characterize drinking water provided through public water systems. All samples were of raw, untreated groundwater. Drinking-water criteria apply to water that is served to the public, not to raw water. However, drinking water criteria, including U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) maximum contaminant level (MCL), non-enforceable secondary maximum contaminant level (SMCL), non-enforceable proposed MCL, or non-enforceable advisory health-based screening level (HBSL), were used as benchmarks against which to compare analytical results. Constituent concentrations were less than the MCLs in most samples. However, some samples exceeded non-enforceable SMCLs, proposed MCLs, or advisory HBSLs. Radon-222 concentrations exceeded the proposed MCL of 300 pCi/L in 45 percent of samples, and iron concentrations exceeded the SMCL of 300 µg/L in 57 percent of samples. Manganese concentrations were greater than the SMCL (50 µg/L) in 62 percent of samples and greater than the HBSL (300 µg/L) in 25 percent of the samples. Other sampled constituents, including organic compounds and trace elements, exceeded drinking-water criteria at much lower frequencies. The radon-222 median concentrations in samples from Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Permian, and Quaternary aquifers exceeded the proposed 300 pCi/L MCL. Although median radon concentrations for wells in Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian aquifers were less than the proposed MCL, radon concentrations greater than the proposed MCL were measured in samples from aquifers of all geologic ages. The median iron concentrations for samples from Devonian and Pennsylvanian aquifers were greater than the 300 µg/L SMCL. Iron concentrations exceeded the SMCL in aquifers of all geologic ages, except Cambrian. Median concentrations of manganese exceeded the SMCL in samples from Devonian, Pennsylvanian, and Quaternary aquifers. As with iron, manganese concentrations were found to exceed the SMCL in at least one sample from aquifers of all geologic ages, except Cambrian. Pesticides were detected most frequently and in higher concentrations in limestone-dominated areas. Most of West Virginia’s agriculture is concentrated in those areas. This study, the most comprehensive assessment of West Virginia groundwater quality to date, indicates the water quality of West Virginia’s groundwater is generally good; in the majority of cases raw-water samples met primary drinking water-criteria. However, some constituents, notably iron and manganese, exceeded the secondary drinking criteria in more than half the samples.

West Virginia↗

USGS1996

A spatial decision support system for coastal management: A research project at the National Wetlands Research Center of the U.S. Geological Survey

Environmental resource managers and scientists are being challenged in developing strategies to manage complex coastal systems. From an ecological perspective, there are myriad dynamic, interrelated natural and human-induced processes that affect the health and stability of coastal systems. However, the problems associated with managing coastal resources usually transcend purely ecological factors when one considers societal needs and expectations from these resources. For example, at least nine Federal, State, and local government agencies, often with widely varying responsibilities or interests, are charged with managing environmental resources and/or regulating human activities within Louisiana's coastal systems; that number may be higher in other coastal areas of the United States. In many coastal systems, a declining resource base and environmental quality combined with an expanding human population exert increased demands on those systems. This results in a number of conflicting resource management and environmental impact assessment issues. The issues include determining the most cost-effective strategies for restoring degraded natural systems, local and regional planning for future urban and commercial development in or near sensitive coastal habitats, predicting impacts from acute and chronic pollutant discharges (oil spills, fecal coliform contamination) as well as from natural hazard damages to coastal systems, and optimal partitioning of coastal resources among competing user groups (e.g., commercial and recreational fishermen). Solving such complex environmental resource management problems often involves a multidisciplinary approach, requires computerized analytical modeling abilities to manipulate large quantities of spatial-temporal data according to a defined set of objectives or constraints, and needs a mechanism to provide quick responses for dynamic resource and environmental issues. For this, a GIS-based multifunctional Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) is being developed at the National Wetlands Research Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (formerly the Southern Science Center of the US. Fish and Wildlife Service/National Biological Service).

Louisiana↗

USGS2026

Potential for bird-based biotic indices in watershed assessments: A review of methods, applications, and suggestions for improvement

Birds are sensitive to changes in environmental conditions, and metrics such as species diversity, abundance, and guild composition that describe community-level responses to anthropogenic disturbance can be useful indicators of ecosystem condition. We reviewed published studies (56) of bird-based biotic indices developed for diverse ecosystems in 14 countries to evaluate their efficacy for bioassessments. The major categories of indices used included the index of biotic integrity (IBI; 18% of studies), the bird community index (BCI; 13%), and the index of ecological condition (IEC; 7%), with numerous specialized variants comprising the remaining 62% of studies, including indices adapted for specific ecosystems such as grasslands, wetlands, and urban areas. Index performance varied geographically, highlighting the importance of localized calibration. While few studies applied bird indices at landscape and regional scales, applications that included guild-based classification and habitat-specific metrics demonstrated potential for bird-based ecosystem monitoring and assessment. Bird communities were reliable ecological indicators at regional scales when indices incorporated locally derived disturbance and habitat gradients. This regional reliability indicates that expanding bird-based indices to watershed extents is feasible, especially given the availability of extensive resources such as citizen science bird data. There is an abundance of citizen science bird monitoring programs that potentially provide data for use in watershed-scale avian IBIs. Avian indices that combine data from multiple taxa, community-based metrics, and variables describing habitat quality can provide rigorous tools for watershed bioassessment and evidence-based conservation policy implementation.

Environmental Reviews↗

USGS2008

Mapping of Florida's coastal and marine resources: Setting priorities workshop

The importance of mapping habitats and bioregions as a means to improve resource management has become increasingly clear. Large areas of the waters surrounding Florida are unmapped or incompletely mapped, possibly hindering proper management and good decisionmaking. Mapping of these ecosystems is among the top priorities identified by the Florida Oceans and Coastal Council in their Annual Science Research Plan. However, lack of prioritization among the coastal and marine areas and lack of coordination of agency efforts impede efficient, cost–effective mapping. A workshop on Mapping of Florida’s Coastal and Marine Resources was sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), and Southeastern Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS). The workshop was held at the USGS Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC) in St. Petersburg, FL, on February 7-8, 2007. The workshop was designed to provide State, Federal, university, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) the opportunity to discuss their existing data coverage and create a prioritization of areas for new mapping data in Florida. Specific goals of the workshop were multifold, including to: provide information to agencies on state-of-the-art technology for collecting data; inform participants of the ongoing mapping programs in waters off Florida; present the mapping needs and priorities of the State and Federal agencies and entities operating in Florida; work with State of Florida agencies to establish an overall priority for areas needing mapping; initiate discussion of a unified classification of habitat and bioregions; discuss and examine the need to standardize terminology and data collection/storage so that data, in particular habitat data, can be shared; identify opportunities for partnering and leveraging mapping efforts among agencies and entities; identify impediments and organizational gaps that hinder collection of data for mapping; seek innovative solutions to the primary obstacles identified; identify the steps needed to move mapping of Florida’s oceans and coasts forward, in preparation for a better coordinated, more cost-effective mapping program to allow State and Federal agencies to make better decisions on coastal-resource issues. Over 90 invited participants representing more than 30 State and Federal agencies, universities, NGOs, and private industries played a large role in the success of this two-day workshop. State of Florida agency participants created a ranked priority order for mapping 13 different regions around Florida. The data needed for each of the 13 priority regions were outlined. A matrix considering State and Federal priorities was created, utilizing input from all agencies. The matrix showed overlapping interests of the entities and will allow for partnering and leveraging of resources. The five most basic mapping needs were determined to be bathymetry, high-vertical resolution coastline for sea-level rise scenarios, shoreline change, subsurface geology, and benthic habitats at sufficient scale. There was a clear convergence on the need to coordinate mapping activities around the state. Suggestions for coordination included: creating a glossary of terms: a standard for specifying agency data-mapping needs; creating a geographic information officer (GIO) position or permanent organizing group to maintain communications established at this workshop and to maintain progress on the issues identified during the workshop. The person or group could develop a website, maintain a project-status matrix, develop a list of contacts, create links to legislative updates and links to funding sources; developing a web portal and one-stop/clearinghouse of data. There was general consensus on the need to adopt a single habitat classification system and a strategy to accommodate existing systems smoothly. Unresolved aspects of the systems warrant that a separate workshop would be needed to work out details. Participants recognized that the State priority list would necessarily be updated periodically. An annual review of priorities would facilitate information exchange, mapping activities updates, and re-allocation of funding among changing priorities. It was recognized that mapping of State waters would take billions of dollars and in light of tightening budgets there was need for processes that could be used to appropriate or leverage monies for mapping and reduce data-collection costs. Fourteen different avenues were explored. There was a clear consensus that the linking of public to private partnerships to support mapping was imperative, and ways to achieve this were discussed.

Florida↗

USGS2013

Integrated environmental modeling: a vision and roadmap for the future

Integrated environmental modeling (IEM) is inspired by modern environmental problems, decisions, and policies and enabled by transdisciplinary science and computer capabilities that allow the environment to be considered in a holistic way. The problems are characterized by the extent of the environmental system involved, dynamic and interdependent nature of stressors and their impacts, diversity of stakeholders, and integration of social, economic, and environmental considerations. IEM provides a science-based structure to develop and organize relevant knowledge and information and apply it to explain, explore, and predict the behavior of environmental systems in response to human and natural sources of stress. During the past several years a number of workshops were held that brought IEM practitioners together to share experiences and discuss future needs and directions. In this paper we organize and present the results of these discussions. IEM is presented as a landscape containing four interdependent elements: applications, science, technology, and community. The elements are described from the perspective of their role in the landscape, current practices, and challenges that must be addressed. Workshop participants envision a global scale IEM community that leverages modern technologies to streamline the movement of science-based knowledge from its sources in research, through its organization into databases and models, to its integration and application for problem solving purposes. Achieving this vision will require that the global community of IEM stakeholders transcend social, and organizational boundaries and pursue greater levels of collaboration. Among the highest priorities for community action are the development of standards for publishing IEM data and models in forms suitable for automated discovery, access, and integration; education of the next generation of environmental stakeholders, with a focus on transdisciplinary research, development, and decision making; and providing a web-based platform for community interactions (e.g., continuous virtual workshops).

Environmental Modelling and Software↗

USGS2010

Environmental flow studies of the Fort Collins Science Center— Cherry Creek, Arizona

At the request of the U.S. Forest Service, an instream flow assessment was conducted at Cherry Creek, Ariz., to investigate habitat for native and introduced fish species and to describe the beneficial use of a possible instream flow water right. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fort Collins Science Center performed an intensive field study of two sections of Cherry Creek in September 2008 to provide base data for hydrodynamic simulation of the flow conditions in the stream. The USGS Arizona Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, at the University of Arizona School of Natural Resources, conducted a survey of the habitat requirements of the resident fish species in Cherry Creek and provided the habitat suitability criteria used in this study. The habitat suitability criteria were combined with hydrodynamic simulation results to quantify fish habitat for the full range of daily flow experienced in the creek and to produce maps of habitat occurrence for those flows. The flow record at the Cherry Creek stream gage was used to generate habitat response values over time. The long-term habitat response was incorporated into an Excel (Registered) spreadsheet to allow evaluation of habitat occurrence with and without an instream water right under different hypothetical water withdrawal scenarios. The spreadsheet displays information about the time sequence of habitat events, the duration of critical events, and habitat retention.

Arizona↗

USGS2013

Advanced and applied remote sensing of environmental conditions

"Remote sensing” is a general term for monitoring techniques that collect information without being in physical contact with the object of study. Overhead imagery from aircraft and satellite sensors provides the most common form of remotely sensed data and records the interaction of electromagnetic energy (usually visible light) with matter, such as the Earth’s surface. Remotely sensed data are fundamental to geographic science. The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Eastern Geographic Science Center (EGSC) is currently conducting and promoting the research and development of several different aspects of remote sensing science in both the laboratory and from overhead instruments. Spectroscopy is the science of recording interactions of energy and matter and is the bench science for all remote sensing. Visible and infrared analysis in the laboratory with special instruments called spectrometers enables the transfer of this research from the laboratory to multispectral (5–15 broad bands) and hyperspectral (50–300 narrow contiguous bands) analyses from aircraft and satellite sensors. In addition, mid-wave (3–5 micrometers, µm) and long-wave (8–14 µm) infrared data analysis, such as attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectral analysis, are also conducted. ATR is a special form of vibrational infrared spectroscopy that has many applications in chemistry and biology but has recently been shown to be especially diagnostic for vegetation analysis.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2019

Bringing Bayesian models to life

Bringing Bayesian Models to Life empowers the reader to extend, enhance, and implement statistical models for ecological and environmental data analysis. We open the black box and show the reader how to connect modern statistical models to computer algorithms. These algorithms allow the user to fit models that answer their scientific questions without needing to rely on automated Bayesian software. We show how to handcraft statistical models that are useful in ecological and environmental science including: linear and generalized linear models, spatial and time series models, occupancy and capture-recapture models, animal movement models, spatio-temporal models, and integrated population-models.

Book↗

USGS2017

USA National Phenology Network gridded products documentation

The goals of the USA National Phenology Network ( USA-NPN, www.usanpn.org ) are to advance science, inform decisions, and communicate and connect with the public regarding phenology and species’ responses to environmental variation and climate change. The USA-NPN seeks to facilitate informed ecosystem stewardship and management by providing phenological information freely and openly. One way the USA-NPN is endeavoring to accomplish these goals is by providing data and data products in a wide range of formats, including gridded real-time, short-term forecasted, and historical maps of phenological events, patterns and trends. This document describes the suite of gridded phenologically relevant data products produced and provided by the USA National Phenology Network, which can be accessed at www.usanpn.org/data/phenology_maps and also through web services at geoserver.usanpn.org/geoserver/wms?request=GetCapabilities .

Open-File Report↗

USGS2022

GSPy: A new toolbox and data standard for Geophysical Datasets

The diversity of geophysical methods and datatypes, as well as the isolated nature of various specialties (e.g., electromagnetic, seismic, potential fields) leads to a profusion of separate data file formats and documentation conventions. This can hinder cooperation and reduce the impact of datasets researchers have invested in heavily to collect and prepare. An open, portable, and well-supported community data standard could greatly improve the interoperability, transferability, and long-term archival of geophysical data. Airborne geophysical methods particularly need an open and accessible data standard, and they exemplify the complexity that is common in geophysical datasets where critical auxiliary information on the survey and system parameters are required to fully utilize and understand the data. Here, we propose a new Geophysical Standard, termed the GS convention, that leverages the well-established and widely used NetCDF file format and builds on the Climate and Forecasts (CF) metadata convention. We also present an accompanying open-source Python package, GSPy, to provide methods and workflows for building the GS-standardized NetCDF files, importing and exporting between common data formats, preparing input files for geophysical inversion software, and visualizing data and inverted models. By using the NetCDF format, handled through the Xarray Python package, and following the CF conventions, we standardize how metadata is recorded and directly stored with the data, from general survey and system information down to specific variable attributes. Utilizing the hierarchical nature of NetCDF, GS-formatted files are organized with a root Survey group that contains global metadata about the geophysical survey. Data are then organized into subgroups beneath Survey and are categorized as Tabular or Raster depending on the geometry and point of origin for the data. Lastly, the standard ensures consistency in constructing and tracking coordinate reference systems, which is vital for accurate portability and analysis. Development and adoption of a NetCDF-based data standard for geophysical surveys can greatly improve how these complex datasets are shared and utilized, making the data more accessible to a broader science community. The architecture of GSPy can be easily transferred to additional geophysical datatypes and methods in future releases.

Frontiers in Earth Science - Environmental Informa↗

USGS1997

The Landsat program: Its origins, evolution, and impacts

Landsat 1 began an era of space-based resource data collection that changed the way science, industry, governments, and the general public view the Earth. For the last 25 years, the Landsat program - despite being hampered by institutional problems and budget uncertainties - has successfully provided a continuous supply of synoptic, repetitive, multi-spectral data of the Earth's land areas. These data have profoundly affected programs for mapping resources, monitoring environmental changes, and assessing global habitability. The societal applications this program generated are so compelling that international systems have proliferated to carry on the tasks initiated with Landsat data.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗

USGS2012

Assessment of environments for Mars Science Laboratory entry, descent, and surface operations

The Mars Science Laboratory mission aims to land a car-sized rover on Mars' surface and operate it for at least one Mars year in order to assess whether its field area was ever capable of supporting microbial life. Here we describe the approach used to identify, characterize, and assess environmental risks to the landing and rover surface operations. Novel entry, descent, and landing approaches will be used to accurately deliver the 900-kg rover, including the ability to sense and "fly out" deviations from a best-estimate atmospheric state. A joint engineering and science team developed methods to estimate the range of potential atmospheric states at the time of arrival and to quantitatively assess the spacecraft's performance and risk given its particular sensitivities to atmospheric conditions. Numerical models are used to calculate the atmospheric parameters, with observations used to define model cases, tune model parameters, and validate results. This joint program has resulted in a spacecraft capable of accessing, with minimal risk, the four finalist sites chosen for their scientific merit. The capability to operate the landed rover over the latitude range of candidate landing sites, and for all seasons, was verified against an analysis of surface environmental conditions described here. These results, from orbital and model data sets, also drive engineering simulations of the rover's thermal state that are used to plan surface operations.

Space Science Reviews↗

USGS2022

The global environmental agenda urgently needs a semantic web of knowledge

Progress in key social-ecological challenges of the global environmental agenda (e.g., climate change, biodiversity conservation, Sustainable Development Goals) is hampered by a lack of integration and synthesis of existing scientific evidence. Facing a fast-increasing volume of data, information remains compartmentalized to pre-defined scales and fields, rarely building its way up to collective knowledge. Today's distributed corpus of human intelligence, including the scientific publication system, cannot be exploited with the efficiency needed to meet current evidence synthesis challenges; computer-based intelligence could assist this task. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based approaches underlain by semantics and machine reasoning offer a constructive way forward, but depend on greater understanding of these technologies by the science and policy communities and coordination of their use. By labelling web-based scientific information to become readable by both humans and computers, machines can search, organize, reuse, combine and synthesize information quickly and in novel ways. Modern open science infrastructure—i.e., public data and model repositories—is a useful starting point, but without shared semantics and common standards for machine actionable data and models, our collective ability to build, grow, and share a collective knowledge base will remain limited. The application of semantic and machine reasoning technologies by a broad community of scientists and decision makers will favour open synthesis to contribute and reuse knowledge and apply it toward decision making.

Environmental Evidence↗

USGS2019

Evaluating environmental change and behavioral decision-making for sustainability policy using an agent-based model: A case study for the Smoky Hill River Watershed, Kansas

Sustainability has been at the forefront of the environmental research agenda of the integrated anthroposphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere since the last century and will continue to be critically important for future environmental science. However, linking humans and the environment through effective policy remains a major challenge for sustainability research and practice. Here we address this gap using an agent-based model (ABM) for a coupled natural and human systems in the Smoky Hill River Watershed (SHRW), Kansas, USA. For this freshwater-dependent agricultural watershed with a highly variable flow regime influenced by human-induced land-use and climate change, we tested the support for an environmental policy designed to conserve and protect fish biodiversity in the SHRW. We develop a proof of concept interdisciplinary ABM that integrates field data on hydrology, ecology (fish richness), social-psychology (value-belief-norm) and economics, to simulate human agents' decisions to support environmental policy. The mechanism to link human behaviors to environmental changes is the social-psychological sequence identified by the value-belief-norm framework and is informed by hydrological and fish ecology models. Our results indicate that (1) cultural factors influence the decision to support the policy; (2) a mechanism modifying social-psychological factors can influence the decision-making process; (3) there is resistance to environmental policy in the SHRW, even under potentially extreme climate conditions; and (4) the best opportunities for policy acceptance were found immediately after extreme environmental events. The modeling approach presented herein explicitly links biophysical and social science has broad generality for sustainability problems.

Kansas↗

USGS2008

Environmental occurrence and shallow ground water detection of the antibiotic monensin from dairy farms

Pharmaceuticals used in animal feeding operations have been detected in various environmental settings. There is a growing concern about the impact on terrestrial and aquatic organisms and the development of antibiotic-resistant strains of microorganisms. Pharmaceutical use in milking cows is relatively limited compared with other livestock operations, except for the ionophore monensin, which is given to lactating cows as a feed. By weight, monensin can be the most significant antibiotic used in a dairy farm. This study investigates the potential of monensin to move from dairy operations into the surrounding ground water. Using two dairy farms in California as study sites, we twice collected samples along the environmental pathway-from flush lanes, lagoon waters, and shallow ground water beneath the dairies and beneath its associated manured fields. Monensin concentrations were determined using solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with positive electrospray ionization. Monensin was detected in all of the flush lane and lagoon water samples. Theoretical maximum concentration estimated from the actual dosing rate and the theoretical excretion rate assuming no attenuation was one order of magnitude greater than observed concentrations, suggesting significant attenuation in the manure collection and storage system. Monensin was also detected, at levels ranging from 0.04 to 0.39 microg L(-1), in some of the ground water samples underneath the production area of the dairy but not from the adjacent manured fields. Concentrations in ground water immediately downgradient of the lagoons were one to two orders of magnitude lower than the concentrations detected in lagoons, suggesting attenuation in the subsurface. The data suggest the possibility of monensin transport into shallow (2-5 m) alluvial ground water from dairy management units, including manure storage lagoons and freestalls occupied by heifers, lactating cows, and dry cows.

Journal of Environmental Quality↗

USGS2024

Implementation of the CREED approach for environmental assessments

Environmental exposure data are a key component of chemical and ecological assessments, supporting and guiding environmental management decisions and regulations. Measures taken to protect the environment based on exposure data can have social and economic implications. Flawed information may lead to measures being taken in the wrong place or to important action not being taken. Although the advantages of harmonizing evaluation methods have been demonstrated for hazard information, no comparable approach is established for exposure data evaluation. The goal of Criteria for Reporting and Evaluating Exposure Datasets (CREED) is to improve the transparency and consistency with which exposure data are evaluated regarding usability in environmental assessments. Here, we describe the synthesis of the CREED process, and propose methods and tools to summarize and interpret the outcomes of the data usability evaluation in support of decision-making and communication. The CREED outcome includes a summary that reports any key gaps or shortcomings in the reliability (data quality) and relevance (fitness for purpose) of the data being considered. The approach has been implemented in a workbook template (provided as Supporting Information), for assessors to readily follow the workflow and create a report card for any given dataset. The report card communicates the outcome of the CREED evaluation and summarizes important dataset attributes, providing a concise reference pertaining to the dataset usability for a specified purpose and documenting data limitations that may restrict data use or increase environmental assessment uncertainty. The application of CREED is demonstrated through three case studies, which also were used during beta testing of the methodology. As experience with the CREED approach application develops, further improvements may be identified and incorporated into the framework. Such development is to be encouraged in the interest of better science and decision-making, and to make environmental monitoring and assessment more cost-effective.

Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management↗

USGS1991

Genesis and continuity of quaternary sand and gravel in glacigenic sediment at a proposed low-level radioactive waste disposal site in east-central Illinois

The Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety has characterized the Martinsville Alternative Site (MAS) for a proposed low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. The MAS is located in east-central Illinois approximately 1.6 km (1 mi) north of the city of Martinsville. Geologic investigation of the 5.5-km2 (1380-acre) site revealed a sequence of chiefly Illinoian glacigenic sediments from 6 to 60 m (20-200 ft) thick overlying two major bedrock valleys carved in Pennsylvanian strata. Relatively permeable buried units include basal, preglacial alluvium; a complex of intraglacial and subglacial sediment; englacial deposits; and supraglacial fluvial deposits. Postglacial alluvium underlies stream valleys on and adjacent to the site. In most areas, the buried sand units are confined by low-permeability till, lacustrine sediment, colluvium, and loess. The distribution and thickness of the most extensive and continuous buried sand units have been modified considerably by subglacial erosion, and their distributions have been influenced by the buried bedrock valleys. The most continuous of the various sand units were deposited as preglacial and postglacial alluvium and are the uppermost and lowermost stratigraphic units at the alternative site. Sand units that were deposited in englacial or ice-marginal environments are less continuous. Aquifer pumping tests, potentiometric head data, and groundwater geochemistry analyses indicate minimal interaction of groundwater across localized interconnections of the permeable units. ?? 1991 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

Environmental Geology and Water Sciences↗

USGS2019

Short-term effects of ambient air pollution and cardiovascular events in Shiraz, Iran, 2009 to 2015

Air pollution and dust storms are associated with increased cardiovascular hospital admissions. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between short-term exposure to ambient air pollutants and CVD (cardiovascular disease) events in a long-term observational period. The study included the events of cardiovascular diseases (namely coronary artery disease, ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction, and pneumo thrombo embolism) within the population of Shiraz, from March 21, 2009 to March 20, 2015. Also, each patient’s demographics were recorded. Main meteorological variables and five ambient pollutants (CO, O 3 , SO 2 , NO 2 , and PM 10 ) were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using linear regression (GLM) and a generalized additive model (GAM) estimating Poisson distribution and adjusted for the main risk factors and ambient meteorological variables. A mild prevalence (51.5%) of coronary artery disease (CAD) was registered in 6425 events. In GLM analysis, we observed an association among the pollutants with the coronary artery disease hospital admissions which was in the order of CO, NO 2 , and PM 10 . The highest association of each pollutant with hospital admission was observed as PM 10 at lag 4 (RR = 1.08; 95% CI 1.02, 1.14 and p < 0.05), NO 2 at lag 0 (RR = 1.22; 95% CI 1.00, 1.48), and CO at lag 0 (RR = 1.52 95% CI = (1.16, 1.99)). However, on dusty days, there were significantly higher numbers of referrals of cardiovascular patients (mean = 7.54 ± 4.44 and p = 0.002,) than on non-dusty days. According to these data, dust storms and some types of pollutants in the air are responsible for more admissions to hospitals for cardiovascular problems.

Shiraz↗