Simple Bouguer gravity anomaly map of Utah
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Utah↗
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Assessing the importance of terrain parameters on glide avalanche release
Glide snow avalanches are dangerous and difficult to predict. Despite recent research there is still a lack of understanding regarding the controls of glide avalanche release. Glide avalanches often occur in similar terrain or the same locations annually and observations suggest that topography may be critical. Thus, to gain an understanding of the terrain component of these types of avalanches we examined terrain parameters associated with glide avalanche release as well as areas of consistent glide crack formation but no subsequent avalanches. Glide avalanche occurrences visible from the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor in Glacier National Park, Montana from 2003-2013 were investigated using an avalanche database derived of daily observations each year from April 1 to June 15. This yielded 192 glide avalanches in 53 distinct avalanche paths. Each avalanche occurrence was digitized in a GIS using satellite, oblique, and aerial imagery as reference. Topographical parameters such as area, slope, aspect, elevation and elevation were then derived for the entire dataset utilizing GIS tools and a 10m DEM. Land surface substrate and surface geology were derived from National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring maps and U.S. Geological Survey surface geology maps, respectively. Surface roughness and glide factor were calculated using a four level classification index. . Then, each avalanche occurrence was aggregated to general avalanche release zones and the frequencies were compared. For this study, glide avalanches released in elevations ranging from 1300 to 2700 m with a mean aspect of 98 degrees (east) and a mean slope angle of 38 degrees. The mean profile curvature for all glide avalanches was 0.15 and a plan curvature of -0.01, suggesting a fairly linear surface (i.e. neither convex nor concave). The glide avalanches occurred in mostly bedrock made up of dolomite and limestone slabs and talus deposits with very few occurring in alpine meadows. However, not all glide avalanches failed as cohesive slabs on this bedrock surface. Consequently, surface roughness proved to be a useful descriptive variable to discriminate between slopes that avalanched and those that did not. Annual 'repeat offender' glide avalanche paths were characterized by smooth outcropping rock plates with stratification planes parallel to the slope. Combined with aspect these repeat offenders were also members of the highest glide category. Using this understanding of the role of topographic parameters on glide avalanche activity, a spatial terrain based model was developed to identify other areas with high glide avalanche potential outside of our immediate observation area.
Montana↗
Land Use and land cover and associated maps
The Geological Survey is compiling land use and land cover and associated maps for the entire United States. Land use refers to man's activities which are directly related to the land. Land cover describes the vegetation, water, natural surface, and artificial constructions at the land surface. These maps will help satisfy a longstanding need for a consistent level of detail, standardization of categories, and appropriate use of scales of compilation for a type of data frequently used by land use planners, land managers, resource management planners, and others.
General Information Product↗
Remote sensing survey of Chinese tallow tree in the Toledo Bend Reservoir area, Louisiana and Texas
We applied Hyperion sensor satellite data acquired by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite in conjunction with reconnaissance surveys to map the occurrences of the invasive Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) in the Toledo Bend Reservoir study area of northwestern Louisiana and northeastern Texas. The rationale for application of high spectral resolution EO-1 Hyperion data was based on the successful use of Hyperion data in the mapping of Chinese tallow tree in southwestern Louisiana in 2005. In contrast to the single Hyperion image used in the 2005 project, more than 20 EO-1 Hyperion and Advanced Land Imager (ALI) images of the study area were collected in 2009 and 2010 during the fall senescence when Chinese tallow tree leaves turn red. Atmospherically corrected reflectance spectra of Hyperion imagery collected at ground and aerial observation locations provided the input datasets used in the program for spectral discrimination analysis. Discrimination analysis was used to identify spectral indicator sets to best explain variance contained in the input databases. The expectation was that at least one set of Hyperion-based indicator spectra would uniquely identify occurrences of red-leaf Chinese tallow tree; however, no combination of Hyperion-based reflectance datasets produced a unique identifier. The inability to discover a unique spectral indicator resulted primarily from relatively sparse coverage by red-leaf Chinese tallow tree within the study area (percentage of coverage was less than 5 percent per 30- by 30-meter Hyperion pixel). To enhance the performance of the spectral discrimination analysis, leaf and canopy spectra of Chinese tallow tree were added to the input datasets to guide the indicator selection. In addition, input databases were segregated by land class obtained from an ALI-based landcover classification in order to reduce the input variance and to promote spectral discrimination of red-leaf Chinese tallow tree. Although no unique spectral identifier for red-leaf Chinese tallow tree was uncovered with these enhanced methods, in some cases predicted spatial patterns throughout the Hyperion images revealed alignment with vegetation associations within each land class that was often observed to contain Chinese tallow trees. These instances were associated particularly with the addition of helicopter-based spectra to the input databases. It was attempted to extend such predictions of likely occurrences of Chinese tallow tree by mapping six of the nine Hyperion swaths and four of the nine land classes, but this attempt produced uncertain results that could not be fully evaluated for accuracy. Even though the final mapping showed promise in identifying likely Chinese tallow tree occurrences, the low percentage of occurrences hindered mapping performance and validation. Results of the mapping suggested that successful detection of Chinese tallow tree in the study area would require a spectral sensor similar to the Hyperion but with a higher ground-level spatial resolution. Although the Hyperion-based spectral mapping did not provide the desired results, the associated field (ground and aerial) surveys did provide for a qualitative assessment of the overall Chinese tallow tree distribution within the study area. Ground and aerial surveys suggested that Chinese tallow tree occurrences were uncommon and were without an observed pattern in relation to proximity to the Toledo Bend Reservoir. Although uncommon and scattered, Chinese tallow trees and shrubs most commonly existed along forest edges, water edges, and fence lines, probably most in line with seed dispersal by birds. Chinese tallow trees were observed to be more densely dispersed within some scrublands and grasslands than were observed in pine, hardwood, and mixed forests.
Louisiana;Texas↗
Using surficial geologic maps, vegetation, and monitoring to address erosion impacts from grazing in Channel Islands National Park, California
Employing a map-unit classification scheme based on geomorphic process and age, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) mapped Quaternary surficial deposits of the five islands comprising Channel Islands National Park (CHIS), California, as no such maps previously existed. Mapping was motivated through an agreement with the National Park Service (NPS) to aid natural resource assessments, including post-grazing disturbance recovery and identification of mass wasting and tectonic hazards. The resulting detailed (1:12,000 scale) maps portray areas of upland erosional transport processes and alluvial, fluvial, eolian, beach, marine terrace, mass wasting, and mixed depositional processes at a scale commensurate with the process signal on the landscape. Detailed, GPS-located observations of sedimentology, pedogenic development, landscape position, and geomorphology constrain map unit identification. In addition, map-unit boundary delineation was determined in a GIS using a variety of high-resolution (sub-meter) aerial imagery and lidar-based DEMs complemented by derivative raster products. The GIS geodatabase schema used is GeMS compliant. Resolvable map-unit widths are as small as 10-15 meter. Locational accuracy of unit boundaries is estimated to be as low as 10 m or better. Detailed mapping is at a scale allowing determination of geomorphic transport processes operating on the landscape and conveys geologic information to land managers at a resolution commensurate with park resources. Map unit ages are constrained by relative soil chronostratigraphy, vertebrate and invertebrate fossils, and materials collected for dating control using radiogenic, luminescence, and cosmogenic radionuclide techniques. Associated topical studies examined connections between geology, surface water, and vegetation distribution and restoration.
California↗
Geologic map of the upper Arkansas River valley region, north-central Colorado
This 1:50,000-scale U.S. Geological Survey geologic map represents a compilation of the most recent geologic studies of the upper Arkansas River valley between Leadville and Salida, Colorado. The valley is structurally controlled by an extensional fault system that forms part of the prominent northern Rio Grande rift, an intra-continental region of crustal extension. This report also incorporates new detailed geologic mapping of previously poorly understood areas within the map area and reinterprets previously studied areas. The mapped region extends into the Proterozoic metamorphic and intrusive rocks in the Sawatch Range west of the valley and the Mosquito Range to the east. Paleozoic rocks are preserved along the crest of the Mosquito Range, but most of them have been eroded from the Sawatch Range. Numerous new isotopic ages better constrain the timing of both Proterozoic intrusive events, Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary intrusive events, and Eocene and Miocene volcanic episodes, including widespread ignimbrite eruptions. The uranium-lead ages document extensive about 1,440-million years (Ma) granitic plutonism mostly north of Buena Vista that produced batholiths that intruded an older suite of about 1,760-Ma metamorphic rocks and about 1,700-Ma plutonic rocks. As a result of extension during the Neogene and possibly latest Paleogene, the graben underlying the valley is filled with thick basin-fill deposits (Dry Union Formation and older sediments), which occupy two sub-basins separated by a bedrock high near the town of Granite. The Dry Union Formation has undergone deep erosion since the late Miocene or early Pliocene. During the Pleistocene, ongoing stream incision by the Arkansas River and its major tributaries has been interrupted by periodic aggradation. From Leadville south to Salida as many as seven mapped alluvial depositional units, that range in age from early to late Pleistocene, record periodic aggradational events along these streams that are commonly associated with deposition of glacial outwash or bouldery glacial-flood deposits. Many previously unrecognized Neogene and Quaternary faults, some of the latter with possible Holocene displacement, have been identified on lidar (light detection and ranging) imagery which covers 59 percent of the map area. This imagery has also permitted more accurate remapping of glacial, fluvial, and mass-movement deposits and aided in the determination of their relative ages. Recently published 10 beryllium cosmogenic surface-exposure ages, coupled with our new geologic mapping, have revealed the timing and rates of late Pleistocene deglaciation. Glacial dams that impounded the Arkansas River at Clear Creek and possibly at Pine Creek failed at least three times during the middle and late Pleistocene, resulting in catastrophic floods and deposition of enormous boulders and bouldery alluvium downstream; at least two failures occurred during the late Pleistocene during the Pinedale glaciation.
Colorado↗
The Sea-Floor Mapping Facility at the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Field Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Researchers of the sea-floor mapping facility at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Woods Hole Field Center in Woods Hole, Mass., use state-of-the-art technology to produce accurate geologic maps of the sea floor. In addition to basic bathymetry and morphology, sea-floor maps may contain information about the distribution of sand resources, patterns of coastal erosion, pathways of pollutant transport, and geologic controls on marine biological habitats. The maps may also show areas of human impacts, such as disturbance by bottom fishing and pollution caused by offshore waste disposal. The maps provide a framework for scientific research and provide critical information to decisionmakers who oversee resources in the coastal ocean.
Fact Sheet↗
Map showing locations of geophysical survey and modeling lines in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri
This is one of a series of five seismotectonic maps of the seismically active New Madrid area in southeast Missouri and adjacent parts of Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee (table 1). We cannot legibly show all the seismotectonic data on a single map, therefore each of the five maps in this series groups a different type of related information. Rhea and others (1994) summarized the background and purpose of the seismotectonic map folio.
Missouri↗
Elevations and distances in the United States
The information in this booklet was compiled to answer inquiries received by the U.S. Geological Survey from students, teachers, writers, editors, publishers of encyclopedias, almanacs, and other reference books, and people in many other fields of work. The elevations of features and distances between points in the United States were determined from surveys and topographic maps of the U.S. Geological Survey or obtained from other sources. In most cases, the elevations were determined from surveys and from 1:24,000- and 1:25,000-scale, 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle maps. In Alaska, information was taken from 1:63,360-scale, 15-minute topographic quadrangle maps. In a few cases, data were obtained from older, 1:62,500-scale, 15-minute maps; these maps have been replaced with larger scale 7.5-minute coverage. Further information about U.S. Geological Survey products can be obtained from: U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Science Information Center, 507 National Center, Reston, VA 20192 or phone 1-888-ASK-USGS, E-mail: ask@usgs.gov, TTY: 703-648-4119.
Report↗
Mercury in the United States, exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii
This map shows the location of mercury districts and deposits in the United States (exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii). The map was compiled from published reports and from data in the files of the Geological Survey. All map locations are numbered consecutively in each state and names, geographic coordinates, and selected references are given in the Index.
Mineral Investigations Resource Map↗
The diversity of volcanic hazard maps around the world: Insights from map makers
The IAVCEI Working Group on Hazard Mapping has been active since 2014 and has facilitated several activities to enable sharing of experiences of how volcanic hazard maps are developed and used around the world. One key activity was a global survey of 90 map makers and practitioners to collect data about official, published volcanic hazard maps and how they were developed. The survey asked questions about map content, design, and input data, as well as about the map development process and key lessons learned. Here we present the results of this global survey, which are then used to quantitatively describe and summarise current practices in volcanic hazard map development. We received entries related to 89 volcanic hazard maps (78% long-term/background maps and 22% short-term/crisis hazard maps), covering a total of 80 volcanoes across 28 countries. Although most maps captured in the survey are volcano-scale maps of stratovolcanoes that show similar types of content, such as primary hazard footprints or zones, they vary greatly in input data, communication style, format, appearance, scale, content, and visual design. This diversity stems from a range of factors, including differences in map purpose, the methodology used, the level of understanding of past eruptive history, the prevailing scientific and cartographic practice at the time, the state of volcanic activity, and variations in culture, national map standards and legal requirements. Experiences and lessons shared by our respondents can be divided into six main themes: map design considerations; the process of map development; map audience and map user needs; hazard assessment approach; map availability and accessibility; and external (e.g., political) influences. Insights shared included the importance of: visual design elements, map testing and evaluation, working with stakeholders and end users to improve a map’s efficacy and relevance, and considering possible unanticipated uses of hazard maps. These free-form text insights (i.e., responses to open-ended questions) from map makers and practitioners familiar with the maps lend depth and clarity to our results. They provide a rich complement to our more quantitative analysis of design elements and of approaches used to determine and delineate map zones. Results from our global survey of hazard map makers and practitioners, together with insights from other key initiatives of the Working Group on Hazard Mapping such as the Volcanic Hazard Maps Database (VHMD; https://volcanichazardmaps.org/ ), provide a snapshot of the wide variety of volcanic hazard maps generated over the past decades, and improve our understanding of the diversity across volcanic hazard mapping practices. These initiatives represent important steps towards fulfilling the aims of the Working Group, namely, to construct a framework for a classification scheme for volcanic hazard maps and to promote harmonized terminology, as well as to identify and categorise good practices and considerations for volcanic hazard mapping.
Journal of Applied Volcanology↗
Elevations and distances in the United States
The information in this booklet was compiled to answer inquiries received by the U.S. Geological Survey from students; teachers; writers; editors; publishers of encyclopedias, almanacs, and other reference books; and people in many other fields of work. The elevations of features and distances between points in the United States were determined from surveys and topographic maps of the U.S. Geological Survey or obtained from other sources. In most cases, the elevations were determined from surveys and from 1:24,000- and 1:25,000-scale, 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle maps. In Alaska, information was taken from 1:63,360-scale, 15-minute topographic quadrangle maps. In a few cases, data were obtained from older, 1:62,500-scale, 15-minute maps; these maps are being replaced with larger-scale 7.5-minute coverage. Further information about U.S. Geological Survey products can be obtained from: U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Science Information Center, 507 National Center, Reston, VA 22092 or phone 703-860-6045.
General Information Product↗
Seismic hazard mapping of California considering site effects
In this paper, we have combined the U.S. Geological Survey's National Seismic Hazard Maps model with the California geologic map showing 17 generalized geologic units that can be defined by their VS30. We regrouped these units into seven VS30 values and calculated a probabilistic seismic hazard map for the entire state for each VS30 value. By merging seismic hazard maps based on the seven different V S30 values, a suite of seismic hazard maps was computed for 0.2 and 1.0 s spectral ordinates at 2% probability of exceedance (PE) in 50 years. The improved hazards maps explicitly incorporate the site effects and their spatial variability on ground motion estimates. The spectral acceleration (SA) at 1.0 s map of seismic shaking potential for California has now been published as California Geological Survey Map Sheet 48.
California↗
Procedures for field data collection, processing, quality assurance and quality control, and archiving of relative- and absolute-gravity surveys
Repeat microgravity surveys carried out using relative- and absolute-gravity meters are useful for identifying changes in subsurface mass, such as the volume of water stored in an aquifer. These surveys require careful field procedures to achieve the part-per-billion accuracy required to measure the small changes in gravity relevant for hydrologic studies. This chapter describes techniques and methods for carrying out gravity surveys, requirements for assuring high-quality survey results, and data processing and archival procedures. The focus is on acquiring and documenting repeat gravity surveys for monitoring changes in groundwater storage. Similar gravity surveys may be completed to evaluate other causes of mass change, such as those caused by magma movement below volcanoes. The methods are also useful for one-time surveys that map spatial gravity variations associated with geologic structures such as faults or sedimentary basins. Repeat microgravity surveys can be carried out using relative-gravity meters, absolute-gravity meters, or both. Specific locations, known as gravity stations, are visited during each survey. Most commonly, absolute- and relative-gravity are combined using the least-squares method of network adjustment, much like benchmark elevations and relative-height differences in a leveling network. This chapter primarily describes the use of the A-10 absolute-gravity meter manufactured by Micro-g LaCoste, Inc., and relative-gravity meters made by LaCoste & Romberg (no longer in production) and ZLS Corporation, Inc. Field and office procedures are similar for other instruments such as the FG-5 absolute-gravity meter and Scintrex relative-gravity meters, but some adaptation may be required. Quality control for absolute-gravity data focuses primarily on proper field procedures and maintaining the time and distance calibration of the instrument. Quality control for relative-gravity surveys requires careful field procedures, an understanding of how the meter is behaving while in the field, and appropriate postprocessing. The techniques and methods described in this chapter were developed over 30 years at the USGS Arizona Water Science Center and the Southwest Gravity Program and are the basis for many studies on groundwater-storage change and geologic structure. A description of the Program and complete bibliography is available at https://www.usgs.gov/centers/az-water/science/azwsc-capabilities-hydrologic-gravity-monitoring .
Techniques and Methods↗
The National Map Corps—Federal Emergency Management Agency and Oak Ridge National Laboratory pilot project report
This report provides an overview of the U.S. Geological Survey National Map Corps —Federal Emergency Management Agency and Oak Ridge National Laboratory pilot project in St. James Parish, Louisiana, that began in February 2024 and ended at the end of March 2024. The project used the power of The National Map Corps’ volunteer community to improve building classifications in the original Federal Emergency Management Agency’s U.S.A. Structures dataset. The report highlights the project’s completion and details the work and results achieved through a collaborative effort to enhance geospatial data quality and utility.
Open-File Report↗
Wilderness mineral potential: Assessment of mineral-resource potential in U.S. Forest Service lands studied in 1964-1984: Volume 1
Under the provisions of the Wilderness Act (Public Law 88-577, September 3, 1964) and subsequent related legislation, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) have been conducting mineral surveys of wilderness and primitive areas, and of other national forest lands being considered for wilderness designation. The Wilderness Act directs that the results of these surveys are to be made available to the public and are to be submitted to the President and the Congress. This professional paper is a synopsis of the mineral surveys made from 1965 to 1983. It summarizes our current knowledge of mineral and energy resources and of the potential for the occurrence of undiscovered mineral and energy resources in 45 million acres of Federal lands, chiefly in national forests. This book, in two volumes, consists of 332 summary articles, arranged alphabetically by State, in which the mineral-resource potential of about 800 individual areas is discussed. The summaries of the mineral surveys were written during 1982-83, generally by those who made the surveys. Index maps of each state show the location of the areas studied, numerically keyed to an alphabetic list. The national distribution of the wilderness lands studied is shown on the frontispiece. Where lands were in proximity or were added to expand previously designated areas, they often are described in a single article. Each article begins with a short summary of the results of the mineral survey followed by a discussion of the character and geologic setting of the area. Mineral resources (if any) are discussed, and the potential for undiscovered mineral resources is assessed; these are keyed to the generalized geographic and geologic map of each area Areas that have geologic characteristics indicative of different degrees of potential for the occurrence of mineral resources are shown in shades of red on each map. Some articles have a section on suggestions for further study to better define the mineral-resource potential of the area A list of pertinent references (including many of the maps and reports prepared during the mineral survey) is provided at the end of each article. This introduction contains some basic concepts about mineral resources and mineral-resource potential to try to make the book more useful to those who are not familiar with the fields of earth science and mineral-resource assessments. The legislation dealing with the wilderness program is reviewed briefly, because this evolving legislation has imparted a continuing and changing influence on the mineral-resource surveys. The introduction concludes with a description of the publications of the Geological Survey that report in greater detail the results of the joint wilderness studies by the Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines.
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Co↗
Sharp savanna-forest transitions in the Midwest followed environmental gradients but are absent from the modern landscape
Historically, closed eastern forests transitioned into open savannas and prairies in the US Midwest, but this transition is poorly understood. To investigate the eastern boundary of the prairie-forest ecotone, we conducted a case study of historic and modern vegetation patterns of the Yellow River watershed in northwest Indiana. Historic vegetation came from the Public Land Survey notes collected in the early 1800s, whereas modern vegetation came from the Forest Inventory Analysis and USGS National Land Cover Database. We mapped historical survey vegetation data using GIS to reconstruct the region’s past and current forest composition and structure. We also mapped climate, topography, and soil composition across the watershed to investigate the relationship between historic vegetation and environmental gradients. We found a sharp transition in the presettlement forest structure and composition, with dense deciduous forests in the eastern portion of our study area and open oak savannas in the west. The savanna ecosystem dominated in sandy well-drained soils and was at a slightly lower elevation than the adjacent closed forest. Modest environmental changes accompanied major vegetation changes in the past, which might suggest fire and hydrological patterns helped maintain the sharp ecotone. By contrast, the modern forest shows no difference in tree density and composition across the watershed, which is consistent with major land use and hydrology changes in the watershed since settlement. On the modern landscape, land that was historically closed forest now has higher agricultural productivity compared to land that was historically savanna, whereas the historic savanna currently supports more mesic forest. These results suggest the environmental gradient continues to subtly shape the landscape. Though land use change has largely removed the closed mixed hardwood forests and oak savannas from this area, a better understanding of the historic vegetation and the conditions that supported it can help inform land management and restoration, as well as reveal ecological processes that drive vegetation transitions.
Indiana↗
Map and data for Quaternary faults and folds in New Mexico
The "World Map of Major Active Faults" Task Group is compiling a series of digital maps for the United States and other countries in the Western Hemisphere that show the locations, ages, and activity rates of major earthquake-related features such as faults and fault-related folds; the companion database includes published information on these seismogenic features. The Western Hemisphere effort is sponsored by International Lithosphere Program (ILP) Task Group H-2, whereas the effort to compile a new map and database for the United States is funded by the Earthquake Reduction Program (ERP) through the U.S. Geological Survey. The maps and accompanying databases represent a key contribution to the new Global Seismic Hazards Assessment Program (ILP Task Group II-O) for the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. This compilation, which describes evidence for surface faulting and folding in New Mexico, is the third of many similar State and regional compilations that are planned for the U.S. The compilation for West Texas is available as U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 96-002 (Collins and others, 1996 #993) and the compilation for Montana will be released as a Montana Bureau of Mines product (Haller and others, in press #1750).
New Mexico↗