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

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At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1993

A temporal comparison of forest cover using digital earth science data and visualization techniques

Increased demands on forest resources and the recognition of old-growth forests as critical habitats and purifiers of the atmosphere have stimulated attention to forest harvest practices in the United States and worldwide. Visualization technology provides a means by which a history of forestry activities may be documented and presented to the public and decisionmakers. In this project, landsat multispectral scanner and thematic mapper images, acquired July 7, 1981, and July 8, 1991, respectively, were georeferenced, resampled, enhanced, and draped over U.S. Geological Survey 30-meter digital elevation models. These data then were used to create perspective views of portions of Mt. Hood Forest, Oregon. The "fly-by" animation (produced by rapidly displaying a sequence of these perspective views) conveys the forest cover change resulting from forest harvest activities over the 10-year period. This project shows the value of combining satellite data with base cartographic data and earth science information for use in public education and decision-making processes.

Pecora 12 Symposium↗
USGS2007

Earth science and public health: Proceedings of the Second National Conference on USGS Health-Related Research

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to serve the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life. As the Nation?s largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, the USGS can play a significant role in providing scientific knowledge and information that will improve our understanding of the relations of environment and wildlife to human health and disease. USGS human health-related research is unique in the Federal government because it brings together a broad spectrum of natural science expertise and information, including extensive data collection and monitoring on varied landscapes and ecosystems across the Nation. USGS can provide a great service to the public health community by synthesizing the scientific information and knowledge on our natural and living resources that influence human health, and by bringing this science to the public health community in a manner that is most useful. Partnerships with health scientists and managers are essential to the success of these efforts. USGS scientists already are working closely with the public health community to pursue rigorous inquiries into the connections between natural science and public health. Partnering agencies include the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Mine Safety and Health Administration, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Public Health Service, and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Collaborations between public health scientists and earth scientists can lead to improved solutions for existing and emerging environmental health problems. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions held at the Second National Conference on USGS Health-Related Research, held at the USGS national headquarters in Reston, Virginia. The report presents 68 abstracts of technical presentations made at the conference and summaries of six topical breakout sessions. The abstracts cover a broad range of issues and demonstrate connections between human health and the quality and condition of our environment and wildlife. The summaries of the topical breakout sessions present ideas for advancing interdisciplinary science in areas of earth science and human health.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS1990

Earth sciences and emergency management

As understanding of California's earthquake risk had increased over the past decade, there has been a concurrent expansion of interactions between emergency management professionals and earth scientists. The effort have resulted not from a formal plan-though the U.S National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program has provided much of the support for scientific advances since 1977-but from interactions focused on specific projects. three examples stand out, perhaps suggesting how mutually beneficial exchanges can simultaneously enhance science and public safety.

Earthquakes & Volcanoes (USGS)↗
USGS2013

Mobile laser scanning applied to the earth sciences

Lidar (light detection and ranging), a method by which the precise time of flight of emitted pulses of laser energy is measured and converted to distance for reflective targets, has helped scientists make topographic maps of Earth's surface at scales as fine as centimeters. These maps have allowed the discovery and analysis of myriad otherwise unstudied features, such as fault scarps, river channels, and even ancient ruins [Glennie et al., 2013b].

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗
USGS2015

EverVIEW: a visualization platform for hydrologic and Earth science gridded data

The EverVIEW Data Viewer is a cross-platform desktop application that combines and builds upon multiple open source libraries to help users to explore spatially-explicit gridded data stored in Network Common Data Form (NetCDF). Datasets are displayed across multiple side-by-side geographic or tabular displays, showing colorized overlays on an Earth globe or grid cell values, respectively. Time-series datasets can be animated to see how water surface elevation changes through time or how habitat suitability for a particular species might change over time under a given scenario. Initially targeted toward Florida's Everglades restoration planning, EverVIEW has been flexible enough to address the varied needs of large-scale planning beyond Florida, and is currently being used in biological planning efforts nationally and internationally.

Computers & Geosciences↗
USGS1980

Isolation of uranium mill tailings and their component radionuclides from the biosphere; some earth science perspectives

Uranium mining and milling is an expanding activity in the. Western United States. Although the milling process yields a uranium concentrate, the large volume of tailings remaining contains about 85 percent of the radioactivity originally associated with the ore. By virtue of the physical and chemical processing of the ore and the redistribution of the contained radionuclides at the Earth's surface, these tailings constitute a technologically enhanced source of natural radiation exposure. Sources of potential human radiation exposure from uranium mill tailings include the emanation of radon gas, the transport of particles by wind and water, and the transport of soluble radionuclides, seeping from disposal areas, by ground water. Due to the 77,000 year half-life of thorium-230, the parent of radium-226, the environmental effects associated with radionuclides contained in these railings must be conceived of within the framework of geologic processes operating over geologic time. The magnitude of erosion of cover materials and tailings and the extent of geochemical mobilization of the contained radionuclides to the atmosphere and hydrosphere should be considered in the evaluation of the potential, long-term consequences of all proposed uranium mill tailings management plans.

Circular↗
USGS1998

Table-top earthquakes; a demonstration of seismology for teachers and students that can be used to augment lessons in earth science, physics, math, social studies, geography

The apparatus consists of a heavy object that is dragged steadily with an elastic cord. Although pulled with a constant velocity, the heavy object repeatedly slides and then stops. A small vibration sensor, attached to a computer display, graphically monitors this intermittent motion. 2 This intermittent sliding motion mimics the intermittent fault slippage that characterizes the earthquake fault zones. In tectonically active regions, the Earth's outer brittle shell, which is about 50 km thick, is slowly deformed elastically along active faults. As the deformation increases, stress also increases, until fault slippage releases the stored elastic energy. This process is called elastic rebound. Detailed instructions are given for assembly and construction of this demonstration. Included are suggested sources for the vibration sensor (geophone) and the computer interface. Exclusive of the personal computer, the total cost is between $125 and $150. I gave a talk at the Geological Society of America's Cordilleran Section Centennial meeting on June 2, 1999. The slides show how this table-top demonstration can be used to help meet many of the K-12 teaching goals described in Benchmarks for Science Literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993).

Open-File Report↗
USGS1978

Climate variation and its effects on our land and water : Part A, Earth science in climate research

To better coordinate information being generated by the U.S. Geological Survey, a workshop was convened near Denver, Colo., on December 7-9, 1976, to exchange ideas about research that is oriented toward climate, climate variation, and the effects of climate on the Nation 's land and water resources. This is the first circular of a three-part report resulting from that workshop. Hydrologic records provide information to the earth scientist about the responses of ground water, surface water, and glaciers to climatic change; geologic sequences provide evidence of earth-surface water, and glaciers to climatic change; geologic sequences provide evidence of earth-surface responses to climatic change; biological records yield information about the effects of climatic change on the Earth 's biota; archeological records tell us where and how man was able to live under changing climatic conditions; and historical records allow the specific effects of short-term changes in climate to be accurately documented. The interrelation between present and past geologic environments, various methods of study , and the span of time over which the results can be applied are shown in a table. (Woodard-USGS)

Circular↗
USGS1974

Reference samples for the earth sciences

A revised list of reference samples of interest to geoscientists has been extended to include samples for the agronomist, the archaeologist and the environmentalist. In addition to the source from which standard samples may be obtained, references or pertinent notes for some samples are included. The number of rock reference samples is now almost adequate, and the variety of ore samples will soon be sufficient. There are very few samples for microprobe work. Oil shales will become more important because of the outlook for world petroleum resources. The dryland equivalent of a submarine basalt might be useful in studies of sea-floor spreading and of the geochemistry of basalts. The Na- and K-feldspars of BCS (British Chemical Standards—Bureau of Analysed Samples), NBS (National Bureau of Standards), and ANRT (Association Kationale de la Recherche Technique) could serve as trace-element standards if such data were available. Similarly, the present NBS flint and plastic clays, as well as their predecessors, might be useful for archaeological pottery studies. The International Decade for Ocean Exploration may stimulate the preparation of ocean-water standards for trace elements or pollutants and a standard for manganese nodules.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS2009

Earth science: lasting earthquake legacy

Earthquakes occur within continental tectonic plates as well as at plate boundaries. Do clusters of such mid-plate events constitute zones of continuing hazard, or are they aftershocks of long-past earthquakes? Early on the morning of 16 December 1811, an earthquake of about magnitude 7 shook the centre of the United States around a small town on the Mississippi called New Madrid. By 7 February 1812, it had triggered three more shocks of similar magnitude. The earthquakes broke a set of faults along the Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee state boundaries, apparently reactivating an ancient rift in the interior of a continental tectonic plate. On 31 August 1886, a magnitude-7 shock struck Charleston, South Carolina; low-level activity continues there today. One view of seismic hazard is that large earthquakes will return to New Madrid and Charleston at intervals of about 500 years. With expected ground motions that would be stronger than average, that prospect produces estimates of earthquake hazard that rival those at the plate boundaries marked by the San Andreas fault and Cascadia subduction zone. The result is two large 'bull's-eyes' on the US National Seismic Hazard Maps — which, for example, influence regional building codes and perceptions of public safety.

Nature↗
USGS2023

Earth science looks to outer space

Satellite data are revolutionizing coastal science. A study revealing how the El Niño/Southern Oscillation impacts coastal erosion around the Pacific Rim shows what is possible.

Nature Geoscience↗