Audio-magnetotelluric survey of Nevada volcanic arc near Reno and Carson City, Nevada; location map and data report
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Open-File Report↗
SEARCH · Search USGS
Results for “Open File Report”
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.
Safety of proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear repository as regards geological and geophysical factors; evaluation of minority report by Archambeau and Price
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Open-File Report↗
Sedimentology: general introduction and definitions : fluvial sediment and channel morphology
Sedimentology, the study of sedimentary rocks and the processes by which they are formed, includes and is related to a large number of phenomena. Sedimentology includes the five fundamental processes defined by the term sediaentation --weathering, erosion, transportation, deposition and diagenesis. Sedimentology shares with geomorphology the study of the surface features of the earth. Sedimentology also shares with hydrology the study of river.--channels. River channels are formed in part or in total as a result of flowing water and sediment transport, commonly called the "work of the rivers." This survey of published literature was made to aid in arriving at definitions which would be acceptable to, and representative of, a majority of professional personnel actively engaged in laboratory and field investigations related to the "work of the river." The definitions in this list are intended to explain the terms used in studies of fluvial sediment and channel morphology. No set of definitions can expect universal acceptance, however, i t is hoped that this compilation will be considered a summary and synthesis of present and past usage and that it will serve as a starting point for future usage. Multiple references are cited from textbooks, glossaries and dictionaries, scientific journals and u.s. Government publications. To obtain a mutual understanding and enhance precision, many of the proposed definitions are a composite of those selected from papers or reports covering research studies and field investigations. A draft of this glossary has been reviewed by a group of interested personnel. The results of this review have been carefully considered and the originally-suggested definitions have been revised accordingly, resulting in the present compilation. R. G. Wolff, with the help of Mrs. v. Blatcher, carried out the literature search and compilation of terms and the review results. Paul c. Benedict approved or composed the definitions as presented in this report.
Open-File Report↗
Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through 1999
The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25 to 40 miles wide. The basin is defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompass the structural Rio Grande Rift within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the Albuquerque Basin are obtained solely from ground-water resources. An increase in the population of about 35 percent from 1980 to 1990 has resulted in an increased demand for water. From April 1982 through September 1983, a network of wells was established to monitor changes in ground-water levels throughout the Albuquerque Basin. This network consisted of 6 wells with analog-to-digital recorders and 27 wells where water levels were measured monthly. Currently (1999), the network consists of 221 wells and piezometers. U.S. Geological Survey personnel collect water-level measurements at sites 1-88 and sites 165-221. Water-level and other data for sites 89-164 are measured by other agencies and reported to the USGS.
Open-File Report↗
Assessment of mineral resource tracts in the Chugach National Forest, Alaska
Locatable minerals have been produced from the Chugach National Forest (CNF) for nearly 100 years. Past gold production has come from the Kenai Peninsula and the Girdwood, Port Wells, and Valdez areas. Copper and by-product gold and silver have been produced from mines at Ellamar, on Latouche Island, and near Valdez. Many of the past-producing properties were not mined out and contain significant inferred reserves of gold, copper, lead, zinc, and silver. This report outlines mineral resource areas (tracts) that contain both identified and undiscovered mineral resources. These tracts were drawn on the basis of one or more of the following criteria: (1) geochemical anomalies, (2) favorable geologic units, (3) presence of mines, prospects or mineral occurrences, and (4) geophysical anomalies. Bliss (1989) used six mineral deposit models to describe the types of deposits known from the CNF. Of these deposit types, only four are sufficiently known and defined in the CNF to be suitable for consideration in outlining and ranking of mineral resource tracts; these deposit types are: (1) Cyprus-type massive sulfide, (2) Chugach-type low-sulfide goldquartz veins, (3) placer gold, and (4) polymetallic vein. The U.S. Bureau of Mines indicated that most of the inferred mineral reserves in the CNF would not be economic to produce under current prices. Small-scale placer gold operations are a possible exception. Other known resources that have recorded past production (oil, coal, rock, sand, and gravel) are not addressed in this report.
Alaska↗
Petrography and physical properties of selected rock types associated with the Hayward Fault, California
This report provides brief petrographic descriptions of rock samples collected from the vicinity of the Hayward Fault, Northern California. Two groups of rock samples are represented here: A set of six samples that were used for laboratory measurements of P- and S-wave velocity , strength, density, and porosity. This group was examined using standard petrographic microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electron microprobe techniques on polished thin sections. A larger group of samples, most of them 1"-diameter cores, on which density and magnetic susceptibility measurements were made as part of gravity and magnetic surveys of the Hayward Fault. Because this second group of samples received less extensive laboratory study, examination of them was limited to standard petrographic microscope examination of covered thin sections. The density and susceptibility measurements of this second group of samples are included in this report.
California↗
Water-level altitudes 2002 and water-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers and compaction 1973-2001 in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers, Houston-Galveston region, Texas
This report is one in an annual series of reports that depicts water-level altitudes and water-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers, and compaction in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers in the Houston-Galveston region. The Houston-Galveston region comprises Harris, Galveston, Fort Bend, Waller, and Montgomery Counties and adjacent parts of Brazoria, Grimes, Walker, San Jacinto, Liberty, and Chambers Counties. The report was prepared in cooperation with the Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District, the City of Houston, and the Fort Bend Subsidence District. For the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers, maps show approximate water-level altitudes in 2002, water-level changes from 2001 to 2002, approximate water-level changes from 1977 to 2002, lines of zero water-level change for intervals increasing in 5-year increments beginning with 1977–82, and approximate water-level changes from 1990 to 2002 (in the Fort Bend subregion [Fort Bend County and adjacent areas]) (figs. 1–10). For the Jasper aquifer, maps show approximate water-level altitudes in 2002 and water-level changes from 2001 to 2002 and 2000 to 2002 (figs. 11–13). The report also contains a map showing extensometer (well equipped with compaction monitor) site locations (fig. 14) and graphs showing measured compaction of subsurface material at selected sites from 1973 or later to 2001 (fig. 15). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has published annual reports of water-level altitudes and water-level changes for the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers in the Houston-Galveston region since 1979; and separate annual reports of same for the Fort Bend subregion since 1990. The USGS published its first water-level-altitude map for the Jasper aquifer in the greater Houston area (primarily Montgomery County) in 2001. This year (2002), the altitude and change maps for the three aquifers are in this report.
Texas↗
Fifty-Year Flood-Inundation Maps for Santa Rosa de Aguan, Honduras
After the devastating floods caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, maps of the areas and depths of the 50-year-flood inundation at 15 municipalities in Honduras were prepared as a tool for agencies involved in reconstruction and planning. This report, which is one in a series of 15, presents maps of areas in the coastal municipality of Santa Rosa de Aguan that are prone to oceanic storm-surge flooding and wave action. The 50-year flood on the Rio Aguan (4,270 cubic meters per second), would inundate most of the area surveyed for this municipality and beyond. Therefore a detailed numerical hydraulic model was not developed for this municipality as it was for the others. The 50-year storm surge would likely produce higher water levels than the 50-year flood on the river during normal astronomical tides. The elevation of the 50-year storm surge was estimated to be 4.35 meters above normal sea level, based on hurricane probabilities and published storm-surge elevations associated with various hurricane categories. Flood-inundation maps, including areas of wave-action hazard and a color-shaded elevation map, were created from the available data and the estimated 50-year storm tide. Geographic Information System (GIS) coverages of the hazard areas are available on a computer in the municipality of Santa Rosa de Aguan as part of the Municipal GIS project and on the Internet at the Flood Hazard Mapping Data Web page (http://mitchnts1.cr.usgs.gov/projects/floodhazard.html). These coverages allow users to view the maps in much more detail than is possible using the maps in this report.
Santa Rosa de Aguan↗
Water use in Wisconsin, 2000
As part of the National Water-Use Information Program, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stores water-use data in standardized format for different catego ries of water use. Information about amounts of water withdrawn, sources of wa ter, how the water was used, and how much water was returned is available to those involved in establishing water-resource policy and to those managing water resources. In 1978, the USGS entered into a cooperative program with the Wisconsin De partment of Natural Resources (WDNR) to inventory water use in Wisconsin. Since that time, four reports summarizing water use have been published (Law rence and Ellefson, 1982; Ellefson and others, 1987; Ellefson and others, 1993; Ellefson and others, 1997). Ellefson and others (1997) present 1995 water-use data in a map and graph format. Because water use changes with time, an update report is periodically required. This report presents 2000 data in the same format as the 1997 report.
Wisconsin↗
Documentation of Precipitation Runoff Modeling System modules for the Modular Modeling System modified for the Watershed and River Systems Management Program
A decision support system is being developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as part of a long-term project, the Watershed and River Systems Management Program. The goal of the program is to apply the decision support system to U.S. Bureau of Reclamation projects in the western United States. An important component of the decision support system is the physical hydrology modeling, which consists of watershed models using the U.S. Geological Survey's Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System within the Modular Modeling System. To construct models and to enhance the tools for the application of the decision support system, selected Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System modules were modified or developed. These modules are documented in this report.
Open-File Report↗
Procedures for scour assessments at bridges in Pennsylvania
Scour is the process and result of flowing water eroding the bed and banks of a stream. Scour at nearly 14,300 bridges(1) spanning water, and the stability of river and stream channels in Pennsylvania, are being assessed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). Procedures for bridge-scour assessments have been established to address the needs of PennDOT in meeting a 1988 Federal Highway Administration mandate requiring states to establish a program to assess all public bridges over water for their vulnerability to scour. The procedures also have been established to help develop an understanding of the local and regional factors that affect scour and channel stability. This report describes procedures for the assessment of scour at all bridges that are 20 feet or greater in length that span water in Pennsylvania. There are two basic types of assessment: field-viewed bridge site assessments, for which USGS personnel visit the bridge site, and office-reviewed bridge site assessments, for which USGS personnel compile PennDOT data and do not visit the bridge site. Both types of assessments are primarily focused at assisting PennDOT in meeting the requirements of the Federal Highway Administration mandate; however, both assessments include procedures for the collection and processing of ancillary data for subsequent analysis. Date of bridge construction and the accessibility of the bridge substructure units for inspection determine which type of assessment a bridge receives. A Scour-Critical Bridge Indicator Code and a Scour Assessment Rating are computed from selected collected and compiled data. PennDOT personnel assign the final Scour-Critical Bridge Indicator Code and a Scour Assessment Rating on the basis of their review of all data. (1)Words presented in bold type are defined in the Glossary section of this report.
Open-File Report↗
Water-level altitudes 2005 and water-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers and compaction 1973-2004 in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers, Houston-Galveston region, Texas
This report is one in an annual series of reports that depicts water-level altitudes and water-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers, and compaction in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers in the Houston-Galveston region. The Houston-Galveston region comprises Harris, Galveston, Fort Bend, Waller, and Montgomery Counties and adjacent parts of Brazoria, Grimes, Walker, San Jacinto, Liberty, and Chambers Counties. The report was prepared in cooperation with the Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District, the City of Houston, the Fort Bend Subsidence District, and the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District. For the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers, maps show approximate water-level altitudes in 2005, water-level changes from 2004 to 2005, and approximate water-level changes from 2000 to 2005, from 1990 to 2005, and from 1977 to 2005 (figs. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , and 10 ). For the Jasper aquifer, maps show approximate water-level altitudes in 2005 and water-level changes from 2004 to 2005 and 2000 to 2005 (figs. 11 , 12 , and 13 ). The report also contains a map showing borehole extensometer (well equipped with compaction monitor) site locations ( fig. 14 ) and graphs showing measured compaction of subsurface material at these sites from 1973 or later to 2004 ( fig. 15 ). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has published annual reports of water-level altitudes and water-level changes for the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers in the Houston-Galveston region since 1979; and annual reports of same for the Fort Bend subregion (Fort Bend County and adjacent areas) since 1990. The USGS published its first water-level-altitude map for the Jasper aquifer in the greater Houston area (primarily Montgomery County) in 2001. The 2005 water-level-altitude and water-level-change maps for the three aquifers are included in this report.
Texas↗
Magnetotelluric data collected near geophysically logged boreholes in the Española and Middle Rio Grande Basins, New Mexico
The Santa Fe region is growing rapidly. The Santa Fe Group aquifer in the Española Basin is the main source of municipal water for the region, and water shortfalls could have serious consequences. Future growth and land management in the region depend on accurate assessment and protection of the region's ground-water resources. An important issue in managing the ground-water resources is a better understanding of the hydrogeology of the Tertiary Santa Fe Group. The Santa Fe Group includes the sedimentary deposits that fill the Rio Grande rift and contain the principal ground-water aquifers. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting a series of multidisciplinary studies of the Española Basin in northern New Mexico. Detailed geologic mapping, high-resolution airborne magnetic surveys, electromagnetic surveys, and hydrologic, lithologic, and hydro-geochemical data are being used to better understand the aquifer systems. Magnetotelluric (MT) surveys were completed as part of these studies. The primary purpose of the MT surveys was to map changes in electrical resistivity with depth that are related to differences in various rock types that help control the properties of aquifers in the region. Resistivity modeling of the MT data can be used to investigate buried structures related to the basic geologic framework of the study area. The purpose of this report is to release MT sounding data collected near geophysically logged boreholes in the study area, including the nearby Middle Rio Grande Basin. This MT data can be used in subsequent resistivity modeling. No interpretation of the data is included in this report.
New Mexico↗
Watershed Data Management (WDM) Database for Salt Creek Streamflow Simulation, DuPage County, Illinois
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with DuPage County Department of Engineering, Stormwater Management Division, maintains a database of hourly meteorologic and hydrologic data for use in a near real-time streamflow simulation system, which assists in the management and operation of reservoirs and other flood-control structures in the Salt Creek watershed in DuPage County, Illinois. The majority of the precipitation data are collected from a tipping-bucket rain-gage network located in and near DuPage County. The other meteorologic data (wind speed, solar radiation, air temperature, and dewpoint temperature) are collected at Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois. Potential evapotranspiration is computed from the meteorologic data. The hydrologic data (discharge and stage) are collected at USGS streamflow-gaging stations in DuPage County. These data are stored in a Watershed Data Management (WDM) database. This report describes a version of the WDM database that was quality-assured and quality-controlled annually to ensure the datasets were complete and accurate. This version of the WDM database contains data from January 1, 1997, through September 30, 2004, and is named SEP04.WDM. This report provides a record of time periods of poor data for each precipitation dataset and describes methods used to estimate the data for the periods when data were missing, flawed, or snowfall-affected. The precipitation dataset data-filling process was changed in 2001, and both processes are described. The other meteorologic and hydrologic datasets in the database are fully described in the annual U.S. Geological Survey Water Data Report for Illinois and, therefore, are described in less detail than the precipitation datasets in this report.
Open-File Report↗
A Compilation of Gas Emission-Rate Data from Volcanoes of Cook Inlet (Spurr, Crater Peak, Redoubt, Iliamna, and Augustine) and Alaska Peninsula (Douglas, Fourpeaked, Griggs, Mageik, Martin, Peulik, Ukinrek Maars, and Veniaminof), Alaska, from 1995-2006
INTRODUCTION This report presents gas emission rates from data collected during numerous airborne plume-measurement flights at Alaskan volcanoes since 1995. These flights began in about 1990 as means to establish baseline values of volcanic gas emissions during periods of quiescence and to identify anomalous levels of degassing that might signal the beginning of unrest. The primary goal was to make systematic measurements at the major volcanic centers around the Cook Inlet on at least an annual basis, and more frequently during periods of unrest and eruption. A secondary goal was to measure emissions at selected volcanoes on the Alaska Peninsula. While the goals were not necessarily met in all cases due to weather, funding, or the availability of suitable aircraft, a rich dataset of quality measurements is the legacy of this continuing effort. An earlier report (Doukas, 1995) presented data for the period from 1990 through 1994 and the current report provides data through 2006. This report contains all of the available measurements for SO2, CO2, and H2S emission rates in Alaska determined by the U. S. Geological Survey from 1995 through 2006; airborne measurements for H2S began in Alaska in 2001. The results presented here are from Cook Inlet volcanoes at Spurr, Crater Peak, Redoubt, Iliamna, and Augustine and cover periods of unrest at Iliamna (1996) and Spurr (2004-2006) as well as the 2006 eruption of Augustine. Additional sporadic measurements at volcanoes on the Alaska Peninsula (Douglas, Martin, Mageik, Griggs, Veniaminof, Ukinrek Maars, Peulik, and Fourpeaked during its 2006 unrest) are also reported here.
Open-File Report↗
Simulation of contributing areas and surface-water leakage to potential replacement wells near the community of New Post, Sawyer County, Wisconsin, by means of a two-dimensional ground-water flow model
A two-dimensional, steady-state ground-water-flow model of the shallow ground-water-flow system near the community of New Post, Sawyer County, Wis., was refined from an existing model of the area. Hydraulic-conductivity and recharge values were not changed from the existing model for the scenario simulations described in this report. Rather, the model was refined by adding detail along the Chippewa Flowage and then was used to simulate contributing areas for three potential replacement wells pumping 30,000 gallons per day. The model also was used to simulate potential surface-water leakage out of the Chippewa Flowage captured by replacement-well pumping. A range in resistance to vertical ground-water flow was simulated along the Chippewa Flowage for each potential replacement-well location to bound the potential effects of representing three-dimensional flow with a two-dimensional model. Results indicate that pumping from a replacement well sited about 130 feet from the Chippewa Flowage could capture as much as 39 percent of the total pumping from the flowage. Pumping from either of two potential replacement wells sited at least 400 feet from the Chippewa Flowage did not induce surface-water leakage out of the flowage regardless of the resistance applied along the flowage for simulations described in this report.
Wisconsin↗
Flood of May 6, 2007, Willow Creek, west-central Iowa
Major flooding occurred May 6, 2007, in the Willow Creek drainage basin in Harrison County following severe thunderstorm activity over west-central Iowa. More than 7 inches of rain were recorded for the 72-hour period ending 7 a.m., May 6, at the Logan, Iowa weather station. The peak discharge in Willow Creek at Medford Avenue near Missouri Valley, Iowa, was 17,000 cubic feet per second. The recurrence interval of the flood is 160 years, which was estimated using regional regression equations. Information about the basin, the storms, the flooding, and a profile of high-water marks measured at 10 locations along Willow Creek between the mouth at the Boyer River and State Highway 37 in Monona County, a distance of almost 33 river miles, are presented in this report.
Iowa↗