Marine oxygen isotope stage 11 and associated terrestrial records; workshop report
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A program for the conversion of The National Map data from proprietary format to resource description framework (RDF)
To expand data functionality and capabilities for users of The National Map of the U.S. Geological Survey, data sets for six watersheds and three urban areas were converted from the Best Practices vector data model formats to Semantic Web data formats. This report describes and documents the conver-sion process. The report begins with an introduction to basic Semantic Web standards and the background of The National Map. Data were converted from a proprietary format to Geog-raphy Markup Language to capture the geometric footprint of topographic data features. Configuration files were designed to eliminate redundancy and make the conversion more efficient. A SPARQL endpoint was established for data validation and queries. The report concludes by describing the results of the conversion.
Open-File Report↗
Selected ground-water information for the Pasco basin and adjacent areas, Washington, 1986-1989
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the United States Department of Energy, conducted a study of the Pasco basin and adjacent areas, Washington, in support of the Basalt Waste Isolation Project at the Hanford site, Washington. The purpose of the study was to develop a data set that would help define the groundwater-flow system of the Pasco Basin. This report contains the basic data, without interpretation, that were collected from the start of the project in February 1986 through January 1989. Information presented is from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, State of Washington Department of Ecology , US Army Corps of Engineers, Kennewick Irrigation District, and the Survey, and consists of well location and construction data, records of water levels in the wells, and aquifer designations for each well. The aquifer designation represents the geohydrologic unit to which the well is reported to be open. (USGS)
Open-File Report↗
A summary of peak stages and discharges in New York for the flood of June 1972
Intense rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Agnes in late June 1972 resulted in the greatest flood disaster in the history of New York State. Flooding began in Westchester County on June 19 and was followed by widespread flooding in the Southern Tier and the Fingers Lakes region on June 23. The purpose of this report is to make available preliminary peak stage and discharge data for New York streams. Detailed analyses of precipitation, stage and discharge hydrographs, flood frequency, and flood profiles will be presented in subsequent reports. Inundation maps for 39 quadrangles were prepared.
New York↗
Ground-water data collected in the Missouri River basin units in Kansas during 1951
Ground-water studies in the Missouri River Basin were begun by the United States Geological Survey during the fall of 1945 as a part of the program for development of the resources of the basin by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and other Federal Agencies. The studies of the ground-water resources in the part of Kansas that lies within the Basin have been coordinated with the cooperative program of ground-water studies already being made in Kansas by the U.S. Geological Survey, the State Geological Survey of Kansas, the Division of Sanitation of the Kansas State Board of Health, and the Division of Water Resources of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture. Areas in which ground-water data have been collected for the Missouri Basin program include the Almena Unit in Norton and Phillips Counties; the Bostwick Unit in Jewell, Republic, and Cloud Counties; the Cedar Bluff Unit in Ellis, Rush, and Trego Counties; the Glen Elder Unit in Mitchell County; Kanopolis unit in Ellsworth, McPherson, and Saline Counties; Kirwin unit in Phillips, Smith, and Osborne Counties; the Ladder Creek project in Greeley, Gove, Lane, Logan, Scott, Wallace, and Wichita Counties; the St. Francis unit in Cheyenne County; the Webster Unit in Osborne County; and the Wilson Unit in Lincoln County. Data relating to the Ladder Creek project will be published later in a separate report. This report is the fifth of a series of annual reports on ground-water in the above-named units in Kansas and contains the data collected mostly during 1951. An index to the data that were collected and presented in the 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, and 1951 reports is given in table 1.
Kansas↗
Shallow ground-water quality in an agricultural area of the lower coastal plain of South Carolina, 1997
Ground-water-quality samples were collected from 30 shallow monitoring wells located in agricultural areas of the lower Coastal Plain of South Carolina during the summer of 1997 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program in the Santee River Basin and Coastal Drainages study unit. The wells were completed in sand to clayey sand sediments of the surficial aquifer and sampled one time for selected field properties, and nutrient, major ion, and pesticide concentrations. This report contains the results of the sampling effort.
South Carolina↗
Analytical data for waters of the Harvard Open Pit, Jamestown Mine, Tuolumne County, California, March 1998-September 1999
The Jamestown mine is located in the Jamestown mining district in western Tuolumne County, California (see Fig. 1). This district is one of many located on or near the Melones fault zone, a major regional suture in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The districts along the Melones fault comprise the Mother Lode gold belt (Clark, 1970). The Harvard pit is the largest of several open pits mined at the Jamestown site by Sonora Mining Corporation between 1986 and 1994 (Fig. 2; Algood, 1990). It is at the site of an historical mine named the Harvard that produced about 100,000 troy ounces of gold, mainly between 1906 and 1916 (Julihn and Horton, 1940). Sonora Mining mined and processed about 17,000,000 short tons of ore, with an overall stripping ratio of about 4.5:1, yielding about 660,000 troy ounces of gold (Nelson and Leicht, 1994). Most of this material came from the Harvard pit, which attained dimensions of about 2700 ft (830 m) in length, 1500 ft (460 m) in width, and 600 ft (185 m) in depth. The bottom of the pit is at an elevation of 870 ft (265 m). Since mining operations ceased in mid-1994, the open pit has been filling with water. As of November, 2000, lake level had reached an elevation of about 1170 ft (357 m). Water quality monitoring data gathered after mine closure showed rising levels of arsenic, sulfate, and other components in the lake, with particularly notable increases accompanying a period of rapid filling in 1995 (County of Tuolumne, 1998). The largest potential source for arsenic in the vicinity of the Harvard pit is arsenian pyrite, the most abundant sulfide mineral related to gold mineralization. A previous study of weathering of arsenian pyrite in similarly mineralized rocks at the Clio mine, in the nearby Jacksonville mining district, showed that arsenic released by weathering of arsenian pyrite is effectively attenuated by adsorption on goethite or coprecipitation with jarosite, depending upon the buffering capacity of the pyrite-bearing rock (Savage and others, 2000). Although jarosite would be expected to dissolve in water having the composition of the developing pit lake, iron oxyhydroxide species (ferrihydrite and goethite) would be stable, and strong partitioning of arsenic onto suspended particles or bottom sediments containing these iron phases would be expected. Arsenic release to the lake would not be expected until stratification develops, producing a reducing, non-circulating hypolimnion in which the iron phases would be destroyed by dissolution. The fact that arsenic concentrations increased rapidly before the pit lake was deep enough to stratify shows that arsenic may not be attenuated in the ways that the earlier Clio mine area study indicated, and suggested that our understanding of release and transport of arsenic in this environment is incomplete. Therefore, in 1997 we decided to study the chemical evolution of the Harvard pit lake as part of a project on environmental impacts of gold mining in the Sierra Nevada, and in early 1998 we developed a cooperative study with several of the investigators in the Stanford University Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences who had done the Clio study. The U.S. Geological Survey portion of the project has been funded by the Mineral Resources Program. It is anticipated that a better understanding of the release and transport of arsenic into the Harvard pit lake and its accumulation there will contribute to more accurate predictions of arsenic release from weathering of sulfide-bearing rocks exposed by mining or other activities or events, and to better forecasts of pit lake evolution in this and similar environments, leading to more effective monitoring and mitigation strategies. An accurate predictive model is needed for the Harvard pit lake to forecast trends in metal concentrations, particularly arsenic, and also concentrations of major cations and anions. As the lake approaches pre-mining groundwater levels the lake water could move down the hydrologic gradient to the southeast into domestic wells, and could also affect the surface water of Woods Creek (see Figures 1-3). This report presents data for water samples collected from March, 1998 through September, 1999. Selected preliminary data for the pit lake for the 1998 calendar year have been reported (Savage and others, 2000).
California↗
Supporting data for hydrologic studies in San Francisco Bay, California: Meteorological measurements at the Port of Redwood City during 1998-2001
Meteorological data were collected during 1998-2001 at the Port of Redwood City, California, to support hydrologic studies in South San Francisco Bay. The measured meteorological variables were air temperature, atmospheric pressure, quantum flux (insolation), and four parameters of wind speed and direction: scalar mean horizontal wind speed, (vector) resultant horizontal wind speed, resultant wind direction, and standard deviation of the wind direction. Hourly mean values based on measurements at five-minute intervals were logged at the site. Daily mean values were computed for temperature, infolation, pressure, and scalar wind speed. Daily mean values for 1998-2001 are described in this report, and a short record of hourly mean values is compared to data from another near-by station. Data (hourly and daily mean) from the entire period of record (starting in April 1992) and reports describing data prior to 1998 are provided.
California↗
The road to flamingo: An evaluation of flow pattern alterations and salinity intrusion in the lower glades, Everglades National Park
Introduction This report describes the history of roads through the Lower Glades of Everglades National Park, Florida and their influence on salinity intrusion. The chronology that lead to this work is interesting. The U.S. Geological Survey flew a series of helicopter electromagnetic surveys over portions of Everglades National Park to map saltwater intrusion starting in 1994 (Fitterman et al., 1995; Fitterman, 1996; Fitterman and Deszcz-Pan, 1998, 2002). These surveys identified variations in the electrical resistivity that were associated with changes in ground-water quality. The patterns of ground-water quality have been traced to natural saltwater intrusion, such as the effect of tidal rivers on lowering hydrologic heads far inland, and the influence of man-made structures, such as canals and roadways on surface water flow. These latter effects are of interest as they represent variations from the natural state of affairs in the park. Previous investigations had been done by Everglades National Park staff on the influence of some roads and canals on the near surface hydrology. This information was scattered through a number of National Park Service publications. In an effort to bring these materials together in an easily located reference, along with new data on flows through culverts beneath the main park road, this report was written.
Florida↗
Near-shore and off-shore habitat use by endangered juvenile Lost River and Shortnose Suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon: 2006 data summary
Lost River suckers Deltistes luxatus and shortnose suckers Chasmistes brevirostris , listed as endangered in 1988 under the Endangered Species Act, have shown infrequent recruitment into adult populations in Upper Klamath Lake (NRC 2004). In an effort to understand the causes behind and provide management solutions to apparent recruitment failure, a number of studies have been conducted including several on larval and juvenile sucker habitat use. Near-shore areas in Upper Klamath Lake with emergent vegetation, especially those near the mouth of the Williamson River, were identified as important habitat for larval suckers (Cooperman and Markle 2000; Reiser et al. 2001). Terwilliger et al. (2004) characterized primary age-0 sucker habitat as near-shore areas in the southern portion of Upper Klamath Lake with gravel and cobble substrates. Reiser et al. (2001) provided some evidence that juvenile suckers use habitats with emergent vegetation, but nothing concerning the extent or timing of use. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began investigating the importance of near-shore and off-shore habitats with and without emergent vegetation for juvenile suckers in 2000. We found substantial numbers of juvenile suckers using these habitats near the mouth of the Williamson River into late August (VanderKooi and Buelow 2003). The distribution and relative abundance of juvenile suckers showed high spatial variability throughout the summer for all species combined, Lost River suckers, and shortnose suckers (VanderKooi et al. 2006; Hendrixson et al. 2007a). Results from sampling near-shore areas in 2002 suggested juvenile sucker proximity to shoreline changes depending on the presence or absence of shoreline vegetation (VanderKooi et al. 2006), whereas in 2004 and 2005 results were equivocal (Hendrixson et al. 2007a, 2007b). Research by USGS of juvenile suckers in Upper Klamath Lake conducted since 2000 provides a valuable long-term data set which can be used to evaluate multi-year trends in juvenile sucker relative abundance and habitat use. Data on the relative abundance of juvenile suckers and their habitat use patterns will provide valuable information to guide restoration and management decisions in the Upper Klamath Basin. Information on juvenile sucker catch rates may also be valuable for evaluating year class success, estimating early life stage survival rates, and predicting upper bounds of future recruitment to adult spawning populations. We continued sampling juvenile suckers in 2006 as part of an effort to develop bioenergetics models for juvenile Lost River and shortnose suckers. This study required us to collect fish to determine growth rates and energy content of juvenile suckers. We followed the sampling protocols and methods described by Hendrixson et al. (2007b) to maintain continuity and facilitate comparisons with data collected in recent years, but sampled at a reduced level of effort compared to previous years (approximately one-third) due to limited funding. Here we present a summary of catch data collected in 2006. Bioenergetics models will be reported separately
Oregon↗
PQLX: A seismic data quality control system description, applications, and users manual
We present a detailed description and users manual for a new tool to evaluate seismic station performance and characteristics by providing quick and easy transitions between visualizations of the frequency and time domains. The software is based on the probability density functions (PDF) of power spectral densities (PSD) (McNamara and Buland, 2004) and builds on the original development of the PDF stand-alone software system (McNamara and Boaz, 2005) and the seismological data viewer application PQL (IRIS-PASSCAL Quick Look) and PQLII (available through the IRIS PASSCAL program: http://www.passcal.nmt.edu/content/pql-ii-program-viewing-data). With PQLX (PQL eXtended), computed PSDs are stored in a MySQL database, allowing a user to access specific time periods of PSDs (PDF subsets) and time series segments through a GUI-driven interface. The power of the method and software lies in the fact that there is no need to screen the data for system transients, earthquakes, or general data artifacts, because they map into a background probability level. In fact, examination of artifacts related to station operation and episodic cultural noise allow us to estimate both the overall station quality and a baseline level of Earth noise at each site. The output of this analysis tool is useful for both operational and scientific applications. Operationally, it is useful for characterizing the current and past performance of existing broadband stations, for conducting tests on potential new seismic station locations, for evaluating station baseline noise levels (McNamara and others, 2009), for detecting problems with the recording system or sensors, and for evaluating the overall quality of data and metadata. Scientifically, the tool allows for mining of PSDs for investigations on the evolution of seismic noise (for example, Aster and others, 2008; and Aster and others, 2010) and other phenomena. Currently, PQLX is operational at several organizations including the USGS National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC), the USGS Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASL), and the Incorporated Research Institutions in Seismology (IRIS) Data Management Center (DMC) for station monitoring and instrument response quality control. The PQLX system is available to the community at large through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (http://ehpm-earthquake.wr.usgs.gov/research/software/pqlx.php) and IRIS (http://www.iris.edu/software/pqlx). Also provided is a fully searchable website for bug reporting and enhancement requests (http://wush.net/bugzilla/PQLX). The first part of this document aims to describe and illustrate some of the features and capabilities of the software. The second part of this document is a detailed users manual that covers installation procedures, system requirements, operations, bug reporting, and software components (Appendix).
Open-File Report↗
Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2017–November 30, 2018
Executive Summary A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States entered June 7, 1954 ( New Jersey v. New York , 347 U.S. 995), established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes the diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires that compensating releases from certain reservoirs owned by New York City be made under the supervision and direction of the River Master. The Decree stipulates that the River Master provide reports to the Court, not less frequently than annually. This report is the 65th annual report of the River Master of the Delaware River. The report covers the 2018 River Master report year, from December 1, 2017, to November 30, 2018. During the report year, precipitation in the upper Delaware River Basin was 60.39 inches or 136 percent of the long-term average. On December 1, 2017, combined useable storage in the New York City reservoirs in the upper Delaware River Basin was 193.230 billion gallons or 71.3 percent of the combined useable storage capacity of 270.837 billion gallons. The reservoirs had a usable capacity of 99.5 percent on May 31, 2018. Combined storage remained high (above 80 percent combined capacity) and did not decline below 80 percent of combined capacity through November 30, 2018. River Master operations during the year were conducted as stipulated by the Decree and the Flexible Flow Management Program. Diversions from the Delaware River Basin by New York City and New Jersey fully complied with the Decree. Reservoir releases were made as directed by the River Master at rates designed to meet the flow objective for the Delaware River at Montague, New Jersey, on 42 days during the report year. Interim Excess Release Quantity banks and conservation releases, designed to relieve thermal stress and protect the fishery and aquatic habitat in the tailwaters of the reservoirs, were also made during the report year.
Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania↗
Environments at U.S. and U.S.S.R. nuclear explosion sites petroleum-stimulation projects
The United States Plowshare program for the peaceful application of nuclear explosives was formally established by the Atomic Energy Commission in 1957. A number of engineering uses for such explosions were proposed and discussed in the late fifties, mostly by personnel of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory under contract to AEC, and several projects were studied in detail during the nuclear weapons test moratorium extending from the fall of 1958 to the fall of 1961. The first Plowshare experiment, Project Gnome, was detonated on December 10, 1961. Since that time phenomenological data have been obtained in many media, including alluvium, tuff, shale, dolomite, salt, basalt, and granite, with explosions at depths ranging from near the surface to about 2,500 meters. After negotiation between El Paso Natural Gas Company and AEC, the first joint industry-government Plowshare experiment, Project Gas-buggy, was detonated on December 10, 1967. The second such experiment,Project Rulison, conducted on September 10, 1969, under the sponsorshipof Austral Oil Company, Inc., the AEC, and the Department of Interior,is currently being evaluated. These two experiments emphasized theU. S. interest in the potential application of underground nuclear explosions to the petroleum industry, especially to gas stimulation in sizable regions of large-scale, low productivity, generally undeveloped resources. (Petroleum as used in this report refers to both gas and oil resources.)
Open-File Report↗
Spectrographic and chemical analyses of drill core from Precambrian igneous rocks of the St. Francois igneous province in southeast Missouri
Seventy-nine samples of igneous rock from drill holes in and near the Rolla, Missouri, 2° quadrangle were collected and catalogued by the Division of Geology and Land Survey of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Spectrographic and chemical analyses were performed to characterize some of the major, minor, and trace element contents of these subsurface samples. The analytical results for these samples are given in this report.
Missouri↗
Zeolites in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota
Zeolites of possible commercial value occur in the Brule Formation of Oligocene age and the Sharps Formation (Harksen, 1961) of Miocene age which crop out in a wide area in the northern part of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The thickness of the zeolite-bearing Interval and the extent of areas within the Interval which contain significant amounts of zeolites are far greater than was expected prior to this investigation. The shape of the zeolite-bearing Interval is tabular and the dimensions of Its exposure are roughly 10 ml x 200 mi x 150 ft (16 km x 160 km x 45 m) thick. Within the study area, there are tracts in which the zeolite resource potential is significant (see pl. 2). This report is intended to inform the Oglala Sioux Tribe of some of the most promising zeolite occurrences. Initial steps can then be taken by the Tribe toward possible development of the resources, should they wish to do so. The data contained herein identify areas of high zeolite potential, but are not adequate to establish economic value for the deposits. If development is recommended by the tribal government, we suggest that the tribal government contact companies involved in research and production of natural zeolites and provide them with the data in this report.
Open-File Report↗
Water-resources activities in Utah by the U.S. Geological Survey, July 1, 1987 to September 30, 1988
This report contains summaries of the progress of water-resources studies in Utah by the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, Utah District, from July 1, 1987, to September 30, 1988. The program in Utah during this period consisted of 29 projects; a discussion of each project is given in the main body of the report. Short descriptions are given at the end of the report for three projects proposed to be started on or after October 1, 1988. The following sections outline the basic mission and program of the Water Resources Division, the organizational structure of the Utah District, the distribution of District funding in terms of source of funds and type of activity funded, and the agencies with which the District cooperates. The last part of the introduction is a list of reports produced by the District from July 1987 to September 1988.
Utah↗
Water-resources activities in Utah by the U.S. Geological Survey, October 1, 1989, to September 30, 1990
This report contains summaries of the progress of water-resources studies in Utah by the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, Utah District, from October 1, 1989, to September 30, 1990. The program in Utah during this period consisted of 25 projects; a discussion of each project is given in the body of the report. The following sections outline the basic mission and program of the Water Resources Division, the organizational structure of the Utah District, the distribution of District funding in terms of source of funds and type of activity funded, and the agencies with which the District cooperates. The last part of the introduction is a list of reports produced by the District from October 1989 to September 1990.
Utah↗
Integrating quality assurance in project work plans of the U.S. Geological Survey
The U.S. Geological Survey's objectives for including quality assurance procedures in a project work plan are to ensure that the quality of the data collected is defined and is appropriate for the objectives of the investigation. The data- quality information can be used in the interpre- tation of the data. A project work plan that includes quality assessment provides definable benefits such as clarity of expectations, a method for obtaining a set of data that is expected and has been proven valid, a documentation trail, products that are produced on time and that meet project objectives, and a decrease in work that is lost or redone. Project chiefs must prepare and can publish the work plan for scientific investigations. An expanded outline of a framework that can be used to prepare a project work plan that includes quality assurance is described in this report and contains the following topics: data-quality objectives; project organization and responsibilities; data collection; data processing; project reviews; data analysis; remedial actions; project progress reports and quality assurance reports to management.
Open-File Report↗