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USGS1973

Water resources and geology of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota

Ground water suitable for public supply can be obtained from fractured metamorphic and igneous rooks at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, S. Dak. The memorial comprises three main drainage basins: Starling basin, Lafferty Gulch basin, and East Boundary basin. Ground water is most prevalent in Lafferty Gulch basin but Starling basin contributes the most surface water. The total water supply was obtained from springs until 1967 when increasing numbers of visitors required development of additional sources. As a result of this investigation, wells 3 and 4 were drilled in Lafferty Gulch basin and East Boundary basin. Well 3 is 200 feet deep in mica schist and granite. It produced 7.3 million gallons of water in 1968 and 7.7 million gallons of water in 1969, the total supply for the memorial. Well 4 is 500 feet deep, also in mica schist and granite. It is not used at the present time (1970) but will be used in the future when more water is needed. Water from both wells is potable, but the quality of water from well 3 is superior to that from well 4. Mica schist is the most abundant rock in the memorial. The more prominent hills and mountains, however, are in large, northerly striking granite sills, some of which are several hundred feet thick. Pegmatite sills and dikes are also numerous. The western boundary of the memorial is at the east edge of the Harney Peak Granite batholith. The dip of schistosity and bedding in schist adjacent to the batholith is about 30 ? E. but increases across the memorial to about 65 ? E. in the northeast corner. At some locations in the memorial, granite or pegmatite sills act as ground-water dams preventing the movement of ground water down gradient. A pegmatite or granite sill is probably the cause of the accumulation of water in the vicinity of well 3. The well flows when it is not being pumped. The occurrence of ground water is dependent upon the presence of joints and fractures in the schist and granite bedrock. The rocks themselves are relatively impermeable and would yield little or no water in their unaltered state. Mica schist that has been intruded by granite and (or) pegmatite is more fractured and yields more ground water in the memorial than mica schist alone. This condition may be due to jointing and to the greater fracturability of the intruded rocks in the vicinity of granitic intrusions. Ground water is also available from alluvium in major valleys such as Starling basin and the valleys of Grizzly Bear Creek and Battle Creek. Evapotranspiration is the greatest use-item in the water budget. An approximation of evapotranspiration based upon an average annual precipitation of 19 inches is 1,600 acre-feet, or 80 percent of the annual precipitation. Several locations in the memorial have potential as future, sources of ground-water supplies. The most promising areas are near spring 6 in the southeast corner and alluvium in the valleys of Battle and Grizzly Bear Creeks. Developed and potential water resources in the memorial probably are sufficient to meet demands beyond the year 2000.

South Dakota↗

USGS1997

Combined-sewer overflow data and methods of sample collection for selected sites, Detroit, Michigan

The discharge of untreated sewage is illegal in Michigan unless permitted under Act 245 due to public health concerns. In October, 1992, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR, now the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality) issued a discharge permit to Detroit authorizing discharge from the City's 78 combined-sewer overflows (CSOs), and requiring that a long-term control plan be developed to achieve mandated waterquality standards in receiving waters. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued a national CSO policy in April, 1994, which requires (1) operational improvements of existing systems to minimize discharges and prevent their occurrence in dry weather; (2) publicly operated treatment works (POTW) to characterize the frequency and volume of discharges; and (3) construction of CSO discharge control projects where necessary. In 1993, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) requested assistance from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) and MDNR, Surface Water Quality Division, to address part of the technical data requirements for requirement 2. The USGS scope of services for this interdisciplinary, multiagency investigation consisted of collection, compilation, and interpretation of the necessary hydrologic data, and documentation of results. In addition to USGS personnel, personnel from DWSD assisted with the field collection of samples and in alerting USGS personnel to CSO effluent discharges. From October 1, 1994 through December 31, 1995, four CSOs discharging to the Detroit River in Detroit, Michigan (figure 1) were monitored to characterize storm-related water quantity and quality. Water velocity, stage, and precipitation were measured continuously and recorded at 5-minute intervals. Water-quality samples were collected at discrete times during storms and analyzed for inorganic and organic pollutants. Discharges were sampled between 30 and 78 times for inorganic pollutants, and between 14 and 22 times for organic pollutants, depending on the site. These samples represented between 8 and 17 storms during which one or more of the four selected CSOs discharged. The monitored pollutants included fecal coliform, fecal streptococci, and Escherichia coli; antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, total chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, silver, thallium and zinc; and polychlorinated biphenyl congeners, volatile organic compounds, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. Metal and non-metal inorganic pollutants were detected at all sites. Many organic pollutants were not detected at all.

Michigan↗

USGS2018

Public-supply water use and self-supplied industrial water use in Tennessee, 2010

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Water Resources, prepared this report and displayed and analyzed water use by self-supplied industrial and public-supply water systems in Tennessee for 2010. Public-supply water systems in Tennessee provide water for domestic, industrial, and commercial uses and for municipal services. In 2010, 474 public-supply water systems distributed 917 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of surface water (67 percent, 617 Mgal/d) and groundwater (33 percent, 300 Mgal/d) to a population of 5.7 million in Tennessee. Gross per capita water use in Tennessee during 2010 was 162 gallons per day. Since 1950, water withdrawals by public-supply water systems in Tennessee have increased from 160 Mgal/d to 917 Mgal/d in 2010. Each of the 95 counties in Tennessee was served by at least 1 public-supply water system in 2010. Tennessee public-supply water systems withdraw less groundwater than surface water, and surface-water use has increased at a faster rate than groundwater use. Since 2005, surface-water withdrawals have increased by 26 Mgal/d, and groundwater withdrawals have decreased by 29 Mgal/d, which is the first decrease in groundwater withdrawals since 1950; however, 29 systems reported increased groundwater withdrawals during 2010, and 12 of these 29 systems reported increases of 1 Mgal/d or more. Davidson County had the largest surface-water withdrawal rate (136 Mgal/d) in 2010. The largest groundwater withdrawal rate (151 Mgal/d) by a single public-supply water system was reported by Memphis Light, Gas and Water, which served more than 669,000 people in Shelby County in 2010. Self-supplied industrial water use includes water for such purposes as fabrication, processing, washing, diluting, cooling, or transporting a product; incorporating water into a product; or for sanitation needs in facilities that manufacture various products. Water withdrawals for self-supplied industrial water use during 2010 were about 776 Mgal/d. This quantity represented a decrease of 7 Mgal/d since 2005. In Tennessee, self-supplied industrial water withdrawals were primarily for chemical and allied products (555 Mgal/d), paper and allied products (107 Mgal/d), aeronautical products (71.5 Mgal/d), concrete and glass products (9.74 Mgal/d), and primary metal products (4.49 Mgal/d); and these products accounted for 96 percent (747 Mgal/d) of the self-supplied industrial water withdrawals in 2010. Surface water supplied 94 percent of the water (728 Mgal/d) for self-supplied industrial purposes, and groundwater supplied 6 percent (47.6 Mgal/d). Self-supplied industrial water withdrawals in Sullivan County were 488 Mgal/d and accounted for 61 percent of the self-supplied industrial water withdrawals. The largest groundwater withdrawal, 14.9 Mgal/d, by a single self-supplied industry was in Memphis, Tennessee, for the production of chemicals and allied products.

Tennessee↗

USGS2008

A Study of the Connection Among Basin-Fill Aquifers, Carbonate-Rock Aquifers, and Surface-Water Resources in Southern Snake Valley, Nevada

The Secretary of the Interior through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act approved funding for research to improve understanding of hydrologic systems that sustain numerous water-dependent ecosystems on Federal lands in Snake Valley, Nevada. Some of the streams and spring-discharge areas in and adjacent to Great Basin National Park have been identified as susceptible to ground-water withdrawals (Elliott and others, 2006) and research has shown a high potential for ground-water flow from southern Spring Valley into southern Snake Valley through carbonate rocks that outcrop along a low topographic divide known as the Limestone Hills (Welch and others, 2007). Comprehensive geologic, hydrologic, and chemical information will be collected and analyzed to assess the hydraulic connection between basin-fill aquifers and surface-water resources, water-dependent ecological features, and the regional carbonate-rock aquifer, the known source of many high-discharge springs. Understanding these connections is important because proposed projects to pump and export ground water from Spring and Snake Valleys in Nevada may result in unintended capture of water currently supplying springs, streams, wetlands, limestone caves, and other biologically sensitive areas (fig. 1). The methods that will be used in this study may be transferable to other areas in the Great Basin. The National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service submitted the proposal for funding this research to facilitate science-based land management. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Resources and Geologic Disciplines, and the University of Nevada, Reno, will accomplish four research elements through comprehensive data collection and analysis that are concentrated in two distinct areas on the eastern and southern flanks of the Snake Range (fig. 2). The projected time line for this research is from July 2008 through September 2011.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS1995

Ground-water resources in New Hampshire: Stratified-drift aquifers

Stratified-drift aquifers underlie about 14 percent of the land surface in New Hampshire and are an important source of ground water for commercial, industrial, domestic, and public-water supplies in the State. This report introduces terms and concepts relevant to ground-water resources, summarizes some of the important information derived from a statewide stratified-drift-aquifer investigation, and provides examples of how the findings are used. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the stratified-drift aquifer assessment program, thus making summary information accessible to a broad audience, including legislators, State and local officials, and the public. Different audiences will use the report in different ways. To accommodate the varied audiences, some data are summarized statewide, some are presented by major river basin, and some are provided by town. During data collection, care was taken to use consistent methods for each of the 13 study areas (fig. 1) so that results would be comparable throughout the State . If more specific or detailed information about a particular area of interest is needed, the reader is directed to one or more of the technical reports listed in the Selected References section of this report.

New Hampshire↗

USGS1975

Hydrologic data of the coastal drainage basins of southeastern Massachusetts, Weir River, Hingham, to Jonas River, Kingston

The principal basins are those of Weir River, James Brook, Bound Brook, North River, South River, and Jones River, all draining to Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay. These basins are bounded on the north by the Weymouth River basins, on the west by the Taunton River basin, and on the south by small basins that drain to Cape Cod Bay. The basins included all, or parts of, the Norwell, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Rockland, Scituate, Weymouth, and Whitman. With the following exceptions, each town is served by its own municipal water system--Hingham and northwest Cohasset by the Hingham Water Company; Abington and Rockland by the Abington-Rockland Joint Water Works; and Plympton lacks a public water supply. Weymouth and Cohasset are in Norfolk County; the other towns are in Plymouth County. This report presents, in tabular form, selected records of wells, test wells, borings, and springs; measurements of stream discharge, specific conductance, and temperature at partial-record stations; chemical analyses of ground water and surface water; and a summary of municipal water sources and additional sources available. The data were collected during a study of the drainage basins from 1969 to 1971 in cooperation with the Massachusetts Water Resources Commission. The report is released in order to make available to the public and to local, state, and federal agencies basic hydrologic information that may aid in planning water-resources development. Basic records contained in this report and streamflow data published elsewhere (U.S. Geol. Survey, 1960 et seq.) complement an interpretive report (Williams and Tasker, 1974).

Massachusetts↗

USGS2005

Analyzing stakeholder preferences for managing elk and bison at the National Elk Refuge and Grand Teton National Park: An example of the disparate stakeholder management approach

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Park Service (NPS) are preparing a management plan for bison and elk inhabiting the National Elk Refuge (NER) and Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A management plan is needed to evaluate current and possible changes to habitat management, disease management, winter feeding and hunting programs related to the NER and GTNP. In order to make good decisions, managers need to incorporate the opinions and values of the involved stakeholders as well as understand the complex institutional constraints and opportunities that influence the decision making process. Federal, state, local, private and public stakeholders have diverse values and preferences about how to use and manage resources, and underlying institutional factors give certain stakeholders more influence over the outcome. How stakeholders use their influence can greatly affect the time, effort and costs of the decision making process. The overall result will depend both on the stakeholder’s relative power and level of conviction for their preferences. Many programs and tools have been developed by different disciplines to facilitate group negotiation and decision making. Three examples are relevant here. First, decision analysis models such as the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) are commonly used to prioritize the goals and objectives of stakeholders’ preferences for resource planning by formally structuring conflicts and assisting decision makers in developing a compromised solution (Forman, 1998). Second, institutional models such as the Legal Institutional Analysis Model (LIAM) have been used to describe the organizational rules of behavior and the institutional boundaries constraining management decisions (Lamb and others, 1998). Finally, public choice models have been used to predict the potential success of rent-seeking activity (spending additional time and money to exert political pressure) to change the political rules (Becker, 1983). While these tools have been successful at addressing various pieces of the natural resource decision making process, their use in isolation is not enough to fully depict the complexities of the physical and biological systems with the rules and constraints of the underlying economic and political systems. An approach is needed that combines natural sciences, economics, and politics.

Wyoming↗

USGS2015

Tools for discovering and accessing Great Lakes scientific data

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is a multidisciplinary and interagency effort focused on the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes (GL) using the best available science and applying lessons learned from previous studies. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) contributes to the GLRI effort by providing resource managers with information and tools needed to meet restoration goals. This includes contributing scientific expertise and delivering findings to the GL community through meaningful information products. One of the strengths of the GLRI is its interagency approach; however, this can create challenges when coordinating the large number of restoration activities being performed by GL governments, tribes, academics, nonprofits, and industry. There is a vast array of data being produced by both the USGS and its partners, and it is crucial that scientists, managers, policymakers, and the public can easily locate the biological, geological, geospatial, and water-resources data being generated. The USGS strives to develop data products that are easy to find, easy to understand, and easy to use through Web-accessible tools that allow users to learn about the breadth and scope of GLRI activities being undertaken by the USGS and its partners. By creating tools that enable data to be shared and reused more easily, the USGS can encourage collaboration and assist the GL community in finding, interpreting, and understanding the information created during GLRI science activities.

Great Lakes↗

USGS2015

Vulnerabilities and opportunities at the nexus of electricity, water and climate

The articles in this special issue examine the critical nexus of electricity, water, and climate, emphasizing connections among resources; the prospect of increasing vulnerabilities of water resources and electricity generation in a changing climate; and the opportunities for research to inform integrated energy and water policy and management measures aimed at reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience. Here, we characterize several major themes emerging from this research and highlight some of the uptake of this work in both scientific and public spheres. Underpinning much of this research is the recognition that water resources are expected to undergo substantial changes based on the global warming that results primarily from fossil energy-based carbon emissions. At the same time, the production of electricity from fossil fuels, nuclear power, and some renewable technologies (biomass, geothermal and concentrating solar power) can be highly water-intensive. Energy choices now and in the near future will have a major impact not just on the global climate, but also on water supplies and the resilience of energy systems that currently depend heavily on them.

Environmental Research Letters↗

USGS1999

Thermal maturity of sedimentary rocks in Alaska: Digital resources

This CD-ROM is an updated re-release of three USGS publications on the thermal maturity of sedimentary rocks in Alaska: 1) Vitrinite reflectance and conodont color alteration index data from Alaska; data to accompany the thermal maturity map of Alaska; Open-File Report 92-409 (1992), version 1.1 (revised 1999), 2) Generalized thermal maturity map of Alaska; Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map I-2494, scale 1:2,500,000 (1996), 3) Thermal evolution of sedimentary basins in Alaska; Bulletin 2142, 131 p. (1996).

Alaska↗

USGS2002

Ground-water resources of the Clifton Park area, Saratoga County, New York

Ground water is the sole source of public water supply for Clifton Park, a growing suburban community north of Albany, New York. Increasing water demand, coupled with concerns over ground-water quantity and quality, led the Clifton Park Water Authority in 1995 to initiate a cooperative study with the U.S. Geological Survey to update and refine the understanding of ground-water resources in the area. Ground-water resources are largely associated with three aquifers in the eastern half of the area. These aquifers overlie or encompass the Colonie Channel, a north-south-oriented bedrock channel that is filled primarily with lacustrine glacial deposits. The three aquifers are: (1) an unconfined lacustrine sand aquifer, (2) the Colonie Channel aquifer, which is confined within the deepest parts of the channel and variably confined and unconfined within the shallower, peripheral channel areas, and (3) an unconfined alluvial aquifer beneath the Mohawk River flood plain, which represents the southern limit of the study area. The lacustrine sand aquifer has little potential for large-scale withdrawals because it is predominantly fine grained and is susceptible to contamination from human activities at land surface. Water from this aquifer can, however, recharge the underlying peripheral parts of the Colonie Channel aquifer where hydraulic connections are present. The Colonie Channel aquifer consists of thin sand and gravel and (or) shallow, fractured bedrock over much of the channel area; discontinuous deposits of thicker (more than 20 feet) sand and gravel are common in the peripheral channel areas. The deepest, or central, channel area of this aquifer is isolated from the overlying lacustrine sand aquifer by a continuous lacustrine silt and clay unit, which is the primary channel-fill deposit. The most productive areas of the Colonie Channel aquifer are typically the shallow peripheral areas, where conditions range from unconfined to confined. The most productive aquifer within the area is the alluvial aquifer, which is sustained to an unknown extent by induced infiltration of Mohawk River water. The chemical composition of ground water within the Clifton Park area varies widely in response to hydrogeologic setting, pumpage, and contamination from human activities. These chemical differences can be used to deduce ground-water flow paths within and between the unconfined and confined areas of the aquifer system. Six water types are defined; three are naturally occurring and three are the result of human activities. Precipitation that infiltrates the land surface is the sole source of recharge to the lacustrine sand aquifer; precipitation also recharges the alluvial aquifer and unconfined parts of the Colonie Channel aquifer. Ground-water withdrawals from confined or unconfined peripheral areas of the Colonie Channel aquifer induce flow from recharge areas, from the underlying bedrock, or from other confined aquifer areas. The rate of recharge to the confined central area of the Colonie Channel aquifer appears to be low. Potentiometric levels as much as 100 feet below water-table levels in the overlying lacustrine sand aquifer indicate two large depressions in the potentiometric surface; these depressions indicate that withdrawals from this aquifer have cumulatively exceeded the recharge rates. Localized recharge of the central channel area apparently occurs from two peripheral channel areas that are characterized by zones of elevated water levels and (or) by water chemistry that differs from those within the central channel area. Recharge from, or hydraulic connection with, adjoining segments of the Colonie Channel aquifer to the north and south is likely, but the potential for significant recharge is low because the aquifer is thin and poorly permeable.

New York↗

USGS2009

Web application to access U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works and Restoration Projects information for the Rio Grande Basin, southern Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas

The Rio Grande Civil Works and Restoration Projects Web Application, developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Albuquerque District, is designed to provide publicly available information through the Internet about civil works and restoration projects in the Rio Grande Basin. Since 1942, USACE Albuquerque District responsibilities have included building facilities for the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, providing flood protection, supplying water for power and public recreation, participating in fire remediation, protecting and restoring wetlands and other natural resources, and supporting other government agencies with engineering, contracting, and project management services. In the process of conducting this vast array of engineering work, the need arose for easily tracking the locations of and providing information about projects to stakeholders and the public. This fact sheet introduces a Web application developed to enable users to visualize locations and search for information about USACE (and some other Federal, State, and local) projects in the Rio Grande Basin in southern Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2019

Nonlinearities in transmission dynamics and efficient management of vector-borne pathogens

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an approach to minimizing economic and environmental harm caused by pests, and Integrated Vector Management (IVM) uses similar methods to minimize pathogen transmission by vectors. The risk of acquiring a vector-borne infection is often quantified using the density of infected vectors. The relationship between vector numbers and risk of human infection is more or less linear when both vector numbers and pathogen prevalence in vectors are low, but the relationship is nonlinear when vector density and/or infection prevalence are high. Therefore, the density of infected vectors often does not accurately predict risk of human exposure to pathogens, and traditional estimates of % Control often overestimate the level of protection from infection resulting from management programs. We suggest a modified estimator, % Protection, which more accurately quantifies protection against human infection resulting from a management intervention. Cost-effectiveness of a management program is critical to protection of both public health and the environment, because the more efficiently available resources and funding are used, the fewer people get sick, and well-targeted efficient management programs minimize the need for poorly-targeted, expensive environmental interventions (e.g., broadscale pesticide applications) that tend to damage nontarget organisms and natural systems. Design of an efficient, cost-effective IVM program requires knowledge of the cost-effectiveness functions (the effectiveness of control methods at lowering vector bites and/or infection prevalence with different levels of application) of the various control methods to be applied. Alternative programs can be designed that optimize % Protection by integrating different control methods at different levels of investment, and environmental effects of these alternatives can be compared, allowing environmental considerations to be included explicitly in the decision process. IPM, IVM, and Adaptive Management share the characteristic that management decisions must be made with incomplete knowledge of the functioning of natural systems or the efficacies of interventions. IVM surveillance programs that assess the effects of individual control methods and of combinations of control methods on the numbers of vector bites and on infection prevalence in vectors, can increase knowledge of pathogen transmission dynamics and provide information to improve program effectiveness in subsequent applications.

Ecological Applications↗

USGS2000

Applications of imaging spectroscopy data: A case study at Summitville, Colorado

From 1985 through 1992, the Summitville open-pit mine produced gold from lowgrade ore using cyanide heap-leach techniques, a method to extract gold whereby the ore pile is sprayed with water containing cyanide, which dissolves the minute gold grains. Environmental problems due to mining activity at Summitville include significant increases in acidic and metal-rich drainage from the site, leakage of cyanide-bearing solutions from the heap-leach pad into an underdrain system, and several surface leaks of cyanide-bearing solutions into the Wightman Fork of the Alamosa River. In general, drainage from the Summitville mine moves downslope into the Wightman Fork, a small tributary of the Alamosa River, which in turn flows east into the Terrace Reservoir before entering the agricultural lands of the San Luis Valley. The increase in the trace-metal burden of the Alamosa River watershed due to the mining activities at Summitville is of concern to farmers and fisherman, as well as Federal and State of Colorado agencies having responsibility for land stewardship. The environment of the Summitville area is a result of 1) its geologic evolution, that culminated in the formation of precious-metal mineral deposits; and 2) previous metal mining activity. Mining accentuates, accelerates, and pertubates natural geochemical processes. The development of underground workings, open pits, mill tailings, and spoil heaps and the extractive processing of ore enhances the likelihood of releasing chemicals and elements to the surrounding areas and at increased rates relative to unmined areas. Both mined and unmined mineralized areas can produce acid drainage from the formation and movement of highly acidic water rich in heavy metals. This acidic water forms principally through the chemical reaction of oxygenated surface water and shallow subsurface water with rocks that contain sulfide minerals, producing sulphuric acid. Heavy metals can be leached by the acid solution that comes in contact with mineralized rocks, a process that may be enhanced by bacterial action. The resulting fluids may be highly toxic and, when mixed with groundwater, surface water, and soil, may have harmful effects on humans, animals, and plants. Thus, understanding the geologic and hydrologic history of this area is a critical piece of the environmental puzzle in the Summitville area. The Summitville mine operators had ceased active mining and begun environmental remediation, including treatment of the heap-leach pile and installation of a water-treatment facility, when it declared bankruptcy in December 1992 and abandoned the mine site. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) immediately took over the Summitville site under EPA Superfund Emergency Response authority. Summitville has focused public attention on the environmental effects of modern mineral-resource development. Soon after the mine was abandoned, Federal, State, and local agencies, along with Alamosa River water users and private companies, began extensive studies at the mine site and surrounding areas. These studies included analysis of water, soil, livestock and vegetation. The role of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was to provide geologic, hydrologic and agricultural information about the mine and surrounding area and to describe and evaluate the environmental condition of the Summitville mine and the downstream effects of the mine on the San Luis Valley (King 1995).

Colorado↗

USGS2012

Application of empirical predictive modeling using conventional and alternative fecal indicator bacteria in eastern North Carolina waters

Coastal and estuarine waters are the site of intense anthropogenic influence with concomitant use for recreation and seafood harvesting. Therefore, coastal and estuarine water quality has a direct impact on human health. In eastern North Carolina (NC) there are over 240 recreational and 1025 shellfish harvesting water quality monitoring sites that are regularly assessed. Because of the large number of sites, sampling frequency is often only on a weekly basis. This frequency, along with an 18–24 h incubation time for fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) enumeration via culture-based methods, reduces the efficiency of the public notification process. In states like NC where beach monitoring resources are limited but historical data are plentiful, predictive models may offer an improvement for monitoring and notification by providing real-time FIB estimates. In this study, water samples were collected during 12 dry (n = 88) and 13 wet (n = 66) weather events at up to 10 sites. Statistical predictive models for Escherichiacoli (EC), enterococci (ENT), and members of the Bacteroidales group were created and subsequently validated. Our results showed that models for EC and ENT (adjusted R2 were 0.61 and 0.64, respectively) incorporated a range of antecedent rainfall, climate, and environmental variables. The most important variables for EC and ENT models were 5-day antecedent rainfall, dissolved oxygen, and salinity. These models successfully predicted FIB levels over a wide range of conditions with a 3% (EC model) and 9% (ENT model) overall error rate for recreational threshold values and a 0% (EC model) overall error rate for shellfish threshold values. Though modeling of members of the Bacteroidales group had less predictive ability (adjusted R 2 were 0.56 and 0.53 for fecal Bacteroides spp. and human Bacteroides spp., respectively), the modeling approach and testing provided information on Bacteroidales ecology. This is the first example of a set of successful statistical predictive models appropriate for assessment of both recreational and shellfish harvesting water quality in estuarine waters.

North Carolina↗

USGS2007

Contrasting water quality from paired domestic/public supply wells, central High Plains

Closely located domestic and public supply wells were sampled using identical sampling procedures to allow comparison of water quality associated with well type. Water samples from 15 pairs of wells with similar screened intervals completed in the central High Plains regional aquifer in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas were analyzed for more than 200 water quality constituents. No statistically significant differences were observed between the concentrations of naturally-derived constituents (major ions, trace elements, and radon) in paired wells. However, differences in water quality between paired wells were observed for selected anthrepogenic compounds (pesticides and tritium), in that some public supply wells produced water that was more recently recharged and contained constituents derived from surface activities. The presence of recently recharged water and compounds indicative of anthrepogenic activities in some public supply wells was likely due to operational variations (pumping rate and pumping cycles), as demonstrated in a particle tracking simulation. Water containing surface-derived anthropogenic compounds from near the water table was more quickly drawn to high volume public supply wells (less than five years) than domestic wells (greater than 120 years) with small pumping rates. These findings indicate that water quality samples collected from different well types in the same area are not necessarily directly comparable. Sampling domestic wells provides the best broad-scale assessment of water quality in this aquifer setting because they are less susceptible to localized contamination from near the water table. However, sampiing public supply wells better represents the quality of the used resource because of the population served.

Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas↗

USGS2015

Storm-influenced deltaic deposits of the Middle Jurassic Gaikema Sandstone in a measured section on the northern Iniskin Peninsula, Cook Inlet basin, Alaska

Middle Jurassic strata of the Gaikema Sandstone were deposited about 170 million years ago on a delta that was located on the western shoreline of the Cook Inlet basin (Detterman and Hartsock, 1966; LePain and others, 2011, 2013). The delta was built by swift, sediment-laden rivers that flowed southeastward from a mountainous volcanic terrane west of the Bruin Bay fault (fig. 6-1). Upon reaching the edge of the Jurassic sea, the rivers dumped abundant sand, gravel, and mud into a depocenter on the northern Iniskin Peninsula, about 240 km southwest of Anchorage (figs. 6-1, 6-2). This report provides a preliminary description and interpretation of a detailed, 34-m-thick measured section in the Gaikema Sandstone on the south shore of Chinitna Bay at latitude 59.816°N, longitude 153.168°W (figs. 6-1–6-3). The sandstone in this measured section exhibits hummocky cross lamination and other features suggestive of storm-influenced deposition on the shallow-marine, seaward margin of the Gaikema delta. Our field studies of the Gaikema Sandstone were conducted during 2013 and 2014 as part of a collaborative effort by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), Alaska Division of Oil and Gas (DOG), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide the public with reliable information on the geologic framework and petroleum resource potential of Cook Inlet basin (Gillis, 2013, 2014). Jurassic rocks in Cook Inlet, including the Gaikema Sandstone, are of economic interest because they could contain significant undiscovered petroleum resources (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 2011; Stanley and others, 2011a, 2011b, 2013a; LePain and others, 2013).

Alaska↗

USGS2023

Partnering in search of answers: Seabird die-offs in the Bering and Chukchi Seas

Prior to 2015, seabird die-offs in Alaskan waters were rare; they typically occurred in mid-winter, linked to epizootic disease events or above-average ocean temperatures associated with strong El Nino-Southern Oscillation events (Bodenstein et al. 2015, Jones et al. 2019, Romano et al. 2020). Since 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has monitored mortality events that have become annual occurrences in Alaska (Fig. 1). Since 2017, communities on the coasts of the northern Bering and southern Chukchi Seas have annually observed dead and dying seabirds along their coasts, although such die-offs have not been reported from communities north of Point Hope. (Fig. 2). Affected species included planktivorous birds such as auklets ( Aethia spp.) and shearwaters ( Ardenna spp.), piscivorous murres ( Uria spp.), puffins ( Fratercula spp.), and kittiwakes ( Rissa spp.), as well as low numbers of benthic feeding sea ducks ( Somateria spp.). The range of seabird species and the different prey species involved, with localized events throughout summer and over widespread areas, indicate environmental causes at multiple trophic levels. Such wildlife mortality events are a public health concern for coastal communities that rely on ocean resources for their nutritional, cultural, and economic well-being. They have also been seen as a harbinger of concern for the state of the Arctic Ocean itself.

Alaska↗