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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 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
USGS2001

A data management life-cycle

Documented, reliable, and accessible data and information are essential building blocks supporting scientific research and applications that enhance society's knowledge base (fig. 1). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a leading provider of science data, information, and knowledge, is uniquely positioned to integrate science and natural resource information to address societal needs. The USGS Central Energy Resources Team (USGS-CERT) provides critical information and knowledge on the quantity, quality, and distribution of the Nation's and the world's oil, gas, and coal resources. By using a life-cycle model, the USGS-CERT Data Management Project is developing an integrated data management system to (1) promote access to energy data and information, (2) increase data documentation, and (3) streamline product delivery to the public, scientists, and decision makers. The project incorporates web-based technology, data cataloging systems, data processing routines, and metadata documentation tools to improve data access, enhance data consistency, and increase office efficiency

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2016

USGS science and technology help managers battle invading Asian carp

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts Asian carp research focused on early detection, risk assessment, and development of control tools and strategies. The goals are to prevent the establishment of invasive Asian carp in the Great Lakes and to reduce their impacts in the Ohio River and Mississippi River Basins and elsewhere. Managers can use the information, tools, and strategies for early detection of Asian carp and to control them when their presence is first evident. New detection and control tools are designed to accommodate expansion to other invasive species and application in geographically diverse areas. This USGS focus complements goals of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), a multi-agency collaboration started in 2010 to protect and restore the Great Lakes. As a member of the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee, which guides Asian carp efforts, the USGS works closely with Federal and State agencies, Canada, and others to address high-priority Asian carp issues and provide science to inform management decisions. The USGS has gained extensive knowledge of Asian carp biology and life history over the past 30 years. That knowledge guides the design, development, and application of control strategies, and is essential for developing approaches in line with modern principles and practices of integrated pest management (IPM). IPM is a process used to solve pest problems while minimizing risks to people and the environment.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2024

U.S. Geological Survey Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science research to rehabilitate native prey fish of the Lake Ontario fish community—Coregonine fishes

Restoration of native coregonines to Lake Ontario of the Laurentian Great Lakes will improve the diversity of forage for salmonid predators and ecological function in the lake, but efficacy of experimental releases for native species restoration must be evaluated. The Coregonine Research Program at the U.S. Geological Survey Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science encompassed a diverse array of research, with an emphasis on improved culture methods and field assessments of experimentally released juvenile coregonines. This research was carried out to support the Fish Community Objectives of the Lake Ontario Committee, is funded largely by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and was done in collaboration with other laboratories and agencies, particularly, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry; and other U.S. Geological Survey laboratories. The Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science and partners have developed new and innovative hatchery techniques to raise cisco and bloater to life stages suitable for survival in Lake Ontario; assessed adult bloater survival in Lake Ontario; and evaluated survival, return rate, and reproduction of adult cisco in historic spawning locations in Lake Ontario embayments. Successes, challenges, and research needs are discussed.

Lake Ontario↗
USGS1995

Can we manage for biological diversity in the absence of science?

Conservation of biological diversity is dependent on sound scientific information about underlying ecological processes. Current knowledge of the composition, distribution, abundance and life cycles of most species of plants and animals is incomplete, insufficient, unreliable, or nonexistent. Contemporary managers are also confronted with additional levels of complexity related to varying degrees of knowledge and understanding about interactions of species and ecosystems. Consequently, traditional species-oriented management schemes may have unintended consequences and ecosystem-oriented management initiatives may fail in the face of inadequate or fragmentary information on the structure, function, and dynamics of biotic communities and ecological systems. Nevertheless, resource managers must make decisions and manage based on the best biological information currently available. Adaptive resource management may represent a management paradigm that allows managers to learn something about the species or systems that they are managing while they are managing, but potential pitfalls lurk for such approaches. In addition to lack of control over the primary physical, chemical, and ecological processes, managers also lack control over social, economic, and political parameters affecting resource management options. Moreover, appropriate goals may be difficult to identify and criteria for determining success may be elusive. Some management responsibilities do not lend themselves to adaptive strategies. Finally, the lessons learned from adaptive management are usually obtained from a highly situational context that may limit applicability in a wider range of situations or undermine confidence that problems and solutions were properly diagnosed and addressed. Several scenarios are critically examined where adaptive management approaches may be inappropriate or ineffective and where management for biological diversity may be infeasible or inefficient without a sound scientific basis. Whereas some level of management must exist to meet agency responsibilities, more research is needed to conserve biological diversity.

Wildlife Society Annual Conference↗
USGS2020

Linkages between temperature, macroinvertebrates, and young-of-year Coho Salmon growth in surface-water and groundwater streams

Ecological resources for fishes in stream food webs shift over space and time, providing a complex template of available resources that can be used for growth. We tracked water temperature in conjunction with young-of-year Coho Salmon size, growth, and diet in 2 streams with contrasting thermal regimes: a groundwater stream with colder temperatures and lower thermal variability all year and a surface-water stream with greater thermal variability and warmer summer temperatures more conducive to young-of-year salmon growth. We hypothesized that fry emergence would occur when rearing conditions are optimal for growth and that, all else being equal, summer fish growth will be greater in the surface-water stream. Previous work on Coho Salmon phenology in these streams showed that peak fry emergence occurred at the same time in early summer in both streams. We measured salmon fry emergence in relation to thermal variability and macroinvertebrate prey availability with subsequent tracking of somatic growth, diet, and body size during the 1 st year of life in both streams. Macroinvertebrate prey availability was highest overall in the colder and thermally-stable groundwater stream than the surface-water stream. Prey availability was particularly high in the thalweg drift during peak fry emergence in the groundwater stream. There was no difference in Coho Salmon diet composition between streams, which included invertebrates from benthic, drift, and riparian habitats. We found no differences in young-of-year Coho Salmon body size, growth, or consumption between streams. Overall, our results suggest that large differences in thermal regimes do not necessarily translate to large differences in young-of-year Coho Salmon size, growth, or diet. Many variables can influence fish growth, and there is not always a direct connection between spatial and temporal dimensions of environmental variability and their cascading effects on young-of-year Coho Salmon growth during the 1 st summer of life.

Freshwater Science↗
USGS2009

USGS Science: Addressing Our Nation's Challenges

With 6.6 billion people already living on Earth, and that number increasing every day, human influence on our planet is ever more apparent. Changes to the natural world combined with increasing human demands threaten our health and safety, our national security, our economy, and our quality of life. As a planet and a Nation, we face unprecedented challenges: loss of critical and unique ecosystems, the effects of climate change, increasing demand for limited energy and mineral resources, increasing vulnerability to natural hazards, the effects of emerging diseases on wildlife and human health, and growing needs for clean water. The time to respond to these challenges is now, but policymakers and decisionmakers face difficult choices. With competing priorities to balance, and potentially serious - perhaps irreversible - consequences at stake, our leaders need reliable scientific information to guide their decisions. As the Nation's earth and natural science agency, the USGS monitors and conducts scientific research on natural hazards and resources and how these elements and human activities influence our environment. Because the challenges we face are complex, the science needed to better understand and deal with these challenges must reflect the complex interplay among natural and human systems. With world-class expertise in biology, geology, geography, hydrology, geospatial information, and remote sensing, the USGS is uniquely capable of conducting the comprehensive scientific research needed to better understand the interdependent interactions of Earth's systems. Every day, the USGS helps decisionmakers to minimize loss of life and property, manage our natural resources, and protect and enhance our quality of life. This brochure provides examples of the challenges we face and how USGS science helps decisionmakers to address these challenges.

General Information Product↗
USGS2023

The "H," "A," and "B" of a HAB: A definitional framework

The use of the phrase “harmful algal bloom” and the acronym HAB originated in the marine science world, and referred to blooms also known as red tides, which can kill fish and sea life. The organisms that make up marine HABs generally do not thrive in lakes. In freshwater, HABs are most often associated with blooms of toxin-producing cyanobacteria. The term HAB started to be used broadly in the early 2000s to encompass both marine and freshwater phenomena. Beyond just lakes, cyanobacterial blooms occur in reservoirs, impoundments, streams, rivers, estuaries, or brackish water all over the world (Meriluoto 2017). In addition to cyanobacteria, other freshwater algal groups can accumulate and lead to detrimental impacts on humans, animals, the environment, and the economy.

Lakeline↗
USGS2024

The U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Research Act Program—Meeting local, State, and national needs for water resources science and training

Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a broad research portfolio that addresses water resource issues that are critical to our Nation’s prosperity and quality of life. Socioeconomics, geopolitical stressors, population growth, climate variability, and other factors provide challenges for the management of water resources. Working collaboratively with partners, the USGS observes and monitors water and water-related parameters, provides assessments, conducts targeted research, and delivers information to users. Residing within the USGS Water Resources Mission Area, the Water Resources Research Act (WRRA) Program is a Federal-State partnership that uses a matching grant program to plan, facilitate, and coordinate water resources research, training, and information transfer to help meet the Nation’s water science needs.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2021

Pesticides in US Rivers: Regional differences in use, occurrence, and environmental toxicity, 2013 to 2017

Pesticides pose a threat to the environment, but because of the substantial number of compounds, a comprehensive assessment of pesticides and an evaluation of the risk that they pose to human and aquatic life is challenging. In this study, improved analytical methods were used to quantify 221 pesticide concentrations in surface waters over the time period from 2013 to 2017. Samples were collected from 74 river sites in the conterminous US (CONUS). Potential toxicity was assessed by comparing surface water pesticide concentrations to standard concentrations that are considered to have adverse effects on human health or aquatic organisms. The majority of pesticide use is related to agriculture, and agricultural production varies across the CONUS. Therefore, our results were summarized by region (Northeast, South, Midwest, West and Pacific), with the expectation that crop production differences would drive variability in pesticide use, detection frequency, and benchmark exceedance patterns. Although agricultural pesticide use was at least 2.5 times higher in the Midwest (49 kg km −2 ) than in any of the other four regions (Northeast, South, West, and Pacific, 3 to 21 kg km −2 ) and the average number of pesticides detected in the Midwest was at least 1.5 higher ( n = 25) than the other four regions ( n = 8 to n = 16), the potential toxicity results were more evenly distributed. At least 50% of the sites within each of the 5 regions had at least 1 chronic benchmark exceedance. Imidacloprid posed the greatest potential threat to aquatic life with a total of 245 benchmark exceedances at 60 of the 74 sites. These results show that pesticides persist in the environment beyond the site of application and expected period of use. Continued monitoring and research are needed to improve our understanding of pesticide effects on aquatic and human life.

Science of the Total Environment↗
USGS2010

Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center--providing comprehensive earth science for complex societal issues

Minerals in the environment and products manufactured from mineral materials are all around us and we use and come into contact with them every day. They impact our way of life and the health of all that lives. Minerals are critical to the Nation's economy and knowing where future mineral resources will come from is important for sustaining the Nation's economy and national security. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Resources Program (MRP) provides scientific information for objective resource assessments and unbiased research results on mineral resource potential, production and consumption statistics, as well as environmental consequences of mining. The MRP conducts this research to provide information needed for land planners and decisionmakers about where mineral commodities are known and suspected in the earth's crust and about the environmental consequences of extracting those commodities. As part of the MRP scientists of the Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center (WMERSC or 'Center' herein) coordinate the development of national, geologic, geochemical, geophysical, and mineral-resource databases and the migration of existing databases to standard models and formats that are available to both internal and external users. The unique expertise developed by Center scientists over many decades in response to mineral-resource-related issues is now in great demand to support applications such as public health research and remediation of environmental hazards that result from mining and mining-related activities. Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center Results of WMERSC research provide timely and unbiased analyses of minerals and inorganic materials to (1) improve stewardship of public lands and resources; (2) support national and international economic and security policies; (3) sustain prosperity and improve our quality of life; and (4) protect and improve public health, safety, and environmental quality. The MRP supports approximately 40 USGS research specialists who utilize cooperative agreements with universities, industry, and other governmental agencies to support their collaborative research and information exchange. Scientists of the WMERSC study how and where non-fuel mineral resources form and are concentrated in the earth's crust, where mineral resources might be found in the future, and how mineral materials interact with the environment to affect human and ecosystem health. Natural systems (ecosystems) are complex - our understanding of how ecosystems operate requires collecting and synthesizing large amounts of geologic, geochemical, biologic, hydrologic, and meteorological information. Scientists in the Center strive to understand the interplay of various processes and how they affect the structure, composition, and health of ecosystems. Such understanding, which is then summarized in publicly available reports, is used to address and solve a wide variety of issues that are important to society and the economy. WMERSC scientists have extensive national and international experience in these scientific specialties and capabilities - they have collaborated with many Federal, State, and local agencies; with various private sector organizations; as well as with foreign countries and organizations. Nearly every scientific and societal challenge requires a different combination of scientific skills and capabilities. With their breadth of scientific specialties and capabilities, the scientists of the WMERSC can provide scientifically sound approaches to a wide range of societal challenges and issues. The following sections describe examples of important issues that have been addressed by scientists in the Center, the methods employed, and the relevant conclusions. New directions are inevitable as societal needs change over time. Scientists of the WMERSC have a diverse set of skills and capabilities and are proficient in the collection and integration of

Circular↗
USGS2023

Synthesis of larval lamprey responses to dewatering: State of the science, critical uncertainties, and management implications

Objective Dewatering of fine sediments in rivers and streams can kill many thousands of larval lampreys (order Petromyzontiformes) that are burrowed in these habitats. The larval life stage for lampreys lasts 3–10 years, and because larvae often aggregate in large numbers, negative impacts from dewatering could potentially deplete local populations and affect multiple year-classes. Larval lampreys have not traditionally been considered during instream projects, but recent efforts to increase awareness of lamprey habitats have resulted in guidance on dewatering approaches to limit impacts to lampreys. Salvage efforts to rescue and relocate lampreys aim to mitigate losses, but a lack of understanding of lamprey responses limits the optimization of dewatering and salvage procedures. Methods We summarize the state of the science for nine factors that influence larval lamprey ( Entosphenus and Lampetra spp.) responses to dewatering, including burrowing depth, the prevalence and timing of emergence, movements, survival, shoreline slope, dewatering rate, light, and lamprey size. Result Research suggests that (1) shoreline slope influences movement capability, (2) hot and sunny conditions increase the risk of mortality, (3) salvage activities cause minimal direct mortality, and (4) smaller larvae are especially vulnerable to negative impacts from dewatering because they are more likely to emerge and are less capable of movement. Critical uncertainties associated with dewatering include cues that drive emergence, the influence of sediment composition and stratigraphy, vertical distribution of larvae in natural settings, use of the hyporheic zone, the scale of predation losses, and the effectiveness and impacts of salvage activities. Conclusion Balancing investments in salvage operations and lamprey exclusion efforts (e.g., screening) and developing field survey approaches to evaluate lamprey use of the hyporheic zone are identified management implications and research needs. Addressing the critical uncertainties discussed here and providing updated, science-based guidance on dewatering and salvage practices are suggested management actions to support lamprey conservation.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS2006

Findings of the Mars Special Regions Science Analysis Group

In summary, within the upper 5 m most of Mars is either too cold or too dry to support the propagation of terrestrial life. However, there are regions that are in disequilibrium, naturally or induced, and could be classified as "special" or, if enough uncertainty exist, could not be declared as "non-special." ?? Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

Astrobiology↗
USGS2026

Arizona Water Science Center activities at Lees Ferry, Arizona

Introduction In 1921, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) established a streamgage on the Colorado River at Lees Ferry, Arizona, to monitor the river’s flow and level as it enters Grand Canyon. The following year, the seven States encompassing the Colorado River Basin (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) negotiated the 1922 Colorado River Compact to regulate distribution of the river’s waters between them. The compact divided the basin into two regions—the Upper Basin and the Lower Basin—and established the dividing point between them about one mile downstream from Lees Ferry, just below the confluence of the Colorado and Paria Rivers. The Colorado River at Lees Ferry streamgage (USGS station 09380000) is one of the most important streamgages in the United States because it is used to measure how much water passes from the Upper Basin to the Lower Basin through Glen Canyon Dam. The dam, constructed between 1956 and 1966, generates hydropower and stores water in Lake Powell reservoir, which is used to provide Upper and Lower Basin states with the water allotted to them by the compact. Lower Basin states depend on releases from the dam to receive their allotments. The Lees Ferry streamgage, located less than 16 miles downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, produces publicly available, real-time water data that allows the Colorado River’s streamflow below the dam to be monitored. Most years, the Colorado River runs dry before reaching its historical terminus at the Gulf of California in Mexico, so measuring and monitoring the river at Lees Ferry is critical for the Lower Basin ecosystems, agricultural resources, and municipal industries that rely on the river’s every drop. Additionally, Grand Canyon river guides and recreationalists depend on water level data from the Lees Ferry streamgage to determine when to run rapids and camp on sandbars. Streamflow and water-quality data collected at Lees Ferry are also important for monitoring the health of the Colorado River’s aquatic life because some species, including fish and macroinvertebrates, require certain water conditions to survive, reproduce, and spawn. The Arizona Water Science Center is responsible for maintaining and collecting water data from the Lees Ferry streamgage. The Arizona Water Science Center is a branch of the USGS dedicated to providing high quality, impartial water data to resource managers and the public for their use in understanding and managing critical water resources in Arizona and the Southwest.

Arizona↗
USGS2002

What are parasitologists doing in the United States Geological Survey?

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) was formed in 1879 as the nation's primary natural science and information agency. The mission of the agency is to provide scientific information to a??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.a?? Prior to 1996, the USGS comprised 3 divisions or disciplines: geology, mapping, and water. Historically, the agency was most noted for cartographic products that were used widely by both government and private sector. With the inclusion of the National Biological Service into the USGS in 1996 as the Biological Resource Discipline (BRD), a living resources dimension was added to the earth sciences character of the USGS. With the addition of BRD, the bureau is able now to contribute both the physical and biological sciences to address the nation's resource management problems.

Comparative Parasitology↗
USGS2012

U.S. Geological Survey community for data integration: data upload, registry, and access tool

As a leading science and information agency and in fulfillment of its mission to provide reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) ensures that all scientific data are effectively hosted, adequately described, and appropriately accessible to scientists, collaborators, and the general public. To succeed in this task, the USGS established the Community for Data Integration (CDI) to address data and information management issues affecting the proficiency of earth science research. Through the CDI, the USGS is providing data and metadata management tools, cyber infrastructure, collaboration tools, and training in support of scientists and technology specialists throughout the project life cycle. One of the significant tools recently created to contribute to this mission is the Uploader tool. This tool allows scientists with limited data management resources to address many of the key aspects of the data life cycle: the ability to protect, preserve, publish and share data. By implementing this application inside ScienceBase, scientists also can take advantage of other collaboration capabilities provided by the ScienceBase platform.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2011

Rapid growth in the early marine period improves the marine survival of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in Puget Sound, Washington

We examined the effect of early marine entry timing and body size on the marine (smolt-to-adult) survival of Puget Sound Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ). We used data from coded wire tag release groups of hatchery Chinook salmon to test whether hatchery release date, release size, and size in offshore waters in July and September influenced marine survival. Marine survival was most strongly related to the average body size in July, with larger sizes associated with higher survivals. This relationship was consistent over multiple years (1997–2002), suggesting that mortality after July is strongly size-dependent. Release size and date only slightly improved this relationship, whereas size in September showed little relationship to marine survival. Specifically, fish that experienced the highest marine survivals were released before 25 May and were larger than 17 g (or 120 mm fork length) by July. Our findings highlight the importance of local conditions in Puget Sound (Washington, USA) during the spring and summer, and suggest that declines in marine survival since the 1980s may have been caused by reductions in the quality of feeding and growing conditions during early marine life.

Washington↗
USGS2005

Geography for a Changing World - A science strategy for the geographic research of the U.S. Geological Survey, 2005-2015

This report presents a science strategy for the geographic research of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the years 2005-2015. The common thread running through the vision, mission, and science goals presented in the plan is that USGS geographers will provide national leadership to understand coupled human-environmental systems in the face of land change and will deliver pertinent information to decisionmakers on the vulnerability and resilience of these systems. We define land change science as the study of the human and environment dynamics that give rise to changed land use, cover, and surface form. A number of realities shape the strategic context of this plan: The Department of Interior Strategic Plan focuses on meeting society’s resource needs and sustaining the Nation’s life support systems, underscoring the importance of characterizing and understanding coupled human-environmental systems. In redefining its mission in the mid-1990s, the USGS envisions itself as an integrated natural science and information agency. The USGS will assume a national leadership role in the use of science to develop knowledge about the web of relations that couple biophysical and human systems and translate this knowledge into unbiased, reliable information that meets important societal information needs. The following trends will influence USGS geography-oriented science activities over the next decade. Most of the emerging earth science issues that the USGS will address are geographic phenomena. A growing international concern for aligning society’s development activities with environmental limits has led to an articulation of a science agenda associated with global environmental change, vulnerability, and resilience. Earth science investigations have evolved toward the study of very large areas, and the resulting huge volumes of data are challenging to manage and understand. Finally, scientists and the public face the challenge of gaining intelligent insights about geographic and environmental processes from these data, with the ultimate goal of guiding resource-management decisions. The first four science goals in the plan support understanding the human and environmental dynamics of land change. Each science goal has an associated set of strategic actions to achieve the goal. These goals and actions are consistent with national science priorities and the Department of Interior and USGS missions, take advantage of existing expertise, and lead to the strengthening of critical geographic research capacities that do not exist in other USGS disciplines.

Circular↗