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At least 973 records · Page 54Linked to original sources

Estimated depth to water, North Carolina

This web site contains the Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata (documentation) for digital data produced for the North Carolina, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Public Water Supply Section, Source Water Assessment Program. The metadata are for 11 individual Geographic Information System data sets. An overlay and indexing method was used with the data to derive a rating for unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics for use by the State of North Carolina in assessing more than 11,000 public water-supply wells and approximately 245 public surface-water intakes for susceptibility to contamination. For ground-water supplies, the digital data sets used in the assessment included unsaturated zone rating, vertical series hydraulic conductance, land-surface slope, and land cover. For assessment of public surface-water intakes, the data sets included watershed characteristics rating, average annual precipitation, land-surface slope, land cover, and ground-water contribution. Documentation for the land-use data set applies to both the unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics ratings. Documentation for the estimated depth-to-water map used in the calculation of the vertical series hydraulic conductance also is included.

North Carolina↗

Ground-water contribution classes to characterize watersheds in North Carolina

This web site contains the Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata (documentation) for digital data produced for the North Carolina, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Public Water Supply Section, Source Water Assessment Program. The metadata are for 11 individual Geographic Information System data sets. An overlay and indexing method was used with the data to derive a rating for unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics for use by the State of North Carolina in assessing more than 11,000 public water-supply wells and approximately 245 public surface-water intakes for susceptibility to contamination. For ground-water supplies, the digital data sets used in the assessment included unsaturated zone rating, vertical series hydraulic conductance, land-surface slope, and land cover. For assessment of public surface-water intakes, the data sets included watershed characteristics rating, average annual precipitation, land-surface slope, land cover, and ground-water contribution. Documentation for the land-use data set applies to both the unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics ratings. Documentation for the estimated depth-to-water map used in the calculation of the vertical series hydraulic conductance also is included.

North Carolina↗

Unsaturated zone characteristics rating for North Carolina

This web site contains the Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata (documentation) for digital data produced for the North Carolina, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Public Water Supply Section, Source Water Assessment Program. The metadata are for 11 individual Geographic Information System data sets. An overlay and indexing method was used with the data to derive a rating for unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics for use by the State of North Carolina in assessing more than 11,000 public water-supply wells and approximately 245 public surface-water intakes for susceptibility to contamination. For ground-water supplies, the digital data sets used in the assessment included unsaturated zone rating, vertical series hydraulic conductance, land-surface slope, and land cover. For assessment of public surface-water intakes, the data sets included watershed characteristics rating, average annual precipitation, land-surface slope, land cover, and ground-water contribution. Documentation for the land-use data set applies to both the unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics ratings. Documentation for the estimated depth-to-water map used in the calculation of the vertical series hydraulic conductance also is included.

North Carolina↗

Watershed characteristics rating for North Carolina

This web site contains the Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata (documentation) for digital data produced for the North Carolina, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Public Water Supply Section, Source Water Assessment Program. The metadata are for 11 individual Geographic Information System data sets. An overlay and indexing method was used with the data to derive a rating for unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics for use by the State of North Carolina in assessing more than 11,000 public water-supply wells and approximately 245 public surface-water intakes for susceptibility to contamination. For ground-water supplies, the digital data sets used in the assessment included unsaturated zone rating, vertical series hydraulic conductance, land-surface slope, and land cover. For assessment of public surface-water intakes, the data sets included watershed characteristics rating, average annual precipitation, land-surface slope, land cover, and ground-water contribution. Documentation for the land-use data set applies to both the unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics ratings. Documentation for the estimated depth-to-water map used in the calculation of the vertical series hydraulic conductance also is included.

North Carolina↗

Land-cover classes to characterize the unsaturated zone in North Carolina

This web site contains the Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata (documentation) for digital data produced for the North Carolina, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Public Water Supply Section, Source Water Assessment Program. The metadata are for 11 individual Geographic Information System data sets. An overlay and indexing method was used with the data to derive a rating for unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics for use by the State of North Carolina in assessing more than 11,000 public water-supply wells and approximately 245 public surface-water intakes for susceptibility to contamination. For ground-water supplies, the digital data sets used in the assessment included unsaturated zone rating, vertical series hydraulic conductance, land-surface slope, and land cover. For assessment of public surface-water intakes, the data sets included watershed characteristics rating, average annual precipitation, land-surface slope, land cover, and ground-water contribution. Documentation for the land-use data set applies to both the unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics ratings. Documentation for the estimated depth-to-water map used in the calculation of the vertical series hydraulic conductance also is included.

North Carolina↗

Land-Cover Classes to Characterize watersheds in North Carolina

This web site contains the Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata (documentation) for digital data produced for the North Carolina, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Public Water Supply Section, Source Water Assessment Program. The metadata are for 11 individual Geographic Information System data sets. An overlay and indexing method was used with the data to derive a rating for unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics for use by the State of North Carolina in assessing more than 11,000 public water-supply wells and approximately 245 public surface-water intakes for susceptibility to contamination. For ground-water supplies, the digital data sets used in the assessment included unsaturated zone rating, vertical series hydraulic conductance, land-surface slope, and land cover. For assessment of public surface-water intakes, the data sets included watershed characteristics rating, average annual precipitation, land-surface slope, land cover, and ground-water contribution. Documentation for the land-use data set applies to both the unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics ratings. Documentation for the estimated depth-to-water map used in the calculation of the vertical series hydraulic conductance also is included.

North Carolina↗

Land-use classes to characterize watersheds and unsaturated zones in North Carolina

This web site contains the Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata (documentation) for digital data produced for the North Carolina, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Public Water Supply Section, Source Water Assessment Program. The metadata are for 11 individual Geographic Information System data sets. An overlay and indexing method was used with the data to derive a rating for unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics for use by the State of North Carolina in assessing more than 11,000 public water-supply wells and approximately 245 public surface-water intakes for susceptibility to contamination. For ground-water supplies, the digital data sets used in the assessment included unsaturated zone rating, vertical series hydraulic conductance, land-surface slope, and land cover. For assessment of public surface-water intakes, the data sets included watershed characteristics rating, average annual precipitation, land-surface slope, land cover, and ground-water contribution. Documentation for the land-use data set applies to both the unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics ratings. Documentation for the estimated depth-to-water map used in the calculation of the vertical series hydraulic conductance also is included.

North Carolina↗

Percent-slope classes to characterize the unsaturated zone in North Carolina

This web site contains the Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata (documentation) for digital data produced for the North Carolina, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Public Water Supply Section, Source Water Assessment Program. The metadata are for 11 individual Geographic Information System data sets. An overlay and indexing method was used with the data to derive a rating for unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics for use by the State of North Carolina in assessing more than 11,000 public water-supply wells and approximately 245 public surface-water intakes for susceptibility to contamination. For ground-water supplies, the digital data sets used in the assessment included unsaturated zone rating, vertical series hydraulic conductance, land-surface slope, and land cover. For assessment of public surface-water intakes, the data sets included watershed characteristics rating, average annual precipitation, land-surface slope, land cover, and ground-water contribution. Documentation for the land-use data set applies to both the unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics ratings. Documentation for the estimated depth-to-water map used in the calculation of the vertical series hydraulic conductance also is included.

North Carolina↗

Percent-slope classes to characterize watersheds in North Carolina

This web site contains the Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata (documentation) for digital data produced for the North Carolina, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Public Water Supply Section, Source Water Assessment Program. The metadata are for 11 individual Geographic Information System data sets. An overlay and indexing method was used with the data to derive a rating for unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics for use by the State of North Carolina in assessing more than 11,000 public water-supply wells and approximately 245 public surface-water intakes for susceptibility to contamination. For ground-water supplies, the digital data sets used in the assessment included unsaturated zone rating, vertical series hydraulic conductance, land-surface slope, and land cover. For assessment of public surface-water intakes, the data sets included watershed characteristics rating, average annual precipitation, land-surface slope, land cover, and ground-water contribution. Documentation for the land-use data set applies to both the unsaturated zone and watershed characteristics ratings. Documentation for the estimated depth-to-water map used in the calculation of the vertical series hydraulic conductance also is included.

North Carolina↗

Composite regional catalogs of earthquakes in the former Soviet Union

Seismological study of the territory of the former Soviet Union developed in the 20th century with the approach of maintaining constant observations with standard instrumentation and methods of data processing, determining standardized parameters describing the seismic sources, and producing regular summary publications. For most of the century, event data were published only in Russian and were generally unavailable to the Western scientific community. Yet for many regions of this vast territory, earthquakes with magnitudes less than 2 were routinely located and characterized, especially since the early 1960s. A great volume of data on the seismicity of the Eurasian land mass is therefore available, although to date only in scattered publications and for incomplete periods of time. To address this problem, we have undertaken a comprehensive compilation, documentation and evaluation of catalogs of seismicity of the former Soviet Union. These include four principal, Soviet-published catalog sources, supplemented by other publications. We view this as the first step in compiling a complete catalog of all known seismic events in this large and important region. Completion of this work will require digitizing the remaining catalogs of the various regional seismological institutes. To make these data more useful for regional seismic investigations, as well as to be consistent with their provenance, we have prepared composite regional catalogs, dividing the territory of the former Soviet Union into 24 regions. For each of these regions, all the data available from the basic catalog sources (see below) have been combined and evaluated. Note that, for regions with low seismicity, the historical (non-instrumental, macro-seismic) data are of increased importance. Such information, if not included in any summary, were taken from various publications and marked as "historical".

Open-File Report↗

Estimated water use in Puerto Rico, 2000

Water-use data were compiled for the 78 municipios of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for 2000. Five offstream categories were considered: public-supply water withdrawals, domestic self-supplied water use, industrial self-supplied withdrawals, crop irrigation water use, and thermoelectric power fresh water use. Two additional categories also were considered: power generation instream use and public wastewater treatment return-flows. Fresh water withdrawals for offstream use from surface- and ground-water sources in Puerto Rico were estimated at 617 million gallons per day. The largest amount of fresh water withdrawn was by public-supply water facilities and was estimated at 540 million gallons per day. Fresh surface- and ground-water withdrawals by domestic self-supplied users was estimated at 2 million gallons per day and the industrial self-supplied withdrawals were estimated at 9.5 million gallons per day. Withdrawals for crop irrigation purposes were estimated at 64 million gallons per day, or approximately 10 percent of all offstream fresh water withdrawals. Saline instream surface-water withdrawals for cooling purposes by thermoelectric power facilities was estimated at 2,191 million gallons per day, and instream fresh water withdrawals by hydroelectric facilities at 171 million gallons per day. Total discharge from public wastewater treatment facilities was estimated at 211 million gallons per day.

Open-File Report↗

Geologic map of the State of Hawai`i

The State's geology is presented on eight full-color map sheets, one for each of the major islands. These map sheets, the illustrative meat of the publication, can be downloaded in pdf format, ready to print. Map scale is 1:100,000 for most of the islands, so that each map is about 27 inches by 36 inches. The Island of Hawai`i, largest of the islands, is depicted at a smaller scale, 1:250,000, so that it, too, can be shown on 36-inch-wide paper. The new publication isn't limited strictly to its map depictions. Twenty years have passed since David Clague and Brent Dalrymple published a comprehensive report that summarized the geology of all the islands, and it has been even longer since the last edition of Gordon Macdonald's book, Islands in the Sea, was revised. Therefore the new statewide geologic map includes an 83-page explanatory pamphlet that revisits many of the concepts that have evolved in our geologic understanding of the eight main islands. The pamphlet includes simplified page-size geologic maps for each island, summaries of all the radiometric ages that have been gathered since about 1960, generalized depictions of geochemical analyses for each volcano's eruptive stages, and discussion of some outstanding topics that remain controversial or deserving of additional research. The pamphlet also contains a complete description of map units, which enumerates the characteristics for each of the state's many stratigraphic formations shown on the map sheets. Since the late 1980s, the audience for geologic maps has grown as desktop computers and map-based software have become increasingly powerful. Those who prefer the convenience and access offered by Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can also feast on this publication. An electronic database, suitable for most GIS software applications, is available for downloading. The GIS database is in an Earth projection widely employed throughout the State of Hawai`i, using the North American datum of 1983 and the Universal Transverse Mercator system projection to zone 4. 'This digital statewide map allows engineers, consultants, and scientists from many different fields to take advantage of the geologic database,' said John Sinton, a geology professor at the University of Hawai`i, whose new mapping of the Wai`anae Range (West O`ahu) appears on the map. Indeed, when a testing version was first made available, most requests came from biologists, archaeologists, and soil scientists interested in applying the map's GIS database to their ongoing investigations. Another area newly depicted on the map, in addition to the Wai`anae Range, is Haleakala volcano, East Maui. So too for the active lava flows of Kilauea volcano, Island of Hawai`i, where the landscape has continued to evolve in the ten years since publication of the Big Island's revised geologic map. For the other islands, much of the map is compiled from mapping published in the 1930-1960s. This reliance stems partly from shortage of funding to undertake entirely new mapping but is warranted by the exemplary mapping of those early experts. The boundaries of all map units are digitized to show correctly on modern topographic maps.

Hawaii↗

Introduction to Regional Geology, Tectonics, and Metallogenesis of Northeast Asia

Purpose This introduction presents an overview of the regional geology, tectonics, and metallogenesis of Northeast Asia. The major purposes are to provide a relatively short summary of these features for readers who are unfamiliar with Northeast Asia; a general scientific introduction for the succeeding chapters of this volume; and an overview of the methodology of metallogenic and tectonic analysis employed for Northeast Asia. The introduction also describes how a high-quality metallogenic and tectonic analysis, including synthesis of an associated metallogenic-tectonic model will greatly benefit refinement of mineral deposit models and deposit genesis; improvement of assessments of undiscovered mineral resources as part of quantitative mineral resource assessment studies; land-use and mineral exploration planning; improvement of interpretations of the origins of host rocks, mineral deposits, and metallogenic belts; and suggestions for new research. The compilation, synthesis, description, and interpretation of metallogenesis and tectonics of major regions, such as Northeast Asia (Eastern Russia, Mongolia, northern China, South Korea, and Japan) and the Circum-North Pacific (Russian Far East, Alaska, and Canadian Cordillera) requires a complex methodology. The methodology includes: (1) definitions of key terms; (2) compilation of a regional geologic base map that can be interpreted according to modern tectonic concepts and definitions; (3) compilation of a mineral deposit database that enables the determination of mineral deposit models, and relations of deposits to host rocks and tectonic origins; (4) synthesis of a series of mineral deposit models that characterize the known mineral deposits and inferred undiscovered deposits of the region; (5) compilation of a series of maps of metallogenic belts constructed on the regional geologic base map; and (6) formulation of a unified metallogenic and tectonic model. The summary of regional geology and metallogenesis in this introduction is based on publications of the major international collaborative studies of the metallogenesis and tectonics of Northeast Asia that were led by the U.S. Geological Survey. These studies have produced two broad types of publications. One type is a series of regional geologic, mineral deposit, and metallogenic belt maps and companion descriptions for the regions. Examples of major publications of this type are Obolenskiy and others (2003a, b, 2004), Parfenov and others (2003, 2004a, b), Nokleberg and others (2004), Rodionov and others (2004), and Naumova and others (2006). The other type is a suite of metallogenic and tectonic analyses of these same regions. Examples of major publications of this type are Rodionov and others (2004), Nokleberg and others (2000, 2004, 2005), and Naumova and others (2006). The Northeast Asia project area consists of eastern Russia (most of Siberia and most of the Russian Far East), Mongolia, Northern China, South Korea, Japan, and adjacent offshore areas. This area is approximately bounded by 30 to 82? N. latitude and 75 to 144? E. longitude. The major participating agencies are the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academy of Sciences of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), VNIIOkeangeologia and Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Mongolian University of Science and Technology, Mongolian National University, Jilin University, Changchun, China, the China Geological Survey, the Korea Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources, the Geological Survey of Japan/AIST, University of Texas Arlington, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The Northeast Asia project extends and build on data and interpretations from a previous project on the Major Mineral Deposits, Metallogenesis, and Tectonics of the Russian Far East, Alaska, and the Canadian Cordillera that was conducted by the USGS, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys,

Open-File Report↗

Visitor and community survey results for Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge: Completion report

This study was commissioned by the Northeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in support of the Comprehensive Conservation Planning at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge (Prime Hook NWR or Refuge). The National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-57, USC668dd) mandates a Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for every refuge in the system. A refuge CCP outlines goals, objectives, and management strategies for all refuge programs over the next 15 years, while providing opportunities for compatible, wildlifedependent public uses. The plan evaluates refuge wildlife, habitat, land protection, and visitor service priorities during the planning process. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; Public Law 91-190:852-859.42, U.S.C. and as Amended (P.L. 94-52 and P.L. 94-83) 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347) mandates that the CCP for each refuge must contain an analysis of social and economic conditions (the affected environment) and evaluate social and economic results from likely management scenarios. In addition, public review and comment on alternatives for future management is required. To that end, this research was conducted by the Policy Analysis and Science Assistance Branch (PASA) of the U.S. Geological Survey/Fort Collins Science Center in order to determine how current and proposed CCP planning strategies for Prime Hook NWR could affect: Visitor use Visitor experiences Visitor spending Community residents’ perceptions and opinions Data for this study were collected using a survey administered to visitors to Prime Hook NWR and individuals living in the communities surrounding the Refuge. Surveys were randomly distributed to both consumptive and nonconsumptive use visitors over a one year period (September 2004 to September 2005) to account for seasonal variation in Refuge use. Three hundred thirty-two visitor surveys were returned for a response rate of 80 percent with a confidence interval of ± 5.4. Surveys were also distributed to a stratified random sample of community members in adjacent and surrounding areas (Slaughter Beach, Broadkill Beach, Prime Hook Beach, Milton, Lewes, Milford, and surrounding communities). Four hundred ninety-one surveys from the overall community sample were returned for a response rate of 39 percent with a ± 4.4 confidence interval. Community member results were weighted by U.S. Census Bureau data to correct for age and gender bias, and for community proportionality.

Delaware↗

Carbonatites of the world, explored deposits of Nb and REE— Database and grade and tonnage models

This report is based on published tonnage and grade data on 58 Nb- and rare-earth-element (REE)-bearing carbonatite deposits that are mostly well explored and are partially mined or contain resources of these elements. The deposits represent only a part of the known 527 carbonatites around the world, but they are characterized by reliable quantitative data on ore tonnages and grades of niobium and REE. Grade and tonnage models are an important component of mineral resource assessments. Carbonatites present one of the main natural sources of niobium and rare-earth elements, the economic importance of which grows consistently. A purpose of this report is to update earlier publications. New information about known deposits, as well as data on new deposits published during the last decade, are incorporated in the present paper. The compiled database (appendix 1; linked to right) contains 60 explored Nb- and REE-bearing carbonatite deposits - resources of 55 of these deposits are taken from publications. In the present updated grade-tonnage model we have added 24 deposits comparing with the previous model of Singer (1998). Resources of most deposits are residuum ores in the upper part of carbonatite bodies. Mineral-deposit models are important in exploration planning and quantitative resource assessments for two reasons: (1) grades and tonnages among deposit types vary significantly, and (2) deposits of different types are present in distinct geologic settings that can be identified from geologic maps. Mineral-deposit models combine the diverse geoscience information on geology, mineral occurrences, geophysics, and geochemistry used in resource assessments and mineral exploration. Globally based deposit models allow recognition of important features and demonstrate how common different features are. Well-designed deposit models allow geologists to deduce possible mineral-deposit types in a given geologic environment, and the grade and tonnage models allow economists to estimate the possible economic viability of these resources. Thus, mineral-deposit models play a central role in presenting geoscience information in a useful form to policy makers. The foundation of mineral-deposit models is information about known deposits. This publication presents the latest geologic information and newly developed grade and tonnage models for Nb- and REE-carbonatite deposits in digital form. The publication contains computer files with information on deposits from around the world. It also contains a text file allowing locations of all deposits to be plotted in geographic information system (GIS) programs. The data are presented in FileMaker Pro as well as in .xls and text files to make the information available to a broadly based audience. The value of this information and any derived analyses depends critically on the consistent manner of data gathering. For this reason, we first discuss the rules used in this compilation. Next, the fields of the database are explained. Finally, we provide new grade and tonnage models and analysis of the information in the file.

Open-File Report↗

Social values for ecosystem services (SolVES): Documentation and user manual, version 2.0

In response to the need for incorporating quantified and spatially explicit measures of social values into ecosystem services assessments, the Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center (RMGSC), in collaboration with Colorado State University, developed a geographic information system (GIS) application, Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES). With version 2.0 (SolVES 2.0), RMGSC has improved and extended the functionality of SolVES, which was designed to assess, map, and quantify the perceived social values of ecosystem services. Social values such as aesthetics, biodiversity, and recreation can be evaluated for various stakeholder groups as distinguished by their attitudes and preferences regarding public uses, such as motorized recreation and logging. As with the previous version, SolVES 2.0 derives a quantitative, 10-point, social-values metric, the Value Index, from a combination of spatial and nonspatial responses to public attitude and preference surveys and calculates metrics characterizing the underlying environment, such as average distance to water and dominant landcover. Additionally, SolVES 2.0 integrates Maxent maximum entropy modeling software to generate more complete social value maps and to produce robust statistical models describing the relationship between the social values maps and explanatory environmental variables. The performance of these models can be evaluated for a primary study area, as well as for similar areas where primary survey data are not available but where social value mapping could potentially be completed using value-transfer methodology. SolVES 2.0 also introduces the flexibility for users to define their own social values and public uses, model any number and type of environmental variable, and modify the spatial resolution of analysis. With these enhancements, SolVES 2.0 provides an improved public domain tool for decisionmakers and researchers to evaluate the social values of ecosystem services and to facilitate discussions among diverse stakeholders regarding the tradeoffs among different ecosystem services in a variety of physical and social contexts ranging from forest and rangeland to coastal and marine.

Open-File Report↗

Bats and wind energy: a literature synthesis and annotated bibliography

Turbines have been used to harness energy from wind for hundreds of years. However, with growing concerns about climate change, wind energy has only recently entered the mainstream of global electricity production. Since early on in the development of wind-energy production, concerns have arisen about the potential impacts of turbines to wildlife; these concerns have especially focused on the mortality of birds. Despite recent improvements to turbines that have resulted in reduced mortality of birds, there is clear evidence that bat mortality at wind turbines is of far greater conservation concern. Bats of certain species are dying by the thousands at turbines across North America, and the species consistently affected tend to be those that rely on trees as roosts and most migrate long distances. Turbine-related bat mortalities are now affecting nearly a quarter of all bat species occurring in the United States and Canada. Most documented bat mortality at wind-energy facilities has occurred in late summer and early fall and has involved tree bats, with hoary bats ( Lasiurus cinereus ) being the most prevalent among fatalities. This literature synthesis and annotated bibliography focuses on refereed journal publications and theses about bats and wind-energy development in North America (United States and Canada). Thirty-six publications and eight theses were found, and their key findings were summarized. These publications date from 1996 through 2011, with the bulk of publications appearing from 2007 to present, reflecting the relatively recent conservation concerns about bats and wind energy. The idea for this Open-File Report formed while organizing a joint U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/U.S. Geological Survey "Bats and Wind Energy Workshop," on January 25-26, 2012. The purposes of the workshop were to develop a list of research priorities to support decision making concerning bats with respect to siting and operations of wind-energy facilities across the United States. This document was intended to provide background information for the workshop participants on what has been published on bats and wind-energy issues in North America (United States and Canada).

Open-File Report↗

Qualilty, isotopes, and radiochemistry of water sampled from the Upper Moenkopi Village water-supply wells, Coconino County, Arizona

The Hopi Tribe Water Resources Program has granted contracts for studies to evaluate water supply conditions for the Moenkopi villages in Coconino County, Arizona. The Moenkopi villages include Upper Moenkopi Village and the village of Lower Moencopi, both on the Hopi Indian Reservation south of the Navajo community of Tuba City. These investigations have determined that water supplies are limited and vulnerable to several potential sources of contamination, including the Tuba City Landfill and a former uranium processing facility known as the Rare Metals Mill. Studies are ongoing to determine if uranium and other metals in groundwater beneath the landfill are greater than regional groundwater concentrations. The source of water supply for the Upper Moenkopi Village is three public-supply wells. The wells are referred to as MSW-1, MSW-2, and MSW-3 and all three wells obtain water from the regionally extensive N aquifer. The N aquifer is the principal aquifer in this region of northern Arizona and consists of thick beds of sandstone between less permeable layers of siltstone and mudstone. The relatively fine-grained character of the N aquifer inhibits rapid movement of water and large yields to wells. In recent years, water levels have declined in the three public-supply wells, causing concern that the current water supply will not be able to accommodate peak demand and allow for residential and economic growth. Analyses of major ions, nutrients, selected trace metals, stable and radioactive isotopes, and radiochemistry were performed on the groundwater samples from the three public-supply wells to describe general water-quality conditions and groundwater ages in and immediately surrounding the Upper Moenkopi Village area. None of the water samples collected from the public-supply wells exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency primary drinking water standards. The ratios of the major dissolved ions from the samples collected from MSW-1 and MSW-2 indicate water with a major ion composition of calcium and sulfate. There is no significant vertical distribution of ion concentrations in the samples collected from the upper and lower portion of the water column within the two wells. The samples collected at MSW-3 are higher in sodium and lower in calcium than the samples collected from MSW-1 and MSW-2, and contain a similar sulfate-ion percentage. There is a vertical distribution of ion concentrations in the samples collected from the upper and lower portion of the water column in MSW-3. Groundwater samples from the three water-supply wells analyzed for oxygen-18 and deuterium stable isotopes plot on a local water line that is approximately parallel to the global meteoric water line. Tritium concentrations in samples from MSW-1 and MSW-3 were equal to or less than laboratory detection limits and were interpreted to contain no modern (post-1952) water. Tritium concentration in a sample from the top of the water column at MSW-2 was 0.41 tritium units, indicating that the composition is primarily pre-bomb (pre-1952) water, but may contain a small fraction of post-bomb modern water. The calculated carbon-14 ages of groundwater in MSW-1 and MSW-2, both completed about 140 feet into the Navajo Sandstone, are about 3,000 years before present. The calculated carbon-14 age of groundwater in MSW-3, completed about 240 feet into the Kayenta Formation-Navajo Sandstone transition zone is about 5,000 years before present in the upper portion of the water column and about 8,500 years before present in the lower portion of the water column. The gross alpha radioactivity of samples collected from the three water-supply wells ranged from 5.1 to 9.8 picocuries per liter-less than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency primary drinking water standard of 15 picocuries per liter. The gross beta radioactivity of samples collected from the wells ranged from 0.9 to 2.8 picocuries per liter and are not considered elevated relative to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency primary drinking water standard.

Arizona↗