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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 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
USGS2022

Using predictions from multiple anthropogenic threats to estimate future population persistence of an imperiled species

Imperiled species face numerous and diverse anthropogenic threats to their persistence, and wildlife managers charged with making conservation decisions benefit from a sound understanding of how populations, species, and ecosystems will respond to future changes in threats to biodiversity. In southeastern North America, the gopher tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus ) is a keystone species in upland ecosystems; however, tortoise populations have declined strongly over the last century, and the species is a candidate for increased protection by the United States federal government under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Here, we sought to support conservation decision making for G. polyphemus by developing a spatially-explicit predictive population model that linked four anthropogenic threats (climate warming, sea-level rise, urbanization, habitat degradation) to demographic vital rates and used the model to estimate future changes in the number of individuals, populations, and metapopulations across the species’ range. Using recent survey data, we projected 457 populations for 80 years into the future under scenarios varying in threat magnitude, management magnitude, and demographic uncertainty. Population projections predicted that the number of individuals, populations, and metapopulations would decline among all simulated scenarios in the next 80 years. Model predictions were more sensitive to variation in adult survival and immigration rates than to variation in threat magnitude. A scenario with decreased habitat management and threat effects from climate warming, sea-level rise, and urbanization predicted geographic variation in persistence probabilities for populations that might result in decreased genetic representation across the species' range. Our results can be used to support conservation listing decisions for the gopher tortoise as part of its federal Species Status Assessment and provide an analytical framework for how to link diverse threats to geographically-varying demographic rates during population viability analyses for wide-ranging imperiled species around the world.

Global Ecology and Conservation↗
USGS2001

Online bibliographic sources in hydrology

Traditional commercial bibliographic databases and indexes provide some access to hydrology materials produced by the government; however, these sources do not provide comprehensive coverage of relevant hydrologic publications. This paper discusses bibliographic information available from the federal government and state geological surveys, water resources agencies, and depositories. In addition to information in these databases, the paper describes the scope, styles of citing, subject terminology, and the ways these information sources are currently being searched, formally and informally, by hydrologists. Information available from the federal and state agencies and from the state depositories might be missed by limiting searches to commercially distributed databases.

Science and Technology Libraries↗
USGS2012

Are Agrofuels a conservation threat or opportunity for grassland birds in the United States?

In the United States, government-mandated growth in the production of crops dedicated to biofuel (agrofuels) is predicted to increase the demands on existing agricultural lands, potentially threatening the persistence of populations of grassland birds they support. We review recently published literature and datasets to (1) examine the ability of alternative agrofuel crops and their management regimes to provide habitat for grassland birds, (2) determine how crop placement in agricultural landscapes and agrofuel-related land-use change will affect grassland birds, and (3) identify critical research and policy-development needs associated with agrofuel production. We find that native perennial plants proposed as feedstock for agrofuel (switchgrass, Panicum virgatum, and mixed grass—forb prairie) have considerable potential to provide new habitat to a wide range of grassland birds, including rare and threatened species. However, industrialization of agrofuel production that maximizes biomass, homogenizes vegetation structure, and results in the cultivation of small fields within largely forested landscapes is likely to reduce species richness and/or abundance of grassland-dependent birds. Realizing the potential benefits of agrofuel production for grassland birds' conservation will require the development of new policies that encourage agricultural practices specifically targeting the needs of grassland specialists. The broad array of grower-incentive programs in existence may deliver new agrofuel policies effectively but will require coordination at a spatial scale broader than currently practiced, preferably within an adaptive-management framework.

The Condor↗
USGS2010

Geospatial Information Response Team

Extreme emergency events of national significance that include manmade and natural disasters seem to have become more frequent during the past two decades. The Nation is becoming more resilient to these emergencies through better preparedness, reduced duplication, and establishing better communications so every response and recovery effort saves lives and mitigates the long-term social and economic impacts on the Nation. The National Response Framework (NRF) (http://www.fema.gov/NRF) was developed to provide the guiding principles that enable all response partners to prepare for and provide a unified national response to disasters and emergencies. The NRF provides five key principles for better preparation, coordination, and response: 1) engaged partnerships, 2) a tiered response, 3) scalable, flexible, and adaptable operations, 4) unity of effort, and 5) readiness to act. The NRF also describes how communities, tribes, States, Federal Government, privatesector, and non-governmental partners apply these principles for a coordinated, effective national response. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has adopted the NRF doctrine by establishing several earth-sciences, discipline-level teams to ensure that USGS science, data, and individual expertise are readily available during emergencies. The Geospatial Information Response Team (GIRT) is one of these teams. The USGS established the GIRT to facilitate the effective collection, storage, and dissemination of geospatial data information and products during an emergency. The GIRT ensures that timely geospatial data are available for use by emergency responders, land and resource managers, and for scientific analysis. In an emergency and response capacity, the GIRT is responsible for establishing procedures for geospatial data acquisition, processing, and archiving; discovery, access, and delivery of data; anticipating geospatial needs; and providing coordinated products and services utilizing the USGS' exceptional pool of geospatial experts and equipment.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2011

A new tool to assess groundwater resources in the Mississippi embayment

What is the Mississippi Embayment? The Mississippi embayment study area encompasses approximately 78,000 square miles in eight States and includes large parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and smaller areas of Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri (fig. 1). The Mississippi embayment is essentially a basin that slopes toward the Gulf of Mexico and is filled with sediments of alternating sand, silt, and clay layers. There are two principal aquifers in the embayment-the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (alluvial aquifer) and the middle Claiborne aquifer (fig. 1). The shallow alluvial aquifer is the primary source of groundwater for irrigation in the largely agricultural region, while the deeper middle Claiborne aquifer is a primary source of drinking water for many of the 5.2 million people living in the embayment. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting large-scale multidisciplinary regional studies of groundwater availability for the Nation. Studies comprise individual assessments of regional groundwater-flow systems that encompass varied terrains and document a comprehensive regional and national perspective of groundwater resources. Collectively, these studies are the foundation for the national assessment of groundwater availability and are conducted in cooperation with other Federal, State, local governments, and the private sector. Numerical groundwater-flow models are used in these studies to document effects of human activities and climate variability on groundwater levels, changes in aquifer storage, and flow between groundwater and surface-water bodies. As part of the Mississippi Embayment Regional Aquifer Study (MERAS), a numerical model was constructed of 13 layers over 78,000 square miles representing multiple aquifers and confining units for the period of 1870 to 2007. The model is a tool that was used to assess and better understand groundwater resources.

Mississippi↗
USGS1988

National water-information clearinghouse activities; ground-water perspective

The US Geological Survey (USGS) has functioned for many years as an informal clearinghouse for water resources information, enabling users to access groundwater information effectively. Water resources clearinghouse activities of the USGS are conducted through several separate computerized water information programs that are involved in the collection, storage, retrieval, and distribution of different types of water information. The following USGS programs perform water information clearinghouse functions and provide the framework for a formalized National Water-Information Clearinghouse: (1) The National Water Data Exchange--a nationwide confederation of more than 300 Federal, State, local, government, academic, and private water-oriented organizations that work together to improve access to water data; (2) the Water Resources Scientific Information Center--acquires, abstracts, and indexes the major water-resources-related literature of the world, and provides this information to the water resources community; (3) the Information Transfer Program--develops innovative approaches to transfer information and technology developed within the USGS to audiences in the public and private sectors; (4) the Hydrologic Information Unit--provides responses to a variety of requests, both technical and lay-oriented, for water resources information , and helps efforts to conduct water resources research; (5) the Water Data Storage and Retrieval System--maintains accessible computerized files of hydrologic data collected nationwide, by the USGS and other governmental agencies, from stream gaging stations, groundwater observation wells, and surface- and groundwater quality sampling sites; (6) the Office of Water Data Coordination--coordinate the water data acquisition activities of all agencies of the Federal Government, and is responsible for the planning, design, and inter-agency coordination of a national water data and information network; and (7) the Water Resources Research Institute Program--coordinates and evaluates activities performed by a variety of groundwater contamination studies ranging from field investigations to analysis of socioeconomic issues. (Lantz-PTT)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1932

Stream measurement work: Chapter 8 in Eighteenth biennial report of the State Engineer to the governor of Utah: 1931-1932

General stream measurement work for the purpose of determining the water resources of the state has been continued during the biennium by the United States Geological Survey under the usual cooperative agreements with the State Engineer. This work in Utah is a part of the general plan for the systematic determination of the water resources of the United States begun by the geological Survey in 1888. For the past 25 years the scope of these investigations has been extended far beyond what would have been possible under the Federal appropriation alone by reason of state appropriations for cooperation. At present thirty-nine of the states are cooperating in the stream measurement work under agreements that provide for equal expenditures by the state and federal governments.

Utah↗
USGS2023

Endangered Klamath suckers

Since Lost River suckers ( Deltistes luxatus ) and shortnose suckers ( Chasmistes brevirostris ) hatched in the early 1990s, almost none of the fish have survived to adulthood. When full grown, Lost River suckers are the largest of the Klamath suckers, averaging about two and a half feet long, whereas shortnose suckers are at around twenty-one inches. Rather than an inability to spawn, these species are limited by very high mortality within the first year or two of life. There are many hypothesized causes of high juvenile sucker mortality, including poor water quality, diseases aggravated by warming water temperatures, and the reduction in wetland habitat that provides food and cover. The number of adult endangered Lost River and shortnose suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, the primary remaining habitat for these species, declined by 65 to 85 percent between 2001 and 2020. Extinction is increasingly likely for these species unless their population trajectories can be changed. The Klamath Tribes, the U.S. government, the State of Oregon, and several nonprofits are working together to prevent sucker extinction in the Klamath Basin.

Oregon↗
USGS2022

The economic costs of chronic wasting disease in the United States

Cervids are economically important to a wide range of stakeholders and rights holders in the United States. The continued expansion of chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting wild and farmed cervids, poses a direct and indirect threat to state and federal government agency operations and cervid related economic activity. However, the scale of this disease’s direct economic costs is largely unknown. I synthesized existing publicly available data and stakeholder-provided data to estimate CWD’s costs within the continental United States. Federal government agencies collectively spent over $284.1 million on CWD-related efforts between 2000 and 2021, with $203.6 million of this total being spent by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. In fiscal year 2020, state natural resources agencies and state agriculture/animal health agencies spent over $25.5 million and $2.9 million, respectively, on CWD-related work. Natural resources agencies in states with known CWD cases spent over 8 times as much on CWD as agencies from states with no known cases. The farmed cervid industry spent at least $307,950 on CWD sampling in 2020, though a lack of available data prevented a complete assessment of costs to this industry. Based on limited data, CWD’s economic effects on the hunting industry (i.e., outfitters and guides, companies leasing land to cervid hunters), may be negligible at this time. Overall, however, the realized economic costs of CWD appear considerable, and it is likely that the number of stakeholders financially affected by this disease and regulations meant to stem its spread will continue to grow. By understanding the current economic impacts of CWD, we are better positioned to assess the costs and benefits of investments in management and research and to understand the magnitude of this disease’s broader societal impacts.

PLoS ONE↗
USGS2015

California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of Pacifica, California

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visualization of swath sonar data, acoustic backscatter, seafloor video, seafloor photography, high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles, and bottom-sediment sampling data. The map products display seafloor morphology and character, identify potential marine benthic habitats, and illustrate both the surficial seafloor geology and shallow (to about 100 m) subsurface geology. The Offshore of Pacifica map area is located in northern California, on the Pacific coast of the San Francisco Peninsula about 10 kilometers south of the Golden Gate. The map area extends from Daly City, through Pacifica, to the small coastal community of Montara. Much of the coastal zone is managed by either the State of California or local governments, including Thornton Beach State Park, Mussel Rock Park, Pacifica State Beach, Gray Whale Cove State Beach, and Montara State Beach. The major structure in the transform boundary between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates, the northwest-striking San Andreas Fault, cuts through the map area, crossing the shoreline near Mussel Rock before continuing offshore. The epicenter of the great 1906 California earthquake is located on the offshore part of the San Andreas Fault Zone a few kilometers north of the map area. The map area is located at the northwest end of the Santa Cruz Mountains, much of which has been uplifted in the last 400,000 years. Southwest of the San Andreas Fault Zone, this uplift has resulted in a highly variable coastal morphology characterized by long, narrow beaches bounded by steep cliffs or marine terraces, small pocket beaches surrounded by rocky promontories, and steep, narrow coastal watersheds. Geologic units mapped along the coast include sedimentary, volcanic, and metamorphic rocks of the Franciscan Complex; Cretaceous granitic rocks; Tertiary sedimentary rocks; and Quaternary coastal marine terraces, deep-seated and shallow landslides, and beach and sand dune deposits, all of which contribute sediment to the coastal zone. In contrast to the more rural coastal zone to the south, the highly urbanized coastal zone north of Mussel Rock and the San Andreas Fault Zone is characterized by a narrow beach bounded by steep, 50- to 120-m-high cliffs made up of sand, silt, and clay of the Pliocene and Pleistocene Merced Formation, the source of numerous landslides. Two large landslides along “Northridge bluff” in 2003 and 2007 had estimated volumes of 305,800 to 382,300 m 3 and 120,800 m 3 , respectively. Coastal landslides also are an issue to the south between Mussel Rock and Mori Point, even as bluffs diminish in height and pocket beaches transition to a more continuous strand bounded by Quaternary-age dunes and low-lying marine terraces. Mori Point, a coastal promontory in Pacifica underlain by rocks of the Franciscan Complex, rises abruptly to a height of 90 m from the shoreline. Pocket beaches characterize the shoreline from Mori Point south to Shelter Cove, the largest of which, Pacifica State Beach, is at the mouth of San Pedro Creek. The coastal zone south of Pacifica, which stretches from Shelter Cove to Montara and includes Point San Pedro and Devils Slide, lies at the northwest end of San Pedro Mountain (underlain largely by early Tertiary sedimentary rocks) and Montara Mountain (underlain by Cretaceous granitic rocks). Elevations at Montara Mountain exceed 500 m just 4 km from the shoreline, and steep cliffs along the coast are as high as 275 m. This rugged terrain results in numerous rocky promontories, small pocket beaches, and large coastal landslides. Slope failures along Devils Slide are notorious for closing California Highway 1, creating such a large and persistent problem that the California Department of Transportation has bypassed this coastal section by tunneling through San Pedro Mountain; the tunnel was completed and the new section of highway opened in 2013. Coastal relief diminishes at Montara in the southernmost part of the map area, where the shoreline is bounded by 10- to 20-m-high marine terraces. Throughout the year, this part of the coast is exposed to the north Pacific swell, the southern swell, northwest wind waves, and local wind waves. The north Pacific swell dominates in winter months, having wave heights that range from 2 to 10 m at offshore buoys and wave periods that range from 10 to 25 s. During summer months, the largest waves come from the southern swell, generated by storms in the south Pacific and offshore of Central America. Characteristically, these swells have smaller wave heights (0.3–3 m) but similarly long wave periods (10–25 s). Local wind waves are most common from October to April, whereas northwest wind waves affect the coast throughout the year. These two wind-wave regimes typically have wave heights of 1 to 4 m and short wave periods (3–10 s). Unlike many other parts of the California coast where sediment is supplied primarily from river and (or) stream runoff, sediment supply to the offshore along this part of northern California is a complex mixture of (1) sand transported from the coast north of the Golden Gate, (2) sediment transported to the coast through the San Francisco Bay via the Golden Gate and then dispersed over the adjacent ebb-tide delta, and (3) varying volumes of sediment eroded from adjacent steep coastal bluffs caused by wave-induced landslides and other erosional events. Additionally, since the 1980s, coastal erosion south of the Golden Gate has increased substantially between Ocean Beach (on the west coast of San Francisco, about 5 km north of the map area) and Point San Pedro. The combined sediment load is transported southward along the coast by the generally north-to-south alongshore current, which develops in response to the energetic winter-wave climate associated with the north Pacific swell. Overall, beaches in the map area have a long-term erosional trend, except near Mussel Rock where a long-term accretionary trend may reflect increased sediment supply from landslides. Beach-front riprap armoring and retaining walls are used locally to protect the shoreline from seasonal storm waves, most notably between Mussel Rock and Mori Point. The continental shelf in the map area is about 40 km wide, with water depths at the shelf break that range from about 80 to 120 m. Within California’s State Waters, the midshelf to inner shelf areas are characterized by a relatively flat, shallow (water depths of as much as 44 m) seafloor that dips gently (about 0.2° to 0.3°) westward. The seafloor is composed primarily of unconsolidated Holocene sediment (marine deposits), as well as some nearshore bedrock outcrops that consist primarily of rocks of the Tertiary Purisima Formation and also Cretaceous plutonic rocks (granite or granodiorite).

California↗
USGS2009

Floods of Selected Streams in Arkansas, Spring 2008

Floods can cause loss of life and extensive destruction to property. Monitoring floods and understanding the reasons for their occurrence are the responsibility of many Federal agencies. The National Weather Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Geological Survey are among the most visible of these agencies. Together, these three agencies collect and analyze floodflow information to better understand the variety of mechanisms that cause floods, and how the characteristics and frequencies of floods vary with time and location. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has monitored and assessed the quantity of streamflow in our Nation's streams since the agency's inception in 1879. Because of ongoing collection and assessment of streamflow data, the USGS can provide information about a range of surface-water issues including the suitability of water for public supply and irrigation and the effects of agriculture and urbanization on streamflow. As part of its streamflow-data collection activities, the USGS measured streamflow in multiple streams during extreme flood events in Arkansas in the spring of 2008. The analysis of streamflow information collected during flood events such as these provides a scientific basis for decision making related to resource management and restoration. Additionally, this information can be used by water-resource managers to better define flood-hazard areas and to design bridges, culverts, dams, levees, and other structures. Water levels (stage) and streamflow (discharge) currently are being monitored in near real-time at approximately 150 locations in Arkansas. The streamflow-gaging stations measure and record hydrologic data at 15-minute or hourly intervals; the data then are transmitted through satellites to the USGS database and displayed on the internet every 1 to 4 hours. Streamflow-gaging stations in Arkansas are part of a network of over 7,500 active streamflow-gaging stations operated by the USGS throughout the United States in cooperation with other Federal, State, and local government agencies. In Arkansas, the major supporters of the streamflow-gaging network are the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, and Arkansas Geological Survey. Many other Federal, State, and local government entities provide additional support for streamflow-gaging stations. It is the combined support of the USGS and all funding partners that make it possible to maintain an adequate streamflow-gaging network in Arkansas. Data collected over the years at streamflow-gaging stations can be used to characterize the relative magnitude of flood events and their statistical frequency of occurrence. These analyses provide water-resource managers with accurate and reliable hydrologic information based on present and historical flow conditions. Continued collection of streamflow data, with consideration of changes in land use, agricultural practices, and climate change, will help scientists to more accurately characterize the magnitude of extreme floods in the future.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1981

The Earth Resources Observation Systems data center's training technical assistance, and applications research activities

The Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center (EDO, administered by the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior, provides remotely sensed data to the user community and offers a variety of professional services to further the understanding and use of remote sensing technology. EDC reproduces and sells photographic and electronic copies of satellite images of areas throughout the world. Other products include aerial photographs collected by 16 organizations, including the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Primary users of the remotely sensed data are Federal, State, and municipal government agencies, universities, foreign nations, and private industries. The professional services available at EDC are primarily directed at integrating satellite and aircraft remote sensing technology into the programs of the Department of the Interior and its cooperators. This is accomplished through formal training workshops, user assistance, cooperative demonstration projects, and access to equipment and capabilities in an advanced data analysis laboratory. In addition, other Federal agencies, State and local governments, universities, and the general public can get assistance from the EDC Staff. Since 1973, EDC has contributed to the accelerating growth in development and operational use of remotely sensed data for land resource problems through its role as educator and by conducting basic and applied remote sensing applications research. As remote sensing technology continues to evolve, EDC will continue to respond to the increasing demand for timely information on remote sensing applications. Questions most often asked about EDC's research and training programs include: Who may attend an EDC remote sensing training course? Specifically, what is taught? Who may cooperate with EDC on remote sensing projects? Are interpretation services provided on a service basis? This report attempts to define the goals and objectives of and policies on the following EDC services: Training Program. User Assistance. Data Analysis Laboratory. Cooperative Demonstration Projects. Research Projects.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2016

Users and uses of Landsat 8 satellite imagery—2014 survey results

Executive Summary In 2013, Landsat 8 began adding high quality, global, moderate-resolution imagery to the more than 40-year archive of Landsat imagery. To assess the potential effects of the availability of Landsat 8 imagery on users and their work, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Land Remote Sensing Program (LRS) initiated a survey of Landsat users. The objectives of the survey were to 1. Characterize various Landsat user groups, such as United States (U.S.) and international users and Landsat 8 and non-Landsat 8 users; 2. Identify any differences among user groups in uses and preferences; 3. Measure the importance of and satisfaction with Landsat 8 attributes; 4. Assess the importance to users of the frequency of usable imagery; and 5. Determine any challenges in using Landsat 8. The online survey was sent to 51,617 Landsat users registered with USGS in May 2014. Almost 13,000 people responded to the survey for a response rate of 25 percent (n = 12,966). Current Landsat users (users who had used Landsat in their work in the year prior to the survey) composed 89 percent of the sample (n = 11,549) and past Landsat users composed 11 percent (n = 1,417). The results reported here apply to current Landsat users registered with the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. Users from 161 countries responded to the survey. Of those, 19 percent were citizens or permanent residents of the United States and 81 percent resided in other countries. More than 70 percent of current users had used Landsat 8 in the year prior to the survey. The majority of Landsat 8 users (65 percent) were established users who used Landsat imagery regularly both before and after Landsat 8 imagery became available. The average current Landsat user was male, 36 years old, and highly educated, with 9 years of experience using satellite imagery or geographic information system (GIS) software. Landsat 8 users had, on average, two more years of experience than non-Landsat 8 users. Users were employed predominantly by academic institutions (65 percent), followed by private businesses (13 percent), Federal governments (10 percent), State and local governments (6 percent), and nonprofit organizations (6 percent). Of the Landsat imagery obtained in the past year by current users, on average 31 percent came from a Landsat 8 sensor. An equivalent amount came from the Landsat 7 ETM+ sensor (33 percent); slightly less came from Landsats 4 and 5 TM sensors (27 percent). Much less came from Landsats 1 through 5 MSS sensors (5 percent). Overall, more than a third of users’ work used Landsat imagery (38 percent). Of this work, on average, 37 percent of the work was operational. Landsat 8 users considered a greater proportion of their work operational than non-Landsat 8 users (39 percent compared with 29 percent). Environmental sciences and management were the most commonly selected primary applications (selected by 42 percent of users). Land use/land cover (23 percent) was the second most commonly selected primary application, followed by education (12 percent), agriculture (9 percent), and planning and development (6 percent). Landsat 8 users were asked to rank the importance of certain attributes in determining whether to use Landsat 8 imagery in their work. The archive was ranked most important, followed by cost, spatial resolution, extent of coverage, data quality, and frequency of revisit. Users were asked how satisfied they were with these same attributes as they currently apply to Landsat 8 imagery. On average, users were most satisfied with lack of cost, extent of coverage, data quality, and the archive, but they were satisfied with all attributes. Users were asked how often they needed Landsat imagery to meet various requirements for their primary application. The survey question specifically asked how often users needed usable imagery, which differs from how often they would like the Landsat satellites to acquire an image. Users were asked to identify their needed frequency of usable imagery for the following levels: 1. Threshold level—the minimum frequency of usable imagery needed to be of any value to their primary application. 2. Breakthrough level—the frequency of usable imagery that would result in a significant improvement for their primary application of the imagery. 3. Target level—the frequency of usable imagery that would only provide a limited additional increase in the expected performance for their primary application. To meet the threshold level, three-quarters of users needed usable imagery every 17 days or less frequently. At the breakthrough level, two-thirds of users (64 percent) needed a usable image every 5–16 days. The current constellation of two satellites (Landsat 7 and 8) is capable of meeting the threshold and breakthrough needs of most users at least some of the time, but a single satellite would be highly unlikely to do so. Two-fifths of users (40 percent) felt that usable imagery provided every 4 days or more frequently would meet their target level which the current Landsat constellation cannot provide. Landsat 8 users were significantly more likely than non-Landsat 8 users to need usable imagery more frequently to meet their target levels. Additionally, U.S. Landsat 8 users were significantly more likely than other Landsat users to need usable imagery more frequently in order meet both their breakthrough and target levels. To explore the effect of the availability of Landsat 8 imagery on Landsat imagery use in general, established users (those who had consistently used Landsat imagery both before and after Landsat 8 imagery became available) using Landsat 8 imagery were asked about changes in the amount of Landsat imagery they used. The majority of established users using Landsat 8 imagery (60 percent) reported an average increase of 51 percent in the number of scenes obtained after Landsat 8 imagery became available. Landsat 8 users were asked if they had encountered challenges in using Landsat 8 whereas non-Landsat 8 users were asked if such challenges had played a role in why they were not using Landsat 8 imagery. Although many users did not encounter challenges when using or trying to use Landsat 8 data, slightly less than 30 percent did encounter issues with processing the data to a usable point. The most common issue reported was not being able to create or have access to a surface reflectance corrected product. Other challenges were related to the file sizes of images being too large to download, store, or analyze. There were no statistically significant differences between Landsat 8 and non-Landsat 8 users in terms of challenges encountered when using or trying to use the imagery, which indicates that users were not unduly discouraged by the challenges they may have encountered. When asked about potential consequences of not using Landsat 8, more than half of the non-Landsat 8 users did not report detrimental effects on their work from not using the imagery. Of those who did report detrimental effects, decreased quality of work, decreased scope of work, and increased time spent on work were the most common.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2022

Great Lakes spatial priorities study

Spatial data about the bathymetry, habitat characteristics, underlying geology, and other features of the ocean and inland seas are essential for decision-making. Marine research and management organizations use these data to help ensure safe navigation, promote sustainable fisheries, extract energy, and protect marine habitats in the coastal and ocean waters of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Laurentian Great Lakes. Many of these organizations may have overlapping or shared mapping interests without knowing it. In a multi-jurisdictional planning environment, it can be challenging and cumbersome to determine where other entities have shared or overlapping mapping interests, especially across a transnational region such as the Great Lakes. State and provincial governments, federal governments, academia, tribes and First Nations, and other stakeholders from both the U.S. and Canada all have mapping interests across Great Lakes waters. Identifying and communicating target geographies for new data collection that are shared among multiple organizations can both help to avoid redundancy of new mapping efforts, and create opportunities for greater efficiency through collaboration. To address this issue, a spatial priorities study was conducted using a geospatial tool developed by the National Ocean Services National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science (NCCOS). The tool provided an easy-to-use online interface in which programs can identify their priorities in a simple and straightforward way. This study asked representatives of Great Lakes management and science organizations to identify the areas for which they needed maps of lakebed features on a near-term, mid-term, and long-term timeframe, and why. Then, the responses were analyzed and overlaid to determine areas of shared mapping need and opportunity and to determine the types of map products needed. The analysis revealed high interest among multiple organizations in discrete geographies including the Minnesota and Wisconsin shoreline from Duluth to the eastern extent of the Bayfield Peninsula, Green Bay in Lake Michigan, and the southern coastlines of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, the St. Marys River, and the northern Lake Superior coastal waters near Grand Portage, MN. Lower priority mapping interest were distributed widely across all lakes, but tended to be concentrated in nearshore areas (<30 m depth). The analysis also indicated that the top mapping justifications were Habitat/biota/natural area, Benthic exploration, Commercial and recreational fishing, and Scientific research. The top desired map product types were Elevation, Substrate/sub-bottom geologic characterization, and Habitat map/characterization, although participants on some lakes noted other less prevalent product types. Following from previously conducted NOAA and non-NOAA Federal spatial prioritization exercises, the results of this regional focus can help mapping organizations better understand how their priorities align with the needs of regional organizations, allow for more efficient coordination and funding, and enable partners to leverage assets and resources to fill their most pressing data and information gaps across Great Lakes waters. The U.S. Mapping Coordination Site hosts the results of this study and other spatial prioritization studies. Through this website, one can interact with the study results along with recent and planned mapping efforts. NOAA intends to update their spatial priorities on a three- to five-year basis. Future studies should strive to expand participation of federal agencies, state and local governments, federally-recognized tribes, academia, and private industry (among other stakeholders) to seek out ocean mapping partnerships in conjunction with the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration and Characterization (NOMEC) goals map once, use many times.”

Great Lakes↗
USGS1996

Effectiveness of highway-drainage systems in preventing road-salt contamination of ground water, southeastern Massachusetts

Road-salt contamination of public and private water supplies has become a serious and costly problem, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest. For example, reports of road-salt contamination from 100 of the 351 municipalities in Massachusetts from 1983 through 1990 required an expenditure of about 2.5 million dollar to investigate and remediate. Nationally, an estimated 10 million dollar are spent annual ly by State and local governments to prevent and remediate road-salt contamination. One method used by State highway agencies to reduce road- salt contamination of public-water supplies is to divert the salt-laden highway runoff through drainage systems from section of highway that pass near public-water supplies to less sensitive areas. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Massachusetts Highway Department (MHO), has conducted an investigation of the relative effectiveness of four highway-drainage systems in preventing road-salt contamination of ground water. This fact sheet describes the highway-drainage systems tested, the general hydrogeology of the study area, and the methods used to evaluate the drainage systems; and presents preliminary findings of the effectiveness of the systems in preventing road-salt contamination of ground water. These findings are based on data collected from November 1990 through May 1992. The re ult of this investigation will have wider application than just in the snow-belt regions of the United States, Canada, and Europe, as other contaminants in highway runoff either can be diverted from sensitive areas by drainage systems or allowed to seep into the ground, potentially contaminating ground water.

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