Search USGS⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search USGS

Results for “Surveying and Mapping”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,279 records · Page 71Linked to original sources

Geohydrology of the Valley-Fill Aquifers between the Village of Greene, Chenango County and Chenango Valley State Park, Broome County, New York

This set of maps and geohydrologic sections depict the geology and hydrology of valley-fill aquifers in the 14-mile reach of the Chenango River valley between the Village of Greene and the area south of Chenango Valley State Park, N.Y. This map report depicts the aquifers; locations of domestic, production, and test wells; surficial geology; water-table altitude; potentiometric-surface altitude; generalized saturated thickness of the unconfined (water-table) aquifer; generalized thickness of the confined aquifer; and includes three geohydrologic sections. The valley fill in the Chenango River valley consists primarily of (1) glaciofluvial deposits comprised of stratified coarse-grained sediment (sand and gravel) that were deposited by meltwater streams flowing on, below, and in front of the glacier; (2) lacustrine sediments consisting of stratified fine-grained sediment (very fine sand, silt, and clay) that were deposited in proglacial lakes that formed at the front of a glacier; and (3) recent alluvium consisting of alluvial fan deposits (sand, silt, and gravel), floodplain sediments (fine-to-medium sand and silt), and channel deposits (sand and gravel). The Chenango River valley contains an unconfined valley-fill aquifer throughout much of the study area, and a confined valley-fill aquifer in the area between the northern edge of the Chenango Valley State Park and the Village of Greene. The unconfined aquifer consists predominantly of alluvial and outwash sand and gravel. The water table was mapped using water-level measurements obtained from wells completed in the unconfined aquifer, and from altitudes of lakes, ponds, and streams as indicated on U.S. Geological Survey 1:24,000-scale topographic maps. The depth to the water table typically ranges from 5 to 15 feet below land surface, but can locally be as much as 100 feet, such as in the ice-contact deposits in the Chenango Valley State Park. The confined aquifer is widely used by people living and working in the Chenango River valley. The confined aquifer consists of ice-contact sand and gravel, typically overlies bedrock, and underlies a confining unit consisting of lacustrine fine sand, silt, and clay. The confining unit is typically more than 100 feet thick in the central parts of the valley between Greene Landing Field and along the northern edge of the Chenango Valley State Park. The thickness of the confined aquifer is more than 40 feet near the Greene Landing Field.

Scientific Investigations Map↗

Sources of geologic and hydrologic information pertinent to ground-water resources in Rhode Island

This report summarizes sources of geologic and hydrologic information useful to water managers and others involved in the investigation, appraisal, development, and protection of ground-water resources in Rhode Island. The geographic scope of the report includes Rhode Island and small adjoining areas of Massachusetts and Connecticut, where drainage basins are shared with these States. The information summarized is found in maps and reports prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey and published by either the U.S. Geological Survey or by the State of Rhode Island. Information sources are presented in maps and tables. Reference maps show drainage divides, town lines, and the 7.5-minute grid of latitude and longitude for the State. Maps show availability of surficial geologic maps, bedrock geologic maps, and ground-water studies by 7.5-minute quadrangle, and show availability of ground-water studies by drainage basin, subbasin, and special study area. Sources of geologic and hydrologic information for the thirty-seven 7.5-minute quadrangles covering Rhode Island have been compiled based on the following information categories: surficial geology, bedrock geology, subsurface materials, altitude of bedrock surface, water-table altitudes, water-table contours, saturated thickness, hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity, drainage divides, recharge areas, ground-water reservoirs, induced infiltration, and ground-water quality. A table for each of the 37 quadrangles lists the major categories of information available for that quadrangle, provides references to the publications in which the information can be found, and indicates the format, scale, and other pertinent attributes of the information. A table organized by report series gives full citations for publications prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey pertaining to the geology and hydrology of Rhode Island. To facilitate location of information for particular municipalities, a table lists cities and towns in the State and the quadrangles that cover each municipality.

Rhode Island↗

Land use and land cover changes: A framework for monitoring

Information on the rate and kind of change in the use of land resources is essential to-the proper planning, management, and regulation of the use of such resources. Starting in 1975, the U.S. Geological Survey has been engaged in mapping and inventory of land use and land cover at a scale of 1:250000 with plans to change to new 1:100000 base maps as they become available. Such scales are-appropriate for acquiring benchmark or baseline data on land use and land cover on a nationwide basis with a reasonable degree of standardization and accuracy, within a practical time frame of 6 to 7 years, and at a reasonable level of detail in categorization. Changes in land use and land cover occur at highly variable rates from place to place. Thus variations, in the intervals between updates of land use and land cover data should be carefully evaluated in order to provide an appropriate frame of reference for the systematic updating of such data. A methodological framework is needed for monitoring changes in land use and land cover that will be timely, relatively inexpensive, and appropriate for widely varying needs at national, interstate-regional, state, multicounty, county, and city levels. In this article a partial framework for monitoring land use and land cover changes is provided with opportunity to extend its use to greater levels of detail in categorization and shorter intervals of frequency when needed for selected areas.

Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey↗

Mapping river bathymetry with a small footprint green LiDAR: Applications and challenges

Airborne bathymetric Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) systems designed for coastal and marine surveys are increasingly sought after for high-resolution mapping of fluvial systems. To evaluate the potential utility of bathymetric LiDAR for applications of this kind, we compared detailed surveys collected using wading and sonar techniques with measurements from the United States Geological Survey’s hybrid topographic⁄ bathymetric Experimental Advanced Airborne Research LiDAR (EAARL). These comparisons, based upon data collected from the Trinity and Klamath Rivers, California, and the Colorado River, Colorado, demonstrated that environmental conditions and postprocessing algorithms can influence the accuracy and utility of these surveys and must be given consideration. These factors can lead to mapping errors that can have a direct bearing on derivative analyses such as hydraulic modeling and habitat assessment. We discuss the water and substrate characteristics of the sites, compare the conventional and remotely sensed river-bed topographies, and investigate the laser waveforms reflected from submerged targets to provide an evaluation as to the suitability and accuracy of the EAARL system and associated processing algorithms for riverine mapping applications.

Journal of the American Water Resources Associatio↗

Recovery and reprocessing of legacy geophysical data from the archives of the State Company of Geology and Mining (GEOSURV) of Iraq and Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC)

Aeromagnetic data belonging to the State Company of Geology and Mining of Iraq (GEOSURV) have been recovered from magnetic tapes and early paper maps. In 1974 a national airborne survey was flown by the French firm Compagnie General de Geophysique (CGG). Following the survey the magnetic data were stored on magnetic tapes within an air conditioned archive run by GEOSURV. In 1990, the power supply to the archive was cut resulting in the present‐day poor condition of the tapes. Frontier Processing Company and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have been able to recover over 99 percent of the original digital data from the CGG tapes. Preliminary reprocessing of the data yielded a total magnetic field anomaly map that reveals fine structures not evident in available published maps. Successful restoration of these comprehensive, high quality digital datasets obviates the need to resurvey the entire country, thereby saving considerable time and money. These data were delivered to GEOSURV in a standard format for further analysis and interpretation. A parallel effort by GETECH concentrated on recovering the legacy gravity data from the original field data sheets archived by IPC (Iraq Petroleum Company). These data have been compiled with more recent GEOSURV sponsored surveys thus allowing for the first time a comprehensive digital and unified national gravity database to be constructed with full principal facts. Figure 1 shows the final aeromagnetic and gravity data coverage of Iraq. The only part of Iraq lacking gravity and aeromagnetic data coverage is the mountainous areas of the Kurdish region of northeastern Iraq. Joint interpretation of the magnetic and gravity data will help guide future geophysical investigations by GEOSURV, whose ultimate aim is to discover economical mineral and energy resources.

SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts↗