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At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
USGS2007

The geology of asbestos in the United States and its practical applications

Recently, naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) has drawn the attention of numerous health and regulatory agencies and citizen groups. NOA can be released airborne by (1) the disturbance of asbestos-bearing bedrocks through human activities or natural weathering, and (2) the mining and milling of some mineral deposits in which asbestos occurs as an accessory mineral(s). Because asbestos forms in specific rock types and geologic conditions, this information can be used to focus on areas with the potential to contain asbestos, rather than devoting effort to areas with minimal NOA potential. All asbestos minerals contain magnesium, silica, and water as essential constituents, and some also contain major iron and/or calcium. Predictably, the geologic environments that host asbestos are enriched in these components. Most asbestos deposits form by metasomatic replacement of magnesium-rich rocks. Asbestos-forming environments typically display shear or evidence for a significant influx of silica-rich hydrothermal fluids. Asbestos-forming processes can be driven by regional metamorphism, contact metamorphism, or magmatic hydrothermal systems. Thus, asbestos deposits of all sizes and styles are typically hosted by magnesium-rich rocks (often also iron-rich) that were altered by a metamorphic or magmatic process. Rock types known to host asbestos include serpentinites, altered ultramafic and some mafic rocks, dolomitic marbles and metamorphosed dolostones, metamorphosed iron formations, and alkalic intrusions and carbonatites. Other rock types appear unlikely to contain asbestos. These geologic insights can be used by the mining industry, regulators, land managers, and others to focus attention on the critical locales most likely to contain asbestos.

Environmental & Engineering Geoscience↗
USGS2011

The shallow stratigraphy and sand resources offshore of the Mississippi Barrier Islands

Coastal Mississippi is protected by a series of barrier islands ranging in length from 10-25 kilometers that are less than 2 kilometers wide. The majority of these islands comprise the Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS), an ecologically diverse shoreline that provides habitat for wildlife including migratory birds and endangered animals. The majority of GUIS is submerged, and aquatic environments include dynamic tidal inlets, ebb-tide deltas, and seagrass beds. The islands are in a state of decline, with land areas severely reduced during the past century by storms, sea-level rise, and human alteration. Morton (2008) estimates that since the mid-1800s up to 64 percent of island surface area has been lost. Heavy damage was inflicted in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, which passed by as a Category 3 storm and battered the islands with winds of more than 160 kilometers per hour and a storm surge up to 9 meters. Since 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with the National Park Service, has been mapping the seafloor and substrate around the islands as part of the USGS Northern Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility project. The purpose of these investigations is to characterize the near-surface stratigraphy and identify the influence it may have on island evolution and fate. In 2009, this effort provided the basis for a collaborative effort with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to expand the investigation outside of GUIS boundaries as part of the Mississippi Coastal Improvement Project (MsCIP). The MsCIP program consists of structural, nonstructural, and environmental project elements to restore portions of coastal Mississippi and GUIS affected by storm impact. The project includes the placement of sand along the islands, both on the present beaches and within the littoral zone, to mitigate shoreline erosion and breaching. This action requires the location and assessment of offshore sand or sediment deposits that can provide suitable material for shoreline renourishment. The geophysical and sample information collected by the USGS during geologic investigations provides this information. As part of the MsCIP program, in March 2010 the USGS mapped approximately 300 square kilometers of seafloor around GUIS. Interferometric swath bathymetry, sidescan sonar, and Chirp sub-bottom profiling were used to characterize seafloor elevations, texture, and the underlying stratigraphy. On the basis of this information, potential sediment resources were identified. The most promising offshore deposits for beach restoration include shoals, lowstand valley fill, tidal delta deposits, abandoned barrier deposits, and dredge spoil. Of these, lowstand valley fill deposits and dredge spoil are less desirable; lowstand deposits are buried under a 2- to 4-meter blanket of mud, and dredge spoil volume is small. A relict tidal delta and submerged shoals are the most desirable deposits; the tidal delta contains a large volume of material still exposed on the seafloor, and parts of submerged shoals have modest volume and thin mud cover.

Mississippi↗
USGS2006

Environmental Effects of Agricultural Practices - Summary of Workshop Held on June 14-16, 2005

A meeting between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners was held June 14-16, 2005, in Denver, CO, to discuss science issues and needs related to agricultural practices. The goals of the meeting were to learn about the (1) effects of agricultural practices on the environment and (2) tools for identifying and quantifying those effects. Achieving these goals required defining the environmental concerns, developing scientific actions to address assessment of environmental effects, and creating collaborations to identify future research requirements and technical gaps. Five areas of concern were discussed-emerging compounds; water availability; genetically modified organisms; effects of conservation practices on ecosystems; and data, methods, and tools for assessing effects of agricultural practices.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2016

Seasonal electrical resistivity surveys of a coastal bluff, Barter Island, North Slope Alaska

Select coastal regions of the North Slope of Alaska are experiencing high erosion rates that can be attributed in part to recent warming trends and associated increased storm intensity and frequency. The upper sediment column of the coastal North Slope of Alaska can be described as continuous permafrost underlying a thin (typically less than 1–2 m) active layer that responds variably to seasonal thaw cycles. Assessing the temporal and spatial variability of the active layer and underlying permafrost is essential to better constrain how heightened erosion may impact material fluxes to the atmosphere and the coastal ocean, and how enhanced thaw cycles may impact the stability of the coastal bluffs. In this study, multi-channel electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) was used to image shallow subsurface features of a coastal bluff west of Kaktovik, on Barter Island, northeast Alaska. A comparison of a suite of paired resistivity surveys conducted in early and late summer 2014 provided detailed information on how the active layer and permafrost are impacted during the short Arctic summer. Such results are useful in the development of coastal resilience models that tie together fluvial, terrestrial, climatic, geologic, and oceanographic forcings on shoreline stability.

Alaska↗
USGS1979

National Center tour guide

On behalf of each employee at the Geological Survey's National Center, I [H. William Menard, Director] extend a warm welcome to you during our Centennial Year. We hope that your visit to our headquarters will be a pleasant and rewarding experience. Our scientific research is directed towards helping to solve some of the critical environmental and natural resource problems that face our Nation today. We want you to see some aspects of this work, and we hope you will visit us again. As part of the Federal Government, we are deeply committed to the concept of public service. We are proud to serve you.

Virginia↗
USGS2007

Strategies to predict metal mobility in surficial mining environments

This report presents some strategies to predict metal mobility at mining sites. These strategies are based on chemical, physical, and geochemical information about metals and their interactions with the environment. An overview of conceptual models, metal sources, and relative mobility of metals under different geochemical conditions is presented, followed by a discussion of some important physical and chemical properties of metals that affect their mobility, bioavailability, and toxicity. The physical and chemical properties lead into a discussion of the importance of the chemical speciation of metals. Finally, environmental and geochemical processes and geochemical barriers that affect metal speciation are discussed. Some additional concepts and applications are briefly presented at the end of this report.

Reviews in Engineering Geology↗
USGS1998

Integrated Natural Resource Science Program, San Francisco Bay

The San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary and its watershed have been a focus of intense human activity and environmental impact since 1848 when gold was discovered in the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada mountains. As the estuary and its watershed continue to be changed by human activities, resource managers, environmental regulators, elected officials, and the public seek credible, unbiased scientific information about the factors related to observed changes in order to restore impaired species, habitats and ecological functions.

California↗
USGS2006

Genetics/Genomics Research in the Central Region

Genetics-based research within the Biological Resources Discipline (BRD) Science Centers in the Central Region incorporates many aspects of the field of genetics. Research activities range from documenting patterns of genetic variation in order to investigate relationships among species, populations and individuals to investigating the structure, function and expression of genes and their response to environmental stressors. Research in the broad areas of genetics requires multidisciplinary expertise and specialized equipment and instrumentation. Brief summaries of the capabilities of the five BRD Centers are given below.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2011

Compilation of watershed models for tributaries to the Great Lakes, United States, as of 2010, and identification of watersheds for future modeling for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

As part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) during 2009–10, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) compiled a list of existing watershed models that had been created for tributaries within the United States that drain to the Great Lakes. Established Federal programs that are overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are responsible for most of the existing watershed models for specific tributaries. The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) uses the Large Basin Runoff Model to provide data for the management of water levels in the Great Lakes by estimating United States and Canadian inflows to the Great Lakes from 121 large watersheds. GLERL also simulates streamflows in 34 U.S. watersheds by a grid-based model, the Distributed Large Basin Runoff Model. The NOAA National Weather Service uses the Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting model to predict flows at river forecast sites. The USACE created or funded the creation of models for at least 30 tributaries to the Great Lakes to better understand sediment erosion, transport, and aggradation processes that affect Federal navigation channels and harbors. Many of the USACE hydrologic models have been coupled with hydrodynamic and sediment-transport models that simulate the processes in the stream and harbor near the mouth of the modeled tributary. Some models either have been applied or have the capability of being applied across the entire Great Lakes Basin; they are (1) the SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) model, which was developed by the USGS; (2) the High Impact Targeting (HIT) and Digital Watershed models, which were developed by the Institute of Water Research at Michigan State University; (3) the Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment (L–THIA) model, which was developed by researchers at Purdue University; and (4) the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model, which was developed by the National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. During 2010, the USGS used the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) to create a hydrologic model for the Lake Michigan Basin to assess the probable effects of climate change on future groundwater and surface-water resources. The Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER) model and the Analysis of Flows In Networks of CHannels (AFINCH) program also were used to support USGS GLRI projects that required estimates of streamflows throughout the Great Lakes Basin. This information on existing watershed models, along with an assessment of geologic, soils, and land-use data across the Great Lakes Basin and the identification of problems that exist in selected tributary watersheds that could be addressed by a watershed model, was used to identify three watersheds in the Great Lakes Basin for future modeling by the USGS. These watersheds are the Kalamazoo River Basin in Michigan, the Tonawanda Creek Basin in New York, and the Bad River Basin in Wisconsin. These candidate watersheds have hydrogeologic, land-type, and soil characteristics that make them distinct from each other, but that are representative of other tributary watersheds within the Great Lakes Basin. These similarities in the characteristics among nearby watersheds will enhance the usefulness of a model by improving the likelihood that parameter values from a previously modeled watershed could reliably be used in the creation of a model of another watershed in the same region. The software program Hydrological Simulation Program–Fortran (HSPF) was selected to simulate the hydrologic, sedimentary, and water-quality processes in these selected watersheds. HSPF is a versatile, process-based, continuous-simulation model that has been used extensively by the scientific community, has the ongoing technical support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and USGS, and provides a means to evaluate the effects that land-use changes or management practices might have on the simulated processes.

Great Lakes Basin↗
USGS2014

Characterization of selected bed-sediment-bound organic and inorganic contaminants and toxicity, Barnegat Bay and major tributaries, New Jersey, 2012

A study of bed-sediment toxicity and organic and inorganic contaminants was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). Bed-sediment samples were collected once from 22 sites in Barnegat Bay and selected major tributaries during August–September 2012 and analyzed for toxicity and a suite of organic and inorganic contaminants by the USGS and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Sampling sites were selected to coincide with an existing water-quality monitoring network used by the NJDEP and others in order to evaluate water-quality conditions in Barnegat Bay and the surrounding watershed. Two of the 22 sites are reference sites and are within or adjacent to the study area; bed-sediment samples from reference sites allow for comparisons of results for the Barnegat Bay watershed to results from less affected settings within the region. Toxicity testing was conducted by exposing the estuarine amphipod Leptocheirus plumulosus and the freshwater amphipod Hyalella azteca to sediments for 28 days, and the percent survival, difference in biomass, and individual dry weights were measured. Reproductive effects also were evaluated for estuarine samples. Bed-sediment samples from four sites within Barnegat Bay were subjected to a toxicity identification evaluation to determine probable causes of toxicity. Samples were analyzed for a suite of 94 currently-used pesticides, 21 legacy pesticides, 24 trace elements, 40 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 7 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as Arochlor mixtures, and 145 individual PCB congeners. Concentrations of detected compounds were compared to sediment-quality guidelines, where appropriate.

New Jersey↗
USGS2013

2011 floods of the central United States

The Central United States experienced record-setting flooding during 2011, with floods that extended from headwater streams in the Rocky Mountains, to transboundary rivers in the upper Midwest and Northern Plains, to the deep and wide sand-bedded lower Mississippi River. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of its mission, collected extensive information during and in the aftermath of the 2011 floods to support scientific analysis of the origins and consequences of extreme floods. The information collected for the 2011 floods, combined with decades of past data, enables scientists and engineers from the USGS to provide syntheses and scientific analyses to inform emergency managers, planners, and policy makers about life-safety, economic, and environmental-health issues surrounding flood hazards for the 2011 floods and future floods like it. USGS data, information, and scientific analyses provide context and understanding of the effect of floods on complex societal issues such as ecosystem and human health, flood-plain management, climate-change adaptation, economic security, and the associated policies enacted for mitigation. Among the largest societal questions is "How do we balance agricultural, economic, life-safety, and environmental needs in and along our rivers?" To address this issue, many scientific questions have to be answered including the following: * How do the 2011 weather and flood conditions compare to the past weather and flood conditions and what can we reasonably expect in the future for flood magnitudes? * What is the “natural” hydrology of these watersheds and how have they been changed? * How do rivers change during floods and what effects do they have on the natural and built environment: conversely, what effects do the natural and built environments have on rivers and floods? * Do floods contribute to the transport and fate of contaminants that affect human and ecosystem health? In an effort to help address these and other questions, USGS Professional Paper 1798 consists of independent but complementary chapters dealing with various scientific aspects of the 2011 floods in the Central United States.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1986

An overview of environmental surveillance of waste management activities at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), in southeastern Idaho, is a principal center for nuclear energy development for the Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Nuclear Navy. Fifty-two reactors have been built at the INEL, with 15 still operable. Extensive environmental surveillance is conducted at the INEL by DOE's Radiological Environmental Sciences Laboratory (RESL), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), EG&G Idaho, Inc., and Westinghouse Idaho Nuclear Company (WINCO). Surveillance of waste management facilities radiation is integrated with the overall INEL Site surveillance program. Air, warer, soil, biota, and environmental radiation are monitored or sampled routinely at INEL. Results to date indicate very small or no impacts from INEL on the surrounding environment. Environmental surveillance activities are currently underway to address key environmental issues at the INEL.

Idaho↗
USGS2007

Factors affecting the reproduction, recruitment, habitat, and population dynamics of pallid sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon in the Missouri River

For more than a hundred years, human activities have modified the natural forces that control the Missouri River and its native fish fauna. While the ecological effects of regulation and channel engineering are understood in general, the current understanding is not sufficient to guide river restoration and management. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is in the third year of a multiagency research effort to determine the ecological requirements for reproduction and survival of the endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) and shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorhynchus) in the Missouri River. The multidisciplinary research strategy includes components of behavior, physiology, habitat use, habitat availability, and population modeling of all life stages. Shovelnose sturgeon are used to design the strategy because they are closely related to the pallid sturgeon and are often used as a surrogate species to develop new research tools or to examine the effects of management actions or environmental variables on sturgeon biology and habitat use. During fiscal years 2005 and 2006, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) provided funds to USGS for tasks associated with the Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Program (CSRP) and for tasks associated with evaluation of the Sturgeon Response to Flow Modifications (SRFM). Because work activities of CSRP and SRFM are so integrated, we are providing information on activities that have been consolidated at the task level. These task activities represent chapters in this report.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2007

Project overview: Chapter A in Factors affecting the reproduction, recruitment, habitat, and population dynamics of pallid sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon in the Missouri River

For more than a hundred years, human activities have modified the natural forces that control the Missouri River and its native fish fauna. While the ecological effects of regulation and channel engineering are understood in general, the current understanding is not sufficient to guide river restoration and management. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is in the third year of a multiagency research effort to determine the ecological requirements for reproduction and survival of the endangered pallid sturgeon ( Scaphirhynchus albus ) and shovelnose sturgeon ( Scaphirhynchus platorhynchus ) in the Missouri River. The multidisciplinary research strategy includes components of behavior, physiology, habitat use, habitat availability, and population modeling of all life stages. Shovelnose sturgeon are used to design the strategy because they are closely related to the pallid sturgeon and are often used as a surrogate species to develop new research tools or to examine the effects of management actions or environmental variables on sturgeon biology and habitat use. During fiscal years 2005 and 2006, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) provided funds to USGS for tasks associated with the Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Program (CSRP) and for tasks associated with evaluation of the Sturgeon Response to Flow Modifications (SRFM). Because work activities of CSRP and SRFM are so integrated, we are providing information on activities that have been consolidated at the task level. These task activities represent chapters in this report.

Missouri River↗
USGS1995

Ground-water recharge in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties, Florida

Ground water is a major component of Florida's water resources, accounting for 90 percent of all public-supply and self-supplied domestic water withdrawals, and 58 percent of self-supplied commercial-industrial and agricultural withdrawals of freshwater (Marella, 1992). Ground-water is also an important source of water for streams, lakes, and wetlands in Florida. Because of their importance, a good understanding of these resources is essential for their sound development, use, and protection. One area in which our understanding is lacking is in characterizing the rate at which ground water in aquifers is recharged, and how recharge rates vary geographically. Ground-water recharge (recharge) is the replenishment of ground water by downward infiltration of water from rainfall, streams, and other sources (American Society of Civil Engineers, 1987, p. 222). The recharge rates in many areas of Florida are unknown, of insufficient accuracy, or mapped at scales that are too coarse to be useful. Improved maps of recharge rates will result in improved capabilities for managing Florida's ground-water resources. In 1989, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, began a study to delineate high-rate recharge areas in several regions of Florida (Vecchioli and others, 1990). This study resulted in recharge maps that delineated areas of high (greater than 10 inches per year) and low (0 to 10 inches per year) recharge in three counties--Okaloosa, Pasco, and Volusia Counties--at a scale of 1:100,000. This report describes the results of a similar recharge mapping study for Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties (fig. 1), in which areas of high- and low-rates of recharge to the sand-and-gravel aquifer and Upper Floridan aquifer are delineated. The study was conducted in 1992 and 1993 by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Florida↗
USGS2026

An automated geographic information system-based hydraulic modeling tool for developing preliminary culvert designs for stream crossings in Massachusetts

Introduction Currently (2026), many of the about 25,000 roadway crossing structures over rivers and streams in Massachusetts are undersized. Undersized culverts and bridges can be detrimental to fish and wildlife movement, habitat continuity, and the health of aquatic organisms. Undersized culverts also can lack the resiliency needed to withstand large floods, which could be worsened by potential increases in flood magnitude and frequency due to climate change. Improving culvert and bridge designs for stream crossing projects may improve aquatic organism passage, stream continuity, and resiliency during future floods by decreasing upstream overbank flooding, road flooding and erosion, and degradation of aquatic habitat. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), and University of Massachusetts Amherst began a series of cooperative studies in July 2019 to develop an automated geographic information system (GIS) hydraulic modeling tool for preliminary culvert designs for stream crossings. The USGS plans to provide preliminary culvert designs in the web-based StreamStats application, which enables municipalities and engineers to view potential designs and related information for stream crossing replacement projects in Massachusetts. This application can (a) provide information on hydrology, hydraulics, and ecological conditions at stream crossing sites, (b) provide users with potential culvert designs to improve aquatic organism passage and flood resiliency, and (c) assist MassDEP in implementing the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act regulations for stream crossing projects.

Massachusetts↗
USGS2015

Environmental DNA calibration study interim technical review report December 2014

The Environmental DNA Calibration Study (ECALS) is a multi-year study to improve the understanding and interpretation of the detection of Asian carp DNA in environmental samples (eDNA) used in early detection monitoring. eDNA surveillance programs seek to detect the presence of genetic material (DNA in cells sloughed off in slime, feces, urine, etc.) extracted from water samples; the detection of genetic material is linked to the possible presence of Asian carp. The study involves collaboration between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ECALS addresses three major Action Items from the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework, of which results to date are presented below. Initial ECALS efforts focused on eDNA vectors whereas marker development and calibration experiments received greater attention in 2013.

Report↗
USGS2002

Identification of lithofacies using Kohonen self-organizing maps

Lithofacies identification is a primary task in reservoir characterization. Traditional techniques of lithofacies identification from core data are costly, and it is difficult to extrapolate to non-cored wells. We present a low-cost automated technique using Kohonen self-organizing maps (SOMs) to identify systematically and objectively lithofacies from well log data. SOMs are unsupervised artificial neural networks that map the input space into clusters in a topological form whose organization is related to trends in the input data. A case study used five wells located in Appleton Field, Escambia County, Alabama (Smackover Formation, limestone and dolomite, Oxfordian, Jurassic). A five-input, one-dimensional output approach is employed, assuming the lithofacies are in ascending/descending order with respect to paleoenvironmental energy levels. To consider the possible appearance of new logfacies not seen in training mode, which may potentially appear in test wells, the maximum number of outputs is set to 20 instead of four, the designated number of lithosfacies in the study area. This study found eleven major clusters. The clusters were compared to depositional lithofacies identified by manual core examination. The clusters were ordered by the SOM in a pattern consistent with environmental gradients inferred from core examination: bind/boundstone, grainstone, packstone, and wackestone. This new approach predicted lithofacies identity from well log data with 78.8% accuracy which is more accurate than using a backpropagation neural network (57.3%). The clusters produced by the SOM are ordered with respect to paleoenvironmental energy levels. This energy-related clustering provides geologists and petroleum engineers with valuable geologic information about the logfacies and their interrelationships. This advantage is not obtained in backpropagation neural networks and adaptive resonance theory neural networks. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Computers & Geosciences↗