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J. D. Larson

Publications and source records attributed to J. D. Larson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2002

Water-quality and aquatic-community characteristics of selected reaches of the St. Croix River, Minnesota and Wisconsin, 2000

Synoptic sampling was used to determine chemical and biological characteristics of the St. Croix River within a study reach that extended from near Danbury, Wisconsin to the confluence with the Mississippi River at Prescott, Wisconsin. The study was conducted August 7- September 25, 2000 during summer low flow. Dissolved-residue concentrations were found to increase gradually as the river flows downstream, with an abrupt increase downstream of the confluence with the Sunrise River that was primarily attributed to an increase in calcium and magnesium. Dissolved residue concentrations were further augmented by increased yields of chloride and sulfate in the part of the St. Croix Basin between Nevers Dam near St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin and Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. Nearly all of the nitrogen in transport was in the form of nitrate and organic nitrogen. Organic nitrogen, mainly in particulate form, accounted for most of the gain in total nitrogen load within the study reach. Nitrogen loading to the mainstem indicated relatively uniform nitrogen inputs from the Clam River, Kettle River, and Snake River watersheds. The rate of nitrogen load accrual increased downstream of the confluence with the Sunrise River and in the subreach extending from Nevers Dam through St. Croix Falls to Franconia, Minnesota. Nitrogen load also increased, primarily because of nitrate input, in the part of Lake St. Croix downstream of the confluence with the Kinnickinnic River. Total phosphorus concentrations and loads reflected variations in the amount of particulate phosphorus in transport. Phosphorus loading increased in the part of the St. Croix River that includes Danbury and the confluences of the Yellow River and Clam River. Phosphorus loading also increased downstream of the confluence with the Sunrise River, but the greatest load increase occurred between Nevers Dam and Franconia. Phosphorus load decreased substantially as the river flowed through the pooled reach of Lake St. Croix downstream of Stillwater. Suspended-sediment concentrations were low, ranging from 4.0 to 36 milligrams per liter. The small amount of sediment in transport was reflected in turbidity measurements that ranged from 0.5 to 3.6 Nephelometry Turbidity Units, and transparency tube measurements that were greater than 60 centimeters at all sites. Biological measures of resource quality change in the St. Croix River along its course from Danbury to Prescott. Changes in the biological indicators of resource quality (fish and invertebrate community composition) are most notable just upstream and downstream of the dam at St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. Aquatic communities in the upper St. Croix River, from near Danbury to near Rush City, Minnesota, indicate minimal physical and chemical disturbance as evidenced by relatively high taxa richness and greater proportions of taxa intolerant to physical and chemical disturbance. In contrast, aquatic communities downstream of the Sunrise River to Marine on St. Croix indicate both physical and chemical disturbance. Resource monitoring, consisting of short-term diagnostic studies, may be needed in parts of the St. Croix River mainstem and tributaries where results from this study indicate constituent loading is greatest and where the aquatic community composition indicates disturbance. Longer-term trend monitoring may be needed to detect physical, chemical and biological responses to natural processes and human activities in the St. Croix River Basin.

Minnesota, Wisconsin↗
USGS1985

Selected hydrologic data for the Powell River basin in Wise County, Virginia

Evaluation of selected surface-water, ground-water, and water-quality data shows that hydrologic data collected by governmental agencies comprises less than 10 percent of the total data available in the Powell River basin, Virginia. Only a small portion of the hydrologic data for the basin has been compiled and stored by Federal and state agencies in two computerized hydrologic indexing systems (National Water Data Exchange and Commonwealth Data Base). Selected ground-water, surface-water, and water-quality data collected in the Powell River Basin in Wise County, Virginia are summarized. The data are obtained from three coal-mining companies, the Virginia State Water Control Board, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Water-quality data for 61 ground-water and 86 surface-water sites indicate elevated iron and manganese concentrations are present throughout the basin. A bibliography of available hydrologic reports on the area and selected pertinent hydrologic reports from other coal-producing areas is present. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1985

Summary of northern Atlantic Coastal Plain hydrology and its relation to disposal of high-level radioactive waste in buried crystalline rock – A preliminary appraisal

Interpretation of available hydrologic data suggests that some areas beneath the Coastal Plain in the States of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Virginia might have some potential for the disposal of nuclear waste in crystalline rock that is buried beneath the Coastal Plain sediments. The areas of major interest occur where the top of the basement rock lies between 1,000 and 4,000 feet below sea level, the aquifer(s) immediately above the basement rock are saturated with saline water, confining material overlies the saline water bearing aquifer(s), and groundwater flow in the saline water aquifer(s) can be established. Preliminary data on (1) the distribution and thickness of the lowermost aquifers and confining beds, (2) the distribution of hydraulic conductivity in the lowermost aquifers, (3) estimated hydraulic heads and inferred direction of lateral groundwater flow for 1980, and (4) the distribution of saline water and brine, indicate eastern parts of the study area relatively best meet most of the criteria proposed for sediments that would overlie any potential buried crystalline-rock disposal site.

Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Vi↗
USGS1982

An index of geophysical well logging in Virginia by the U.S. Geological Survey

Geophysical logs have been obtained in more than 170 wells in Virginia by the U.S. Geological Survey since 1968. These logs include natural gamma, electric, caliper, temperature, fluid conductivity, and fluid velocity. Most of the logs are for wells in the Coastal Plain Province of eastern Virginia. Geophysical logs aid in the interpretation of properties of earth materials, including the capacity to store and transmit water in the immediate vicinity of the well bore.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1978

Hydrogeology of the observation well site at the United States Geological Survey National Center, Reston, Virginia

The U. S. Geological Survey's National Center is on a 105-acre tract straddling rocks of two distinct types. These are pelitic schists of late Precambrian and early Paleozoic age; and sandstone, shale, siltstone, and conglomerate of Triassic age. Within the Triassic part is a diabase dike and an associated contact metamorphic zone. Two observation wells and two core holes were drilled on the part of the property underlain by Triassic rocks. The wells are 10-inch and 8-inch diameter and were drilled to depths of 165 feet and 205 feet. The wells were drilled to monitor water levels, for equipment testing, and to determine the hydraulic properties of the Triassic rocks. Geophysical logs were run, and good correlations were found between the electric and caliper logs and the lithologic logs prepared from drill cuttings and cores. An aquifer test was made and was analyzed by the Theis method which considers nonleaky artesian conditions and the Streltsova method which considers flow in fractured rocks. The test results suggest that transmissivity of the sandstone aquifer is about 40 ft2/day. Flowmeter surveys showed that the water comes from two thin zones parallel to the bedding. The flowmeter surveys, core samples, and geophysical logs suggest that the Triassic sandstone is a fractured-rock aquifer. Water is probably derived from partings and joints parallel to bedding which in turn are fed by vertical joints and fractures. A water sample taken at the close of the aquifer test indicates that the water has a low dissolved solids content, is soft, and is generally of excellent quality.

Virginia↗
USGS1978

Chemical quality of ground water in Fairfax County, Virginia

Two maps portray the chemical quality of ground water in Fairfax County, Virginia. One map shows dissolved-solids concentration and chemical analyses diagrams. The other indicates hardness and areas of marginal water quality. Three tables of chemical analysis representing the three distinct rock types in the county are presented also. (Woodard-USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1978

Chemical composition of streams during low flow; Fairfax County, Virginia

Water samples were collected and stream discharges were measured at 49 sites in Fairfax County, Virginia during a period of low flow in August 1977. In addition, pesticide and metal content of residue on stream-bottom sediments from several major streams in the county were analysed. Waters from the streams in Fairfax County have generally good chemical quality during low flow. One stream in Vienna, Virginia has a high sodium chloride content, suggesting an upstream discharge of salty water. Higher concentrations of dissolved, solids reflect both the effects of geology and urbanization. Streams draining Triassic rocks in the western section of the county are characterized by the greatest natural concentration of dissolved minerals in the water. The concentrations of pesticide and metal residue associated with bottom sediments suggest a low level of pollution in the streams. One site in western Fairfax County contained above-normal levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) in the stream sediments.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1976

Preliminary appraisal of ground water in the Franconia area, Virginia

A brief study of ground-water conditions in the Franconia, Virginia area was made using available data and rapid reconnaissance techniques: (1) to select optimum sites for water wells (2) to identify regionally favorable sites for recharge pits or surface-retention ponds for the disposal of excess storm-water runoff. The principal sources of ground water in the Franconia area are narrow elongate sand lenses within the Coastal Plain. The subsurface distribution of these sand lenses is unknown due to the lack of deep test drilling. However, a previous study of surface exposures suggests that the lenses are elongate in an east-west direction. Measurements of base flow and specific conductance of water in the small streams in the area were used to delineate sites most likely to be underlain by the sand lenses. A water-table contour map and shallow sub-surface geologic map can be used for preliminary selection of sites for recharge pits and retention ponds.

Virginia↗
USGS1976

Effect of irrigation pumping on desert pupfish habitats in the Ash Meadows, Nye County, Nevada

The Ash Meadows area, at the southern tip of the Amargosa Desert in southern Nevada, discharges ground water collected over several thousand square miles of a regional flow system developed in Paleozoic carbonate rocks. Water moves westward across fault contacts from the bedrock into poorly interconnected gravel, sand, and terrestrial-limestone aquifers in the upper few hundred feet of the basin sediments at Ash Meadows. A small pool in Devils Hole, which is a collapse depression in Cambrian limestone, and numerous springs in the adjacent desert valley contain rare fish species of the genus Cyprinodon, faunal remnants of Pleistocene lakes. The Devils Hole pupfish, C. diabolis, is the most endangered of the several surviving species that have evolved since the post-pluvial isolation of their ancestors. This population feeds and reproduces on a slightly submerged rock ledge. Recent irrigation pumping has nearly exposed this ledge. Correlation of pumping histories with the stage in Devils Hole allows identification of several wells that affect the pool level most severly. Some springs that are habitats for other species of Cyprinodon have reduced discharge because of pumping. Hydraulic testing, long-term water-level monitoring, water quality, and geologic evidence aid in defining the principal flow paths and hydraulic interconnections in the Ash Meadows area. (Woodard-USGS)

Professional Paper↗
USGS1974

Water-resources data collected in the Devils Hole area, Nevada, 1973-74

The U.S. Geological Survey collected water-level, spring-flow, and power-consumption data in the Devils Hole area from July 1973 through June 1974. The work for this second annual data report was financed by the National Park Service. The work for the first annual, report (Larson, 1974) was financed jointly by the U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and the U.S. Geological Survey. Continuous recorders were used to monitor water levels in Devils Hole, two observation wells, and the flow from four springs. Also, monthly readings were made on two wells to help define a general trend of ground-water levels. Also, monthly meter readings of six electrically powered irrigation wells provided a record of power consumption, which in turn is a measure of the amount of water pumped. The purpose of the work is to observe the effects of groundwater withdrawals for irrigation on the level in Devils Hole and the flow from the major springs in the area. The pool in Devis Hole, which is a collapsed fault structure, is the only known native habitat of desert pupfish, Cyprinodon diabolis.

Nevada↗