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Geology topics

K. Michael Nolan

Publications and source records attributed to K. Michael Nolan.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2005

Introduction to suspended-sediment sampling

Knowledge of the amount and timing of sediment transport in streams is important to those directly or indirectly responsible for developing and managing water and land resources. Such data are often used to judge the health of watershed and the success or failure of activities designed to mitigate adverse impacts of sediment on streams and stream habitats. This training class presents an introduction to methods currently used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to sample suspended-sediment concentrations in streams. The presentation is narrated, but you control the pace of the presentation. If the computer you are using can view 'MPEG' videos you will be able to take advantage of videos interspersed in the presentation. A test, found at the end of the presentation, can be taken to assess how well you understood the training material. The class, which is registered as class SW4416 with the National Training Center of the USGS, should take two or three hours to complete. In order to use the presentation provided via this Web page, you will need to download a large disc images (linked below) and 'burn' it to a blank CD-ROM using a CD-ROM recorder on your computer. The presentation will only run on a Windows-based personal computer (PC). The presentation was developed using Macromedia Director MX 20041 and is contained in the file 'SIR05-5077.exe' which should autolaunch. If it does not, the presentation can be started by double-clicking on the file name. A sound card and speakers are necessary to take advantage of narrations that accompany the presentation. Text of narrations is provided, if you are unable to listen to narrations. Instructions for installing and running the presentation are included in the file 'Tutorial.htm', which is on the CD. 1 Registered Trademark: Macromedia Incorporated

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2003

Levels at streamflow gaging stations--A CD-ROM based training class

Streamgages record the elevation of the water surface above some reference surface, or datum. This datum is assumed to remain unchanged throughout the life of the gage. However, the elevation of gages and their supporting structures often change over time as a result of earthmovement, floods, ice, and debris. The surveying practice of leveling is used to establish datum for new gage structures and to check for vertical movement of those structures over time. Vertical changes in gage structures can affect stage-discharge relations and, thus, could result in incorrect discharge determinations. Datum checks are used to correct stage-discharge relations and allow the USGS to document gage datum throughout the life of a gage. This training presentation describes methods currently used by the U.S. Geological Survey to run levels at gaging stations. The presentation is narrated, but you control the pace of the presentation. If the computer you are using can view 'MPEG' videos you will be able to take advantage of videos found within the presentation. A test, found at the end of the presentation, can be taken to assess how well you understood the training material. The class is registered as class SW1307 with the National Training Center of the U.S. Geologcial Survey. The presentation was developed using Macromedia Director 8.5(1) and is contained in the file 'WRI-4002.exe', which should auto-launch after the CD-ROM is inserted in the PC. The program only runs on a windows-based personal computer (PC). A sound card and speakers are necessary to take advantage of the narration that accompanies the presentation. Text of narrations is provided, if you are unable to listen to the narrations. Instructions for installing and running the presentation are included in the file ' Intro.html'. The file 'Intro.html' is on the CD-ROM containing the presentation and is available from the presentation's help menu.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2000

Measurement of stream discharge by wading

Most years the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) makes over 50,000 stream discharge measurements. Over 75 percent of those measurements are made by wading streams and using the velocity-area method. This PowerPoint presentation describes how stream discharge should be measured when wading and using the velocity-area method. It is intended as a learning and reference tool for anyone responsible for making wading discharge measurements.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2000

Stream Discharge Measurements From Cableways

Cableways have been used for decades as a platform for making stream discharge measurements. Use of cableways eliminates the need to expose personnel to hazards associated with working from highway bridges. In addition, cableways allow sites to be selected that offer the best possible hydraulic characteristics for measuring stream discharge. This training presentation describes methods currently used by the U.S. Geological Survey to make stream discharge measurements from cableways.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1985

Post-Eruption Changes in Channel Geometry of Streams in the Toutle River Drainage Basin, 1980-82, Mount St. Helens, Washington

The May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, generated a debris avalanche, lateral blast, lahars, and tephra deposits that altered mainstem and tributary channels within the Toutle River drainage basin. Channel cross sections were monumented and surveyed on North Fork Toutle River and its tributaries, on South Fork Toutle River, on Green River, and on Toutle River in 1980 and 1981. These streams drain the north and west flanks of the volcano. The network of channel cross sections was surveyed more frequently following periods of higher flow. The repetitive cross-section surveys provide measurements of bank erosion or accretion and of channel erosion or aggradation. These data can be used to determine erosion rates, and to identify sources and storage sites of sediment in sediment budget computations. This report presents channel cross-section profiles constructed from the survey data collected during water years 1980 through 1982.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1978

Mass movement and storms in the drainage basin of Redwood Creek, Humboldt County, California — A progress report

Numerous active landslides are clearly significant contributors to high sediment loads in the Redwood Creek basin. Field and aerial-photograph inspections indicate that large mass-movement features, such as earthflows and massive streamside debris slides, occur primarily in terrain underlain by unmetamorphosed or slightly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks. These features cannot account for stream sediment derived from schist. Observed lithologic heterogeneity of stream sediment therefore suggests that large-scale mass movement is only one part of a complex suite of processes supplying sediment to streams in this basin. Other significant sediment contributors include various forms of fluvial erosion and small-scale discrete mass failures, particularly on oversteepened hillslopes adjacent to perennial streams. Photo-interpretive studies of landslide and timber-harvest history adjacent to Redwood Creek, together with analysis of regional precipitation and runoff records for six flood-producing storms between 1953 and 1975, indicate that loci and times of significant streamside landsliding are influenced by both local storm intensity and streamside logging. Analysis of rainfall records and historic accounts indicates that the individual storms comprising a late-19th-century series of storms in northwestern California were similar in magnitude and spacing to those of the past 25 years. The recent storms apparently initiated more streamside landslides than comparable earlier storms, which occurred prior to extensive road construction and timber harvest. Field observations and repeated surveys of stake arrays at 10 sites in the basin indicate that earthflows are especially active during prolonged periods of moderate rainfall; but that during brief intense storms, fluvial processes are the dominant erosion mechanism. Stake movement occurs mostly during wet winter months. Spring and summer movement was detected at some moist streamside sites. Surveys of stake arrays in two recently logged areas did not indicate exceptionally rapid rates of movement in three years following timber harvest.

California↗