Geology topics

Paul Robert Jordan

Publications and source records attributed to Paul Robert Jordan.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS1996

Summary of floods in the United States during 1990 and 1991

This volume contains 50 articles describing severe, widespread, or unusual flooding in 28 of the 50 States during 1990 and 1991. Each flood is described to an extent commensurate with its significance and the availability of data on the hydrology and the damages. Each article includes one or more maps showing the general area of flooding. Most articles include tables of data that allow comparison of the described flood with past floods at selected sites.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1995

Surface-water-quality assessment of the lower Kansas River Basin, Kansas and Nebraska: Suspended-sediment conditions, May 1987 through April 1990, and trends, 1963 through April 1990

Median suspended-sediment concentrations ranged from 100 to 110 milligrams per liter for 3 stations on the Kansas River and from 4 to 110 milligrams per liter for 10 stations on tributary streams during May 1987 through April 1990. For tributary stream stations upstream from large reservoirs, concen- trations in the 90th percentile ranged from 240 to 3,200 milligrams per liter. The larger median and 90th-percentile concentrations were associated with high-density irrigated cropland with gradual slopes and nonirrigated cropland with steeper slopes. Smaller median and 90th-percentile concentrations upstream from reservoirs were from areas of little or no row-crop cultivation or areas of substantially less-than-normal precipitation and streamflow. Suspended-sediment concentrations followed a con- sistent seasonal pattern; after accounting for the effect of flow, concentrations were typically smallest during January-February and largest during July-August. Mean annual suspended-sediment transport in the Kansas River from May 1987 through April 1990 increased in the downstream direction from 1,700,000 to 4,100,000 tons per year. Suspended-sediment yields for tributary streams ranged from 17 to 260 tons per square mile per year. Because of abnormal climatic conditions and other factors, no conclusions could be reached con- cerning relations of suspended-sediment transport or yield to natural or human factors. Only one upward and one downward trend in flow-adjusted, suspended-sediment concentrations were statistically significant. The trend-test results could not be explained by data on cropland removed from production or the effect of detention structures.

Kansas, Nebraska↗

USGS1986

Magnitude and frequency of high flows of unregulated streams in Kansas

Information on high-flow magnitude and frequency is needed for hydrologic evaluation of such factors as flood-control storage and dam safety. High-flow information given in this report is for streamflows unaffected by major regulation, such as by large reservoirs. High-flow magnitude and frequency data are given for 91 streamflow-gaging stations throughout Kansas. Results of frequency calculations are given for durations of high flow of 1, 3, 7, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 183 consecutive days. Accuracy of the magnitude-frequency values is influenced by the variability of flow, the number of years of flow record, and the recurrence interval calculated. High-flow magnitude and frequency for ungaged sites can be estimated from regression equations using significant drainage-basin characteristics of contributing-drainage area; 50-year, 24-hour rainfall; and free-water-surface evaporation. Standard errors of estimate for ungaged sites on ungaged streams range from 31 to 49 percent, generally increasing with recurrence interval. If an ungaged site is near a gaging station having 10 or more years of record on the same stream, the data for the gaging station may be used to improve the regression estimates.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1965

Fluvial sediment of the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri

An investigation of the fluvial sediment of the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Mo., was begun in 1948. Most data have been obtained only to determine the daily suspended-sediment discharge and the particle-size distribution of suspended sediment and bed material, but a few data have been obtained to study the flow resistance, the vertical distribution of sediment and velocity, and the bed-material discharge. The flow of the Mississippi River at St. Louis is made up of the flows from the Missouri River, which had an average flow of 79,860 cubic feet per second for 1897-1958 at Hermann, Mo., and from the upper Mississippi River, which had an average flow of 91,890 cubic feet per second for 1928-58 at Alton, Il. The Missouri River is partly controlled by reservoirs that had a total capacity of 90,300,000 acre-feet in 1956, and the upper Mississippi River is partly controlled by lakes and reservoirs that had a total capacity of 4,890,000 acre-feet in 1956. The flows of the Missouri and upper Mississippi Rivers have not become mixed at St. Louis; so the river has a lateral gradient of suspended-sediment concentration. The concentration near the west bank has been as much as 2,400 parts per million greater than the concentration near the east bank. Suspended-sediment discharges from April 1948 to September 1958 ranged from 4,250 to 7,010,000 tons per day and averaged 496,000 tons per day. Mean concentrations for water years decreased steadily from 1,690 parts per million in 1949 to 403 parts per million in 1956, but they increased to 756 parts per million in 1958. Effects of new reservoirs in the Missouri River basin on the concentration have been obscured by the close relation of concentration to streamflow. Measured suspended-sediment discharge through September 1958 averaged 47 percent clay, 38 percent silt, and 15 percent sand. Variations of particle size were due mainly to differences in the source areas of the sediment. Most of the bed material in the main flow was between 0.125 and 1.000 millimeter in diameter. The average of median diameters was related to the discharge for periods of 1 year and longer. Geometric quartile deviations of the bed material ranged from 1.1 to 2.5 and averaged 1.5. The mean elevation of the bed had a range of almost 10 feet and was related to the median diameter of bed material by the regression equation hb=363.0 - 7.8 d50 for which the standard error of estimate was 0.91 foot. The resistance to flow as measured by Manning's n ranged from 0.024 to 0.041 and was related to the discharge and mean velocity but not to the shear velocity. Normal dune height is 2-8 feet, and average dune length is about 250 feet. When the resistance to flow was low, much of the bed was fairly fiat; a few dunes were present, but they were much longer than the average. For a given discharge during individual rises in stage, the gage height was lower for increasing discharge than for decreasing discharge even though the bed elevation was higher. The changes in gage height were not caused by changes in energy gradient due to changing discharge, by channel storage between the gage and the measuring section, nor by return of overbank flow; but they were probably caused by a combination of changes in roughness due to changing bed configuration and of changes in turbulence constant due to changing sediment concentration. Turbulence constants (Von Karman's k) computed from velocity measurements at 5-10 points in the vertical and from routine velocity measurements at 2 points in the vertical averaged 0.35 and 0.33, respectively. The exponent z1 of the vertical distribution of concentration for different size ranges varied with about the 0.77 power of the fall velocity. Except for the difference between the theoretical variation and the actual variation of z1 with changing fall velocity, the theoretical equation for the vertical distribution of sediment concentration seems to apply reasonably well for the Miss

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1964

Chemical quality of surface waters and sedimentation in the Saline River basin, Kansas

This report gives the results of an investigation of the sediment and dissolved minerals that are transported by the Saline River and its tributaries. The Saline River basin is in western and central Kansas; it is long and narrow and covers 3,420 square miles of rolling plains, which is broken in some places by escarpments and small areas of badlands. In the western part the uppermost bedrock consists predominantly of calcareous elastic sedimentary rocks of continental origin of Pliocene age and in most places is covered by eolian deposits of Pleistocene and Recent age. In the central part the ex posed bedrock consists predominantly of calcareous marine sedimentary rocks of Late Cretaceous age. In the eastern part the exposed bedrock consists mainly of noncalcareous continental and littoral elastic sedimentary rocks of Early Cretaceous and Permian age. Fluvial deposits are in the valleys, and eolian materials are present over much of the uplands. Average precipitation increases rather uniformly from about 18 inches per year in the west to almost 28 inches per year in the east. Runoff is not affected by irrigation nor regulated by large structures, but it is closely related to precipitation. Average runoff increases from less than 0.2 inch per year in the west to more than 1.5 inches per year in the east. Aquifers of the flood-plain and terrace deposits and of the Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone are the major sources of ground-water accretion to the streams. In the upper reaches of the Saline River, the water is only slightly mineralized; during the period of record the specific conductance near Wakeeney never exceeded 750 micromhos per centimeter. In the lower reaches, however, the water is slightly mineralized during periods of high flow and is highly mineralized during periods of low flow; the specific conductance near Russell exceeded 1,500 micromhos per centimeter more than 80 percent of the time. Near Russell, near Wilson, and at Tescott the water is of the calcium bicarbonate type when the specific conductance is less than about 1,000 micromhos per centimeter, but it is of the sodium chloride type when the specific conductance is more than about 1,500 micromhos per centimeter. The water is off the calcium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate, or sodium chloride type when the conductance is between 1,000 and 1,500 micromhos per centimeter. Most of the increase in mineralization of the water is caused by inflow of highly mineralized ground water. The ground-water inflow was estimated to be 22 percent of the total streamflow at Tescott in 1948 and 60 percent in 1952. Mineralization increases and water quality deteriorates progressively downstream along nearly the entire Saline River, especially in the part of the area directly underlain by the Dakota Sandstone between the vicinities of Fairport and Wilson: sodium and chloride are the principal constituents of water contributed by the Dakota. The total percentage of the salt in the Saline River that comes from oil-field brines is considered to be small. The water in the upper Saline River is of good quality for domestic use except that it is hard; the water in the lower Saline River is of poor quality for domestic use because most of the time it is highly mineralized, is hard, and contains high concentrations of chloride and sulfate. In the upper reaches of the river, the water is of good quality for irrigation. In the lower reaches, if the water were impounded in a reservoir, it would be of good quality for irrigation during years of high flow and of very poor quality during years of low flow. The water in the lower reaches is of poor quality for industrial use because it is highly mineralized most of the tinge. Relations of suspended-sediment discharge to water discharge were used with the long-term streamflow duration curves to compute the long-term aver age suspended-sediment discharges and concentrations at five indications. Sediment discharge is closely related to runoff. S

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1964

Chemical quality of surface waters, and sedimentation in the Grand River drainage basin, North and South Dakota

An investigation of the chemical quality of surface waters and of the sedimentation in the Grand River drainage basin by the U.S. Geological Survey began in 1946. The chemical quality of the water was studied to obtain information on the nature and amounts of dissolved solids in the streams and on the suitability of the water for domestic, industrial, and irrigation uses. Sedimentation was studied to determine the quantity of sediment that is transported by the streams, the particle sizes of the sediment, and the probable specific weight of the sediment when deposited in a reservoir. The basin is underlain by consolidated sedimentary rocks of Cretaceous and Tertiary age; along the Grand River and its tributaries thefe rocks are mantled by alluvium of Quaternary age. The Hell Creek and Fort Union Formations underlie about 4,700 of the 5,680 square miles of drainage area. The climate of the basin is semiarid and is characterized by tot summers and cold winters. Mean annual runoff is about 53 acre-feet per square mile of drainage area and is equal to about 7 percent of the mean annual precipitation. The highest streamflows on the Grand River and major- tributaries are caused by melting of snow in March and April. Streamflow is extremely variable from year to year. Most of the surface waters in the basin are of the sodium sulfate or sodium bicarbonate type. High percent sodium is typical of almost all the surface water's. The streamflow-quality patterns of the Grand River and its two forks are very similar; dissolved-solids concentration, which usually c'oes not exceed 3,000 ppm, is maximum during low-flow periods. The water in Shadehill Reservoir became stratified during the flood inflow of 1952; about 75 percent of the flood water, which was of good qutlity, passed through the reservoir. The quality of the water became almost uniform throughout the reservoir the latter part of July 1952. After the specific conductance became relatively stable in 1956, it fluctuated from abrut 1,300 to 1,600 micromhos per centimeter and was between 1,400 and 1,500 rnicromhos per centimeter most of the time. During the representative period July 1937 to June 1950 the quantity of dissolved solids passing the station near Wakpala was estimated to have been about 140,000 tons per year. Yields computed for different parts of the basin ranged from about 22 to 32 tons per square mile. Except for sulfate, concentrations of chemical constituents usually do not exceed the maximum concentrations recommended for domestic supplies. The rather high dissolved solids and hardness of most of the surface waters prevent the use of these waters for most industrial purposes unless the quality is improved by treatment. Classified for irrigation use according to its specific conductance and sodiumadsorption-ratio, the water stored in Shadehill Reservoir has a high salinity hazard and a medium sodium hazard. The water can be used safely forsustained irrigation on soils of the proposed irrigation unit if adequate teaching is practiced and if gypsum or some other calcium compound is added to the water or land during the high sodium cycle.

North Dakota, South Dakota↗

USGS1958

Fluvial sediment in Whitehead watershed and Whitehead reservoirs, Nebraska, April 1955 to September 1956

This report gives information on the physical characteristics of Whitehead Watershed and on the characteristics of the suspended sediment transported into and discharged from the reservoirs. Selected periods of significant runoff and outflow from April 1955 to September 1956 are discussed. Particle-size distribution of inflow and outflow samples indicates that all the sand entering reservoir 1 is trapped and that most of the sand entering reservoir 2 is trapped. Results of chemical analyses of water samples and a comparison of suspended-sediment size analyses in native water and in distilled water with dispersing agent indicate that significant sediment flocculation may occur in the reservoirs.

Circular↗