Geology topics

Research about Columbia Plateau

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Columbia Plateau.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2020

Disentangling the effects of multiple fires on spatially interspersed sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) communities

Questions Relative to a landscape with a mosaic of two sagebrush community types and increasing fire frequency, we asked: (a) do vegetation characteristics vary significantly with number of times burned for each sagebrush community; (b) how do vegetation responses to different fire frequencies compare between the two sagebrush communities? Location Columbia Plateau Ecoregion, Washington, USA. Methods We sampled vegetation across a landscape that burned three times over a 10‐year period in two sagebrush community types that are interspersed on unique land forms: big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata ) communities that occur on small “mounds” and scabland sagebrush ( A. rigida ) communities that occur on surrounding “flats.” Spatially overlapping fires permitted a balanced sampling design to assess unburned and once‐, twice‐, and thrice‐burned locations for each land form/community type. We utilized a suite of statistical analyses to determine differences among plant functional groups and biomass among unburned/burned strata by land form and compared results between land forms. Results Big sagebrush and scabland sagebrush communities responded uniquely to multiple fires, due to different fuel loadings, fire severities, succession and invasion dynamics. Big sagebrush experienced nearly complete shrub loss and conversion from exotic‐invaded shrubland to exotic annual grassland after only one fire. In contrast, scabland sagebrush retained a minor shrub component and higher relative cover of native herbaceous species, even after three fires. Both communities retained cover of native perennial grasses, including shallow‐ and deep‐rooted species, likely reflecting decreasing fire intensity with number of times burned. Conclusions Despite different community‐level responses, increasing fire frequency is transforming the entire landscape to a non‐native/native grassland mix. Quantifying unique ecosystem responses to altered wildfire regimes is critical to understanding the relative resilience of communities to disturbance and their resistance to exotic species invasion (and community type conversion). Management actions may help to maintain spatial heterogeneity of ecosystems and fire‐tolerant native species.

Washington↗

USGS2016

Are the Columbia River Basalts, Columbia Plateau, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, USA, a viable geothermal target? A preliminary analysis

The successful development of a geothermal electric power generation facility relies on (1) the identification of sufficiently high temperatures at an economically viable depth and (2) the existence of or potential to create and maintain a permeable zone (permeability >10 -14 m 2 ) of sufficient size to allow efficient long-term extraction of heat from the reservoir host rock. If both occur at depth under the Columbia Plateau, development of geothermal resources there has the potential to expand both the magnitude and spatial extent of geothermal energy production. However, a number of scientific and technical issues must be resolved in order to evaluate the likelihood that the Columbia River Basalts, or deeper geologic units under the Columbia Plateau, are viable geothermal targets. Recent research has demonstrated that heat flow beneath the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System may be higher than previously measured in relatively shallow (<600 m depth) wells, indicating that sufficient temperatures for electricity generation occur at depths 5 km. The remaining consideration is evaluating the likelihood that naturally high permeability exists, or that it is possible to replicate the high average permeability (approximately 10 -14 to 10 -12 m 2 ) characteristic of natural hydrothermal reservoirs. From a hydraulic perspective, Columbia River Basalts are typically divided into dense, impermeable flow interiors and interflow zones comprising the top of one flow, the bottom of the overlying flow, and any sedimentary interbed. Interflow zones are highly variable in texture but, at depths <600 m, some of them form highly permeable regional aquifers with connectivity over many tens of kilometers. Below depths of ~600 m, permeability reduction occurs in many interflow zones, caused by the formation of low-temperature hydrothermal alteration minerals (corresponding to temperatures above ~35 °C). However, some high permeability (>10-14 m 2 ) interflows are documented at depths up to ~1,400 m. If the elevated permeability in these zones persists to greater depths, they may provide natural permeability of sufficient magnitude to allow their exploitation as conventional geothermal reservoirs. Alternatively, if the permeability in these interflow zones is less than 10-14 m 2 at depth, it may be possible to use hydraulic and thermal stimulation to enhance the permeability of both the interflow zones and the natural jointing within the low-permeability interior portions of individual basalt flows in order to develop Enhanced/Engineered Geothermal System (EGS) reservoirs. The key challenge for an improved Columbia Plateau geothermal assessment is acquiring and interpreting comprehensive field data that can provide quantitative constraints on the recovery of heat from the Columbia River Basalts at depths greater than those currently tested by deep boreholes.

Idaho, Oregon, Washington↗

USGS2015

Groundwater resources of the Columbia Plateau regional aquifer system

The Columbia Plateau is a wide basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains that covers parts of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The climate over much of the Columbia Plateau is semiarid with precipitation ranging from 7 to 15 in/yr in the central part (Vaccaro and others, 2015), yet the area supports a $6 billion per year agricultural industry, including the production of apples, corn, grapes, hops, mint, potatoes, stone fruit, and wheat. Groundwater pumpage and surface-water diversions supply water to irrigated croplands that account for about 5 percent of the Nation’s irrigated lands. Groundwater also is the primary source of drinking water for about 1.3 million people living on the plateau.

Washington↗

USGS2014

Demographics of piscivorous colonial waterbirds and management implications for ESA-listed salmonids on the Columbia Plateau

We investigated colony size, productivity, and limiting factors for five piscivorous waterbird species nesting at 18 locations on the Columbia Plateau (Washington) during 2004–2010 with emphasis on species with a history of salmonid ( Oncorhynchus spp.) depredation. Numbers of nesting Caspian terns ( Hydroprogne caspia ) and double-crested cormorants ( Phalacrocorax auritus ) were stable at about 700–1,000 breeding pairs at five colonies and about 1,200–1,500 breeding pairs at four colonies, respectively. Numbers of American white pelicans ( Pelecanus erythrorhynchos ) increased at Badger Island, the sole breeding colony for the species on the Columbia Plateau, from about 900 individuals in 2007 to over 2,000 individuals in 2010. Overall numbers of breeding California gulls ( Larus californicus ) and ring-billed gulls ( L. delawarensis ) declined during the study, mostly because of the abandonment of a large colony in the mid-Columbia River. Three gull colonies below the confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers increased substantially, however. Factors that may limit colony size and productivity for piscivorous waterbirds nesting on the Columbia Plateau included availability of suitable nesting habitat, interspecific competition for nest sites, predation, gull kleptoparasitism, food availability, and human disturbance. Based on observed population trends alone, there is little reason to project increased impacts to juvenile salmonid survival from tern and cormorant populations. Additional monitoring and evaluation may be warranted to assess future impacts of the growing Badger Island American white pelican colony and those gull colonies located near mainstem dams or associated with Caspian tern colonies where kleptoparasitism is common.

Columbia Plateau↗

USGS1996

Age of ground water in basalt aquifers near Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery, Skamania County, Washington

Water samples from four springs and five wells in basalt aquifers near Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery in Skamania County, Washington, were collected and analyzed for selected inorganic ions and stable isotopes. Eight samples were analyzed for carbon-14 (14C), carbon-13 ([3C), and either chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or tritium. This work was done to estimate the age (residence time, or time elapsed since recharge) of water issuing from springs at the hatchery. If CFCs are present in ground water, the presence of at least a component of modem (post- 1944) water is indicated. CFC-dating suggests that ground water several hundred feet below land surface in the Underwood Heights area noah of the hatchery, including ground water discharging from the hatchery springs, contains modem water. In contrast, CFC-dating suggests that deeper ground water such as that withdrawn from the Hatchery Well may contain little or no modem water. Concentrations of 14C in water can yield 14C-based ground-water ages, termed 14C-model ages. Unadjusted 14C-model ages (14C-model ages unadjusted for carbon mass transfers) for water discharging from the hatchery springs are on the order of several hundred years. Ground-water samples from three wells in the Underwood Heights area yielded 14C-model ages ranging from modem to several hundred years. Unadjusted 14C-model ages for deep ground water pumped by the Hatchery Well indicate an overall age of several thousand years. However, 14C concentrations may be affected by transfers of carbon into and out of solution. The 13C values of the downgradient ground waters ranged from - 16.4 (per mil) to -18.2 per rail, isotopically heavier than expected for ground water that obtains carbon solely from root respiration in a temperate climate and undergoes no subsequent carbon-isotope fractionation or exchange. Such 13C values in the ground water near the hatchery suggest the possibility of carbon mass transfers during the evolution of these waters. Geochemical mass-transfer modeling suggests that carbon dioxide may degas and calcite may dissolve during the evolution of the modeled ground waters, but that degassing of carbon dioxide is the dominant carbon mass transfer in these ground waters. In addition, modeling results also suggest that, although some calcite may dissolve during the evolution of the water produced by the Hatchery Well, and possibly during the evolution of the shallower ground waters, the amount of calcite dissolution is small. Model testing suggests that the quantity of 14C-dead carbon added from calcite dissolution may not be sufficient to greatly affect the 14C-model ages of these ground waters. In other words, the 14C-model ages that were adjusted for various modeled carbon mass transfers are similar to the unadjusted 14C-model ages. A comparison of CFC data with both adjusted and unadjusted 14C data suggests that water discharging at the hatchery springs contains a mixture of modem and old water, where old water is defined as water recharged prior to 1944. The CFC data support a component of modem water, whereas the 14C data suggest a component of old water. Similar results were obtained from a comparison of CFC data with adjusted and unadjusted 14C data for water collected from Well 3. Well 3 is north of the hatchery springs, on a flow path that appears to be parallel to and similar in length to the flow path leading to the hatchery springs. Water from the Hatchery Well, however, may be devoid of modem water and appears to have an overall age on the order of thousands of years.

Washington↗

USGS1992

Ground-water pumpage from the Columbia Plateau, Washington and Oregon, 1945 to 1984

No abstract available.

Oregon, Washington↗

USGS1991

Use of Landsat imagery to estimate ground-water pumpage for irrigation on the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington, 1985

A method for estimating ground-water pumpage for irrigation was developed for the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington. The method combines water-application rates estimated from pumpage data with acreage of irrigated crops that was mapped by using Landsat imagery. The study area consisted of Grant, Lincoln, Adams, and Franklin Counties, an area of approximately 8,900 square miles, and accounts for approximately three-fourths of the ground-water pumpage in the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington. Data from two passes of Landsat's multispectral scanner were analyzed by using a spectral band ratioing procedure to map irrigated crops for the study area. Data from one pass of Landsat's thematic mapper, covering approximately two-thirds of the study area, also were analyzed for determining irrigated crops in the area resulting in a 6-percent improvement in accuracy over the multispectral scanner analysis. A total of 576 annual water-application rates associated with particular crops, for the 1982 through 1985 seasons, were calculated. A regression equation was developed for estimating annual water-application rates as a function of crop type, annual precipitation, irrigation system type, and available water capacity of the soil. Crops were grouped into three water-use categories: (1) small grains, primarily wheat and barley; (2) high water-use crops consisting of corn, alfalfa, and potatoes; and (3) miscellaneous vegetable and row crops. Annual water-application rates, expressed as a depth of water, then were multiplied by irrigated area determined by Landsat to estimate a volume of water pumped for irrigation for 1985-620,000 acre-feet. An assessment of accuracy for estimating pumpage for 28 of the sites showed that total predicted pumpage was within 4 percent of the total observed pumpage.

Washington↗

USGS1989

Ground-water levels, spring 1985, and ground-water level changes, spring 1983 to spring 1985, in three basalt units underlying the Columbia Plateau, Washington and Oregon

Groundwater level contour maps for three basalt units of the Columbia Plateau regional aquifer system were constructed by using water levels measured in 1,105 wells during 1985. These measurements then were compared with similar measurements from spring 1983 to assess the changes in groundwater levels over the 2-year period for each of the basalt units. Configuration of the groundwater contours and water level changes reflect (1) recharge and discharge; (2) hydraulic conductivity; (3) use of imported surface water for irrigation; and (4) pumpage of groundwater. The movement of groundwater within each basalt unit is controlled mainly by the major rivers, streams, and coulees, whereas variations in flow directions between units are related to the occurrence, extent, and hydraulic conductivity of the basalt units and sedimentary interbeds and to differences in the amounts of recharge to each unit.

Oregon, Washington↗

USGS1986

Occurrence of dissolved sodium in ground waters in basalts underlying the Columbia Plateau, Washington

Basalt aquifers of the Columbia River Basalt Group are a principal source of water for agricultural, domestic, and municipal use. Concern has been expressed in this agriculture-dependent region about problems associated with the use of groundwaters with a high sodium concentration relative to the calcium and magnesium content (high sodium-adsorption ratio). Continued irrigation with such waters can reduce soil permeability to the degree that water cannot effectively reach plant roots. Groundwaters within a flow path evolved from a calcium magnesium bicarbonate type in shallow and upgradient locations to a sodium potassium bicarbonate type in deeper and downgradient locations. Most of the intermediate and high sodium adsorption ratio values were observed in discharge areas near major streams and in pumping centers within the central part of the plateau. Ninety-six percent of the groundwaters sampled had a low sodium absorption ratio, indicating that, for irrigation purposes, there is probably little danger of harmful levels of exchangeable sodium occurring on soil. However, water from 18 of 418 wells sampled had a sodium absorption ratio grater than 8.0 and were classified as having a medium, high, or very high sodium hazard.

Idaho, Washington↗

USGS1974

Presentation and interpretation of chemical data for igneous rocks

Arguments are made in favor of using variation diagrams to plot analyses of igneous rocks and their derivatives and modeling differentiation processes by least-squares mixing procedures. These methods permit study of magmatic differentiation and related processes in terms of all of the chemical data available. Data are presented as they are reported by the chemist and specific processes may be modeled and either quantitatively described or rejected as inappropriate or too simple. Examples are given of the differing interpretations that can arise when data are plotted on an AEM ternary vs. the same data on a full set of MgO variation diagrams. Mixing procedures are illustrated with reference to basaltic lavas from the Columbia Plateau.

Idaho, Washington, Oregon↗