USGS Science⌕ Search

SEARCH · USGS Science

Results for “Economic Geology”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,801 records · Page 100Linked to original sources
USGS2009

A national look at carbon capture and storage-National carbon sequestration database and geographical information system (NatCarb)

The US Department of Energy's Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) are responsible for generating geospatial data for the maps displayed in the Carbon Sequestration Atlas of the United States and Canada. Key geospatial data (carbon sources, potential storage sites, transportation, land use, etc.) are required for the Atlas, and for efficient implementation of carbon sequestration on a national and regional scale. The National Carbon Sequestration Database and Geographical Information System (NatCarb) is a relational database and geographic information system (GIS) that integrates carbon storage data generated and maintained by the RCSPs and various other sources. The purpose of NatCarb is to provide a national view of the carbon capture and storage potential in the U.S. and Canada. The digital spatial database allows users to estimate the amount of CO 2 emitted by sources (such as power plants, refineries and other fossil-fuel-consuming industries) in relation to geologic formations that can provide safe, secure storage sites over long periods of time. The NatCarb project is working to provide all stakeholders with improved online tools for the display and analysis of CO 2 carbon capture and storage data. NatCarb is organizing and enhancing the critical information about CO 2 sources and developing the technology needed to access, query, model, analyze, display, and distribute natural resource data related to carbon management. Data are generated, maintained and enhanced locally at the RCSP level, or at specialized data warehouses, and assembled, accessed, and analyzed in real-time through a single geoportal. NatCarb is a functional demonstration of distributed data-management systems that cross the boundaries between institutions and geographic areas. It forms the first step toward a functioning National Carbon Cyberinfrastructure (NCCI). NatCarb provides access to first-order information to evaluate the costs, economic potential and societal issues of CO 2 capture and storage, including public perception and regulatory aspects. NatCarb online access has been modified to address the broad needs of a spectrum of users. NatCarb includes not only GIS and database query tools for high-end user, but simplified display for the general public using readily available web tools such as Google Earth???and Google Maps???. Not only is NatCarb connected to all the RCSPs, but data are also pulled from public servers including the U.S. Geological Survey-EROS Data Center and from the Geography Network. Data for major CO 2 sources have been obtained from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) databases, and data on major coal basins and coalbed methane wells were obtained from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). ?? 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2013

The quality of our Nation’s waters--Ecological health in the Nation's streams, 1993-2005

This report summarizes a national assessment of the ecological health of streams done by the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA). Healthy functioning stream ecosystems provide society with many benefits, including water purification, flood control, nutrient recycling, waste decomposition, fisheries, and aesthetics. The value to society of many of these benefits is substantial; for example, sportfishing in the United States generates an estimated annual economic output of $125 billion, including more than 1 million jobs (National Research Council, 2005; American Sportfishing Association, 2008). Continued monitoring and assessment of the Nation’s streams is needed to support informed decisions that will safeguard this important natural and economic resource. The quality of streams and rivers is often assessed with measures of the chemical or physical properties of water. However, a more comprehensive perspective is obtained if resident biological communities are also assessed. Guidelines to protect human health and aquatic life have been established for specific physical and chemical properties of water and have become useful yardsticks with which to assess water quality. Biological communities provide additional crucial information because they live within streams for weeks to years and therefore integrate through time the effects of changes to their chemical or physical environment. In addition, biological communities are a direct measure of stream health—an indicator of the ability of a stream to support aquatic life. Thus, the condition of biological communities, integrated with key physical and chemical properties, provides a comprehensive assessment of stream health.

conterminous United States↗
USGS2010

Porphyry copper deposit model

This report contains a revised descriptive model of porphyry copper deposits (PCDs), the world's largest source (about 60 percent) and resource (about 65 percent) of copper and a major source of molybdenum, gold and silver. Despite relatively low grades (average 0.44 percent copper in 2008), PCDs have significant economic and societal impacts due to their large size (commonly hundreds of millions to billions of metric tons), long mine lives (decades), and high production rates (billions of kilograms of copper per year). The revised model describes the geotectonic setting of PCDs, and provides extensive regional- to deposit-scale descriptions and illustrations of geological, geochemical, geophysical, and geoenvironmental characteristics. Current genetic theories are reviewed and evaluated, knowledge gaps are identified, and a variety of exploration and assessment guides are presented. A summary is included for users seeking overviews of specific topics.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS1993

The Hatu gold anomaly, Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region, China - testing the hypothesis of aeolian transport of gold

In 1987, a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration was initiated to evaluate the origin of the Hatu gold anomaly. The anomaly is located in the Hatu mining district in the northwest corner of Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. The climate is semiarid to arid and wind erosion predominates. A regional soil survey of the Hatu district, based on samples collected on a 200 by 500 m grid and composited prior to chemical analysis to a density of one sample per square km, delineated a series of south-southeast-trending Au anomalies. Anomalous Au values range from 5 ppb to more than 700 ppb. The Hatu anomaly, the most prominent of these anomalies, is more than 30 km long and about 5 km wide. The mining town of Hatu and the economic gold deposits of Qiqu 1 and Qiqu 2 are at the northern end of this anomaly. The axis of the Hatu anomaly cuts across mapped structure and stratigraphy in the district, but is parallel to the prevailing wind direction. This observation led to the hypothesis that the Hatu anomaly is the result of acolian dispersion of gold from the vicinity of Qiqu 1 and Qiqu 2. The alternative interpretation, that the anomalies reflected additional primary gold occurrences, was not consistent with existing information on the known occurrences and the geology.

Journal of Geochemical Exploration↗
USGS2009

Classification of CO 2 Geologic Storage: Resource and Capacity

The use of the term capacity to describe possible geologic storage implies a realistic or likely volume of CO 2 to be sequestered. Poor data quantity and quality may lead to very high uncertainty in the storage estimate. Use of the term "storage resource" alleviates the implied certainty of the term "storage capacity". This is especially important to non- scientists (e.g. policy makers) because "capacity" is commonly used to describe the very specific and more certain quantities such as volume of a gas tank or a hotel's overnight guest limit. Resource is a term used in the classification of oil and gas accumulations to infer lesser certainty in the commercial production of oil and gas. Likewise for CO 2 sequestration, a suspected porous and permeable zone can be classified as a resource, but capacity can only be estimated after a well is drilled into the formation and a relatively higher degree of economic and regulatory certainty is established. Storage capacity estimates are lower risk or higher certainty compared to storage resource estimates. In the oil and gas industry, prospective resource and contingent resource are used for estimates with less data and certainty. Oil and gas reserves are classified as Proved and Unproved, and by analogy, capacity can be classified similarly. The highest degree of certainty for an oil or gas accumulation is Proved, Developed Producing (PDP) Reserves. For CO 2 sequestration this could be Proved Developed Injecting (PDI) Capacity. A geologic sequestration storage classification system is developed by analogy to that used by the oil and gas industry. When a CO 2 sequestration industry emerges, storage resource and capacity estimates will be considered a company asset and consequently regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, storage accounting and auditing protocols will be required to confirm projected storage estimates and assignment of credits from actual injection. An example illustrates the use of these terms and how storage classification changes as new data become available. ?? 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2014

Magnetic studies of the Florida peninsula

This investigation was undertaken primarily as a pilot‐experiment for gaining information concerning the field‐technique and accuracy which is needed for covering large areas in detail and at the same time economically. Owing to the complex nature of magnetic observations, such a pilot‐study serves, in addition, as a basis for determining the best methods of presenting the results of large areal studies in an easily comprehensible form. The State of Florida was chosen for such preliminary study for the following reasons: First, because it is geologically ideal for such an investigation since it comprises a series of unconsolidated, flat‐lying, Tertiary and Cretaceous sediments of low magnetic permeability covering a complex and much‐folded crystalline basement composed largely of rocks carrying strongly paramagnetic materials; secondly, because information concerning the structural trends of the crystalline basement would be of great interest and importance in the study of Appalachian orogeny and the relationship of the Florida Peninsula to both the Appalachian and Antillean tectonic systems.

Florida↗
USGS1988

Developing of 10-year EEZ seafloor mapping and research program

Mapping and research on the seafloor adjacent to the United States has been a national effort involving elements of the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, certain academic institutions, and private industry, the latter primarily for the exploration for oil and gas. These activities were accelerated by the USGS and NOAA in 1983, following the issuance of the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) Proclamation by President Reagan. The intent of expanding the exploration already begun on the outer continental shelf (OCS) to the frontier of the EEZ is to determine the “characteristics”; and resource potential of this region. To coordinate this exploration , a Joint Office for Mapping and Research (JOMAR) has been established by the U.S. Geological Survey (in the Department of the Interior) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (in the Department of Commerce). JOMAR's main purpose is to help direct and coordinate ongoing and planned seafloor related activities in the EEZ and prepare a 10 ‐ year plan for mapping and research . JOMAR recently hosted a national symposium to identify the major elements of this plan . A comprehensive mapping and research plan will provide the needed direction and guide this national challenge.

Marine Geodesy↗
USGS2010

Spatial Databases of Geological, Geophysical, and Mineral Resource Data Relevant to Sandstone-Hosted Copper Deposits in Central Kazakhstan

Central Kazakhstan is host to one of the world's giant sandstone-hosted copper deposits, the Dzhezkazgan deposit, and several similar, smaller deposits. The United Stated Geological Survey (USGS) is assessing the potential for other, undiscovered deposits of this type in the surrounding region of central Kazakhstan. As part of this effort, Syusyura compiled and partially translated an array of mostly unpublished geologic, geophysical, and mineral resource data for this region in digital format from the archives of the former Union of Soviet Socialists Republics (of which Kazakhstan was one of the member republics until its dissolution in 1991), as well as from later archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan or of the Kazakhstan consulting firm Mining Economic Consulting (MEC). These digital data are primarily map-based displays of information that were transmitted either in ESRI ArcGIS, georeferenced format, or non-georeferenced map image files. Box and Wallis reviewed all the data, translated Cyrillic text where necessary, inspected the maps for consistency, georeferenced the unprojected map images, and reorganized the data into the filename and folder structure of this publication.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1973

Geologic appraisal of Paradox basin salt deposits for water emplacement

Thick salt deposits of Middle Pennsylvanian age are present in an area of 12,000 square miles in the Paradox basin of southeast Utah and southwest Colorado. The deposits are in the Paradox Member of the Hermosa Formation. The greatest thickness of this evaporite sequence is in a troughlike depression adjacent to the Uncompahgre uplift on the northeast side of the basin. The salt deposits consist of a cyclical sequence of thick halite units separated by thin units of black shale, dolomite, and anhydrite. Many halite units are several hundred feet thick and locally contain economically valuable potash deposits. Over much of the Paradox basin the salt deposits occur at depths of more than 5,000 feet. Only in a series of salt anticlines located along the northeastern side of the basin do the salt deposits rise to relatively shallow depths. The salt anticlines can be divided geographically and structurally into five major systems. Each system consists of a long undulating welt of thickened salt over which younger rocks are arched in anticlinal form. Locally there are areas along the axes of the anticlines where the Paradox Member was never covered by younger sediments. This allowed large-scale migration of Paradox strata toward and up through these holes in the sediment cover forming diapiric anticlines. The central or salt-bearing cores of the anticlines range in thickness from about 2,500 to 14,000 feet. Structure in the central core of the salt anticlines is the result of both regional-compression and flowage of the Paradox Member into the anticlines from adjacent synclines. Structure in the central cores of the salt anticlines ranges from relatively undeformed beds to complexly folded and faulted masses, in which stratigraphic continuity is undemonstrable. The presence of thick cap rock .over many of the salt anticlines is evidence of removal of large volumes of halite by groundwater. Available geologic and hydrologic information suggests that this is a relatively slow process and that any waste-storage or disposal sites in these structures should remain dry for hundreds of thousands of years. Trace to commercial quantities of oil and gas are found in all of the black shale-dolomite-anhydrite interbeds of the Paradox Member. These hydrocarbons constitute a definite hazard in the construction and operation of underground waste-storage or disposal facilities. However, many individual halite beds are of. sufficient thickness that a protective seal of halite can be left between the openings and the gassy beds. A total of 12 different localities were considered to be potential waste-storage or disposal sites in the Paradox basin. Two Sharer dome and Salt Valley anticline, were considered to have the most favorable characteristics.

Utah↗
USGS2010

Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center--providing comprehensive earth science for complex societal issues

Minerals in the environment and products manufactured from mineral materials are all around us and we use and come into contact with them every day. They impact our way of life and the health of all that lives. Minerals are critical to the Nation's economy and knowing where future mineral resources will come from is important for sustaining the Nation's economy and national security. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Resources Program (MRP) provides scientific information for objective resource assessments and unbiased research results on mineral resource potential, production and consumption statistics, as well as environmental consequences of mining. The MRP conducts this research to provide information needed for land planners and decisionmakers about where mineral commodities are known and suspected in the earth's crust and about the environmental consequences of extracting those commodities. As part of the MRP scientists of the Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center (WMERSC or 'Center' herein) coordinate the development of national, geologic, geochemical, geophysical, and mineral-resource databases and the migration of existing databases to standard models and formats that are available to both internal and external users. The unique expertise developed by Center scientists over many decades in response to mineral-resource-related issues is now in great demand to support applications such as public health research and remediation of environmental hazards that result from mining and mining-related activities. Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center Results of WMERSC research provide timely and unbiased analyses of minerals and inorganic materials to (1) improve stewardship of public lands and resources; (2) support national and international economic and security policies; (3) sustain prosperity and improve our quality of life; and (4) protect and improve public health, safety, and environmental quality. The MRP supports approximately 40 USGS research specialists who utilize cooperative agreements with universities, industry, and other governmental agencies to support their collaborative research and information exchange. Scientists of the WMERSC study how and where non-fuel mineral resources form and are concentrated in the earth's crust, where mineral resources might be found in the future, and how mineral materials interact with the environment to affect human and ecosystem health. Natural systems (ecosystems) are complex - our understanding of how ecosystems operate requires collecting and synthesizing large amounts of geologic, geochemical, biologic, hydrologic, and meteorological information. Scientists in the Center strive to understand the interplay of various processes and how they affect the structure, composition, and health of ecosystems. Such understanding, which is then summarized in publicly available reports, is used to address and solve a wide variety of issues that are important to society and the economy. WMERSC scientists have extensive national and international experience in these scientific specialties and capabilities - they have collaborated with many Federal, State, and local agencies; with various private sector organizations; as well as with foreign countries and organizations. Nearly every scientific and societal challenge requires a different combination of scientific skills and capabilities. With their breadth of scientific specialties and capabilities, the scientists of the WMERSC can provide scientifically sound approaches to a wide range of societal challenges and issues. The following sections describe examples of important issues that have been addressed by scientists in the Center, the methods employed, and the relevant conclusions. New directions are inevitable as societal needs change over time. Scientists of the WMERSC have a diverse set of skills and capabilities and are proficient in the collection and integration of

Circular↗
USGS2023

The availability of primary rhenium as a by-product of copper and molybdenum mining

Rhenium is a valuable rare metal that is primarily captured as a by-product during the processing of copper and molybdenum. Its complex capture pathway and low annual production (< 100 tons per year) mean that there is limited information about how current capture compares with the amounts of rhenium geologically present in mined material. This study compiles deposit rhenium grades and mine production data to estimate the flow of rhenium in mined material, including through international trade. It is found that less than 12% of rhenium present in ore is captured; however, capture may be as high as 30 to 44% when accounting for technical recovery limits. This has substantial impacts on the future availability of rhenium as the current supply chain faces a geologically imposed limit of rhenium available in ores. Further increases in primary metal capture beyond technical recovery limits can only be achieved by increasing the mining of the copper and molybdenum host ores.

Mineral Economics↗
USGS1988

Observed oil and gas field size distributions: A consequence of the discovery process and prices of oil and gas

If observed oil and gas field size distributions are obtained by random samplings, the fitted distributions should approximate that of the parent population of oil and gas fields. However, empirical evidence strongly suggests that larger fields tend to be discovered earlier in the discovery process than they would be by random sampling. Economic factors also can limit the number of small fields that are developed and reported. This paper examines observed size distributions in state and federal waters of offshore Texas. Results of the analysis demonstrate how the shape of the observable size distributions change with significant hydrocarbon price changes. Comparison of state and federal observed size distributions in the offshore area shows how production cost differences also affect the shape of the observed size distribution. Methods for modifying the discovery rate estimation procedures when economic factors significantly affect the discovery sequence are presented. A primary conclusion of the analysis is that, because hydrocarbon price changes can significantly affect the observed discovery size distribution, one should not be confident about inferring the form and specific parameters of the parent field size distribution from the observed distributions. ?? 1988 International Association for Mathematical Geology.

Mathematical Geology↗
USGS2020

"Modified Unified Method" of carp capture

Populations of Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (silver carp) and Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (bighead carp), (together referred to herein as “bigheaded carp”) have increased exponentially in the greater Mississippi River Basin. Detrimental effects on native fish and economically important fisheries have occurred where these invasive, filter-feeding fish are abundant. The Unified Method, a harvest technique developed in China for bigheaded carp in flood plain lakes, uses herding techniques and a variety of nets to drive bigheaded carp and concentrate them into an area where they can be easily harvested. The U.S. Geological Survey is adapting the Chinese Unified Method concepts to be consistent with North American financial, societal, and environmental conditions. We have modified these techniques and incorporated modern technology to reduce the time and expense of Unified Methods and to allow them to be used in public waters. Thus, the operations in North America are often described as the “Modified Unified Method.” The U.S. Geological Survey is studying and refining the Modified Unified Method to provide stakeholders with efficient, validated, and environmentally friendly methods for carp removal; however, this method is still new to the United States and additional research is needed to further increase the efficiency of Modified Unified Method operations.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1976

Hard rock uranium potential in Alaska

Discussing the potential of "hardrock" (i.e., non-sedimentary type) uranium deposits in a 586,000 mi 2 portion of the North America Cordillera is a difficult task compounded by the fact that the remoteness of much of the region and the logistical difficulties have resulted in only reconnaissance geologic information being available for large parts of the state. Cobb (1970) has listed known occurrences of uranium and thorium minerals in the state and a somewhat modified version of his compilation showing chiefly hardrock occurrences is given in figure 1; it should be emphasized that these are occurrences only and not necessarily deposits of possible economic significance. The distribution pattern shows a concentration of occurrences in southeastern Alaska and particularly in the interior. The only production of uranium in Alaska from any type of deposit has been from a hardrock deposit, that being the roughly 120,000 tons of ore averaging about one percent U 3 0 8 from the Ross-Adams mine near Bokan Mountain on Prince of Wales Island close to the southern tip of southeastern Alaska. The Bokan Mountain uranium-thorium area includes about 71 mi 2 and is largely underlain by plutonic rocks (MacKevett, 1963). The plutonic rocks range from pyroxenite to peralkaline granite and syenite, but they consist chiefly of diorite, quartz diorite, granodiorite, and quartz monzonite. The peralkaline granite, a small pluton about 3 mi2 in area, is Late Triassic or Early Jurassic in age while the other plutonic rocks are early Paleozoic.

Alaska↗
USGS1981

Research and development program; Conservation Division Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas operations; Technical report 1981

As a result of recommendations several years ago from the National Academy of Sciences, the University of Oklahoma, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the U.S. Geological Survey has embarked upon a program of research and development to provide the technological insights needed for its regulatory operations offshore—operations which provide assurances to the public for safety and for the prevention of pollution in oil and gas drilling and production. These clear objectives are, therefore, those of the research program, not the economics of operations, which are of concern to industry. The Program is a contract research program and is an integral part of the Conservation Division. It is a focal point for deriving possible solutions from the university community, private industry, and the Federal laboratory system for identified offshore operational problems. This vast interdisciplinary body of science and technology provides the kind of research needed by the Division in its Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) operations which involve such problematic areas as structural dynamics, fluid flow, and geotechnology. The Program encourages innovation and creativity which can be accomplished only by talented scientists and engineers who are dedicated to man's endeavor to make breakthroughs in science and technology. Because the Division's mission is operational, in a sense like the U.S. Navy, the R&D Program must progress in a timely manner even though technological advances cannot really be scheduled. As the Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR) has so successfully coped with the seeming dichotomy of anticipating the occurrence of innovations, so must the Conservation Division. Thus, USGS, like ONR, makes use of the unsolicited proposal and the best effort contract to accomplish its objectives. Good science and technology can only be accomplished when several variables converge: a talented investigator doing his own research, which happens to coincide with our needs, availability of resources, time scales, etc. Our task is to "beat the bushes" so that these people come to us with their innovative ideas and concepts. They have done so by learning of our interests through announcements of the Program in the Federal Register, reading reports which emanate from the Program, and by attending our seminars.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2014

Hydrogeology, hydraulic characteristics, and water-quality conditions in the surficial, Castle Hayne and Peedee aquifers of the greater New Hanover County area, North Carolina, 2012-13

A major issue facing the greater New Hanover County, North Carolina, area is the increased demand for drinking water resources as a result of rapid growth. The principal sources of freshwater supply in the greater New Hanover County area are withdrawals of surface water from the Cape Fear River and groundwater from the underlying Castle Hayne and Peedee aquifers. Industrial, mining, irrigation, and aquaculture groundwater withdrawals increasingly compete with public-supply utilities for freshwater resources. Future population growth and economic expansion will require increased dependence on high-quality sources of fresh groundwater. An evaluation of the hydrogeology and water-quality conditions in the surficial, Castle Hayne, and Peedee aquifers was conducted in New Hanover, eastern Brunswick, and southern Pender Counties, North Carolina. A hydrogeologic framework was delineated by using a description of the geologic and hydrogeologic units that compose aquifers and their confining units. Current and historic water-level, water-quality, and water-isotope data were used to approximate the present boundary between freshwater and brackish water in the study area. Water-level data collected during August–September 2012 and March 2013 in the Castle Hayne aquifer show that recharge areas with the highest groundwater altitudes are located in central New Hanover County, and the lowest are located in a discharge area along the Atlantic Ocean. Between 1964 and 2012, groundwater levels in the Castle Hayne aquifer in central New Hanover County have rebounded by about 10 feet, but in the Pages Creek area groundwater levels declined in excess of 20 feet. In the Peedee aquifer, the August–September 2012 groundwater levels were affected by industrial withdrawals in north-central New Hanover County. Groundwater levels in the Peedee aquifer declined more than 20 feet between 1964 and 2012 in northeastern New Hanover County because of increased withdrawals. Vertical gradients calculated between the Castle Hayne and Peedee aquifers at six well cluster sites were downward in August–September 2012 and March 2013 with the exception of one well pair that had a slight upward gradient in March 2013. Major ion chemistry results from samples collected in August–September 2012 from 97 well sites suggest that seawater is mixing with groundwater in both the Castle Hayne and Peedee aquifers in several locations in Brunswick, New Hanover, and Pender Counties. The 250 milligram per liter line of equal chloride concentration has moved inland in both aquifers since 1965, with the area between Futch and Pages Creeks in northeastern New Hanover County experiencing the greatest increase. Groundwater from the surficial, Castle Hayne, and Peedee aquifers had a stable isotope of water composition similar to that of modern precipitation. A comparison of chloride concentration data collected from public-supply wells in the 1960s with that collected in 2012 shows marked increases in chloride concentrations in the Peedee aquifer near the town of Carolina Beach at the southern end of New Hanover County.

North Carolina↗
USGS2024

Societal benefits of cyanobacteria harmful algal bloom management in Lake Okeechobee in Florida—Potential damages avoided during the 2018 event under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Harmful Algal Bloom Interception, Treatment, and Transformation System scenarios

Freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs) formed by blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, have emerged as a global environmental problem. Their negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems can affect the benefits nature provides to human society by reducing water quality; inhibiting aquatic recreation; killing fish, wildlife, and pets; and posing a risk to human health. To manage harmful algal blooms, the Engineer Research and Development Center of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is developing an advanced technology called the Harmful Algal Bloom Interception, Treatment, and Transformation System (HABITATS), which has been tested in pilot demonstrations upstream of spillways at HAB-affected waterbodies in Florida. The U.S. Geological Survey and cooperators from the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Policy Analysis investigated the societal benefits of HABITATS technology by using data from an actual 2018 harmful algal bloom in Lake Okeechobee to characterize the observed societal impacts and then comparing observed effects to hypothetical scenarios of HABITATS deployment. This study estimated an economic value of $5.5 million in foregone recreation as a result of closed boating ramp facilities and other restrictions on aquatic recreation such as fishing and swimming during the 2018 cyanobacteria harmful algal bloom outbreak. The change in housing sales prices that could have resulted from murky water or bad odor during that outbreak was estimated as $2.3 million. The team also investigated drinking water contamination and human illness but did not find significant societal impacts in this case. If HABITATS had been deployed, the avoided losses less the cost of management could have provided net societal benefits that ranged between negative $2.1 million and positive $0.8 million, depending on the vertical distribution of algae in the water column and the HABITATS version used. The study’s estimated societal benefit is undoubtedly a lower bound estimate because current scientific knowledge is inadequate to characterize, or monetize, all the impacts.

Florida↗
USGS1999

Environmental setting of the Yellowstone River basin, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming

Natural and anthropogenic factors influence water-quality conditions in the Yellowstone River Basin. Physiography parallels the structural geologic setting that is generally composed of several uplifts and structural basins. Contrasts in climate and vegetation reflect topographic controls and the midcontinental location of the study unit. Surface-water hydrology reflects water surpluses in mountainous areas that are dominated by snowmelt runoff, and arid to semiarid conditions in the plains that are dissected by typically irrigated valleys in the remainder of the study unit. Principal shallow aquifers are Tertiary sandstones and unconsolidated Quaternary deposits. Human population, though sparsely distributed in general, is growing most rapidly in a few urban centers and resort areas, mostly in the northwestern part of the basin. Land use is areally dominated by grazing in the basins and plains and economically dominated by mineral-extraction activities. Forests are the dominant land cover in mountainous areas. Cropland is a major land use in principal stream valleys. Water use is dominated by irrigated agriculture overall, but mining and public-supply facilities are major users of ground water. Coal and hydrocarbon production and reserves distinguish the Yellowstone River Basin as a principal energy-minerals resources region. Current metallic ore production or reserves are nationally significant for platinum-group elements and chromium. The study unit was subdivided as an initial environmental stratification for use in designing the National Water-Quality Assessment Program investigation that began in 1997. Ecoregions, geologic groups, mineral-resource areas, and general land-cover and land-use categories were used in combination to define 18 environmental settings in the Yellowstone River Basin. It is expected that these different settings will be reflected in differing water-quality or aquatic-ecological characteristics.

Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming↗

Refine your search to explore more results.