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At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources
USGS2020

Do actions speak louder than words? Comparing the effect of risk aversion on objective and self-reported mitigation measures

Risky behaviors are of public concern when they are associated with negative externalities. Public programs and policy seek to incentivize less risky behaviors in an effort to reduce or eliminate such social costs. It is in this context that the relationship between risk aversion and risky behaviors is of particular interest. However, the literature on risk aversion and risky behaviors has largely relied on self-reported behaviors. Whether intentional or unintentional, self-reported behaviors may differ from objective measures of behavior. Because policies and programs are often based on objective measures of behavior, rather than self-reports, we ask the question of whether observed relationships between risk preferences and self-reported behaviors extend to objective measures of behavior.

Journal of Environmental Behavior and Organization↗
USGS2014

Report of the Committee on Groundwater, 1946–1948

No report of the Committee was prepared for the fiscal year 1946–1947, so the present report covers the two‐year period July 1, 1946 through June 30, 1948. Because of space limitations, fits report covers only items of research that have come to the attention of the Chairman. Reports m Hydrology and physiography of limestone terranes, by A. C. Swinnerton, and on The relation between comsumptive use of water and free‐water accretion below the root zone, by G‐ W. Musgrave, are given as Appendices A and B respectively.

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗
USGS2025

STREAMS guidelines: Standards for technical reporting in environmental and host-associated microbiome studies

The interdisciplinary nature of microbiome research, coupled with the generation of complex multi-omics data, makes knowledge sharing challenging. The Strengthening the Organization and Reporting of Microbiome Studies (STORMS) guidelines provide a checklist for the reporting of study information, experimental design and analytical methods within a scientific manuscript on human microbiome research. Here, in this Consensus Statement, we present the standards for technical reporting in environmental and host-associated microbiome studies (STREAMS) guidelines. The guidelines expand on STORMS and include 67 items to support the reporting and review of environmental (for example, terrestrial, aquatic, atmospheric and engineered), synthetic and non-human host-associated microbiome studies in a standardized and machine-actionable manner. Based on input from 248 researchers spanning 28 countries, we provide detailed guidance, including comparisons with STORMS, and case studies that demonstrate the usage of the STREAMS guidelines. STREAMS, like STORMS, will be a living community resource updated by the Consortium with consensus-building input of the broader community.

Nature Microbiology↗
USGS2019

Accuracy of methods for reporting inorganic element concentrations and radioactivity in oil and gas wastewaters from the Appalachian Basin, U.S. based on an inter-laboratory comparison.

Accurate and precise analyses of oil and gas (O&G) wastewaters and solids ( e.g. , sediments and sludge) are important for the regulatory monitoring of O&G development and tracing potential O&G contamination in the environment. In this study, 15 laboratories participated in an inter-laboratory comparison on the chemical characterization of three O&G wastewaters from the Appalachian Basin and four solids impacted by O&G development, with the goal of evaluating the quality of data and the accuracy of measurements for various analytes of concern. Using a variety of different methods, analytes in the wastewaters with high concentrations ( i.e. , >5 mg L −1 ) were easily detectable with relatively high accuracy, often within ±10% of the most probable value (MPV). In contrast, often less than 7 of the 15 labs were able to report detectable trace metal(loid) concentrations ( i.e. , Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Pb) with accuracies of approximately ±40%. Despite most labs using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with low instrument detection capabilities for trace metal analyses, large dilution factors during sample preparation and low trace metal concentrations in the wastewaters limited the number of quantifiable determinations and likely influenced analytical accuracy. In contrast, all the labs measuring Ra in the wastewaters were able to report detectable concentrations using a variety of methods including gamma spectroscopy and wet chemical approaches following Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard methods. However, the reported radium activities were often greater than ±30% different to the MPV possibly due to calibration inconsistencies among labs, radon leakage, or failing to correct for self-attenuation. Reported radium activities in solid materials had less variability (±20% from MPV) but accuracy could likely be improved by using certified radium standards and accounting for self-attenuation that results from matrix interferences or a density difference between the calibration standard and the unknown sample. This inter-laboratory comparison illustrates that numerous methods can be used to measure major cation, minor cation, and anion concentrations in O&G wastewaters with relatively high accuracy while trace metal(loid) and radioactivity analyses in liquids may often be over ±20% different from the MPV.

Appalachian Basin↗
USGS2024

EthoCRED: A framework to guide reporting and evaluation of the relevance and reliability of behavioural ecotoxicity studies

Behavioural analysis has been attracting significant attention as a broad indicator of sub-lethal toxicity and has secured a place as an important subdiscipline in ecotoxicology. Among the most notable characteristics of behavioural research, compared to other established approaches in sub-lethal ecotoxicology (e.g. reproductive and developmental bioassays), are the wide range of study designs being used and the diversity of endpoints considered. At the same time, environmental hazard and risk assessment, which underpins regulatory decisions to protect the environment from potentially harmful chemicals, often recommends that ecotoxicological data be produced following accepted and validated test guidelines. These guidelines typically do not address behavioural changes, meaning that these, often sensitive, effects are not represented in hazard and risk assessments. Here, we propose a new tool, the EthoCRED evaluation method, for assessing the relevance and reliability of behavioural ecotoxicity data, which considers the unique requirements and challenges encountered in this field. This method and accompanying reporting recommendations are designed to serve as an extension of the “Criteria for Reporting and Evaluating Ecotoxicity Data (CRED)” project. As such, EthoCRED can both accommodate the wide array of experimental design approaches seen in behavioural ecotoxicology, and could be readily implemented into regulatory frameworks as deemed appropriate by policy makers of different jurisdictions to allow better integration of knowledge gained from behavioural testing into environmental protection. Furthermore, through our reporting recommendations, we aim to improve the reporting of behavioural studies in the peer-reviewed literature, and thereby increase their usefulness to inform chemical regulation.

Biological Reviews↗
USGS2021

Improving inferences about private land conservation by accounting for incomplete reporting

Private lands provide key habitat for imperiled species and are core components of function protected area networks; yet, their incorporation into national and regional conservation planning has been challenging. Identifying locations where private landowners are likely to participate in conservation initiatives can help avoid conflict and clarify trade-offs between ecological benefits and sociopolitical costs. Empirical, spatially explicit assessment of the factors associated with conservation on private land is an emerging tool for identifying future conservation opportunities. However, most data on private land conservation are voluntarily reported and incomplete, which complicates these assessments. We used a novel application of occupancy models to analyze the occurrence of conservation easements on private land. We compared multiple formulations of occupancy models with a logistic regression model to predict the locations of conservation easements based on a spatially explicit social-ecological systems framework. We combined a simulation experiment with a case study of easement data in Idaho and Montana (United States) to illustrate the utility of the occupancy framework for modeling conservation on private land. Occupancy models that explicitly accounted for variation in reporting produced estimates of predictors that were substantially less biased than estimates produced by logistic regression under all simulated conditions. Occupancy models produced estimates for the 6 predictors we evaluated in our case study that were larger in magnitude, but less certain than those produced by logistic regression. These results suggest that occupancy models result in qualitatively different inferences regarding the effects of predictors on conservation easement occurrence than logistic regression and highlight the importance of integrating variable and incomplete reporting of participation in empirical analysis of conservation initiatives. Failure to do so can lead to emphasizing the wrong social, institutional, and environmental factors that enable conservation and underestimating conservation opportunities in landscapes where social norms or institutional constraints inhibit reporting.

Idaho, Montana↗
USGS2007

Population influences on tornado reports in the United States

The number of tornadoes reported in the United States is believed to be less than the actual incidence of tornadoes, especially prior to the 1990s, because tornadoes may be undetectable by human witnesses in sparsely populated areas and areas in which obstructions limit the line of sight. A hierarchical Bayesian model is used to simultaneously correct for population-based sampling bias and estimate tornado density using historical tornado report data. The expected result is that F2-F5 compared with F0-F1 tornado reports would vary less with population density. The results agree with this hypothesis for the following population centers: Atlanta, Georgia; Champaign, Illinois; and Des Moines, Iowa. However, the results indicated just the opposite in Oklahoma. It is hypothesized that the result is explained by the misclassification of tornadoes that were worthy of F2-F5 rating but were classified as F0-F1 tornadoes, thereby artificially decreasing the number of F2-F5 and increasing the number of F0-F1 reports in rural Oklahoma.

Weather and Forecasting↗
USGS1995

Geographic variation in band reporting rates for mallards based on reward banding

We conducted a reward band study on mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos ) to estimate and test hypotheses about sources of variation in band reporting rate. We banded 25,398 mallards with standard and 100 reward bands (3 mallards banded with standard bands for every reward-banded mallard) during preseason (Jul-Sep), 1988. We used a series of multinomial models to model the resulting 2,776 band recoveries from 1988 to 1991. Estimates of reporting rate for males shot in 10 harvest areas ranged from 0.29 to 0.46 and averaged 0.38 (SE = 0.020). We found evidence ( P < 0.01) of geographic variation in reporting rates, but not of smooth latitudinal or longitudinal gradients. There was evidence ( P = 0.07) of lower reporting rates for females than males, especially in prairie Canada and the Central Flyway. Except for young males in the northern Atlantic Flyway, estimated harvest rates were lower than historical estimates, as expected from recent restrictive hunting regulations. Patterns of geographic and agesex variation in harvest rates were similar to those obtained using historical band-recovery data.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS1992

Band reporting rates of mallards in the Mississippi alluvial valley

We captured 2,182 mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos ) in eastcentral Arkansas and marked 730 with standard bands, 728 with 10 reward bands, and 724 with 'dummy' radio transmitters during November 1986-89 to estimate band reporting rates in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV). Assuming all transmitters were reported, reporting rates were 0.16 (SE=0.049) for standard bands and 0.34 (SE=0.081) for 10 reward bands. Interviews with hunters indicated that flock size distributions differed ( P =0.03) between mallards wearing transmitters and those wearing bands (standard or reward). Mallards wearing transmitters were more likely to be alone and less likely to be in large flocks when recovered than were mallards wearing bands. These results suggest that either band reporting rates of mallards in the MAV are substantially less than those of midcontinent mallards ( P =0.03), or marking mallards with external transmitters increases susceptibility to hunting mortality.

Arkansas↗
USGS1976

Report of the American Ornithologists' Union Committee on Conservation 1975-76

This Committee's report for 1974-75 (Marshall et al. 1975, Auk 92 (4, Suppl.): lB-16B) summarized activities affecting bird conservation in the United States and Canada since 1973, including new legislation, international activities, avian conflicts with industrial and population growth, and habitat preservation. It also summarized the status of many of the endangered birds of North America, and a few critically endangered species elsewhere. The concern expressed in the report for greater participation of scientists outside government in the affairs of government has led to the formation of an AOU Committee on Public Responsibility. This report focuses on avian conservation problems in two areas, Puerto Rico and the islands of the Bering Sea. Both areas have conservation problems that are significant to ornithologists, there have been major new developments in the status of the birds and their habitats in these areas in the last few years, yet neither area has received the attention this committee feels it deserves. The Committee thanks Noel Snyder and George Gee for their contributions to this report.

The Auk↗
USGS1995

Our living resources: A report to the nation on the distribution, abundance, and health of U.S. plants, animals, and ecosystems

This report on the distribution, abundance, and health of our nation's biological resources is the first product of the National Biological Service’s Status and Trends Program. This information has many potential uses: it can document successful management efforts so resource managers will know what has worked well; it can identify problems so managers can take early action to restore the resource in the most cost-efficient manner; and it can be used to highlight areas where additional research is needed, such as to determine why certain ecological changes are occurring. This report will also be useful to teachers, students, journalists, and citizens in general who are interested in national resource issues. Another purpose of this report is to help identify gaps in existing resource inventory and monitoring programs. It contains information collected by a variety of existing research and monitoring efforts by scientists in the National Biological Service, other federal and state agencies, academia, and the private sector. The programs that produced the information in this document were not developed in a coordinated fashion to produce an integrated, comprehensive picture of the status and trends of our nation’s resources; rather, each was developed for its own particular purpose, usually to help manage a specific resource. Thus, even though articles vary greatly in scope, design, and purpose, this report has identified and attempted to combine many of the existing information sources into a broad picture of the condition of our resources. In the future, these sources will be complemented by additional information from other sources - such as state agencies and other inventory and monitoring studies - to fill in the gaps of knowledge and to provide a more complete understanding of the status of our living resources.

Book↗
USGS1976

United States Geological Survey Annual Report, Fiscal Year 1975

The Survey resumes the practice of annually summarizing the progress it has made in identifying the Nation's land, water, energy, and mineral resources, classifying federally owned mineral lands and waterpower sites, and in supervising the exploration and development of energy and mineral resources on Federal and Indian lands. The Annual Report for 1975 consists of five parts: * The Year in Review - a review of the issues and events which affected Survey programs and highlights of program accomplishments. * Perspectives - several short papers which address major resource issues and summarize recent advances in the earth sciences. * A description of the Survey's budget, programs, and accomplishments. * A set of statistical tables and related information which documents program trends, workloads, and accomplishments. * A compendium of Survey publications and information services available to the public. One purpose of this report is to increase public awareness and understanding of the Geological Survey's programs and, more generally, of the role of earth sciences information in helping to resolve many of the natural resource conflicts that face our society now and in the years ahead. To be useful, however, information must be available and readily accessible to those responsible for natural resource policy at the time that the decisions are made. This report emphasizes the types of information products and services provided by the Survey and tells how to obtain additional information.

Annual Report↗
USGS1947

Preliminary report on the general geology and engineering geology of Noonan quadrangle, North Dakota

The Noonan quadrangle is in northwestern North Dakota adjacent to the Dominion of Canada and approximately 35 miles east of Montana. The small coal-mining, farm, and railroad town of Noonan is located near the eastern edge of this sparsely populated area. The east-west State Highway 5 bisects the quadrangle. Cultural development in this area depends largely on agricultural exploitation of the glacial deposits that mantle the bedrock. For this reason, emphasis in this report is on the description, classification, and analysis of the surficial deposits. The geologic map is the base of the report. The map explanation includes a description of the material found in the various deposits along with the distinctive topographic and lithologic characteristics. Most of the text and the analyses of samples are written in tabular form so that specific information may be easily found. Depth relations may be determined from the cross section attached and the data on the map page. Most of the subsurface data in this report are inferred from drill-hole logs and water-well information provided by the North Dakota State Geological Survey, the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the Ground Water Division of the U. S. Geological Survey.

North Dakota↗
USGS1891

Eleventh Annual report of the Director of the United States Geological Survey, Part 2- Irrigation: 1889-1890

The work of the United States Irrigation Survey during the second year has been carried oil under the appropriation of $250,000 made March 2, 1889, by the force organized and equipped during the previous year. This is pursuant to the purposes outlined in the first annual report, which explains the origin, purpose, and plan of the Survey, publishes the instructions to the chiefs of the larger divisions, and gives the report of the topographic division to the end of the first fiscal year, and the reports of the hydrographic and engineering divisions during the greater part of the calendar year 1889.

Annual Report↗
USGS1897

Eighteenth annual report of the United States Geological Survey to the Secretary of the Interior, 1896-1897: Part V - Mineral resources of the United States, 1896, nonmetallic products, except coal

In the preceding volumes of Mineral Resources the annual reports on the manufacture of coke a well a those on the production of crude petroleum and natural gas were prepared by Mr. Joseph Dame Weeks, of Pittsburg, Pa. The sudden death of Mr. Weeks on December 26, 1896, necessitated the distribution of the work formerly done by him among his former associates in the statistical division of the Geological Survey. The preparation of the report on the manufacture of coke for 1896 has accordingly devolved upon the writer. To have accepted such an undertaking under ordinary circumstance would have meant the entering upon a difficult task. In the matter of coke production it has been made comparatively easy by the thoroughness with which Mr. Weeks has already covered the ground. The work done by Mr. Week's in his report for the Tenth and Eleventh Censuses and the annual volume of Mineral Resources has left little for his successor but the continuation of the statistical tables and the preparation of such text as refers directly to them. Mr. Weeks, at the time of his death, had the work for collecting the statistics of coke production in 1896 well advanced, and the excellence of his system and methods have been shown in the fact that the work of collecting the statistics was carried out on his lines uninterruptedly.

Annual Report↗
USGS1905

Twenty-Sixth Annual Report of the Director of the United States Geological Survey, 1904-1905

Introduction Remarks on the work of the year Branches of work The United States Geological Survey was created in 1879 for the purpose—as its name implies—of examining and reporting on the geologic structure and mineral resources and products of the national domain. To the adequate description of geologic formations and structure cartography is essential, and Congress early recognized this fact by making appropriations for the preparation of a geologic map of the United States. The topographic base map, in order to show with sufficient precision the relations of the geologic formations and the intricacies of the structure, must have a rather large scale and present considerable detail. No such map of this country existed in 1879, and its preparation was immediately begun. The waters of the country are of vast importance, and in a broad sense may be regarded as one of its greatest mineral resources. Hence, in the evolution of the work of the Survey, and especially in view of the great importance of the subject to the irrigation interests, Congress early began making appropriations for ascertaining the amount and quality of the surface and underground waters and when, in 1902, the service for the reclamation of arid lands was organized, that work naturally was placed in the hands of the Secretary of the Interior and by him intrusted to the Director of the Survey. The three great branches of work carried on by the Geological Survey are, therefore, the geologic, the topographic, and the hydrographic, and with these, more especially the latter, is conjoined the Reclamation Service ; publication and administration constitute necessary auxiliary branches. Along these great lines the work of the Survey has progressed without essential variation for many years. The changes made have been due to normal expansion rather than to radical departure in object or plan. State cooperation During the last fiscal year, State cooperation, as explained in previous reports, continued. Arrangements for cooperation in geologic work were made with five States, the total amount contributed by them being about \$8,000, and arrangements for cooperative topographic surveys were made with eleven States, the amount available for such surveys being thus increased by more than \$100,000. Reclamation service The work of the Reclamation Service during the last fiscal year was advanced as rapidly as was thought consistent with thoroughness and accuracy. Actual construction is now in progress on eight projects, as follows : Salt River, Arizona; Truckee-Carson, Nevada; Hondo, New Mexico ; Uncompahgre Valley, Colorado; Minidoka, Idaho; Belle Fourche, South Dakota ; North Platte, Wyoming and Nebraska ; and Shoshone, Wyoming. Proposals were received for work on the Laguna dam, Yuma project, California and Arizona; Huntley project, Montana, and the Fort Buford project, North Dakota and Montana. In several other States operations are at a point where advertisements for bids only await the removal of certain legal obstacles, the settlement of international difficulties, or the termination of delays on the part of local organizations or individuals. The organization of the body of men constituting the personnel of the Reclamation Service, whose field of operations covers so large a territory, though necessarily difficult, has been satisfactorily accomplished, and precedents have been established along approved lines. The general allotment of funds has been made with a view to the greatest benefit to the greatest number, and from the broad standpoint of the welfare of the country as a whole. One of the important features in the evolution of the irrigation work is the development of power, which the numerous dams and, drops in canals make possible. Plans were made to transmit the power being developed in many sections of the arid regions, by means of electricity, to points more or less distant, there to be used for raising underground waters, pumping waters lying above the line of gravity canals, or for various other purposes, and attention was also given to the character of the soils and of the water to be used upon them, the materials used in the construction of the works, and numerous other details incident to reclamation by irrigation. Coal-testing plant Under two special appropriations of \$30,000 each, carried by the urgent deficiency bill approved February 18, 1904, and the general deficiency bill approved April 27, 1904, the Director of the Geological Survey was authorized to construct and operate at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition a plant for testing the coals and lignites of the United States, in order to determine their fuel values and the most economic method of their utilization for different purposes, it being provided that all testing machinery and all coals and lignites to be tested 'should be contributed free of charge to the Government. For carrying out the provisions of these acts the Director appointed a committee, consisting of Edward W. Parker, Joseph A. Holmes, and Marius R. Campbell, to direct the construction and operation of the plant. This committee received the heartiest cooperation from the manufacturers of such equipment as was needed for the installation of the plant, from the railroad companies in freight concessions and transportation for the experts and their assistants, and from the coal operators in the furnishing of coal in carload lots for testing purposes. Although the utmost expedition was used in the construction of the plant, it was not until the first of September that the testing work actually began. Between the first of September and the close of the exposition 65 carload samples of coal for testing purposes were received, and the results of the investigation were published in a preliminary report issued as Geological Survey Bulletin No. 261. The coals tested were received from 17 States and Territories, and much valuable information regarding the best uses to which the different coals may be put was obtained. One of the most important facts developed during this investigation is the possibility of utilizing the vast lignite resources of the West in the manufacture of producer gas, it having been shown that a higher grade of this gas can be obtained from lignite than from ordinary bituminous and anthracite coal. The investigation also showed that the slack or fine coal produced at the dry, noncoking bituminous coal mines of the middle West, large quantities of which are now being wasted, can be profitably utilized by briquetting.

Annual Report↗
USGS2002

Southwest Washington coastal erosion workshop report 2000

This report is a compilation of abstracts that correspond to oral presentations and posters presented at the fifth principal investigators workshop of the Southwest Washington Coastal Erosion Study. The workshop was held November 15 - 17, 2000 at the Department of Ecology headquarters building in Olympia, WA. For the fourth consecutive year in November, the workshop convened the entire multi-disciplinary group of scientists and engineers working on the Study or on related projects within the Columbia River littoral cell (CRLC) (Figures 1 and 2). The workshop participants are listed in the List of Attendees section towards the end of this report. The purpose of this workshop was to bring all Study investigators and associated engineers and scientists together to discuss recent work, ongoing tasks, and future research plans in the CRLC. Investigators were asked to present recent data, preliminary interpretations, and research results to invoke discussion and correlation with parallel scientific efforts. The abstracts compiled in this report represent a wealth of information on the CRLC, but because much of the work is in progress, the reader is advised that the information provided herein is preliminary and subject to change.

Oregon;Washington↗
USGS2002

Felt reports and intensity assignments for aftershocks and triggered events of the great 1906 California earthquake

The San Andreas fault is the longest fault in California and one of the longest strikeslip faults in the world, yet little is known about the aftershocks following the most recent great event on the San Andreas, the M 7.8 San Francisco earthquake, on 18 April 1906. This open-file report is a compilation of first-hand accounts (felt reports) describing aftershocks and triggered events of the 1906 earthquake, for the first twenty months of the aftershock sequence (through December 1907). The report includes a chronological catalog. For the larger events, Modified Mercalli intensities (MMIs) have been assigned based on the descriptions judged to be the most reliable.

California↗