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This appendix presents a part of the basic data collected by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the San Bernardino County Flood Control District in the ground-water investigation of the San Bernardino area, California.
The discharge of streams is usually measured by the current-meter method. During flood periods, however, it is frequently impossible or impractical to measure the discharges by this method when they occur. Consequently, many peak discharges must be determined after the passage of the flood by indirect methods, such as slope-area, contracted-opening, flow-over-dam, and flow-through-culvert, rather than by direct current-meter measurement. Indirect methods of determining peak discharge are based on hydraulic equations which relate the discharge to the water-surface profile and the geometry of the channel. A field survey is made after the flood to determine the location and elevation of high-water marks and the characteristics of the channel. Detailed descriptions of the general procedures used in collecting the field data and in computing the discharge are given in this report. Each of the methods requires special procedures described in subsequent chapters.
In this report, which is the first of a proposed series of annual publications, are presented the results of the first six months' work by the United States Geological Survey in the systematic collection of well records and samples. Much time having been occupied in organization and preliminary correspondence, the results of only about three months' actual work are included. The report is issued for the purpose of giving to present or prospective well owners and drillers the results of drilling as reported to the Survey, with the object of furnishing them as good a basis as possible for future drilling in the regions discussed, and to afford geologists and others a more complete knowledge of the rock succession and structure. It is intended that the reports of the series shall present records of contemporaneous drilling rather than the results of past work, a special attempt being made to secure records accompanied by samples. The logs of completed wells, however, will be incorporated when practicable; but as records of such wells are seldom preserved for any length of time, their number will probably decrease in proportion to new wells as the work continues. All well records received during the year 1904 that were accompanied by complete sets of samples are presented in this report, as are also a considerable number furnished by drillers, contractors, well owners, etc., representing other completed wells. The report does not, however, include all records furnished the Survey, a great number being furnished by oil companies and others interested in the development of oil or mineral lands. Many of these are confidential and can not be published, while others will be compiled and embodied in reports on special regions, which will be published later.
The first section of this report contains data collected during the 1981 water year for the West Virginia Coal Hydrology monitoring project. Records consist of discharge and water-quality data collected at 246 sites in July, at 29 sites in August, and sediment data for 235 sites collected in July. The second section of this report contains data collected during the period January 1978 to December 1981 for the water resources study of the Tug Fork and Twelvepole Creek basins. Records consist of physical data for 347 wells, water level data for two wells, quality analyses of water from 328 wells, and discharge, chemical and biological data for 91 sites sampled several times.
In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began nationwide implementation of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Long-term goals of NAWQA are to describe the status of and trends in the quality of a large, representative part of the Nation?s surface- and ground-water resources and to provide a sound, scientific understanding of the primary natural and human factors affecting the quality of these resources (Leahy and others, 1990). The Trinity River Basin in east-central Texas (fig. 1) was among the first 20 hydrologic areas, called study units, to be assessed by this program. The first intensive data-collection phase for the Trinity River Basin NAWQA began in March 1993 and ended in September 1995. Streams in the Trinity River Basin were assessed by sampling water, bed sediment, and tissue of biota and characterizing the aquatic communities and their habitat. Aquifers were assessed by sampling water from wells. The coastal prairie is a small part of the Trinity River Basin, but it is environmentally important because of its proximity to Galveston Bay and the extensive use of agricultural chemicals on many irrigated farms. Galveston Bay (fig. 1) was selected by Congress as an estuary of national significance and was included on a priority list for the National Estuary Program. The Trinity River is especially important because its watershed dominates the total Galveston Bay drainage area and because its flow contributes substantial amounts of freshwater and water-quality constituents to the bay. Historically, measurements of the quantity and quality of water entering Galveston Bay from the Trinity River Basin have been made using data from a station about 113 kilometers (70 miles) upstream from Trinity Bay, an inlet bay to Galveston Bay. With a focused objective of providing additional water-quality information in the intervening coastal prairie area and an overall objective of improving the understanding of the relations between farming practices and stream quality in the Trinity River Basin, a special study was conducted. This report provides a description of the occurrence and concentrations of nutrients in two streams in this intervening area. An earlier report by Brown (1996) describes the occurrence and concentrations of pesticides in these two streams. An overall analysis of nutrient data collected during 1974?91 in the Trinity River Basin is given by Van Metre and Reutter (1995).
The Rallidae are a diverse group in their habitat selection, yet most North American species occur in or near wetlands As a consequence, most species are subject to habitat enhancement or perturbation from waterfowl management programs. The overall effects of these management programs relative to rallid conservation have been assessed for few species, and there is a need for synthesis of such information. In the cases of some species or raves, population status is not known, and suggested directions for conservation and management are needed. Rare, endangered, or status undetermined species or races often occur in areas where related species are classified as game birds, and the effects of such hunting on rarer forms are not known. Their generally secretive nature, the endangered status of several races and populations, and continued loss of habitat and threats to present habitat, warrant an examination of the conservation status of the North American taxa in this group. In 1977, a committee of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies summarized available information on management and biology of American Coots ( Fulica americana ), rails, and gallinules in North America (Holliman 1977). That summary was intended to provide relatively complete information on conservation of these species, and also to provide guidance for research within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) Accelerated Research Program for Webless Migratory Shore and Upland Game Birds (ARP). Subsequently, a number of rallid studies were funded under this program. The program was eliminated in 1982, following substantial research activities on North American rallids. Since the demise of the ARP, additional research on rallids in North America has focused on an area the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies report failed to cover in detail--that of endangered rallids in the U.S. and their possessions. Most of these studies have been of threatened and endangered taxa in western coastal marshes. This report updates and summarizes information on North American rallids since the ARP report and identifies the major conservation problems of this group with the intent of focusing future efforts on these priority issues. Consideration of island forms occurring within U.S. possessions is beyond the scope of this report, mainly because of the special conservation problems associated with their insular distribution. The major topics include habitat requirements, effects of habitat and hunting management techniques currently practiced on wetland areas, and conservation of endangered and threatened populations. Research needs are identified. Habitats of the American Coot are similar to those of several waterfowl species, and the biology of coots is considered only as it is typical of rails in general.
Thamnophis hammondii is considered one of the most aquatic of the gartersnakes and is closely associated with creeks and impoundments (Fitch 1940. Univ. California Publ. Zool. 44:1–150) with a diet consisting largely of both the larvae and transformed stages of amphibians (Spea, Bufo, Rana, Pseudacris) and small fish (Oncorhynchus, Gasterosteus, Eucyclogobius, and Cottus) (Jennings and Hayes 1994. Amphibian and Reptile Species of Special Concern in California. Final report contract no. 8023, California Department of Fish Game. 255 pp.; Rossman et al. 1996. The Garter Snakes: Evolution and Ecology. Univ. of Oklahoma Press, Norman. 332 pp.). Little is known regarding the foraging behavior of T. hammondii (Rossman et al., op. cit.). Herein, we describe the details of a predation sequence (approach, strike, and capture) observed in a natural setting.
Limestone and other carbonate rocks are characterized by many unusual features and extreme conditions, either involving the hydrologic system within them or wrought by hydrologic conditions on them or through them. Perhaps there could be little agreement as to what is typical or average for the many features of carbonate rocks, as indicated by the following conditions: bare rock and thin soils are common, but so are thick soils; very highly permeable limestones are common, but so are poorly permeable ones; and rugged karst topographic features with underlying solution caverns are common, but so are flat, nearly featureless topographic conditions. Some conditions of carbonate terranes are suitable to man's needs and interests, such as the use of some permeable aquifers for water supply and the exploitation of caves for tourist attractions. On the other hand, many problems may exist, including: permeability too low for adequate water supply or so high that the aquifer retains too little water for use during periods of fair weather, soils too thin for growing of crops and for adequate filtration of wastes near the ground surface, instability of the ground for buildings and foundations in sinkhole areas, and unusually rugged topography. Some of the many variable conditions are readily observable, but others can be determined only by careful geologic and hydrologic studies. The need for knowing the specific geologic and hydrologic conditions at various places in limestone terranes, as well as the variations in hydrologic conditions with changing conditions and time, has resulted in many published reports on local areas and on special topical problems of limestone hydrology. Many of these reports have been used to advantage by the present writers in preparing this paper. The concept that secondary permeability is developed by circulation of water through openings with the accompanying enlargement of these openings by solution is now universally accepted in limestone terranes. Emphasis is placed on the hydrogeologic framework, or structural setting, in relation to the ease or difficulty of water to move from a source of recharge, through a part of the limestone, to a discharge area. Parts of the limestone favored by circulating ground water tend to develop solution openings, commonly in the upper part of the zone of saturation; as base level is lowered (sea level or perennial stream level), the related water table lowers in the limestone leaving air-filled caverns above the present zone of saturation in sinkhole areas. Reconstruction of the geologic and hydrologic history of a limestone area aids in determining the extent of development and the positions of fossil and present permeability. References are made to the hydrology of many limestone regions, especially those of the United States.
A large amount of data on water supplies was collected by the writer in the course of glacial investigations made under the direction of Prof. T. C. Chamberlin in the last five years in the Southern Peninsula of Michigan. These investigations resulted in a partial acquaintance with conditions in about 200 separate flowing-well districts and brought out matters of such exceptional importance that arrangements were made to extend them by examining each of the flowing-well districts in the State sufficiently to determine its essential characteristics, present state of development, and probable capacity for future development. It was arranged also that the quality of various classes of waters, both surface and underground, as well as water supplies of the cities and villages, should be given attention. As the mineral waters of the State had already been discussed in some detail by the State geologist, Dr. A. C. Lane, in Water-Supply Paper No. 31 of the United States Geological Survey, it was deemed unnecessary to prepare another report on that subject, but arrangements were made with Doctor Lane for embodying in this report the large amount of material which had accumulated at his office relative to other classes of water supply, and also for furnishing reports on certain counties in which special investigations had been carried on by the State survey. The results of all these studies, so far as they apply to the southern counties (see fig. 1), are embodied in the present report; the remainder will appear in a companion report on the middle and northern counties of the Southern Peninsula of Michigan.
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In 1990, both the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Bureau of Mines were contacted by the Chugach National Forest (CNF) for the purpose of providing mineral resource information for the CNF Master Plan during the planning period fiscal years 1991-1994. This information is to address the terms and requirements of the 1986 Settlement Agreement and to provide mineral and geologic information useful to the CNF for making land-use decisions. In early 1992 an Interagency Agreement between the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the Chugach National Forest was signed. In this agreement the U.S. Geological Survey is to provide a report which estimates the undiscovered mineral endowments of the 'special' study area and to identify the potential for mineral discovery and development. The U.S. Bureau of Mines was to prepare a report updating the discovered mineral endowment of the Special Study Area. These reports are now published (Roe and Balen, 1994; Nelson and others, 1994). This geologic map is a component of the U.S. Geological Survey contribution to the overall project.
A large amount of data on water supplies was collected by the writer in the course of glacial investigations made under the direction of Prof. T. C. Chamberlin in the last five years in the Southern Peninsula of Michigan. These investigations resulted in a partial acquaintance with conditions in about 200 separate flowing-well districts and brought out matters of such exceptional importance that arrangements were made to extend them by examining each of the flowing-well districts in the State sufficiently to determine its essential characteristics, present state of development, and probable capacity for future development. It was arranged also that the quality of various classes of water, both surface and underground, as well as water supplies of, cities and villages, should be given attention. As the mineral waters of the State had already been discussed in some detail by the State geologist, Dr. A. C. Lane, in Water-Supply Paper No. 31 of the United States Geological Survey, it was deemed unnecessary to prepare another report on that subject, but arrangements were made with Doctor Lane for embodying in this report the large amount of material which had accumulated at his office relative to other classes of water supply, and also for furnishing reports on certain counties in which special investigations had been carried on by the State survey. The results of all these studies, so far as they apply to the middle- and northern counties (see fig. 1, on next page), are embodied in the present report; the remainder appears in a companion report on the southern counties of the Southern Peninsula of Michigan.
Flood plains that have a history of inundation or have a reasonable probability of being flooded, of course, need adequate attention in land-use planning, management, and development programs. Flood-plain maps and flood-plain-information reports are means of identifying these critical areas for special consideration.
Operation of the Garrison Diversion Unit in North Dakota will divert water from the Missouri River near Lake Audubon into the upper James River basin (fig. 1). The diverted water will augment flows in the James River sufficiently to permit expanded irrigation and to provide additional water supplies for municipal and industrial use. The proposed Garrison Diversion Unit development and associated expanded irrigation has caused environmental concerns regarding potential mobilization, transport, and concentration of potentially toxic trace elements. In order to address'these concerns, a study of trace elements was made cooperatively by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey during 1986-88. The traceelement study area consists of approximately 130,000 acres and includes the Turtle Lake, Lincoln Valley, Harvey, New Rockford, LaMoure, and Oakes areas. As part of this study, Severson and others (1988) reported on the baseline geochemistry of soils, with special emphasis on selenium, for an irrigation test area of about 15 square miles near Oakes, N.Dak. This report presents the water-quality data collected during December 1986 through September 1987 from selected wells and drain sites in the Oakes study area.
This report summarizes the results of microfossil investigations for he past year. It includes the microfossil data from the two South Barrow Test Wells and studies of samples from outcrop material an from seismograph shot holes. In addition, new information bearing on the special study of microfossils from the Cape Simpson area is presented. The ostracoda that have been recently studies are discussed in a separate report by Professor R. M. Swain.
This special issue contains 12 papers that report on new understanding of arsenic (As) hydrogeochemistry, performance of household well water treatment systems, and testing and treatment behaviors of well users in several states of the northeastern region of the United States and Nova Scotia, Canada. The responsibility to ensure water safety of private wells falls on well owners. In the U.S., 43 million Americans, mostly from rural areas, use private wells. In order to reduce As exposure in rural populations that rely on private wells for drinking water, risk assessment, which includes estimation of population at risk of exposure to As above the EPA Maximum Contaminant Level, is helpful but insufficient because it does not identify individual households at risk. Persistent optimistic bias among well owners against testing and barriers such as cost of treatment mean that a large percentage of the population will not act to reduce their exposure to harmful substances such as As. If households are in areas with known As occurrence, a potentially large percentage of well owners will remain unaware of their exposure. To ensure that everyone, including vulnerable populations such as low income families with children and pregnant women, is not exposed to arsenic in their drinking water, alternative action will be required and warrants further research.
Environmental contamination has been suspected of being partially responsible for recent declines in amphibian populations. It is often not feasible to identify all of the compounds in an environment, nor the concentrations in which they are present. SPMDs are passive sampling devices that uptake lipophilic compounds from the environment in a manner similar to aquatic organisms. The extracts from the SPMDs, therefore, contain a composite sample of the compounds that are present in the environment. In this paper, we outline the methods from studies in which we have used extracts from SPMDs in toxicity tests on amphibian larvae. Using SPMD extracts makes it possible to establish potential links between amphibian deformities and declines and environmental contamination by lipophilic compounds.
A standard methodology for assessing the impacts of simulated solar ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B) on aquatic invertebrates was established. A solar simulator was used to expose a variety of aquatic invertebrates to different levels of UV-B. The simulator was calibrated as close as possible to match local ambient solar radiation measured in and out of water with a scanning spectroradiometer. A series of repeated exposures were conducted to determine the effects of UV-B on two species of Ceriodaphnia . Survivorship of C. reticulata declined with increasing UV-B with 100% mortality occurring after four daily 5 hr exposures to a UV-B irradiance that was 14% of ambient sunlight (40.8/μW/cm 2 ) and 70% mortality for C. dubia after seven days of an exposure to 5% of ambient (14.5μW/cm 2 ). Significant reductions in fertility (#young/adult) was observed in both low and high light adapted individuals with low light individuals appearing to be more sensitive. This methodology allowed us to make comparisons to natural conditions in aquatic habitats and to make risk assessments for individual species.