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

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At least 487 records · Page 27Linked to original sources
USGS2003

Wolf population dynamics

A large, dark wolf poked his nose out of the pines in Yellowstone National Park as he thrust a broad foot deep into the snow and plowed ahead. Soon a second animal appeared, then another, and a fourth. A few minutes later, a pack of thirteen lanky wolves had filed out of the pines and onto the open hillside. Wolf packs are the main social units of a wolf population. As numbers of wolves in packs change, so too, then, does the wolf population (Rausch 1967). Trying to understand the factors and mechanisms that affect these changes is what the field of wolf population dynamics is all about. In this chapter, we will explore this topic using two main approaches: (1) meta-analysis using data from studies from many areas and periods, and (2) case histories of key long-term studies. The combination presents a good picture – a picture, however, that is still incomplete. We also caution that the data sets summarized in the analyses represent snapshots of wolf population dynamics under widely varying conditions and population trends, and that the figures used are usually composites or averages. Nevertheless, they should allow generalizations that provide important insight into wolf population dynamics.

Book chapter↗
USGS2014

The effects of spilled oil on coastal ecosystems: Lessons from the Exxon Valdez spill

Oil spilled from ships or other sources into the marine environment often occurs in close proximity to coastlines, and oil frequently accumulates in coastal habitats. As a consequence, a rich, albeit occasionally controversial, body of literature describes a broad range of effects of spilled oil across several habitats, communities, and species in coastal environments. This statement is not to imply that spilled oil has less of an effect in pelagic marine ecosystems, but rather that marine spills occurring offshore may be less likely to be detected, and associated effects are more difficult to monitor, evaluate, and quantify (Peterson et al ., 2012). As a result, we have a much greater awareness of coastal pollution, which speaks to our need to improve our capacities in understanding the ecology of the open oceans. Conservation of coastal ecosystems and assessment of risks associated with oil spills can be facilitated through a better understanding of processes leading to direct and indirect responses of species and systems to oil exposure. It is also important to recognize that oil spilled from ships represents only ~9% of the nearly 700 000 barrels of petroleum that enter waters of North America annually from anthropogenic sources (NRC, 2003). The immediate effects of large spills can be defined as acute, due to the obvious and dramatic effects that are observed. In contrast, the remaining 625 000 barrels that are released each year can be thought of as chronic non-point pollution, resulting from oil entering the coastal ocean as runoff in a more consistent but much less conspicuous rate. In this chapter, we primarily address the effects of large oil spills that occur near coastlines and consider their potential for both acute and chronic effects on coastal communities. As described below, in some instances, the effects from chronic exposure may meet or exceed the more evident acute effects from large spills. Consequently, although quantifying chronic effects from low exposure rates can be challenging and time-consuming, the results of such efforts provide insights into the understudied effects of chronic non-point oil pollution.

Alaska↗
USGS1990

Hydrogeochemistry of rivers and lakes

This chapter has three principal objectives: (1) to summarize the present chemical composition of North American surface waters and point out any discernible trends with time; (2) to review chemical and biochemical principles and processes that control natural water composition, and the ways in which these may be involved in attaining the particular chemical compositions and trends that we can observe; and (3) to point out some of the more important factors that must be considered in collecting surface-water-quality data. This discussion is concerned principally with inorganic chemistry and geochemistry. However, biochemical processes in river and lake water influence their chemical composition extensively, and specific effects are pointed out. Aquatic biology is discussed in another chapter. The physical processes occurring in lakes also have very important effects on water chemistry; these aspects of limnology are covered more fully in a separate chapter. Data on which this chapter is based relate mostly to waters of Canada, the United States, and Mexico. For most of Central America, very little water-quality information is available. Tables 1 through 3 contain analytical data for river waters that illustrate some of the principles discussed, and summarize major features of the chemical composition of North American surface waters. To a certain extent, at least, one would expect the average concentrations of dissolved elements in surface fresh water to reflect the relative abundance of the elements in the crustal rocks exposed at and near the land surface.

Book chapter↗
USGS2014

Experimental design and quality assurance: in situ fluorescence instrumentation

Both instrument design and capabilities of fluorescence spectroscopy have greatly advanced over the last several decades. Advancements include solid-state excitation sources, integration of fiber optic technology, highly sensitive multichannel detectors, rapid-scan monochromators, sensitive spectral correction techniques, and improve data manipulation software (Christian et al., 1981, Lochmuller and Saavedra, 1986; Cabniss and Shuman, 1987; Lakowicz, 2006; Hudson et al., 2007). The cumulative effect of these improvements have pushed the limits and expanded the application of fluorescence techniques to numerous scientific research fields. One of the more powerful advancements is the ability to obtain in situ fluorescence measurements of natural waters (Moore, 1994). The development of submersible fluorescence instruments has been made possible by component miniaturization and power reduction including advances in light sources technologies (light-emitting diodes, xenon lamps, ultraviolet [UV] lasers) and the compatible integration of new optical instruments with various sampling platforms (Twardowski et at., 2005 and references therein). The development of robust field sensors skirt the need for cumbersome and or time-consuming filtration techniques, the potential artifacts associated with sample storage, and coarse sampling designs by increasing spatiotemporal resolution (Chen, 1999; Robinson and Glenn, 1999). The ability to obtain rapid, high-quality, highly sensitive measurements over steep gradients has revolutionized investigations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) optical properties, thereby enabling researchers to address novel biogeochemical questions regarding colored or chromophoric DOM (CDOM). This chapter is dedicated to the origin, design, calibration, and use of in situ field fluorometers. It will serve as a review of considerations to be accounted for during the operation of fluorescence field sensors and call attention to areas of concern when making this type of measurement. Attention is also given to ways in which in-water fluorescence measurements have revolutionized biogeochemical studies of CDOM and how those measurements can be used in conjunction with remotely sense satellite data to understand better the biogeochemistry of DOM in aquatic environments.

Book chapter↗
USGS2011

Natural radium and radon tracers to quantify water exchange and movement in reservoirs

Radon and radium isotopes are routinely used to quantify exchange rates between different hydrologic reservoirs. Since their recognition as oceanic tracers in the 1960s, both radon and radium have been used to examine processes such as air-sea exchange, deep oceanic mixing, benthic inputs, and many others. Recently, the application of radon-222 and the radium-quartet (223,224,226,228Ra) as coastal tracers has seen a revelation with the growing interest in coastal groundwater dynamics. The enrichment of these isotopes in benthic fluids including groundwater makes both radium and radon ideal tracers of coastal benthic processes (e.g. submarine groundwater discharge). In this chapter we review traditional and recent advances in the application of radon and radium isotopes to understand mixing and exchange between various hydrologic reservoirs, specifically: (1) atmosphere and ocean, (2) deep and shallow oceanic water masses, (3) coastal groundwater/benthic pore waters and surface ocean, and (4) aquifer-lakes. While the isotopes themselves and their distribution in the environment provide qualitative information about the exchange processes, it is mixing/exchange and transport models for these isotopes that provide specific quantitative information about these processes. Brief introductions of these models and mixing parameters are provided for both historical and more recent studies.

Book chapter↗
USGS2017

Scientific integrity - Recent Department of the Interior policies, codes, and their implementation

Established on January 28, 2011, the Department of Interior's (DOI’s) Scientific and Scholarly Integrity Policy was the first federal agency policy to respond to the Presidential Memorandum on Scientific Integrity (March 9, 2009) and guidance issued by the Office of Science and Technology Policy Memorandum on Scientific Integrity (December 17, 2010). The increasingly important role of science in DOI decision making and heightened awareness of science integrity issues across the science enterprise provided impetus for making this policy a priority and for incorporating it into the DOI Departmental Manual (Part 305: Chapter 3). This paper discusses the history of scientific integrity in the DOI, the key provisions of the first Department-wide policy and its implementation, and the subsequent revision of the policy. During the first 4 years of implementing the scientific integrity policy, the Department received 35 formal complaints. As of March 31, 2015, only two formal scientific integrity complaints resulted in “warranted determinations,” while the other complaints were closed and dismissed as “not warranted.” Based on the experience of the first three years of implementation (2011-2014), the Department policy was revised on December 16, 2014.

Book chapter↗
USGS1995

The role of serpentinite melanges in the unroofing of UHPM rocks: An example from the Western Alps of Italy: Chapter 6

The ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks (UHPM) of the Dora-Maira continental massif are overlain by a stack of oceanic nappes. Metamorphic grade appears to increase downward but with marked discontinuities between each of the nappes, suggesting that section has been removed along the bounding faults. This apparent omission of section is greatest in the lowest oceanic unit where a serpentinite melange containing blocks and slabs of eclogite, metamorphosed at 12–19 kbar, lies on the UHPM rocks. We suggest that this serpentinite melange represents a highly attenuated upper mantle section that structurally overlay the UHP rocks during subduction. Similar serpentinite melanges are known from other high-pressure (HP) and UHPM areas and may have a similar origin.

Book chapter↗
USGS2012

Genetic differences in growth, migration, and survival between hatchery and wild steelhead and Chinook salmon: Introduction and executive summary

This report presents results of studies testing for genetically based differences in performance (growth, migration, and survival) between hatchery and wild populations of steelhead and Chinook salmon (Project Number 90-052). The report is organized into 10 chapters with a general study introduction preceding the first chapter. A growing body of data shows that domestication and a resulting loss of fitness for natural rearing occur in hatchery populations of anadromous salmonids; however, the magnitude of domestication will vary among species and hatchery programs. Better information on domestication is needed to accurately predict the consequences when hatchery and wild fish interbreed. The intent of hatchery supplementation is to increase natural production through introduction of hatchery fish into natural production areas. The goal of this study was to provide managers with information on the genetic risks of hatchery supplementation to wild populations of Columbia River Basin summer steelhead and spring Chinook salmon.

Book chapter↗
USGS2000

Emergent biological patterns and surface-subsurface interactions at landscape scales

In this chapter, we focus on emergent biological patterns in riverine ecosystems at landscape scales resulting from surface-subsurface water interaction. Our objectives are to examine (1) how the balance of physical and chemical factors on the "natural" geologic template affects biological patterns, (2) how natural hydrothermal systems can be used as a model for understanding surface-subsurface interactions and biological patterns in streams, and (3) how anthropogenic influences decouple the stream from the landscape by altering the nature of surface-subsurface water interactions and affecting biological patterns. We conclude with a synthesis and recommendations for further studies.

Book chapter↗
USGS1997

The effects of pollutants on wildlife

In this chapter, selected sources of information which address the effects of pollutants on wildlife are reviewed. Although naturally occurring plant and animal toxins also affect wildlife, the focus of this review is xenobiotic toxicants. Xenobiotic substances are chemicals introduced into the environment in the form of pesticides, heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other by-products of human activities. The science of examining the effects of these substances on animal and plant life is multi-disciplinary in nature and contributors to the literature in this field include toxicologists, wildlife and aquatic ecologists, chemists and those in the veterinary and medical professions.

Book chapter↗
USGS2007

Borehole observations of continuous strain and fluid pressure: Chapter 9

Strain is expansion, contraction, or distortion of the volcanic edifice and surrounding crust. As a result of magma movement, volcanoes may undergo enormous strain prior to and during eruption. Global Positioning System (GPS) observations can in principle be used to determine strain by taking the difference between two nearby observations and dividing by the distance between them. Two GPS stations 1 km apart, each providing displacement information accurate to the nearest millimeter, could detect strain as small as 2 mm km -1 , or 2 × 10 -6 . It is possible, however, to measure strains at least three orders of magnitude smaller using borehole strainmeters. In fact, it is even possible to measure strains as small as 10 -8 using observations of groundwater levels in boreholes.

Book chapter↗
USGS1995

Population trends from the North American Breeding Bird Survey

INTRODUCTION: Most Neotropical migrant birds are difficult to count accurately and are moderately common over large breeding distributions. Consequently, little historical information exists on their large-scale population changes, and most of this information is anecdotal. Surveys begun in this century such as Breeding Bird Censuses and Christmas Bird Counts have the potential to provide this information, but only the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) achieves the extensive continental coverage necessary to document population changes for most Neotropical migrant birds. Conservationists and ecologists have begun to use BBS data to estimate population trends, but there is still widespread confusion over exactly what these data show regarding population changes. In this chapter, we review the current state of knowledge regarding population changes in Neotropical migrant birds and the methods used to analyze these changes. The primary emphasis is on the BBS (Robbins et al. 1986) because this survey provides the best available data for estimating trends of Neotropical migrants on a continental scale. To address questions about methods of analyzing survey data, we review and compare some alternative methods of analyzing BBS data. We also discuss the effectiveness of the BBS in sampling Neotropical migrant species, and review possibilities for use of alternative data sets to verify trends from the BBS.

Book chapter↗
USGS2020

Modeling false positives

Many of the models we are concerned with included explicit descriptions of false negative errors. However, false positive errors can also be commin in practice, especially in citizen science applications where observer skill is highly variable. In addition, new methods which determine detection based on statistical classification or machine learning methods are also prone to false positive errors which must be accounted for. An early treatment of the false positive detection problem by Royle & Link (2006) recognized that false positive errors can be accommodated by a mixture model for detection probability: one value of detection at occupied sites and another non-zero value at unoccupied sites. This model has been extended greatly in recent years to include more informative data about false positives including validation or confirmation data (Miller et al. 2011) and multiple detection methods, among others. A new frontier for the application of false positives models lies in the use of modern technologies such as bioacoustics for efficient automated monitoring. For these technologies to realize their promise there must be improvements in automated processing of the vast quantities of output produced. Statistical classification methods (machine learning) are fallible and necessarily produce false positive detections. Therefore models which account for this process are necessary (Chambert et al. 2017). It stands to reason that false positives will need to be accounted for in other new technologies that rely on automated digital processing, including eDNA, genetic barcoding, and automated detection in remote camera studies. We devise a new occupancy model that integrates data from bioacoustics sampling with an occupancy model. This integrated model allows occupancy probability to inform species classification of samples and vice versa bioacoustics detection data inform occupancy. We provide a proof of concept for this new model in this chapter. As the core hierarchical model for the false positives models covered in this chapter are just ordinary occupancy models, extension of the ideas to open systems poses no technical challenges. We provide a suite of illustrations of these extensions. Perhaps the most prominent mechanism that leads to false positive errors it he mis-classification of species detections, or the confusion of one species for another. Very little work has been done on developing models based on this mechanistic understanding although Chambert et al. (2018) develop this idea as a 2-species occupancy model with error. We believe one important area of future research is to extend these ideas to truly multi-species systems.

Book chapter↗
USGS2003

Introduction to physical properties and elasticity models

Estimating the in situ methane hydrate volume from seismic surveys requires knowledge of the rock physics relations between wave speeds and elastic moduli in hydrate/sediment mixtures. The elastic moduli of hydrate/sediment mixtures depend on the elastic properties of the individual sedimentary particles and the manner in which they are arranged. In this chapter, we present some rock physics data currently available from literature. The unreferenced values in Table I were not measured directly, but were derived from other values in Tables I and II using standard relationships between elastic properties for homogeneous, isotropic material. These derivations allow us to extend the list of physical property estimates, but at the expense of introducing uncertainties due to combining property values measured under different physical conditions. This is most apparent in the case of structure II (sII) hydrate for which very few physical properties have been measured under identical conditions.

Book chapter↗
USGS2011

Bibliography of the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain coal geology

Unlike scientific literature pertaining to most other coal-bearing regions in the conterminous United States, this bibliography on the coal geology of the Gulf Coastal Plain is dominated by work from the late 20th century. Although coals of this region were mined commercially in the late 1800s and early 1900s, they were eclipsed by the production and use of oil and gas in the middle 1920s and were not mined again as a significant fuel source until the 1970s. As a result, the literature consists mainly of a relatively small number of pre-1920 contributions in state and federal reports, followed by a plethora of technical papers, symposia proceedings, field guides, theses, dissertations, and abstracts over the past 40 years. The purpose of this chapter is to record the present work used by U.S. Geological Survey personnel preparing the Gulf Coast Coal Resource Assessment and to furnish an introduction to the larger body of sedimentary, stratigraphic, paleontologic, geochemical, hydrologic, and mining literature that exists in the region. This bibliography is an update of an earlier compilation (Tewalt et al., 1990). Despite its length, it is not exhaustive. Nor is it restricted to papers that focus solely upon coals because an understanding of these coals is rooted in the general geologic literature of the Gulf Coastal Plain.

Louisiana, Texas↗
USGS1991

Faulting and seismic activity

This chapter traces some of the ideas and concepts leading to the current understanding of the process of faulting and earthquake generation, gives examples of engineering geology investigations contributing to that understanding, describes some engineering projects that have been strongly influenced by the process, and suggests needed research. Each of these topics is discussed in sequence. The understanding of faulting and earthquakes and of the significance of these to engineering has developed over several centuries. John Michell in 1761 was probably the first to publish a cross section of a clearly recognizable fault (Adams, 1938, Fig. 66). Michell did not attribute earthquakes to faulting, but proposed the important idea that seismic vibrations were the result of the propagation of elastic waves in the earth (Adams, 1938). Charles Lyell (1830) emphasized the uplift and depression of land that accompanies earthquakes. He did not attribute earthquakes to faulting, but a contemporary of his evidently did, for the following statement appeared in a review of Lyell’s book (Scrap, 1830, p. 463): The sudden fracture of solid strata by any disruptive force must necessarily produce a violent vibratory jar to a considerable distance along the continuation of these strata. Such vibrations would be propagated in undulations, which may be expected, when influencing a mass of rocks several thousand feet at least in thickness, to produce on the surface exactly the wave-like motion, the opening and shutting of crevices, the tumbling down of cliffs and walls, and other characteristic phenomena of earthquakes. This idea was apparently disregarded, and coseismic faulting, some of which reached the ground surface, was generally considered to be the result rather than the cause of earthquakes until the time of G. K. Gilbert.

DNAG Special Publication↗
USGS2011

Using regional-scale pre- and post Hurricane Katrina lidar for monitoring and modeling: Chapter 30

Hurricane Katrina was one of the largest natural disasters in U.S. history. Due to the sheer size of the affected areas, an unprecedented regional analysis at very high resolution and accuracy was needed to properly quantify and understand the effects of the hurricane and the storm tide. Many disparate sources of lidar data were acquired and processed for varying environmental reasons by pre- and post-Katrina projects. The datasets were in several formats and projections and were processed to varying phases of completion, and as a result the task of producing a seamless digital elevation dataset required a high level of coordination, research, and revision. This completed integration allowed for regional-scale storm surge modeling based on very high-resolution elevation information.

Louisiana, Mississippi↗
USGS2009

Real-time decision support systems: the famine early warning system network

A multi-institutional partnership, the US Agency for International Development’s Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) provides routine monitoring of climatic, agricultural, market, and socioeconomic conditions in over 20 countries. FEWS NET supports and informs disaster relief decisions that impact millions of people and involve billions of dollars. In this chapter, we focus on some of FEWS NET’s hydrologic monitoring tools, with a specific emphasis on combining “low frequency” and “high frequency” assessment tools. Low frequency assessment tools, tied to water and food balance estimates, enable us to evaluate and map long-term tendencies in food security. High frequency assessments are supported by agrohydrologic models driven by satellite rainfall estimates, such as the Water Requirement Satisfaction Index (WRSI). Focusing on eastern Africa, we suggest that both these high and low frequency approaches are necessary to capture the interaction of slow variations in vulnerability and the relatively rapid onset of climatic shocks.

Book chapter↗