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At least 613 records · Page 34Linked to original sources
USGS1989

Development of the Wink Sink in west Texas, U.S.A., due to salt dissolution and collapse

The Wink Sink, in Winkler County, Texas, is a collapse feature that formed in June 1980 when an underground dissolution cavity migrated upward by successive roof failures until it breached the land surface. The original cavity developed in the Permian Salado Formation salt beds more than 400 m (1,300 ft) below ground level. Natural dissolution of salt occurred in the vicinity of the Wink Sink in several episodes that began as early as Salado time and recurred in later Permian, Triassic, and Cenozoic times. Although natural dissolution occurred in the past below the Wink Sink, it appears likely that the dissolution cavity and resultant collapse described in this report were influenced by petroleum-production activity in the immediate area. Drilling, completion, and plugging procedures used on an abandoned oil well at the site of the sink appear to have created a conduit that enabled water to circulate down the borehole and dissolve the salt. When the dissolution cavity became large enough, the roof failed and the overlying rocks collapsed into the cavity. Similar collapse features exist where underground salt beds have been intentionally dissolved during solution mining or accidentally dissolved as a result of petroleum-production activity. ?? 1989 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

Environmental Geology and Water Sciences↗
USGS1967

U.S. Geological Survey silicate rock standards

The U.S. Geological Survey has processed six silicate rocks to provide new reference samples to supplement G-1 and W-1. Complete conventional, rapid rock, and spectrochemical analyses by the U.S. Geological Survey are reported for a granite (replacement for G-1), a granodiorite, an andesite, a peridotite, a dunite, and a basalt. Analyses of variance for nickel, chromium, copper, and zirconium in each rock sample showed that for these elements, the rocks can be considered homogeneous. Spectrochemical estimates are given for the nickel, chromium, copper, and zirconium contents of the samples. The petrography of five of the six rocks is described and CIPW norms are presented.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS2020

Extreme arsenic and antimony uptake and tolerance in toad tadpoles during development in highly contaminated wetlands

The effects of extreme concentrations of toxic metalloids, such as arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb), on larval amphibians are not well-understood. We sampled Western Toad tadpoles ( Anaxyrus boreas ) living in As- and Sb-contaminated wetlands throughout their development. Although the tadpoles completed metamorphosis, they accumulated among the highest concentrations of As and Sb ever reported for a living vertebrate (3866.9 mg/kg; 315.0 mg/kg (dry weight), respectively). Ingestion of contaminated sediment had a more important role in metalloid accumulation than aqueous exposure alone. Metalloids were initially concentrated in the gut; however, by metamorphosis, the majority were found in other tissues. These concentrations subsequently decreased with the onset of metamorphosis, yet remained quite elevated. Sublethal effects, including delayed development and reduced size at metamorphosis, were associated with elevated metalloid exposure. The presence of organic arsenicals in tadpole tissues suggests they have the ability to biomethylate inorganic As compounds. The arsenical trimethyl arsine oxide accounted for the majority of extractable organic As, with lesser amounts of monomethylarsonic acid and dimethylarsinic acid. Our findings demonstrate remarkable tolerance of toad tadpoles to extreme metalloid exposure and implicate physiological processes mediating that tolerance.

Environmental Science and Technology↗
USGS2023

Magnitude and frequency of floods for rural streams in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, 2017—Summary

Reliable flood-frequency estimates are important for hydraulic structure design and floodplain management in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Annual peak streamflows (hereafter, referred to as peak flows) measured at 965 U.S. Geological Survey streamgages were used to compute flood-frequency estimates with annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) of 50, 20, 10, 4, 2, 1, 0.5, and 0.2 percent. These AEPs correspond to flood-recurrence intervals of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 500 years, respectively. A subset of these streamgages (801) were used to develop equations to predict the AEP flood flows at ungaged stream locations. This study was completed by the USGS in cooperation with the Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina Departments of Transportation and the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, and the results are summarized in this fact sheet. The complete results and the supporting data are presented in the companion scientific investigations report and data release.

Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina↗
USGS1983

Oklahoma; summary of activities of the USGS, WRD, Oklahoma District, 1983

A summary is presented of water resources activities conducted by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, Oklahoma District, in 1983. It contains brief descriptions of all current and recently completed projects and the status of each project. A list of all published reports related to the water resources of Oklahoma is given. It contains a listing of all current and historic streamflow gaging stations, water-quality stations, reservoir stations, and groundwater and precipitation sites maintained by the Geological Survey. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1993

Ground-water concerns for the Eastern Shore, Virginia

The Eastern Shore of Virginia is a peninsula that is surrounded on three sides by salty water and has no major fresh surface-water sources; groundwater provides the sole freshwater supply. Beginning in about 1965, increases in groundwater withdrawals for agricultural, commercial, urban, and industrial uses have caused water-level declines and have created cone-like depressions in the water-level surface around major pumping centers near the Towns of Accomac, Cape Charles, Cheriton, Chincoteague, Exmore, and Hallwood, Virginia. Increased water withdrawals could adversely affect the supply of fresh groundwater on the Eastern Shore. In 1992, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the counties of Accomack and Northampton, completed a comprehensive study of the groundwater resources of the Eastern Shore. This report highlights the major results of that study. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS2016

Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of Alaska

This assessment was conducted to fulfill the requirements of section 712 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and to contribute to knowledge of the storage, fluxes, and balance of carbon and methane gas in ecosystems of Alaska. The carbon and methane variables were examined for major terrestrial ecosystems (uplands and wetlands) and inland aquatic ecosystems in Alaska in two time periods: baseline (from 1950 through 2009) and future (projections from 2010 through 2099). The assessment used measured and observed data and remote sensing, statistical methods, and simulation models. The national assessment, conducted using the methodology described in SIR 2010-5233, has been completed for the conterminous United States, with results provided in three separate regional reports (PP 1804, PP 1797, and PP 1897).

Alaska↗
USGS2024

Geologic framework and hydrostratigraphy of the Edwards and Trinity aquifers within northern Medina County, Texas

During 2023–24, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Edwards Aquifer Authority, revised a previous publication of the geologic framework and hydrostratigraphy of the Edwards and Trinity aquifers that was completed during 2018–20 within northern Medina County, Texas. The purpose of this report is to present the updated geologic framework and hydrostratigraphy of the rocks containing the Edwards and Trinity aquifers in northern Medina County from field observations of the surficial expressions of the rocks. The report includes a detailed 1:24,000-scale hydrostratigraphic map with names and descriptions of the geologic and hydrostratigraphic units (HSUs) in the study area. This study includes updates to the geology of the Kainer Formation (or its stratigraphic equivalent, the Fort Terrett Formation) with the addition of a burrowed unit between the basal nodular and dolomitic members. The hydrostratigraphy was also updated with the addition of HSU IIA for the upper part of the Devils River Limestone and the Seco Pass HSU for the burrowed member of the Kainer (or Fort Terrett) Formation. The Cretaceous age rocks (listed in ascending order) in the study area are part of the Trinity Group, Edwards Group and stratigraphically equivalent Devils River Limestone, Washita Group, Eagle Ford Group, Austin Group, and Taylor Group, with isolated areas where Late Cretaceous age igneous rocks have intruded. The groups and formations are composed primarily of relatively thick layers of clays, shales, and limestone. The igneous rocks are coarse-grained ultramafic in composition. Hydrostratigraphically, the rocks exposed in the study area (listed in descending order from land surface) are igneous, the upper confining unit to the Edwards aquifer, the Edwards aquifer, the upper zone of the Trinity aquifer, and the upper part of the middle zone of the Trinity aquifer. The karstic carbonate Edwards and Trinity aquifers developed because of their original depositional history, primary and secondary porosity, diagenesis, fracturing, and faulting. These factors have resulted in development of modified porosity, permeability, and transmissivity within and between the aquifers.

Texas↗
USGS1964

Geological Survey research 1964

This collection of 43 short papers is the last of the chapters of Geological Survey Research 1964. The papers report on scientific and economic results of current work by members of the Geologic, Conservation, Water Resources, and Topographic Divisions of the U.S. Geological Survey. Some of the papers present results of completed parts of continuing investigations; others announce new discoveries or preliminary results of investigations that will be discussed in greater detail in reports to be published in the future. Still others are. scientific notes of limited scope, and short papers on techniques and instrumentation. Chapter A of this series presents a summary of results of work done during the present fiscal year.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1955

Preliminary report on the potential waterpower of Grant, Ptarmigan, Cooper and Crescent lakes on the Kenai Peninsula, near Seward, Alaska

Grant, Ptarmigan, Cooper, and Crescent Lakes, located in the Kenai Mountains in the upper portion of the Kenai River Basin, approximately 25 miles to the north of Seward, present favorable opportunities for the development of waterpower. Grant and Ptarmigan Lakes can be made readily accessible by roads from the Seward-Anchorage Highway which in this area practically parallels the Alaska Railroad; and Cooper and Crescent Lakes by access roads from the Sterling Highway. Geologic conditions are favorable for the construction of the various elements of a power development although some special problems may be encountered. The power sites are located in areas of severe winter temperatures, -30° to -40° or less in most winters. This climatic feature must be given due consideration in the design of the various structures required for a power development. Streamflow records are available for a 7-year period for Grant and Ptarmigan Creeks and for a 5-year period for Cooper and Crescent Creeks. Only short and incomplete records of precipitation are available in the area of the power sites but records have been kept at Seward for 30 years. The precipitation at Seward during the periods for which streamflow records are available was, in general, less than average. It seems reasonable that similar conditions would prevail over the upper Kenai Basin. Consequently, the available stream-flow records cover a period of less than average precipitation and estimates of potential power based on these figures probably are on the conservative side. Only regulated flow is considered in this report. Each of the four lakes is a favorable storage site. Adequate capacity for complete regulation of the flow on a year-to-year basis or over a period of several years can be obtained by the construction of dams ranging in height from 20 to 50 feet. Water from the reservoirs can be conveyed to the powerhouses through conduits, tunnels, or pipelines of reasonable length. The total estimated potential power for the four lakes is 11,000 kilowatts for 90 percent of the time and 14,000 kilowatts for 50 percent of the time. Transmission line distances to Seward range from 22 miles for the Ptarmigan Lake power site to as much as 50 miles for the Cooper Lake power site that would be located on the Kenai River. The transmission line distance to Anchorage will approximate 100 miles, depending on the route selected.

Alaska↗
USGS2007

Legacy mercury in Alviso Slough, south San Francisco Bay, California: Concentration, speciation and mobility

Mercury (Hg) is a significant contaminant in the waters, sediment and biota of San Francisco Bay, largely resulting from extensive historic regional mining activities. Alviso Slough represents one of the most mercury contaminated waterways entering south San Francisco Bay, as it is associated with the drainage of the New Almaden mercury mining district. Wetland habitat restoration of former salt manufacturing ponds adjacent to Alviso Slough is currently being planned. One management scenario being considered is a levee breach between Alviso Slough and Pond A8, which will allow reconnection of the salt pond with the tidal slough. This action is projected to increase the tidal prism within Alviso Slough and result in some degree of sediment remobilization as the main channel deepens and widens. The focus of the current study is to assess: a) the current mercury species composition and concentration in sediments within the Alviso Slough main channel and its associated fringing marsh plain, b) how much of each mercury species will be mobilized as a result of projected channel deepening and widening, and c) potential changes in inorganic reactive mercury bioavailability (for conversion to toxic methylmercury) associated with the mobilized sediment fraction. The current report details the field sampling approach and all laboratory analyses conducted, as well as provides the complete dataset associated with this project including a) a quantitative assessment of mercury speciation (total mercury, reactive mercury and methylmercury), b) estimates of the quantity of sediment and mercury mobilized based on 20-foot and 40-foot levee wall notch scenarios, and c) results from a sediment scour experiment examining the changes in the reactive mercury pool under four treatment conditions (high / low salinity and oxic / anoxic water). Ancillary sediment data also collected and reported herein include bulk density, organic content, magnetic susceptibility, percent dry weight, grain size, pH, oxidation-reduction potential, core photography, and detailed lithographic descriptions.

California↗
USGS1878

Annual Report upon the geographical surveys of the territory of the United States west of the 100th meridian, in the States and Territories of California, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming: Being Appendix NN of the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1878

I [George M. Wheeler] have the honor to submit the following report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1878: At the close of the present field season parties of the survey will have been engaged in fourteen of the fifteen States and Territories, a part or all of which lie west of the 100th meridian of longitude; the remaining political division (Dakota) alone having been unvisited. The progress of the work since its commencement has been directed over connected areas, and in such manner that, at a minimum of time and expense, as large areas as practicable, pursuant to required methods, shall be topographically surveyed in detail, to the end that the War Department shall have, at as early a date as possible, a complete map of the entire region.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mont↗
USGS1997

Water-level altitudes in wells completed in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers, Fort Bend County and adjacent areas, Texas, January-February 1990

This report, prepared in cooperation with the Fort Bend Subsidence District, presents maps for the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers in Fort Bend County and adjacent areas showing the approximate water-level altitudes in wells in 1990 (figs. 1, 2). The most recent previously published water-level-altitude maps (and water-level-change maps) for the two aquifers are by Coplin and others (1997). The earliest water-level-altitude maps (and water-level-change maps) for the Chicot aquifer are by Wesselman (1972). The first maps of water-level altitudes (and water-level changes) for Chicot and Evangeline aquifers are by Locke (1990).

Open-File Report↗
USGS1979

North American Paleozoic land snails, with a summary of other Paleozoic nonmarine snails

Land snails from the Paleozoic of North America are known from the coal fields of eastern Canada, from the Dunkard basin west of the Allegheny Mountains, and from the western margin of the Illinois basin. The earliest finds were made about 125 years ago; essentially no new information has been recorded for a century. Large collections of Anthracopupa from the Dunkard basin sparked inquiry into the land snails from the other two areas. Studies using the SEM (scanning electron microscope) have provided considerable insight into microdetails of shell structure, which allow systematic assignment of these gastropods. All may be assigned to extant families, except one, for which insufficient material allows only superfamily assignment. The prosobranch Dawsonella is confirmed as being a terrestrial neritacean gastropod. To date, it is known only from the upper Middle Pennsylvanian of Illinois and Indiana. All the other Paleozoic land snails are stylommatophoran pulmonates; their current classification as nonmarine cyclophoraceans is not correct. Restudy of material from the Joggins section of Nova Scotia indicates that representatives of two ordinal groups of pulmonates appeared simultaneously in upper Lower Pennsylvanian strata; the oldest land prosobranch is found in only very slightly younger rocks. Zonites (Conulus) priscus is reassigned to the new genus Protodiscus in the extant family Discidae. Dendropupa is placed within the family Enidae, Anthraaopupa is placed in the family Tornatellinidae, and 'Pupa' bigsbii is assigned to the superfamily Pupillacea. All four of these family-level taxa are diverse and belong to two orders within the superorder Stylommatophora, heretofore considered a derived rather than an ancestral stock. Anthracopupa ohioensis Whitfield is a highly variable species, and two other species Naticopsis (?) diminuta and A.(?) dunkardona, both named by Stauffer and Schroyer, are placed in synonymy with it. To obtain taxonomic data to support the family placement of Anthracopupa, growth forms of modern pupillid and tornatellinid snails have been distinguished. The apertural barriers in Anthracopupa are identical in placement and growth pattern with those of living Tornatellinidae and independently confirm the family placement derived from study of the general form. One new species, A. sturgeoni, has been named. Anthracopupa is found most commonly in thin limestones interpreted as having been deposited in pools into which the small shells floated. Dendropupa is most commonly found in erect tree stumps that were covered by rapid sedimentation. Both environments are similar to those in which the shells of allied living species may be found today, and the fossils support environmental interpretations made entirely from lithology. A survey of the few European occurrences of Paleozoic land snails indicates that both Anthracopupa and Dendropupa occur in Lower Permian strata; Anthracopupa is known from beds as old as Westphalian B. These genera cannot be used for determining the Carboniferous-Permian boundary. Both the long local stratigraphic range of A. brittanica and D. vetusta reported in the literature and the moderately long range and great variability of A. ohioensis suggest that the land snails have little stratigraphic utility. On the other hand, the occurrence of these land snails in the late Paleozoic of the Northern Hemisphere provides further fossil evidence suggestive of a closed Atlantic Ocean at that time. A comparison of the Paleozoic and the present distributions of land -snail families on both sides of the Atlantic provides some interesting data on geographic shifts of organisms. Finally, the assignment of the earliest land snails to extant taxa at the family level indicates that the subclass Pulmonata has been very conservative in its evolution after initial radiation. A few notes on Paleozoic freshwater snails complete this survey.

Professional Paper↗
USGS2002

Selected effects of the Conservation Reserve Program on program participants: A report to survey respondents

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) established under the 1985 Food Security Act was initially designed to provide the agricultural community economic assistance while protecting highly erodible cropland. Many of the environmental benefits to soil, water, and wildlife resources have been documented (Dunn and others, 1993; Ryan and others, 1998; Flather and others, 1999; Heard and others, 2000). However, the personal and social effects of the program on CRP participants (or contractees) had not been formally documented. Information had been limited to anecdotal comments from individual participants, such as: “since establishment of the CRP the streams have surface water in them” or “the CRP grasses capture drifting snow, making winter feeding of cattle easier.” The Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) wanted to have a better picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the program, according to those most affected by it. In addition, policy makers wanted to get input from program participants on the growing emphasis of the program on long-term management and wildlife habitat requirements. As a result, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was asked to survey CRP contractees on these issues. Preliminary results from this study have been furnished to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and are being considered as new conservation and management policies for the CRP are being developed (as part of the recently passed Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002). This report includes preliminary results of the study and is being sent to survey respondents. A formal publication of survey results is also being prepared and should be completed by the winter of 2002.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2004

Preliminary grid data and maps for an aeromagnetic survey of the Taylor mountains quadrangle and a portion of the Bethel quadrangle, Alaska

A preliminary data grid and maps are presented for an aeromagnetic survey of the Taylor Mountains and a portion of the Bethel quadrangles, Alaska. The aeromagnetic survey was flown by McPhar Geosurveys Ltd. for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). A flight-line spacing of 1,600 meters (1 mile) and nominal flight height of 305 meters (1,000 feet) above topography (draped) was used for the survey. The preliminary data grid has a grid cell size of 350 meters (1150 feet). Final data processing and quality control have not been applied to these data. The purpose of this preliminary data release is to allow prompt public access to these data, which are of interest for active mineral exploration in the region. A more complete data release and description will be published later once the final data processing is complete.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1978

Impact of coastal processes on resource development with an example from Icy Bay, Alaska

The coastline of Alaska is dynamic and continually readjusting to changes in the many processes that operate in the coastal zone. Because of this dynamic nature, special consideration must be made in planning for development, and. caution must be exercised in site selection for facilities to be emplaced in the coastal zone. All types of coastal processes from continuously active normal processes to the low frequency-high intensity rare event must be considered. Site-specific evaluation-s considering the broad range of possible processes must precede initiation of development. An example of the relation between coastal processes and a proposed resource treatment facility is presented for Icy Bay, Alaska. Icy Bay is the only sheltered bay near many of the offshore tracts leased for petroleum exploration in the 1976 northern Gulf of Alaska OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) lease sale. Consequently, it has been selected as a primary onshore staging site for the support of offshore exploration and development. The environment of Icy Bay has many potentially hazardous features, including a submarine moraine at the bay mouth and actively calving glaciers at the bay's head which produce many icebergs. But most significant from the point of view of locating onshore facilities and pipeline corridors are the high rates of shoreline erosion and sediment deposition. If pipelines or any onshore staging facilities are to be placed in the coastal areas of Icy Bay, then the dynamic changes in shoreline position must be considered so that man-made structures will not be eroded away or be silted in before the completion of development.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1983

Reconnaissance geology of the Jabal Dalfa Quadrangle, sheet 21/43 C, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Jabal Dalfa quadrangle (sheet 21/43 C) is part of the Najd province in west-central Saudi Arabia. The quadrangle is mostly a plain, tilted gently northeastward, but local inselbergs and two areas of dissected uplands rise as much as 200 m above the plain. Wadi Bishah and Wadi Ranyah terminate in the quadrangle. The quadrangle is underlain by Precambrian metavolcanic, metasedimentary, and plutonic rocks. The gneiss outcrops in the northeast and east-central parts of the quadrangle are apparently the oldest rocks. After they were emplaced, a wide variety of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks were deposited at Jabal Dalfa and Umm Shat, and in the northeast part of the quadrangle as the Arfan formation. Subsequently, granite gneiss was emplaced in the west part of the quadrangle and intruded by gabbro. Metabasalt and meta-andesite were extruded in a wide north-trending belt through the middle of the quadrangle and at Jabal Silli. Intrusion of small bodies of granitic rocks and Najd faulting conclude the Precambrian history of the area. Surficial deposits include sand and gravel covering the plains, alluvial fans, and voluminous dune sands. In the southeast part of the quadrangle, the layered rocks strike north and dip steeply. They are oriented parallel to the Nabitah fault zone. In the northeast and east-central parts of the quadrangle, layered rocks and gneiss are sheared into slices by the southernmost faults of the major Najd fault zone. Bedding and foliation in these slices strike northwest, parallel to the faults. Gneiss in the west part of the quadrangle also strikes northwest, and dips steeply to vertically; layered rocks underlying Jabal Silli strike northeast. Layered metamorphic rocks in the Jabal Dalfa quadrangle are mostly in the greenschist facies. Projection of data from other quadrangles suggests that the oldest gneiss is about 780 Ma old and the Arfan formation, Umm Shat, and Jabal Dalfa layered rocks are about 775 to 745 Ma old. The gneiss of Shaib Hadhaq is probably about 720 Ma old, the gabbro is 640 to 625 Ma old, and the granite is about 600 Ma old. The airborne magnetometer survey suggests that considerable additional gabbro underlies the west part of the quadrangle. Concealed serpentinite bodies, particularly in the Nabitah fault zone, are also suggested. Elongate anomalies and linear gradients indicate that the northeast part of the quadrangle is probably part of the Najd fault zone. A number of gold-bearing quartz veins in the quadrangle were mined in ancient times, and on, at Jabal Umm Matirah has been drilled and found to be uneconomic. A nickel-copper prospect has proved uneconomic. geochemical survey for additional deposits of metals was completed in 1982.

Open-File Report↗