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Projected sea-level rise and high tide flooding at Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Florida

Introduction National parks and preserves in the South Atlantic-Gulf Region contain valuable coastal habitats such as tidal wetlands and mangrove forests, as well as irreplaceable historic buildings and archeological sites located in low-lying areas. These natural and cultural resources are vulnerable to accelerated sea-level rise and escalating high tide flooding events. Through a Natural Resources Preservation Program-funded project during 2021–23, the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the National Park Service, estimated the probability of inundation at Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Florida, and several other parks under various sea-level rise scenarios and contemporary high tide flooding thresholds. The maps produced for this effort can be used to assess potential habitat change and explore how infrastructure and cultural resources within the park may be exposed to future flooding-related hazards.

Florida

Abandonment of the Upper Devonian Greenland Gap Group and Scherr Formation and revision of the Upper Devonian Brallier and Foreknobs Formations in the central Valley and Ridge Province

This study revises the lithostratigraphic framework of the Upper Devonian interval traditionally assigned to the Greenland Gap Group across the central Appalachian Valley and Ridge Province. The work aims to modernize and standardize lithostratigraphic nomenclature, establish a new reference section and demonstrate how the revised stratigraphy improves edge-matching of 1:24,000 scale geologic maps and supports compilation mapping at scales of 1:100,000 and larger. The revision eliminates the names Greenland Gap Group, Scherr Formation and the Minnehaha Springs Member of the Scherr Formation; reassigns all strata previously designated as Scherr Formation by Dennison (1970) to the upper Brallier Formation; and abandons the basal Mallow Member of the Foreknobs Formation, placing its strata within the upper Brallier as originally defined by Butts (1918). The contact between the Brallier and Foreknobs formations is placed at the base of the first mappable, ridge-forming package of fine- to coarse-grained, cross-bedded, sandstone beds, often containing rounded quartz pebbles with minor interbeds of shale and siltstone. This contact may be gradational in places but, even in absence of good exposure, can usually be distinguished topographically in recently produced lidar-derived imagery as having elevated relief due to the presence of more resistant, compositionally mature coarse-grained sandstone-rich strata. Applying this criterion for mapping the contact between the Brallier and Foreknobs formations has resulted in reconciliation of mismatches of geologic contacts along several 7.5-minute quadrangle boundaries in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. A new reference section at Baker, West Virginia showcases the contacts between the Harrell Shale, Brallier Formation, Foreknobs Formation and Hampshire Formation. A digital outcrop model of the reference section is provided for future preservation.

Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia

Geochemistry and thermometry of magnetite veins and replacements in iron ore deposits from the Iron Springs district, SW Utah, USA: Relation to magmatic and hydrothermal processes

Ore-genesis, texture, chemical compositions, and thermometry of magnetite were used to better evaluate the origins of iron ore deposits across the Iron Spring district, Utah. Trace element compositions, determined by LA-ICP-MS, were used to calculate temperatures based on X Mg numbers and characterize the trace element signatures of magmatic and hydrothermal magnetite. Magnetite occurs as coarser crystalline grains within veins, breccias, and cavities along with finer crystalline replacements. Magnetite is most commonly intergrown with apatite, phlogopite, and carbonate in veins, breccias, and cavities where apatite occurs separately from the other gangue minerals. The results using empirical trace element discrimination diagrams generally suggest that the magnetite is overall of hydrothermal origin regardless of textural variations or field relationships. The X Mg numbers of the magnetite in the magnetite-apatite ores, however, are suggestive of high temperature magmatic conditions; whereas those of vein, breccia, and replacement occurrences containing other gangue minerals are suggestive of lower temperature hydrothermal processes.

Utah

Prioritizing US Geological Survey science on salinization and salinity in candidate and selected priority river basins

The US Geological Survey (USGS) is selecting and prioritizing basins, known as Integrated Water Science basins, for monitoring and intensive study. Previous efforts to aid in this selection process include a scientifically defensible and quantitative assessment of basins facing human-caused water resource challenges (Van Metre et al. in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment , 192(7), 458 2020). In the present work, we explore this ranking process based on water quality considerations, specifically salinity and salinization. We selected top candidate basins to study salinity and salinization issues in 18 hydrologic regions that include 163 candidate basins. Our prioritization is based on quantitative assessment of sources of salinity, drivers of change, and receptors that must respond to those sources and drivers. Source terms represented in the prioritization include geology, depth to brackish groundwater, stream conductivity, chloride in precipitation, urban and agricultural land use, application of road salt as a deicer, and irrigation. Drivers represented in prioritization include changes in chemical weathering as a result of changes in rainwater chemistry. Receptors include measures of water stress, measurements of stream ecological health, and socioeconomic factors. In addition, we present research activities for the USGS on salinity and salinization that can be pursued in these basins including assessment of sources, pathways, and loadings; predicting and understanding changes in sources, peaks, and trends; understanding the components of salinity and mobilization of contaminants; understanding the relationship between salinization and changing ecosystems; and developing knowledge on the causes and distribution of groundwater salinity, brackish water resources, and challenges related to desalination.

Enviornmental Monitoring and Assessment

Bedrock geologic map of the Bellows Falls 7.5- x 15-minute quadrangle, Windham and Windsor Counties, Vermont, and Sullivan and Cheshire Counties, New Hampshire

Introduction The bedrock geology of the Bellows Falls 7.5- x 15-minute quadrangle, Vermont and New Hampshire, consists of polydeformed Ordovician to Devonian metasedimentary, metavolcanic, and metaplutonic rocks of the Connecticut Valley trough, Bronson Hill anticlinorium (or Bronson Hill terrane), and the Central Maine terrane. Previous work in this area includes a 1:62,500-scale published map and text (1946), State geologic maps of New Hampshire (1997) and Vermont (2011), and various maps and reports presented largely as parts of field trip guidebooks. A provisional open-file map of the geology of the Vermont part of the Bellows Falls 7.5- x 15-minute quadrangle, completed in 1997, is incorporated and revised on this map based on additional fieldwork. This study recognizes three major structural levels from west to east and from lowest to highest: (1) autochthonous rocks of the Connecticut Valley trough; (2) allochthonous rocks of the New Hampshire sequence and Bronson Hill arc in the Monroe thrust sheet (or nappe), including the Skitchewaug nappe; and (3) allochthonous rocks of the Fall Mountain thrust sheet or nappe.

New Hampshire, Vermont

Geology and geochemistry of Ni-Co laterite occurrences of northern California and southern Oregon

Ni-Co laterite occurrences in the Klamath Mountains of southern Oregon and northern California contain Ni, Co, and Sc values comparable to global deposits. However, they are thin and limited in extent, often occurring as landslides and slumps. Olivine in the parent material contains Ni and Co and enstatite contains Sc. Through pervasive weathering, these elements where concentrated in Fe- and Mn-oxides. Unlike the mined Nickel Mountian deposit near Riddle, Oregon, these occurrences have no hydrous-Mg silicate minerals. Although the region experienced pervasive weathering in the Eocene, preservation of the laterite profiles was limited in the Klamath Mountains due to accelerated uplift and erosion compared to the Coast Range Provence.

Conference Paper

Sensitivity of benthic biota and toxicity of cadmium, cobalt, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc mixtures in Washington, United States, and British Columbia, Canada

Relative sensitivities and responses of juvenile white sturgeon ( Acipenser transmontanus ), Hyalella azteca , two families of mayfly (Ephemerellidae, Heptageniidae), one family of caddisfly (Brachycentridae), and a natural community of benthic macroinvertebrates (BMI) to multiple metals are predicted using previously collected laboratory and field samples and a metal mixture model. Biological responses in single metal exposures are used to parameterize toxicity functions, which include accumulations of hydrogen and selected metals on biological receptors, intrinsic potencies of hydrogen and metals, sensitivities of organisms, and times of exposure. The model then is used to predict responses in multiple metal laboratory exposures and field-collected porewater. The following sensitivity sequence in porewater was determined based on endpoints of survival or total abundance: juvenile white sturgeon greater than (>) Ephemerellidae family > Hyalella azteca > Heptageniidae family about equal to (~) benthic macroinvertebrate community > Brachycentridae family. The fraction of porewater samples that are predicted to have adverse impacts on benthic biota (20-percent or greater negative response) depends on organism sensitivities and metal toxicities, and ranges from 44 to 48 percent for juvenile white sturgeon, 23 to 26 percent for the Ephemerellidae family, 16 to 22 percent for Hyalella azteca , 5 to 8 percent for the Heptageniidae family and BMI community, and 0 percent for the caddisfly family. The most toxic porewater in the upper Columbia River Basin (UCR) is at the backwater bar site at Deadmans Eddy and China Bend. The model also indicates that the element responsible for the most toxic conditions in UCR porewater is copper for all organisms, except Hyalella azteca and the metal-insensitive Brachycentridae family. Copper and lead result in the most toxic conditions for Hyalella azteca . This approach and results can aid in assessing metal toxicity and its potential risk to aquatic biota in ecosystems impacted by historical mining activities.

British Columbia, Washington

Perchlorate, metals, organic compounds, and lead isotopes in groundwater, surface water, shallow groundwater, and soil within and near the Middleton Municipal Airport–Morey Field (C29), Middleton, Wisconsin, 2022

The Middleton Municipal Airport–Morey Field (C29) is in the City of Middleton and adjacent to the towns of Middleton and Springfield, Wisconsin. Nearby homes in the towns rely on private drinking water wells, and residents are concerned about the potential contamination of groundwater and surface water by airport activities, including flights by small aircraft that use leaded aviation fuel and a fireworks display in July 2021. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Town of Middleton, completed a study in 2022 to characterize the occurrence and sources of perchlorate, metals (including lead), and organic compounds in samples of groundwater, surface water, shallow groundwater, and soils within and near the airport. Lead isotopes were also measured to determine sources of lead by comparing samples to environmental references. Magnitudes of concentrations from samples of water and soil collected in 2022, and their spatial patterns across site locations, indicate the fireworks display in July 2021 was a likely source of perchlorate and metals in the airport study area. The highest perchlorate concentration was measured in surface water at the southeastern corner of the airport near the fireworks launch site; the highest concentrations of fireworks-associated metals were measured in shallow groundwater near the same location. Fireworks were not the only possible source of perchlorate and metals in the airport study area because both were also detected upgradient and away from the fireworks launch site. Ratios of lead isotopes indicate that lead measured in water and soil within the airport study area was primarily sourced from background atmospheric lead deposition or Wisconsin galena lead ore. However, two groundwater samples (one upgradient and one downgradient from the airport; both with concentrations less than 1 microgram per liter) had isotopic signatures matching leaded aviation fuel sold at the airport.

Wisconsin

Geochemical and hydrological investigations of historical data collected at the Lee Acres Landfill and Giant Bloomfield Refinery, New Mexico, 1985–2020

The Lee Acres Landfill and Giant Bloomfield Refinery are adjacent properties near the City of Farmington, New Mexico, each having undergone monitoring and remediation related to historical site activities. At the landfill, site cleanup has included the installation of a capillary barrier over former liquid waste lagoons and periodic monitoring of groundwater elevations and groundwater quality. At the refinery, remediation has focused on several petrochemical and crude oil release areas and included soil excavation, groundwater treatment, and regular monitoring of groundwater elevations and quality. Groundwater at both sites has higher concentrations of volatile organic compounds and trace metals than background aquifer concentrations. In 2022, the U.S. Geological Survey compiled the Lee Acres-Giant Bloomfield Refinery Database (LAGBRD), which contains publicly available groundwater-elevation data and organic and inorganic groundwater-quality data from both sites, spanning from 1985 to 2020. Data from the LAGBRD and precipitation data from other sources were used to better understand the cause of relatively high manganese concentrations observed in some groundwater wells at the site through comparison of groundwater chemistry to chemical end members, interpretation of spatial and temporal patterns in the groundwater chemistry, and interpretation of groundwater flow properties. In this study, elevated chloride concentrations in groundwater downgradient from the landfill have been attributed to landfill leachate based on the temporal and spatial variability of chloride concentrations and chloride-to-bromide ratios. Installation of a capillary barrier and surface-water runoff controls at the landfill in 2005 appears to have altered infiltration patterns at that site, resulting in a decrease in chloride at some wells but an increase in chloride and dissolved manganese at others. The timing and relation among groundwater elevation, chloride concentration, and manganese concentration suggest that leachate stored in the vadose zone provides a continued source of contamination to groundwater.

New Mexico

Conceptualization and simulation of groundwater flow and groundwater availability in the Boone and Roubidoux aquifers in northeastern Oklahoma, 1980–2017

Oklahoma Groundwater Law (Oklahoma Statute § 82-1020.5) requires that the Oklahoma Water Resources Board conduct hydrologic investigations to determine the maximum annual yield for the State’s groundwater basins. The Boone and Roubidoux aquifers (also known as the Springfield Plateau aquifer and Ozark aquifer, respectively) are bedrock aquifers that extend from northeastern Oklahoma into Kansas, Arkansas, and Missouri. At present (2024), the Oklahoma Water Resources Board has yet to legally issue orders for the final determination of maximum annual yields for the Boone and Roubidoux aquifers. To support determination of a maxi­mum annual yield, the U.S. Geological Survey, in coopera­tion with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, developed a hydrogeologic framework, a conceptual groundwater-flow model, and a calibrated numerical groundwater-flow model for the Boone and Roubidoux aquifers. Three types of groundwater-availability scenarios were simulated by using the calibrated numerical model. These scenarios were used to (1) estimate equal-proportionate-share groundwater withdrawal rates (groundwater withdrawal applied equally over the aquifer), (2) quantify the potential effects of projected groundwater withdrawals on groundwater storage over a 50-year period, and (3) simulate the poten­tial effects of a hypothetical 10-year drought. For the Boone aquifer, equal-proportionate-share groundwater withdrawal rates were 1.10, 0.98, and 0.96 acre-feet per acre per year for the 20-, 40-, and 50-year scenarios, respectively. For the Roubidoux aquifer, equal-proportionate-share groundwater withdrawal rates were 1.76, 1.34, and 1.25 acre-feet per acre per year for the 20-, 40-, and 50-year simulations, respectively. For the 50-year scenarios, stream seepage was minimally affected. Over the 10-year drought scenario, groundwater storage in the Boone and Roubidoux aquifers decreased by 660,451 acre-feet (6.7 percent) and 508,472 acre-feet (1.0 per­cent), respectively.

Oklahoma

Capitalization of positional (Lower/Middle/Upper) and temporal (Early/Middle/Late) adjectives in the names of formal chronostratigraphic and geochronologic units of the Phanerozoic

Many authors are understandably confused about the capitalization of the words “lower,” “middle,” “upper,” “early,” and “late.” Where these words are used simply as descriptive adjectives, they should be in lowercase; where they form the first word of a formal chronostratigraphic or geochronologic unit name, they should be in uppercase.

Professional Paper

Assessing potential effects of oil and gas development activities on groundwater quality near and overlying the Elk Hills and North Coles Levee Oil Fields, San Joaquin Valley, California

Groundwater resources are utilized near areas of intensive oil and gas development in California’s San Joaquin Valley. In this study, we examined chemical and isotopic data to assess if thermogenic gas or saline water from oil producing formations have mixed with groundwater near the Elk Hills and North Coles Levee Oil Fields in the southwestern San Joaquin Valley. Major ion concentrations and stable isotope compositions were largely consistent with natural processes, including mixing of different recharge sources and water-rock interactions. Trace methane concentrations likely resulted from microbial rather than thermogenic sources. Trace concentrations of benzene and other dissolved hydrocarbons in three wells had uncertain sources that could occur naturally or be derived from oil and gas development activities or other anthropogenic sources. In the mid-1990s, two industrial supply wells had increasing Cl and B concentrations likely explained by mixing with up to 15 percent saline oil-field water injected for disposal in nearby injection disposal wells. Shallow groundwater along the western margin of Buena Vista Lake Bed had elevated Cl, B, and SO 4 concentrations that could be explained by accumulation of salts during natural wetting and drying cycles or, alternatively, legacy surface disposal of saline oil-field water in upgradient ephemeral drainages. This study showed that groundwater had relatively little evidence of thermogenic gas or saline water from oil and gas sources in most parts of the study area. However, the evidence for groundwater mixing with injected disposal water, and possibly legacy surface disposal water, demonstrates produced water management practices as a potential risk factor for groundwater-quality degradation near oil and gas fields. Additional studies in the San Joaquin Valley and elsewhere could improve understanding of such risks by assessing the locations, volumes, and types of produced water disposal practices used during the life of oil fields.

California

Profiles of gamma-ray and magnetic data for aerial surveys over parts of the Western United States from longitude 108 to 126 degrees W. and from latitude 34 to 49 degrees N.

This CD-ROM contains images generated from geophysical data, software for displaying and analyzing the images and software for displaying and examining profile data from aerial surveys flown as part of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Program of the U.S. Department of Energy. The images included are of gamma-ray data (uranium, thorium, and potassium channels), Bouguer gravity data, isostatic residual gravity data, aeromagnetic anomalies, topography, and topography with bathymetry. This publication contains image data for the conterminous United States and profile data for the conterminous United States within the area longitude 108 to 126 degrees W. and latitude 34 to 49 degrees N. The profile data include apparent surface concentrations of potassium, uranium, and thorium, the residual magnetic field, and the height above the ground. The images on this CD-ROM include graytone and color images of each data set, color shaded-relief images of the potential-field and topographic data, and color composite images of the gamma-ray data. The image display and analysis software can register images with geographic and geologic overlays. The profile display software permits the user to view the profiles as well as obtain data listings and export ASCII versions of data for selected flight lines.

Data Series

Statistical approaches for modeling correlated grade and tonnage distributions and applications for mineral resource assessments

Correlations between grade and tonnage exist in mineral resource data compiled from published reports, but they are not always addressed during quantitative assessment of undiscovered mineral resources. Failure to account for correlated grade and tonnage distributions can result in geologically unrealistic assessment results. Current software tools simulate univariate ore tonnage and multivariate resource grades of undiscovered deposits independently. As a result, analysts are forced to rely on ad-hoc solutions to minimize the correlation issues by: 1) creating subsets of data with restricted criteria; 2) truncating grade and tonnage distributions; and 3) testing model robustness using exploratory data analysis. While these methods represent pragmatic solutions, the statistical solutions presented here provide additional options to address real correlations in grade and tonnage data used for mineral resource assessments. We present a modified version of the MapMark4 package in R that introduces two alternatives for modeling grade and tonnage distributions, consisting of a multivariate solution that accounts for correlations between ore tonnage and metal grades and an empirical solution that utilizes simple random sampling with replacement to reproduce coupled grades and tonnages from the input data. We present simulations for contained ore and metal for three case studies representing tungsten skarn, komatiite-hosted nickel, and sediment-hosted carbonate amagmatic zinc-lead (Mississippi Valley-type) deposits. Employing the methods presented here yields quantitative mineral resource assessment results that more closely reflect the empirical distributions of grades and tonnages observed in nature and expands the applicability of these tools for ongoing critical mineral resource assessments.

Applied Computing and Geosciences

High-resolution landscape-scale maps of nutrients, phytoplankton, and related water-quality constituents in Suisun Bay and the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, during 2018—Results from high-resolution underway surveys

We examined the abundance and distribution of nutrients and phytoplankton in the tidal aquatic environments of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Delta) and Suisun, Grizzly, and Honker Bays in California by completing three spatial surveys that used continuous underway high frequency (1 hertz) measurements and sampling onboard a high-speed boat. Surveys were conducted in May, July, and October 2018. Water was sampled continuously during surveys to simultaneously collect information about the concentration and spatial distribution of all major nutrient forms together with information about the major classes of phytoplankton and associated standard field measurements of water quality, such as dissolved oxygen, dissolved organic matter, pH, salinity, specific conductance, turbidity, and water temperature. The results show a greater than 50-fold variation in nutrient and phytoplankton concentrations across space and time, providing evidence of the dynamic environmental processes that shape the ways nutrients interact with and affect Delta aquatic habitats.

Data Report

Effects of drought and cloud-water interception on groundwater recharge and wildfire hazard for recent and future climate conditions, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and the Island of Hawaiʻi

The Water-budget Accounting for Tropical Regions Model (WATRMod) code was used for Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and the Island of Hawaiʻi to estimate the spatial distribution of groundwater recharge, soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and climatic water deficit for a set of water-budget scenarios. The scenarios included historical and future drought conditions, and a land-cover condition where shrubland and forest within the cloud zone were converted to grassland. For the historical drought condition, island-wide mean annual recharge estimates range from a decrease of 30 percent (239 million gallons per day [Mgal/d]) for Kauaʻi to a decrease of 39 percent (2,706 Mgal/d) for the Island of Hawaiʻi, relative to the reference condition consisting of 1978–2007 rainfall and 2020 land cover. For the future drought condition, estimates of island-wide mean annual recharge range from a decrease of 40 percent (477 Mgal/d) on Maui to a decrease of 51 percent (116 Mgal/day) on Molokaʻi. Complete conversion of all shrubland and forest within the cloud zone to grassland for each drought condition produces estimated land-cover-related decreases in island-wide mean annual recharge (in addition to the drought-related decreases) of 11–12 Mgal/d on Oʻahu, 119–135 Mgal/day on Maui, and 689–849 Mgal/d on the Island of Hawaiʻi. The spatial distributions of increases in conditions indicative of moisture stress and potential wildfire hazard were quantified using the relative frequency of soil moisture less than a selected threshold value (monthly mean soil moisture less than 0.074, expressed as a fraction of available water capacity), evapotranspiration less than a selected threshold value (monthly evapotranspiration less than 0.96 inches), and climatic water deficit greater than a selected threshold value (monthly climatic water deficit greater than 0.77, expressed as fraction of potential evapotranspiration). For the historical drought condition, the greatest increases in the relative frequency for the moisture-stress indicators occur across parts of east and southwest Kauaʻi; central, east, and west Oʻahu; central Molokaʻi; central Maui and low- to mid-altitude parts of West Maui volcano; and the northwestern and southern parts of the Island of Hawaiʻi. For the future drought condition, the greatest increases in the relative frequency of the moisture-stress indicators occur across parts of west Kauaʻi; central and west Oʻahu and Molokaʻi; a band of mid-altitude area on the southern slope of West Maui volcano and across the southwestern slope of Haleakalā; and mid-altitude areas of the northwestern and southern parts of the Island of Hawaiʻi. Complete conversion of all shrubland and forest within the cloud zone to grassland for each drought condition results in land-cover-related increases in the relative frequency of moisture-stress indicators around Kaʻala in the Waiʻanae Range and the southeastern part of the Koʻolau Range on Oʻahu, the southern part of West Maui volcano and the southwestern slope of Haleakalā on Maui, and the upland regions of the western and southern parts of the Island of Hawaiʻi.

Hawaii

Stable isotope composition and geochemistry of calcite and dolomite in the Mountain Pass carbonatite: A lens into petrogenesis

Carbonatites host most of the global rare earth element (REE) deposits. The petrogenesis of these rocks, including magmatic and post-magmatic processes, are poorly understood but critical in forming and upgrading these deposits. The Mountain Pass carbonatite, which hosts the only active REE mine in North America, is lithologically variable but consistently contains >50% calcite and/or dolomite. Multiple generations of carbonates are evident, suggesting bulk analysis of carbonate minerals would generate a mixed isotopic and geochemical signature. In-situ stable carbon and oxygen isotopes, combined with geochemical analysis and petrography, distinguish carbonate generations, trace the source region of the carbonatite magma, and link carbonate genesis to REE mineralization throughout the intrusion. Primary carbon and oxygen isotope values outside the accepted mantle range may suggest a subduction-related carbon and oxygen source in the mantle. Deformation textures in primary calcite indicate syn- or post-crystallization ductile flow. Carbonates with secondary textures and heavy δ 13 C and δ 18 O values are associated with ore mineralization, suggesting fluid mobilization was important in concentrating REE and upgrading of the Mountain Pass deposit.

California