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Geologic and hydrogeologic framework of the Espanola basin -- Proceedings of the 4th annual Espanola Basin Workshop, Santa Fe, New Mexico, March 1-3, 2005

This report presents abstracts of technical studies that pertain to the hydrogeologic framework of the This report presents abstracts of technical studies that pertain to the hydrogeologic framework of the Española basin, a major subbasin of the Cenozoic Rio Grande rift. Sediments and interbedded volcanic rocks that fill the Española basin comprise an aquifer system that is an important source of water for many residents of the basin, including people in the cities of Santa Fe, Española, and Los Alamos as well as Native Americans in eleven Pueblos. The abstracts describe results of technical studies that were presented either as poster exhibits or oral presentations at the forth-annual Española basin workshop, held March 1-2 of 2005 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The principal goal of this workshop was to share information about ongoing studies. The Española basin workshop was hosted by the Española basin technical advisory group (EBTAG) and sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey, the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, and both the Water Research Technical Assistance Office and the Groundwater Protection Program of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Abstracts in this report have been grouped into six information themes: Basic Water Data, Water Quality and Water Chemistry, Water Balance and Stream/Aquifer Interaction, Data Integration and Hydrologic Model Testing, Three-Dimensional Hydrogeological Architecture, and Geologic Framework. Taken together, the abstracts in this report provide a view of the current status of hydrogeologic research within the Española basin. , a major subbasin of the Cenozoic Rio Grande rift. Sediments and interbedded volcanic rocks that fill the Española basin comprise an aquifer system that is an important source of water for many residents of the basin, including people in the cities of Santa Fe, Española, and Los Alamos as well as Native Americans in eleven Pueblos. The abstracts describe results of technical studies that were presented either as poster exhibits or oral presentations at the forth-annual Española basin workshop, held March 1-2 of 2005 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The principal goal of this workshop was to share information about ongoing studies. The Española basin workshop was hosted by the Española basin technical advisory group (EBTAG) and sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey, the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, and both the Water Research Technical Assistance Office and the Groundwater Protection Program of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Abstracts in this report have been grouped into six information themes: Basic Water Data, Water Quality and Water Chemistry, Water Balance and Stream/Aquifer Interaction, Data Integration and Hydrologic Model Testing, Three-Dimensional Hydrogeological Architecture, and Geologic Framework. Taken together, the abstracts in this report provide a view of the current status of hydrogeologic research within the Española basin.

New Mexico↗

Water Quality in the High Plains Aquifer, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming, 1999-2004

This report contains the major findings of a 1999-2004 assessment of water quality in the High Plains aquifer. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings for principal and other aquifers and major river basins across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is discussed in terms of local, regional, State, and national issues. Conditions in the aquifer system are compared to conditions found elsewhere and to selected national benchmarks, such as those for drinking-water quality. This report is intended for individuals working with water-resource issues in Federal, State, or local agencies, universities, public interest groups, or the private sector. The information will be useful in addressing a number of current issues, such as drinking-water quality, the effects of agricultural practices on water quality, source-water protection, and monitoring and sampling strategies. This report is also for individuals who wish to know more about the quality of ground water in areas near where they live and how that water quality compares to the quality of water in other areas across the region and the Nation. The water-quality conditions in the High Plains aquifer summarized in this report are discussed in greater detail in other reports that can be accessed in Appendix 1 of http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1749/. Detailed technical information, data and analyses, collection and analytical methodology, models, graphs, and maps that support the findings presented in this report in addition to reports in this series from other basins can be accessed from the national NAWQA Web site (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa). This report accompanies the detailed and technical report of water-quality conditions in the High Plains aquifer 'Water-quality assessment of the High Plains aquifer, 1999-2004' (http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1749/)

Circular↗

Reevaluation of the ground-water resources of Tooele Valley, Utah

This study of the geohydrology of Tooele Valley, Utah, was made by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah State Engineer during the period 1958-63. The purpose of the study was to update an earlier investigation of ground water in Tooele Valley made by the Geological Survey during 1940-42 (Thomas, 1946). The construction of approximately 256 wells in the valley since 1940, many of which are large-diameter pumped wells drilled since 1950, made available new data on water levels, well discharge, and chemical quality for interpretation of ground-water conditions. New data also were available on spring discharge, streamflow, aquifer characteristics, and geologic, geophysical, and climatic conditions. The earlier report by Thomas (1946) was freely used during the preparation of this report.

Utah↗

Hydrologic reconnaissance of Hansel Valley and northern Rozel Flat, Box Elder County, Utah

This report is the ninth in a series by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Rights, which describes the water resources of the western basins of Utah (see fig. 1). Its purpose is to present available hydrologic data for Hansel Valley, to provide an evaluation of the potential water-resource development of the valley, and to identify needed studies that would improve understanding of the valley's water supply. Hydrologic data from the northern part of adjacent Rozel Flat were collected to aid in evaluation of southern Hansel Valley, and these data also are included in this report.

Utah↗

U.S. Geological Survey 2002 petroleum resource assessment of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA): play maps and technically recoverable resource estimates

This report provides a summary of the estimated volume of technically recoverable undiscovered oil and nonassociated gas resources for each of the 24 plays evaluated in the U.S. Geological Survey 2002 petroleum resource assessment of the NPRA (Bird and Houseknecht, 2002). It also provides a set of illustrations showing the stratigraphic and geographic location of each play. Additional details of this assessment will follow in later publications.

Alaska↗

Controls of stream chemistry and fish populations in the Neversink watershed, Catskill Mountains, New York

The Neversink Watershed Study was initiated in 1991 to develop an understanding of the key natural processes that control water quality within the forested, 166 km 2 (64 mi 2 ), Neversink River watershed; part of the New York City drinking water supply system, in the Catskill Mountain region of New York. The study entailed (1) hydrological investigations of water movement from the atmosphere to streams, (2) biogeochemical investigations of nitrogen and calcium, important nutrients in forest and aquatic ecosystems whose availability has been altered by acidic deposition, (3) an investigation of elevational patterns in atmospheric deposition, and (4) fisheries investigations to determine the relative importance of physical habitat and acidic deposition in controlling the abundance and diversity of fish species in the watershed. This report summarizes the results of these investigations, which have also been presented, in detail, in peer-reviewed technical articles and reports that are cited throughout the text.

New York↗

Achieving water quality goals in the Chesapeake Bay: A comprehensive evaluation of system response

A Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response Achieving Water Quality Goals in the Chesapeake Bay: A Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response (CESR) includes an evaluation of why progress toward meeting the TMDL and water quality standards has been slower than expected and offers options for how progress can be accelerated. This report is a summation of a three year investigation into the 40 year effort to reduce nutrient loads to Chesapeake Bay. History The effort began as a STAC independent initiative in March 2019, after Kurt Stephenson, Zach Easton, and Brian Benham proposed the idea of a report that would identify gaps and uncertainties in system response—physical, chemical, biological, and socioeconomic—that impact efforts designed to attain water quality standards in Chesapeake Bay. As STAC Chair at the time, Benham facilitated the development of a collaborative process that would engage the entire committee. As a first step in approaching the long causal chain that links management actions to their eventual impact on water quality and living resources, workgroups were formed around the subsystems of this chain: nutrient and sediment reductions (watershed), water quality response to nutrient and sediment reductions (estuary) and living resource response to water quality (living resources). Each of these workgroups generated an independent document with a self-determined scope (i.e., workgroups were afforded flexibility to address issues beyond the original objectives). Because the content of each document was both unique and substantial, STAC chose to publish them as stand-alone documents with authorship attribution. In the second step, a steering committee developed a series of framing questions to guide the preparation of this report that would meet the objective of identifying gaps and uncertainties in achieving the Bay TMDL and water quality standards. Coeditors Stephenson and Wardrop, supported to great extent by a subgroup of the Steering Committee (Leonard Shabman, Zach Easton, Jeremy Testa, William Dennison, Kenny Rose, and Mark Monaco) were tasked with assembling ideas and contributions to write a single draft text, drawing material from the aforementioned resource documents, STAC and Chesapeake Bay Program reports, the scientific literature, and a limited amount of additional analyses performed in collaboration with Bay Program scientists. The resulting report was then submitted for several reviews by both steering committee members and the membership at-large to produce a consensus report.

Maryland, Virginia↗

The strategy for improving water-quality monitoring in the United States; final report of the Intergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring Water Quality; technical appendices

The Intergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring Water Quality (ITFM) prepared this report in collaboration with representatives of all levels of government and the private sector. The report recommends a strategy for nationwide water-quality monitoring and technical monitoring improvements to support sound water-quality decisionmaking. The strategy is intended to achieve a better return on public and private investments in monitoring, environmental protection, and natural resources management. It is also designed to expand the base of information useful to a variety of users at multiple geographic scales. Institutional and technical changes are needed to improve water-quality monitoring and to meet the full range of monitoring requirements. Monitoring must be incorporated as a critical element of program planning, implementation, and evaluation. The strategy includes recommendations in many key elements, such as the development of goal-oriented monitoring and indicators, institutional collaboration, and methods comparability. Initial actions have been taken to implement the strategy. Several Federal agencies have jointly purchased and shared remotely sensed land-cover information needed for water assessment. Major agency data systems are using common data-element names and reference tables that will ensure easy sharing of data. A number of States have held meetings with collectors of water information to initiate statewide monitoring strategies. New monitoring guidance has been developed for Federal water-quality grants to States. Many State offices have changed monitoring programs to place emphasis on priority watersheds and to improve assessment of water quality. As the competition increases for adequate supplies of clean water, concerns about public health and the environment escalate, and more demands are placed on the water information infrastructure. To meet these demands, the collaborative approach has already produced benefits, which will continue to grow as the recommendations are implemented

Open-File Report↗

Summary of maximum discharges in Utah streams

The purpose of this report is to summarize the mass of data pertaining to high rates of streamflow which has been assembled in Utah over a period of many decades. The pertinent data are presented in tables 1-4 and are summarized by graphs in figures 3 and 4. These data have been collected by the U. S. Geological Survey, usually in cooperation with the State of Utah or with other local or Federal agencies. Some uses for streamflow data are cited, and a few of the conclusions which may be drawn from this report are discussed.

Utah↗

Summary of the analyses for recovery factors

Introduction In order to determine the hydrocarbon potential of oil reservoirs within the U.S. sedimentary basins for which the carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO 2- EOR) process has been considered suitable, the CO 2 Prophet model was chosen by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to be the primary source for estimating recovery-factor values for individual reservoirs. The choice was made because of the model’s reliability and the ease with which it can be used to assess a large number of reservoirs. The other two approaches—the empirical decline curve analysis (DCA) method and a review of published literature on CO 2 -EOR projects—were deployed to verify the results of the CO 2 Prophet model. This chapter discusses the results from CO 2 Prophet (chapter B, by Emil D. Attanasi, this report) and compares them with results from decline curve analysis (chapter C, by Hossein Jahediesfanjani) and those reported in the literature for selected reservoirs with adequate data for analyses (chapter D, by Ricardo A. Olea). To estimate the technically recoverable hydrocarbon potential for oil reservoirs where CO 2 -EOR has been applied, two of the three approaches—CO 2 Prophet modeling and DCA—do not include analysis of economic factors, while the third approach—review of published literature—implicitly includes economics. For selected reservoirs, DCA has provided estimates of the technically recoverable hydrocarbon volumes, which, in combination with calculated amounts of original oil in place (OOIP), helped establish incremental CO 2 -EOR recovery factors for individual reservoirs. The review of published technical papers and reports has provided substantial information on recovery factors for 70 CO 2 -EOR projects that are either commercially profitable or classified as pilot tests. When comparing the results, it is important to bear in mind the differences and limitations of these three approaches.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

Preface: Marine gas hydrate reservoir systems along the eastern continental margin of India: Results of the National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02

The 2015 India National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition 02 was conducted to obtain new information on the occurrence of gas hydrate systems and to advance the understanding of geologic controls on the formation of gas hydrate accumulations in the offshore of India. The ultimate goal of the NGHP effort is to assess the energy resource potential of marine gas hydrates in India. The Guest Editors for this special thematic issue of the Journal of Marine and Petroleum Geology (JMPG) have worked with more than 100 scientists and engineers to prepare the 45 individual reports included in this special issue to address the operational and technical contributions of the NGHP-02 Expedition. This thematic issue on natural gas hydrates in the offshore of India is built on the foundation of five previous JMPG thematic issues that focused on the scientific results of other marine gas hydrate expeditions. These foundational contributions include: (1) the “Scientific Results of the 2005 USDOE-Chevron JIP Drilling for Methane Hydrates Objectives in the Gulf of Mexico” (Volume 25, Issue 9, November 2008), (2) the “Resource and Hazard Implications of Gas Hydrates in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Results of the 2009 Joint Industry Project Leg II Drilling Expedition” (Volume 34, Issue 1, June 2012), (3) the “Scientific Results of the Second Gas Hydrate Drilling Expedition in the Ulleung Basin (UBGH2), East Sea of Korea” (Volume 47, November 2013), (4) “Geologic Implications of Gas Hydrates in the Offshore of India: Results of the National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01” (Volume 58, Part A, December 2014), and (5) “Gas Hydrate Drilling in Eastern Nankai” (Volume 66, Part 2, September 2015). The NGHP-02 Expedition was conducted from 03-March- 2015 to 28-July- 2015 off the eastern coast of India. The first two months of the expedition were dedicated to establishing 25 new research sites that featured the drilling of a dedicated downhole logging hole at each site. The next three months of the NGHP-02 Expedition were dedicated to sediment coring and other downhole measurement operations at 10 of the sites established during the expedition’s first phase. The results of downhole logging, coring and formation pressure testing operations during NGHP-02 have confirmed the presence of large, highly concentrated gas hydrate accumulations in coarse-grained, sand-rich depositional systems throughout large portions of the Krishna-Godavari Basin. Post expedition research and reporting efforts included collaborative analysis of the unprecedented number of shipboard acquired data sets and core samples obtained during NGHP-02. The presentation of the scientific results of the NGHP-02 Expedition has culminated in the publication of the NGHP Expedition 02 Scientific Results Volume, which is represented by this Special Issue of the Journal of Marine and Petroleum Geology. This Special Issue features a series of four reports that summarize the operational and scientific results of NGHP-02 Expedition that are presented in the 41 technical reports included this Special Issue. The first summary report, “India National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02: Operational and Technical Summary,” focuses on reviewing the tools and operational procedures for the NGHP-02 Expedition that led to the acquisition of an unprecedented amount of high-quality downhole logging and core data from numerous pore-filling, fracture-filling, and sediment-displacement type gas hydrate occurrences. The summary report titled “India National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02 Summary of Scientific Results: Gas Hydrate Systems Along the Eastern Continental Margin of India” documents gas hydrate occurrences discovered during the NGHP-02 Expedition and examines geologic controls on the gas hydrate systems along the Eastern Continental Margin of India.

Journal of Marine and Petroleum Geology↗

Data Quality Objectives and Criteria for Basic Information, Acceptable Uncertainty, and Quality-Assurance and Quality-Control Documentation

The Federal Highway Administration and State transportation agencies have the responsibility of determining and minimizing the effects of highway runoff on water quality; therefore, they have been conducting an extensive program of water-quality monitoring and research during the last 25 years. The objectives and monitoring goals of highway runoff studies have been diverse, because the highway community must address many different questions about the characteristics and impacts of highway runoff. The Federal Highway Administration must establish that available data and procedures that are used to assess and predict pollutant loadings and impacts from highway stormwater runoff are valid, current, and technically supportable. This report examines criteria for evaluating water-quality data and resultant interpretations. The criteria used to determine if data are valid (useful for intended purposes), current, and technically supportable are derived from published materials from the Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Intergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring Water Quality, the U.S. Geological Survey and from technical experts throughout the U.S. Geological Survey. Water-quality data that are documented to be meaningful, representative, complete, precise, accurate, comparable, and admissible as legal evidence will meet the scientific, engineering, and regulatory needs of highway agencies. Documentation of basic information, such as compatible monitoring objectives and program design features; metadata (when, where, and how data were collected as well as who collected and analyzed the data); ancillary information (explanatory variables and study-site characteristics); and legal requirements are needed to evaluate data. Documentation of sufficient quality-assurance and quality-control information to establish the quality and uncertainty in the data and interpretations also are needed to determine the comparability and utility of data sets for intended uses. The fact that a program's data may not meet screening criteria for a national synthesis does not mean that the data are not useful for meeting that program's objectives or that they could not be used for water-quality studies with different objectives.

Open-File Report↗

Hydrology of Central Florida Lakes - A Primer

INTRODUCTION Lakes are among the most valued natural resources of central Florida. The landscape of central Florida is riddled with lakeswhen viewed from the air, it almost seems there is more water than land. Florida has more naturally formed lakes than other southeastern States, where many lakes are created by building dams across streams. The abundance of lakes on the Florida peninsula is a result of the geology and geologic history of the State. An estimated 7,800 lakes in Florida are greater than 1 acre in surface area. Of these, 35 percent are located in just four counties (fig. 1): Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Polk (Hughes, 1974b). Lakes add to the aesthetic and commercial value of the area and are used by many residents and visitors for fishing, boating, swimming, and other types of outdoor recreation. Lakes also are used for other purposes such as irrigation, flood control, water supply, and navigation. Residents and visitors commonly ask questions such as Whyare there so many lakes here?, Why is my lake drying up (or flooding)?, or Is my lake spring-fed? These questions indicate that the basic hydrology of lakes and the interaction of lakes with ground water and surface water are not well understood by the general population. Because of the importance of lakes to residents of central Florida and the many questions and misconceptions about lakes, this primer was prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the St. Johns River Water Management District and the South Florida Water Management District. The USGS has been collecting hydrologic data in central Florida since the 1920s, obtaining valuable information that has been used to better understand the hydrology of the water resources of central Florida, including lakes. In addition to data collection, as of 1994, the USGS had published 66 reports and maps on central Florida lakes (Garcia and Hoy, 1995). The main purpose of this primer is to describe the hydrology of lakes in central Florida, the interactions between lakes and ground- and surface-waters, and to describe how these interactions affect lake water levels. Included are descriptions of the basic geology and geomorphology of central Florida, origins of central Florida lakes, factors that affect lake water levels, lake water quality, and common methods of improving water quality. The geographic area discussed in this primer is approximate (fig. 1) and includes west and east-central Florida, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean coastlines, northward into Marion, Putnam, and Flagler Counties, and southward to Lake Okeechobee. The information presented here was obtained from the many publications available on lakes in central Florida, as well as from publications on Florida geology, hydrology, and primers on ground water, surface water, and water quality. Many publications are available that provide more detailed information on lake water quality, and this primer is not intended as an extensive treatise on that subject. The reader is referred to the reference section of this primer for sources of more detailed information on lake water quality. Lakes discussed in this report are identified in figure 2. Technical terms used in the report are shown in bold italics and are defined in the glossary. The classification of some water bodies as lakes is highly subjective. What one individual considers a lake another might consider a pond. Generally, any water- filled depression or group of depressions in the land surface could be considered a lake. Lakes differ from swamps or wetlands in the type and amount of vegetation, water depth, and some water-quality characteristics. Lakes typically have emergent vegetation along the shoreline with a large expanse of open water in the center. Swamps or wetlands, on the other hand, are characterized by a water surface interrupted by the emergence of many varieties of plant life, from saw grasses to cypress trees. Lakes may be na

Circular↗

Summary of SPT based field case history data of CETIN (2016) database

This report provides documentation of the Cetin et al. (2016) field performance case histories, probabilistic maximum likelihood assessment and the sources of differences between the liquefaction triggering resistance estimations (CRR values) of the widely used liquefaction triggering relationships of Seed et al. (1985), Cetin et al. (2004, 2016) and Boulanger and Idriss (2012). Cetin et al. (2016-a) presented a concise summary of the improved database and the updated triggering relationships. For the sake of completeness, as part of Chapter 2 of this report, Cetin et al. (2016-a) manuscript is re-presented, as edited to include the electronic supplements, and a broader and more detailed documentation of all of case histories. This broader and more detailed documentation along with the interpretations of other researchers is presented in Appendix A. Similarly, site response analyses details and results from Cetin (2000) is re-presented in Appendix B. To enable the readers to quickly refer to Cetin and Seed (2004), it is also included in Appendix C. The sources of differences between the liquefaction triggering resistance estimations (CRR values) of the widely used liquefaction triggering relationships of Seed et al. (1985), Cetin et al. (2004) and Boulanger and Idriss (2012) were discussed in Cetin et al. (2016-b). Again, for the sake of completeness, as part of Chapter 3 of this report, Cetin et al. (2016-b) manuscript is re-presented, as edited to the include of electronic supplements, and a detailed response to issues addressed by Idriss and Boulanger (2012). Also, the technical response letter (Cetin, 2014) prepared at the request of the members of the NRC Committee on the State of the Art and Practice in Earthquake Induced Soil Liquefaction Assessment, is given in Appendix D, which is helpful to follow the technical discussions. This report is intended only as a concise summary of a vast amount of data. The interpretations presented are those of the research team. A more detailed description of some of the details of the methods and procedures used to evaluate and analyze these field performance case histories is also presented in Cetin (2000) and Cetin et al. (2000) though the final evaluations presented in this report are the most recent interpretations undertaken under these current studies.

Report↗

Methodology for defining and compiling abandoned and active hydrocarbon well inventories

Hydrocarbon wells are not active forever; when they become permanently disused (abandoned), well infrastructure must be remediated or repurposed. Knowing which wells are abandoned is the initial and often complicated step in taking responsibility for well infrastructure. Each State creates laws and regulates hydrocarbon operations, which includes well abandonment. The existence of multiple regulating authorities means definitions of abandonment are mostly found in legal documents are broadly defined or other terms are used. This report presents a technical approach to defining hydrocarbon well abandonment using well production data and identifies abandoned hydrocarbon wells using the new definition.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

QRev—Software for computation and quality assurance of acoustic doppler current profiler moving-boat streamflow measurements—Technical manual for version 2.8

The software program, QRev applies common and consistent computational algorithms combined with automated filtering and quality assessment of the data to improve the quality and efficiency of streamflow measurements and helps ensure that U.S. Geological Survey streamflow measurements are consistent, accurate, and independent of the manufacturer of the instrument used to make the measurement. Software from different manufacturers uses different algorithms for various aspects of the data processing and discharge computation. The algorithms used by QRev to filter data, interpolate data, and compute discharge are documented and compared to the algorithms used in the manufacturers’ software. QRev applies consistent algorithms and creates a data structure that is independent of the data source. QRev saves an extensible markup language (XML) file that can be imported into databases or electronic field notes software. This report is the technical manual for version 2.8 of QRev.

Open-File Report↗