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At least 757 records · Page 42Linked to original sources

USGS1983

Vegetation and climates of the last 45,000 years in the vicinity of the Nevada Test Site, south-central Nevada

Paleoclimatic reconstructions for the Nevada Test Site, spanning the last 45,000 years, are based on plant macrofossil assemblages from radiocarbonated packrat (Neotoma spp) middens from south-central Nevada. The temperature regime during the Wisconsin glacial age, from before about 45,000 years ago until about 12,000 years ago, was characterized by lower temperatures during all seasons. Wisconsin maximum (about 18,000 years before present) winter temperatures were at least 6 deg. Celsius below those of the present, and the relative decrease in summer temperature was as much as 8 deg. Celsius. The data provide evidence for a precipitation regime drier than that proposed by many studies. The maximum estimated increase in average annual precipitation during the full-glacial period is 40 percent above current precipitation. The increase in temperature signaling the end of the Wisconsin glacial age may have begun as early as about 16,000 years ago. The oldest record of desert scrub vegetation from the Nevada Test Site area dates to about 15,000 years ago. By 10,000 years before present, average annual temperatures may have approximated present values, although seasonal temperature and precipitation regimes probably differed from those of today. Climate changes during the last 10,000 years have been relatively minor variations in a warm, dry climatic regime. Probably future climatic changes include a brief but pronounced warm period within the next 500 years, followed by a protracted transition to the next glacial age during the next 10,000 years. (USGS)

Nevada↗

USGS1984

Data from pumping and injection tests and chemical sampling in the geothermal aquifer at Klamath Falls, Oregon

A seven-week pumping and injection tests in the geothermal aquifer at Klamath Falls, Oregon, in 1983 provided new information on hydraulic properties of the aquifer. The Open-File Data Report on the tests includes graphs of water levels measured in 50 wells, temperature measurement in 17 wells , daily air-temperatures in relation to discharge of thermal water from more than 70 pumped and artesian wells, tables of monthly mean air temperatures and estimates of discharges of thermal water during a normal year, and tables of chemical and isotopic analyses on samples from 12 wells. The water-level measurements reflect the effects of pumping, injection, and recovery over about 1.7 square miles of the hot-well area of Klamath Falls. The pumped well, City Well No 1, and the injection well at the Klamath County Museum are components of a proposed District Heating Plan. The study was funded principally under contracts from the U.S. Department of Energy to the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Stanford University, and the Oregon Institute of Technology, with coordination and chemical sampling provided under the Geothermal Research Program, U.S. Geological Survey. Support was received from the City of Klamath Falls, Klamath County Chamber of Commerce, Citizens for Responsible Geothermal Development, and many citizen volunteers. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗

USGS1985

Test wells T27 and T28, White Sands Missile Range, Dona Ana County, New Mexico

Two test wells, T27 and T28, were drilled at White Sands Missile Range in south-central New Mexico as part of a joint military training program sponsored by the U.S. Army in February and March 1983. Test wells T27 and T28 were drilled as observation wells in the vicinity of the Liquid Propellant Storage Area. Information obtained from these wells includes lithologic logs, driller 's logs, and borehole-geophysical logs from the cased wells. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗

USGS1987

Test wells TW1 and TW2, and TW3, White Sands Missile Range, Otero County, New Mexico

Three test wells, TW1, TW2, and TW3, were drilled at White Sands Missile Range in south-central New Mexico in July, August, and October 1983 as part of a joint military training program sponsored by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army in July, August, and October 1983. The test wells were drilled as exploratory and monitoring wells for the toxic waste storage facility at White Sands Missile Range. Information obtained from these wells includes lithologic logs for all wells and borehole-geophysical logs for the cased wells. (Author 's abstract)

Open-File Report↗

USGS1994

Meteorological data for four sites at surface-disruption features in Yucca Flat, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada, 1985-86

Surface-disruption features, or craters, resulting from underground nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site may increase the potential for ground-water recharge in an area that would normally produce little, if any, recharge. This report presents selected meteorological data resulting from a study of two surface-disruption features during May 1985 through June 1986. The data were collected at four adjacent sites in Yucca Flat, about 56 kilometers north of Mercury, Nevada. Three sites (one in each of two craters and one at an undisturbed site at the original land surface) were instrumented to collect meteorological data for calculating bare-soil evaporation. These data include (1) long-wave radiation, (2) short-wave radiation, (3) net radiation, (4) air temperae, and (5) soil surface temperature. Meteorological data also were collected at a weather station at an undisturbed site near the study craters. Data collected at this site include (1) air temperature, (2) relative humidity, (3) wind velocity, and (4) wind direction.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1996

Drilling, construction, and aquifer-test data from wells 3-3307-20 and -21, Thompson Corner exploratory wells I and II, Oahu, Hawaii

The Thompson Corner exploratory wells I and II (State well numbers 3-3307-20 and -21) were drilled near Thompson Corner, about 2.2 miles south-southwest of the town of Haleiwa. The wells are located on agricultural land in the Waialua ground-water area. The wells are about 50 feet apart and penetrate about 90 feet into the ground water. Aquifer tests were conducted using well 3-3307-20 as a pumping well and well 3-3307-21 as an observation well. Well-construction data, logs of drilling notes, geologic descriptions for the samples, and aquifer-test data are presented for the wells. The wells are two of twelve exploratory wells drilled in the north-central Oahu area between July 1993 and May 1994 in cooperation with the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1996

Field test of two single-frequency GPS receivers

The U.S. Geological Survey's Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) has been testing low-cost, low-power Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers for use in the monitoring of restless volcanoes. Field tests of two single-frequency (L1 only) receivers, the Ashtech SCA-12S and the Leica SR261 show that these units can measure positions precisely enough to meet our monitoring needs. For line lengths up to 10 kilometers, I have found repeatibilities to be less than a centimeter for horizontal coordinates. Hourly data using broadcast orbits was processed using manufacturer and Bernese software. Repeatibilities were similar for both data sets.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1998

Geologic map of Paleozoic rocks in the Calico Hills, Nevada Test Site, southern Nevada

The Calico Hills area in the southwestern part of the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada, exposes a core of pre-Tertiary rocks surrounded by middle Miocene volcanic strata. This map portrays the very complex relationships among the pre-Tertiary stratigraphic units of the region. The Devonian and Mississippian rocks of the Calico Hills are distinct from age-equivalent carbonate-shelf or submarine-fan strata in other parts of the Nevada Test Site. The Calico Hills strata are interpreted to have been deposited beyond the continental shelf edge from alternating silicic and carbonate clastic sources. Structures of the Calico Hills area record the compounded effects of: 1) eastward-directed, foreland-vergent thrusting; 2) younger folds, kink zones, and thrusts formed by hinterland-vergent deformation toward northwesterly and northerly directions; and 3) low-angle normal faults that displaced blocks of Middle Paleozoic carbonate strata across the contractionally deformed terrane. All of these structures are older than any of the middle Miocene volcanic rocks that were erupted across the Calico Hills.

Nevada↗

USGS1998

Design, operation, and data analysis for a wireline packer system in open boreholes, with field-test results from Belvidere, Illinois

A wireline-operated packer was designed for use with a standard geophysical logging system. The packer probe consists of a downhole packer inflated with water removed from the borehole by an in-line submersible pump, and a differential pressure transducer calibrated to measure the hydraulic-head difference between the zones above and below the packer. Analysis of the packer data is based on a numerical model that predicts the water levels above and below the packer for a given set of aquifer zones of specified hydraulic head and transmissivity. Various computations are used to indicate the sensitivity of the packer measurements to the hydraulic head and transmissivity contrasts between aquifer zones. The wireline-packer probe was field tested in a series of open-bedrock boreholes in Belvidere, Illinois, at a site where vertical hydraulic-head differences are produced in a horizontally stratified aquifer by water production from an underlying aquifer. Analysis of the wireline-packer data produced estimates of hydraulic-head gradient and aquifer-zone transmissivity consistent with results from straddle-packer hydraulic tests. However, the wireline-packer data also indicated that there are significant variations of vertical hydraulic gradient with depth, and that the gradient is sharply reversed near the bottom of the boreholes. This result is consistent with upward ambient flow measured on previous occasions near the bottom of these boreholes, and has important consequences for the monitoring of ground-water flow at the study site.

Illinois↗

USGS1999

Geology, hydrology, and results of tracer testing in the Galena-Platteville aquifer at a waste-disposal site near Byron, Illinois

A study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of the geohydrology of the dolomite bedrock at a waste-disposal site near Byron, Illinois. The study was designed to identify and characterize the flow pathways through the bedrock aquifer beneath the site. The geologic units of concern at the site are the Glenwood Formation of the Ancell Group, and the Platteville and Galena Groups. These deposits compose the Galena-Platteville aquifer and the underlying Harmony Hill Shale semiconfining unit. The Galena-Platteville aquifer is an unconfined aquifer. Geophysical logging, water levels, and aquifer-test data indicate the presence of interconnected, hydraulically active fractures in the middle of the Galena-Platteville aquifer (the upper flow pathway), and a second set of hydraulically active fractures (the lower flow pathway). The lower flow pathway may be present through much of the site. Few hydraulically active fractures are present in the upper part of the aquifer near the center of the site, but appear to be more numerous in the upper part of the aquifer in the western and northeastern parts of the site. Water-level data obtained during the tracer test indicate that pumping effects were present near the pumped wells. Pumping effects may have been present at several wells located along directions of identified fracture orientation from the pumped well. The upper part of the aquifer did not appear to be hydraulically well connected to the flow pathways supplying water to the pumped well. Large background changes in water levels obscured the effects of pumping and prevented calculation of aquifer properties. The velocity of the bromide tracer through the lower flow pathway under the hydraulic gradient resulting from the pumping was about 152 feet per day. Solution of the Darcy velocity equation results in a calculated effective porosity for this interval of 3.5 percent, indicating hydraulic interconnection between the fractures and the aquifer matrix. Ground-water velocity through the lower flow pathway was calculated to be 15.4 feet per day under hydrostatic conditions.

Illinois↗

USGS1999

Selected data for wells and test holes used in structure-contour maps of the Inyan Kara Group, Minnekahta Limestone, Minnelusa Formation, Madison Limestone, and Deadwood Formation in the Black Hills area, South Dakota

This report presents selected data on wells and test holes that were used in the construction of structure-contour maps of selected formations that contain major aquifers in the Black Hills area of western South Dakota. Altitudes of the top of the Inyan Kara Group, Minnekahta Limestone, Minnelusa Formation, Madison Limestone, and Deadwood Formation are presented for the wells and test holes presented in this report.

South Dakota↗

USGS2000

Evaluation of geophysical logs and slug tests, phase II, at AIW Frank/Mid-County Mustang Superfund Site, Chester County, Pennsylvania

Between September 1997 and October 1998, nine monitor wells were drilled at the AIW Frank/Mid-County Mustang Superfund Site in Chester County, Pa., to determine the horizontal and vertical distribution of contaminated ground water migrating from known contaminant sources. The U.S. Geological Survey conducted borehole geophysical logging and borehole television surveys in these boreholes to identify water-producing zones so that appropriate intervals could be screened in each borehole. Caliper logs and borehole television surveys were used to locate fractures; inflections on fluid-temperature and fluid-resistivity logs were used to locate possible water-bearing fractures, and heatpulseflowmeter measurements verified these locations. The borehole television surveys indicated that locally, the rocks of the Conestoga Limestone and Ledger Dolomite that underlie the site strike generally from northeast-southwest to east-west and dip steeply to the southeast and south approximately 63? to 76?. Slug tests were conducted at six boreholes to estimate transmissivity. Transmissivity from slug tests ranged from 21 feet squared per day in borehole CH-5669 to greater than 12,000 feet squared per day in boreholes CH-5665 and CH-5667. After interpretation of geophysical logs, borehole television surveys, and driller's logs, all boreholes were screened such that water-level fluctuations could be monitored and discrete water samples collected from one or more water-producing zones in each borehole.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2005

Field tests of nylon-screen diffusion samplers and pushpoint samplers for detection of metals in sediment pore water, Ashland and Clinton, Massachusetts, 2003

Efficient and economical screening methods are needed to detect and to determine the approximate concentrations of potentially toxic trace-element metals in shallow groundwater- discharge areas (pore water) where the metals may pose threats to aquatic organisms; such areas are likely to be near hazardous-waste sites. Pushpoint and nylon-screen diffusion samplers are two complementary options for use in such environments. The pushpoint sampler, a simple well point, is easy to insert manually and to use. Only 1 day is required to collect samples. The nylon-screen diffusion sampler is well suited for use in sediments that do not allow a pump to draw water into a pushpoint sampler. In this study, both types of devices were used in sediments suitable for the use of the pushpoint sampler. Sampling with the nylon-screen diffusion sampler requires at least two site visits: one to deploy the samplers in the sediment, and a second to retrieve the samplers and collect the samples after a predetermined equilibration period. Extensive laboratory quality-control studies, field testing, and laboratory analysis of samples collected at the Nyanza Chemical Waste Dump Superfund site along the Sudbury River in Ashland, Massachusetts, and at a Superfund site-assessment location on Rigby Brook in Clinton, Massachusetts, indicate that these two devices yield comparable results for most metals and should be effective tools for pore-water studies. The nylon-screen diffusion samplers equilibrated within 1-2 days in homogeneous, controlled conditions in the laboratory. Nylon-screen diffusion samplers that were not purged of dissolved oxygen prior to deployment yielded results similar to those that were purged. Further testing of the nylon-screen diffusion samplers in homogeneous media would help to resolve any ambiguities about the data variability from the field studies. Comparison of data from replicate samples taken in both study areas shows that even samples taken from sites within a half-meter radius of one another have distinct differences in pore-water trace-element concentrations. Sequential replicate samples collected with the pushpoint sampler yield consistent results; moving the pushpoint sampler even 5 to 10 centimeters, however, generally produces a second set of data that differs enough from the first set of data to indicate a heterogeneous environment. High concentration biases for barium and zinc in laboratory and field samples collected with nylon-screen diffusion samplers, however, may make their use inappropriate for studies of these metals. Analyzing samples with high iron concentrations required sample dilution by factors of 2 or 10. Because these dilutions caused increases in the reporting levels by the same proportion, a substantial fraction of the data was censored. The results from undiluted samples, however, indicate that both devices should be useful for sampling ground water with metal concentrations close to reporting limits.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2011

Assessing hydraulic connections across a complex sequence of volcanic rocks - Analysis of U-20 WW multiple-well aquifer test, Pahute Mesa, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada

Groundwater beneath Pahute Mesa flows through a complexly layered sequence of volcanic rock aquifers and confining units that have been faulted into distinct structural blocks. Hydraulic property estimates of rocks and structures in this flow system are necessary to assess radionuclide migration near underground nuclear testing areas. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) used a 12 month (October 1, 2008— October 1, 2009) intermittent pumping schedule of well U-20 WW and continuously monitored water levels in observation wells ER-20-6 #3, UE-20bh 1, and U-20bg as a multi-well aquifer test to evaluate hydraulic connections across structural blocks, bulk hydraulic properties of volcanic rocks, and the hydraulic significance of a major fault. Measured water levels were approximated using synthetic water levels generated from an analytical model. Synthetic water levels are a summation of environmental water-level fluctuations and a Theis (1935) transform of the pumping signal from flow rate to water-level change. Drawdown was estimated by summing residual differences between measured and synthetic water levels and the Theis-transformed pumping signal from April to September 2009. Drawdown estimates were used in a three‑dimensional numerical model to estimate hydraulic properties of distinct aquifers, confining units, and a major fault. A maximum water-level drawdown of nearly 0.4 foot in well UE-20bh 1, which is more than 1 mile from the pumping well, was detected across a major fault. Drawdown estimates in the observation well nearest to (ER-20-6 #3, less than 1 mile) and within the same structural block as the pumping well were less than detection (<0.1 foot). Minimal drawdown within the same structural block indicates that lava units are likely separated by bedded tuff confining units. Hydraulic property estimates indicate that wells U-20 WW, UE-20bh 1, and ER-20-6 #3 produce water from moderately permeable fractured lava, as hydraulic conductivity and specific storage estimates average 4.8 feet per day and 2.1×10 –6 per foot, respectively, and transmissivity estimates range from 1,200 to 3,600 feet squared per day. Sensitivity analyses indicate that the major fault is hydraulically similar to the permeable host rock and connects flow between structural blocks.

Nevada↗

USGS2013

Geophysical-log and hydraulic-test analyses of groundwater-production wells at the Hannahville Indian Community, Menominee County, Michigan

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Hannahville Indian Community, evaluated the geohydrology of the bedrock formations and hydraulic properties of groundwater-production wells at the Hannahville Indian Community in Menominee County, Michigan. Geophysical logs were collected from five wells at two sites during September 2012. The logs were analyzed to characterize the lithostratigraphy, bedding and fractures, and hydraulic properties of the geologic formations and aquifers beneath the Hannahville Indian Community. The geophysical logs collected included natural gamma radiation, electromagnetic conductivity, wellbore image, caliper, ambient and stressed flowmeter, fluid resistivity, temperature, and wellbore deviation. The geophysical logs were analyzed with results from short-term hydraulic tests to estimate the transmissivity and water-level altitudes of flow zones penetrated by the wells. The geophysical log analysis indicated the wells penetrated four distinct lithostratigraphic units—shale and carbonate rock, upper carbonate rock, carbonate rock and glauconitic sandstone, and lower carbonate rock. Most of the fractures penetrated by the wellbores appeared to be related bedding partings. The lower carbonate rock unit contained solution features. Analysis of the geophysical logs and hydraulic tests indicated that each of the five wells penetrated from one to four flow zones. The Casino 5 well penetrated a flow zone that was associated with solution features and had an estimated total transmissivity of 4,280 feet squared per day (ft 2 /d), the highest estimate for all the wells. The Casino 3 well penetrated four flow zones and had an estimated total transmissivity of 3,570 ft 2 /d. The flow zones penetrated in the lower carbonate rock unit by the Casino 3 and 5 wells were hydraulically connected. The Golf Shack well penetrated two flow zones and had an estimated total transmissivity of 40 ft 2 /d, the lowest estimate for all the wells. The Community 1 and Community 2 wells penetrated three and four flow zones, respectively, and had estimated total transmissivity values of 185 and 280 ft 2 /d, respectively.

Michigan↗

USGS2016

Occurrence and concentrations of selected trace elements, halogenated organic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in streambed sediments and results of water-toxicity testing in Westside Creeks and the San Antonio River, San Antonio, Texas, 2014

Sediment samples and samples for water-toxicity testing were collected during 2014 from several streams in San Antonio, Texas, known locally as the Westside Creeks (Alazán, Apache, Martínez, and San Pedro Creeks) and from the San Antonio River. Samples were collected during base flow and after periods of stormwater runoff (poststorm conditions) to determine baseline sediment- and water-quality conditions. Streambed-sediment samples were analyzed for selected constituents, including trace elements and organic contaminants such as pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), brominated flame retardants, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Potential risks of contaminants in sediment were evaluated by comparing concentrations of contaminants in sediment to two effects-based sediment-quality guidelines: (1) a lower level, called the threshold effect concentration, below which, harmful effects to benthic biota are not expected, and (2) a higher level, the probable effect concentration (PEC), above which harmful effects are expected to occur frequently. Samples for water-toxicity testing were collected from each stream to provide information about fish toxicity in the study area. The trace metal lead was detected at potentially toxic concentrations greater than the PEC in both the base-flow and poststorm samples collected at two sites sampled on San Pedro Creek. The PECs for the pesticides dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, and chlordane were exceeded in some of the samples at the same two sites on San Pedro Creek. Brominated flame retardants and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) 85, 153, and 154 were found in all streambed-sediment samples. Federal Environmental Quality Guidelines established by Environment Canada for PBDE 99 and PBDE 100 were exceeded in all samples in which PBDE 99 was detected and in a majority of the samples in which PBDE 100 was detected; the greatest concentrations occurred in samples collected at the same two sites on San Pedro Creek where the samples containing elevated lead and pesticide concentrations were collected. All concentrations of total PCBs (computed as the sum of the 18 reported PCB congeners) in the individual streambed-sediment samples were less than the threshold effect concentration, but the concentrations were elevated in the two sites on San Pedro Creek compared to concentrations at other sites. At one site on Apache Creek, 6 of the individual PAHs measured in the sample collected during base-flow conditions exceeded the PECs and 8 of the 9 PECs were exceeded in the sample collected during poststorm conditions. The total PAH concentration in the sample collected at the site during poststorm conditions was 3.3 times greater than the PEC developed for total PAHs. Average PAH profiles computed for base-flow samples and poststorm samples most closely resemble the parking lot coal-tar sealcoat dust PAH source profile, defined as the average PAH concentrations in dust swept from parking lots in six cities in the United States that were sealed with a black, viscous liquid containing coal-tar pitch. Six of ten water samples collected during base-flow conditions caused reductions in Pimephales promelas (fathead minnow) survival and were considered to be toxic.

Texas↗

USGS1959

Geological investigations in the U12b.03 and U12b.04 tunnels, Nevada Test Site

The papers comprising the various parts of this report contain preliminary results of the U. S. Geological Survey investigations in the U12b.03 and U12b.04 tunnels at the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada (fig. 1). The geologic studies were undertaken to define the structural, chemical, mineralogic, and some of the physical properties of the tuffaceous rocks that enclose the explosion chambers at the end of each tunnel. The U12b.03 and .04 tunnels are part of the U12b (Rainier) tunnel complex that was driven northwestward from the steep east slope of Rainier Mesa (a prominent topographic feature in the northwest part of the Test Site (fig . 2)). The U12b.03 tunnel trends north from a point about 980 feet from the portal of the U12b tunnel (fig. 3). The U12b.03 tunnel consists of 620 feet of tunnel, two alcoves, and a shot chamber. The tunnel is irregular, ranging from 6 to 10 feet in width, and 6 to 9 feet in height. The shot chamber at the north end of the tunnel is 22 feet on each sidee The vertical and minimum cover over the shot chamber are 610 and 510 feet, respectively.

Nevada↗

USGS2003

Development and testing of method for assessing and mapping agricultural areas susceptible to atrazine leaching in the state of Washington

In a joint effort by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, the Washington Department of Ecology, and the U.S. Geological Survey, the Environmental Protection Agency's Pesticide Root Zone Model and a Geographic Information System were used to develop and test a method for screening and mapping the susceptibility of ground water in agricultural areas to pesticide contamination. The objective was to produce a map that would be used by the Washington State Department of Agriculture to allocate resources for monitoring pesticide levels in ground water. The method was tested by producing a map showing susceptibility to leaching of the pesticide atrazine for the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project, which encompasses an area of intensive agriculture in eastern Washington. The reliability of the atrazine map was assessed by using statistical procedures to determine whether the median of the percentage of atrazine simulated to leach below the root zone in wells where atrazine was detected was statistically greater than the median percentage at wells where atrazine was not detected (at or above 0.001 microgram per liter) in 134 wells sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey. A statistical difference in medians was not found when all 134 wells were compared. However, a statistical difference was found in medians for two subsets of the 134 wells that were used in land-use studies (studies examining the quality of ground water beneath specific crops). The statistical results from wells from the land-use studies indicate that the model potentially can be used to map the relative susceptibility of agricultural areas to atrazine leaching. However, the distinction between areas of high and low susceptibility may not yet be sufficient to use the method for allocating resources to monitor water quality. Several options are offered for improving the reliability of future simulations.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗