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At least 883 records · Page 49Linked to original sources
USGS2006

Selected Streamflow Statistics for Streamgaging Stationsin Northeastern Maryland, 2006

Streamflow statistics were calculated for 47 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgaging stations in northeastern Maryland, in cooperation with (1) the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education; (2) the Baltimore City Department of Public Works; and (3) the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management. The statistics include the mean, minimum, maximum, and standard deviation of the daily mean discharges for the periods of record at the stations, as well as flow-duration and low-flow frequency statistics. The flow-duration statistics include the 1-, 2-, 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, 30-, 40-, 50-, 60-, 70-, 75-, 80-, 85-, 90-, 95-, 98-, and 99-percent duration discharges. The low-flow frequency statistics include the average discharges for 1, 7, 14, and 30 days that recur, on average, once in 1.01, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 years. The statistics were computed only for the 25 stations with periods of record of 10 years or more. The statistics were computed from records available through September 30, 2004 using standard methods and computer software developed by the USGS. A comparison between low-flow frequency statistics computed for this study and for a previous study that used data available through September 30, 1989 was done for seven stations. The comparison indicated that, for the 7-day mean low flow, the newer values were 19.8 and 15.3 percent lower for the 20- and 10-year recurrence intervals, respectively, and 2.1 percent higher for the 2-year recurrence interval, than the older values. For the 14-day mean low flow, the newer 20- and 10-year values were 25.2 and 15.5 percent lower, respectively, and the 2-year value was 2.9 percent higher than the older values. For the 30-day mean low flow, the newer 20-, 10-, and 2-year values were 10.8, 7.9, and 0.8 percent lower, respectively, than the older values. The newer values are generally lower than the older ones most likely because two major droughts have occurred since the older study was completed.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2007

Cooperative water-resources monitoring in the St. Clair River/Lake St. Clair Basin, Michigan

As part of the Lake St. Clair Regional Monitoring Project, this report describes numerous cooperative water-resources monitoring efforts conducted in the St. Clair River/Lake St. Clair Basin over the last 100 years. Cooperative monitoring is a tool used to observe and record changes in water quantity and quality over time. This report describes cooperative efforts for monitoring streamflows and flood magnitudes, past and present water-quality conditions, significant human-health threats, and flow-regime changes that are the result of changing land use. Water-resources monitoring is a long-term effort that can be made cost-effective by leveraging funds, sharing data, and avoiding duplication of effort. Without long-term cooperative monitoring, future water-resources managers and planners may find it difficult to establish and maintain public supply, recreational, ecological, and esthetic water-quality goals for the St. Clair River/Lake St. Clair Basin.

Michigan↗
USGS2014

Fort Collins Science Center: science accomplishments for fiscal years 2012 and 2013

The Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) is a multi-disciplinary research and development center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) located in Fort Collins, Colorado. Organizationally, FORT is within the USGS Southwest Region, although our work extends across the Nation and into several other countries. FORT research focuses on needs of the land- and water-management bureaus within the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), other Federal agencies, and those of State and non-government organizations. As a Science Center, we emphasize a multi-disciplinary science approach to provide information for resource-management decisionmaking. FORT’s vision is to maintain and continuously improve the integrated, collaborative, world-class research needed to inform effective, science-based land and resource management. Our science and technological development activities and unique capabilities support all USGS scientific Mission Areas and contribute to successful, collaborative science efforts across the USGS and DOI. We organized our report into an Executive Summary, a cross-reference table, and an appendix. The executive summary provides brief highlights of some key FORT accomplishments for each Mission Area. The table cross-references all major FY2012 and FY2013 science accomplishments with the various Mission Areas that each supports. The one-page accomplishment descriptions in the appendix are organized by USGS Mission Area and describe the many and diverse ways in which our science is applied to resource issues. As in prior years, lists of all FY2012 and FY2013 publications and other product types also are appended.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1995

Potential hazards from flood in part of the Chalone Creek and Bear Valley drainage basins, Pinnacles National Monument, California

Areas of Chalone Creek and Bear Valley drainage basins in Pinnacles National Monument, California, are subject to frontal storms that can cause major flooding from November to April in areas designated for public use. To enhance visitor safety and to protect cultural and natural resources, the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Park Service studied flood-hazard potentials within the boundaries of the Pinnacles National Monument. This study area extends from about a quarter of a mile north of Chalone Creek Campground to the mouth of Bear Valley and from the east monument entrance to Chalone Creek. Historical data of precipitation and floodflow within the monument area are sparse to nonexistent, therefore, U.S. Soil Conservation Service unit-hydrograph procedures were used to determine the magnitude of a 100-year flood. Because of a lack of specific storm-rainfall data, a simulated storm was applied to the basins using a digital-computer model developed by the Soil Conservation Service. A graphical relation was used to define the regionally based maximum flood for Chalone Creek and Bear Valley. Water-surface elevations and inundation areas were determined using a conventional step-backwater program. Flood-zone boundaries were derived from the computed water-surface elevations. The 100-year flood plain for both streams would be inundated at all points by the regional maximum flood. Most of the buildings and proposed building sites in the monument area are above the elevation of the 100-year flood, except the proposed building sites near the horse corral and the east monument entrance. The 100-year flood may cause reverse flow through a 12-inch culvert embedded in the embankment of Old Pinnacles Campground Road in the center of Chalone Creek Campground. The likelihood of this occurring is dependant upon the amount of aggradation that occurs upstream; therefore, the campground area also is considered to be within the 100-year flood zone.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1999

National coal resource assessment non-proprietary data: Location, stratigraphy, and coal quality for selected tertiary coal in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains region

One of the objectives of the National Coal Resource Assessment in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains region was to compile stratigraphic and coal quality-trace-element data on selected and potentially minable coal beds and zones of the Fort Union Formation (Paleocene) and equivalent formations. In order to implement this objective, drill-hole information was compiled from hard-copy and digital files of the: (1) U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) offices in Casper, Rawlins, and Rock Springs, Wyoming, and in Billings, Montana, (2) State geological surveys of Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming, (3) Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality in Cheyenne, (4) U.S. Office of Surface Mining in Denver, Colorado, (5) U.S. Geological Survey, National Coal Resource Data System (NCRDS) in Reston, Virginia, (6) U.S. Geological Survey coal publications, (7) university theses, and (8) mining companies.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2009

Estimated water use in Washington, 2005

Water use in the State of Washington has evolved in the past century from meager domestic and stock water needs to the current complex requirements of domestic-water users, large irrigation projects, industrial plants, and numerous other uses such as fish habitat and recreational activities. Since 1950, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has, at 5-year intervals, compiled data on the amount of water used in homes, businesses, industries, and on farms throughout the State. This water-use data, combined with other related USGS information, has facilitated a unique understanding of the effects of human activity on the State's water resources. As water availability continues to emerge as an important issue in the 21st century, the need for consistent, long-term water-use data will increase to support wise use of this essential natural resource. This report presents state and county estimates of the amount of public- and self-supplied water used for domestic, irrigation, livestock, aquaculture, industrial, mining, and thermoelectric power purposes in the State of Washington during 2005. Offstream fresh-water use was estimated to be 5,780 million gallons per day (Mgal/d). Domestic water use was estimated to be 648 Mgal/d or 11 percent of the total. Irrigation water use was estimated to be 3,520 Mgal/d, or 61 percent of the total. Industrial fresh-water use was estimated to be 520 Mgal/d, or 9 percent of the total. These three categories accounted for about 81 percent (4,690 Mgal/d) of the total of the estimated offstream freshwater use in Washington during 2005.

Washington↗
USGS1976

Sources of arsenic in streams tributary to Lake Crowley, California

Lake Crowley is the largest single source of water for the city of Los Angeles. More than 50 percent of the water entering the Los Angeles-Owens River aqueduct flows through Lake Crowley. Arsenic enters Lake Crowley primarily from hot springs in Long Valley. Sixty percent of the arsenic discharged to Lake Crowley is from hot springs in Hot Creek Gorge. The hot-spring water containing about 1,000 micrograms per litre of arsenic blends with the water flowing in the creek and is usually diluted to a concentration of about 200 micrograms per litre; additional dilution occurs downstream. About 75 percent of the arsenic in Hot Creek is discharged from only two springs. The remaining sources of arsenic in the gorge are poorly defined seepage and flow from numerous small springs. Other sources of arsenic in Long Valley are from either high volume and low-arsenic concentration springs, such as the springs at Hot Creek Fish Hatchery, or high-concentration and low-volume springs, such as those found in the vicinity of the Alkali lakes. These other sources individually are small in comparison with the source in Hot Creek Gorge. It seems unlikely that arsenic from these sources could cause the arsenic concentration in Lake Crowley to exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's recommended criterion (limit) for a public water supply.

California↗
USGS1980

Preimpoundment water quality of the Wild Rice River, Norman County, Minnesota

Water samples have been collected at two sites on the Wild Rice River since September 1974 to establish baseline water-quality characteristics before construction of a reservoir for recreation and flood control near Twin Valley, Minn. A decline in water quality between the sites is shown by mean total phosphorus concentrations, which increase from 0.06 to 0.10 milligram per liter downstream, and mean turbidity, which increases from 12 to 24 units downstream. Phosphorus and ammonia concentrations, as high as 0.31 and 2.7 milligrams per liter, respectively, could be the result of domestic waste input to the river upstream from Hendrum. Biochemical oxygen demand concentrations were significantly higher during spring runoff than during the rest of the year. Four out of 90 bacteria samples taken at Twin Valley indicate the presence of human fecal material, though bacteria densities do not exceed recommendations of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for public-water supplies. The dominace of organic-pollution tolerant phytoplankton in 49 out of 78 samples also indicates degradation of the river quality at Twin Valley. Nutrient concentrations at Twin Valley have no apparent effect on phytoplankton concentrations. None of the consitituents sampled were found to exceed recommended concentrations for public-water supplies.

Minnesota↗
USGS1999

Public Water-Supply Systems and Associated Water Use in Tennessee, 1995

An inventory of public water-supply systems in Tennessee in 1995 indicated that 530 public water-supply systems supplied water to 4.42 million people, or 84 percent of Tennessee's population. Public-supply water withdrawals totaled 779 million gallons per day, 64 percent (500 million gallons per day) of which was from surface-water sources. All of the surface-water withdrawals for public-water supply took place within the Tennessee (279 million gallons per day) and the Ohio (221 million gallons per day) hydrologic regions. Ground-water withdrawals statewide accounted for 36 percent (279 million gallons per day) of the total public-supply water withdrawal. Ground water is the sole source of public-supply water in the Lower Mississippi hydrologic region of western Tennessee. Public water-supply systems in western Tennessee withdrew 216 million gallons per day, or 77 percent, of the 279 million gallons per day of ground water withdrawn for public supply statewide.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1981

Economics and coal resource appraisal: strippable coal in the Illinois Basin ( USA)

Coal-resource appraisals generally describe the location and general characteristics of coal beds. Estimates are made of the average overburden depth (depth of the coal bed below the surface), bed thickness, and perhaps certain chemical properties of the coal [1]. Although such resource compilations represent an important initial step, neither they nor current estimates provide sufficient information to determine the costs of alternative options for National energy policy. Because coal is expected to provide an increasing part of future overall U.S. energy supply, it is crucial for long term planning that coalresource appraisals convey sufficient information regarding the degree of economic resource scarcity (escalation of unit costs for mining remaining deposits as the best deposits in an area are mined out) expected as coal consumption increases. However, assumptions embodied in most large-scale models of coal supply [13; 20] imply that the coal reserves that exist can be commercially produced as needed. As demonstrated by the embargo of 1973-1974 and more recent difficulties in obtaining crude oil, even a slight temporary commodity shortfall will result in significant economic losses when the commodity supplies a large proportion of the total energy used by an economy. For the United States, crude oil resource estimates did not give warning of a decline in domestic petroleum product. In this paper we argue that coal-resource estimates, as they are now made, will not give warning of future supply difficulties. A method for incorporating an economic dimension into appraisals of strippable coal resources is presented and is applied to a major U.S. coal-producing region, the Illinois part of the Illinois basin. Illinois accounts for nearly 70% of the demonstrated strippable coal reserve base of the Illinois basin [12]. In particular, a long-run incremental cost function (that is unit costs vs. cumulative reserves extracted) is estimated for strippable coal in Illinois. The estimated cost function exhibits an initial range over which costs increase at a constant rate-followed by a range where costs increase very rapidly and the function becomes quite inelastic. This long-run incremental cost function is significant for two reasons. Comparison of the demonstrated reserve base for strippable coal (14.8 billion tons) with cumulative production (since 1920 of 1.1 billion tons) might suggest that future depletion will not be significant when, in fact, the cost function presented here indicates otherwise. Because the only states having more reserves of strippable coal than Illinois are Montana and Wyoming [18], these results have implications for national coal-resource appraisal. Secondly, most models used to study the effects of alternative public policies in coal markets are static in nature [15; 16] and cannot consider the effects of increasing costs. Furthermore, models which are multi-period in nature [11; 13] appear to have little empirical basis for their assumptions regarding the escalation of production costs resulting from depletion. The plan of the paper is as follows. First a description of the analytical approach for constructing the long-run incremental cost-reserve function is discussed. Following this, the descriptions of the Illinois basin and the basic physical data are presented. In the concluding section, the main results are presented and their implications are explored

Southern Economic Journal↗
USGS2023

Data summary report: Unregulated contaminants monitoring project

The Drinking Water Protection Section of the Minnesota Department of Health conducted reconnaissance monitoring of selected public water systems in Minnesota. Funding was obtained primarily from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. Sampling was conducted in 2019 and 2021. Laboratory analysis of samples was conducted for a variety of different contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), including selected pharmaceuticals, pesticides, PFAS, wastewater indicators and other parameters chosen for the physical and land use setting surrounding the sampling points. Sampling site and parameter selection were designed with several goals, as follows: Characterize occurrence and distribution of selected CECs in settings where such chemicals are most likely to be present; Determine if any such occurrences represent a public health concern; Compare results from coupled source water and finished (i.e., treated) water samples at public water system sites where such sampling is feasible; Assess if results from geologically vulnerable (sensitive subject to rapid recharge) and geologically non-vulnerable settings differ significantly. 306 samples were collected as part of the study, from three networks of public water systems differentiated on the basis of source water type (i.e., surface water or groundwater) and land use environment (agricultural and wastewater influenced). This report provides a preliminary, qualitative evaluation of the results. Additionally, more rigorous research will be conducted on these water quality data to evaluate the below findings in more detail. High-level findings from this assessment include the following: Very few samples exceeded health-based guidance for CECs; o When this occurred, MDH staff conducted follow up sampling at the system and provided technical advice about managing the situation. Only a fraction of the CECs analyzed were detected; o Of the 522 different CECs analyzed in the water samples, 161 were detected in one or more samples; o Additionally, most detections were at low levels; Among the CEC classes included in the analytical work, pesticides and PFAS were generally detected at a greater frequency than other CECs; o See Executive Summary Figure 1. The ten most commonly detected individual compounds include: o Tribromomethane, or bromoform, (a disinfection by-product) (70% of sites where analyzed); o norgestrel (a pharmaceutical) (69% of sites where analyzed); o lithium (68% of sites where analyzed); o Metolachlor SA (52%), Deethylatrazine (49%), atrazine (45%), and deisopropylatrazine (31%) (pesticides); o PFBA (44%) and PFHxS (27%) (PFAS compounds); and o 5-methyl benzotriazole (29%) (a benzotriazole). Some CECs were detected more frequently in samples collected from surface waters than those collected from groundwater sources; CEC concentrations were generally higher in vulnerable settings compared to nonvulnerable settings; Whether CECs were detected more frequently in the source water or finished water varied by CEC class. For example, o Benzotriazoles and pharmaceuticals were more frequently detected in source water samples than finished water samples; and o Tribromomethane, or bromoform, a common disinfection by-product, was more frequently found in finished water samples than in source water samples. This work prompted a series of programmatic changes and innovations: A response framework was established for helping the program and public water systems manage detections of unregulated CECs in drinking water; Results were forwarded to the program within MDH responsible for developing healthbased guidance in order to nominate specific compounds found in drinking water but for which limited or no risk advice is available; MDH is seeking support from the Clean Water Council to support the establishment of permanent capacity within the Drinking Water Protection Section to continue sampling efforts of this type.

Minnesota↗
USGS2014

Groundwater quality at Alabama Plating and Vincent Spring, Vincent, Alabama, 2007–2008

The former Alabama Plating site in Vincent, Alabama, includes the location where the Alabama Plating Company operated an electroplating facility from 1956 until 1986. The operation of the facility generated waste containing cyanide, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, zinc, and other heavy metals. Contamination resulting from the site operations was identified in groundwater, soil, and sediment. Vincent Spring, used as a public water supply by the city of Vincent, Alabama, is located about ½ mile southwest of the site. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, conducted an investigation at Vincent Spring and the Alabama Plating site, Vincent, Alabama, during 2007–2008 to evaluate the groundwater quality and evaluate the potential effect of contaminated groundwater on the water quality of Vincent Spring. The results of the investigation will provide scientific data and information on the occurrence, fate, and transport of contaminants in the water resources of the area and aid in the evaluation of the vulnerability of the public water supply to contamination. Samples were analyzed to evaluate the water quality at the former plating site, investigate the presence of possible contaminant indicators at Vincent Spring, and determine the usefulness of stable isotopes and geochemical properties in understanding groundwater flow and contaminant transport in the area. Samples collected from 16 monitor wells near the plating site and Vincent Spring were analyzed for major constituents, trace metals, nutrients, and the stable isotopes for hydrogen ( 2 H/H) and oxygen ( 18 O/ 16 O). Groundwater collected from Vincent Spring was characterized as a calcium-magnesium-bicarbonate water type with total dissolved solids concentrations ranging from 110 to 120 milligrams per liter and pH ranging from about 7.5 to 7.9 units. Groundwater chemistry at the monitor wells at the Alabama Plating site was highly variable by location and depth. Dissolved solids concentrations ranged from 28 to 2,880 milligrams per liter, and the water types varied from calcium-magnesium-bicarbonate-chloride, to calcium-sulfate or calcium-magnesium-sulfate, to sodium-chloride water types. The stable isotope ratios for hydrogen ( 2 H/H) and oxygen ( 18 O/ 16 O) for water from the monitor wells and from Vincent Spring, based on a single sampling event, can be separated into three groups: (1) Vincent Spring, (2) monitor wells MW03 and MW28, and (3) the remaining Alabama Plating monitor wells. The geochemical and stable isotope analyses indicate that water from Vincent Spring is distinct from water from the Alabama Plating monitor wells; however, this evaluation is based on a single sampling event. Although the water from Vincent Spring, for this sampling event, is different and does not seem to be affected by contaminated groundwater from the Alabama Plating site, additional hydrologic and water-quality data are needed to fully identify flow paths, the potential for contaminant transport, and water-quality changes through time.

Alabama↗
USGS1994

Identification of potential public water-supply areas of the Cape Cod aquifer, Massachusetts, using a geographic information system

Potential public water-supply areas of the Cape Cod aquifer, Massachusetts, were identified using a geographic information system (GIS) to aid regional and local ground-water resource management efforts. Criteria were selected to identify potential areas on the basis of data restrictions in addition to State requirements for siting new public water- supply wells, Federal or local restrictions on land use, and general hydrogeologic or water-quality concerns. Data layers were created for each criterion and overliad to eliminate areas from consideration as potential public water supplies. Remaining areas, those not included within the applied criteria, are the primary areas to consider for potential public water supplies. The areas identified in this analysis as potential public water supplies range from 0.5 to 7.9 percent of the individual flow cells, or 5.6 percent of the total flow cell area. The criteria were ranked so that criteria more limiting to potential public water supplies were given a higher rank than other criteria. The ranking scheme allows for the inclusion of areas with lower ranked criteria as potential public water supplies. Results can be viewed on a plat in this report, or accessed using the map-based, menu-driven GIS application, which provides interactive display and query of investigation results.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2017

Predicted pH at the domestic and public supply drinking water depths, Central Valley, California

This scientific investigations map is a product of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) project modeling and mapping team. The prediction grids depicted in this map are of continuous pH and are intended to provide an understanding of groundwater-quality conditions at the domestic and public supply drinking water zones in the groundwater of the Central Valley of California. The chemical quality of groundwater and the fate of many contaminants is often influenced by pH in all aquifers. These grids are of interest to water-resource managers, water-quality researchers, and groundwater modelers concerned with the occurrence of natural and anthropogenic contaminants related to pH. In this work, the median well depth categorized as domestic supply was 30 meters below land surface, and the median well depth categorized as public supply is 100 meters below land surface. Prediction grids were created using prediction modeling methods, specifically boosted regression trees (BRT) with a Gaussian error distribution within a statistical learning framework within the computing framework of R ( http://www.r-project.org/ ). The statistical learning framework seeks to maximize the predictive performance of machine learning methods through model tuning by cross validation. The response variable was measured pH from 1,337 wells and was compiled from two sources: USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) database (all data are publicly available from the USGS: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ca/nwis/nwis ) and the California State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water (SWRCB-DDW) database (water quality data are publicly available from the SWRCB: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/gama/geotracker_gama.shtml ). Only wells with measured pH and well depth data were selected, and for wells with multiple records, only the most recent sample in the period 1993–2014 was used. A total of 1,003 wells (training dataset) were used to train the BRT model, and 334 wells (hold-out dataset) were used to validate the prediction model. The training r-squared was 0.70, and the root-mean-square error (RMSE) in standard pH units was 0.26. The hold-out r-squared was 0.43, and RMSE in standard pH units was 0.37. Predictor variables consisting of more than 60 variables from 7 sources were assembled to develop a model that incorporates regional-scale soil properties, soil chemistry, land use, aquifer textures, and aquifer hydrology. Previously developed Central Valley model outputs of textures (Central Valley Textural Model, CVTM; Faunt and others, 2010) and MODFLOW-simulated vertical water fluxes and predicted depth to water table (Central Valley Hydrologic Model, CVHM; Faunt, 2009) were used to represent aquifer textures and groundwater hydraulics, respectively. In this work, wells were attributed to predictor variable values in ArcGIS using a 500-meter buffer. Faunt, C.C., ed., 2009, Groundwater availability in the Central Valley aquifer, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1776, 225 p., accessed at https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1766/ . Faunt, C.C., Belitz, K., and Hanson, R.T., 2010, Development of a three-dimensional model of sedimentary texture in valley-fill deposits of Central Valley, California, USA: Hydrogeology Journal, v. 18, no. 3, p. 625–649, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-009-0539-7 .

California↗
USGS1985

Hydrology, water quality, and ground-water-development alternatives in the Chipuxet ground-water reservoir, Rhode Island

A glacial sand and gravel aquifer in the Chipuxet River basin of Rhode Island forms a ground-water reservoir that could yield as much as 8.6 million gallons per day to wells; however, some streams would go dry for extended periods of time. The State Water Resources Board has tested five site that it proposes to develop for a public supply of 3 million gallons per day. A digital model was used to determine how withdrawal at this rate from alternative combinations of wells would affect water levels and streamflow. Results show that withdrawal of 3 million gallons per day would have a minimal effect on water levels, but that withdrawal at this rate from some well combinations could cause the Chipuxet River to have little or no flow for 90 consecutive days on the average of 1 year in 20. Quality of ground water is generally good, but leaching of fertilizers applied to croplands, which overlie much of the aquifer, has caused locally excessive concentrations of nitrate. Induced infiltration of surface water through organic sediments that line the bottoms of ponds and streams also seems to be the cause of elevated concentrations of manganese in water from some heavily pumped wells. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2015

Linking biophysical models and public preferences for ecosystem service assessments: a case study for the Southern Rocky Mountains

Through extensive research, ecosystem services have been mapped using both survey-based and biophysical approaches, but comparative mapping of public values and those quantified using models has been lacking. In this paper, we mapped hot and cold spots for perceived and modeled ecosystem services by synthesizing results from a social-values mapping study of residents living near the Pike–San Isabel National Forest (PSI), located in the Southern Rocky Mountains, with corresponding biophysically modeled ecosystem services. Social-value maps for the PSI were developed using the Social Values for Ecosystem Services tool, providing statistically modeled continuous value surfaces for 12 value types, including aesthetic, biodiversity, and life-sustaining values. Biophysically modeled maps of carbon sequestration and storage, scenic viewsheds, sediment regulation, and water yield were generated using the Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services tool. Hotspots for both perceived and modeled services were disproportionately located within the PSI’s wilderness areas. Additionally, we used regression analysis to evaluate spatial relationships between perceived biodiversity and cultural ecosystem services and corresponding biophysical model outputs. Our goal was to determine whether publicly valued locations for aesthetic, biodiversity, and life-sustaining values relate meaningfully to results from corresponding biophysical ecosystem service models. We found weak relationships between perceived and biophysically modeled services, indicating that public perception of ecosystem service provisioning regions is limited. We believe that biophysical and social approaches to ecosystem service mapping can serve as methodological complements that can advance ecosystem services-based resource management, benefitting resource managers by showing potential locations of synergy or conflict between areas supplying ecosystem services and those valued by the public.

Regional Environmental Change↗