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At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Hydrogeology and simulation of ground-water flow at the Gettysburg Elevator Plant Superfund Site, Adams County, Pennsylvania

Ground water in Triassic-age sedimentary fractured-rock aquifers in the area of Gettysburg, Pa., is used as drinking water and for industrial and commercial supply. In 1983, ground water at the Gettysburg Elevator Plant was found by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources to be contaminated with trichloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and other synthetic organic compounds. As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?s Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 1980 process, a Remedial Investigation was completed in July 1991, a method of site remediation was issued in the Record of Decision dated June 1992, and a Final Design Report was completed in May 1997. In cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the hydrogeologic assessment of the site remediation, the U.S. Geological Survey began a study in 1997 to determine the effects of the onsite and offsite extraction wells on ground-water flow and contaminant migration from the Gettysburg Elevator Plant. This determination is based on hydrologic and geophysical data collected from 1991 to 1998 and on results of numerical model simulations of the local ground-water flow-system. The Gettysburg Elevator Site is underlain by red, green, gray, and black shales of the Heidlersburg Member of the Gettysburg Formation. Correlation of natural-gamma logs indicates the sedimentary rock strike about N. 23 degrees E. and dip about 23 degrees NW. Depth to bedrock onsite commonly is about 6 feet but offsite may be as deep as 40 feet. The ground-water system consists of two zones?a thin, shallow zone composed of soil, clay, and highly weathered bedrock and a thicker, nonweathered or fractured bedrock zone. The shallow zone overlies the bedrock zone and truncates the dipping beds parallel to land surface. Diabase dikes are barriers to ground-water flow in the bedrock zone. The ground-water system is generally confined or semi-confined, even at shallow depths. Depth to water can range from flowing at land surface to more than 71 feet below land surface. Potentiometric maps based on measured water levels at the Gettysburg Elevator Plant indicate ground water flows from west to east, towards Rock Creek. Multiple-well aquifer tests indicate the system is heterogeneous and flow is primarily in dipping beds that contain discrete secondary openings separated by less permeable beds. Water levels in wells open to the pumped bed, as projected along the dipping stratigraphy, are drawn down more than water levels in wells not open to the pumped bed. Ground-water flow was simulated for steady-state conditions prior to pumping and long-term average pumping conditions. The three-dimensional numerical flow model (MODFLOW) was calibrated by use of a parameter estimation program (MODFLOWP). Steady-state conditions were assumed for the calibration period of 1996. An effective areal recharge rate of 7 inches was used in model calibration. The calibrated flow model was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the current onsite and offsite extraction well system. The simulation results generally indicate that the extraction system effectively captures much of the ground-water recharge at the Gettysburg Elevator Plant and, hence, contaminated ground-water migrating from the site. Some of the extraction wells pump at low rates and have very small contributing areas. Results indicate some areal recharge onsite will move to offsite extraction wells.

Pennsylvania↗

Bibliography of U.S. Geological Survey water-resources reports for Utah

This bibliography contains a complete listing of reports prepared by personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey from 1886 through December 31, 1993, that discuss the water resources of Utah. The reports were prepared primarily by personnel of the Water Resources Division, Utah District, in cooperation with State, other Federal, and local agencies. Several reports were prepared as a part of studies directly funded by the U.S. Geological Survey, and several were prepared by contractors for the U.S. Geological Survey. The bibliography is divided into three major parts: (1) publications of the U.S. Geological Survey; (2) publications prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with and published by agencies of the State of Utah; and (3) reports printed in other publications reports prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey but published by other agencies or by professional organizations. Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey still in print may be purchased from the U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Science Information Center, Open-File Reports Section, Box 25286, MS 517, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. Publications that are out of print at the time of this compilation are marked with an asterisk (*). Except for water-supply papers, most publications that are out of print and unavailable for purchase may be examined at the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Science Information Center, 2222 West 2300 South, 2nd Floor, Salt Lake City, Utah 84119. Reports published by the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Divisions of Water Rights and Water Resources, are available on request from these agencies or from the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, Room 1016 Administration Building, 1745 West 1700 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84104. Water-Resources Bulletins of the Utah Geological Survey may be purchased from that agency at 2363 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84109-1491. Inquiries as to the availability of reports listed as "reports printed in other publications" must be addressed to the professional organization or agency that published them. Most of these reports are available in larger libraries, such as the library of the University of Utah. Most open-file reports are available for inspection at the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, Room 1016 Administration Building, 1745 West 1700 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84104. A small number of the open-file reports that have been duplicated as Utah basic- (or hydrologic-) data reports are free on request. An index is included in this bibliography for ease of reference. Water-supply papers on the quantity and quality of ground and surface water in Utah that were published in a series are not listed separately in the index but are presented in tables 1 to 4.

Utah↗

Geology of the Huntsville quadrangle, Alabama

The 7 1/2-minute Huntsville quadrangle is in south-central Madison County, Ala., and includes part of the city of Hunstville. The south, north, east, and west boundaries of the quadrangle are about 3 miles north of the Tennessee River, 15 1/2 miles south of the Tennessee line, 8 miles west of the Jackson County line, and 9 miles east of the Limestone County line. The bedrock geology of the Huntsville quadrangle was mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the city of Hunstville and the Geological Survey of Alabama as part of a detailed study of the geology and ground-water resources of Madison County, with special reference to the Huntsville area. G. T. Malmberg began the geologic mapping of the county in July 1953, and completed it in April 1954. T. H. Sanford, Jr., assisted Malmberg in the final phases of the county mapping, which included measuring geologic sections with hand level and steel tape. In November 1958 Sanford, assisted by L. R. West, checked contacts and elevations in the Hunstville quadrangle; made revisions in the contact lines; and wrote the text for this report. The fieldwork for this report was completed in April 1959.

Alabama↗

Water levels in observation wells in Nebraska during 1956

The Objective of the observation-well program in Nebraska is to provide an evaluation of the status of the ground-water supplies. Many uses tor water-level data are known but not all potential uses can be foreseen. Among the important uses are the following: (1) To indicate the status of ground water in storage or in transit and the availability or supplies. (2) To show the trend of ground-water supplies and the outlook tor the future. (3) To estimate or forecast the base flow of streams. (4) To indicate areas in which the water level is approaching too close to the land surface (water-logging) or is receding toward economic limits of lift or toward impairment by water of poor quality. (5) To provide long-term evidence for evaluating the effectiveness of land-management and water-conservation programs in relation to water conservation actually effected, and for use in basin or "watershed" studies. (6) To provide long-term continuous records to serve as a framework to which short-term records collected during intensive investigation may be related. The water level in an observation well functions as a gage to indicate the position or the water table. The water table is defined as the upper surface of the zone of saturation except where that surface is formed by overlying impermeable materials. The water table is also the boundary between the zone of saturation and the zone of aeration. It is not a level surface but is a sloping surface that has many irregularities, and it often conforms in a general way to the land surface. The irregularities are caused by several factors. In places where the recharge to the ground-water reservoir is exceptionally large, the water table may rise to form a mound from which the water slowly spreads. Depressions or troughs in the water table indicate places where the ground water is discharging, u along streams that are below the normal level it the water table, or indicate places where water is being withdrawn by wells or vegetation. The several factors that influence the water table vary in fact and amount from time to time because of changes in weather and the water requirements or vegetation and man; thus, the water table is nearly always rising or falling. The fluctuations or the water table are shown by the changes in water levels in wells. Thus, the rate and amount of the fluctuation of the water table can be ascertained by observing the water levels in wells, and the magnitude or the several factors effecting the position of the water table can be interpreted by analyzing the water-level data. Water-level measurements are given, in this report, in feet below the land surface at the well site. Water levels that are above land surface are preceded by a plus (+) sign in the tables, whereas those below land surface have no sign but are understood to be minus (-). The words "land-surface datum" are abbreviated "lsd'' in some places in tables of this report. The altitude above mean sea level (msl) of the land surface at many of the well sites has been determined and is included in the tables or this report. Twenty-eight observation wells in Nebraska are equipped with recording gages. Each recording gage produces a continuous graph of water-level fluctuations in the well. Only the lowest water level on the last day of record in each month, as recorded by the gage, is given in this report; the complete record is on file in the office of the U.S. Geological Survey in Lincoln, Nebr.

Nebraska↗

Water levels in observation wells in Nebraska during 1955

The objective of the dbservation-well program in Nebraska is to provide an evaluation of the status of the ground-water supplies. Many uses for water-.level data are known but not all potential uses can be forseen. Among the important uses are the following: To indicate the status of ground water in storage or in transit and the availability of supplies. To show the trend of ground-water supplies and the outlook for the future. To estimate or forcast the base flow of streams. To indicate areas in which the water level is approaching too close to the land surface (water-logging) or is receding toward economic limits of lift or tow rd impairment by water of poor quality. To provide long-term vidence for evaluating the effectiveness of land-management and water...0 nservation programs in relation to water conservation actually of ected, and for use in basin or "watershed" studies. To provide longterm ontinuous records to serve as a framework to which short-term records collected during intensive investigation may be related. The water level in an observation well functions as a gage to indicate the position of the water table o The water table is defined as the upper surface of the zone of saturation except where that surface is formed by overlying impermeable materials. The water table is also the boundary between the zone of saturation and the zone of aeration. It is not a level surface but is a sloping surface that has many irregularities, and it often conforms in a general way to the land surface. The irregularities are caused by several factors. In places where the recharge to the ground-water reservoir is exceptionally large, the water-table may rise to form a mound from which the water slowly spreads. Depressions or troughs in the water table indicate places where the ground water is discharging, as along streams that are below the normal level of the water table, or indicate places where water is being withdrawn by wells or vegetation. The several factors that influence the water table vary in fact and amount from time to time because of changes in weather and the water requirements of vegetation and man; thus, the water table is nearly always rising or falling. The fluctuations of the water table are shown by the changes in water levels in wells. Thus, the rate and amount of the fluctuation of the water table can be ascertained by observing the water levels in wells, and the magnitude of the several factors effecting the position of the water table can be interpreted by analyzing the water—level data. Water-level measurements are given, in this report, in feet below the land surface at the well site. Water levels that are above land surface are preceded by a plus (+) sign, whereas those below land surface have no sign but are understood to be minus (-). The words "land-surface datum" are abbreviated "lsd" in tables of this report. The altitude above mean sea level (msl) of the land surface at many of the well sites has been determined and is included in the tables of this report. Lower case letters which appear in the table of water level measurements indicate the following: 6', nearby well pumped recently; f, dry; g, measured by outside agency; and j, frozen. Twenty-.six observation wells in Nebraska are equipped with recording gages. Each recording gage produces a continuous graph of water-level fluctuations in the well. Only the lowest water level on the last day of record in each month, as recorded by the gage, is given in this report; the complete record is on file in the office of the U. S. Geological Survey in Lincoln, Nebr.

Nebraska↗

Proceedings of Conference XVIII: a workshop on "Continuing actions to reduce losses from earthquakes in the Mississippi Valley area," 24-26 May, 1982, St. Louis, Missouri

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Federal Emergency Management Agency sponsored a workshop on, "Continuing Actions to Reduce Losses from Earthquakes in the Mississippi Valley area," in St. Louis, Missouri, on May 24-26, 1982. Seventy individuals (see Appendix A) representing local, State, and Federal government; business and industry; and the research community participated in the three day workshop. Collectively, the participants had backgrounds in disaster preparedness, disaster response and recovery, geology, geophysics, seismology, engineering, architecture, social science, law, insurance, and land-use planning. Two-thirds of them came from the Mississippi Valley area about one half of these had also attended an earlier USGS-FEMA workshop held in Knoxville, Tennessee on September 16-18, 1981 (Hays, 1982). The St. Louis workshop is the 18th in the continuing series of conferences and workshops which the Geological Survey initiated in 1977 to improve the transfer and application of research results throughout the Nation. It is the second workshop to focus on dealing with the earthquake threat in the Eastern United States. The first one, "Preparing for and Responding to a Damaging Earthquake in the Eastern United States," was held in Knoxville, Tennessee, and emphasized the development of a draft 5-year plan to improve the state-of-earthquake-preparedness. The Knoxville workshop demonstrated that policymakers and members of the scientific-technical community can assimilate and synthesize a great deal of information and work together to devise practical plans. The St. Louis workshop, a sequel to the Knoxville workshop, identified those actions out of the range of possible actions which are most achievable; that is, the actions having the highest payoff and trre lowest cost and effort requirements. These action plans, which identify steps that can be undertaken immediately to reduce losses from earthquakes in each of the seven States in the Mississippi Valley area, are contained in this report. The draft 5-year plan for the Central United States, prepared in the Knoxville workshop, was the starting point of the small group discussions in the St. Louis workshop which lead to the action plans contained in this report. For completeness, the draft 5-year plan for the Central United States is reproduced as Appendix B.

Open-File Report↗

Water resources activities of the USGS, 1992

The Water Resources Division (WRD) of the U.S. Geological Survey has the principal responsibility within the Federal Government for providing hydrologic information and appraising the Nation's water resources. The USGS is unique among government organizations because it has neither regulatory nor developmental authority. Information that is made available equally to all interested parties is the sole product of the WRD. The mission, organization, source of funds, and major programs of the WRD are discussed in this report. Three types of programs are described: long-term programs, topical programs, and support programs. Emphasis is on programs that will contribute to identifying, mitigating, or solving nationwide water-resources problems in the remaining years of the 20th century. Completing the report are discussions of how the hydrologic data and information are disseminated and an index. The report describes the water-resources mission of the WRD and discusses the organization and principal sources of funds that support the activities conducted to meet this mission. Descriptions are given of the most significant water-resources activities, how the hydrologic data and information are disseminated is discussed. Each description of a significant water-resources activity has the following parts: 'Introduction', 'Activities', 'Recent Accomplishments' and 'Funding'. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗

Geology of the Eureka pegmatite, Pennington County, South Dakota

The Eureka Pegmatite, two miles southeast of Keystone, Pennington County, South Dakota, is a small but possibly valuable zoned body containing more than 85,000 tons of coarse-grained granite-pegmatite rock. The mica in the pegmatite is probably not of any great importance, but the potash feldspar and beryl may comprise a considerable tonnage of valuable reserves. If the pegmatite can be exploited at a profit in spite of the graphite-damaged feldspar, it may yield substantial amounts of strategically important beryl by open-cut mining of the entire body. This report contains complete, megascopic mineralogical and structural details of the pegmatite, which are supplemented with drill core logs and a geologic map and cross-sections.

South Dakota↗

Mapping potential sensitivity to hydrogeomorphic change in the UMRS riverscape

In 2020 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program, began a new project to characterize potential hydrogeomorphic change associated with hydrogeomorphic units (HGUs) and their catenae (units linked by their association with sediment sources and flow origins). The goal of the project was to develop a geographic information system (GIS) database of HGUs for the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) available to both scientists and river managers working on UMRR studies and HREP planning and design studies. The characterization was based on a hydrogeomorphic change hierarchical classification developed previously for the UMRS. The products were generated with automated techniques in a GIS using systemic datasets. Landforms were mapped from the 2015 UMRS topobathymetric dataset with geomorphon (shape-based) tools tailored for the large riverscape, valley bottom environments in the UMRS. A clustering analysis was applied to the resulting landforms to identify HGUs associated with zones of perennial low flows, bankfull flows, and overbank floodplains. Catenae were assembled based on the proximity of the units to the main channel, tributary mouths, and side channels from previously published aquatic areas (USACE, 2018) coupled with least-cost flowpath linkages between potential sediment origins and planform change units developed by Rogala, Fitzpatrick, and Henderson (2020). These GIS-based analyses were successful at identifying a range of HGUs using an automated technique with available data across the entire riverscape, with emphasis on those that have the potential for hydrogeomorphic change. Most of the resulting features are depositional, as expected in a large river system. However, this is the first attempt of linking tributary inputs, side channel erosion and levee breaches with their depositional counterparts. The approach was successfully piloted in Pools 8 and 10 in the Upper Impounded Reach and Pool 14 in the Lower Impounded Reach, with next steps for application in reaches of the unimpounded section and Illinois River. This report emphasizes results from Pool 10, which was the focus of most of our attention during the pilot phase.

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Sout↗

Changes between early development (1930–60) and recent (2005–15) groundwater-level altitudes and dissolved-solids and nitrate concentrations In and near Gaines, Terry, and Yoakum Counties, Texas

Llano Estacado Underground Water Conservation District, Sandy Land Underground Water Conservation District, and South Plains Underground Water Conservation District manage groundwater resources in a part of west Texas near the Texas-New Mexico State line. Declining groundwater levels have raised concerns about the amount of available groundwater in the study area and the potential for water-quality changes resulting from dewatering and increased vertical groundwater movement between adjacent water-bearing units. In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Llano Estacado Underground Water Conservation District, Sandy Land Underground Water District, and South Plains Underground Water Conservation District, began a multiphase project to develop a regional conceptual model of the hydrogeologic framework and geochemistry of the Ogallala, Edwards-Trinity, and Dockum aquifers. The Ogallala aquifer is the shallowest aquifer in the study area and is the primary source of water for agriculture and municipal supply in the area. This report describes the results of the first phase of the study, during which groundwater-level-altitude and selected water-quality data from wells in and near Gaines, Terry, and Yoakum Counties were compiled and evaluated for the Ogallala, Edwards-Trinity, and Dockum aquifers. Readily available digital groundwater data for the study area (geologic, well-construction, groundwater-level-altitude, and selected water-quality data) were compiled to assess temporal and spatial changes in groundwater resources from early development (1930–60) to recent (2005–15) periods. Pertinent data were compiled from available sources for the study area and for a 5-mile buffer area around the study area to prevent gridding errors near the boundary. Geologic and well-construction data were used to determine or verify the aquifer in which each well was completed. Depending on the available data, the aquifer assignment (aquifer in which a given well was completed) was determined on the basis of the following criteria, in order of priority: (1) the screened or open interval(s) of the well, (2) the total depth of the well, or (3) the completed aquifer reported for a given well by the data source. Potentiometric-surface maps were created to depict changes in groundwater-level altitudes for the Ogallala and Edwards-Trinity aquifers. In addition to comparing groundwater-level altitudes and water quality from the early development and recent periods, hydrographs of groundwater-level altitudes were created, and changes in water quality for various periods between 1930 and 2015 were evaluated. Variance maps for each groundwater-level-altitude grid were used to evaluate the spatial data coverage and to identify areas with higher uncertainty because of spatially limited data availability for some of the aquifers. For this report, existing dissolved-solids and nitrate concentration data were compiled and assessed for evidence of spatial patterns and changes over time. These data were compiled for samples collected from wells completed in the Ogallala, Edwards-Trinity, or Dockum aquifer during the early development period (1930–60) or the recent period (2005–15); temporal and spatial variations were assessed from depictions of the measured concentration values. Dissolved-solids and nitrate concentrations measured in samples from three wells completed in the Ogallala aquifer (well identifiers 11524, 11824, and 11825) for which long-term monitoring was done for various periods between 1950 and 2015 were also compiled and analyzed. Groundwater-level altitudes of the Ogallala aquifer are generally higher in the northwestern part of the study area and lower in the southeastern part of the study area, varying by as much as 800 feet. Groundwater flow paths for the early development period generally trend from northwest to southeast across the study area. Compared to those for the early development period, local features in the potentiometric surface for the recent period are more pronounced, likely as a result of additional data coverage, increased groundwater withdrawals, and local flow paths that are more variable. For the Edwards-Trinity aquifer potentiometric-surface map of the recent period, a general northwest to southeast flow gradient was also evident, with some subtle differences compared to the early development period. The Edwards-Trinity aquifer water-level-altitude change map between the early development and recent periods indicated similar spatial trends as in the Ogallala aquifer and indicated that groundwater-level altitudes declined over a large amount of the area for which sufficient data were available for reliably mapping changes. During the recent period, median dissolved-solids concentrations of less than 1,000 milligrams per liter (mg/L) were predominantly measured in the western part of the study area, and median concentrations of more than 1,000 mg/L were predominantly measured in the eastern part of the study area. A general pattern of increasing nitrate concentrations from west to the northeast was evident in the study area. Nitrate concentrations measured in samples collected from 16 wells completed in the Ogallala aquifer for the recent period were equal to or greater than 10 mg/L, the primary drinking water standard for finished drinking water.

Texas↗

Stream measurement work: Chapter 7 in Fifteenth biennial report of the State Engineer to the governor of Utah: 1925-1926

The general stream measurement work has been continued during the biennium by the United States Geological Survey under cooperative agreement with the State Engineer. This agreement is essentially the same as that outlined in previous reports and the details of the stream gauging operations carried on under these agreements can be found in the biennial reports of the State Engineer. The data collected are published in the annual water supply papers of the United States Geological Survey which contain stream flow records for the whole United States including Alaska and Hawaii. For convenience and uniformity in publications the United States has been divided into 12 primary drainage basins and the results of stream measurements are published annually in a series of progress reports that correspond to these twelve divisions. Data for Utah appear in two of these: the Great Basin and the Colorado River basin reports. A complete set of these publications is on fine at the district office of the Geological Survey, 313 Federal Building, Salt Lake City, where the data in advance of publication are also available.

Utah↗

The National Geochemical Survey: Database and documentation

The USGS, in collaboration with other federal and state government agencies, industry, and academia, is conducting the National Geochemical Survey (NGS) to produce a body of geochemical data for the United States based primarily on stream sediments, analyzed using a consistent set of methods. These data will compose a complete, national-scale geochemical coverage of the US, and will enable construction of geochemical maps, refine estimates of baseline concentrations of chemical elements in the sampled media, and provide context for a wide variety of studies in the geological and environmental sciences. The goal of the NGS is to analyze at least one stream-sediment sample in every 289 km2 area by a single set of analytical methods across the entire nation, with other solid sample media substituted where necessary. The NGS incorporates geochemical data from a variety of sources, including existing analyses in USGS databases, reanalyses of samples in USGS archives, and analyses of newly collected samples. At the present time, the NGS includes data covering ~71% of the land area of the US, including samples in all 50 states. This version of the online report provides complete access to NGS data, describes the history of the project, the methodology used, and presents preliminary geochemical maps for all analyzed elements. Future editions of this and other related reports will include the results of analysis of variance studies, as well as interpretive products related to the NGS data.

Open-File Report↗

Bird collections in the United States and Canada: Addenda and corrigenda

Since publication of our report on the avian collections in the United States and Canada (Banks, Clench, and Barlow 1973, Auk 90: 136- 170) several changes and additions have come to our attention. In some cases, recent curatorial work has resulted in more accurate counts to replace previous estimates. Other collections have grown markedly in the last few years. Some important private or institutional collections have been transferred to other jurisdictions. Finally, we have received a few completely new reports from collections that were unknown to us or that were unresponsive to our original requests for information.

The Auk↗

Introduction

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska is one of 16 refuges in Alaska and 539 refuges nationwide within the National Wildlife Refuge System administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. First established as the Arctic National Wildlife Range in 1960 by Public Land Order 2214, it initially had a three-fold purpose to preserve unique wildlife, wilderness, and recreation values on 8.9 million acres. In 1980, the Arctic National Wildlife Range was expanded to the southwest and renamed the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (also called the Arctic Refuge in this report) when the U.S. Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), Public Law 96-487 (94 Stat. 2371). This legislation also designated almost all of the original Arctic National Wildlife Range as wilderness, and it directed the Secretary of the Interior to conduct studies evaluating both the biological resources and the potential petroleum reserves of 1.5 million acres (titled the 1002 Area) on the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge. In April 1982, the Arctic Refuge staff completed a report summarizing the then current state of knowledge on the fish, wildlife, and their habitats present on the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1982). From 1982 to 1985, field investigations of biological resources of the 1002 Area were carried out by a number of investigators, and annual reports summarized the results (Garner and Reynolds 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987). These reports and other resources were used to prepare a Department of the Interior report to Congress: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska Coastal Plain Resource Assessment - Report and Recommendation to the Congress of the United States and Final Environmental Impact Satement (Clough et al., 1987).

Alaska, Northwest Territories, Yukon Territory↗

A Summary interpretation of geologic, hydrologic, and geophysical data for Yucca Valley, Nevada test site, Nye County, Nevada

This report summarizes an interpretation of the geology of Yucca Valley to depths of about 2,300 feet below the surface, the characteristics features of ground water in Yucca and Frenchman Valleys, and the seismic, gravity, and magnetic data for these valleys. Compilation of data, preparation of illustrations, and writing of the report were completed during the period December 26, 1958 to January 10, 1959. Some of the general conclusions must be considered as tentative until more data are available. This work was done by the U.S. Geological Survey on behalf of Albuquerque Operations Office, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

Nevada↗

The brown iron ores of west-middle Tennessee

A study of the brown iron ore deposits of west-middle Tennessee has been carried on recently under a cooperative agreement between the Tennessee State Geological Survey and the United States Geological Survey. A detailed report on the subject was submitted in the spring of 1925 to the State Survey for publication as a bulletin, and the writing of the present report was completed in March, 1926. The field work was done mainly between October 22 and November 2, 1921, and April 26 and July 18, 1923; but in October, 1924, a visit was made to the mine at Napier. The writer was assisted in the field in 1921 by. R. W. Smith, assistant geologist, and in 1923 by C. C. Anderson, topographer, both of the Tennessee Survey. Mr. Wilbur A. Nelson, State geologist at the time the work was in progress, visited several mines with the writer and on these occasions as well as many times during the preparation of the report rendered helpful suggestions and guidance. Mr. H. D. Miser, of the United States Geological Survey, State geologist from September 1, 1925, to July 1, 1926, who is especially familiar with the southern part of this area, also cooperated heartily in the preparation of this report; and Mr. H. W. Davis, of the United States Bureau of Mines, compiled the statistical data on iron ore and pig iron. To all these gentlemen the writer desires to express his appreciation. Acknowledgments are also due to the officials and employees of the iron mining and manufacturing companies and to people living in the vicinity of inactive mining properties for their courteous attention and for the large amount of information furnished. In the present paper the general features of the region and of the iron-ore deposits are delineated, but only a few typical ore deposits in each county are described, as the State bulletin will contain detailed descriptions of all properties.

Tennessee↗

Analogues to features and processes of a high-level radioactive waste repository proposed for Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Natural analogues are defined for this report as naturally occurring or anthropogenic systems in which processes similar to those expected to occur in a nuclear waste repository are thought to have taken place over time periods of decades to millennia and on spatial scales as much as tens of kilometers. Analogues provide an important temporal and spatial dimension that cannot be tested by laboratory or field-scale experiments. Analogues provide one of the multiple lines of evidence intended to increase confidence in the safe geologic disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Although the work in this report was completed specifically for Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the proposed geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste under the U.S. Nuclear Waste Policy Act, the applicability of the science, analyses, and interpretations is not limited to a specific site. Natural and anthropogenic analogues have provided and can continue to provide value in understanding features and processes of importance across a wide variety of topics in addressing the challenges of geologic isolation of radioactive waste and also as a contribution to scientific investigations unrelated to waste disposal. Isolation of radioactive waste at a mined geologic repository would be through a combination of natural features and engineered barriers. In this report we examine analogues to many of the various components of the Yucca Mountain system, including the preservation of materials in unsaturated environments, flow of water through unsaturated volcanic tuff, seepage into repository drifts, repository drift stability, stability and alteration of waste forms and components of the engineered barrier system, and transport of radionuclides through unsaturated and saturated rock zones.

Professional Paper↗

Logs and Geologic Data from a Paleoseismic Investigation of the Susitna Glacier fault, Central Alaska Range, Alaska

This report contains field and laboratory data from a paleoseismic study of the Susitna Glacier fault, Alaska. The initial M 7.2 subevent of the November 3, 2002, M 7.9 Denali fault earthquake sequence produced a 48-km-long set of complex fault scarps, folds, and aligned landslides on the previously unknown, north-dipping Susitna Glacier thrust fault along the southern margin of the Alaska Range in central Alaska. Most of the 2002 folds and fault scarps are 1-3 m high, implying dip-slip thrust offsets (assuming a near-surface fault dip of approximately 20 degrees)of 3-5 m. Locally, some of the 2002 ruptures were superimposed on preexisting scarps that have as much as 5-10 m of vertical separation and are evidence of previous surface-rupturing earthquakes on the Susitna Glacier fault. In 2003-2005, we focused follow-up studies on several of the large scarps at the 'Wet fan' site in the central part of the 2002 rupture to determine the pre-2002 history of large surface-rupturing earthquakes on the fault. We chose this site for several reasons: (1) the presence of pre-2002 thrust- and normal-fault scarps on a gently sloping, post-glacial alluvial fan; (2) nearby natural exposures of underlying fan sediments revealed fine-grained fluvial silts with peat layers and volcanic ash beds useful for chronological control; and (3) a lack of permafrost to a depth of more than 1 m. Our studies included detailed mapping, fault-scarp profiling, and logging of three hand-excavated trenches. We were forced to restrict our excavations to 1- to 2-m-high splay faults and folds because the primary 2002 ruptures mostly were superimposed on such large scarps that it was impossible to hand dig through the hanging wall to expose the fault plane. Additional complications are the pervasive effects of cryogenic processes (mainly solifluction) that can mask or mimic tectonic deformation. The purpose of this report is to present photomosaics, trench logs, scarp profiles, and fault slip, radiocarbon, tephrochronologic, and unit description data obtained during this investigation. We do not attempt to use the data presented herein to construct a paleoseismic history of the Susitna Glacier fault; that history will be the subject of a future report. When completed, our results will be used to compare the Susitna Glacier fault paleoseismic record with results of similar studies on the nearby Denali fault to determine if the simultaneous rupture of these two faults during the 2002 Denali fault earthquake sequence is typical or atypical of their long-term interaction.

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