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USGS2009

Geologic Map of the Niobe Planitia Quadrangle (V-23), Venus

The Niobe Planitia quadrangle (V-23) encompasses approximately 8,000,000 km2 of the Venusian equatorial region extending from lat 0 deg to 25 deg N. and from long 90 deg to 120 deg E. (approximately 9,500 15-minute quadrangles on Earth). The map area lies along the north margin of the equatorial highland, Aphrodite Terra (V-35), and extends into the lowland region to the north, preserving a transition from southern highlands to northern lowlands (figs. 1, 2, map sheet). The northern parts of the crustal plateau, Ovda Regio and Haasttse-baad Tessera, mark the south margin of the map area; Niobe and Sogolon Planitiae make up the lowland region. The division between Niobe and Sogolon Planitiae is generally topographic, and Sogolon Planitia forms a relatively small elongate basin. Mesolands, the intermediate topographic level of Venus, are essentially absent or represented only by Gegute Tessera, which forms a slightly elevated region that separates Niobe Planitia from Llorona Planitia to the east (V-24). Lowlands within the map area host five features currently classified as coronae: Maya Corona (lat 23 deg N., long 97 deg E.) resides to the northwest and Dhisana, Allatu, Omeciuatl, and Bhumiya Coronae cluster loosely in the east-central area. Lowlands extend north, east, and west of the map area. Mapping the Niobe Planitia quadrangle (V-23) provides an excellent opportunity to examine a large tract of lowlands and the adjacent highlands with the express goal of clarifying the processes responsible for resurfacing this part of Venus and the resulting implications for Venus evolution. Although Venus lowlands are widely considered to have a volcanic origin, lowlands in the map area lack adjacent coronae or other obvious volcanic sources.

Scientific Investigations Map↗

USGS2009

Geophysical Characterization of the Quaternary-Cretaceous Contact Using Surface Resistivity Methods in Franklin and Webster Counties, South-Central Nebraska

To help manage and understand the Platte River system in Nebraska, the Platte River Cooperative Hydrology Study (COHYST), a group of state and local governmental agencies, developed a regional ground-water model. The southern boundary of this model lies along the Republican River, where an area with insufficient geologic data immediately north of the Republican River led to problems in the conceptualization of the simulated flow system and to potential problems with calibration of the simulation. Geologic descriptions from a group of test holes drilled in south-central Nebraska during 2001 and 2002 indicated a possible hydrologic disconnection between the Quaternary-age alluvial deposits in the uplands and those in the Republican River lowland. This disconnection was observed near a topographic high in the Cretaceous-age Niobrara Formation, which is the local bedrock. In 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the COHYST, collected surface geophysical data near these test holes to better define this discontinuity. Two-dimensional imaging methods for direct-current resistivity and capacitively coupled resistivity were used to define the subsurface distribution of resistivity along several county roads near Riverton and Inavale, Nebraska. The relation between the subsurface distribution of resistivity and geology was defined by comparing existing geologic descriptions of test holes to surface-geophysical resistivity data along two profiles and using the information gained from these comparisons to interpret the remaining four profiles. In all of the resistivity profile sections, there was generally a three-layer subsurface interpretation, with a resistor located between two conductors. Further comparison of geologic data with the geophysical data and with surficial features was used to identify a topographic high in the Niobrara Formation near the Franklin Canal which was coincident with a resistivity high. Electrical properties of the Niobrara Formation made accurate interpretation of the resistivity profile sections difficult and less confident because of similar resistivity of this formation and that of the coarser-grained sediment of the Quaternary-age deposits. However, distinct conductive features were identified within the resistivity profile sections that aided in delineating the contact between the resistive Quaternary-age deposits and the resistive Niobrara Formation. Using this information, an interpretive boundary was drawn on the resistivity profile sections to represent the contact between the Quaternary-age alluvial deposits and the Cretaceous-age Niobrara Formation. A digital elevation model (DEM) of the top of the Niobrara Formation was constructed using the altitudes from the interpreted contact lines. This DEM showed that the general trend of top of the Niobrara Formation dips to the southeast. At the north edge of the study site, the Niobrara Formation topographic high trends east-west with an altitude range of 559 meters in the west to 543 meters in the east. Based on the land-surface elevation and the Niobrara Formation DEM, the estimated thickness of the Quaternary-age alluvial deposits throughout the study area was mapped and showed a thinning of the Quaternary-age alluvial deposits to the north, approximately where the topographic high of the Niobrara Formation is located. This topographic high in the Niobrara Formation has the potential to act as a barrier to ground-water flow from the uplands alluvial aquifer to the Republican River alluvial aquifer as shown in the resistivity profile sections. The Quaternary-age alluvial deposits in the uplands and those in the Republican River Valley are not fully represented as disconnected because it is possible that there are ground-water flow paths that were not mapped during this study.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2007

Net-infiltration map of the Navajo Sandstone outcrop area in western Washington County, Utah

As populations grow in the arid southwestern United States and desert bedrock aquifers are increasingly targeted for future development, understanding and quantifying the spatial variability of net infiltration and recharge becomes critically important for inventorying groundwater resources and mapping contamination vulnerability. A Geographic Information System (GIS)-based model utilizing readily available soils, topographic, precipitation, and outcrop data has been developed for predicting net infiltration to exposed and soil-covered areas of the Navajo Sandstone outcrop of southwestern Utah. The Navajo Sandstone is an important regional bedrock aquifer. The GIS model determines the net-infiltration percentage of precipitation by using an empirical equation. This relation is derived from least squares linear regression between three surficial parameters (soil coarseness, topographic slope, and downgradient distance from outcrop) and the percentage of estimated net infiltration based on environmental tracer data from excavations and boreholes at Sand Hollow Reservoir in the southeastern part of the study area. Processed GIS raster layers are applied as parameters in the empirical equation for determining net infiltration for soil-covered areas as a percentage of precipitation. This net-infiltration percentage is multiplied by average annual Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) precipitation data to obtain an infiltration rate for each model cell. Additionally, net infiltration on exposed outcrop areas is set to 10 percent of precipitation on the basis of borehole net-infiltration estimates. Soils and outcrop net-infiltration rates are merged to form a final map. Areas of low, medium, and high potential for ground-water recharge have been identified, and estimates of net infiltration range from 0.1 to 66 millimeters per year (mm/yr). Estimated net-infiltration rates of less than 10 mm/yr are considered low, rates of 10 to 50 mm/yr are considered medium, and rates of more than 50 mm/yr are considered high. A comparison of estimated net-infiltration rates (determined from tritium data) to predicted rates (determined from GIS methods) at 12 sites in Sand Hollow and at Anderson Junction indicates an average difference of about 50 percent. Two of the predicted values were lower, five were higher, and five were within the estimated range. While such uncertainty is relatively small compared with the three order-of-magnitude range in predicted net-infiltration rates, the net-infiltration map is best suited for evaluating relative spatial distribution rather than for precise quantification of recharge to the Navajo aquifer at specific locations. An important potential use for this map is land-use zoning for protecting high net-infiltration parts of the aquifer from potential surface contamination.

Utah↗

USGS1988

Thematic mapping from satellite imagery

This report, produced between 1984 and 1987 in a bilingual edition (English and French), provides a wealth of information on a wide variety of cartographic applications which are being developed to make effective use of new data that is now being collected by Earth observation satellites. At a time when natural resource development and environmental problems have to be taken into account in their entirety, satellites provide an exceptional means of evaluating, synthesizing and creating geographic information. The production of new images, such as the Landsat Thematic Mapper, the SPOT High Resolution Visible Sensor and the adoption meteorological images such as AVHRR sensors on NOAA satellites, which have been extended to thematic domains such as agriculture and glaciology, have led to many new developments as well as problems for the cartographer. These problems are numerous and varied and recur frequently depending on the images and themes being processed e.g. how to select the graphic specification of maps and legends and account for classification accuracy; how to introduce the minimum of topographical data into an image in order to supply users with an adequate geographic reference; when using a physical terrain image, on which, by definition there are no `blanks' and where no details have been eliminated, how to overcome conceptual difficulties e.g. the side by side placing of different semiological information; the interpretation levels left to reader; achieving a balance between objectivity and readability. Obviously the cartographers role is of prime importance in solving these problems. In order to illustrate the way in which this information is presented, the report provides samples from 33 thematic applications taken from 13 different categories, including agriculture, town planning and water resources. Each application is provided with a descriptive note both in English and French indicating the objective, method and results obtained. This volume provides an important record of current developments in thematic mapping from satellite imagery and should be essential reference for all cartographers.

Book↗

USGS1975

Map showing ground water conditions in the Fairbanks D-2 SE Quadrangle, Alaska

The primary controlling factors determining ground-water conditions in the Fairbanks D-2 SE quadrangle are (1) topographic position, (2) water-bearing characteristics of the rocks, and (3) distribution of permafrost. These interrelated factors generally limit the conditions in any particular area. Basic data from the geologic map of the Fairbanks D-2 SE quadrangle (Map I-942, Pewe and others, in press), the map showing distribution of permafrost in the Fairbanks D-2 SE quadrangle (Map MF-669A, Pewe and Bell, 1975a), and the map showing foundation conditions in the Fairbanks D-2 SE quadrangle (Map MF 669D, Pewe and Bell, 1975c) have been used in conjunction with well data to establish generalized potential ground-water conditions.

Alaska↗

USGS2021

Mapping the vulnerability of giant sequoias after extreme drought in California using remote sensing

Between 2012 and 2016, California suffered one of the most severe droughts on record. During this period Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoias) in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (SEKI), California, USA experienced canopy water content (CWC) loss, unprecedented foliage senescence, and, in a few cases, death. We present an assessment of the vulnerability of giant sequoia populations to droughts that is currently lacking and needed for management. We used a temporal trend of remotely sensed CWC obtained between 2015 and 2017, and recently georeferenced giant sequoia crowns to quantify the vulnerability of 7,408 individuals in 10 groves in the northern portion of SEKI. CWC is sensitive to changes in liquid water in tree canopies; therefore, it is a useful metric for quantifying the response of sequoia trees to drought. Temporal trends indicated that 9% of giant sequoias had a significant decline or consistently low CWC, suggesting these trees were likely operating at low photosynthetic capacity and potentially at high risk to drought stress. We also found that 20% of the giant sequoias had an increase or consistently high level of CWC, indicating these trees were at low risk to drought stress. These vulnerability categories were used in a random forest model with a combination of topographic, fire-related, and climate variables to generate high-resolution vulnerability risk maps. These maps show that higher risk is associated with lower elevation and higher climate water deficit. We also found that sequoias at higher elevations but located near meadows had higher vulnerability risk. These results and the vulnerability maps can identify vulnerable sequoias that may be difficult to save or locations of refugia to be protected, and thus may aid forest managers in preparation for future droughts.

California↗

USGS1983

Map and interpretation of aeromagnetic data for the Wild Rogue Wilderness, Coos and Curry Counties, Oregon

The Wild Rogue Wilderness is located in Coos and Curry Counties, southwestern Oregon and covers part of the Bone Mountain, Marial, and Agness 15-minute quadrangles (fig. 1). It is an elongate area 19 mi by 1 to 3 mi (31 km by 1.3 to 5 km) and covers approximately 35,818 acres extending from the town of Agness to Mount Bolivar. The mapped geology of the Wild Rogue Wilderness (Gray and others, 1982) consists of a tectonic wedge of volcanic and intrusive rocks of Jurassic age surrounded on all sides by thick sequences of Jurassic, Creacetous, and Tertiary sedimentary rocks. Normally, volcanic and intrusive rocks are more magnetic than sedimentary rocks, a property which should be reflected by the areomagnetic data. We conclude, however, that most of the magnetic anomalies of the Wild Rogue Wilderness are caused by magnetic rocks that are not exposed but which occur at relatively shallow depth below the topographic surface.

Oregon↗

USGS2007

Topobathymetric data for Tampa Bay, Florida

Topobathymetric data (“topobathy”) are a merged rendering of both topography (land elevation) and bathymetry (water depth) to provide a single product useful for inundation mapping and a variety of other applications. These data were developed using one topographic and two bathymetric datasets collected at different dates. Topography was obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Elevation Dataset (NED). Bathymetry was provided by NOAA's GEOphysical DAta System (GEODAS). For several nearshore areas within the bay GEODAS data were replaced with high resolution bathymetry acquired by NASA's Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL).

Florida↗

USGS2001

Origin, extent, and thickness of quaternary geologic units in the Willamette Valley, Oregon

Stratigraphic and chronologic information collected for Quaternary deposits in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, provides a revised stratigraphic framework that serves as a basis for a 1:250,000-scale map, as well as for thickness estimates of widespread Quaternary geologic units. We have mapped 11 separate Quaternary units that are differentiated on the basis of stratigraphic, topographic, pedogenic, and hydrogeologic properties. In summation, these units reflect four distinct episodes in the Quaternary geologic development of the Willamette Valley: 1) Fluvial sands and gravels that underlie terraces flanking lowland margins and tributary valleys were probably deposited between 2.5 and 0.5 million years ago. They are the oldest widespread surficial Quaternary deposits in the valley. Their present positions and preservation are undoubtedly due to postdepositional tectonic deformation - either by direct tectonic uplift of valley margins, or by regional tectonic controls on local base level. 2) Tertiary and Quaternary excavation or tectonic lowering of the Willamette Valley accommodated as much as 500 m (meters) of lacustrine and fluvial fill. Beneath the lowland floor, much of the upper 10 to 50 m of fill is Quaternary sand and gravel deposited by braided channel systems in subhorizontal sheets 2 to 10 m thick. These deposits grade to gravel fans 40 to 100 m thick where major Cascade Range rivers enter the valley and are traced farther upstream as much thinner valley trains of coarse gravel. The sand and gravel deposits have ages that range from greater than 420,000 to about 12,000 years old. A widely distributed layer of sand and gravel deposited at about 12 ka (kiloannum, thousands of years before the present) is looser and probably more permeable than older sand and gravel. Stratigraphic exposures and drillers' logs indicate that this late Pleistocene unit is mostly between 5 and 20 m thick where it has not been subsequently eroded by the Willamette River and its major tributaries. 3) Between 15,000 and 12,700 years ago, dozens of floods from Glacial Lake Missoula flowed up the Willamette Valley from the Columbia River, depositing up to 35 m of gravel, sand, silt, and clay. 4) Subsequent to 12,000 years ago, Willamette River sediment and flow regimes changed significantly: the Pleistocene braided river systems that had formed vast plains of sand and gravel evolved to incised and meandering rivers that are constructing today's fine-grained floodplains and gravelly channel deposits. Sub-surface channel facies of this unit are loose and unconsolidated and are highly permeable zones of substantial groundwater flow that is likely to be well connected to surface flow in the Willamette River and major tributaries. Stratigraphic exposures and drillers' logs indicate that this unit is mostly between 5 and 15 m thick.

Oregon↗

USGS2011

Effects of groundwater flow on the distribution of biogenic gas in parts of the northern Great Plains of Canada and United States

Parts of the northern Great Plains in eastern Montana and western North Dakota and southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, were studied as part of an assessment of shallow biogenic gas in Upper Cretaceous rocks.Parts of the northern Great Plains in eastern Montana and western North Dakota and southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, were studied as part of an assessment of shallow biogenic gas in Upper Cretaceous rocks. Large quantities of shallow biogenic gas are produced from low-permeability, Upper Cretaceous reservoirs in southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. Rocks of similar types and age produce sparingly in the United States except on large structures, such as Bowdoin dome and Cedar Creek anticline. Significant production also occurs in the Tiger Ridge area, where uplift of the Bearpaw Mountains created stratigraphic traps. The resource in Canada is thought to be a continuous, biogenic-gas-type accumulation with economic production in a variety of subtle structures and stratigraphic settings. The United States northern Great Plains area has similar conditions but only broad structural closures or stratigraphic traps associated with local structure have produced economically to date. Numerical flow modeling was used to help determine that biogenic gas in low-permeability reservoirs is held in place by high hydraulic head that overrides buoyancy forces of the gas. Modeling also showed where hydraulic head is greater under Tertiary capped topographic remnants rather than near adjacent topographic lows. The high head can override the capillary pressure of the rock and force gas to migrate to low head in topographically low areas. Most current biogenic gas production is confined to areas between mapped lineaments in the northern Great Plains. The lineaments may reflect structural zones in the Upper Cretaceous that help compartmentalize reservoirs and confine gas accumulations.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS1981

The role of remotely sensed and other spatial data for predictive modeling: the Umatilla, Oregon example

The U. S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observations Systems Data Center, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, developed and tested techniques that used remotely sensed and other spatial data in predictive models to evaluate irrigation agriculture in the Umatilla River Basin of north-central Oregon. Landsat data and 1:24,000-scale aerial photographs were initially used to map he expansion of irrigate from 1973 to 1979 and to identify crops under irrigation in 1979. The crop data were then used with historical water requirement figures and digital topographic and hydrographic data to estimate water and power use for the 1979 irrigation season. The final project task involved production of a composite map of land suitability for irrigation development based on land cover (from Landsat), land-ownership, soil irrigability, slope gradient, and potential energy costs. The methods and data used in the study demonstrated the flexibility of remotely sensed and other spatial data as input for predictive models. When combined, they provided useful answers to complex questions facing resource managers.

Oregon↗

USGS2006

Airborne lidar sensing of massive stony coral colonies on patch reefs in the northern Florida reef tract

In this study we examined the ability of the NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) to discriminate cluster zones of massive stony coral colonies on northern Florida reef tract (NFRT) patch reefs based on their topographic complexity (rugosity). Spatially dense EAARL laser submarine topographic soundings acquired in August 2002 were used to create a 1-m resolution digital rugosity map for adjacent NFRT study areas characterized by patch reefs (Region A) and diverse substratums (Region B). In both regions, sites with lidar-sensed rugosities above 1.2 were imaged by an along-track underwater videography system that incorporated the acquisition of instantaneous GPS positions. Subsequent manual interpretation of videotape segments was performed to identify substratum types that caused elevated lidar-sensed rugosity. Our study determined that massive coral colony formation, modified by subsequent physical and biological processes that breakdown patch reef framework, was the primary source of topographic complexity sensed by the EAARL in the NFRT. Sites recognized by lidar scanning to be topographically complex preferentially occurred around the margins of patch reefs, constituted a minor fraction of the reef system, and usually reflected the presence of massive coral colonies in cluster zones, or their derivatives created by mortality, bioerosion, and physical breakdown.

Florida↗

USGS2011

Ontology patterns for complex topographic feature types

Complex feature types are defined as integrated relations between basic features for a shared meaning or concept. The shared semantic concept is difficult to define in commonly used geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing technologies. The role of spatial relations between complex feature parts was recognized in early GIS literature, but had limited representation in the feature or coverage data models of GIS. Spatial relations are more explicitly specified in semantic technology. In this paper, semantics for topographic feature ontology design patterns (ODP) are developed as data models for the representation of complex features. In the context of topographic processes, component assemblages are supported by resource systems and are found on local landscapes. The topographic ontology is organized across six thematic modules that can account for basic feature types, resource systems, and landscape types. Types of complex feature attributes include location, generative processes and physical description. Node/edge networks model standard spatial relations and relations specific to topographic science to represent complex features. To demonstrate these concepts, data from The National Map of the U. S. Geological Survey was converted and assembled into ODP.

Cartography and Geographic Information Science↗

USGS2021

Crater growth and lava-lake dynamics revealed through multitemporal terrestrial lidar scanning at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi

Lava lake surfaces display the tops of active magma columns and respond to eruption variables such as magmatic pressure, convection, degassing, and cooling, as well as interactions with the craters that contain them. However, they are challenging to study owing to the numerous hazards that accompany these eruptions, and they are typically difficult to observe because the emitted gas plumes obscure the lava lake surfaces. The 2008–2018 Overlook crater and lava lake at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, provided a remarkable opportunity to study several high-resolution data streams of eruption variables that impacted the lava lake. To investigate how the crater and associated lava lake responded to changes in these eruption variables, we acquired terrestrial light detection and ranging (lidar) surveys of the Overlook crater and lava lake surface from February 2012 through December 2013, supplemented with several earlier terrestrial and airborne lidar datasets, to quantitatively track changes in the shape of the lava lake surface and the crater walls. Lidar captures high-resolution data even when the lake is completely obscured by thick gas plumes. We used a novel “unrolling technique” to map volumetric changes in crater shape, because standard elevation differencing fails to capture all topographic changes on the nearly vertical, and sometimes overhanging, crater walls. We measured crater perimeter growth rates of approximately 52 meters per year from 2009 to 2013, with the greatest growth occurring along a line linking areas of persistent upwelling and downwelling. We suggest that the development of an oblong crater with a perimeter that grows linearly is best explained by a model where degradation is favored at the sites of persistent upwelling and downwelling and where growth is controlled by a lithology that varies little with respect to rock strength. We also found that most of the Overlook crater growth occurred during a relatively small number of significant rockfall events (~16) over this period. Additional lidar datasets revealed that the lava lake surface has a measurable slope from the areas of persistent upwelling to downwelling, although rockfalls from the crater walls temporarily changed the direction of crustal plate movement along with the magnitude and direction of the lava lake surface slope. Our study demonstrates that lidar is an effective tool for tracking the topography of an active volcanic crater when heavy outgassing renders other tools, such as structure from motion, ineffective.

Hawaii↗

USGS2007

Sedimentation History of Halfway Creek Marsh, Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, Wisconsin, 1846-2006

The history of overbank sedimentation in the vicinity of Halfway Creek Marsh near La Crosse, Wis., was examined during 2005?06 by the U.S. Geological Survey and University of Wisconsin?Madison as part of a broader study of sediment and nutrient loadings to the Upper Mississippi River bottomlands by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey. Historical sedimentation patterns and rates were interpreted from field-scale topographic surveys and sediment cores collected from the marsh and upstream flood plains. Historical maps and aerial photographs were used to establish the timing of disturbances and to document changes in channel patterns after Euro-American settlement (post 1846). Episodic overbank sedimentation patterns and rates were linked to watershed agricultural activity, large floods, artificial levee construction, channel alterations, and dam failures over the past 160 years. These forces affected sedimentation on and between levees, the development of alluvial fans and flood-plain splays, and the general pattern of flood-plain sedimentation through the upper and lower marsh. Historical overbank deposits, episodically deposited after about 1860, are as much as 6 feet thick in the upper marsh and as much as 4 feet thick in the lower marsh, representing a total volume of approximately 1.8 million cubic yards. These stratified deposits consist of multiple layers of silt and clay, very fine to fine sand, and some medium to very coarse sand. Coarse-grained deposits are associated with flood-plain splays caused by breaches in artificial levees during large floods. Estimated sedimentation rates were highest from 1919 to 1936 [26,890 cubic yards per year (yd3/yr)] and exceeded by about 30 times the 1846?85 rate of 920 yd3/yr and exceeded by 7 times the 1994?2006 rate of 3,740 yd3/yr. The 1994?2006 sedimentation rate was the lowest since Euro-American settlement, but natural levees along the 1994?2006 channel of Halfway Creek through the lower marsh continued to form and are currently (2006) about 1 foot higher than the surrounding marsh. Natural levee building in the lower marsh from 1994?2006 was accentuated by the lack of overbank sediment storage in the upper marsh. The historical storage of sediment in the upper and lower marsh affects modern streamflow and sediment transport processes of Halfway Creek and Sand Lake Coulee through the marsh, and it also affects marsh vegetation and wildlife habitat. Results from this investigation will help improve the understanding of how past overbank sedimentation patterns continue to influence modern and future water quality, sediment transport, nutrient loads, and water-related resources in riparian habitats common to the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS1984

Water in sand and gravel deposits in McHenry County, Illinois

McHenry County, Illinois derives a major part of its ground-water supply from unconsolidated sand and gravel aquifers. Twenty-six public systems tap these aquifers for all or part of their supply. The county contains two types of sand and gravel aquifers--unconfined aquifers which are at or near the land surface, and semiconfined aquifers which are overlain by one or more till members. A map of water levels in unconfined and semiconfined aquifers shows that moraines and other topographically high features are ground-water divides of local flow systems. Distances from ground-water divides to discharge areas are a few miles or less. The quality of the ground water is good for most uses, although treatment may be required to reduce hardness (median concentration is 340 milligrams per liter) and dissolved iron (median concentrations is 140 micrograms per liter). Ground water is a calcium magnesium bicarbonate type. The range of specific conductance is from 260 to 1,170 micromhos. Values are higher near towns. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

USGS2009

Sources of uncertainty in flood inundation maps

Flood inundation maps typically have been used to depict inundated areas for floods having specific exceedance levels. The uncertainty associated with the inundation boundaries is seldom quantified, in part, because all of the sources of uncertainty are not recognized and because data available to quantify uncertainty seldom are available. Sources of uncertainty discussed in this paper include hydrologic data used for hydraulic model development and validation, topographic data, and the hydraulic model. The assumption of steady flow, which typically is made to produce inundation maps, has less of an effect on predicted inundation at lower flows than for higher flows because more time typically is required to inundate areas at high flows than at low flows. Difficulties with establishing reasonable cross sections that do not intersect and that represent water-surface slopes in tributaries contribute additional uncertainties in the hydraulic modelling. As a result, uncertainty in the flood inundation polygons simulated with a one-dimensional model increases with distance from the main channel.

Journal of Flood Risk Management↗

USGS2001

A comparison of U.S. geological survey seamless elevation models with shuttle radar topography mission data

Elevation models produced from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data will be the most comprehensive, consistently processed, highest resolution topographic dataset ever produced for the Earth's land surface. Many applications that currently use elevation data will benefit from the increased availability of data with higher accuracy, quality, and resolution, especially in poorly mapped areas of the globe. SRTM data will be produced as seamless data, thereby avoiding many of the problems inherent in existing multi-source topographic databases. Serving as precursors to SRTM datasets, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has produced and is distributing seamless elevation datasets that facilitate scientific use of elevation data over large areas. GTOPO30 is a global elevation model with a 30 arc-second resolution (approximately 1-kilometer). The National Elevation Dataset (NED) covers the United States at a resolution of 1 arc-second (approximately 30-meters). Due to their seamless format and broad area coverage, both GTOPO30 and NED represent an advance in the usability of elevation data, but each still includes artifacts from the highly variable source data used to produce them. The consistent source data and processing approach for SRTM data will result in elevation products that will be a significant addition to the current availability of seamless datasets, specifically for many areas outside the U.S. One application that demonstrates some advantages that may be realized with SRTM data is delineation of land surface drainage features (watersheds and stream channels). Seamless distribution of elevation data in which a user interactively specifies the area of interest and order parameters via a map server is already being successfully demonstrated with existing USGS datasets. Such an approach for distributing SRTM data is ideal for a dataset that undoubtedly will be of very high interest to the spatial data user community.

Conference Paper↗