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At least 973 records · Page 54Linked to original sources

USGS1904

Water resources of the Philadelphia district

The area included in the Philadelphia district lies between 39° 45' and 40° 15' north latitude and 75° and 75° 30' west longitude. It has a length of 34.50 miles from north to south and a width of 26.53 miles from east to west, and covers one-fourth of a square degree, which is equivalent, in that latitude, to, about 915.25 square miles. It is mapped on the Germantown, Norristown, Philadelphia, and Chester atlas sheets of the United States Geological Survey. a Each of these sheets represents a tract fifteen minutes in extent each way. This district is in Pennsylyania, New Jersey, and Delaware, and comprises, in whole or in part, ten counties-Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Delaware, and Chester counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem counties in New Jersey; and Newcastle County in Delaware. A population of nearly 2,000,000 is embraced within these limits. The location and general relations of the district are shown in fig. 1, on the next page. In this paper will be discussed the topography, rainfall, run-off, and stream discharges of the chief hydrographic basins, the geology and water-bearing horizons, and the water power and water supply in relation to its present and future utilization.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1951

Ground water in the Cuyama Valley, California

This is the fourth of a series of interpretive reports on the water resources of the major valleys of Santa Barbara County, Calif., prepared by the Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior, in cooperation with Santa Barbara County. The first three reports described the other major valleys in the county: the south-coast basins, Goleta and Carpinteria, and the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez River valleys. This report deals with the Cuyama Valley in the northeastern part of the county and adjoining parts of San Luis Obispo, Kern, and Ventura Counties. It includes estimates of natural discharge, pumpage, and yield of ground water, and all data on water levels, well records, and water quality that were available up to June 1946.

California↗

USGS1958

Selected topics of fluid mechanics

The fundamental equations of fluid mechanics are specific expressions of the principles of motion which are ascribed to Isaac Newton. Thus, the equations which form the framework of applied fluid mechanics or hydraulics are, in addition to the equation of continuity, the Newtonian equations of energy and momentum. These basic relationships are also the foundations of river hydraulics. The fundamental equations are developed in this report with sufficient rigor to support critical examinations of their applicability to most problems met by hydraulic engineers of the Water Resources Division of the United States Geological Survey. Physical concepts are emphasized, and mathematical procedures are the simplest consistent with the specific requirements of the derivations. In lieu of numerical examples, analogies, and alternative procedures, this treatment stresses a brief methodical exposition of the essential principles. An important objective of this report is to prepare the user to read the literature of the science. Thus, it begins With a basic vocabulary of technical symbols, terms, and concepts. Throughout, emphasis is placed on the language of modern fluid mechanics as it pertains to hydraulic engineering. The basic differential and integral equations of simple fluid motion are derived, and these equations are, in turn, used to describe the essential characteristics of hydrostatics and piezometry. The one-dimensional equations of continuity and motion are defined and are used to derive the general discharge equation. The flow net is described as a means of demonstrating significant characteristics of two-dimensional irrotational flow patterns. A typical flow net is examined in detail. The influence of fluid viscosity is described as an obstacle to the derivation of general, integral equations of motion. It is observed that the part played by viscosity is one which is usually dependent on experimental evaluation. It follows that the dimensionless ratios known as the Euler, Froude, Reynolds, Weber, and Cauchy numbers are defined as essential tools for interpreting and using experimental data. The derivations of the energy and momentum equations are treated in detail. One-dimensional equations for steady nonuniform flow are developed, and the restrictions applicable to the equations are emphasized. Conditions of uniform and gradually varied flow are discussed, and the origin of the Chezy equation is examined in relation to both the energy and the momentum equations. The inadequacy of all uniform-flow equations as a means of describing gradually varied flow is explained. Thus, one of the definitive problems of river hydraulics is analyzed in the light of present knowledge. This report is the outgrowth of a series of short schools conducted during the spring and summer of 1953 for engineers of the Surface Water Branch, Water Resources Division, U. S. Geological Survey. The topics considered are essentially the same as the topics selected for inclusion in the schools. However, in order that they might serve better as a guide and outline for informal study, the arrangement of the writer's original lecture notes has been considerably altered. The purpose of the report, like the purpose of the schools which inspired it, is to build a simple but strong framework of the fundamentals of fluid mechanics. It is believed that this framework is capable of supporting a detailed analysis of most of the practical problems met by the engineers of the Geological Survey. It is hoped that the least accomplishment of this work will be to inspire the reader with the confidence and desire to read more of the recent and current technical literature of modern fluid mechanics.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1906

Quality of water in the upper Ohio River basin and at Erie, Pennsylvania

This paper discusses the quality of water on the most important tributaries of Ohio River in Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, and Maryland, and the nature of the water supply at Erie, Pa. The amount and character of the pollution is described and the results of drinking contaminated water as shown by typhoid statistics are indicated. The conditions on the tributaries of Ohio River in Ohio are discussed in Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 79, United States Geological Survey, pages 129-187. The water supplies and sewerage of small towns high up toward the head of a large drainage system do not in many cases receive the attention they should. Epidemics of a waterborne disease which affect large municipalities near the mouth of the river and therefore attract attention must necessarily have their origin in the pollution of the watershed above. It is evident, therefore, that adequate sanitation of the small towns and a water supply as carefully guarded as that of a large city would prevent disease at its very source and be far less expensive than the costly battles which are waged against epidemics in huge centers of population after disease has broken out. Typhoid fever statistics for small towns in this section are seldom available and are more or less unreliable at best. The few figures given show the existence of virulent typhoid fever in most towns of the drainage areas in certain years, and as these towns drain into the streams the liability ofthe water to infection is evident. The significance of typhoid fever death rates will be better understood from the statistics presented below, which have been collated from a number of cities having excellent water supplies.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1909

Surface water supply of the United States, 1907-8, Part II. South Atlantic Coast and eastern Gulf of Mexico

This volume contains results of flow measurements made on certain streams in the United States. The work was performed by the water-resources branch of the United States Geological Survey, either independently or in cooperation with organizations mentioned herein. These investigations are authorized by the organic law of the Geological Survey (Stat. L., vol. 20, p. 394)...

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1910

Surface water supply of the United States, 1907-8, Part III. Ohio River Basin

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1910

Surface water supply of the United States, 1907-8, Part IV. St. Lawrence River Basin

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1911

Some stream waters of the Western United States, with chapters on sediment carried by the Rio Grande and the industrial application of water analyses

A systematic study of the waters likely to be utilized on the Reclamation Service projects was made in order to determine the influence of the salinity of the waters on the growth of vegetation and the effect of suspended matter in silting canals and reservoirs. The work was begun early in 1905, under the direction of Thomas H. Means, engineer, and was continued during 1906 and until May, 1907, under the direction of W. H. Heileman, engineer. The analyses were made in a laboratory established at quarters provided by the University of California at Berkeley, Cal., by C. H. Stone, P. L. McCreary, F. M. Eaton, O. J. Hawley, W. C. Riddell, F. T. Berry, H. A. Burns, J. H. Hampson, J. A. Pearce, and M. Vaygouny, the greater part of the work being that of the first five named. C. H. Stone was chemist in charge at the beginning of the investigations and is chiefly responsible for the plan of the analytical work and the methods of analysis. The results of the investigations were prepared for publication under instructions from F. H. Newell, Director of the United States Reclamation Service, by Herman Stabler, assistant engineer, who assembled and checked- the analyses, compiled the accompanying stream-flow data from records of the United States Geological Survey, and computed daily discharge of suspended matter and dissolved solids, under the supervision of D. W. Murphy, engineer in charge of Washington office engineering.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1913

Ground water in Boxelder and Tooele Counties, Utah

The area covered by this report includes Boxelder County, Utah, the eastern part of Tooele County, Utah, and some small tracts in southern Idaho. It comprises about 9,500 square miles, or more than the combined area of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It lies between 40° and 42° north latitude and 112° and 114° west longitude. (See fig. 1.) Insufficient rainfall and the rapid settling of the country have created a demand for an investigation to determine the feasibility of irrigating by the use of underground water. In response to this demand and in order to classify the land under the enlarged homestead act, the writer made an investigation covering a period of four months during the summer and fall of 1911. The greater part of this time was spent in Boxelder County, but two weeks at the close of the season were devoted to a reconnaissance in Tooele, Rush, and Skull valleys, in Tooele County. W. B. Heroy, of the United States Geological Survey, collected most of the data presented for southern Idaho.

Idaho, Utah↗

USGS1915

Stream-gaging stations and publications relating to water sources, 1885-1913; Part IX: Colorado River basin

Investigation of water resources by the United States Geological Survey has consisted in large part of measurements of the volume of flow of streams and studies of the conditions affecting that flow, but it has comprised also investigation of such closely allied subjects as irrigation, water storage, water powers, underground waters, and quality of waters. Most of the results of these investigations have been published in the series of water-supply papers, but some have appeared in the monographs, bulletins, professional papers, and annual reports.

Colorado River basin↗

USGS1901

Profiles of rivers in the United States

The profiles here represented are derived from various sources and differ from one another greatly in accuracy. Many of them are drawn from the annual reports of the Chief of Engineers, U.S.A., under which are included the reports of the Mississippi and Missouri River commissions. The heights thus obtained are those of the level of water in the rivers at certain stages, and may be regarded as of great accuracy. Others have been obtained from railroad profiles, being the level of the rivers at points where the railroads touch or cross them. Still others have been taken from the atlas sheets of the United States Geological Survey and from other maps. In most such cases the points at which the contours cross the rivers upon the maps have been taken. These again differ in point of accuracy with the means adopted for the location of the contours. Where the spirit level was used in locating contours it may be assumed that the determinations are fairly good, but where the barometer was used the probable error may be of considerable magnitude. Such elevations are, however, mainly in the mountainous parts of the country, where the fall of the streams is great, and where, therefore, errors of considerable magnitude may be tolerated, as affecting but little the form of the profile.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1923

The occurrence of ground water in the United States, with a discussion of principles

The writer has planned and partly prepared a series of six papers on ground water in the United States. These papers are to deal with (1) occurrence, (2) origin, discharge, and quantity, (3) movement and head, (4) quality, (5) recovery and use, and (6) ground-water provinces. The present paper is the first of the series. The writer is indebted to many colaborers for assistance in preparing this paper, especially to the following members of the United States Geological Survey: M. R. Campbell, who read the entire paper; E. W. Shaw, C. E. Van Orstrand, A. F. Melcher, and C. K. Wentworth, who examined Chapter I; W. C. Alden, who examined Chapters II and IV with special reference to their statements regarding glacial geology; E. S. Larsen, who examined a part of Chapter II; G. W. Stosfi, who examined Chapter III; T. W. Stanton, who examined Chapter IV; L. W. Stephenson, who examined the parts of Chapter IV that relate to the Coastal Plain; C. W. Cooke, who furnished many unpublished data on the geology of the Coastal Plain; Miss M. G. Wilmarth, who gave valuable help in compiling the geologic sections; D. G. Thompson and Miss Norah E. Dowell, who furnished original data on the mechanical composition and porosity of various sedimentary materials; B. H. Lane, who made valuable criticisms of the text; and Martin Solem, who had charge of the preparation of the illustrations.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS1928

Quality of water in Colorado River in 1925-1926

Most of the analyses given in this report represent composites of daily samples collected by the observers at United States Geological Survey gaging stations on Colorado River at Grand Canyon and Topock, Ariz. These stations are operated under the direction of W. E. Dickinson, district engineer of the Geological Survey at Tucson, Ariz., who personally collected some of the samples at other points and arranged for the collection of others.

Colorado River↗

USGS2017

Glacier mass-balance fluctuations in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, USA

The more than 40 year record of net and seasonal mass-balance records from measurements made by the United States Geological Survey on South Cascade Glacier, Washington, and Wolverine and Gulkana Glaciers, Alaska, shows annual and interannual fluctuations that reflect changes in the controlling climatic conditions at regional and global scales. As the mass-balance record grows in length, it is revealing significant changes in previously described glacier mass-balance behavior, and both inter-glacier and glacier-climate relationships. South Cascade and Wolverine Glaciers are strongly affected by the warm and wet maritime climate of the northeast Pacific Ocean. Their net balances have generally been controlled by winter accumulation, with fluctuations that are strongly related to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Recently, warm dry summers have begun to dominate the net balance of the two maritime glaciers, with a weakening of the correlation between the winter balance fluctuations and the PDO. Non-synchronous periods of positive and negative net balance for each glacier prior to 1989 were followed by a 1989-2004 period of synchronous and almost exclusively negative net balances that averaged -0.8 m for the three glaciers.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2017

A new high-precision borehole-temperature logging system used at GISP2, Greenland, and Taylor Dome, Antarctica

We describe a high-precision (0.1–1.0 mK) borehole-temperature (BT) logging system developed at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for use in remote polar regions. We discuss calibration, operational and data-processing procedures, and present an analysis of the measurement errors. The system is modular to facilitate calibration procedures and field repairs. By interchanging logging cables and temperature sensors, measurements can be made in either shallow air-filled boreholes or liquid-filled holes up to 7 km deep. Data can be acquired in either incremental or continuous-logging modes. The precision of data collected by the new logging system is high enough to detect and quantify various thermal effects at the milli-Kelvin level. To illustrate this capability, we present sample data from the 3 km deep borehole at GISP2, Greenland, and from a 130 m deep air-filled hole at Taylor Dome, Antarctica. The precision of the processed GISP2 continuous temperature logs is 0.25–0.34 mK, while the accuracy is estimated to be 4.5 mK. The effects of fluid convection and the dissipation of the thermal disturbance caused by drilling the borehole are clearly visible in the data. The precision of the incremental Taylor Dome measurements varies from 0.11 to 0.32 mK. depending on the wind strength during the experiments. With this precision, we found that temperature fluctuations and multi-hour trends in the BT measurements correlate well with atmospheric-pressure changes.

Journal of Glaciology↗

USGS2019

A bibliometric profile of the Remote Sensing Open Access Journal published by MDPI between 2009 and 2018

Remote Sensing Open Access Journal (RS OAJ) is an international leading journal in the field of remote sensing science and technology. It was first published in the year 2009 and is currently celebrating tenth year of publications. In this research, a bibliometric analysis of RS OAJ was conducted based on 5588 articles published during the 10-year (2009–2018) time-period. The bibliometric analysis includes a comprehensive set of indicators such as dynamics and trends of publications, journal impact factor, total cites, eigenfactor score, normalized eigenfactor, CiteScore, h-index, h-classic publications, most productive countries (or territories) and institutions, co-authorship collaboration about countries (territories), research themes, citation impact of co-occurrences keywords, intellectual structure, and knowledge commutation. We found that publications of RS OAJ presented an exponential growth in the past ten years. From 2010 to 2017 (for which complete years data were available), the h-index of RS OAJ is 67. From 2009–2018, RS OAJ includes publications from 129 countries (or territories) and 3826 institutions. The leading nations contributing articles, based on 2009–2018 data, and listed based on ranking were: China, United States, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Canada, England, Australia, Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland and Austria. The leading institutions, also for the same period and listed based on ranking were: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Normal University, The university of Maryland, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, China University of Geosciences, United States Geological Survey, German Aerospace Centre, University of Twente, and California Institute of Technology. For the year 2017, RS OAJ had an impressive journal impact factor of 3.4060, a CiteScore of 4.03, eigenfactor score of 0.0342, and normalized eigenfactor score of 3.99. In addition, based on 2009–2018, data co-word analysis determined that “remote sensing”, “MODIS”, “Landsat”, “LiDAR” and “NDVI” are the high-frequency of author keywords co-occurrence in RS OAJ. The main themes of RS OAJ are multi-spectral and hyperspectral remote sensing, LiDAR scanning and forestry remote sensing monitoring, MODIS and LAI data applications, Remote sensing applications and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Through author keywords citation impact analysis, we find the most influential keyword is Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), followed, forestry, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), terrestrial laser scanning, airborne laser scanning, forestry inventory, urban heat island, monitoring, agriculture, and laser scanning. By analyzing the intellectual structure of RS OAJ, we identify the main reference publications and find that the themes are about Random Forests, MODIS vegetation indices and image analysis, etc. RS OAJ ranks first in cited journals and third in citing, this indicates that RS OAJ has the internal knowledge flow. Our results will bring more benefits to scholars, researchers and graduate students, who hopes to get a quick overview of the RS OAJ. And this article will also be the starting point for communication between scholars and practitioners. Finally, this paper proposed a nuanced h-index (nh-index) to measure productivity and intellectual contribution of authors by considering h-index based on whether the one is first, second, third, or nth author. This nuanced approach to determining h-index of authors is powerful indicator of an academician’s productivity and intellectual contribution.

Remote Sensing↗

USGS2020

Evaluating elevation change thresholds between structure-from-motion DEMs derived from historical aerial photos and 3DEP LiDAR data

This study created digital terrain models (DTMs) from historical aerial images using Structure from Motion (SfM) for a variety of image dates, resolutions, and photo scales. Accuracy assessments were performed on the SfM DTMs, and they were compared to the United States Geological Survey’s three-dimensional digital elevation program (3DEP) light detection and ranging (LiDAR) DTMs to evaluate geomorphic change thresholds based on vertical accuracy assessments and elevation change methodologies. The results of this study document a relationship between historical aerial photo scales and predicted vertical accuracy of the resultant DTMs. The results may be used to assess geomorphic change thresholds over multi-decadal timescales depending on spatial scale, resolution, and accuracy requirements. This study shows that if elevation changes of approximately ±1 m are to be mapped, historical aerial photography collected at 1:20,000 scale or larger would be required for comparison to contemporary LiDAR derived DTMs.

Virginia↗

USGS2020

Harmonizing the Landsat ground reference with the Sentinel-2 Global Reference Image using space-based bundle adjustment

There is an ever-increasing need to use accurate and consistent geometric ground reference in the processing of remotely sensed data products as it reduces the burden on the end-users to account for the differences between the data products from different missions. In this regard, United States Geological Survey (USGS) initiated an effort to harmonize the Landsat ground reference with the Sentinel-2 Global Reference Image (GRI) to improve the co-registration between the data products of the two global medium-resolution missions. In this paper, we have discussed the process, results, and the improvements expected from this harmonization of two ground references using space-triangulation based bundle adjustment techniques. The ground coordinates of the Landsat reference library, consisting of 5 million Ground Control Points (GCPs) were adjusted in a series of four simultaneous bundle block adjustments using thousands of Landsat-8 (L8) scenes anchored with more than 300,000 control points extracted from the GRI dataset. The net adjustments to each of the four blocks, namely, Australia, Americas, Eurasia, and Islands, varied anywhere from 1 m to 13 m, depending on the accuracy of the GCPs in these blocks. The use of the GRI dataset in our bundle adjustment not only improved the absolute accuracy of the Landsat ground reference but will also improve the co-registration between Sentinel-2 and Landsat terrain corrected products, as the European Space Agency plans to process the Sentinel-2 products using the GRI dataset. Independent validation of the Landsat products processed using harmonized GCPs with the GRI dataset indicated a global mis-registration error of less than 8 m Circular Error Probable at 90 % (CE90), an improvement from 25 meters prior to harmonization. The improvements to the Landsat products using the harmonized GCPs will be available to the public as part of Landsat Collection-2 processing by the end of 2020.

MDPI Remote Sensing↗