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At least 1,045 records · Page 58Linked to original sources
USGS1985

Preliminary report on a study to estimate flood volumes of small rural streams in Ohio: Methods, site selection, and data base

In 1981, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, began a 7-year flood-volume study of small rural basins in Ohio. This report summarizes the methods of study and describes reconnaissance and site-selection procedures, locations and characteristics of the stations, instrumentation, and methods of collecting and storing data. The first phase of this study involved an intensive field reconnaissance of about 7,000 sites, of which 32 basins were selected for detailed analysis. Drainage areas for the basins varied from 0.13 to 6.45 square miles, and main-channel slopes ranged from 7.6 to 276 feet per mile. Five years of 5-minute rainfall-runoff data will be colledted for each study site. These data will be used to calibrate and verify a rainfall-runoff model for each basin. The calibrated model will be used in conjunction with 80 years of National Weather Service 5-minute precipitation data to synthesize a representative 80-year streamflow record at each site. A Log-Pearson Type III frequency distribution will be applied to each record to define the magnitudes and frequencies of flood volumes at each site. These data will be used to develop regionalized multiple regression models for estimating flood-volume magnitudes and frequencies at small rural ungaged sites in Ohio. The report also summarizes rainfall-runoff data collected from July 1981 through September 1983, but does not interpret the data. An average of eleven event periods per site were monitored where maximum 5-minute rainfall intensities varied from 0.02 to .067 inches and maximum peak discharges varied from 1 to 1,130 cubic feet per second.

Ohio↗
USGS1974

Floods of September-October 1967 in south Texas and northeastern Mexico

Floods produced by Hurricane Beulah during September and October 1967 were outstanding because of the magnitude of the stage and discharge and because of the number of river basins affected. Previously known maximum stages were exceeded, at the downstream station, in five river basins in Texas by amounts ranging from 2.7 feet at Guadalupe River near Tivoli to 9.2 feet at Aransas River near Skidmore. The greatest relative maximum discharge recorded during the storm occurred at Medio Creek near Beeville, where the peak discharge was 4.1 times the previous maximum since 1919 and 6.0 times the magnitude of a regional 50-year flood. The inflow to Lake Corpus Christi was more than 4.5 times the volume of the lake at spillway elevation. Because of the large volume of fresh-water inflow to bays and estuaries along the Texas coast, the salinity of the water was greatly reduced. Data collected in Nueces Corpus Christi and Guadalupe San Antonio Bays show that dilution proceeded rapidly along the line of flow. Fresh-water inflow to Corpus Christi Bay exceeded 60,000 cubic feet per second from September 23 through September 28. The total inflow was about 1.5 times the volume of water normally in the bay, but because of its shape and depth, the bay was not entirely flushed of saline water. Fresh-water inflow to San Antonio Bay exceeded 40,000 cubic feet per second from September 21 through September 26. The total inflow was more than three times the volume of water normally in the bay, and most of the saline water was flushed from the bay. Measurements of water levels in wells indicate that Hurricane Beulah caused significant rises in water levels in shallow wells by percolation of rainfall and ponded waters and by the cascading of floodwaters directly into numerous inundated wells. Flooding along the Rio Grande and its floodways below Falcon Dam was the greatest since the American floodway system was completed in 1926. At Mission Branch Floodway, south of McAllen, Tex., the peak discharge was 2.15 times the previous maximum in 1932. The peak stage exceeded the previous maximum by 4.14 feet. Flooding along the Mexican floodways destroyed all stream-gaging equipment. A 4,000-square-mile area of south Texas having no defined drainage system contains thousands of shallow wind-formed depressions. These normally dry depressions were inundated by the storm runoff, which produced a vast amount of ponded water. The ponds blocked highways for several days and hampered ranching and oil field operations for months after the storm. Rainfall measurements of 25 inches during the period September 19-25, 1967, were common in Texas, and as much as 35 inches was measured in Mexico. Total damage in 39 counties of Texas was estimated by the Galveston District of the Corps of Engineers to be $168,844,000.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1987

The case for tectonic denudation by the Heart Mountain fault - A response

T wo basic concepts pertaining to the history of the Heart Mountain fault of northwestern Wyoming have recently been challenged; one, that there was tectonic denudation, and two, that volcanic rock of the Wapiti Formation was deposited on the exposed fault surface. Tectonic denudation is believed to have occurred as a consequence of the upper plate having broken into numerous blocks that separated as movement progressed along a nearly horizontal fault surface, thus leaving the fault surface exposed between blocks. Volcanic rocks of the Wapiti Formation were then deposited both on the exposed fault surface and against and over the upper-plate blocks. Two formations of Eocene volcanic rocks are involved. The older volcanic unit, the Cathedral Cliffs Formation, and the Paleozoic carbonate rocks are part of the upper plate of the Heart Mountain fault and moved with it, whereas the younger Wapiti Formation was deposited on the fault surface after movement had ceased. In an alternate interpretation recently advanced by T. A. Hauge, subdivisions of the Absaroka Volcanic Supergroup, of which the Cathedral Cliffs and Wapiti Formations are units, are not recognized. The upper plate of the Heart Mountain detachment is interpreted as having been a single, continuous allochthon composed largely of volcanic rocks with small amounts of Paleozoic rocks. During Heart Mountain faulting, extension of the once-continuous slab of Paleozoic sedimentary rock is alleged to have been accompanied by the formation of ten or more grabens, now filled predominantly by Absaroka volcanic rocks. This interpretation further proposes that the volcanic rocks were emplaced while the separating blocks of Paleozoic strata were still moving and that the basal part of the volcanic rock between these blocks is in fault contact rather than depositional contact with the strata beneath the Heart Mountain fault. Many lines of geologic field evidence indicate that the Wapiti Formation is younger than the Heart Mountain fault and was deposited on the technically denuded fault surface. (1) Wapiti rocks bury the break-away fault. (2) Fault breccia at the base of the upper-plate carbonate blocks is composed entirely of carbonate fault breccia and has no volcanic component. (3) Small blocks of upper-plate rocks have been displaced by gravity from the upper part of the allochthon to the detachment fault surface. (4) Eocene stream-channel deposits locally cut into the surface of tectonic denudation and also have been displaced on the Heart Mountain fault. (5) The volume of Wapiti Formation filling the spaces between allochthonous blocks in proportion to the volume of those blocks is much too great for the Wapiti to have been allochthonous. (6) Clastic dikes of carbonate fault breccia penetrate Wapiti volcanic rocks. (7) Some of these clastic dikes of fault breccia contain Precambrian xenoliths and wood phenoclasts requiring surface exposures of the fault breccia before injection as dikes. (8) Wapiti volcanic rocks having chilled borders are in tightly bonded contact with upper-plate Paleozoic rocks. (9) Faults present in the upper-plate blocks do not penetrate the overlying Wapiti Formation. (10) Volcanic fault breccia is absent where volcanic rocks overlie carbonate fault breccia. (11) A mound of carbonate fault breccia is not mixed with overlying Wapiti Formation. The continuous allochthon interpretation is based on several erroneous assumptions that cannot be supported by field observations. (1) Faults to transport and emplace the Wapiti Formation onto and along the Heart Mountain fault do not exist. (2) The contact between volcanic rocks and the allochthon west of Corral Creek at the west end of Cathedral Cliffs, cited by Hauge as a fault in an extending allochthon, is a depositional contact. (3) The volcanic rock adjoining allochthonous Paleozoic rocks north of Pilot Creek cannot be part of an extending allochthon because (a) it is Cathedral Cliffs Formation, which is pre–Heart Mountain fault, and (b) its direction of movement is horizontal rather than down dip, as required in an extending allochthon. (4) Most of the igneous dikes were intruded after the Heart Mountain fault movement ceased, and so they could not accommodate significant extension of the upper plate. (5) Striae reported as indicating fault emplacement of volcanic rock (Wapiti Formation) on the Heart Mountain fault actually lire flow features, formed as the Wapiti Formation was deposited on the exposed fault surface. Tectonic denudation is the only model that is consistent with evidence observable in the field. Although the process by which tectonic denudation was accomplished remains enigmatic, tectonic denudation remains a constraining fact in any model for the origin of the Heart Mountain fault.

Wyoming↗
USGS2004

Simulation of ground-water flow in the Cedar River alluvial aquifer flow system, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

The Cedar River alluvial aquifer is the primary source of municipal water in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, area. Since 1992, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Cedar Rapids, has investigated the hydrogeology and water quality of the Cedar River alluvial aquifer. This report describes a detailed analysis of the ground-water flow system in the alluvial aquifer, particularly near well field areas. The ground-water flow system in the Cedar Rapids area consists of two main components, the unconsolidated Quaternary deposits and the underlying carbonate bedrock that has a variable fracture density. Quaternary deposits consist of eolian sand, loess, alluvium, and glacial till. Devonian and Silurian bedrock aquifers overlie the Maquoketa Shale (Formation) of Ordovician age, a regional confining unit. Ground-water and surface-water data were collected during the study to better define the hydrogeology of the Cedar River alluvial aquifer and Devonian and Silurian aquifers. Stream stage and discharge, ground-water levels, and estimates of aquifer hydraulic properties were used to develop a conceptual ground-water flow model and to construct and calibrate a model of the flow system. This model was used to quantify the movement of water between the various components of the aluvial aquifer flow system and provide an improved understanding of the hydrology of the alluvial aquifer. Ground-water flow was simulated for the Cedar River alluvial aquifer and the Devonian and Silurian aquifers using the three-dimensional finite-difference ground-water flow model MODFLOW. The model was discretized into 223 rows and 354 columns of cells. Areal cell sizes range from about 50 feet on a side near the Cedar River and the Cedar Rapids municipal wells to 1,500 feet on a side near the model boundaries and farthest away from the Cedar Rapids municipal well fields. The model is separated into five layers to account for the various hydrogeologic units in the model area. Model results indicate that the primary sources of inflow to the modeled area are infiltration from the Cedar River (53.0 percent) and regional flow in the glacial and bedrock materials (34.1 percent). The primary sources of outflow from the modeled area are discharge to the Cedar River (45.4 percent) and pumpage (44.8 percent). Current steady-state pumping rates have increased the flow of water from the Cedar River to the alluvial aquifer by 43.8 cubic feet per second. Steady-state and transient hypothetical pumpage scenarios were used to show the relation between changes in pumpage and changes in infiltration of water from the Cedar River. Results indicate that more than 99 percent of the water discharging from municipal wells infiltrates from the Cedar River, that the time required for induced river recharge to equilibrate with municipal pumpage may be 150 days or more, and that ground-water availability in the Cedar Rapids area will not be significantly affected by doubling current pumpage as long as there is sufficient flow in the Cedar River to provide recharge.

Iowa↗
USGS2010

Bioenergetics assessment of fish and crayfish consumption by river otter (Lontra canadensis): integrating prey availability, diet, and field metabolic rate

River otters (Lontra canadensis) are important predators in aquatic ecosystems, but few studies quantify their prey consumption. We trapped crayfish monthly as an index of availability and collected otter scat for diet analysis in the Ozark Mountains of northwestern Arkansas, USA. We measured otter daily energy expenditure (DEE) with the doubly labeled water method to develop a bioenergetics model for estimating monthly prey consumption. Meek's crayfish (Orconectes meeki) catch-per-unit-effort was positively related to stream temperature, indicating that crayfish were more available during warmer months. The percentage frequency of occurrence for crayfish in scat samples peaked at 85.0% in summer and was lowest (42.3%) in winter. In contrast, the percentage occurrence of fish was 13.3% in summer and 57.7% in winter. Estimates of DEE averaged 4738 kJ·day -1 for an otter with a body mass of 7842 g. Total biomass consumption ranged from 35 079 to 52 653 g·month -1 (wet mass), corresponding to a high proportion of fish and crayfish in the diet, respectively. Otter consumption represents a large fraction of prey production, indicating potentially strong effects of otters on trophic dynamics in stream ecosystems.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences↗
USGS1997

Deep-ocean field test of methane hydrate formation from a remotely operated vehicle

We have observed the process of formation of clathrate hydrates of methane in experiments conducted on the remotely operated vehicle (ROY) Ventana in the deep waters of Monterey Bay. A tank of methane gas, acrylic tubes containing seawater, and seawater plus various types of sediment were carried down on Ventana to a depth of 910 m where methane gas was injected at the base of the acrylic tubes by bubble stream. Prior calculations had shown that the local hydrographic conditions gave an upper limit of 525 m for the P-T boundary defining methane hydrate formation or dissociation at this site, and thus our experiment took place well within the stability range for this reaction to occur. Hydrate formation in free sea-water occurred within minutes as a buoyant mass of translucent hydrate formed at the gas-water interface. In a coarse sand matrix the Filling of the pore spaces with hydrate turned the sand column into a solidified block, which gas pressure soon lifted and ruptured. In a fine-grained black mud the gas flow carved out flow channels, the walls of which became coated and then filled with hydrate in larger discrete masses. Our experiment shows that hydrate formation is rapid in natural seawater, that sediment type strongly influences the patterns of hydrate formation, and that the use of ROV technologies permits the synthesis of large amounts of hydrate material in natural systems under a variety of conditions so that fundamental research on the stability and growth of these substances is possible.

Geology↗
USGS2017

Carbonate buffering and metabolic controls on carbon dioxide in rivers

Multiple processes support the significant efflux of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from rivers and streams. Attribution of CO 2 oversaturation will lead to better quantification of the freshwater carbon cycle and provide insights into the net cycling of nutrients and pollutants. CO 2 production is closely related to O 2 consumption because of the metabolic linkage of these gases. However, this relationship can be weakened due to dissolved inorganic carbon inputs from groundwater, carbonate buffering, calcification, and anaerobic metabolism. CO 2 and O 2 concentrations and other water quality parameters were analyzed in two data sets: a synoptic field study and nationwide water quality monitoring data. CO 2 and O 2 concentrations were strongly negatively correlated in both data sets ( ρ = −0.67 and ρ = −0.63, respectively), although the correlations were weaker in high-alkalinity environments. In nearly all samples, the molar oversaturation of CO 2 was a larger magnitude than molar O 2 undersaturation. We used a dynamically coupled O 2 CO 2 model to show that lags in CO 2 air-water equilibration are a likely cause of this phenomenon. Lags in CO 2 equilibration also impart landscape-scale differences in the behavior of CO 2 between high- and low-alkalinity watersheds. Although the concept of carbonate buffering and how it creates lags in CO 2 equilibration with the atmosphere is well understood, it has not been sufficiently integrated into our understanding of CO 2 dynamics in freshwaters. We argue that the consideration of carbonate equilibria and its effects on CO 2 dynamics are primary steps in understanding the sources and magnitude of CO 2 oversaturation in rivers and streams.

Global Biogeochemical Cycles↗
USGS2017

Development of a coupled wave-flow-vegetation interaction model

Emergent and submerged vegetation can significantly affect coastal hydrodynamics. However, most deterministic numerical models do not take into account their influence on currents, waves, and turbulence. In this paper, we describe the implementation of a wave-flow-vegetation module into a Coupled-Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST) modeling system that includes a flow model (ROMS) and a wave model (SWAN), and illustrate various interacting processes using an idealized shallow basin application. The flow model has been modified to include plant posture-dependent three-dimensional drag, in-canopy wave-induced streaming, and production of turbulent kinetic energy and enstrophy to parameterize vertical mixing. The coupling framework has been updated to exchange vegetation-related variables between the flow model and the wave model to account for wave energy dissipation due to vegetation. This study i) demonstrates the validity of the plant posture-dependent drag parameterization against field measurements, ii) shows that the model is capable of reproducing the mean and turbulent flow field in the presence of vegetation as compared to various laboratory experiments, iii) provides insight into the flow-vegetation interaction through an analysis of the terms in the momentum balance, iv) describes the influence of a submerged vegetation patch on tidal currents and waves separately and combined, and v) proposes future directions for research and development.

Computers & Geosciences↗
USGS2020

Time-dependent accumulation of Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, and Zn in mayfly and caddisfly larvae in experimental streams: Metal sensitivity, uptake pathways, and mixture toxicity

Conceptual and quantitative models were developed to assess time-dependent processes in four sequential experimental stream studies that determined abundances of natural communities of mayfly and caddisfly larvae dosed with single metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Zn) or multiple metals (Cd+Zn, Co+Cu, Cu+Ni, Cu+Zn, Ni+Zn, Cd+Cu+Zn, Co+Cu+Ni, Cu+Ni+Zn). Metal mixtures contained environmentally relevant metal ratios found in mine drainage. Free metal ion concentrations, accumulation of metals by periphyton, and metal uptake by four families of aquatic insect larvae were either measured (Brachycentridae) or predicted (Ephemerellidae, Heptageniidae, Hydropsychidae) using equilibrium and biodynamic models. Toxicity functions, which included metal accumulations by larvae and metal potencies, were linked to abundances of the insect families. Model results indicated that mayflies accumulated more metal than caddisflies and the relative importance of metal uptake by larvae via dissolved or dietary pathways highly depended on metal uptake rate constants for each insect family and concentrations of metals in food and water. For solution compositions in the experimental streams, accumulations of Cd, Cu, and Zn in larvae occurred primarily through dietary uptake, whereas uptake of dissolved metal was more important for Co and Ni accumulations. Cd, Cu, and Ni were major contributors to toxicity in metal mixtures and for metal ratios examined. Our conceptual approach and quantitative results should aid in designing laboratory experiments and field studies that evaluate metal uptake pathways and metal mixture toxicity to aquatic biota.

Science of the Total Environment↗
USGS2004

SAM 2.1—A computer program for plotting and formatting surveying data for estimating peak discharges by the slope-area method

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measures discharge in streams using several methods. However, measurement of peak discharges is often impossible or impractical due to difficult access, inherent danger of making measurements during flood events, and timing often associated with flood events. Thus, many peak discharge values often are calculated after the fact by use of indirect methods. The most common indirect method for estimating peak dis- charges in streams is the slope-area method. This, like other indirect methods, requires measuring the flood profile through detailed surveys. Processing the survey data for efficient entry into computer streamflow models can be time demanding; SAM 2.1 is a program designed to expedite that process. The SAM 2.1 computer program is designed to be run in the field on a portable computer. The program processes digital surveying data obtained from an electronic surveying instrument during slope- area measurements. After all measurements have been completed, the program generates files to be input into the SAC (Slope-Area Computation program; Fulford, 1994) or HEC-RAS (Hydrologic Engineering Center-River Analysis System; Brunner, 2001) computer streamflow models so that an estimate of the peak discharge can be calculated.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1982

Assessment of hydrologic conditions in potential coal-lease tracts in the Warrior coal field, Alabama

Assessing the hydrology of potential Federal coal-lease tracts, because of their dissemination and limited data, requires some predictive capability. Four tracts assessed were located in the outcrop of three coal groups and of other relatively impermeable rocks in the Pottsville Formation. Physical settings of the tracts and most other areas in the Warrior coal field are similar. This results in similar ground-water and surface-water characteristics, in similar impacts resulting from surface coal mining, and in maximizing the transfer-ability of data. Assessments of the tracts reflected the small storage of water in underlying rocks and corresponding low yields to wells and to the base flow of streams. Ground water and surface water in undisturbed areas are generally of good quality. Some subbasins in the tracts have already been impacted by mining. Estimates of streamflow characteristics and the availability and quality of ground water in the tracts were made using available methodology , or assessments based on local and regional data. Estimates of the degree mineralization of surface-water were made using methodology developed from other coal hydrology work. Climatic, physiographic, hydrologic, and land-use data were analyzed by regressions to derive relations for assessing water quality in streams draining mined and unmined areas. In this approach, an equation was derived to estimate specific conductance. Additional equations, based on relations between specific conductance and other constituents, allow estimates of mine drainage indicators such as hardness, dissolved solids, and sulfate. Hydrologic assessments of the tracts, based on limited verification data, proved to be reasonably accurate. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1952

Present and past ground-water conditions in the Morrison Formation in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah

Field and laboratory studies of ground-water conditions in the carnotite-bearing Morrison formation in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah were undertaken to determine possible relations between ground waters and the carnotite deposits. The ore-bearing sandstone consists of lenticular sandstone strata, interbedded within discontinuous layers of mudstone; these strata were deposited in a stream environment. The porosity and permeability of the ore-bearing sandstone in one area are relatively low, porosity averaging about 15 percent and permeability ranging between 30 and 3300 millidarcys. Permeability studies in this same area show that sandstone classed as favorable for ore is slightly more permeable than and has nearly twice the transmissibility of sandstone classed as semifavorable; outcrop studies also suggest a lower transmissibility for sandstone that is unfavorable. Samples of water from the ore-bearing and associated strata show considerable variation in chemical charter. These water samples are generally low in uranium, vanadium, copper, and lead, most samples containing less than 1 part per million (ppm) of each metal. General geologic relations suggest that ground-water movement probably was active through the ore-bearing strata during their deposition and shortly afterward. Movement during this time probably occurred largely through the more permeable sand strata and in the general direction of initial dip and stream flow. During Cretaceous time, when several thousand feet of marine sediments accumulated over the Morrison, the water contained in the ore-bearing strata probably was immobile or nearly so and was protected from escape or contamination. Following Tertiary deformation and erosion, active ground-water circulation no doubt was restored, but because of the low permeability and the lenticular character and therefore low transmissibility of the ore-bearing sandstone, ground-water movement probably was slow. Faulting probably also influenced the direction and rate of ground-water movement during Tertiary time. Movement and localization of ground water would permit the concentration of metal-bearing solutions during Salt Wash and early Brushy Basin time in the beds that now contain ore deposits. It is more difficult to explain the formation of these deposits, which have a wide geographic distribution at a restricted stratigraphic position, from solutions circulating through the rocks at a later date. Whatever mode of origin is used to explain the deposits, geologists almost without exception, agree that the metals were transported by solutions that have migrated through the sediments for considerable distances. For this reason, a study of the horizontal and vertical transmissibility characteristics of all exposed sedimentary formations on the Colorado Plateau is planned.

Colorado, Utah↗
USGS1983

Hydrology of an abandoned coal-mining area near McCurtain, Haskell County, Oklahoma

Water quality was investigated from October 1980 to May 1983 in an area of abandoned coal mines in Haskell county, Oklahoma. Bedrock in the area is shale, siltstone, sandstone, and the McAlester (Stigler) and Hartshorne coals of the McAlester Formation and Hartshorne Sandstone of Pennsylvanian age. The two coal beds, upper and lower Hartshorne, associated with the Hartshorne Sandstone converge or are separated by a few feet or less of bony coal or shale in the McCurtain area. Many small faults cut the Hartshorne coal in all the McCurtain-area mines. The main avenues of water entry to and movement through the bedrock are the exposed bedding-plane openings between layers of sandstone, partings between laminae of shale, fractures and joints developed during folding and faulting laminae of shale, fractures and joints developed during folding and faulting of the brittle rocks, and openings caused by surface mining--the overburden being shattered and broken to form spoil. Water-table conditions exist in bedrock and spoil in the area. Mine pond water is in direct hydraulic connections with water in the spoil piles and the underlying Hartshorne Sandstone. Sulfate is the best indicator of the presence of coal-mine drainage in both surface and ground water in the Oklahoma coal field. Median sulfate concentrations for four sites on Mule Creek ranged from 26 to 260 milligrams per liter. Median sulfate concentrations increased with increased drainage from unreclaimed mined areas. The median sulfate concentration in Mule Creek where it drains the reclaimed area is less than one-third of that at the next site downstream where the stream begins to drain abandoned (unreclaimed) mine lands. Water from Mule Creek predominantly is a sodium sulfate type. Maximum and median values for specific conductance and concentrations of calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfate, chloride, dissolved solids, and alkalinity increase as Mule Creek flows downstream and drains increasing areas of abandoned (unreclaimed) mining lands. Constituent concentrations in Mule Creek, except those for dissolved solids, iron, manganese, and sulfate, generally do not exceed drinking-water limits. Reclamation likely would result in decreased concentrations of dissolved solids, calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfate, and alkalinity in Mule Creek in the vicinity of the reclaimed area. Ground water in the area is moderately hard to very hard alkaline water with a median pH of 7.2 to 7.6. It predominately is a sodium sulfate type and, except for dissolved solids, iron manganese, and sulfate, constituent concentrations generally do not exceed drinking-water limits. Ground-water quality would likely be unchanged by reclamation. The quality of water in the two mine ponds is quite similar to that of the shallow ground water in the area. Constituents in water from both ponds generally do not exceed drinking-water limits and the water quality is unlikely to be changed by reclamation in the area.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1971

Subsurface waste disposal by means of wells - A selective annotated bibliography

Subsurface waste disposal by means of wells is the practice of using drilled wells to inject unwanted substances into underground rock formations. The use of wells for this purpose is not a new idea. As long ago as the end of the last century, it was common practice to drill wells for the express purpose of draining swamps and small lakes to reclaim the land for agricultural purposes. A few decades later in the 1920's and 1930's many oil companies began using injection wells to dispose of oil-field brines and to repressurize oil reservoirs. During World War II, the Atomic Energy Commission began using injection wells to dispose of certain types of radioactive wastes. More recently, injection wells have been drilled to dispose of a variety of byproducts of industrial processes. The number of such wells has increased rapidly since Congress passed the Clean Streams Act of 1966, which restricted the discharge of waste into surface waters. Many scientists and public officials question the propriety of using the term "disposal" when referring to the underground injection of wastes. Their reasons are that underground injection is not, as many advocates claim, "a complete and final answer" to the waste-disposal problem. Rather, it is merely a process wherein the injected wastes are committed to the subsurface with uncertainty as to their ultimate fate or limits of confinement. In effect, the wastes, undiminished and unchanged, are removed from the custody of man and placed in the custody of nature. Although the concept of waste-injection wells is relatively simple, the effects of waste injection can be very complex, particularly when dealing with the exotic and complex components of some industrial wastes. Besides the physical forces of injection, there are many varied interactions between the injected wastes and the materials within the injection zone. Because these changes occur out of sight in the subsurface, they are difficult to assess and not generally understood. In addition, the various aspects of the problem involve a wide spectrum of science and engineering. Hence, articles published on the subject are widely dispersed in the technical and scientific literature.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1988

Maps showing anomalous concentrations of zinc, silver, antimony, manganese, barium and strontium in stream sediment and heavy-mineral concentrate from parts of the Ajo and Lukeville 1 degree by 2 degrees quadrangles, Arizona

This map is part of a folio of maps of the Ajo and Lukeville 1 degree x 2 degrees quadrangles, Arizona, prepared under the Conterminous United States Mineral Assessment Program. Other publications in this folio include U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Reports 82-419 (Barton and others, 1982), 82-599 (Klein, 1982), and 830734 (Theobald and Barton, 1983), and Miscellaneous Field Studies Maps MF-1834-A (Peterson and Tosdal, 1986), MF-1834-B (Peterson and others, 1987), MF-1834-C (Theobald and Barton, 1987), and MF-1834-D (Theobald and Barton, 1988). Open-File Reports 82-419 and 83-734 constitute the basic data and initial interpretation on which this discussion is predicated. MF-1834-C and D show the distributions of anomalous concentrations of copper, lead, molybdenum, bismuth, and tungsten.

Arizona↗
USGS2014

Water's Way at Sleepers River watershed – revisiting flow generation in a post-glacial landscape, Vermont USA

The Sleepers River Research Watershed (SRRW) in Vermont, USA, has been the site of active hydrologic research since 1959 and was the setting where Dunne and Black demonstrated the importance and controls of saturation-excess overland flow (SOF) on streamflow generation. Here, we review the early studies from the SRRW and show how they guided our conceptual approach to hydrologic research at the SRRW during the most recent 25 years. In so doing, we chronicle a shift in the field from early studies that relied exclusively on hydrometric measurements to today's studies that include chemical and isotopic approaches to further elucidate streamflow generation mechanisms. Highlights of this evolution in hydrologic understanding include the following: (i) confirmation of the importance of SOF to streamflow generation, and at larger scales than first imagined; (ii) stored catchment water dominates stream response, except under unusual conditions such as deep frozen ground; (iii) hydrometric, chemical and isotopic approaches to hydrograph separation yield consistent and complementary results; (iv) nitrate and sulfate isotopic compositions specific to atmospheric inputs constrain new water contributions to streamflow; and (v) convergent areas, or ‘hillslope hollows’, contribute disproportionately to event hydrographs. We conclude by summarizing some remaining challenges that lead us to a vision for the future of research at the SRRW to address fundamental questions in the catchment sciences.

Vermont↗
USGS2006

Patterns of hydrological exchange and nutrient transformation in the hyporheic zone of a gravel-bottom stream: examining terrestrial- aquatic linkages

The terrestrial-aquatic interface beneath a riparian corridor was investigated as a region of hydrological and biological control of nutrient flux. Dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in the hyporheic zone ranged from <1.0 to 9.5 mg l-1 due to permeability variations in bankside sediments. DO concentration was related to the proportion of stream water in the lateral hyporheic zone, indicating that the channel water was the DO source. The magnitude and timing of lateral water exchange was linked to previously published studies of nitrification and denitrification. Both nitrification potential and channel exchange decreased with distance from the channel and were absent at sites lacking effective exchange, due to low DO. Field amendment of ammonium to an aerobic flow path indicated nitrification potential under natural hydrological conditions. Denitrification potential was inversely related to channel exchange and was insignificant in channel sediments. Field amendment of acetylene plus nitrate to a flow path with low DO and minimal channel exchange indicated denitrification of amended nitrate.

Freshwater Biology↗
USGS2020

Northward migration of the Oregon forearc on the Gales Creek fault

The Gales Creek fault (GCF) is a 60-km-long, northwest-striking dextral fault system (west of Portland, Oregon) that accommodates northward motion and uplift of the Oregon Coast Range. New geologic mapping and geophysical models confirm inferred offsets from earlier geophysical surveys and document ∼12 km of right-lateral offset of a basement high in Eocene Siletz River Volcanics since ca. 35 Ma and ∼8.8 km of right-lateral separation of Miocene Columbia River Basalt at Newberg, Oregon, since 15 Ma (∼0.62 ± 0.12 mm/yr, average long-term rate). Relative uplift of Eocene Coast Range basalt basement west of the fault zone is at least 5 km based on depth to basement under the Tualatin Basin from a recent inversion of gravity data. West of the city of Forest Grove, the fault consists of two subparallel strands ∼7 km apart. The westernmost, Parsons Creek strand, forms a linear valley southward to Henry Hagg Lake, where it continues southward to Newberg as a series of en echelon strands forming both extensional and compressive step-overs. Compressive step-overs in the GCF occur at intersections with ESE-striking sinistral faults crossing the Coast Range, suggesting the GCF is the eastern boundary of an R′ Riedel shear domain that could accommodate up to half of the ∼45° of post–40 Ma clockwise rotation of the Coast Range documented by paleomagnetic studies. Gravity and magnetic anomalies suggest the western strands of the GCF extend southward beneath Newberg into the Northern Willamette Valley, where colinear magnetic anomalies have been correlated with the Mount Angel fault, the proposed source of the 1993 M 5.7 Scotts Mills earthquake. The potential-field data and water-well data also indicate the eastern, Gales Creek strand of the fault may link to the NNW-striking Canby fault through the E-W Beaverton fault to form a 30-km-wide compressive step-over along the south side of the Tualatin Basin. LiDAR data reveal right-lateral stream offsets of as much as 1.5 km, shutter ridges, and other youthful geomorphic features for 60 km along the geophysical and geologic trace of the GCF north of Newberg, Oregon. Paleoseismic trenches document Eocene bedrock thrust over 250 ka surficial deposits along a reverse splay of the fault system near Yamhill, Oregon, and Holocene motion has been recently documented on the GCF along Scoggins Creek and Parsons Creek. The GCF could produce earthquakes in excess of Mw 7, if the entire 60 km segment ruptured in one earthquake. The apparent subsurface links of the GCF to other faults in the Northern Willamette Valley suggest that other faults in the system may also be active.

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