USGS Science⌕ Search

SEARCH · USGS Science

Results for “Environmental Science”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,315 records · Page 73Linked to original sources
USGS2016

Use of lidar point cloud data to support estimation of residual trace metals stored in mine chat piles in the Old Lead Belt of southeastern, Missouri

Historic lead and zinc (Pb-Zn) mining in southeast Missouri’s ―Old Lead Belt‖ has left large chat piles dominating the landscape where prior to 1972 mining was the major industry of the region. As a result of variable beneficiation methods over the history of mining activity, these piles remain with large quantities of unrecovered Pb and Zn and to a lesser extent cadmium (Cd). Quantifying the residual content of trace metals in chat piles is problematic because of the extensive field effort that must go into collecting elevation points for volumetric analysis. This investigation demonstrates that publicly available lidar point data from the U.S. Geological Survey 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) can be used to effectively calculate chat pile volumes as a method of more accurately estimating the total residual trace metal content in these mining wastes. Five chat piles located in St. Francois County, Missouri, were quantified for residual trace metal content. Utilizing lidar point cloud data collected in 2011 and existing trace metal concentration data obtained during remedial investigations, residual content of these chat piles ranged from 9247 to 88,579 metric tons Pb, 1925 to 52,306 metric tons Zn, and 51 to 1107 metric tons Cd. Development of new beneficiation methods for recovering these constituents from chat piles would need to achieve current Federal soil screening standards. To achieve this for the five chat piles investigated, 42 to 72% of residual Pb would require mitigation to the 1200 mg/kg Federal non-playground standard, 88 to 98% of residual Zn would require mitigation to the Ecological Soil Screening level (ESSL) for plant life, and 70% to 98% of Cd would require mitigation to achieve the ESSL. Achieving these goals through an existing or future beneficiation method(s) would remediate chat to a trace metal concentration level that would support its use as a safe agricultural soil amendment.

Missouri↗
USGS1998

Butyltin residues in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) found dead along California coastal waters

Tributyltin (TBT) and its degradation products, mono- (MBT) and dibutyltin (DBT), were determined in liver, kidney, and brain tissues of adult southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) found dead along the coast of California during 1992a??1996. Hepatic concentrations of butyltin compounds (BTs = MBT + DBT + TBT) ranged from 40 to 9200 ng/g wet wt, which varied depending on the sampling location and gender. Concentrations of BTs in sea otters were comparable to those reported in stranded bottlenose dolphins from the U.S. Atlantic Coast during 1989a??1994. Greater accumulation of butyltins in sea otters was explained by their bottom-feeding habit and the diet that consists exclusively of invertebrates such as mollusks and gastropods. Livers of female sea otters contained approximately 2-fold greater concentrations of BTs than did those of males. The composition of butyltin compounds in sea otter tissues was predominated by TBT in most cases and suggestive of recent exposure. Large harbors such as Monterey Harbor that handle ships legally painted with TBT-containing antifouling paints continued to experience ecotoxicologically significant butyltin contamination. Sea otters, which were affected by infectious diseases, contained greater concentrations of BTs in their tissues than those that died from trauma and other unknown causes.

Californnia↗
USGS2006

Association between perfluorinated compounds and pathological conditions in southern sea otters

Concentrations of four perfluorinated contaminants, including perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), were measured in liver tissue from 80 adult female sea otters collected from the California coast during 1992a??2002. Concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were in the ranges of <1a??884 and <5a??147 ng/g, wet wt, respectively. Concentrations of PFOA in the livers of these sea otters were among the highest values reported for marine mammals to date. Liver tissue from 6 male sea otters also was analyzed and contained significantly higher concentrations of PFOS than did tissues from female otters. To examine the association between exposures and potential effects, concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were compared among the adult female otters that died from infectious diseases, noninfectious causes, and from apparent emaciation. Concentrations of both PFOA and PFOS were significantly higher in sea otters in the infectious disease category than in the noninfectious category. Concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were not significantly different between noninfectious and emaciated otters, suggesting that the poor nutritive (body) status of emaciated otters did not affect the concentrations of perfluorochemicals in livers. Concentrations of PFOA increased significantly from 1992 to 2002, whereas PFOS concentrations increased from 1992 to 1998 and then decreased after 2000. Significant association between infectious diseases and elevated concentrations of PFOS/PFOA in the livers of sea otters is a cause for concern and suggests the need for further studies.

California↗
USGS1986

This week?s Citation Classic: 'Stickel, L. F. A comparison of certain methods of measuring ranges of small mammals. J. Mammalogy 35: 1-15, 1954.'

During my first employment as a junior biologist conducting food habits analyses at the Patuxent Research Refuge (now Patuxent Wildlife Research Center) of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the first station director, Arnold L. Nelson, gave each staff biologist the opportunity to spend a little time conducting field studies on the 2,600-acre research area. These studies were to help in ecological evaluation of the area, but also, no doubt, functioned as a morale builder for biologists daily engaged in difficult, demanding and confining laboratory work. I undertook to measure the population density of small mammals in different habitats. The state-of-the-art methods recommended to me and prevalent in the literature worried me, especially after preliminary field work. Reading the classic, paper by W.H. Burt [Terrioriality and home range concepts as applied to mammals. J. Mammalogy 24:346-352, 1943] was a turning point for me in seeing that knowledge of home-range size was the key to measuring population density. My first papers employed these concepts in field evaluations. However, they could give-only limited attention to the question of how home ranges could be measured. Furthermore, the importance of knowledge of the home range to habitat evaluation and to understanding animal behavior was becoming increasingly apparent. Advocacy of many different methods of measuring home ranges appeared in the literature. It did not seem possible to evaluate them objectively. It occurred to me that artificial populations could be used to help in understanding the mechanisms of measuring home ranges. The effects of random trap-visiting, bias toward central traps, trap-spacing, range shape, and other factors could be considered. So grids of traps were inked onto oversize graph paper, and simulated ranges were cut from plastic to be tossed as randomly as possible on the trap-grids. It was a slow, laborious job. Analysis showed that random captures in artificial populations produced patterns that were similar in many ways to those observed in field studies; the necessity of appropriate trap-spacing in relation to range size became obvious. Some commonly used methods of expressing range size proved to be clearly superior to others. However, the artificial populations could not fully simulate actual populations, where use patterns changed as conditions changed and the ?boundaries? of ranges tended to shift continuously or with time. Progress was made, but problems remained. I suspect that the reasons the paper has been cited frequently rest on the continuing interest in home-range behavior and the continuing difficulty in field evaluations, despite the many advances in observational methodology. The sophisticated techniques that became possible with the use of computers [R.I. Jennrich and F.B. Turner. Measurement of non-circular home range. J. Theor. Biol 23:227-237, 1969] also presented new possibilities for analysis and understanding of home-range characteristics and created a resurgence of interest in home-range behavior and its biological significance.

Current Contents / Agriculture, Biology & Environm↗
USGS2011

Calcite growth-rate inhibition by fulvic acids isolated from Big Soda Lake, Nevada, USA, the Suwannee River, Georgia, USA and by polycarboxylic acids

Calcite crystallization rates are characterized using a constant solution composition at 25&deg;C, pH=8.5, and calcite supersaturation (Ω) of 4.5 in the absence and presence of fulvic acids isolated from Big Soda Lake, Nevada (BSLFA), and a fulvic acid from the Suwannee River, Georgia (SRFA). Rates are also measured in the presence and absence of low-molar mass, aliphatic-alicyclic polycarboxylic acids (PCA). BSLFA inhibits calcite crystal-growth rates with increasing BSLFA concentration, suggesting that BSLFA adsorbs at growth sites on the calcite crystal surface. Calcite growth morphology in the presence of BSLFA differed from growth in its absence, supporting an adsorption mechanism of calcite-growth inhibition by BSLFA. Calcite growth-rate inhibition by BSLFA is consistent with a model indicating that polycarboxylic acid molecules present in BSLFA adsorb at growth sites on the calcite crystal surface. In contrast to published results for an unfractionated SRFA, there is dramatic calcite growth inhibition (at a concentration of 1 mg/L) by a SRFA fraction eluted by pH 5 solution from XAD-8 resin, indicating that calcite growth-rate inhibition is related to specific SRFA component fractions. A cyclic PCA, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-cyclohexane hexacarboxylic acid (CHXHCA) is a strong calcite growth-rate inhibitor at concentrations less than 0.1 mg/L. Two other cyclic PCAs, 1, 1 cyclopentanedicarboxylic acid (CPDCA) and 1, 1 cyclobutanedicarboxylic acid (CBDCA) with the carboxylic acid groups attached to the same ring carbon atom, have no effect on calcite growth rates up to concentrations of 10 mg/L. Organic matter ad-sorbed from the air onto the seed crystals has no effect on the measured calcite crystal-growth rates.

Nevada, Georgia↗
USGS1988

A tentative protocol for measurement of radon availability from the ground

A procedure is being tested in order to determine its suitability for assessing the intrinsic ability of the ground at a particular site to supply radon (222Rn) to a basement structure to be built on the site. The mean migration distance, multiplied by the measured radon concentration gives the "Radon Availability Number' (RAN). Measurements at sites of known indoor radon concentration suggest that RANs below 2 kBq/m2 (5x104 pCi/m2) indicate little chance of elevated indoor radon and RANs above 20 kBq/m2 (5x105 pCi/m2) indicate that elevated indoor radon is likely. The range of uncertainty and the point-to-point and seasonal variations to be expected are under investigation. -from Author

Northeastern Environmental Science↗
USGS1996

Evidence for the correlation of the upper part of the Llewellyn Formation (Pennsylvania Anthracite region), with the Monongahela Formation

A plant fossil assemblage from the roof shale of the No. 25 anthracite bed in Pennsylvania indicates that the upper part of the Llewellyn Formation is much younger than the lower part of the Allegheny Group or Conemaugh Group correlation that was indicated by Read and Mamay (1960). These results confirm the conclusions of Fontaine and White (1880), White (1900), and Darrah (1969) who suggested that the highest coals of the Llewellyn Formation could be equivalent to the Monongahela Group.

Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences↗
USGS1995

Stratigraphy and paleoenvironments of the Shell 410-1 well, Georges Bank Basin, US North Atlantic outer continental shelf

The Shell 410-1 well is the most downdip (seaward) hydrocarbon exploratory well in the Georges Bank Basin. It was drilled to a total depth of 4745 m RKB, and penetrated a section composed of Middle Jurassic to Quaternary sedimentary rocks. The lithostratigraphy of the section is described. The strata penetrated by the Shell 410-1 well are more marine than rocks at the updip (landward) COST G-1, Exxon 975-1, COST G-2, and Conoco 145-1 well sites. Limestones and calcareous mudstones dominate at the Shell 410-1 site. Dolomite and anhydrite are much more abundant in the Bajocian-Callovian strata of the Shell 410-1 well, which is evidence that the carbonate-bank palaeoenvironments recorded in the Iroquois and Abenaki Formations were more restricted (less marine) here than 47 km to the west-northwest at the Mobil 312-1 well site near the edge of the Jurassic carbonate platform. -from Authors

Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences↗
USGS1997

Opening the arctic: The drilling of Umiat #1

One of the greatest excitements for a petroleum geologist is to venture into the frontier, to explore and drill "where no man has gone before." Over 50 years ago Bill Rex, a Kansas oilman, was tapped to lead the first oil drilling expedition into the Alaskan Arctic. He successfully assembled and outfitted a Naval Seabee expedition whose mission was to drill the first well north of the Arctic Circle, Umiat #1. The story of Umiat #1 is one of anecdotes and personal accounts. This paper relates the successes and tribulations of that Seabee exploration venture, as told to the writer by some of the participants.

Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences↗
USGS1997

The discovery and development of the El Dorado (Kansas) oil field

Pioneers named El Dorado, Kansas, in 1857 for the beauty of the site and the promise of future riches but not until 58 years later was black rather than mythical yellow gold discovered when the Stapleton No. 1 oil well came in on October 5, 1915. El Dorado's leaders were envious when nearby towns found huge gas fields and thrived. John Donley, an El Dorado barber, had tried to find either gas or oil in 1878 at a nearby site selected by a spiritualist. He staked out a townsite, spudded a well and drilled 200 feet before running out of money. Wells in 1879 and 1882 produced only brine. In June, 1914, chafed over discovery of oil in nearby Augusta, El Dorado city fathers contracted with Erasmus Haworth, soon to retire from his position as State Geologist, to perform a geological study of the area. His field work outlined the El Dorado Anticline, which unsuccessfully was drilled first in August, 1915. On abandonment, the Wichita Natural Gas Company purchased the lease and drilled the Stapleton No. 1 oil well. More success followed and by 1918, the El Dorado produced 29 million barrels, almost 9% of the nation's oil. Entrepreneurs came and prospered: the Cities Service Oil Company, A.L. Derby, Jack Vickers, and Bill Skelly all became familiar names in Midcontinent oil marketing. Earlier giant fields had hurt the price of crude oil but the El Dorado came in as both World War I and the rapid popularization of motor transport made a market for both light and heavy ends of the refinery stream. The giant gas field never materialized as hoped but in late 1995, the El Dorado Field produced its 300 millionth barrel of oil.

Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences↗
USGS1998

Pesticides in the Hudson River Basin, 1994-96

The occurrence, distribution, and temporal patterns of pesticide concentrations were studied in the Hudson River Basin during 1994 - 96. This article presents the results of three separate pesticide studies conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. Pesticides were found in all three studies, but rarely at concentrations exceeding any U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water standards. The highest concentrations were detected during and immediately after the first runoff following pesticide applications in the late spring and early summer. The herbicides atrazine and metolachlor were the most commonly detected pesticides and were present in nearly every sample collected from streams draining agricultural areas; they also were detected in many streams draining areas with other land uses. Herbicides were most often detected, and had the highest concentrations, in samples from streams draining agricultural areas, whereas insecticides such as diazinon were most commonly detected, and had the highest concentrations, in samples from streams draining urban areas.

Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences↗
USGS1998

The vernon supersuite: Mesoproterozoic A-type granitoid rocks in the New Jersey highlands

Abundant Mesoproterozoic A-type granitoid rocks of two intrusive suites underlie approximately 50 percent of the New Jersey Highlands. These rocks, the Byram Intrusive and Lake Hopatcong Intrusive Suites, consist of granite, alaskite, quartz monzonite, monzonite, and minor pegmatite. Byram and Lake Hopatcong rocks, although different mineralogically, are similar geochemically and contain overlapping abundances of most major and trace elements. Petrographic relationships, geochronology, field relationships, and geochemical similarities support a comagmatic origin for both suites. They constitute the here named Vernon Supersuite.

Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences↗
USGS1998

Palynology of latest Neogene (Middle Miocene to late Pliocene) strata in the Delmarva Peninsula of Maryland and Virginia

Palynology of Miocene and Pliocene formations in the Delmarva Peninsula of Maryland and Virginia reveals a significant representation of exotic pollen interspersed in pollen assemblages that are otherwise comparable to those from the modern vegetation of the Mid-Alantic coastal plain region. The late Tertiary arboreal pollen (AP) assemblages are dominated by oak, hickory, pine, birch and alder with minor amounts of mid- and southern coastal tree taxa, as well as minor spruce and hemlock and a trace of fir. Nonarboreal pollen (NAP) include grass, sedge, composite and aquatic taxa. Exotic pollen in these assemblages represent plants now foreign to this region. They may be placed in three categories. First, there are extinct forms, such as Labrapollis, Plicatopollis, and Multiporopollenites, that can be traced from the Cretaceous or Early Tertiary into the Late Tertiary. The second group includes forms, such as Podocarpus, Engelhardtia, Pterocarya, Ephedra, Eucommia, Ulmus-Zelkova, Glyptostrobus, Palmae, and Cyathea, that are not found in this region today and not found in early Pleistocene sediments in the eastern United States. Many of these taxa are subtropical or greatly restricted in geographic range. A third group of exotics, mainly Cyrilla, Planera, Gordonia, Jussiaea, and Sapotacaea, including Minusops, are generally found south of the study area or have their northern limit here at this time. The lack of the extinct or distant exotics in early to mid-Pleistocene sediments in the mid-Atlantic coastal plain and the last appearance of Pterocarya, as the last exotic taxon in the early Pleistocene of western Europe, support the stratigraphic assignment of the Pliocene units. The number of exotic taxa diminish markedly between the Miocene pollen assemblages and those of the Late Pliocene. Climatic fluctuations characterize the Late Tertiary environments. The Miocene, for example, incorporates a warming trend between the upper, middle Miocene and the Manokin beds and the late Miocene of the Pokomoke beds. The late Miocene was probably somewhat warner than the present climate in the Delmarva region. This trend is based on the presence of colder climate indicators, mainly spruce and hemlock, in the Manokin pollen record. The two distinct pollen assemblages constitute two pollen zones. Similarly, the Pliocene pollen record also shows a warming trend. The pollen zone of the Yorktown Formation of the early Pliocene age contains the colder climate indicators spruce and hemlock. The Beaverdam and Walston formation of late Pliocene age contain pollen assemblages that reflect climatic conditions warmer than the present time.

Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences↗
USGS2000

Pesticides in wells in agricultural and urban areas of the Hudson River basin

Ground-water samples from four monitoring well networks in the Hudson River basin were analyzed for pesticides (detection limits from 0.001 to 0.018 ??g/L). The most frequent detections were in samples from shallow depths beneath agricultural areas. Concentrations of pesticides in samples from all four networks were generally below 0.10 ??g/L, and the concentration of only one (cyanazine) exceeded any maximum contaminant levels or health advisory levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The well networks represented two land-use and two well-depth categories as follows: 1. agricultural shallow wells - two springs and 14 wells finished less than 15 m below land surface in unconfined unconsolidated aquifers beneath agricultural land, 2. agricultural water-supply-wells - 31 wells finished 1.8 to 120 m below land surface in unconsolidated unconfined aquifers and bedrock aquifers beneath agricultural land 3. urban/residential shallow-wells - 17 wells finished less than 16 m below land surface in unconfined unconsolidated aquifers beneath urban or residential land; and 4. urban/residential water-supply-wells - 25 water-supply or observation wells finished 5 to 113 m below land surface in unconfined, unconsolidated aquifers and bedrock aquifers beneath urban or residential land. Pesticides were detected in 69 percent of the samples from the agricultural shallow wells, in 29 percent of the samples from the agricultural water-supply wells, in no samples from the urban/residential shallow wells, and in 16 percent of the samples from the urban/residential water-supply wells. At least half of the samples from the agricultural shallow-well network contained two herbicides (atrazine and metolachlor) and one herbicide metabolite (deethylatrazine); other pesticides detected in samples from this network included metribuzin, cyanazine, EPTC, and pendimethalin. Samples from the agricultural water-supply wells contained two insecticides (diazinon and malathion), two herbicides (atrazine and prometon), and one herbicide metabolite (deethylatrazine). Samples from the urban/residential water-supply well network contained two insecticides (diazinon and malathion), and three herbicides (atrazine, metolachlor, and prometon). Pesticides were detected in samples from depths of less than 2 to more than 70 m. Pesticides were detected in samples with nitrate concentrations ranging from less than the detection limit of 0.05 mg/L to 16 mg/L. These results indicate that pesticides are detected most frequently in shallow ground water beneath agricultural areas, and that pesticides can be detected in wells with a wide range of depths and nitrate concentrations.

Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences↗
USGS2000

Contrasting methods of fracture trend characterization in crystalline metamorphic and igneous rocks of the Windham quadrangle, New Hampshire

The bedrock of the Windham quadrangle in southeastern New Hampshire consists of deformed early Palaeozoic crystalline metamorphic and intrusive igneous rocks intruded by Mesozoic igneous dikes. Generally, less common northeast striking, steeply dipping fractures developed sub-parallel to the pre-existing tectonic foliation in the Palaeozoic rocks. Mesozoic lamprophyre and diabase dikes intruded along the northeast trending fractures, utilizing the pre-existing anisotropy in the crystalline rocks. Northwest striking, steeply dipping systematic joints and joint sets are the most prominent fractures in the area and, at least in part, post-date the Mesozoic dikes. Sub-horizontal sheeting joints occur in all rock types. Locally, the coincidence of the sub-horizontal fractures with a sub-horizontal Paleozoic cleavage suggests that some of the sheeting fractures utilized the pre-existing ductile anisotropy during unloading. Generally, the metasedimentary rocks show a less complex pattern of fracturing than the intrusive rocks suggesting that rock type is a controlling factor. Metasedimentary rocks in the biotite zone and well-foliated igneous rocks show a greater tendency to fracture along pre-existing bedding and foliation surfaces than metasedimentary rocks in the garnet zone and poorly foliated igneous rocks. A comparison of mapped fracture data and station fracture data indicates that either mapped data or station data can be used to identify regional fracture trends. Local fracture trends can not be identified by limited measurements at a few fracture stations, however, because they do not address spatial variability. Some fracture trends may be scale-dependant because they may be either unique to a local area or present only at regional scales.

Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences↗