http://pubs.usgs.gov New Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey - Publications that have been added in the last 7 days. http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ofr/ofr20101018 Jaffe, Bruce E.; Gelfenbaum, Guy; Buckley, Mark L.; Watt, Steve; Apotsos, Alex; Stevens, Andrew W.; Richmond, Bruce M. (2010), Open-File Report 2010-1018. <br /> <br /> U.S. Geological Survey scientists investigated the coastal impacts of the September 29, 2009, South Pacific tsunami in Tutuila, American Samoa in October and November 2009, including mapping the alongshore variation in the limit of inundation. Knowing the inundation limit is useful for planning safer coastal development and evacuation routes for future tsunamis and for improving models of tsunami hazards. This report presents field data documenting the limit of inundation at 18 sites around Tutuila collected in the weeks following the tsunami using Differential GPS (DGPS). In total, 15,703 points along inundation lines were mapped. Estimates of DGPS error and uncertainty in interpretation of the inundation line are provided as electronic files that accompany this report. 2010-02-09 OFR Open-File Report http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/fs/fs20103004 Buxton, Herbert T. (2010), Fact Sheet 2010-3004. <br /> <br /> Human health so often depends on the health of the environment and wildlife around us. The presence of naturally occurring or human environmental contaminants and the emergence of diseases transferred between animals and humans are growing concerns worldwide. The USGS is a source of natural science information vital for understanding the quantity and quality of our earth and living resources. This information improves our understanding not only of how human activities affect environmental and ecological health, but also of how the quality of our environment and wildlife in turn affects human health. USGS is taking a leadership role in providing the natural science information needed by health researchers, policy makers, and the public to safeguard public health 2010-02-09 FS Fact Sheet http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ofr/ofr20101028 Burril, Sean E.; Zimmerman, Christian E.; Finn, James E.; U.S. Geological Survey; Gillikin, Daniel, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2010), Open-File Report 2010-1028. <br /> <br /> To better understand and partition mortality among life stages of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), we used inclined-plane traps to monitor the migration of juveniles in the Kwethluk River, Alaska in 2007 and 2008. The migration of juvenile chum salmon peaked in mid-May and catch rates were greatest when water levels were rising. Movement of chum salmon was diurnal with highest catch rates occurring during the hours of low light (that is, 22:00 to 10:00). Trap efficiency ranged from 0.37 to 4.04 percent (overall efficiency = 1.94 percent). Total abundance of juvenile chum salmon was estimated to be 2.0 million fish in 2007 and 2.9 million fish in 2008. On the basis of the estimate of chum salmon females passing the Kwethluk River weir and age-specific fecundity, we estimated the potential egg deposition (PED) upstream of the weir and trapping site. Egg-to-smolt survival, calculated by dividing the estimate of juvenile chum salmon emigrating past the weir site by the estimate of PED, was 4.6 percent in 2007 and 5.2 percent in 2008. In addition to chum salmon, Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha), coho salmon (O. kisutch), sockeye salmon (O. nerka), and pink salmon (O. gorbuscha), as well as ten other fish species, were captured in the traps. As with chum salmon, catch of these species increased during periods of increasing discharge and peaked during hours of low light. This study successfully determined the characteristics of juvenile salmon migrations and estimated egg-to-smolt survival for chum salmon. This is the first estimate of survival for any juvenile salmon in the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim region of Alaska and demonstrates an approach that can help to partition mortality between freshwater and marine life stages, information critical to understanding the dynamics of salmon in this region. 2010-02-06 OFR Open-File Report http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ds/ds478 Bonisteel, Jamie M.; Nayegandhi, Amar; Wright, C. Wayne; Sallenger, A.H.; Brock, John C.; Yates, Xan; Klipp, Emily S. (2009), Data Series 478. <br /> <br /> This DVD contains lidar-derived first-surface (FS) topography GIS datasets of a portion of the western Florida coastline beachface, acquired post-Hurricane Charley on August 16 and 18, 2004. Click on a tile number (1 - 68) to view the corresponding 1-meter-resolution images and links to each data directory. Click on the red tile in the index map to view the 3-meter-resolution mosaic and link to the corresponding directory. 2010-02-06 DS Data Series http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/sir/sir20095220 Olsen, Lisa D.; Fram, Miranda S.; Belitz, Kenneth (2010), Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5220. <br /> <br /> Trace-element quality-control samples (for example, source-solution blanks, field blanks, and field replicates) were collected as part of a statewide investigation of groundwater quality in California, known as the Priority Basins Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The GAMA Priority Basins Project is being conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to assess and monitor the quality of groundwater resources used for drinking-water supply and to improve public knowledge of groundwater quality in California. Trace-element field blanks were collected to evaluate potential bias in the corresponding environmental data. Bias in the environmental data could result from contamination in the field during sample collection, from the groundwater coming into contact with contaminants on equipment surfaces or from other sources, or from processing, shipping, or analyzing the samples. Bias affects the interpretation of environmental data, particularly if any constituents are present solely as a result of extrinsic contamination that would have otherwise been absent from the groundwater that was sampled. Field blanks were collected, analyzed, and reviewed to identify and quantify extrinsic contamination bias. Data derived from source-solution blanks and laboratory quality-control samples also were considered in evaluating potential contamination bias. Eighty-six field-blank samples collected from May 2004 to January 2008 were analyzed for the concentrations of 25 trace elements. Results from these field blanks were used to interpret the data for the 816 samples of untreated groundwater collected over the same period. Constituents analyzed were aluminum (Al), antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), barium (Ba), beryllium (Be), boron (B), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), lithium (Li), manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), molybde... 2010-02-06 SIR Scientific Investigations Report http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ofr/ofr20091293 Tedesco, Kathy A.; Spear, Jessica W.; Tappa, Eric; Poore, Richard Z. (2009), Open-File Report 2009-1293. <br /> <br /> A year-long sediment-trap experiment was conducted in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) between January and December 2008 to study the flux and assemblage composition of planktic foraminifera from the region for comparison with concurrent hydrographic and climatic measurements. Ten species, or varieties, of planktic foraminifera constitute >80 percent of the assemblage: Globigerinoides ruber (pink and white varieties), Gs. sacculifer, Globigerina calida, Globigerinella aequilateralis, Globorotalia menardii group, Gt. crassaformis, Gt. truncatulinoides, Pulleniatina spp., and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei. The mean daily flux is about 200 tests per meter square per day (m-2 day-1) with the maximum fluxes of >600 tests m-2 day-1 occurring during October-March and minimum fluxes of <30 tests m-2 day-1 during April-June. The annual flux is weighted toward October-March; approximately 73.2 percent of the total annual flux is produced during this period, while the April-June and July-September fluxes make up 14 percent and 12 percent, respectively. During 2008, Gs. ruber (white) contributed ~1.5 percent to the total annual flux and averaged 4.5 percent during April-September, the period of highest fluxes for this species. Results from previous work in the GOM show Gs. ruber (white) contributing 20-30 percent of the late Holocene sediment record. 2010-02-06 OFR Open-File Report http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ofr/ofr20091150 Twichell, D.C.; Cross, V.A. (2009), Open-File Report 2009-1150. <br /> <br /> Sidescan-sonar imagery collected in Lake Mead during 1999-2001, a period of high lake level, has been used to map the surficial geology of the floor of this large reservoir that formed upon completion of the Hoover Dam in 1935. Four surficial geologic units were identified and mapped: rock exposures and alluvial deposits that existed prior to the formation of the lake and thin post-impoundment sediments (< 1 m) and thick post-impoundment sediments (> 1 m) deposited since the lake formed. Exposures of rock are most extensive in the narrow, steep-sided sections of the lake, while alluvial deposits are most extensive on the gentle flanks of the broader basin sections of the lake. Post-impoundment sediment is restricted to the floors of the original river valleys that now lie below lake level. These sediments are thickest in the deltas that form at the mouths of the Colorado River and its tributaries, but cover the entire length of the valley floors of the lake. This sediment distribution is consistent with deposition from turbidity currents. Lake level has dropped more than 30 m between collection of the sidescan imagery and publication of this report. During this time, thick delta deposits have been eroded and redistributed to deeper parts of the lake by turbidity currents. While present-day post-impoundment sediment distribution should be similar to what it was in 2001, the thickness may be greater in some of the deeper parts of the lake now. 2010-02-06 OFR Open-File Report http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ofr/ofr20061260E Stone, Byron D. ; DiGiacomo-Cohen, Mary L. (2006), Open-File Report 2006-1260-E. <br /> <br /> The surficial geologic map layer shows the distribution of nonlithified earth materials at land surface in an area of 24 7.5-minute quadrangles (555 mi2 total) in southeast Massachusetts. Across Massachusetts, these materials range from a few feet to more than 500 ft in thickness. They overlie bedrock, which crops out in upland hills and as resistant ledges in valley areas. On Cape Cod and adjacent islands, these materials completely cover the bedrock surface. The geologic map differentiates surficial materials of Quaternary age on the basis of their lithologic characteristics (such as grain size and sedimentary structures), constructional geomorphic features, stratigraphic relations, and age. Surficial earth materials significantly affect human use of the land, and an accurate description of their distribution is particularly important for assessing water resources, construction aggregate resources, and earth-surface hazards, and for making land-use decisions. This work is part of a comprehensive study to produce a statewide digital map of the surficial geology at a 1:24,000-scale level of accuracy. This report includes explanatory text (PDF), quadrangle maps at 1:24,000 scale (PDF files), GIS data layers (ArcGIS shapefiles), metadata for the GIS layers, scanned topographic base maps (TIF), and a readme.txt file. 2010-02-05 OFR Open-File Report http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/tm/tm4A8 Eng, Ken ; Chen, Yin-Yu ; Kiang, Julie.E., (2009), Techniques and Methods 4-A8. <br /> <br /> Streamflow is not measured at every location in a stream network. Yet hydrologists, State and local agencies, and the general public still seek to know streamflow characteristics, such as mean annual flow or flood flows with different exceedance probabilities, at ungaged basins. The goals of this guide are to introduce and familiarize the user with the weighted multiple-linear regression (WREG) program, and to also provide the theoretical background for program features. The program is intended to be used to develop a regional estimation equation for streamflow characteristics that can be applied at an ungaged basin, or to improve the corresponding estimate at continuous-record streamflow gages with short records. The regional estimation equation results from a multiple-linear regression that relates the observable basin characteristics, such as drainage area, to streamflow characteristics. 2010-02-05 TM Techniques and Methods http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/fs/fs20103006 Brownfield, Michael E. ; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pitman Janet K. ; Pollastro, Richard M. ; Schenk, Christopher J. ; Tennyson, Marilyn E. (2010), Fact Sheet 2010-3006. <br /> <br /> Four geologic provinces located along the northwest and west-central coast of Africa recently were assessed for undiscovered oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids resources as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) World Oil and Gas Assessment. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS estimated mean volumes of 71.7 billion barrels of oil, 187.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 10.9 billion barrels of natural gas liquids. 2010-02-04 FS Fact Sheet http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ofr/ofr20101011 Bryan, Janice L.; Wildhaber, Mark L.; Gladish, Dan W. (2010), Open-File Report 2010-1011. <br /> <br /> As with all large rivers in the United States, the Missouri River has been altered, with approximately one-third of the mainstem length impounded and one-third channelized. These physical alterations to the environment have affected the fish populations, but studies examining the effects of alterations have been localized and for short periods of time, thereby preventing generalization. In response to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) initiated monitoring of habitat improvements of the Missouri River in 2005. The goal of the Habitat Assessment Monitoring Program (HAMP) is to provide information on the response of target fish species to the USACE habitat creation on the Lower Missouri River. To determine the statistical power of the HAMP and in cooperation with USACE, a power analysis was conducted using a normal linear mixed model with variance component estimates based on the first complete year of data. At a level of 20/16 (20 bends with 16 subsamples in each bend), at least one species/month/gear model has the power to determine differences between treated and untreated bends. The trammel net in September had the most species models with adequate power at the 20/16 level and overall, the trammel net had the most species/month models with adequate power at the 20/16 level. However, using only one gear or gear/month combination would eliminate other species of interest, such as three chub species (Macrhybopsis meeki, Macrhybopsis aestivalis, and Macrhybopsis gelida), sand shiners (Notropis stramineus), pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus), and juvenile sauger (Sander canadensis). Since gear types are selective in their species efficiency, the strength of the HAMP approach is using multiple gears that have statistical power to differentiate habitat treatment differences in different fish species within the Missouri River. As is often the case with sampling rare species like the pallid sturgeon, the data... 2010-02-04 OFR Open-File Report http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ofr/ofr20091260 Schenk, Edward R.; Hupp, Cliff R.; Richter, Jean M.; Kroes, Daniel E. (2010), Open-File Report 2009-1260. <br /> <br /> Dam construction and its impact on downstream fluvial processes may substantially alter ambient bank stability, floodplain inundation patterns, and channel morphology. Most of the world's largest rivers have been dammed, which has prompted management efforts to mitigate dam effects. Three high dams (completed between 1953 and 1963) occur along the Piedmont portion of the Roanoke River, North Carolina; just downstream, the lower part of the river flows across largely unconsolidated Coastal Plain deposits. To document bank erosion rates along the lower Roanoke River, more than 700 bank erosion pins were installed along 124 bank transects. Additionally, discrete measurements of channel bathymetry, water clarity, and presence or absence of mass wasting were documented along the entire 153-kilometer-long study reach. Amounts of bank erosion in combination with prior estimates of floodplain deposition were used to develop a bank erosion and floodplain deposition sediment budget for the lower river. Present bank erosion rates are relatively high [mean 42 milimeters per year (mm/yr)] and are greatest along the middle reaches (mean 60 mm/yr) and on lower parts of the bank on all reaches. Erosion rates were likely higher along upstream reaches than present erosion rates such that erosion rate maxima have migrated downstream. Mass wasting and water clarity also peak along the middle reaches. 2010-02-03 OFR Open-File Report http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/sir/sir20095271 Ruddy, Barbara C.; Williams, Cory A. (2007), Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5271. <br /> <br /> In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Bowie Mining Company, initiated a study to characterize the streamflow and streamflow gain-loss in a reach of Hubbard Creek in Delta County, Colorado, in the vicinity of a mine-permit area planned for future coal mining. Premining streamflow characteristics and streamflow gain-loss variation were determined so that pre- and postmining gain-loss characteristics could be compared. This report describes the methods used in this study and the results of two streamflow-measurement sets collected during low-flow conditions. Streamflow gain-loss measurements were collected using rhodamine WT and sodium bromide tracers at four sites spanning the mine-permit area on June 26-28, 2007. Streamflows were estimated and compared between four measurement sites within three stream subreaches of the study reach. Data from two streamflow-gaging stations on Hubbard Creek upstream and downstream from the mine-permit area were evaluated. Streamflows at the stations were continuous, and flow at the upstream station nearly always exceeded the streamflow at the downstream station. Furthermore, streamflow at both stations showed similar diurnal patterns with traveltime offsets. On June 26, streamflow from the gain-loss measurements was greater at site 1 (most upstream site) than at site 4 (most downstream site); on June 27, streamflow was greater at site 4 than at site 2; and on June 27, there was no difference in streamflow between sites 2 and 3. Data from streamflow-gaging stations 09132940 and 09132960 showed diurnal variations and overall decreasing streamflow over time. The data indicate a dynamic system, and streamflow can increase or decrease depending on hydrologic conditions. The streamflow within the study reach was greater than the streamflows at either the upstream or downstream stations. A second set of gain-loss measurements was collected at sites 2 and 4 on November 8-9, 2007. On November 8, streamflow was great... 2010-02-03 SIR Scientific Investigations Report http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/cir/cir1343 Rye, Robert O.; Johnson, Craig A.; Landis, Gary P.; Hofstra, Albert H.; Emsbo, Poul; Stricker, Craig A.; Hunt, Andrew G.; Rusk, Brian G. (2010), Circular 1343. <br /> <br /> Principal functions of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Resources Program are providing assessments of the location, quantity, and quality of undiscovered mineral deposits, and predicting the environmental impacts of exploration and mine development. The mineral and environmental assessments of domestic deposits are used by planners and decisionmakers to improve the stewardship of public lands and public resources. Assessments of undiscovered mineral deposits on a global scale reveal the potential availability of minerals to the United States and other countries that manufacture goods imported to the United States. These resources are of fundamental relevance to national and international economic and security policy in our globalized world economy. Performing mineral and environmental assessments requires that predictions be made of the likelihood of undiscovered deposits. The predictions are based on geologic and geoenvironmental models that are constructed for the diverse types of mineral deposits from detailed descriptions of actual deposits and detailed understanding of the processes that formed them. Over the past three decades the understanding of ore-forming processes has benefited greatly from the integration of laboratory-based geochemical tools with field observations and other data sources. Under the aegis of the Evolution of Ore Deposits and Technology Transfer Project (referred to hereinafter as the Project), a 5-year effort that terminated in 2008, the Mineral Resources Program provided state-of-the-art analytical capabilities to support applications of several related geochemical tools to ore-deposit-related studies. The analytical capabilities and scientific approaches developed within the Project have wide applicability within Earth-system science. For this reason the Project Laboratories represent a valuable catalyst for interdisciplinary collaborations of the type that should be formed in the coming years for the United States to... 2010-02-03 CIR Circular http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ofr/ofr20101012 Schenk, Christopher J. (2010), Open-File Report 2010-1012. <br /> <br /> The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the West Greenland-East Canada Province as part of the USGS Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal program. The province lies in the offshore area between western Greenland and eastern Canada and includes Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Lancaster Sound, and Nares Strait west of and including part of Kane Basin. A series of major tectonic events led to the formation of several distinct structural domains that are the geologic basis for defining five assessment units (AU) in the province, all of which are within the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Composite Total Petroleum System (TPS). Potential petroleum source rocks within the TPS include strata of Ordovician, Early and Late Cretaceous, and Paleogene ages. The five AUs defined for this study-the Eurekan Structures AU, Northwest Greenland Rifted Margin AU, Northeast Canada Rifted Margin AU, Baffin Bay Basin AU, and the Greater Ungava Fault Zone AU-encompass the entire province and were assessed for undiscovered, technically recoverable resources. 2010-02-03 OFR Open-File Report http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/sim/sim3108 Billingsley, George H.; Priest, Susan S. (2010), Scientific Investigations Map 3108. <br /> <br /> This geologic map is a cooperative effort of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Forest Service to provide a geologic database for resource management officials and visitor information services. This map was produced in response to information needs related to a proposed withdrawal of three segregated land areas near Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, from new hard rock mining activity. House Rock Valley was designated as the east parcel of the segregated lands near the Grand Canyon. This map was needed to provide connectivity for the geologic framework of the Grand Canyon segregated land areas. This geologic map of the House Rock Valley area encompasses approximately 280 mi2 (85.4 km2) within Coconino County, northern Arizona, and is bounded by longitude 111 degrees 37'30' to 112 degrees 05' W. and latitude 36 degrees 30' to 36 degrees 50' N. The map area is in the eastern part of the Arizona Strip, which lies within the southern Colorado Plateaus geologic province (herein Colorado Plateau). The Arizona Strip is the part of Arizona lying north of the Colorado River. The map is bound on the east by the Colorado River in Marble Canyon within Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, on the south and west by the Kaibab National Forest and Grand Canyon National Game Preserve, and on the north by the Vermilion Cliffs Natural Area, the Paria Canyon Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area, and the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. House Rock State Buffalo Ranch also bounds the southern edge of the map area. The Bureau of Land Management Arizona Field Office in St. George, Utah, manages public lands of the Vermilion Cliffs Natural Area, Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. The North Kaibab Ranger District in Fredonia, Arizona, manages U.S. Forest Service land along the west edge of the map area and House Rock State Buffalo Ranc... 2010-02-03 SIM Scientific Investigations Map http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/fs/fs20093096 Orem, William; Tatu, Calin; Pavlovic, Nikola; Bunnell, Joseph; Kolker, Allan; Engle, Mark; Stout, Ben (2010), Fact Sheet 2009-3096. <br /> <br /> Energy resources (coal, oil, and natural gas) are among the cornerstones of modern industrial society. The exploitation of these resources, however, is not without costs. Energy materials may contain harmful chemical substances that, if mobilized into air, water, or soil, can adversely impact human health and environmental quality. In order to address the issue of human exposure to toxic substances derived from energy resources, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Energy Resources Program developed a project entitled 'Impacts of Energy Resources on Human Health and Environmental Quality.' The project is intended to provide policymakers and the public with the scientific information needed to weigh the human health and environmental consequences of meeting our energy needs. This fact sheet discusses several areas where the USGS Energy Resources Program is making scientific advances in this endeavor. 2010-02-03 FS Fact Sheet