Earth Sciences Commons^™

An Agricultural Drought Risk-Assessment Model For Corn And Soybeans, Hong Wu, Kenneth G. Hubbard, Donald A. Wilhite

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society. Published by Wiley InterScience. Used by permis-sion.

Drought Monitoring Using Data Mining Techniques: A Case Study For Nebraska, Usa, Tsegaye Tadesse, Donald A. Wilhite, Sherri K. Harms, Michael J. Hayes, Steve Goddard

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Drought has an impact on many aspects of society. To help decision makers reduce the impacts of drought, it is important to improve our understanding of the characteristics and relationships of atmospheric and oceanic parameters that cause drought. In this study, the use of data mining techniques is introduced to find associations between drought and several oceanic and climatic indices that could help users in making knowledgeable decisions about drought responses before the drought actually occurs. Data mining techniques enable users to search for hidden patterns and find association rules for target data sets such as drought episodes. These techniques …

National Water Quality Inventory: Report To Congress 2004 Reporting Cycle

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Table of Contents

Section Page

List of Figures.............................................................................................................................iv List of Tables...............................................................................................................................iv List of Acronyms..........................................................................................................................v Executive Summary..........................................................................................................................1

I. Background...................................................................................................................5

About the Water Quality Assessment and TMDL Information Database (ATTAINS)..........................................................................................................................5

Assessing Water Quality................................................................................................................................7

II. Findings.......................................................................................................................13 Rivers and Streams...........................................................................................................................13 Lakes, Ponds, and Reservoirs.......................................................................................................................16

Bays and Estuaries.........................................................................................................................20 Other Waters..............................................................................................................................23 Coastal Resources.......................................................................................................................23

Great Lakes.....................................................................................................................24 Wetlands..........................................................................................................................24

III. Probability Surveys of Water Quality.......................................................................26

National Coastal Assessment....................................................................................26

The Wadeable Streams Assessment.......................................................................27

Survey of the Nation’s Lakes.......................................................................................29

National Rivers and Streams Assessment.............................................................30

National Wetland Condition Assessment...............................................................30

State-Scale Statistical Surveys..................................................................................31

South Carolina..............................................................................................................32 Indiana............................................................................................................................33 Florida.............................................................................................................................34 IV. Future Reporting......................................................................................................36

V. References………………………………………………………………………….37

Sediment Grain-Size And Loss-On-Ignition Analyses From 2002 Englebright Lake Coring And Sampling Campaigns, Noah P. Snyder, James R. Allen, Carlin Dare, Margaret A. Hampton, Gary Schneider, Ryan J. Wooley, Charles N. Alpers, Mark C. Marvin-Dipasquale

United States Geological Survey: Publications

This report presents sedimentologic data from three 2002 sampling campaigns conducted in Englebright Lake on the Yuba River in northern California. This work was done to assess the properties of the material deposited in the reservoir between completion of Englebright Dam in 1940 and 2002, as part of the Upper Yuba River Studies Program. Included are the results of grain-size-distribution and loss-on-ignition analyses for 561 samples, as well as an error analysis based on replicate pairs of subsamples.

Geochemical Characterization Of Water, Sediment, And Biota Affected By Mercury Contamination And Acidic Drainage From Historical Gold Mining, Greenhorn Creek, Nevada County, California, 1999-2001, Charles N. Alpers, Michael P. Hunerlach, Jason T. May, Roger L. Hothem, Howard E. Taylor, Ronald C. Antweiler, John F. De Wild, David A. Lawler

United States Geological Survey: Publications

In 1999, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initiated studies of mercury and methylmercury occurrence, transformation, and transport in the Bear River and Yuba River watersheds of the northwestern Sierra Nevada. Because these watersheds were affected by large-scale, historical gold extraction using mercury amalgamation beginning in the 1850s, they were selected for a pilot study of mercury transport by the USGS and other cooperating agencies. This report presents data on methylmercury (MeHg) and total mercury (THg) concentrations in water, bed sediment, invertebrates, and frogs collected at 40 stations during 1999−2001 in the Greenhorn Creek drainage, a major tributary to the Bear …

Stable Hydrogen Isotope Analysis Of Bat Hair As Evidence For Seasonal Molt And Long-Distance Migration, Paul M. Cryan, Michael A. Bogan, Robert O. Rye, Gary P. Landis, Cynthia L. Kester

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Although hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) are presumed to be migratory and capable of long-distance dispersal, traditional marking techniques have failed to provide direct evidence of migratory movements by individuals. We measured the stable hydrogen isotope ratios of bat hair (∂D_h) and determined how these values relate to stable hydrogen isotope ratios of precipitation (∂D_p). Our results indicate that the major assumptions of stable isotope migration studies hold true for hoary bats and that the methodology provides a viable means of determining their migratory movements. We present evidence that a single annual molt occurs in L. cinereus …

Genetic Structure Of Cougar Populations Across The Wyoming Basin: Metapopulation Or Megapopulation, Charles R. Anderson Jr., Federick G. Lindzey, David B. Mcdonald

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We examined the genetic structure of 5 Wyoming cougar (Puma concolor) populations surrounding the Wyoming Basin, as well as a population from southwestern Colorado. When using 9 microsatellite DNA loci, observed heterozygosity was similar among populations (HO = 0.49–0.59) and intermediate to that of other large carnivores. Estimates of genetic structure (FST = 0.028, RST = 0.029) and number of migrants per generation (Nm) suggested high gene flow. Nm was lowest between distant populations and highest among adjacent populations. Examination of these data, plus Mantel test results of genetic versus geographic distance (P ≤ 0.01), suggested both isolation …

New Distributional Record Of The Nothern Redbelly Dace In The Northern Great Plains, Nathan M. Morey, Charles R. Berry Jr.

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The range of the northern redbelly dace (Phoxinus eos) is grouped into two regions in central North America (Stasiak 1980). In the northern Great Plains, the species is distributed throughout the upper Missouri River drainage in Montana and Canada (Brown 1971, Scott and Crossman 1973). In the Central Lowlands, the northern redbelly dace is distributed through northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Canada, and the Great Lakes region (Hubbs and Cooper 1936, Eddy and Underhill 1976, Becker 1983). The present distribution of northern redbelly dace has shifted northward from a more southerly distribution during Pleistocene glaciation (Cross et al. 1986). Relict …

Mineralogical Maturity In Dunefields Of North America, Africa And Australia, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Studies of dunefields in central and western North America show that mineralogical maturity can provide new insights into the origin and evolution of aeolian sand bodies. Many of the world’s great sand seas in Africa, Asia and Australia are quartz-dominated and thus can be considered to be mineralogically mature. The Algodones (California) and Parker (Arizona) dunes in the southwestern United States are also mature, but have inherited a high degree of mineralogical maturity from quartz-rich sedimentary rocks drained by the Colorado River. In Libya, sediments of the Zallaf sand sea, which are almost pure quartz, may have originated in a …

Reproduction And Seasonal Activity Of Silver-Haired Bats In Western Nebraska, Keith Geluso, Jeffrey J. Huebschman, Jeremy A. White, Michael A. Bogan

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans) were thought only to migrate through Nebraska; however, recent surveys in eastern Nebraska report summer records of females and their young. Our study in western Nebraska also shows that silver-haired bats are summer residents. We discovered the 1st reproductively active L. noctivagans in this part of the state. We caught lactating females and volant young in riparian forests along the North Platte River and in forested areas of the Pine Ridge. Previously, adult males were not known from Nebraska in summer, and only 4 records of L. noctivagans were known from western Nebraska during …

Corrigendum To ‘‘Radiocarbon Dating, Chronologic Framework, And Changes In Accumulation Rates Of Holocene Estuarine Sediments From Chesapeake Bay’’ [Quaternary Research 57 (2002) 58–70], Steven M. Colman, Pattie C. Baucom, John F. Bratton, Thomas M. Cronin, John P. Mcgeehin, Debra Willard, Andrew R. Zimmerman, Peter R. Vogt

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Because of an error in the calculation of bulk densities from water contents, the cumulative masses in Fig. 8 are too high by a factor of about 2. The actual correction depends to small degree on water content and ranges from 1.8 for a water content of 50% to 2.2 for a water content of 75%. The values for mass accumulation rates in the left two columns of Table 5 are also affected, but the ratios between pre- and post-settlement times are not. A revised version of that table is given below. None of the major conclusions of the paper …

Record Of Late Pleistocene Glaciation And Deglaciation In The Southern Cascade Range. I. Petrological Evidence From Lacustrine Sediment In Upper Klamath Lake, Southern Oregon, Richard L. Reynolds, Joseph G. Rosenbaum, Josh Rapp, Michael W. Kerwin, J. Platt Bradbury, David Adam, Steven Colman

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Petrological and textural properties of lacustrine sediments from Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, reflect changing input volumes of glacial flour and thus reveal a detailed glacial history for the southern Cascade Range between about 37 and 15 ka. Magnetic properties vary as a result of mixing different amounts of the highly magnetic, glacially generated detritus with less magnetic, more weathered detritus derived from unglaciated parts of the large catchment. Evidence that the magnetic properties record glacial flour input is based mainly on the strong correlation between bulk sediment particle size and parameters that measure the magnetite content and magnetic mineral freshness. …

Estimating Accumulation Rates And Physical Properties Of Sediment Behind A Dam: Englebright Lake, Yuba River, Northern California, Noah P. Snyder, David M. Rubin, Charles N. Alpers, Jonathan R. Childs, Jennifer A. Curtis, Lorraine E. Flint, Scott A. Wright

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Studies of reservoir sedimentation are vital to understanding scientific and management issues related to watershed sediment budgets, depositional processes, reservoir operations, and dam decommissioning. Here we quantify the mass, organic content, and grain-size distribution of a reservoir deposit in northern California by two methods of extrapolating measurements of sediment physical properties from cores to the entire volume of impounded material. Englebright Dam, completed in 1940, is located on the Yuba River in the Sierra Nevada foothills. A research program is underway to assess the feasibility of introducing wild anadromous fish species to the river upstream of the dam. Possible management …

Mercury And Methylmercury Concentrations And Loads In The Cache Creek Watershed, California, Joseph L. Domagalski, Charles N. Alpers, Darell G. Slotton, Thomas H. Suchanek, Shaun M. Ayers

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Concentrations and loads of total mercury and methylmercury were measured in streams draining abandoned mercury mines and in the proximity of geothermal discharge in the Cache Creek watershed of California during a 17-month period from January 2000 through May 2001. Rainfall and runoff were lower than long-term averages during the study period. The greatest loading of mercury and methylmercury from upstream sources to downstream receiving waters, such as San Francisco Bay, generally occurred during or after winter rainfall events. During the study period, loads of mercury and methylmercury from geothermal sources tended to be greater than those from abandoned mining …

Chronology Of Sediment Deposition In Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, Steven M. Colman, J. Platt Bradbury, John P. Mcgeehin, Charles W. Holmes, David Edginton, Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A combination of tephrochronology and ¹⁴C, ²¹⁰Pb, and ¹³⁷Cs measurements provides a robust chronology for sedimentation in Upper Klamath Lake during the last 45 000 years. Mixing of surficial sediments and possible mobility of the radio-isotopes limit the usefulness of the ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb data, but ²¹⁰Pb profiles provide reasonable average sediment accumulation rates for the last 100–150 years. Radiocarbon ages near the top of the core are somewhat erratic and are too old, probably as a result of detrital organic carbon, which may have become a more common component in recent times as …

Limnological And Climatic Environments At Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon During The Past 45 000 Years, J. Platt Bradbury, Steven M. Colman, Walter E. Dean

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Upper Klamath Lake, in south-central Oregon, contains long sediment records with well-preserved diatoms and lithological variations that reflect climate-induced limnological changes. These sediment archives complement and extend high resolution terrestrial records along a north–south transect that includes areas influenced by the Aleutian Low and Subtropical High, which control both marine and continental climates in the western United States. The longest and oldest core collected in this study came from the southwest margin of the lake at Caledonia Marsh, and was dated by radiocarbon and tephrochronology to an age of about 45 ka. Paleolimnological interpretations of this core, based upon geochemical …

Grassland Vegetation And Bird Communities In The Southern Great Plains Of North America, Robert N. Chapman, David M. Engle, Ronald E. Masters, David M. Leslie Jr.

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Structure and composition of vegetation and abundance of breeding birds in grasslands seeded to Old World bluestem (Bothriochloa ischmaeum) were compared to native mixed prairie in the southern Great Plains of North America. Abundance of birds was determined using fixed-radius point counts. Detrended correspondence analysis was used to compare plant community composition and canonical correspondence analysis was used to examine the relationships between plant species composition and vegetation structure with the bird community. Plant species composition differed distinctly between seeded grassland and native mixed prairie, but the differences were not reflected in habitat structure, bird community composition, or …

Mudfish On The Menu? Rise Of The Much-Maligned Bowfin, Ken Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Cajuns call it “choupique” (say “shoe-pick”), from its Choctaw name. Elsewhere, it’s the dogfish, blackfish, grindle, cottonfish, or cypress trout. Its official common name is “Bowfin” (Amia calva)1. But to most anglers, this is the “mudfish,” a strange, unusual, and much-maligned fish, most everywhere considered a useless trash fish. One look and the words relict, prehistoric, primitive, and living fossil come to mind. Indeed, the bowfin is the last of its line, the sole-surviving species of a very ancient group of fishes. Its predecessors flourished in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods during the Mesozoic (= Middle-Animal) Era, a …

Paleocene Cyclic Sedimentation In The Western North Atlantic, Odp Site 1051, Blake Nose, Mary Anne Holmes, David K. Watkins, Richard D. Norris

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Upper Paleocene (zone CP8b) cyclic sediment from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1051 on Blake Nose, western North Atlantic, alternates from white carbonate-rich to green carbonate-poor in response to precessional forcing. Compositional differences between the two bed types are minor: mineral and nannofossil composition of the beds vary subtly, but grain size of the terrigenous component and biogenic silica content remain constant. Iron content determined by sediment magnetic susceptibility and iron intensity determined by a core-scanning XRF correlates negatively with carbonate content and are higher in green beds. Kaolinite content of green beds is slightly higher as well. Green beds …

Geology And Paleontology Of The Upper John Day Beds, John Day River Valley, Oregon: Lithostratigraphic And Biochronologic Revision In The Haystack Valley And Kimberly Areas (Kimberly And Mt. Misery Quadrangles), Robert M. Hunt Jr., Ellen Stepleton

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The John Day Formation of north-central Oregon preserves a succession of speciose, superposed Oligocene through early Miocene mammalian faunas that establish the sequence of mid-Cenozoic mammalian evolution within the Pacific Northwest. Upper John Day rock units initially described by Merriam (1900, 1901) in the Kimberly and Haystack Valley areas were later divided into lower (Kimberly) and upper (Haystack Valley) members by Fisher and Rensberger (1972). We focused our study on the lithostratigraphic succession within the Haystack Valley Member. Rocks previously included in the Haystack Valley Member can be subdivided into four unconformity-bounded, genetic lithostratigraphic units that range in age from …

Provenance Of Sand In Periglacial Sand Wedges And Sheet Sand, Northeastern Nebraska, Usa, William J. Wayne

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Sand-wedge polygons on upland surfaces beneath thin loess in northeastern Nebraska record the existence of permafrost around the margin of the Wisconsinan glacier at its maximum advance. Strong unidirectional wind not only kept the upland surfaces free of snow, allowing frost to penetrate deeply and thermal contraction cracks to develop, but also dessicated the surface material so that frost action and sublimation of pore ice could loosen surface material. The strong NW-SE winds deflated soils from upland surfaces, made ventifacts of the cobbles in the lag that remained and created fields of yardangs oriented NW-SE. Sand derived from the soils …

Earthquake Source Parameters Determined By The Safod Pilot Hole Seismic Array, Kazutoshi Imanishi, William L. Ellsworth, Stephanie G. Prejean

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We estimate the source parameters of #3 microearthquakes by jointly analyzing seismograms recorded by the 32-level, 3-component seismic array installed in the SAFOD Pilot Hole. We applied an inversion procedure to estimate spectral parameters for the omega-square model (spectral level and corner frequency) and Q to displacement amplitude spectra. Because we expect spectral parameters and Q to vary slowly with depth in the well, we impose a smoothness constraint on those parameters as a function of depth using a linear first-difference operator. This method correctly resolves corner frequency and Q, which leads to a more accurate estimation of source …

Groundwater-Level Changes In Nebraska - Spring 2002 To Spring 2003/Groundwater-Level Changes In Nebraska - Predevelopment To Spring 2003, Conservation Survey Division

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Mammals Of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, Kenneth N. Geluso, Keith Geluso

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Carlsbad Cavern was established as a national park on 14 May 1930, after being designated as a national monument for nearly seven years. The park is located in southeastern New Mexico, and today it encompasses 189.3 km² (73.1 mi²). Eighty-eight percent of the park lies in the rugged Guadalupe Mountains, while 12% is located on relatively flat land along the base of the mountains. The park contains a variety of habitats ranging from desert scrub at the lowest elevations to coniferous woodlands on the highest summits. Five months after Carlsbad Cavern was declared a national monument, Vernon …

Characterization Of Ground-Water Quality, Upper Republican Natural Resources District,Nebraska, 1998 2001, Jill D. Frankforter, Daniele T. Chafin

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Nearly all rural inhabitants and livestock in the Upper Republican Natural Resources District (URNRD) in southwestern Nebraska use ground water that can be affected by elevated nitrate concentrations. The development of ground-water irrigation in this area has increased the vulnerability of ground water to the introduction of fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals. In 1998, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Republican Natural Resources District, began a study to characterize the quality of ground water in the Upper Republican Natural Resources District area with respect to physical properties and concentrations of major ions, coliform bacteria, nitrate, and pesticides, …

Simulation Of Ground-Water Flow In The Cedar River Alluvial Aquifer Flow System, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Scientific

United States Geological Survey: Publications

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, …

Mercury And Methylmercury Concentrations And Loads In The Cache Creek Basin, California, January 2000 Through May 2001, Joseph L. Domagalski, Charles N. Alpers, Darell G. Slotton, Thomas H. Suchanek, Shaun M. Ayers

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Concentrations and mass loads of total mercury and methylmercury in streams draining abandoned mercury mines and near geothermal discharge in the Cache Creek Basin, California, were measured during a 17-month period from January 2000 through May 2001. Rainfall and runoff averages during the study period were lower than long-term averages. Mass loads of mercury and methylmercury from upstream sources to downstream receiving waters, such as San Francisco Bay, were generally the highest during or after winter rainfall events. During the study period, mass loads of mercury and methylmercury from geothermal sources tended to be greater than those from abandoned mining …

Geochemistry Of Mercury And Other Trace Elements In Fluvial Tailings Upstream Of Daguerre Point Dam, Yuba River, California, August 2001, Michael P. Hunerlach, Charles N. Alpers, Mark Marvin-Dipasquale, Howard E. Taylor, John F. De Wild

United States Geological Survey: Publications

This study was designed to characterize the particle-size distribution and the concentrations of total mercury (HgT), methylmercury (MeHg), and other constituents in sediments trapped behind Daguerre Point Dam, a 28-foot-high structure on the lower Yuba River in California. The results of the study will assist other agencies in evaluating potential environmen­tal impacts from mobilization of sediments if Daguerre Point Dam is modified or removed to improve the passage of anad­romous fish. Methylmercury is of particular concern owing to its toxicity and propensity to bioaccumulate. A limited amount of recent work on hydraulic and dredge tailings in other watersheds has indicated …

Report On The May-June 2002 Englebright Lake Deep Coring Campaign, Noah P. Snyder, Charles N. Alpers, Lorraine E. Flint, Jennifer A. Curtis, Margaret A. Hampton, Brian J. Haskell, Dennis L. Nielson

United States Geological Survey: Publications

This report describes the May-June 2002 Englebright Lake coring project. Englebright Lake is a 14-km-long reservoir on the Yuba River of northern California, impounded by Englebright Dam, which was completed in 1940. The sediments were cored to assess the current conditions in the reservoir as part of the California Bay-Delta Authority’s Upper Yuba River Studies Program. Sediment was collected using both hydraulic-piston and rotational coring equipment mounted on a floating drilling platform. Thirty boreholes were attempted at 7 sites spaced along the longitudinal axis of the reservoir. Complete sedimentary sections were recovered from 20 boreholes at 6 sites. In total, …

Mute Swans And Their Chesapeake Bay Habitats:Proceedings Of A Symposium, Matthew C. Perry

United States Geological Survey: Publications

The symposium “Mute Swans and their Chesapeake Bay Habitats,” held on June 7, 2001, provided a forum for biologists and managers to share research findings and management ideas concerning the exotic and invasive mute swan (Cygnus olor). This species has been increasing in population size and is considered by many to be a problem in regard to natural food resources in the Bay that are used by native waterfowl during the winter months. Other persons, however, feel that resource managers are attempting to create a problem to justify more killing of waterfowl by hunters. Some persons also believe …