Other Earth Sciences Commons^™

Stable Isotopes Of Oxygen And Hydrogen In The Truckee River-Pyramid Lake Surface-Water System, 2. A Predictive Model Of Δ18O And Δ2H In Pyramid Lake, S. W. Hostetler, Larry Benson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A physically based model of variations in δ¹⁸O and δ²H in Pyramid Lake is presented. For inputs, the model uses measurements of liquid water inflows and outflows and their associated isotopic compositions and a set of meteorological data (radiative fluxes, air temperature, relative humidity, and windspced). The model simulates change of lake volume, thermal and isotopic stratification, evaporation, and the isotopic composition of evaporation. A validation of the model for 1987-1989 and 1991 indicates that it can reproduce measured intra- and interannual variations of δ¹⁸O and δ²H. Three applications of the model …

Stable Isotopes Of Oxygen And Hydrogen In The Truckee River-Pyramid Lake Surface-Water System. 1. Data Analysis And Extraction Of Paleoclimatic Information, Larry Benson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The δ¹⁸O content of streamflow discharge entering Pyramid Lake is a simple mixture of isotopically enriched Lake Tahoe discharge and isotopically depleted snowmelt. The δ¹⁸O value of Pyramid Lake water varies continuously, as isotopically depleted water evaporates from the epilimnion and isotopically depicted water enters the lake as streamflow discharge and on-lake precipitation. In a normal water year, the δ¹⁸O of Pyramid Lake surface water varies seasonally because the components of the hydrologic balance in the Pyramid Lake system are seasonally shifted. The problem of isotopic and thermal heterogeneity can be minimized by analyzing …

Stable Isotopes Of Oxygen And Hydrogen In The Truckee River-Pyramid Lake Surface-Water System, 3: Source Of Water Vapor Overlying Pyramid Lake, Larry Benson, J. W. C. White

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

During 1988 and 1989, a series of water-vapor extractions were conducted in the Pyramid Lake basin to determine the source of moisture that overlies the lake. Calculations of the isotopic and water-vapor balances were made from isotopic and meteorological data from the Pyramid Lake and Reno, Nevada, areas. The results indicate that in the warm season, most of the moisture that overlies the lake is derived from evaporation as opposed to advected moisture. Isotopic fluxes at the lake surface can be approximated by climatic data from the lake site, which simplifies the calculation of this input in numerical simulations of …

Water-Quality Assessment Of The Central Nebraska Basins: Summary Of Data For Recent Conditions Through 1990, Ronald B. Zelt, P. R. Jordan

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Among the first activities undertaken in each National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) investigation are the compilation, screening, and statistical summary of available data concerning recent water-quality conditions in the study unit. The water-quality conditions of interest in addressing the objectives of the NAWQA program are those that are representative of the general water quality of a given stream reach or area of an aquifer. This report (1) identifies which existing water-quality data are suitable for characterizing general conditions in a nationally consistent manner and (2) describes, to the extent possible, recent, general water-quality conditions in the Central Nebraska Basins. The study …

The Potential Effects Of Climate Change On Summer Season Dairy Cattle Milk Production And Reproduction, Peggy L. Klinedinst, Donald A. Wilhite, G. Leroy Hahn, Kenneth G. Hubbard

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The potential direct effects of possible global warming on summer season dairy production and re-production were evaluated for the United States and Europe. Algorithms used for milk production and conception rate were previously developed and validated. Three widely known global circulation models (GISS, GFDL, and UKMO) were used to represent possible scenarios of future climate. Milk production and conception rate declines were highest under the UKMO model scenario and lowest under the GISS model scenario. Predicted declines for the GCM scenarios are generally higher than either “l year in 10” probability-based declines or declines based on the abnormally hot summer …

Reconnaissance Data For Selected Herbicides, Two Atrazine Metabolites, And Nitrate In Surface Water Of The Midwestern United States, 1989-90, Elisabeth A. Scribner, E. Michael Thurman, Donald A. Goolsby, Michael T. Meyer, Margaret S. Mills, Michael L. Pomes

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Water-quality data were collected from 147 rivers and streams during 1989-90 to determine the temporal and geographic distribution of selected preemergent herbicides, two atrazine metabolites, and nitrate in 10 Midwestern States. This report includes a description of the sampling design, data-collection techniques, laboratory and analytical methods, and a compilation of constituent concentrations and quality-assurance data. All water samples were collected by depth-integrating techniques at three to five locations across the wetted perimeter of each stream. Sites were sampled three times in 1989~before application of herbicides, during the first major runoff after application of herbicides, and in the fall during a …

Aminostratigraphy And Oxygen Isotope Stratigraphy Of Marine Terrace Deposits Palos Verdes Hills And San Pedro Areas Los Angeles County California, Daniel R. Muhs, Gifford H. Miller, Joseph F. Whelean, George L. Kennedy

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Amino acid and oxygen isotope data for fossils from terraces of the Palos Verdes Hills and San Pedro areas in Los Angeles County California shed new light on the ages of terraces sea level history marine paleotemperatures and late Quaternary tectonics in this region Low terraces on the Palos Verdes peninsula correlate with the 80 ka and 125 ka sea level highstands that are also recorded as terraces on other coasts In San Pedro the Palos Verdes sand the deposit on what is mapped as the first terrace by Woodring and others 1946 was previously thought to be a single …

The Last Interglacial-Glacial Transition In North America: Evidence From Uranium-Series Dating Of Coastal Deposits, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Considerable uncertainty exists as to whether the last interglacial was relatively "short" (~10 ka) or "long" (-20-60 ka), although most investigators generally agree that the last interglacial correlates with all or part of deep-sea oxygen-isotope stage 5. A compilation of reliable U-series ages of marine terrace corals from deposits that have been correlated with isotope stage 5 indicates that there were three relatively high sea-level stands at ca 125-120 ka, ca. 105 ka, and ca. 85-80 ka, and these ages agree with the times of high sea level predicted by the Milankovitch orbital-forcing theory. At a number of localities, however, …

Sr-Isotope Record Of Quaternary Marine Terraces On The California Coast And Off Hawaii, Kenneth R. Ludwig, Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons, James G. Moore

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Strontium-isotopic ratios of dated corals have been obtained from submerged reefs formed during Quaternary glacial periods off the Hawaiian islands. These data, combined with data from deep-sea sediments, tightly constrain the secular variation of marine ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr for the past 800,000 yr. Although long-term trends are apparent, no significant (>0.02‰), rapid (<100,000 yr) excursions in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr were resolved nor did we observe any samples with ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr greater than that of modern seawater. Strontium in mollusks from elevated marine terraces formed during interglacial periods on the southern California coast show resolvable and consistent variations in …

Chemical Analyses Of Water From Selected Wells And Springs In The Yucca Mountain Area, Nevada And Southeastern California, P. W. Mckinley, M. P. Long, Larry Benson

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Chemical analysis of water samples from 279 wells and springs in the Yucca Mountain area are presented. Where data are available, this report includes: site location expressed as Nevada Central Coordinates and latitude and longitude; source of data; name of analyzing laboratory; geologic unit from which water was obtained; lithology; water use; elevation of well or spring; well depth; depth to water; time pumped before taking the sample; yield; type of filtration; sampling method; date the sample was collected; and anion-cation balance.

Yucca Mountain, Nevada (fig. 1), is being investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. …

Habitat Use And Diet Analysis Of Breeding Common Barn Owls In Western Nebraska, Joseph A. Gubanyi M.S.

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

I studied barn owl (Tyto alba) breeding biology in western Nebraska 1984-1986. I had greatest success capturing males (56% success) at night using trap doors at nest sites and females (91 % success) using hoop nets at nest sites during the day. Barn owls removed 16 of 23 tail-mounted radios. Eight birds were radio-tracked for 7-14.5 hours. The mean foraging range was 198 ha (32- 299 ha, n = 8) with < 1 % overlap among birds from adjacent nest sites. Field-tested telemetry error was high (mean displacements of radio-locations for 2 birds were 208 and 241 m). I found no relationship between percent cover in foraging habitat and reproductive success. I identified 10,140 prey items from 15 nest sites and found both annual and seasonal variation in barn owl diets. Microtus ochrogaster occurred most frequently (32.7%) and increased in the diet from 17.6 to 27.2 to 43.5% 1984-1986. M. ochrogaster and Perognathus hispidus annual frequencies were …

The Uranium-Trend Dating Method: Principles And Application For Southern California Marine Terrace Deposits, Daniel R. Muhs, John N. Rosholt, Charles L. Bush

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Uranium-trend dating is an open-system method for age estimation of Quaternary sediments, using disequilibrium in the ²³⁸U–²³⁴U–²³⁰Th decay series. The technique has been applied to alluvium, colluvium, loess, till, and marine sediments, in this study we tested the U-trend dating method on calcareous marine terrace deposits from the Palos Verdes Hills and San Nicolas Island, California. Independent age estimates indicate that terraces in these areas range from –80 ka to greater than 1.0 Ma. Two low terraces on San Nicolas Island yielded U-trend plots that have a clustered array of points and the ages of …

Drought Management: The Role Of Near- Real Time Weather Data, Donald A. Wilhite, Kenneth G. Hubbard

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The ability to collect weather data in near-real time has improved because of technological advances, enabling weather data users to obtain more weather data over wider areas, and in a more timely fashion. The number of near-real time climate networks is increasing as new applications are found for climate data. More than fifteen states in the United States have established automated weather station networks. This paper presents an overview of recent developments in automated weather data collection in the United States and gives a detailed description of the network in Nebraska.

Near-real time weather data has many applications in agricultural …

Cropstatus--A Computer Program To Assess The Effects Of Seasonal Weather Changes On Nebraska's Agriculture, R. E. Neild, Donald A. Wilhite, K. G. Hubbard

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

CROPSTATUS is a series of programs residing in Nebraska's AGNET system using daily weather data to assess seasonal changes in crops, livestock, and other agricultural conditions. Assessments are based on parameters developed from accumulations of current daily temperature and precipitation data collected from a network of synoptic, climate, and automated micrometeorological stations in Nebraska in comparison with daily normals. The daily normals were derived from monthly summaries using multiple regression models to compute daily values as a function of Julian day numbers. Crop phenology models based on growing degree days were used to monitor and forecast the progress of different …

Improving Projected Potential Evapotranspiration Estimates Using National Weather Service Forecasts, Steven J. Meyer, Kenneth G. Hubbard, Donald A. Wilhite

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

In a recent survey conducted by the University of Nebraska's Center for Agricultural Meteorology and Climatology of Agricultural Network (AGNET) users, the results of potential evapotranspiration (ET_p) projections (calculated using the Blaney-Criddle approach, which employs "normal" climatic data to project ET_p estimates up to three days into the future) were labeled "unrealistic." To improve these projections, National Weather Service (NWS) forecast variables were used as input into the Blaney-Criddle and Penman equations. ET_p projections calculated according to the Penman equation, with data measured by automated weather stations as input, were assumed to represent the "best" …

The Nebraska Agricultural Climate Situation Committee, R. E. Neild, K. G. Hubbard, Donald A. Wilhite

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The Nebraska Agricultural Climate Situation Committee consisting of an interdisciplinary group of extension specialists provides up-to-date information and advice on seasonal changes in crop/ weather conditions. The committee meets each Monday during the growing season to review:

1. Maps and tabular data developed by a computer program CIS /Crop Weather Information System/ that is linked to a network of weather stations and computer terminals in county agent offices.

2. Insect, plant disease and weed surveys.

3. Weekly weather and crop reports from the State/Federal System.

4. Weather outlooks from the National Weather Service.

5. Climate probabilities.

Situation reports and advisories …

Isotope Content And Temperature Of Precipitation In Southern Nevada, August 1983-August 1986, W. K. Milne, Larry Benson, P. W. Mckinley

United States Geological Survey: Publications

From August 1983 through August 1986, 429 precipitation samples of 112 precipitation events were collected at 12 stations in southern Nevada. Some of these samples were analyzed for oxygen-18, deuterium, and tritium. The results of these analyses as well as the air temperature and the precipitation measured at the collection sites are tabulated in this report. The sampling program provides a data base for future interpretive studies on the timing and origin of ground-water recharge in the Yucca Mountain region, of southern Nevada.

The stable-isotope composition of precipitation is the result of fractionation processes that occur in the atmosphere. Isotopic …

Genesis Of Marine Terrace Soils, Barbados, West Indies: Evidence From Mineralogy And Geochemistry, Daniel R. Muhs, Russell C. Crittenden, John N. Rosholt, Charles A. Bush, Kathleen C. Stewart

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Well-developed, clay-rich soils dominated by interstratified kaolinite-smectite are found on the uplifted coral reef terraces on the island of Barbados. The reef limestone is unlikely to have been the soil parent material however, because it is 98 per cent CaCO, and geomorphic evidence argues against the 20 m of reef solution required to produce the soils by this process. The mineralogy of the sand, silt, and clay fractions of the soils, and trace element geochemistry, suggest that aeolian materials carried on the trade winds from Africa, volcanic ash from the island of St. Vincent, and quartz from Tertiary bedrock on …

Cliff-Height And Slope-Angle Relationships In A Chronosequence Of Quaternary Marine Terraces, San Clemente Island, California, Russell Crittenden, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Zusammenfassung. Eine Abfolge quartarer Strandterrassen auf ~an Clemente Island, Kalifornien, liefert einen Rahmen fur die quantitative Analyse der Anderungen an vom Meer verlassenen Kustenkliffen als Funktion der Zeit. Es wurde eine Abschatzung der Anwendbarkeit von BUCKNAM & ANDERSON (1979) log-lin~arer Beziehung zwischen Wandhohe und Hangwinkel durchgefuhrt, indem Brandungskliffhohe und maximale Hangwinkel verwendet wurden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine regelhafte Zunahme des Hangwinkels mit dem Logarithmus der Kliffhohe, und Kliffe einer bestimmten Hohe zeigen m,it der Zeit eine Abnahmedes maximalen Hangwinkels. 1m ganzen waren die Relationen schwacher als fur FluBterrassen und Bruchstufen in unverfestigten Materialen, aber die Methode kann wahrscheinlich verwendet werden, …

Reconnaissance Bathymetry Of Basins Occupied By Pleistocene Lake Lahontan, Nevada And California, Larry Benson, M. D. Mifflin

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Beginning about 12,500 years B.P., Lake Lahontan began to decline (fig. 1: Black Rock Desert data from Davis [1983]; Truckee River Delta data from Born [1972]; tufa data from Benson [1981]; packrat-midden data from Thompson and others [1985]) . As water levels declined, their altitudes fell below sill altitudes (table 1); locations of these sills are shown in figure 2. Today, five surface-water bodies (Black Rock Playa, Humboldt-Carson Sink, Walker Lake, Pyramid Lake, Honey Lake) exist in four of the seven subbasins (fig. 2).

The collective surface area of the modern lakes today (1985) totals less than 1,600 km2 . …

Chemical Composition Of Ground Water In The Yucca Mountain Area, Nevada, 1971-84, Larry Benson, P. W. Mckinley

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Fifteen test wells in the Yucca Mountain area of southern Nevada have been sampled for chemical analysis at least once during 1971-84. Samples were obtained by pumping water from the entire well bore (composite sample), and, in three instances, by pumping from one or more isolated intervals within a well bore. Sodium was the most abundant cation, and bicarbonate was the most abundant anion in all water samples. Samples from the deep carbonate aquifer penetrated by well UE-25p#l contained higher relative concentrations of calcium and magnesium than did samples from overlying volcanic tuffs. Concentrations of the stable isotopes of oxygen …

Soils And The Location Of Cacao Orchards At A Maya Site In Western Belize, Daniel R. Muhs, Robert R. Kautz, J. Jefferson Mackinnon

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Cacao was one of the most important crops of the lowland Maya. Ethnohistoric sources document that the Postclassic-Colonial Period Maya settlement of Tipu in western Belize was an important cacao-growing center, yet evidence of where the cacao was grown is not apparent. We analysed the suitability of floodplain, terrace, and bedrock soils for cacao cultivation. Our results indicate that the soils most likely to have been used for cacao growth were those on the modem floodplain of the Macal River, based on their suitable physical and chemical properties. In addition, buried stone walls of Late Classic or Postclassic age that …

An Evaluation Of Uranium-Series Dating Of Fossil Echinoids From Southern California Pleistocene Marine Terraces, Daniel R. Muhs, Los Angeles County Museum Of Natural History, Los Angeles, Ca

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Fossil sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus) from Pleistocene marine terraces on the southern California Channel Islands have been dated by the uranium-series method in order to test the suitability of echinoids for dating marine terraces. Results indicate that urchin plates and spines do not behave as closed systems with respect to both uranium and thorium. Calculated ages based on these data do not agree with uranium-series ages (120,000 and 127,000 yrs) obtained previously from corals from the same localities. Thus, fossil sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus) are not considered suitable for uranium-series dating of Pleistocene marine terrace deposits.

Geohydrology Of The High Plains Aquifer In Parts Of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, And Wyoming, Edwin D. Gutentag, Frederick J. Heimes, United States Geological Survey, Richard R. Luckey, John B. Weeks

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The High Plains aquifer, which underlies about 174,000 square miles in parts of eight states, is the principal source of water in one of the Nation's major agricultural areas. About 170,000 wells pump water from the aquifer to irrigate about 13 million acres in the High Plains. In 1978, the United States Geological Survey began a regional study of the High Plains aquifer to provide geohydrologic data and computer models of the aquifer needed to evaluate the effects of ground-water development. This report describes the geohydrology of the High Plains aquifer. The High Plains aquifer consists mainly of hydraulically connected …

Government Response To Drought In The United States: With Particular Reference To The Great Plains, Donald A. Wilhite

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Drought relief has become an expected response of the federal government to periods of widespread drought in the United States. A wide range of emergency, short-term and long-term drought programs were formulated to deal with the extreme drought of the 1930's. By 1977 there were 40 separate programs administered by 16 different federal agencies. This paper traces the development of federal drought relief bureaucracy, including drought designation criteria and procedures.

Two obvious deficiencies of past drought relief efforts in the United States are noted. First, drought relief organizations and programs have been hastily assembled during periods of crisis. This has …

Chemical Composition Of Ground Water And The Locations Of Permeable Zones In The Yucca Mountain Area, Nevada, Larry Benson, J. H. Robison, R. K. Blankennagel, A. E. Ogard

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Ten wells in the Yucca Mountain area of southern Nevada have been sampled for chemical analysis. Samples were obtained during pumping of water from the entire well bore (composite sample) and in one instance by pumping water from a single isolated interval in well UE-25b#1. Sodium is the most abundant cation and bicarbonate the most abundant anion in all water samples. Although the general chemical compositions of individual samples are similar, there are significant differences in uncorrected carbon-14 age and in inorganic and stable-isotope composition. Flow surveys of seven wells performed using iodine-131 as a tracer indicate that ground-water production …

A Hydrochemical Reconnaissance Study Of The Walker River Basin, California And Nevada, Larry Benson, R. J. Spencer

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

During 1975 and 1976, a large number of water and sediment samples were collected from the Walker River Basin. Additional surface water samples were collected during 1980 and 1981. Data are given herein for chemical analyses of snowmelt, tributary, river, spring, well, lake, reservoir, lake sediment pore fluid, tufa, lake and river sediment samples. These data provide the basis for consideration of processes which govern the chemical evolution of large closed basin hydrologic systems in the Basin and Range Province of the Southwestern United States.

The Walker River Basin, a part of the Basin and Range Province, is located i~ …

A Pleistocene Sand Sea On The Alaskan Arctic Coastal Plain, L. David Carter

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A ridge and thermokarst-basin landscape that is strikingly portrayed in Landsat winter imagery consists of large Pleistocene dunes that have been modified by younger eolian activity and thermokarst processes. This is the most extensive area of large stabilized dunes yet reported in the North American Arctic; the landscape is ofparticular interest because it has been proposed as a$rst-order analog for martian fretted terrain. Recognition of the large dunes permits a new interpretation for linear and curvilinear trends visible in Landsat summer imagery.

A Statistical Analysis Of The Quality Of Surface Water In Nebraska, R. A. Engberg

United States Geological Survey: Publications

This report provides descriptive statistics for 29 chemical or biological constituents for 109 stream sites in Nebraska sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey beginning in 1946. Also provided for each site are regression equations relating specific conductance to each of 12 chemical constituents and a regression equation relating specific conductance to stream discharge. The descriptive statistics are presented by river basins. Water leaving these basins that has the lowest mean specific conductance (266 umho/cm) is from the Niobrara River at Verdel, and water that has the highest (1,890 umho/cm) is from the South Platte River at Roscoe. Statewide, the principal …

The Effect Of Dissolution Of Volcanic Glass On The Water Chemistry In A Tuffaceous Aquifer, Rainier Mesa, Nevada, Art F. White, Hans C. Claassen, Larry Benson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Geochemistry of ground water associated with the Tertiary tuffs within Rainier Mesa, southern Nevada, was investigated to determine the relative importance of glass dissolution in controlling water chemistry. Water samples were obtained both from interstitial pores in core sections and from free-flowing fractures. Cation compositions showed that calcium and magnesium decreased as a function of depth in the mesa, as sodium increased. The maximum effect occurs within alteration zones containing clinoptilolite and montmorillonite, suggesting these minerals effectively remove bivalent cations from the system.

Comparisons are made between compositions of ground waters found within Rainier Mesa that apparently have not reacted …