Other Earth Sciences Commons^™

Llaffs - A Lightning-Locating And Fire-Forecasting System, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

This publication contains programs and documentation to implement an algorithm for calculating lightning fire probability. This calculation is based on a model originally developed for the National Fire-Danger Rating System. The model algorithm estimates the probability that a lightning discharge from cloud to ground will ignite a fire in fuels at the ground terminus of the lightning. Probability is estimated using variables that are measures of the fuel state and type, rain, and lightning. Details of the model can be found in Fuquay and others (1979), Latham (1979), and Fuquay (1980).

Salvage And Thinning Operations In Second-Growth Ponderosa Pine Stands, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

This report describes and discusses a harvesting system made up of commercially available equipment and modified farm tractors that has been successfully used to salvage and thin second-growth ponderosa pine stands. Commercial equipment consisted of fellerbunchers, a skidder, and a chipper. Farm tractors were equipped with grapples and metal reinforcings to adapt them to forest use.

Fireline Production: A Conceptual Model, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Wildfires

This report describes a conceptual model that provides a framework for the components of fireline production. Other conceptual or operational fire-related models may be linked with this production model. Major components and relationships are diagramed.

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~ …

Flood Insurance Study, City Of Ogden, Utah, Weber County, Federal Emergency Management Agency

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This Flood Insurance Study investigates the existence and severity of flood hazards in the City of Ogden, Weber County, Utah, and aids in the administration of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973. This study will be used to convert Ogden to the regular program of flood insurance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Local and regional planners will use this study in their efforts to promote sound flood plain management.

Flood Insurance Study, City Of North Ogden, Utah, Weber County, Federal Emergency Management Agency

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This Flood Insurance Study investigates the existence and severity of flood hazards in the City of North Ogden, Weber County, Utah, and aids in the administration of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973. This study will be used to convert North Ogden to the regular program of flood insurance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Local and regional planners will use this study in their efforts to promote sound flood plain management.

Flood Insurance Study, City Of Harrisville, Utah, Weber County, Federal Emergency Management Agency

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This Flood Insurance Study investigates the existence and severity of flood hazards in the City of Harrisville, Weber County, Utah, and aids in the administration of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973. This study will be used to convert Harrisville to the regular program of flood insurance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Local and regional planners will use this study in their efforts to promote sound flood plain management.

Why Windspeeds Increase On High Mountain Slopes At Night, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

The purpose of this report is to explain the windspeed increase on mountain slopes at night. Additional work is required to determine such things as the frequency of the winds, the area affected, seasonal variation, and the effect on fire behavior. Also, additional studies are needed to develop the type of procedures required to forecast these nocturnal mountain winds.

Visual Impacts Of Forest Management Activities: Findings On Public Preferences, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

A major concern of forest land managers is the visual impact that activities such as timber harvest, road building, and mining have on the forest landscape. Management of the visual resource is a regular part of planning on National Forests, and many other public and private forest land managers are increasing their efforts to protect and enhance this resource. The Forest Residue and Harvesting Research Program at the Intermountain Station includes studies of the impact of harvest and roading activities on visual quality. Preliminary results were reported earlier (Schweitzer, Ullrich, and Benson 1976). This report updates earlier findings and presents …

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.

Quaternary Geology Of Chaco Canyon, Northwestern New Mexico, David Waxham Love

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The overall purpose of studying the Quaternary geology of Chaco Canyon is to develop an understanding of how the geomorphic system in the Chaco drainage evolved and how it presently operates. This dissertation has several subsidiary purposes; (1) to describe and relate modern sedimentary features and facies (which are likely to be preserved in the alluvial fill of the canyon) to modern geomorphic processes, (2) to use the results from the study of modern sediments to interpret exposures of alluvium in Chaco Canyon in order to reconstruct past environments, (3) to develop conceptual models of the geologic subsystems of the …

Tourmaline - A Prospecting Guide For Massive Base-Metal Sulfide Deposits In The Penobscot Bay Area, Maine, John F. Slack

Maine Collection

Tourmaline - A Prospecting Guide for Massive Base-Metal Sulfide Deposits in the Penobscot Bay Area, Maine

by John F. Slack, U.S. Geological Survey

Special Economic Studies Series No.8

Maine Geological Survey, Department of Conservation, Augusta, Maine (June, 1980).

Contents: Abstract / Introduction / Geologic Setting / Massive Sulfide Deposits / Tourmaline Occurrences / Tourmaline: A Guide to Ore / Acknowledgements / References Cited

Annotated Biobliography Of Remote Sensing For Highway Planning And Natural Resources, An, Daniel L. Civco, William C. Kennard, Michael Wm. Lefor

Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station

No abstract provided.

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 …

Changing Fields: Agricultural Land Use Changes In Nebraska 1925-1974, Donald A. Wilhite

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The series of graphs and maps which follow illustrate agricultural land use changes in Nebraska from 1925 to 1974. With these graphs and maps, the major agronomic crops of corn (dryland and irrigated), wheat, sorghum and soybeans are analyzed. The purpose of this analysis is to provide a pictorial history of Nebraska's ever-changing cropping system and, hopefully, to stimulate ideas and discussion with regard to trends and future directions. The Nebraska Water Resources Center is deeply interested in both the past and the future of Nebraska's agriculture because of the demands which agriculture places on the state's water resources. An …

A Search For Phytotoxins Influencing Germination And Early Growth Of Ponderosa Pine, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

A series of laboratory and field experiments were conducted to determine if mature ponderosa pines produce a substance (phytotoxin) that inhibits the germination and growth of seedlings directly under the tree crown. Neither live nor dead materials collected from ponderosa pines produced either volatile or water-soluble phytotoxins that drastically inhibited germination of seeds or growth of seedlings. Seed overwintering beneath the canopy of mature pine, or planted in soils collected there, showed reduced germination. Exact cause of the reduction was not determined. If weak phytotoxins were responsible, they did not inhibit growth of seedlings that germinated.

Influence Of Some Environmental Factors On Initial Establishment And Growth Of Ponderosa Pine Seedlings, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

Study plots were established to determine the effects of various environmental factors on ponderosa pine seed germination and initial seedling establishment and growth. A series of soil surface treatments were performed on plots in two locations: within or under the influence of overstory pine trees and in openings away from the pine influence. Seed germination was significantly greater in the opening plots. The overstory canopy and forest floor restricted the amounts of precipitation, light, and heat reaching the soil and probably decreased germination. Cutworms, birds, and small mammals caused the greatest seedling mortality. The largest seedlings occurred in the fire-treated …

Quaking Aspen - Seed Germination And Early Seedling Growth, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

The suckering of aspen (Populus tremuliodes Michx.) as a highly effective means of vegetative propagation is well known and has been widely studied (Baker 1918; Day 1944; Maini 1967; Schier 1974). Less is known about seed propagation, sometimes viewed as having only minor importance because early research (Baker 1918) had indicated that rare seedling establishment was due to low or nonexistent germinability.

Nutrient Losses From Timber Harvesting In A Larch/Douglas-Fir Forest, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

Nutrient levels as a result of experimental clearcutting, shelterwood cutting, and group selection cutting--each with three levels of harvesting intensity--were studied in a larch-fir forest in northwest Montana, experimentally logged with a skyline system. None of the treatments altered nutrient levels in an intermittent stream, nor were excessive amounts of nutrients lost in soil below the root zone. Under conditions on this site, skyline logging did not result in surface erosion or nutrient losses that would affect forest management.

Sucker Regeneration In A Utah Aspen Clone After Clearcutting, Partial Cutting, Scarification, And Girdling, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

Clearcutting, partial cutting, scarification, and girdling were used to stimulate root suckering in a Utah aspen clone. Regeneration was inventoried yearly during the first 4 years after treatment and again after 12 years. Clearcutting resulted in the greatest number of suckers. In most years, partial cuts (cuts that removed 67 percent of the basal area) had less than 50 percent as much regeneration as the clearcut plots. Girdling stimulated suckering to a lesser degree than cutting. Mortality was high on girdled plots and by the 12th year after treatment few suckers had survived. Scarification had no apparent effect on sucker …

Heat Content Of Bark, Twigs, And Foliage Of Nine Species Of Western Conifers, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

Comparative combustion tests showed that bark, twigs, and foliage of nine commercial timber species in the Northern Rocky Mountains generally produce more heat than equal volumes of their ovendry wood and that these parts of harvested trees could be profitably utilized as a source of energy.

A Model For Predicting Lightning-Fire Ignition In Wildland Fuels, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Wildfires

A model has been developed for predicting the number of lightning-fire ignitions in wildland fuels. The model is based on both stochastic and physical processes. Stochastic methods are used to generalize the lightning storm characteristics and site conditions that affect the potential for ignition. Physical processes are involved in determining the ignition probability of woody fuels by individual lightning events. Input required to operate the model includes lightning activity, upper air windspeed (storm movement), fuel moisture, and fuel bulk density. The model can be used either to predict ignitions at some future time by using forecast data or to estimate …

Fire Behavior In Nonuniform Fuels, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Wildfires

For the purposes of this study, nonuniform fire behavior is predicted by modeling fire spread through a hexagonal network of fuel cells. Fire spread is assumed to be a process of contagious growth between cells. Fuel properties are allowed to vary from cell to cell in a prescribed manner but have uniform properties within the cell. Consequently, the nonuniformity of the actual fuel array is simulated through cell to cell variations and has a resolution limited by the cell size. Because of the nature of the modeling process, it is necessary to devise a scheme for collecting data describing nonuniformity …

Fire - Decay: Interactive Roles Regulating Wood Accumulation And Soil Development In The Northern Rocky Mountains, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Wildfires

Decay and fire play interactive roles in recycling wood and other organic materials in forest ecosystems, and contribute to the development of high quality soils in the Northern Rocky Mountains. Decayed wood, charcoal, and other decomposed organic matter are the principal media for ectomycorrhizal and nonsymbiotic nitrogen fixing microbes. The activities of these microbes are critical to the growth of forest trees. The balance between decay and fire, as it affects the amount, distribution, and type of organic matter, controls the ability of forest soils to support the growth of trees.

Turbulence Spectra Above A Vegetated Surface Under Conditions Of Sensible Heat Advection, Raymond P. Motha, Shashi B. Verma, Norman J. Rosenberg

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Spectra of vertical and horizontal velocity, air temperature and humidity fluctuations were analyzed from measurements made over a well-watered alfalfa crop under conditions of sensible heat advection. Vertical velocity and air temperature spectra as well as cospectra of momentum, sensible heat and water vapor were found to be dependent on atmospheric thermal stratification. These spectra and cospectra were shifted toward higher frequencies under advective as compared to lapse conditions. These results indicate that the predominant eddy sizes are relatively smaller under advective conditions. Humidity spectra, on the other hand, were independent of daytime thermal stratification conditions but were influenced by …

Uranium Transport In The Walker River Basin, California And Nevada, Larry Benson, D. L. Leach

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

During the summer of 1976 waters from tributaries, rivers, springs and wells were sampled in the Walker River Basin. Snow and sediments from selected sites were also sampled. All samples were analyzed for uranium and other elements. The resulting data provide an understanding of the transport of uranium within a closed hydrologic basin as well as providing a basis for the design of geochemical reconnaissance studies for the Basin and Range Province of the Western United States. Spring and tributary data are useful in locating areas containing anomalous concentrations of uranium. However, agricultural practices obscure the presence of known uranium …

List Of Geological Survey Geologic And Water-Supply Reports And Maps For Maine, U.S. Department Of The Interior - Geological Survey

Maine Collection

List of Geological Survey Geologic and Water-Supply Reports and Maps for Maine.

United States Department of the Interior - Geological Survey, June 1978.

Contents: Annual Reports / Mineral Resources of the United States / Monographs / Geologic Folios / Topographic Atlas of the United States, Folio 1 / Professional Papers / Bulletins / Water-Supply Papers / Circulars / Maps, Charts and Atlases