Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

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 …

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.

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 …

Some Trends In Forecast Skill At The National Severe Storms Forecast Center, Allen Pearson, Steven J. Weiss

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Tornado watch and severe local storm outlook verification statistics reveal the trends in forecast skill at the National Severe Storms Forecast Center. The skill level of the outlook has been steadily increasing since 1973. The percentage of watches verifying has been gradually increasing since 1970. While the probability of detection for tornadoes has decreased slightly since 1974, this appears to be highly correlated with the number of outbreak tornadoes reported in a given year. During significant tornado days, a much higher degree of skill is exhibited for both outlooks and watches. Factors influencing the results are discussed, including the impact …

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 …

Extreme Evapotranspiration By Irrigated Alfalfa: A Consequence Of The 1976 Midwestern Drought, Norman J. Rosenberg, Shashi B. Verma

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The rate of evapotranspiration by irrigated alfalfa at Mead, NE (41°09'Nj 96°30'W, elevation 354 m) reached record levels in 1976. Evapotranspiration was measured with precision weighing lysimeters in a field 1.9 ha in size. Evapotranspiration ranged during the growing season from 4.75 to 14.22 mm day^-l and exceeded 10 mm day^-I on one-third of the days studied. On each day of study the ratio of latent heat flux density (LE) to the sum of the net radiation and soil heat flux densities (Rn+S) was such that LE/ (Rn+S) > 1, indicating the occurrence of significant …

Regional Hydrothermal Alteration Of The Leadville Limestone (Mississippian) Of Central Colorado, L. V. Benson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Massive metallic-sulfide deposits were implaced in the Leadville Limestone {Mississippian) of Central Colorado less than 70 million years ago. The thermal fluids which precipitated ore at Gilman, Colorado have regionally altered the Leadville Limestone. The sequence of alteration began with the recrystallization of limestone to a dark medium~grained dolomite containing a homogeneous distribution of Fe. This Was followed by partial recrystallization of the medium-grained dolomite to coarse-clear dolomite which contains an inhomogeneous distribution of Fe. The resulting banded rock is known as "zebra rock" . Precipitation of Si0 2 (jasperoid) occurred next. The jaspe=oid formed prior to the deposition of …

Stratigraphy Of Chugwater Group (Triassic) East Side Of Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming And Montana, Robert C. Mclellan

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Chugwater Group (Triassic), on the east side of the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming and Montana, forms a narrow outcrop band of hogbacks. Four redbed formations are included in the Chugwater. From base to top they are: 1) Red Peak, 2) Crow Mountain, 3) Jelm, and 4) Popo Agie. The Chugwater is disconformably underlain by t];ie Goose Egg Formation (Permian) and unconformably overlain, from south to north, by the Sundance, Gypsum Spring, and Piper Formations of Jurassic Age.

The rocks of the Chugwater, in order of abundance, are: siltstone, sandstone, claystone, conglomerate, limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. Binocular microscope studies were …

Solar Energy And Sunshine In Nebraska, Norman J. Rosenberg

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Weather Bureau records of measured solar radiation useful in interpreting the solar energy regime in Nebraska are available from Lincoln-Omaha, Nebraska; Dodge City, Kansas; Laramie, Wyoming and Rapid City, South Dakota. Pertinent records of sunshine duration (percent of possible sunshine) are available from Lincoln, Omaha, North Platte and Valentine, Nebraska; from Concordia and Dodge City, Kansas; from Cheyenne, Wyoming; from Rapid City and Huron, South Dakota and from Sioux City, Iowa. These records have been subjected to statistical summarization and analysis.

The Development Of Irrigation In Nebraska, 1854–1910: A Descriptive Survey, Martin Evald Carlson

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Preface (excerpted)

The primary purpose of this study is tto trace the development of irrigation in Nebraska from the organization of the state as a territory in 1854 through the rest of the nineteenth century. This period covers the first four stages through which irrigation progressed: individualistic, corporate, district, and state. A brief discussion of the North Platte Project is included, however, in order to carry the story into the fifth and final stage--the development of irrigation with Federal aid, as provided for in the Reclamation Act of 1902.

The emphasis of this work is on the irrigation movement and …

Thunderstorms And Tornadoes Of February 1, 1955, Jean T. Lee

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration: Technical Reports and Related Materials

The purpose of this paper is to describe and illustrate some of the features that are of particular interest in the forecasting of one of the most death-dealing series of convective storms of the 1950s that occurred during the afternoon and evening of February 1, 1955. This series of severe storms included tornadoes, destructive winds, hail, and heavy rain that first struck near Marianata, Arkansas, then roared through Commerce Landing, Mississippi and northern Mississippi. then moved on to near Huntsville, Alabama.

Includes features at the surface, at 850 mb, 700 mb, and 500 mb, and upper air conditions, along with …

Progress Report On The Ground-Water Hydrology Of The Republican And Frenchman River Valleys, With A Section On The Chemical Quality Of The Ground Water, Herbert A. Waite, Herbert A. Swenson

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Abstract for first section

This report is based on current investigations of the groundwater resources of the Republican and Frenchman River Valleys in Nebraska and includes data gathered to December 31, 1947. These studies vere started late in 1945 as a part of a program of groundwater investigations now in progress in connection with the Missouri River basin development plan. Studies to date have consisted principally of periodic observations of water table fluctuations at selected observation wells, of collection of samples of groundwater for chemical analysis, and of collection of data concerning the municipal water supplies in the valley. In …

Freestone County, Texas [Water Quality Survey Of Wells And Springs With Test Hole Data, 1936], Samuel F. Turner

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Introduction

The purpose of this survey was to obtain information concerning existing wells and springs and the quantity and quality of water they yield, and to put down test holes where additional information was needed.

This project was part of a statewide Works Progress Administration project known as a "Statewide Inventory of Water Wells," sponsored by the [Texas] State Board of Water Engineers. The Division of Ground Water of the United States Geological Survey cooperated in the technical direction of the project and the Bureau of Industrial Chemistry of the University of Texas furnished laboratory space and equipment and supervised …

Irrigation Farming: A Handbook For The Proper Application Of Water In The Production Of Crops, Lucius M. Wilcox

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

A handbook for the application of water in the production of crops.

Windbreaks, Fred W. Card

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Includes the results of a survey of farmers in Nebraska, New York, Michigan, and a few other places, regarding the purpose and value of windbreaks.

The Rainfall Of Nebraska, G. D. Swezey, George A. Loveland

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Covers the rainfall in Nebraska with respect to farming.

Includes:

Character of the precipitation

Amount of precipitation

Rainfall of the growing season

Number of rainy days

Variability of rainfall

Progressive changes in the rainfall

Monthly precipitation of all stations and locations in Nebraska from the earliest years to 1895

Average precipitation for Nebraska from the earliest years through 1895

Charts of normal precipitation--weekly, monthly, and annual

Water Supply In Nebraska, O. V. P. Stout

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Covers the water supply and irrigation with respect to farming in Nebraska in 1894.

The Aerosphere As A Network Connector Of Organisms And Their Diseases, Jeremy D. Ross, Eli S. Bridge, Diann J. Prosser, John Y. Takekawa

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Aeroecological processes, especially powered flight of animals, can rapidly connect biological communities across the globe. This can have profound consequences for evolutionary diversification, energy and nutrient transfers, and the spread of infectious diseases. The latter is of particular consequence for human populations, since migratory birds are known to host diseases which have a history of transmission into domestic poultry or even jumping to human hosts. In this chapter, we present a scenario under which a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) strain enters North America from East Asia via postmolting waterfowl migration. We use an agent-based model (ABM) to simulate the …