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Environmental assessment
The evaluation of the status of a specific ecosystem or geographic area and how a proposed change in management or a proposed project will affect that status.
Subtopics:
TMDL (2 items)
Results 1 - 45 of 46 listed alphabetically [list by similarity]
PDF A science strategy to support management decisions related to hypoxia in the northern Gulf Of Mexico and excess nutrients in the Mississippi River Basin [More info]
The report describes a strategy for monitoring, modeling, and research activities to support management decisions to improve water-quality conditions in the Mississippi River Basin, reduce hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico, and improve conditions for
PDF Assessing carbon stocks, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the United States under present conditions and future scenarios [More info]
Congress asked us (in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007) to figure out how to assess the effects of carbon storage, sequestration, and greenhouse gas fluxes in our ecosystems. Here's how we plan to do that.
PDF Assessing rangelands [More info]
Fact sheet in Adobe PDF on assessing the health of rangeland by monitoring and inventory which can help land managers
Assessing the impact of urban sprawl on soil resources in the United States using nighttime "city lights" satellite images and digital soils maps [More info]
Paper from Land Use History of North America giving results of a study to estimate the extent of developed land in the United States and the impact of development on soil resources.
Biodiversity and land-use history of the Palouse bioregion: pre-European to present [More info]
Study of the processes by which the conversion occurred of the Palouse bioregion from perennial native grass, shrub, and forest vegetation to agriculture and the interactions between human cultures and environment.
PDF Breccia-pipe uranium mining in northern Arizona; estimate of resources and assessment of historical effects [More info]
Estimates of uranium resources affected by land withdrawal, effects of previous breccia-pipe mining, water-chemistry data for streams and springs, and potential biological pathways of exposure to uranium and associated contaminants.
Changing patterns in the number of species in North American floras [More info]
A chapter of the publication: Land Use History of North America on general patterns of plant species diversity in North America that shows how these patterns have changed over time.
Classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States [More info]
Detailed publication on the classification system for an inventory of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States used to describe ecological taxa and arrange them in a system useful to resource managers.
Coastal habitats in Puget Sound [More info]
Declines in fish and wildlife populations, water-quality issues, and changes in coastal habitats have prompted this USGS study of the region's nearshore life and environment. Includes links to data from published reports.
Contaminant Biology Program [More info]
The Contaminant Biology Program investigates contaminant exposure and effects on fish, wildlife, and other organisms, their habitat and ecosystems. Links include description of projects, research centers, and news.
Earth Surface Processes [More info]
Homepage for Earth Surface Processes Team with research studies in two general categories: climate change and geologic mapping. Links to research activities, available data sets, workshop, and programs.
Elwha River dam removal -- Rebirth of a river [More info]
Overview of the USGS role in the largest dam removal project in U.S. history.
Environmental Affairs Program [More info]
The USGS reviews and prepares technical comments on environmental impact statements and establishes policies to implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Site has links to environmental laws and regulations including NEPA.
Environmental processes that affect mineral deposits in the Eastern United States [More info]
Studies in Eastern United States on massive sulfide deposits in Maine, Vermont, Great Smoky Mountains, and Virginia to assess potential environmental impacts.
Environmental studies of the World Trade Center area after the September 11, 2001 attack [More info]
Report describing the results of an interdisciplinary environmental study of the World Trade Center (WTC) area after the attack on September 11, 2001. The investigations included imaging spectroscopy mapping and laboratory analysis.
Field Conference on Impacts of Coalbed Methane Development in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming. [More info]
Field trip to Powder River Basin coalbed methane (CBM) development areas showing impacts related to drilling, facilities, pipeline networks, access roads, withdrawal, and disposal of co-produced water from CBM wells.
Framework for Assessing the Sustainability of Monitored Natural Attenuation [More info]
Research findings and examples of application to real problems--When can natural processes to reduce, or even destroy, contaminants at toxic waste sites be relied on?
Front Range Infrastructure Resources Project (FRIRP) [More info]
Home page for the Front Range Infrastructure Resources Project, a demonstration study of the northern Colorado Front Range urban corridor and the entire Rocky Mountain Front Range urban corridor with links to projects, datasets, and publications.
Great Lakes Beach Health Initiative [More info]
Research and development efforts to improve our ability to provide scientific information needed by local beach managers faced with questions about environmental quality and possible beach closure or resource usage.
Historical interrelationships between population settlement and farmland in the conterminous United States, 1790 to 1992 [More info]
Chapter from Land Use History of the North America on the results of a study to understand the interactions of population growth, urbanization, and agricultural activity over time.
Historical landcover changes in the Great Lakes region [More info]
Results of a study that provides a regional vegetation history of the Great Lakes area during the last 150 years compared to the preceding 1,000 years.
Identifying sources of fecal coliform bacteria in selected streams on Virginia's Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) priority list [More info]
Describes project to identify sources of fecal coliform bacteria by ribotyping to develop the use of Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) values for contaminated stream segments in Virginia.
Lake Pontchartrain basin: bottom sediments and related environmental resources [More info]
This publication focuses on the geological framework and sedimentary processes of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin and provides links to interactive tools, regional research, and sediment data in GIS formats for display and analysis.
Lake Roosevelt-Upper Columbia River environmental studies [More info]
Description of research studies of the Lake Roosavelt-Upper Columbia area on contaminants and effects on environmental health with links to publications and products, partners, related links, project summaries, and contacts.
Land Remote Sensing Program [More info]
Land Remote Sensing Program (LRS) provides a primary source of remotely sensed data and applications of land remote sensing, nationally and internationally.
Land use history of North America (LUHNA) [More info]
Report prepared with NASA on the importance of a historical context for understanding ongoing changes in land cover and land use in North America and the effect on the environment. Site contains primarily contents of a book edited by T.D. Sisk.
Landscape changes in the southwestern United States: techniques, long-term data sets, and trends [More info]
This study illustrates some approaches for reconstructing landscape change.
Mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystems [More info]
Fact sheet on mercury bioaccumulation and cycling in the environment. Also available in PDF format.
Mercury in the environment [More info]
Fact sheet on mercury and the environment, including toxic effects, risk to people and wildlife, sources of mercury, environments where methylmercury is a problem, and mercury contamination.
Multielement geochemical dataset of surficial materials for the northern Great Basin [More info]
This report presents geochemical data generated during mineral and environmental assessments for the Bureau of Land Management in northern Nevada, northeastern California, southeastern Oregon, and southwestern Idaho, along with metadata and maps.
Presettlement and contemporary vegetation patterns along two navigation reaches of the Upper Mississippi River [More info]
Study to reconstruct presettlement vegetation patterns along two navigation reaches of the Upper Mississippi.
Science In Your Watershed [More info]
Enables you to identify and locate a specific watershed, find scientific publications or research work going on there, and begin to integrate observations of your watershed with other data.
The Baltimore-Washington Regional Collaboratory Land-Use History Research Program [More info]
A description of research activities of the Baltimore-Washington Regional Collaboratory urban growth in the Chesapeake region.
The USGS role in Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) assessments [More info]
Detailed information on Total Maximum Daily Load, the total quantity of a pollutant that a stream can carry and still conform to water quality standards, used as a measurement in the monitoring, assessment, and remediation of polluted waters.
PDF U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Western Region Coastal and Ocean Science [More info]
Overview of USGS research addressing a broad range of coastal and marine issues in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii.
PDF U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Western Region: Alaska Coastal and Ocean Science [More info]
Overview of USGS research addressing a broad range of coastal and marine issues in Alaska.
PDF U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Western Region: Santa Barbara Channel Coastal and Ocean Science [More info]
Overview of USGS research addressing a broad range of coastal and marine issues in the Santa Barbara Channel and vicinity, California.
USGS Pacific coral reefs website [More info]
Overview of research in the Hawaiian Islands and Guam to gain insight into the structure of coral reefs, to provide the basis for future monitoring, and to understand the influences of natural processes and human activities on coral reef health.
USGS responds to Deepwater Horizon oil spill [More info]
Imagery, sampling information, and other data intended for use in assessing and remediating environmental problems related to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010
PDF Understanding beach health throughout the Great Lakes -- Continuing research [More info]
Outlines tactical problems that make it difficult for beach managers to use scientific information to make beach closure and advisory decisions. Explains methodologies we are using to address those problems and better prepare local decision makers.
Upper Midwest Environmental Science Center (UMESC) [More info]
Homepage for Upper Midwest Environmental Science Center, LaCrosse, Wisconsin, with links to data library, geographical search, science programs, partnerships, long-term resource monitoring program, reports and publications, and education.
PDF Urban development results in stressors that degrade stream ecosystems [More info]
Explains which aspects of stream ecosystems are harmed by urban development and how, along with implications for those who manage urban ecosystems.
Water Information Coordination Program (WICP) [More info]
An interagency program that improves information about natural resources management and environmental protection. The Advisory Committee on Water Information identifies water information needs, evaluates information and recommends improvements.
Water co-produced with coalbed methane in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming: preliminary compositional data [More info]
Compositional data on water from 47 CBM wells sampled in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming. Data on major, minor, and trace elements are included.
Water resources of Michigan - programs and projects [More info]
Brief descriptions of categories of USGS research programs and projects on water resources in Michigan with links to more detailed information on projects.
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