Publications

Nine seismic-reflection profiles and four continuous core holes define the gross structural and stratigraphic framework of the outer rim of the Chesapeake Bay impact crater. The rim is manifested as a 90 km diameter ring of terraced normal-fault blocks, which forms a ∼320 m–1200 m high rim escarpment. The top of the rim escarpment is covered by a 20 m–30 m thick ejecta blanket. The...

Survival of transplanted Zostera marina L. (eelgrass), Z. marina growth,and environmental conditions were studied concurrently at a number of sitesin a southwestern tributary of the Chesapeake Bay to elucidate the factorslimiting macrophyte distribution in this region. Consistent differences insurvival of the transplants were observed, with no long-term survival at anyof the sites that...

No abstract available.

The Blizzard of 1996 struck the Mid-Atlantic region in January, depositing a record amount of snowfall. Within two weeks of the paralyzing blizzard, warm and extremely humid air entered the region, followed by a major rainstorm. The combination of warm, humid air and heavy rainfall melted the snow at an unprecedented rate. In just over one day, two to five inches of water from snowmelt...

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

Berkeley County is underlain by carbonate rocks, upon which karst topography has developed, and by noncarbonate rocks. Ground-water levels tend to follow seasonal trends, and fluctuate more in carbonate areas than in noncarbonate areas. Well yields of greater than 100 gallons per minute are possible from the carbonate rocks, but are unlikely from the noncarbonate rocks. The largest...

This report describes Geographic Information System data sets of ground-water levels, unsaturated-zone thickness, and regolith thickness in the Pequea and Mill Creek watersheds, a 210-square-mile area in Lancaster and Chester Counties, Pa. The data sets, which represent hydrogeologic interpretations, were developed by the use of ARC/INFO software during 1990-93 by the U.S. Geological...

This report describes basic data used to develop Geographic Information System data sets of bedrock geology, sinkholes and closed depressions, and spring and well locations attributed with hydro- geologic and water-quality data in the Pequea and Mill Creek watersheds, a 210-square-mile area in Lancaster and Chester Counties, Pa. The data sets, which do not contain hydrogeologic...

The history and fate of groundwater nitrate (NO3−) contamination were compared in 2 small adjacent agricultural watersheds in the Atlantic coastal plain by combined use of chronologic (CCl2F2, 3H), chemical (dissolved solids, gases), and isotopic (δ15N,δ13C, δ34S) analyses of recharging groundwaters, discharging groundwaters, and surface waters. The results demonstrate the interactive...

In 1980, the U.S. Congress mandated the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP) to study the effects of acidic precipitation (acid rain). In 1982, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was selected to be the lead Federal agency under NAPAP to monitor the composition of precipitation and its effects on the environment. In 1982, the USGS began to monitor precipitation and...

Because habitat degradation has led to the loss of submerged vegetation in Chesapeake Bay, wintering canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria) have shifted from a plant diet of American wildcelery (Vallisneria americana) to an animal diet of Baltic clams (Macoma balthica). We conducted experiments with pen-reared canvasbacks (n = 32, 1990; n = 32, 1991) to assess the effect of this diet change on...