Publications

The U.S. Geological Survey worked in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assess the potential sources of fecal contamination entering South Oyster Bay, a shallow embayment on the southern shore of Long Island, New York. Water samples are routinely collected by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in the bay and analyzed for fecal c

Land subsidence is a settling, sinking, or collapse of the land surface. In the southeastern United States, subsidence is frequently observed as sinkhole collapse in karst environments, wetland degradation and loss in coastal and other low-lying areas, and inundation of coastal urban communities. Human activities such as fluid extraction, mining, and overburden alteration can cause or exacerbate s

Alley Creek, a tributary to Little Neck Bay in Queens County, New York, has been designated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as impaired (Class I) for fecal coliform because of pollution from combined sewer overflow, including stormwater runoff. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, conducted a 1-year

The U.S. Geological Survey worked in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assess the potential sources of fecal contamination entering a part of Great South Bay (referred to as Great South Bay for the purposes of this report) near the hamlets of West Sayville, Sayville, and Bayport on the southern shore of Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. Water sa

Massive volumes of gas are sequestered within gas hydrate in subsurface marine sediments in the Gulf of Mexico. Methane associated with gas hydrate is a potentially important economic resource and a significant reservoir of carbon within the global carbon cycle. Nevertheless, uncertainties remain about the genetic source (e.g., microbial, thermogenic) and possible migration history of natural gas

The U.S. Geological Survey worked in cooperation with the Concerned Citizens of Montauk and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assess the potential sources of fecal contamination entering Lake Montauk, an artificial embayment on the tip of the southern fork of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. Water samples are routinely collected by the New York State Department o

The U.S. Geological Survey worked in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assess the potential sources of fecal contamination entering Sag Harbor, an embayment complex on the northern shore of the south fork of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. Water samples are routinely collected by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in the

The U.S. Geological Survey worked in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assess the potential sources of fecal contamination entering Patchogue and Bellport Bays, two embayments on the south shore of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. Water samples are routinely collected by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in the bays and

The U.S. Geological Survey worked in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assess the potential sources of fecal contamination entering Port Jefferson Harbor, Setauket Harbor, and Conscience Bay, an embayment complex on the northern shore of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. Water samples are routinely collected by the New York State Department of Env

Villa Angela Beach, on the Lake Erie lakeshore near Cleveland, Ohio, is just west of the mouth of Euclid Creek, a small, flashy stream that drains approximately 23 square miles and is susceptible to periodic contamination from combined sewer overflows (CSOs; 190 and 189 events in 2018 and 2019, respectively). Concerns about high concentrations of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in water samples collect

Lake St. Clair Metropark Beach (LSCMB) in Michigan is a public beach near the mouth of the Clinton River that has a history of beach closures for public health concerns. The Clinton River is designated as a Great Lakes Area of Concern, and the park has a Beneficial Use Impairment for beach closings because of elevated Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentrations. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooper

The Appalachian Region is a rich forested ecosystem that has been impacted by coal mining. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 was enacted to resolve many of the environmental problems caused by surface mining. Reclamation practices resulted in excessive soil compaction and use of nonnative grasses and shrubs that have altered hydrologic processes. The Forestry Reclamation Appro