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Changes in microbial communities and associated water and gas geochemistry across a sulfate gradient in coal beds: Powder River Basin, USA
Competition between microbial sulfate reduction and methanogenesis drives cycling of fossil carbon and generation of CH4 in sedimentary basins. However, little is understood about the fundamental relationship between subsurface aqueous geochemistry and microbiology that drives these processes. Here...
Schweitzer, Hannah; Ritter, Daniel; McIntosh, Jennifer; Barnhart, Elliott; Cunningham, Alfred B.; Vinson, David; Orem, William H.; Fields, Matthew W.
Williston Basin groundwater availability, United States and Canada
The Williston Basin contains important oil and gas resources for the Nation. Freshwater supplies are limited in this semiarid area, and oil and gas development can require large volumes of freshwater. Groundwater is the primary source of water for many water users in the Williston Basin, so to better understand these resources, the U.S. Geological...
Thamke, Joanna N.; Long, Andrew J.; Davis, Kyle W.
Groundwater availability of the Williston Basin, United States and Canada
Executive SummaryThe Williston Basin of the Northern Great Plains is a sedimentary basin—a geologic bowl-like structure filled with layered sedimentary rocks dating as far back as the Paleozoic age. The basin, which is nationally important for the production of energy resources, spans Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the United States,...
Long, Andrew J.; Thamke, Joanna N.; Davis, Kyle W.; Bartos, Timothy T.
Construction and calibration of a groundwater-flow model to assess groundwater availability in the uppermost principal aquifer systems of the Williston Basin, United States and Canada
The U.S. Geological Survey developed a groundwater-flow model for the uppermost principal aquifer systems in the Williston Basin in parts of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the United States and parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Canada as part of a detailed assessment of the groundwater availability in the area. The assessment was...
Davis, Kyle W.; Long, Andrew J.
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2016 annual report
This is the ninth annual report highlighting U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) science and decision-support activities conducted for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI). The activities address specific management needs identified by WLCI partner agencies. In fiscal year (FY) 2016, there were 26 active USGS WLCI science-based projects...
Bowen, Zachary H.; Aikens, Ellen; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Anderson, Patrick J.; Assal, Timothy J.; Chalfoun, Anna D.; Chong, Geneva W.; Eddy-Miller, Cheryl; Garman, Steven L.; Germaine, Stephen S.; Homer, Collin G.; Johnston, Aaron; Kauffman, Matthew J.; Manier, Daniel J.; Melcher, Cynthia P.; Miller, Kirk A.; Walters, Annika W.; Wheeler, Jerrod D.; Wieferich, Daniel; Wilson, Anna B.; Wyckoff, Teal B.; Zeigenfuss, Linda C.
Methods for peak-flow frequency analysis and reporting for streamgages in or near Montana based on data through water year 2015
This report documents the methods for peak-flow frequency (hereinafter “frequency”) analysis and reporting for streamgages in and near Montana following implementation of the Bulletin 17C guidelines. The methods are used to provide estimates of peak-flow quantiles for 50-, 42.9-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent annual exceedance...
Sando, Steven K.; McCarthy, Peter M.
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 2015 through September 2016) and statistical summaries of data for streams in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana
Water, bed sediment, and biota were sampled in selected streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the upper Clark Fork Basin of western Montana. The sampling program was led by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to characterize aquatic resources in the...
Dodge, Kent A.; Hornberger, Michelle I.; Turner, Matthew A.
Conceptual model to assess water use associated with the life cycle of unconventional oil and gas development
As the demand for energy increases in the United States, so does the demand for water used to produce many forms of that energy. Technological advances, limited access to conventional oil and gas accumulations, and the rise of oil and gas prices resulted in increased development of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) accumulations. Unconventional oil...
Valder, Joshua F.; McShane, Ryan R.; Barnhart, Theodore B.; Sando, Roy; Carter, Janet M.; Lundgren, Robert F. Biogenic coal-to-methane conversion efficiency decreases after repeated organic amendment
Addition of organic amendments to coal-containing systems can increase the rate and extent of biogenic methane production for 60–80 days before production slows or stops. Understanding the effect of repeated amendment additions on the rate and extent of enhanced coal-dependent methane production is important if biological coal-to-methane...
Davis, Katherine J.; Barnhart, Elliott P.; Fields, Matthew W.; Gerlach, Robin Type and amount of organic amendments affect enhanced biogenic methane production from coal and microbial community structure
Slow rates of coal-to-methane conversion limit biogenic methane production from coalbeds. This study demonstrates that rates of coal-to-methane conversion can be increased by the addition of small amounts of organic amendments. Algae, cyanobacteria, yeast cells, and granulated yeast extract were tested at two concentrations (0.1 and 0.5 g/L...
Davis, Katherine J.; Lu, Shipeng; Barnhart, Elliott P.; Parker, Albert E.; Fields, Matthew W.; Gerlach, Robin
Potential effects of energy development on environmental resources of the Williston Basin in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota
The Williston Basin, which includes parts of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the United States, has been a leading domestic oil and gas producing area. To better understand the potential effects of energy development on environmental resources in the Williston Basin, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of...
Post van der Burg, Max; Vining, Kevin C.; Frankforter, Jill D.
A review of surface energy balance models for estimating actual evapotranspiration with remote sensing at high spatiotemporal resolution over large extents
Many approaches have been developed for measuring or estimating actual evapotranspiration (ETa), and research over many years has led to the development of remote sensing methods that are reliably reproducible and effective in estimating ETa. Several remote sensing methods can be used to estimate ETa at the high spatial resolution of agricultural...
McShane, Ryan R.; Driscoll, Katelyn P.; Sando, Roy