Reports

The U.S. Geological Survey, at the request of the U.S. Agency for International Development, led a 5-year regional project to develop and apply methods for water availability and suitability mapping for managed aquifer recharge (MAR) in the Middle East and North Africa region. A regional model of surface runoff for the period from 1984 to 2015 was developed to characterize water...

Karst hydrogeologic systems represent challenging and unique conditions to scientists attempting to study groundwater flow and contaminant transport. Karst terrains are characterized by distinct and beautiful landscapes, caverns, and springs, and many of the exceptional karst areas are designated as national or state parks. The range and complexity of landforms and groundwater flow...

Placer and dredging operations in the Yankee Fork Basin, Idaho, have left more than 5 miles of the lower Yankee Fork of the Salmon River (Yankee Fork) in a highly altered fluvial condition, resulting in poor habitat quantity and quality for native fish species. Since 2011, the Bureau of Reclamation and other stakeholders have implemented a series of restoration efforts to improve the...

Satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) based upon an empirical band ratio method is a cost-effective means for mapping nearshore bathymetry in coastal areas vulnerable to natural hazards. This is particularly important for the low-lying coastal community of Unalakleet, Alaska, that has been negatively affected not only by flooding, storm surge, and historically strong storms but also by high...

The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State unleashed one of the largest debris avalanches (landslide) in recorded history. The debris avalanche deposited 3.3 billion cubic yards of material into the upper North Fork Toutle River watershed and obstructed the Columbia River shipping channel downstream. From the eruption on May 18, 1980, to September 30, 2018, the Toutle...

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been identified in two lakes near Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) in New Jersey—Little Pine Lake in Pemberton Township and Pine Lake in Manchester Township. The streams that enter these lakes begin in or near JBMDL where sources of PFAS contamination are located. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force...

Trace-metal concentrations in sediment and in the clam Limecola petalum (formerly reported as Macoma balthica and M. petalum), clam reproductive activity, and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure were investigated in a mudflat 1 kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) in south San Francisco Bay, Calif. This report includes...

Autonomous underwater vehicles are uniquely designed to provide spatially dense water-quality data along with bathymetry and velocimetry. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 requested technical assistance from the U.S. Geological Survey in support of ongoing investigations at the Chemical Recovery Systems site to collect spatially dense water-quality and bathymetry data in...

The Cimarron River is a free-flowing river and is a major source of water as it flows across Oklahoma. Increased demand for water resources within the Cimarron River alluvial aquifer in north-central Oklahoma (primarily in Payne County) has led to increases in groundwater withdrawals for agriculture, public, irrigation, industrial, and domestic supply purposes. The Pawnee Nation of...

School Branch in Hendricks County in central Indiana, is a small stream with a variety of agricultural and suburban land uses that drains into the Eagle Creek Reservoir, a major source of drinking water for Indianapolis, Indiana. The School Branch watershed has become the focus of a collaborative partnership of Federal, State, and local agencies; a university research center; and...

On March 12, 2019, Congress passed the John D. Dingell, Jr., Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (Public Law 116–9; 133 Stat. 580), in which Title V, §5001 (43 U.S.C. 31k) authorized the establishment of the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System (NVEWS) within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Conceived by the USGS Volcano Hazards Program in 2005, NVEWS is...

In 1999, a jet-fuels release was discovered at the Bulk Fuels Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Contaminants had reached the water table and migrated north-northeast toward water-supply wells. Monitoring wells were installed downgradient from the facility to determine the primary zones of groundwater production for water-supply wells and assess contaminant...