Reports
Science Quality and Integrity
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
Browse more than 82,000 reports authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS and refine search by topic, location, year, and advanced search.
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Assessment of water quality and fecal contamination sources at Hook Pond, East Hampton, New York Assessment of water quality and fecal contamination sources at Hook Pond, East Hampton, New York
Summary The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Village of East Hampton, New York, conducted a 1-year study from August 2017 to August 2018 to provide data necessary to improve understanding of the sources of nutrients and pathogens to Hook Pond watershed to allow for possible mitigation or reduction of loads. Chronic eutrophication and recent concern over harmful...
Authors
Shawn C. Fisher, Brendan A. McCarthy, Christopher M. Kephart, Dale W. Griffin
Water Quality of groundwater used for public supply in principal aquifers of the western United States Water Quality of groundwater used for public supply in principal aquifers of the western United States
Groundwater provides nearly half of the Nation’s drinking water. As the Nation’s population grows, the importance of (and need for) high-quality drinking-water supplies increases. As part of a national-scale effort to assess groundwater quality in principal aquifers (PAs) that supply most of the groundwater used for public supply, the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality...
Authors
Celia Z. Rosecrans, MaryLynn Musgrove
2020 Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation—Remote sensing satellite compendium 2020 Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation—Remote sensing satellite compendium
The Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation (JACIE) is a collaboration between five Federal agencies that are major users and producers of satellite land remote sensing data. In recent years, the JACIE group has observed ever-increasing numbers of remote sensing satellites being launched. This rapidly growing wave of new systems creates a need for a single reference for land remote...
Authors
Shankar N. Ramaseri Chandra, Jon Christopherson, Kimberly A. Casey
Detection and measurement of land subsidence and uplift using Global Positioning System surveys and interferometric synthetic aperture radar, Coachella Valley, California, 2010–17 Detection and measurement of land subsidence and uplift using Global Positioning System surveys and interferometric synthetic aperture radar, Coachella Valley, California, 2010–17
Groundwater has been a major source of agricultural, recreational, municipal, and domestic supply in the Coachella Valley of California since the early 1920s. Pumping of groundwater resulted in groundwater-level declines as large as 50 feet (ft) or 15 meters (m) by the late 1940s. Because of concerns that the declines could cause land subsidence, the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD...
Authors
Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt
Science to support water-resource management in the upper Roanoke River watershed Science to support water-resource management in the upper Roanoke River watershed
Flooding, excessive sedimentation, and high bacteria counts are among the most challenging water resource issues affecting the Upper Roanoke River watershed. These issues threaten public safety, impair the watershed’s living resources, and threaten drinking water supplies, though mitigation is costly and difficult to manage. Urban development, land disturbance, and changing climatic...
Authors
James S. Webber, John D. Jastram
GeMS (Geologic Map Schema)—A standard format for the digital publication of geologic maps GeMS (Geologic Map Schema)—A standard format for the digital publication of geologic maps
Introduction This report describes and defines GeMS (for Geologic Map Schema), a new standardized database schema—that is, a database design—for the digital publication of geologic maps. It originally was intended for geologic mapping funded by the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program of the U.S. Geological Survey, but its use can be extended to other programs and agencies as...
Authors
Social Values for Ecosystem Services, version 4.0 (SolVES 4.0)—Documentation and user manual Social Values for Ecosystem Services, version 4.0 (SolVES 4.0)—Documentation and user manual
The geographic information system tool, Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES), was developed to incorporate quantified and spatially explicit measures of social values into ecosystem service assessments. SolVES 4.0 provides an open-source version of SolVES, which was designed to assess, map, and quantify the social values of ecosystem services. Social values—the perceived...
Authors
Benson C. Sherrouse, Darius J. Semmens
Groundwater quality in relation to drinking water health standards and hydrogeologic and geochemical characteristics for 47 domestic wells in Potter County, Pennsylvania, 2017 Groundwater quality in relation to drinking water health standards and hydrogeologic and geochemical characteristics for 47 domestic wells in Potter County, Pennsylvania, 2017
As part of a regional effort to characterize groundwater in rural areas of Pennsylvania, water samples from 47 domestic wells in Potter County were collected from May through September 2017. The sampled wells had depths ranging from 33 to 600 feet in sandstone, shale, or siltstone aquifers. Groundwater samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties that could be evaluated in...
Authors
Daniel G. Galeone, Charles A. Cravotta, Dennis W. Risser
Appendix C: Interim report on subtask focused on resampling historic Kennedy/ITD plots for RP-284 Appendix C: Interim report on subtask focused on resampling historic Kennedy/ITD plots for RP-284
In October 2019, an Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) Cooperative Transportation Research Program award was made to Boise State University in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey to investigate the use of weed-suppressive bacteria (Pseudomonas fluorescens strain ACK55) with preemergent herbicides (imazapic and indaziflam) to reduce exotic annual grasses (cheatgrass, medusahead...
Authors
Allison B. Simler-Williamson, Matthew Germino, Brynne E. Lazarus
Living with wildfire in the Squilchuck Drainage - Chelan County, Washington: 2020 data report Living with wildfire in the Squilchuck Drainage - Chelan County, Washington: 2020 data report
Research on the social dimensions of wildfire provides opportunities to understand how communities and the people who reside in those communities interact with the threat of wildfire. Overall, three findings from this project were particularly noteworthy. First, household survey results indicate that residents in the Squilchuck Drainage, Chelan County, Washington have high expectations...
Authors
Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Patricia A. Champ, Jon Riley, Christopher M. Barth, Colleen Donovan, James R. Meldrum, Carolyn Wagner
Integrated hydro-terrestrial modeling: Development of a national capability Integrated hydro-terrestrial modeling: Development of a national capability
Water is one of our most important natural resources and is essential to our national economy and security. Multiple federal government agencies have mission elements that address national needs related to water. Each water-related agency champions a unique science and/or operational mission focused on advancing a portion of the nation’s ability to meet our water-related challenges...
Authors
David P. Lesmes, Jessica Moerman, Tom Torgeson, Bob Vallario, Timothy D. Scheibe, Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, Harry L. Jenter, Ronald L. Bingner, Laura Condon, Brian Cosgrove, Carlos Del Castillo, Charles W Downer, John Eylander, Michael N. Fienen, Nels Frazier, David Gochis, Dave Goodrich, Judson Harvey, Joseph D. Hughes, David Hyndman, John M. Johnston, Forrest Melton, Glenn E. Moglen, David Moulton, Laura K. Lautz, Rajbir Parmar, Brenda Rashleigh, Patrick Reed, Katherine Skalak, Charuleka Varadharajan, Roland J. Viger, Nathalie Voisin, Mark Wahl