Reports

The Community for Data Integration (CDI) is a community of practice whose purpose is to build the U.S. Geological Survey knowledge base in data integration. This annual report describes the various presentations, activities, and outcomes of the CDI monthly forums, working groups, trainings, and other CDI-sponsored events in fiscal year 2018. The report also describes the objectives of...

What does climate change mean for snow-fed river basins? Climate change poses unique challenges in snow-fed river basins across the western United States because the majority of water supply originates as snow (Dettinger, Udall, & Georgakakos, 2015). In the Sierra Nevada, recent observations include changes in snow accumulation and snowmelt, and shifts in peak streamflow timing (Barnhart...

Predation and habitat degradation by non-native species are principal terrestrial threats to the federally endangered Hawaiian Petrel (ʻuaʻu, Pterodroma sandwichensis) and Hawaiian Goose (nēnē, Branta sandvicensis) within Haleakalā National Park (HALE), Maui, Hawaiʻi. Since 1981, HALE has maintained a network of live traps to control invasive mammalian predators and protect these...

Most of the population of the Treasure Valley and the surrounding area of southwestern Idaho and easternmost Oregon depends on groundwater for domestic supply, either from domestic or municipal-supply wells. As of 2017, 41 percent of Idaho’s population was concentrated in Idaho’s portion of the Treasure Valley, and current and projected rapid population growth in the area has caused...

Goodell Creek is located within North Cascades National Park and is high-quality habitat for Chinook salmon, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The creation of a levee near the mouth of the creek where it enters the Skagit River has cut off the historical flood plain from the active channel. There is an effort to remove the levee along the left bank of the...

From 1953 to 1988, approximately 0.941 curies of iodine-129 (129I) were contained in wastewater generated at the Idaho National Laboratory, with almost all of it discharged at or near the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC). Until 1984, most of the wastewater was discharged directly into the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer through a deep disposal well...

Off-channel and floodplain water bodies are important components of large river ecosystems while rare within the Middle Mississippi River. The lack of these habitats likely influences water quality, nutrient processing, and communities of organisms. In early 2016 a major flood event breached two levees south of Cape Girardeau, MO resulting in the creation of two new backwaters—Len Small...

The goal of this research framework is to outline research that would continue to improve our understanding of ecological resilience of the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) and inform management of the system for health and resilience. We provide a broad overview of recently completed and ongoing work that has been funded as a part of the UMRS Ecological Resilience Assessment and...

Changing climate conditions can make water management planning and drought preparedness decisions more complicated than ever before. Resource managers can no longer rely solely on historical data and trends to base their actions, and are in need of science that is relevant to their specific needs and can directly inform important planning decisions. Questions remain, however, regarding...

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

The abandoned hydraulic mine pit at Malakoff Diggins near Grass Valley, California, can produce large volumes of eroded sediment transportable by storm runoff. Sediment-laden water discharged from the pit is a major source of heavy metals to Humbug Creek and the South Yuba River. To develop a comprehensive sediment budget for the Malakoff Diggins mine pit and identify sources of sediment...