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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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Groundwater conditions in Georgia, 2015–16 Groundwater conditions in Georgia, 2015–16
The U.S. Geological Survey collects groundwater data and conducts studies to monitor hydrologic conditions, define groundwater resources, and address problems related to water supply, water use, and water quality. In Georgia, water levels were monitored continuously at 157 wells during calendar years 2015 and 2016. Because of missing data or short periods of record (less than 5 years)...
Authors
Debbie W. Gordon, Jaime A. Painter
Temporal trends in water-quality constituent concentrations and annual loads of chemical constituents in Michigan watersheds, 1998–2013 Temporal trends in water-quality constituent concentrations and annual loads of chemical constituents in Michigan watersheds, 1998–2013
In 1998, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Geological Survey began the Water Chemistry Monitoring Program for select streams in the State of Michigan. Objectives of this program were to provide assistance with (1) statewide water-quality assessments, (2) the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting process, and (3) water-resource management...
Authors
Christopher J. Hoard, Lisa R. Fogarty, Joseph W. Duris
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the Wyoming Thrust Belt Province, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah, 2017 Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the Wyoming Thrust Belt Province, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah, 2017
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 26 million barrels of oil and 700 billion cubic feet of gas in the Wyoming Thrust Belt Province, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah.
Authors
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Cheryl A. Woodall, Michael E. Brownfield, Phuong A. Le, Timothy R. Klett, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Thomas M. Finn, Kristen R. Marra, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller
Volume-weighted particle-tracking method for solute-transport modeling; Implementation in MODFLOW–GWT Volume-weighted particle-tracking method for solute-transport modeling; Implementation in MODFLOW–GWT
In the traditional method of characteristics for groundwater solute-transport models, advective transport is represented by moving particles that track concentration. This approach can lead to global mass-balance problems because in models of aquifers having complex boundary conditions and heterogeneous properties, particles can originate in cells having different pore volumes and (or)...
Authors
Richard B. Winston, Leonard F. Konikow, George Z. Hornberger
Draft critical mineral list—Summary of methodology and background information—U.S. Geological Survey technical input document in response to Secretarial Order No. 3359 Draft critical mineral list—Summary of methodology and background information—U.S. Geological Survey technical input document in response to Secretarial Order No. 3359
Pursuant to the Presidential Executive Order (EO) No. 13817, “A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals,” the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, and in consultation with the heads of other relevant executive departments and agencies, was tasked with developing and submitting a draft list of minerals defined as...
Authors
Steven M. Fortier, Nedal T. Nassar, Graham W. Lederer, Jamie Brainard, Joseph Gambogi, Erin A. McCullough
Characterizing the subsurface geology in and around the U.S. Army Camp Stanley Storage Activity, south-central Texas Characterizing the subsurface geology in and around the U.S. Army Camp Stanley Storage Activity, south-central Texas
Several U.S. Geological Survey projects, supported by the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, have used multi-disciplinary approaches over a 14-year period to reveal the surface and subsurface geologic frameworks of the Edwards and Trinity aquifers of central Texas and the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer of south-central Oklahoma. Some of the project achievements include advancements...
Authors
Charles D. Blome, Allan K. Clark
Landsat classification of surface-water presence during multiple years to assess response of playa wetlands to climatic variability across the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative region Landsat classification of surface-water presence during multiple years to assess response of playa wetlands to climatic variability across the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative region
To improve understanding of the distribution of ecologically important, ephemeral wetland habitats across the Great Plains, the occurrence and distribution of surface water in playa wetland complexes were documented for four different years across the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GPLCC) region. This information is important because it informs land and wildlife...
Authors
Daniel J. Manier, Jennifer R. Rover
Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published since January 2015 Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published since January 2015
The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter GRSG) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” was in part due to a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to...
Authors
Sarah K. Carter, Daniel J. Manier, Robert S. Arkle, Aaron N. Johnston, Susan L. Phillips, Steven E. Hanser, Zachary H. Bowen
Greater sage-grouse science (2015–17)—Synthesis and potential management implications Greater sage-grouse science (2015–17)—Synthesis and potential management implications
Executive Summary The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter called “sage-grouse”), a species that requires sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), has experienced range-wide declines in its distribution and abundance. These declines have prompted substantial research and management investments to improve the understanding of sage-grouse and its habitats and reverse declines in...
Authors
Steven E. Hanser, Patricia A. Deibert, John C. Tull, Natasha B. Carr, Cameron L. Aldridge, Travis D. Bargsten, Thomas J. Christiansen, Peter S. Coates, Michele R. Crist, Kevin E. Doherty, Ethan A. Ellsworth, Lee J. Foster, Vicki A. Herren, Kevin H. Miller, Ann Moser, Robin M. Naeve, Karen L. Prentice, Thomas E. Remington, Mark A. Ricca, Douglas J. Shinneman, Richard L. Truex, Lief A. Wiechman, Dereck C. Wilson, Zachary H. Bowen
Stream-channel and watershed delineations and basin-characteristic measurements using lidar elevation data for small drainage basins within the Des Moines Lobe landform region in Iowa Stream-channel and watershed delineations and basin-characteristic measurements using lidar elevation data for small drainage basins within the Des Moines Lobe landform region in Iowa
Basin-characteristic measurements related to stream length, stream slope, stream density, and stream order have been identified as significant variables for estimation of flood, flow-duration, and low-flow discharges in Iowa. The placement of channel initiation points, however, has always been a matter of individual interpretation, leading to differences in stream definitions between...
Authors
David A. Eash, Kimberlee K. Barnes, Padraic S. O’Shea, Brian K. Gelder
Postglacial eruptive history and geochemistry of Semisopochnoi volcano, western Aleutian Islands, Alaska Postglacial eruptive history and geochemistry of Semisopochnoi volcano, western Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Semisopochnoi Island, located in the Rat Islands group of the western Aleutian Islands and Aleutian volcanic arc, is a roughly circular island composed of scattered volcanic vents, the prominent caldera of Semisopochnoi volcano, and older, ancestral volcanic rocks. The oldest rocks on the island are gently radially dipping lavas that are the remnants of a shield volcano and of Ragged Top...
Authors
Michelle L. Coombs, Jessica F. Larsen, Christina A. Neal
Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Hanoi Trough, Vietnam, 2017 Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Hanoi Trough, Vietnam, 2017
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of 52 million barrels of oil and 591 billion cubic feet of gas in the Hanoi Trough of Vietnam.
Authors
Christopher J. Schenk, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Phuong A. Le, Timothy R. Klett, Thomas M. Finn, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra