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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Methods for estimating water consumption for thermoelectric power plants in the United States Methods for estimating water consumption for thermoelectric power plants in the United States
Water consumption at thermoelectric power plants represents a small but substantial share of total water consumption in the U.S. However, currently available thermoelectric water consumption data are inconsistent and incomplete, and coefficients used to estimate consumption are contradictory. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has resumed the estimation of thermoelectric water consumption...
Authors
Timothy H. Diehl, Melissa Harris, Jennifer C. Murphy, Susan S. Hutson, David E. Ladd
Land subsidence along the Delta-Mendota Canal in the northern part of the San Joaquin Valley, California, 2003-10 Land subsidence along the Delta-Mendota Canal in the northern part of the San Joaquin Valley, California, 2003-10
Extensive groundwater withdrawal from the unconsolidated deposits in the San Joaquin Valley caused widespread aquifer-system compaction and resultant land subsidence from 1926 to 1970—locally exceeding 8.5 meters. The importation of surface water beginning in the early 1950s through the Delta-Mendota Canal and in the early 1970s through the California Aqueduct resulted in decreased...
Authors
Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Mike Solt
Mechanical properties of simulated Mars materials: gypsum-rich sandstones and lapilli tuff Mechanical properties of simulated Mars materials: gypsum-rich sandstones and lapilli tuff
Observations by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity, and other recent studies on diagenesis in the extensive equatorial layered deposits on Mars, suggest that the likely lithologies of these deposits are gypsum-rich sandstones and tuffaceous sediments (for example, Murchie and others, 2009; Squyres and others, 2012; Zimbelman and Scheidt, 2012). Of particular interest is how the
Authors
Carolyn Morrow, David Lockner, Chris Okubo
Developing and implementing the use of predictive models for estimating water quality at Great Lakes beaches Developing and implementing the use of predictive models for estimating water quality at Great Lakes beaches
Predictive models have been used at beaches to improve the timeliness and accuracy of recreational water-quality assessments over the most common current approach to water-quality monitoring, which relies on culturing fecal-indicator bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli.). Beach-specific predictive models use environmental and water-quality variables that are easily and quickly...
Authors
Donna S. Francy, Amie M. G. Brady, Rebecca B. Carvin, Steven R. Corsi, Lori M. Fuller, John H. Harrison, Brett A. Hayhurst, Jeremiah Lant, Meredith B. Nevers, Paul J. Terrio, Tammy M. Zimmerman
Water quality, sediment characteristics, aquatic habitat, geomorphology, and mussel population status of the Clinch River, Virginia and Tennessee, 2009-2011 Water quality, sediment characteristics, aquatic habitat, geomorphology, and mussel population status of the Clinch River, Virginia and Tennessee, 2009-2011
Chemical, physical, and biological data were collected during 2009-2011 as part of a study of the Clinch River in Virginia and Tennessee. The data from this study, data-collection methods, and laboratory analytical methods used in the study are documented in this report. The study was conducted to describe the conditions of the Clinch River and to determine if there are measurable...
Authors
Jennifer L. Krstolic, Gregory C. Johnson, Brett J.K. Ostby
Organic wastewater compounds in water and sediment in and near restored wetlands, Great Marsh, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, 2009–11 Organic wastewater compounds in water and sediment in and near restored wetlands, Great Marsh, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, 2009–11
A cooperative investigation between the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service was completed from 2009 through 2011 to understand the occurrence, distribution, and environmental processes affecting concentrations of organic wastewater compounds in water and sediment in and near Great Marsh at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in Beverly Shores, Indiana. Sampling sites...
Authors
Amanda L. Egler, Martin R. Risch, David A. Alvarez, Paul M. Bradley
Evaluation of intake efficiencies and associated sediment-concentration errors in US D-77 bag-type and US D-96-type depth-integrating suspended-sediment samplers Evaluation of intake efficiencies and associated sediment-concentration errors in US D-77 bag-type and US D-96-type depth-integrating suspended-sediment samplers
Accurate measurements of suspended-sediment concentration require suspended-sediment samplers to operate isokinetically, within an intake-efficiency range of 1.0 ± 0.10, where intake efficiency is defined as the ratio of the velocity of the water through the sampler intake to the local ambient stream velocity. Local ambient stream velocity is defined as the velocity of the water in the...
Authors
Thomas A. Sabol, David J. Topping
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Sullivan and Wyoming Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004–2010 Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Sullivan and Wyoming Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004–2010
Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau, is currently undergoing...
Authors
Terry E. Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim, Coral M. Roig-Silva, Alexander R. Malizia
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Armstrong and Indiana Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004–2010 Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Armstrong and Indiana Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004–2010
Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau, is currently undergoing...
Authors
Terry E. Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim, Coral M. Roig-Silva, Alexander R. Malizia
Water resources of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana Water resources of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana
This fact sheet presents a brief overview of groundwater and surface-water resources in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. Information on the availability, past and current use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is discussed. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http:/...
Authors
Lawrence B. Prakken, John K. Lovelace
USGS science at work in the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary USGS science at work in the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary
The San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta form one of the largest estuaries in the United States. The “Bay-Delta” system provides water to more than 25 million California residents and vast farmlands, as well as key habitat for birds, fish, and other wildlife. To help ensure the health of this crucial estuary, the U.S. Geological Survey, in close cooperation with partner...
Authors
Michelle K. Shouse, Dale A. Cox
Borehole-explosion and air-gun data acquired in the 2011 Salton Seismic Imaging Project (SSIP), southern California: description of the survey Borehole-explosion and air-gun data acquired in the 2011 Salton Seismic Imaging Project (SSIP), southern California: description of the survey
The Imperial and Coachella Valleys are being formed by active plate-tectonic processes. From the Imperial Valley southward into the Gulf of California, plate motions are rifting the continent apart. In the Coachella Valley, the plates are sliding past one another along the San Andreas and related faults (fig. 1). These processes build the stunning landscapes of the region, but also...
Authors
Elizabeth J. Rose, Gary S. Fuis, Joann M. Stock, John A. Hole, Annie M. Kell, Graham Kent, Neal W. Driscoll, Mark Goldman, Angela M. Reusch, Liang Han, Robert R. Sickler, Rufus D. Catchings, Michael J. Rymer, Coyn J. Criley, Daniel S. Scheirer, Steven M. Skinner, Coye J. Slayday-Criley, Janice M. Murphy, Edward G. Jensen, Robert McClearn, Alex J. Ferguson, Lesley A. Butcher, Max A. Gardner, Iain D. Emmons, Caleb L. Loughran, Joseph R. Svitek, Patrick C. Bastien, Joseph A. Cotton, David S. Croker, Alistair J. Harding, Jeffrey M. Babcock, Steven H. Harder, Carla M. Rosa