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The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
Browse more than 5,500 book chapters authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS and refine search by topic, location, year, and advanced search.
Filter Total Items: 6158
The Spruce Head composite pluton: An example of mafic to silicic Salinian magmatism in coastal Maine, northern Appalachians The Spruce Head composite pluton: An example of mafic to silicic Salinian magmatism in coastal Maine, northern Appalachians
No abstract available.
Authors
Robert A. Ayuso, Joseph G. Arth
Physiography, Geomorphic/geologic Mapping and Stratigraphy of Venus Physiography, Geomorphic/geologic Mapping and Stratigraphy of Venus
No abstract available.
Authors
K. L. Tanaka, D.A. Senske, M. Price, Randolph L. Kirk
Operation of a landslide warning system during the California storm sequence of January and February 1993 Operation of a landslide warning system during the California storm sequence of January and February 1993
From 1986 to late December 1995, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Weather Service operated a landslide warning system for debris flows triggered by intense rainstorms in the San Francisco Bay region. The Landslide Warning System tracked storm systems as they approached the region, determined actual rainfall with a network of radio-telemetered rain gauges, compared the rainfall...
Authors
Raymond C. Wilson
Responses of sediment geochemistry to climate change in Owens Lake sediment: An 800-k.y. record of saline/fresh cycles in core OL-92 Responses of sediment geochemistry to climate change in Owens Lake sediment: An 800-k.y. record of saline/fresh cycles in core OL-92
Geochemical parameters of sediments from drill hole OL-92 indicate that Owens Lake was saline, alkaline, and highly productive during interglacial periods, and was hydrologically open and relatively unproductive during glacial periods. Abundance of CaCO3, organic carbon, and cation-exchange capacity of the clay fraction show cyclic variation down the core. Six minima in these components...
Authors
James L. Bischoff, Jeffrey P. Fitts, John A. Fitzpatrick
Geochemistry of the processes that attenuate acid mine drainage in wetlands Geochemistry of the processes that attenuate acid mine drainage in wetlands
Because conventional treatment of acid-mine drainage (AMD) involves installation and maintenance of water treatment plants, regulators and mine operators have sought lower cost and lower maintenance technologies. One ecological engineering technology that has received increasing research attention is the use of natural and constructed wetlands for remediation of some of the water-quality...
Authors
Katherine Walton-Day
Core OL-92 from Owens Lake: Project rationale, geologic setting, drilling procedures, and summary Core OL-92 from Owens Lake: Project rationale, geologic setting, drilling procedures, and summary
Several lines of evidence indicated that Owens Lake, a now-dry lake in southeast California, would probably yield a continuous and climatically informative sedimentary record. Also, the details of modern climate and runoff in the area are exceptionally well known, providing a firm basis for interpreting various types of evidence from a core in terms of past climates. Drilling was carried...
Authors
George I. Smith, James L. Bischoff
Stratigraphy, lithologies, and sedimentary structures of Owens Lake core OL-92 Stratigraphy, lithologies, and sedimentary structures of Owens Lake core OL-92
Owens Lake, a now-dry lake in southeastern California immediately east of the southern Sierra Nevada, was the site of a coring project designed to obtain a long paleoclimatic record. During the ensuing study, lacustrine deposits were recovered by the 323 m long core designated “OL-92.” The presence of the Bishop ash (ca. 760 ka) and the Matuyama-Brunhes paleomagnetic reversal (ca. 780 ka...
Authors
George I. Smith
Geochemical modeling of water-rock interactions in mining environments Geochemical modeling of water-rock interactions in mining environments
Geochemical modeling is a powerful tool for evaluating geochemical processes in mining environments. Properly constrained and judiciously applied, modeling can provide valuable insights into processes controlling the release, transport, and fate of contaminants in mine drainage. This chapter contains 1) an overview of geochemical modeling, 2) discussion of the types of models and...
Authors
Charles N. Alpers, D. Kirk Nordstrom
Mass balance approach to selenium cycling through the San Joaquin Valley, sources to river to bay Mass balance approach to selenium cycling through the San Joaquin Valley, sources to river to bay
Surface and ground waters of the Central Valley of California (e.g., rivers, dams, off-stream storage reservoirs, pumping facilities, irrigation and drinking water supply canals, agricultural drainage canals) are part of a hydrologic system that makes up a complex ecosystem extending from the riparian wetlands of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers through the San Francisco Bay/Delta...
Authors
Theresa S. Presser, David Z. Piper
Seasonal variation in metal concentrations in a stream affected by acid mine drainage, St. Kevin Gulch, Colorado Seasonal variation in metal concentrations in a stream affected by acid mine drainage, St. Kevin Gulch, Colorado
Mining of mineral deposits in the Rocky Mountains has left a legacy of acidic inflows to otherwise pristine upland watersheds. Since 1986, the U.S. Geological Survey has studied physical, chemical, and biological processes that affect the transport and transformation of metals in St. Kevin Gulch, an acidic, metal-rich stream near Leadville, Colorado. Well-known chemical processes have...
Authors
B. A. Kimball
A new database on contaminant exposure and effects in terrestrial vertebrates for natural resource managers A new database on contaminant exposure and effects in terrestrial vertebrates for natural resource managers
The Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) program of the Department of the Interior is focused to identify and understand effects of contaminant stressors on biological resources under their stewardship. Despite the desire of many to continuously monitor the environmental health of our estuaries, much can be learned by summarizing existing temporal, geographic, and...
Authors
Barnett A. Rattner, J.L. Pearson, L.J. Garrett, R.M. Erwin, A. Walz, M. A. Ottinger