Conference Papers

Sediment budgets are an important tool for understanding how riverine ecosystems respond to perturbations. Changes in the quantity and grain-size distribution of sediment within river systems affect the channel morphology and related habitat resources. It is therefore important for resource managers to know if a channel reach is in a state of sediment accumulation, deficit or stasis...

Mapping subaqueous riverbed sediment grain size across channels and in nearshore areas typically used by fish and benthic invertebrates is difficult where and when the water flow is too swift or deep to wade yet impractical to access with large boats and instruments. Fluvial characteristics can further constrain sampling options, particularly where flow depth, water column turbidity or...

The use of acoustic and other parameters as surrogates for suspended-sediment concentrations (SSC) in rivers has been successful in multiple applications across the Nation. Critical to advancing the operational use of surrogates are tools to process and evaluate the data along with the subsequent development of regression models from which real-time sediment concentrations can be made...

The confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, CA, forms a large network of interconnected channels, referred to as the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (the Delta). The Delta comprises the transition zone from the fluvial influences of the upstream rivers and tidal influences of San Francisco Bay downstream. Formerly an extensive tidal marsh, the hydrodynamics and geomorphology of...

Excessive sediment transport in rivers causes problems for flood control, soil conservation, irrigation, aquatic health, and navigation, as well as transporting harmful contaminants like organic chemicals and eutrophication-causing nutrients. In Minnesota, more than 5,800 miles of streams are identified as impaired by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) due to elevated levels...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, conducted a field investigation of abutment scour in South Carolina and used that data to develop envelope curves defining the upper bound of abutment scour. To expand upon this previous work, an additional cooperative investigation was initiated to combine the South Carolina data with...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, conducted several field investigations of pier scour in South Carolina (Benedict and Caldwell, 2006; Benedict and Caldwell, 2009) and used that data to develop envelope curves defining the upper bound of pier scour. To expand upon this previous work, an additional cooperative investigation...

Human land use will increasingly contribute to habitat loss and water shortages in California, given future population projections and associated land-use demand. Understanding how land-use change may impact future water use and where existing protected areas may be threatened by land-use conversion will be important if effective, sustainable management approaches are to be implemented...

On 4 September 2010, a Mw7.1 earthquake occurred in Canterbury, New Zealand. Following the initial earthquake, an aftershock sequence was initiated, with the most significant aftershock being a Mw6.3 earthquake occurring on 22 February 2011. This aftershock caused severe damage to the city of Christchurch and building failures that killed 185 people. During the aftershock sequence it...

Advanced borehole-geophysical methods were used to investigate the hydrogeology of the crystalline bedrock in three boreholes on Roosevelt Island, New York County, New York. Cornell University was evaluating the feasibility of using geothermal energy for a future campus at the site. The borehole-logging techniques were used to delineate bedrock fractures, foliation, and groundwater-flow...

Fifty years ago, infectious diseases were rarely considered threats to wildlife populations, and the study of wildlife diseases was largely a neglected endeavor. Furthermore, public health leaders at that time had declared that “it is time to close the book on infectious diseases and the war against pestilence won,” a quote attributed to Dr. William H. Stewart in 1967. There is some...

Large-scale land uses such as residential wastewater discharge and coal mining practices, particularly surface coal extraction and associated valley fills, are of particular ecological concern in central Appalachia. Identification and quantification of both alterations across scales are a necessary first-step to mitigate negative consequences to biota. In central Appalachian headwater...