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.
Filter Total Items: 84719
The collection and analysis of Bay of Fundy sediment under contract between the association of US delegates to the Gulf of Maine Council on the marine environment and eastern Charlotte waterways for contaminant monitoring and analysis The collection and analysis of Bay of Fundy sediment under contract between the association of US delegates to the Gulf of Maine Council on the marine environment and eastern Charlotte waterways for contaminant monitoring and analysis
This report presents data obtained through the EcoSystem Indicator Partnership (ESIP) which was established in 2006 to improve understanding and to inform researchers, managers, and citizens about the status and trends of ecosystem health in the Gulf of Maine (http://www.gulfofmaine.org/2/esip-homepage/). In its efforts to compile information on contaminant indicators in the Gulf of...
Authors
James S Latimer, David Page, Adria Elskus, Lawrence A LeBlanc, Gareth Harding, Peter G Wells
Field evaluation of the Sequoia Scientific LISST-ABS acoustic backscatter sediment sensor Field evaluation of the Sequoia Scientific LISST-ABS acoustic backscatter sediment sensor
Sequoia Scientific’s LISST-ABS is a submersible acoustic instrument that measures the acoustic backscatter sensor (ABS) concentration at a point within a river, stream, or creek. Compared to traditional physical methods for measuring suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), sediment surrogates like the LISST-ABS offer continuous data that can be calibrated with physical SSC samples. Data...
Authors
Adam E. Manaster, Timothy D. Straub, Molly S. Wood, Joseph M. Bell, Daniel E. Dombroski, Christopher A. Curran
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Nelson’s Sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni nelsoni) The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Nelson’s Sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni nelsoni)
The key to Nelson’s Sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni nelsoni) management is providing dense grasses or emergent vegetation near damp areas or freshwater wetlands. Nelson’s Sparrows have been reported to use habitats with 20–122 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 41 cm visual obstruction reading, 40–58 percent grass cover, 24 percent forb cover, 5 percent shrub cover, 13 percent bare...
Authors
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Paul A. Rabie, Betty R. Euliss
USGS enterprise tools for efficient and effective management of science data USGS enterprise tools for efficient and effective management of science data
The Science Data Management Branch (SDM) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides data management expertise and leadership and develops guidance and tools to support the USGS in providing the nation with reliable scientific information on the basis of which to describe the Earth. The SDM suite of tools supports the USGS Data Management Lifecycle by facilitating quality assurance...
Authors
Vivian B. Hutchison, Amanda Liford, Ricardo McClees-Funinan, Lisa Zolly, Drew Ignizio, Madison Langseth, Brandon Serna, Elizabeth Sellers, Leslie Hsu, Tamar Norkin, Marcia McNiff, Grace C. Donovan
Total water level data from the January and March 2018 nor’easters for coastal areas of New England Total water level data from the January and March 2018 nor’easters for coastal areas of New England
During winter 2017–18 coastal areas of New England were impacted by the January 4, and March 2–4, 2018, nor’easters. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), under an interagency agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), collected total water level data (the combination of tide, storm surge, wave runup and setup, and freshwater input) using the North American Vertical...
Authors
Gardner C. Bent, Nicholas J. Taylor
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus)
Keys to Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) management include maintaining cliffs with suitable recesses for use as nest sites (that is, the substrate that supports the nest or the specific location of the nest on the landscape), protecting nest sites from human disturbance by designating buffer zones, and maintaining open landscapes and habitats that support populations of ground squirrels
Authors
John P. DeLong, Karen Steenhof
Observed and modeled mercury and dissolved organic carbon concentrations and loads at control structure S-12D, Florida Everglades, 2013–17 Observed and modeled mercury and dissolved organic carbon concentrations and loads at control structure S-12D, Florida Everglades, 2013–17
Mercury (Hg) has been a contaminant of concern for several decades in South Florida, particularly in the Florida Everglades. The transport and bioavailability of Hg in aquatic systems is intimately linked to dissolved organic carbon (DOC). In aquatic systems, Hg can be converted to methylmercury (MeHg), which is the form of Hg that bioaccumulates in food webs. The bioaccumulation of MeHg...
Authors
Amanda Booth, Brett A. Poulin, David P. Krabbenhoft
Compounds of emerging concern detected in water samples from potable water and wastewater treatment plants and detected in water and bed-sediment samples from sites on the Trinity River, Dallas, Texas, 2009–13 Compounds of emerging concern detected in water samples from potable water and wastewater treatment plants and detected in water and bed-sediment samples from sites on the Trinity River, Dallas, Texas, 2009–13
The population in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area in northern Texas is rapidly growing, resulting in a rapid increase in the demand for potable water and an increase in the discharge of wastewater treatment plant effluent. An assessment of compounds of emerging concern (CECs) in samples collected at potable water and wastewater treatment plants in Dallas and downstream from...
Authors
Christopher J. Churchill, Stanley Baldys, Cathina L. Gunn, Craig A. Mobley, Daniel P. Quigley
Modeling occupancy of rare stream fish species in the upper Cumberland and Kentucky River Basins Modeling occupancy of rare stream fish species in the upper Cumberland and Kentucky River Basins
Biological conservation often requires an understanding of how environmental conditions affect species occurrence and detection probabilities. We used a hierarchical framework to evaluate these effects for several Appalachian stream fish species of conservation concern: Chrosomus cumberlandensis (BSD; blackside dace), Etheostoma sagitta (CAD; Cumberland arrow darter), and Etheostoma...
Authors
Nathaniel P. Hitt, Karli M. Rogers, Karmann Kessler, Hannah E. Macmillan
Methods for estimating selected low-flow frequency statistics and mean annual flow for ungaged locations on streams in Alabama Methods for estimating selected low-flow frequency statistics and mean annual flow for ungaged locations on streams in Alabama
Streamflow data and statistics are vitally important for proper protection and management of the water quality and water quantity of Alabama streams. Such data and statistics are generally available at U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations, also referred to as streamgages or stations, but are often needed at ungaged stream locations. To address this need, the U.S. Geological...
Authors
Toby D. Feaster, Katharine Kolb, Jaime A. Painter, Jimmy M. Clark
Stressor identification framework of biological impairment in Mississippi streams to support watershed restoration and TMDL development Stressor identification framework of biological impairment in Mississippi streams to support watershed restoration and TMDL development
The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires States to identify waters that are impaired for designated uses. These waters are published through a State’s §303(d) list. The CWA also requires that a total maximum daily load (TMDL) be completed for each water body to calculate the maximum amount of contaminants that can be present in that water body and still meet water-quality standards. The...
Authors
Matthew B. Hicks, Jennifer M. Cartwright
Use of time domain electromagnetic soundings and borehole electromagnetic induction logs to delineate the freshwater/saltwater interface on southwestern Long Island, New York, 2015–17 Use of time domain electromagnetic soundings and borehole electromagnetic induction logs to delineate the freshwater/saltwater interface on southwestern Long Island, New York, 2015–17
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, used surface and borehole geophysical methods to delineate the freshwater/saltwater interface in coastal plain aquifers along the southwestern part of Long Island, New York. Over pumping of groundwater in the early 20th century combined with freshwater/saltwater interfaces at the...
Authors
Frederick Stumm, Michael D. Como, Marie A. Zuck