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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.
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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Baseline assessment of groundwater quality in Pike County, Pennsylvania, 2015 Baseline assessment of groundwater quality in Pike County, Pennsylvania, 2015
The Devonian-age Marcellus Shale and the Ordovician-age Utica Shale, which have the potential for natural gas development, underlie Pike County and neighboring counties in northeastern Pennsylvania. In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pike County Conservation District, conducted a study that expanded on a previous more limited 2012 study to assess baseline...
Authors
Lisa A. Senior, Charles A. Cravotta
Chemical quality of water and bottom sediment, Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge, Lahontan Valley, Nevada Chemical quality of water and bottom sediment, Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge, Lahontan Valley, Nevada
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service collected data on water and bottom-sediment chemistry to be used to evaluate a new water rights acquisition program designed to enhance wetland habitat in Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge and in Lahontan Valley, Churchill County, Nevada. The area supports habitat critical to the feeding and resting of...
Authors
Carl E. Thodal
Streambed scour evaluations and conditions at selected bridge sites in Alaska, 2013–15 Streambed scour evaluations and conditions at selected bridge sites in Alaska, 2013–15
Streambed scour potential was evaluated at 52 river- and stream-spanning bridges in Alaska that lack a quantitative scour analysis or have unknown foundation details. All sites were evaluated for stream stability and long-term scour potential. Contraction scour and abutment scour were calculated for 52 bridges, and pier scour was calculated for 11 bridges that had piers. Vertical...
Authors
Robin A. Beebee, Karenth L. Dworsky, Schyler J. Knopp
An evaluation of the zooplankton community at the Sheboygan River Area of Concern and non-Area of Concern comparison sites in western Lake Michigan rivers and harbors in 2016 An evaluation of the zooplankton community at the Sheboygan River Area of Concern and non-Area of Concern comparison sites in western Lake Michigan rivers and harbors in 2016
The Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) are considered to be the most severely degraded areas within the Great Lakes basin, as defined in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and amendments. Among the 43 designated AOCs are four Lake Michigan AOCs in the State of Wisconsin. The smallest of these AOCs is the Sheboygan River AOC, which was designated as an AOC because of sediment...
Authors
Hayley T. Olds, Barbara C. Scudder Eikenberry, Daniel J. Burns, Amanda H. Bell
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Cretaceous Nanushuk and Torok Formations, Alaska North Slope, and summary of resource potential of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 2017 Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Cretaceous Nanushuk and Torok Formations, Alaska North Slope, and summary of resource potential of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 2017
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 8.7 billion barrels of oil and 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (associated and nonassociated) in conventional accumulations in the Cretaceous Nanushuk and Torok Formations in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, adjacent State and Native lands, and State waters. The estimated...
Authors
David W. Houseknecht, Richard O. Lease, Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, William A. Rouse, Palma J. Botterell, Katherine J. Whidden, Christopher P. Garrity, Kristen A. Lewis, Samuel J. Heller, William H. Craddock, Timothy R. Klett, Phuong A. Le, Rebecca A. Smith, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Cheryl A. Woodall, Michael E. Brownfield, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Thomas M. Finn
Evaluation of hypotheses for right-lateral displacement of Neogene strata along the San Andreas Fault between Parkfield and Maricopa, California Evaluation of hypotheses for right-lateral displacement of Neogene strata along the San Andreas Fault between Parkfield and Maricopa, California
We used geological field studies and diatom biostratigraphy to test a published hypothesis that Neogene marine siliceous strata in the Maricopa and Parkfield areas, located on opposite sides of the San Andreas Fault, were formerly contiguous and then were displaced by about 80–130 kilometers (km) of right-lateral slip along the fault. In the Maricopa area on the northeast side of the San...
Authors
Richard G. Stanley, John A. Barron, Charles L. Powell
Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Chukchi Borderland Province, 2008 Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Chukchi Borderland Province, 2008
The Chukchi Borderland is both a stand-alone petroleum province and assessment unit (AU) that lies north of the Chukchi Sea. It is a bathymetrically high-standing block of continental crust that was probably rifted from the Canadian continental margin. The sum of our knowledge of this province is based upon geophysical data (seismic, gravity, and magnetic) and a limited number of...
Authors
Kenneth J. Bird, David W. Houseknecht
Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Laptev Sea Shelf Province, 2008 Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Laptev Sea Shelf Province, 2008
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Laptev Sea Shelf Province as part of the 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA) program. The province is situated in the Russian Federation and is located between the Taimyr Peninsula and the Novosibirsk (New Siberian) Islands. Three assessment units (AUs) were defined...
Authors
Timothy R. Klett, Janet K. Pitman
Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Northwest Laptev Sea Shelf Province, 2008 Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Northwest Laptev Sea Shelf Province, 2008
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Northwest Laptev Sea Shelf Province as part of the USGS Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal. The province is in the Russian Arctic, east of Severnaya Zemlya and the Taimyr fold-and-thrust belt. The province is separated from the rest of the Laptev Sea Shelf by the Severnyi...
Authors
Timothy R. Klett, Janet K. Pitman
Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Yukon Flats Basin Province, 2008 Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Yukon Flats Basin Province, 2008
The hydrocarbon potential of the Yukon Flats Basin Province in Central Alaska was assessed in 2004 as part of an update to the National Oil and Gas Assessment. Three assessment units (AUs) were identified and assessed using a methodology somewhat different than that of the 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA). An important difference in the methodology of the two assessments is...
Authors
Kenneth J. Bird, Richard G. Stanley
The 2014 eruptions of Pavlof Volcano, Alaska The 2014 eruptions of Pavlof Volcano, Alaska
Pavlof Volcano is one of the most frequently active volcanoes in the Aleutian Island arc, having erupted more than 40 times since observations were first recorded in the early 1800s . The volcano is located on the Alaska Peninsula (lat 55.4173° N, long 161.8937° W), near Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. The towns and villages closest to the volcano are Cold Bay, Nelson Lagoon, Sand...
Authors
Christopher F. Waythomas, Matthew M. Haney, Kristi L. Wallace, Cheryl E. Cameron, David J. Schneider
Water quality, sources of nitrate, and chemical loadings in the Geronimo Creek and Plum Creek watersheds, south-central Texas, April 2015–March 2016 Water quality, sources of nitrate, and chemical loadings in the Geronimo Creek and Plum Creek watersheds, south-central Texas, April 2015–March 2016
Located in south-central Texas, the Geronimo Creek and Plum Creek watersheds have long been characterized by elevated nitrate concentrations. From April 2015 through March 2016, an assessment was done by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, to characterize nitrate concentrations and to...
Authors
Rebecca B. Lambert, Stephen P. Opsahl, MaryLynn Musgrove