Reports

The Nevada National Security Site (NNSS, formerly the Nevada Test Site) is located in southern Nevada approximately 105 kilometers (km) (65 miles) northwest of Las Vegas. Frenchman Flat is a sedimentary basin located on the eastern edge of NNSS and extending eastward into the adjacent Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). In late September 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)...

Vancouver Lake, a large shallow lake in Clark County, near Vancouver, Washington, has been undergoing water-quality problems for decades. Recently, the biggest concern for the lake are the almost annual harmful cyanobacteria blooms that cause the lake to close for recreation for several weeks each summer. Despite decades of interest in improving the water quality of the lake, fundamental

Ohio’s water resources support a complex web of human activities and nature—clean and abundant water is needed for drinking, recreation, farming, and industry, as well as for fish and wildlife needs. Although rainfall in normal years can support these activities and needs, occasional floods and droughts can disrupt streamflow, groundwater, water availability, water quality, recreation...

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation needs to characterize their existing surface-water and groundwater resources in and near their tribal jurisdictional area to complete a water-resource management plan. Water resources in this area include surface water from the North Canadian and Little Rivers and groundwater from the terrace and alluvial aquifers and underlying bedrock aquifers. To assist...

The Wild and Scenic North Umpqua River is one of the highest-quality waters in the State of Oregon, supporting runs of wild salmon, steelhead, and trout. For many years, blooms of potentially toxic blue-green algae in Diamond and Lemolo Lakes have threatened water quality, fisheries, and public health. The blooms consist primarily of Anabaena, a nitrogen (N)-fixing planktonic alga that...

Digital flood-inundation maps for lower reaches of the Muskingum River and a reach of the Ohio River in southeast Ohio were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District and the City of Marietta, Ohio. To complete the inundation maps, Ohio River and lower Muskingum River bathymetry was updated and two streamgages, one on...

Records were obtained for 305 wells and 1 spring in northwestern Lee and southeastern Chatham counties, North Carolina. Well depths ranged from 26 to 720 feet and yields ranged from 0.25 to 100 gallons per minute. A subset of 56 wells and 1 spring were sampled for baseline groundwaterquality constituents including the following: major ions; dissolved metals; nutrients; dissolved gases...

Walker Lake is a terminal lake in west-central Nevada with almost all outflow occurring through evaporation. Diversions from Walker River since the early 1900s have contributed to a substantial reduction in flow entering Walker Lake. As a result, the lake is receding, and salt concentrations have increased to a level in which Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi (Lahontan Cutthroat trout) are...

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by the ocean’s surface where it combines with seawater to form a weak, naturally occurring acid called carbonic acid (H2CO3). Increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere results in the absorption of more CO2 by the ocean and, therefore, increases in the acidity of seawater. This process, known as ocean acidification, has the potential to...

The geotechnical properties of the soils in and around Boston, Massachusetts, have been extensively studied. This is partly due to the importance of the Boston Blue Clay and the extent of landfill in the Boston area. Although New England is not a region that is typically associated with seismic hazards, there have been several historical earthquakes that have caused significant ground...

Significant quantities of water are present in hydrocarbon reservoirs. When brought to the land surface during oil, gas, and coalbed methane production, the water—either naturally occurring or injected as a method to enhance production—is termed produced water. Produced water is currently managed through processes such as recycling, treatment and discharge, spreading on roads...

To offset for the loss of managed pond habitat during restoration of wetlands to tidal marsh, the South Bay Salt Pond (SBSP) Restoration Project is enhancing some of the remaining ponds by constructing islands for roosting and nesting waterbirds. Among these wetland habitats, the SBSP Restoration Project also is installing walking trails and viewing platforms in an effort to bring the...