Publications

The symposium 'Black Ducks and Their Chesapeake Bay Habitats,' held October 4, 2000, provided a forum for scientists to share research about the American black duck (Anas rubripes), an important breeding and wintering waterfowl species dependent upon the Chesapeake Bay habitats. American black ducks have declined significantly in the last 50 years and continue to be a species of...

An environmental database was developed to store water-quality data collected during the 1999 U.S. Geological Survey investigation of the occurrence and distribution of dioxins, furans, and PCBs in the riverbed sediment and fish tissue in the Penobscot River in Maine. The database can be used to store a wide range of detailed information and to perform complex queries on the data it...

A regression equation that is used nationwide to predict traveltime in streams during periods of low and moderate flow was developed by H.E. Jobson in 1996. Because none of the data used in the development of the equation were from streams in Pennsylvania, velocities for low and moderate flows predicted by the equation were compared to velocities measured during time-of-travel studies on...

Many rural areas in southeastern Pennsylvania, including the Big Elk Creek Basin, are undergoing a rapid population increase. New development and an expanding population increase consumptive water use, increase surface runoff, and have the potential to reduce ground-water recharge. The Big Elk Creek Basin is between the Delaware and Susquehanna River Basins and drains directly to the...

Historical ice-out dates for 29 lakes in New England were compiled and are presented in this report. The length of record for the lakes ranges from 64 to 163 years, with an average of 108 years. Many lakes in New England had their latest recorded ice-out date in 1888. Ice-out dates for lakes are an important hydrologic data series for climate researchers and other interested parties.

This report presents the instructions required to use the Scour Critical Bridge Indicator (SCBI) Code and Scour Assessment Rating (SAR) calculator developed by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the U.S. Geological Survey to identify Pennsylvania bridges with excessive scour conditions or a high potential for scour. Use of the calculator will enable PennDOT...

Bedrock, forest floor, and mineral soil sampling in Voyageurs National Park (VNP), Minnesota in 2000 and 2001 is part of a multidisciplinary project that includes the U. S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The joint project is examining the distribution of...

The Chesapeake Bay is the Nation's largest estuary and historically supported one of the most productive fisheries in the world. In addition to supporting aquatic communities and wildlife, the bay's watershed serves the economic and recreational needs of 15 million people. The fertile soils of the watershed support significant agricultural production. Unfortunately, the commercial...

With the exception of sewage and septic effluents, most nitrogen sources and soils contain larger proportions of organic and reduced forms of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur than inorganic, oxidized forms. In contrast, most surface water and ground water contains larger proportions of dissolved inorganic carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur forms than organic forms. Data indicate that carbon...

Geohydrologic and water-quality data collected during 1997 through 2000 in the vicinity of a former waste-oil refinery near Westville, Indiana, define a plume of 1,4-dioxane in ground water that extends to the southwest approximately 0.8 miles from the refinery site. Concentrations of 1,4-dioxane in the plume ranged from 3 to 31,000 micrograms per liter. Ground water containing 1,4...

A study of ground-water quantity and quality was conducted in the Big Elk Creek Basin, a rural area undergoing rapid growth. The 79.4-square mile study area is in the Piedmont Physiographic Province and is underlain almost entirely by crystalline rocks. Most of the basin in Pennsylvania is underlain by Wissahickon Schist, a fractured crystalline- rock aquifer. Yields of wells in the...

Since the beginning of economic geology as a subdiscipline of the geological sciences, economic geologists have tended to classify mineral deposits on the basis of geological, mineralogical, and geochemical criteria, in efforts to systematize our understanding of mineral deposits as an aid to exploration. These efforts have led to classifications based on commodity, geologic setting (Cox...