Publications

The purpose of the Reston Stable Isotope Laboratory (RSIL) lab code 2897 is to determine the δ15N and δ18O of nitrate (NO3-) in solids. The NO3- fraction of the nitrogen species is dissolved by water (called leaching) and can be analyzed by the bacterial method covered in RSIL lab code 2900. After leaching, the δ15N and δ18O of the dissolved NO3- is analyzed by conversion of the NO3- to...

Each summer the population of the barrier-island communities of New Jersey increases by tens of thousands. When a coastal storm threatens these communities, the limited number of bridges and causeways that connect the islands with the mainland become overcrowded, making evacuations from the barrier islands to the mainland difficult. Timely evacuation depends on well-defined emergency...

More than 800 wells in the glacial aquifer system of the Northern United States were sampled for arsenic as part of U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) studies during 1991-2003. Elevated arsenic concentrations (greater than or equal to 10 micrograms per liter) were detected in 9 percent of samples. Elevated arsenic concentrations were associated with strongly...

Executive Summary The mission of the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is to provide scientifically credible measures of the status and trends of North American bird populations at continental and regional scales to inform biologically sound conservation and management actions. Determining population trends, relative abundance, and distributions of North American avifauna is...

Elevated phosphorus concentrations commonly promote excessive growth of algae in waters nationwide. When such waters are used for public supply, the algae can plug filters during treatment and impart tastes and odors to the finished water. This increases treatment costs and results in finished water that may not be of the quality desired for public supply. Consequently, copper sulfate is...

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is proposing to build a dry dam on the South Fork Licking River to mitigate flood impacts. Concerns have been raised regarding the effects of impounded floodwaters on ground-water conditions in the Swamp Road neighborhood. To obtain a better understanding of existing ground-water conditions, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with...

The Passaic River Basin, the third largest drainage basin in New Jersey, encompasses 950 mi2 (square miles) in the highly urbanized area outside New York City, with a population of 2 million. Water quality in the basin is affected by many natural and anthropogenic factors. Nutrient loading to the Wanaque Reservoir in the northern part of the basin is of particular concern and is caused...

This study is a continuation of a previous U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) project in cooperation with the National Park Service at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Brecksville, Ohio. A rapid (1-hour) method for detecting Escherichia coli (E. coli) in water was tested and compared to the standard (24-hour) method for determining E. coli concentrations. Environmental data were collected to...

Ground water provides about 7.7 million gallons per day, or 28 percent of total water use in the Rhode Island part of the Blackstone River Basin. Primary aquifers in the basin are stratified glacial deposits, composed mostly of sand and gravel along valley bottoms. The ground-water and surface-water system in the Blackstone River Basin is under stress due to population growth, out-of...

No abstract available. Review info: Mammals of South America. By Rexford D. Lord. 2007. ISBN 0-8018-8494-2, xxii + 198 pp.

No abstract available.

Several conditions, including saturated soils, snowmelt, and heavy rains, caused flooding on the Delaware River on April 2-4, 2005. The event occurred 50 years after the historic 1955 Delaware River flood, and only six months after a smaller but equally notable flood on September 18-19, 2004. The Delaware River flooded for a third time in 22 months in June, 2006. The peak flows and...