Publications

The mining water-use category includes groundwater and surface water that is withdrawn and used for nonfuels and fuels mining. Nonfuels mining includes the extraction of ores, stone, sand, and gravel. Fuels mining includes the extraction of coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Water is used for mineral extraction, quarrying, milling, and other operations directly associated with mining...

Water use for 2005 for each county in Georgia was estimated using data obtained from various Federal and State agencies and local sources. Total consumptive water use also was estimated for each county in Georgia for 2005. Water use is subdivided according to offstream and instream use. Offstream use is defined as water withdrawn or diverted from a ground- or surface-water source and...

Fish-tissue mercury concentrations (approximately 2 micrograms per gram) in the Edisto River basin of South Carolina are among the highest recorded in the United States. Substantially lower mercury concentrations (approximately 0.2 microgram per gram) are reported in fish from the adjacent (about 30 kilometer) Congaree River basin and the Congaree National Park. In contrast...

National assessment of hurricane-induced coastal change vulnerability

Land-surface subsidence and erosion are the principal processes that form accommodation space in interior coastal wetlands when they are converted to open water. The relative contribution of subsidence and erosion to wetland loss can be estimated by comparing elevations and vertical offsets of stratigraphic contacts that are correlated between adjacent sediment cores. Accommodation-space

Coastal flats worldwide that are periodically exposed to arid climates and periodically flooded by marine waters are unique depositional environments because they receive sediments surficially and interstitially from both land and sea. The wind-tidal flats bordering Laguna Madre, Texas, which fit this unique category, are modified by eolian processes when subaerially exposed, and by wave...

The U.S. Geological Survey collects ground-water data and conducts studies to monitor hydrologic conditions, better define ground-water resources, and address problems related to water supply, water use, and water quality. Water levels were monitored continuously, in Georgia, in a network of 184 wells during 2006 and 182 wells during 2007. Because of missing data or the short period of...

In April and July of 1981, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys to investigate the shallow geologic framework of the Alabama-Mississippi-Louisiana Shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Work was conducted onboard the Texas A&M University R/V Carancahua and the R/V Gyre to develop a geologic understanding of the study area and to locate potential hazards related...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has collected streamflow information for the Nation's streams since 1889. Streamflow information is used to predict floods, manage and allocate water resources, design engineering structures, compute water-quality loads, and operate water-control structures. The current (2007) size of the USGS streamgaging network is over 7,400 streamgages nationwide...

In June of 1990 and July of 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys to investigate the shallow geologic framework of the Mississippi-Alabama-Florida shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico, from Mississippi Sound to the Florida Panhandle. Work was done onboard the Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute R/V Kit Jones as part of a project to study coastal...

Geographic information system (GIS) technology has become an important tool for scientific investigation, resource management, and environmental planning. A GIS is a computer-aided system capable of collecting, storing, analyzing, and displaying spatially referenced digital data. GIS technology is useful for analyzing a wide variety of spatial data. Remote sensing involves collecting...

The Santa Ana River (SAR) in southern California is impacted by effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), which are sources of organic wastewater compounds (OWCs) and urban runoff. The Santa Ana River is one of only three river basins supporting native populations of the federally listed Santa Ana sucker (Catostomus santaanae) at the time the fish was included on the list 2000...