Unified Interior Regions
Arizona
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AzWSC Capabilities: Arizona Water Use
Since 1950, the AzWSC has estimated water use by county at 5-year intervals, publishing the results in a series of reports since 1981. Water demand is met by pumping groundwater from aquifers or by conveying surface water to users through a system of reservoirs and canals. Because of the importance of water to Arizona’s communities and future economic development, the AzWSC works cooperatively...
Assessment of Infiltration and Recharge due to Wetland Restoration in a Semiarid Ecosystem- Laura M. Norman
This intern will work with an exciting team of scientists to develop novel approaches to assess wetland restoration. Methods include documenting baseline conditions and monitoring site evolution, hydrologic modeling, using shallow piezometers to estimate recharge and storage change, tracking streambed water exchanges using heat as a tracer, and estimating percolation using electrical...
Land Treatment Exploration Tool
The Land Treatment ExplorationTool provides a practical resource for managers who are planning restoration and rehabilitation actions on public lands. The tool generates a variety of spatial products while being user friendly for all levels of GIS expertise, even to those with little or no experience.
Bird Banding Laboratory
The Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) is an integrated scientific program established in 1920 supporting the collection, archiving, management and dissemination of information from banded and marked birds in North America. This information is used to monitor the status and trends of resident and migratory bird populations. Because birds are good indicators of the health of the environment, the...
AzWSC Capabilities: Reservoir and Lake Monitoring and Assessment
The Arizona Water Science Center (AzWSC) has specialized expertise in monitoring, measuring, and collecting reservoir and lake water and sediment for a variety of phycial and chemical properties.
Ciénega San Bernardino - Wetland Restoration
Desert marshes, or ciénega, are extremely biodiverse habitats imperiled by anthropogenic demands for water and changing climates. Given their widespread loss and increased recognition as important wildlife habitat, remarkably little is known about restoration techniques.
Patagonia - Gully Restoration
The Deep Dirt Farm Institute (DDFI), founded and directed by Kate Tirion, comprises 34 acres with deep agricultural soils, bisected by an ephemeral stream/wildlife corridor. The farm lies within a folded topography of hills, small sheltered valleys & broad meadow. A deep gully has diverted flows and needs repair...
Nogales, Sonora - Flood Control
Flooding in Ambos Nogales often exceeds the capacity of the channel and adjacent land areas, endangering people and property. Goals of RDS are to diminish impacts of flooding and sedimentation on wastewater infrastructure thereby reducing the incidence of sanitary sewer overflows. We are studying the Nogales Wash to prevent future flood disasters and RDS are being installed in tributaries. We...
AzWSC Capabilities: Hydrologic Gravity Monitoring
Gravity is a measurement of mass: the greater an object's mass, the stronger its gravitational pull. By measuring changes in gravity over time, inferences can be made about changes in mass. In hydrology, this can be used to study water in the subsurface. If the amount of groundwater in a particular area increases over time, through processes such as infiltration of rainfall or aquifer recharge...
Process-based Approaches for Ecological Restoration of Degraded Drylands
Surface disturbances ranging from military training, recreation, energy exploration and development, and wildfires impact a large majority of federal lands in the western US, but the ecological and economic impacts are poorly understood. Explore this webpage to learn how Dr. Lesley DeFalco and her research team are currently evaluating and refining conventional approaches for post-fire...
Native Plant Materials for Ecological Restoration of Degraded Drylands
There is a growing consensus among resource managers to use native plant materials for ecological restoration of degraded drylands. Some plant species may be suitable for re-introduction across broad environmental gradients. Other species may fail under narrower conditions, or their re-introduction may have genetic consequences for local ecotypes, particularly when adapting to future climate...
Conservation of Rare, Sensitive, and At-risk Desert Plant Species
The Mojave Desert is among the hottest and driest of the North American drylands, but in spite of these extreme conditions, and in part because of them, a diverse flora exists. This diversity of rare, endemic, and endangered species is threatened by the complex interaction between fluctuating climate and human-mediated disturbances. USGS studies have identified rare species “hotspots” for...
National water summary 1987: Hydrologic events and water supply and use
Water use in the United States, as measured by freshwater withdrawals in 1985, averaged 338,000 Mgal/d (million gallons per day), which is enough water to cover the 48 conterminous States to a depth of about 2.4 inches. Only 92,300 Mgal/d, or 27.3 percent of the water withdrawn, was consumptive use and thus lost to immediate further use; the...
Carr, Jerry E.; Chase, Edith B.; Paulson, Richard W.; Moody, David W.
Aggradation and degradation of alluvial sand deposits, 1965 to 1986, Colorado River, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Alluvial sand deposits along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park are used as campsites and are substrate for vegetation. The largest and most numerous of these deposits are formed in zones of recirculating current that are created downstream from where the channel is constricted by debris fans at tributary mouths. Alluvial sand...
Schmidt, John C.; Graf, Julia B.
Estimates of consumptive use and ground-water return flow and the effect of rising and sustained high river stage on the method of estimation in Cibola Valley, Arizona and California, 1983 and 1984
In Cibola Valley, Arizona, water is pumped from the Colorado River to irrigate crops and to maintain wildlife habitat. Unused water percolates to the water table and, as groundwater, moves downgradient into areas of phreatophytes, into a drainage ditch, out of the flood plain, and back to the river. In 1983 and 1984, groundwater return flow was...
Owen-Joyce, Sandra J.
Estimates of ground-water flow components for Lyman Lake, Apache County, Arizona
Bills, D.J.; Hjalmarson, H.W.; Robertson, F.N.
Evapotranspiration estimates using remote-sensing data, Parker and Palo Verde valleys, Arizona and California
In 1981 the U.S. Geological Survey established an experimental project to assess the possible and practical use of remote-sensing data to estimate evapotranspiration as an approximation of consumptive use of water in the lower Colorado River flood plain. The project area was in Parker Valley, Arizona. The approach selected was to measure the areas...
Raymond, Lee H.; Rezin, Kelly V.
Progress report on the ground-water, surface-water, and quality-of-water monitoring program, Black Mesa Area, northeastern Arizona; 1988-89
The Black Mesa monitoring program in Arizona is designed to determine long-term effects on the water resources of the area resulting from withdrawals of groundwater from the N aquifer by the strip-mining operation of Peabody Coal Company. Withdrawals by Peabody Coal Company increased from 95 acre-ft in 1968 to 4 ,090 acre-ft in 1988. The N aquifer...
Hart, R.J.; Sottilare, J.P.
Water Resources Data for Arizona, Water Year 1987
Wilson, R.P.; Garrett, W.B.
Aggradation and degradation of alluvial sand deposits, 1965 to 1986, Colorado River, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
High discharges occurring between 1983-1985 resulted in redistribution of sand stored in zones of recirculating current in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. Redistribution resulted in net loss in the number of reattachment deposits in narrow reaches and aggradation of some separation deposits. Separation deposits were more stable...
Schmidt, J.C.; Graf, J.B.
Aggradation and degradation of alluvial sand deposits, 1965 to 1986, Colorado River, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona; executive summary
High discharges that occurred in 1983-85 resulted in redistribution of sand stored in zones of recirculating current in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. Redistribution resulted in net loss in the number of reattachment deposits in narrow reaches and aggradation of some separation deposits. Separation deposits were more stable than...
Schmidt, J.C.; Graf, J.B.
Estimates of consumptive use and ground-water return flow using water budgets in Parker Valley, Arizona and California, 1981-84
Annual water budgets were used to estimate consumptive use by vegetation and groundwater return flow in Parker Valley, Arizona and California. Consumptive use by vegetation was estimated to be 482,800 acre-ft in 1981, 432,000 acre-ft in 1982, 413,500 acre-ft in 1983, and 420,900 acre-ft in 1984 on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, and 45,400...
Owen-Joyce, Sandra J.
Progress report on the ground-water, surface-water, and quality- of-water monitoring program, Black Mesa Area, northeastern Arizona; 1987-88
The Black Mesa, Arizona, monitoring program is designed to determine long-term effects on the water resources of the area resulting from withdrawals of groundwater from the N aquifer by the strip-mining operation of Peabody Coal Company. Withdrawals by Peabody Coal Company increased from 95 acre-ft in 1968 to 3 ,832 acre-ft in 1987. The N aquifer...
Hart, R.J.; Sottilare, J.P.
Simulation of five ground-water withdrawal projections for the Black Mesa area, Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations, Arizona
The N Aquifer is the main source of water in the 5,400 sq mi Black Mesa area in the Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations in northeastern Arizona. Water in the aquifer is under confined conditions in the central 3,300 sq mi of the area. Maximum saturated thickness is about 1,050 ft. Annual groundwater withdrawals from 1972 through 1986 averaged 5,...
Brown, J.G.; Eychaner, J.H.
WERC Mountain Bluebird Eating Mistletoe Berry
A mountain bluebird eats a giant mistletoe berry in an ash tree in Sedona, Arizona (Oak Creek). These bluebirds, and many other types of birds, rely on mistletoe berries for sustenance. As a result, they also help distribute the mistletoe seeds.
Sandbar growth Grand Canyon following controlled flood
Picture showing the increased size of the sandbar after the November 2012 controlled flood from the Glen Canyon Dam. This location is 65 miles downstream from Lees Ferry and the view is looking downstream. These and additional photographs depicting the results of the recent controlled floods can be viewed online.
Sandbar in Grand Canyon
Picture showing the size of the sandbar before the November 2012 controlled flood from the Glen Canyon Dam. This location is 65 miles downstream from Lees Ferry and the view is looking downstream. These and additional photographs depicting the results of the recent controlled floods can be viewed online.
USGS Fun
Working at the USGS can be fun. These student employees were given wonderful opportunities and made lasting friendships while working at the USGS.
Continuous Slope Area Method: Sycamore Creek, AZ
A video depicting the installation & operation of Continuous Slope Area gage and radar sensor, installed after the Sunflower Wild Fire on Sycamore Creek to measure streamflow from the Sunflower burned area. The streamflow data is used to provide flood warning to communities affected by runoff from the burned areas and for collecting streamflow data from areas that have
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University of Arizona Sensors on Amazon Observation Tower
Sensors installed by University of Arizona scientists on this 213-foot (65-meter) tower near Santarém, Brazil are used by USGS scientists and U.S., Brazilian and Australian collaborators to improve understanding of how seasonal variations in climate affect photosynthesis and the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide by tropical forests.
Tapajós National Forest, near
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2012 Whitewater-Baldy Fire
USGS installed six early-flood-warning units—rain and stream gages—in the burned areas resulting from New Mexico's 2012 Whitewater-Baldy Fire. The gages transmit data via satellite to provide warnings to communities that may be affected by flooding.
map of historic and current sage-grouse range in 2000
Map of historic and current sage-grouse range in 2000, provided as a download from the old USGS Sagemap website.
Nat'l Comparison of USGS Compiled Irrigation Water Use Data
Highlights of the Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5166 which documents methods of irrigation and inventories irrigation data collected for the 2000 and 2005 U.S Geological Survey.
Valles Marineris on Mars
Mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars projected into point perspective, a view similar to that which one would see from a spacecraft. The distance is 2500 kilometers from the surface of the planet, with the scale being .6km/pixel. The mosaic is composed of 102 Viking Orbiter images of Mars. The center of the scene (lat -8, long 78) shows the entire Valles
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Post-fire Flash Flood in Coronado National Memorial, Arizona
Video footage begins with dry streambed, and within the first 10 seconds a very dark, roiling, flow comes downstream toward the viewer. The rest of the video is footage of the flow going past, and into a culvert under a bridge. The video was recorded at the U.S. Geological Survey streamgage site near the Coronado National Memorial visitor center, in southern Arizona. The
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Landsat Photo: Wallow Fire, Arizona
This Landsat imagery was taken on June 7, 2011. Path/Row: 35/36 and 37 Lat/Long: 33.820/-109.330
TUCSON, Ariz. —On Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey finished installing six early-flood-warning units—rain and stream gages—in the burned areas of New Mexico’s Whitewater-Baldy Fire. The gages transmit data via satellite to the National Weather Service, which provides warnings to communities that may be affected by flooding. The gages can provide up to 60 minutes advanc
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Laszlo Kestay has been named the new director of the U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center, based in Flagstaff, Ariz. Kestay will lead the Astrogeology team in working closely with NASA and other planetary science organizations to develop and operate space missions exploring the Solar System, process and analyze data from many types of instruments...
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Coconino National Forest’s Cinder Lake—a natural depression that has been used to store runoff from areas affected by the 2010 Schultz Fire—can store about 4,000 acre-feet of water, or enough to fill about 2,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report.
TUCSON, Ariz. – Climate change is likely to have strong effects on the abundance of dominant Sonoran Desert plant species, according to a study published recently in Global Change Biology.
The U.S. Geological Survey has named ecologist David Lytle the director of its Southwest Biological Science Center, headquartered in Flagstaff.
“Rapid growth, changes in land use, and limited rainfall in the southwest region of the U.S. create challenges for natural resource management,” remarked USGS director Marcia McNutt.
More than 280 million acre-feet of groundwater has been withdrawn from the Mississippi embayment aquifer system between 1870-2007, according to a new water modeling tool developed by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The sand dunes among which Navajos have eked out austere livings for generations are growing fast and becoming mobile as the climate changes, says U.S. Geological Survey geologist Dr. Margaret Hiza Redsteer, whose interviews with elders and historical research augment her decade-long research on Navajo Nation land.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The sand dunes among which Navajos have eked out austere livings for generations are growing fast and becoming mobile as the climate changes, says U.S. Geological Survey geologist Dr. Margaret Hiza Redsteer, whose interviews with elders and historical research augment her decade-long research on Navajo Nation land.
A dust storm that rolled across the Arizona desert on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, effectively blinded motorists, leading to a large string of motor vehicle crashes, multiple injuries, and at least one death.
Over the last 70 years, groundwater in Arizona's alluvial basins was depleted by more than 74.5 million acre-feet, or approximately three times the maximum storage of Lake Powell.
To help Arizona communities prepare for flooding in the aftermath of severe wildfires, the U.S. Geological Survey has installed new stream gages as part of early flood-warning systems and developed maps to identify areas at possible risk of debris flows.
As the largest fire in the history of the state of Arizona continues to burn, emergency managers and responders are using satellite data from a variety of instruments to plan both immediate firefighting containment strategies and mitigation efforts once the fires are out.
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Locations
Astrogeology Science Center
Phone: 928-556-7000
Fax: 928-556-7014
Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center
Western Geographic Science Center - Tucson Project Office
Western Geographic Science Center - Flagstaff Project Office
Arizona Water Science Center, Tucson Office
Phone: (520) 670-6671
Fax: (520) 670-5592
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO)
yvowebteam@usgs.gov
Phone: 360-993-8906
Southwest Biological Science Center - Flagstaff, AZ, Research Station
Phone: 928-556-7094
Fax: 928-556-7092
Southwest Biological Science Center - Tucson, AZ, Research Station
Phone: (520) 670-6671
Fax: (520) 670-5592
Arizona Water Science Center, Flagstaff Office
Phone: (928) 556-7136
Fax: (928) 556-7112
Arizona Water Science Center, Tempe Office
Phone: (480) 736-1093
Fax: (480) 736-1356
Arizona Water Science Center, Yuma Office
Phone: (928) 782-6024
Fax: (928) 782-0268