Hydraulic-property estimates for use with a transient ground-water flow model of the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system, Nevada and California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Belcher, Wayne R.; Elliott, Peggy E.; Geldon, Arthur L.

2001-01-01

The Death Valley regional ground-water flow system encompasses an area of about 43,500 square kilometers in southeastern California and southern Nevada, between latitudes 35? and 38?15' north and longitudes 115? and 117?45' west. The study area is underlain by Quaternary to Tertiary basin-fill sediments and mafic-lava flows; Tertiary volcanic, volcaniclastic, and sedimentary rocks; Tertiary to Jurassic granitic rocks; Triassic to Middle Proterozoic carbonate and clastic sedimentary rocks; and Early Proterozoic igneous and metamorphic rocks. The rock assemblage in the Death Valley region is extensively faulted as a result of several episodes of tectonic activity. This study is comprised of published and unpublished estimates of transmissivity, hydraulic conductivity, storage coefficient, and anisotropy ratios for hydrogeologic units within the Death Valley region study area. Hydrogeologic units previously proposed for the Death Valley regional transient ground-water flow model were recognized for the purpose of studying the distribution of hydraulic properties. Analyses of regression and covariance were used to assess if a relation existed between hydraulic conductivity and depth for most hydrogeologic units. Those analyses showed a weak, quantitatively indeterminate, relation between hydraulic conductivity and depth.

Groundwater quality in the Antelope Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dawson, Barbara J. Milby; Belitz, Kenneth

2012-01-01

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Antelope Valley is one of the study areas being evaluated. The Antelope study area is approximately 1,600 square miles (4,144 square kilometers) and includes the Antelope Valley groundwater basin (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). Antelope Valley has an arid climate and is part of the Mojave Desert. Average annual rainfall is about 6 inches (15 centimeters). The study area has internal drainage, with runoff from the surrounding mountains draining towards dry lakebeds in the lower parts of the valley. Land use in the study area is approximately 68 percent (%) natural (mostly shrubland and grassland), 24% agricultural, and 8% urban. The primary crops are pasture and hay. The largest urban areas are the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster (2010 populations of 152,000 and 156,000, respectively). Groundwater in this basin is used for public and domestic water supply and for irrigation. The main water-bearing units are gravel, sand, silt, and clay derived from surrounding mountains. The primary aquifers in Antelope Valley are defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health database. Public-supply wells in Antelope Valley are completed to depths between 360 and 700 feet (110 to 213 meters), consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of 180 to 350 feet (55 to 107 meters), and are screened or perforated below the solid casing. Recharge to the groundwater system is primarily runoff from the surrounding mountains, and by direct infiltration of irrigation and sewer and septic systems. The primary sources of discharge are pumping wells and evapotranspiration near the dry lakebeds.

Instructional Television Transmission System for the Genesee Valley Area.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown Associates, Rochester, NY.

In the entire Genessee Valley area of New York, only two channels are available to educators. Therefore, a study was made of the feasibility of constructing a multi-channel system for the transmission of television and data signals to schools in the area. Field strength measurements were taken of the local educational broadcast signal WXXI-TV to…

Habitat and Populations of the Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle Along the Sacramento River

Treesearch

F. Jordan Lang; James D. Jokerst; Gregory E. Sutter

1989-01-01

Prior to 1985, the valley elderberry longhorn beetle, a threatened species protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, was known only from northern California riparian areas along the American River and Putah Creek in the Sacramento Valley, and along several rivers in the northern San Joaquin Valley. During 1985-1987, our study extended the known range of the...

27 CFR 9.27 - Lime Kiln Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Lime Kiln Valley. 9.27... OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.27 Lime Kiln Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area described in this section is “Lime Kiln Valley...

Hydrology and numerical simulation of groundwater movement and heat transport in Snake Valley and surrounding areas, Juab, Miller, and Beaver Counties, Utah, and White Pine and Lincoln Counties, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Masbruch, Melissa D.; Gardner, Philip M.; Brooks, Lynette E.

2014-01-01

Snake Valley and surrounding areas, along the Utah-Nevada state border, are part of the Great Basin carbonate and alluvial aquifer system. The groundwater system in the study area consists of water in unconsolidated deposits in basins and water in consolidated rock underlying the basins and in the adjacent mountain blocks. Most recharge occurs from precipitation on the mountain blocks and most discharge occurs from the lower altitude basin-fill deposits mainly as evapotranspiration, springflow, and well withdrawals.The Snake Valley area regional groundwater system was simulated using a three-dimensional model incorporating both groundwater flow and heat transport. The model was constructed with MODFLOW-2000, a version of the U.S. Geological Survey’s groundwater flow model, and MT3DMS, a transport model that simulates advection, dispersion, and chemical reactions of solutes or heat in groundwater systems. Observations of groundwater discharge by evapotranspiration, springflow, mountain stream base flow, and well withdrawals; groundwater-level altitudes; and groundwater temperatures were used to calibrate the model. Parameter values estimated by regression analyses were reasonable and within the range of expected values.This study represents one of the first regional modeling efforts to include calibration to groundwater temperature data. The inclusion of temperature observations reduced parameter uncertainty, in some cases quite significantly, over using just water-level altitude and discharge observations. Of the 39 parameters used to simulate horizontal hydraulic conductivity, uncertainty on 11 of these parameters was reduced to one order of magnitude or less. Other significant reductions in parameter uncertainty occurred in parameters representing the vertical anisotropy ratio, drain and river conductance, recharge rates, and well withdrawal rates.The model provides a good representation of the groundwater system. Simulated water-level altitudes range over almost 2,000 meters (m); 98 percent of the simulated values of water-level altitudes in wells are within 30 m of observed water-level altitudes, and 58 percent of them are within 12 m. Nineteen of 20 simulated discharges are within 30 percent of observed discharge. Eighty-one percent of the simulated values of groundwater temperatures in wells are within 2 degrees Celsius (°C) of the observed values, and 55 percent of them are within 0.75 °C. The numerical model represents a more robust quantification of groundwater budget components than previous studies because the model integrates all components of the groundwater budget. The model also incorporates new data including (1) a detailed hydrogeologic framework, and (2) more observations, including several new water-level altitudes throughout the study area, several new measurements of spring discharge within Snake Valley which had not previously been monitored, and groundwater temperature data. Uncertainty in the estimates of subsurface flow are less than those of previous studies because the model balanced recharge and discharge across the entire simulated area, not just in each hydrographic area, and because of the large dataset of observations (water-level altitudes, discharge, and temperatures) used to calibrate the model and the resulting transmissivity distribution.Groundwater recharge from precipitation and unconsumed irrigation in Snake Valley is 160,000 acre-feet per year (acre-ft/yr), which is within the range of previous estimates. Subsurface inflow from southern Spring Valley to southern Snake Valley is 13,000 acre-ft/yr and is within the range of previous estimates; subsurface inflow from Spring Valley to Snake Valley north of the Snake Range, however, is only 2,200 acre-ft/yr, which is much less than has been previously estimated. Groundwater discharge from groundwater evapotranspiration and springs is 100,000 acre-ft/yr, and discharge to mountain streams is 3,300 acre-ft/yr; these are within the range of previous estimates. Current well withdrawals are 28,000 acre-ft/yr. Subsurface outflow from Snake Valley moves into Pine Valley (2,000 acre-ft/yr), Wah Wah Valley (23 acre-ft/yr), Tule Valley (33,000 acre-ft/yr), Fish Springs Flat (790 acre-ft/yr), and outside of the study area towards Great Salt Lake Desert (8,400 acre-ft/yr); these outflows, totaling about 44,000 acre-ft/yr, are within the range of previous estimates.The subsurface flow amounts indicate the degree of connectivity between hydrographic areas within the study area. The simulated transmissivity and locations of natural discharge, however, provide a better estimate of the effect of groundwater withdrawals on groundwater resources than does the amount and direction of subsurface flow between hydrographic areas. The distribution of simulated transmissivity throughout the study area includes many areas of high transmissivity within and between hydrographic areas. Increased well withdrawals within these high transmissivity areas will likely affect a large part of the study area, resulting in declining groundwater levels, as well as leading to a decrease in natural discharge to springs and evapotranspiration.

Detection of Cryptosporidium parvum and Cyclospora cayetanensis infections among people living in a slum area in Kathmandu valley, Nepal.

PubMed

Bhattachan, Balkrishna; Sherchand, Jeevan Bahadhur; Tandukar, Sarmila; Dhoubhadel, Bhim Gopal; Gauchan, Leesa; Rai, Ganesh

2017-09-07

The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of Cyclospora cayetanensis and Cryptosporidium parvum infections among people living a slum in Kathmandu valley, Nepal. Ten different parasites were detected in the stool samples; the prevalence of any parasite was in 27.1% (71/262). The prevalence of C. cayetanensis and C. parvum were 14.1% (10/71) and 5.6% (4/71), respectively. This study showed high prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections along with the coccidian parasites in the slum area of Kathmandu Valley.

Preliminary results of hydrogeologic investigations Humboldt River Valley, Winnemucca, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cohen, Philip M.

1964-01-01

Most of the ground water of economic importance and nearly all the ground water closely associated with the flow o# the Humboldt River in the. 40-mile reach near Winnemucca, Nev., are in unconsolidated sedimentary deposits. These deposits range in age from Pliocene to Recent and range in character from coarse poorly sorted fanglomerate to lacustrine strata of clay, silt, sand, and gravel. The most permeable deposit consists of sand and gravel of Lake Lahontan age--the so-called medial gravel unit--which is underlain and overlain by fairly impermeable silt and clay also of Lake Lahontan age. The ultimate source of nearly all the water in the study area is precpitation within the drainage basin of the Humboldt River. Much of this water reaches the study, area as flow or underflow of the Humboldt River and as underflow from other valleys tributary to the study area. Little if any flow from the tributary streams in the study area usually reaches the Humboldt River. Most of the tributary streamflow within the study area evaporates or is transpired by vegetation, but a part percolates downward through unconsolidated deposits of the alluvial fans flanking the mountains and move downgradient as ground-water underflow toward the Humboldt River. Areas that contribute significant amounts of ground-water underflow to. the valley of the Humboldt River within the study area are (1) the valley of the Humboldt River upstream from the study area, (2) the Pole Creek-Rock Creek area, (3) Paradise Valley, and (4) Grass Valley and the northwestern slope of the Sonoma Range. The total average underflow from these areas in the period 1949-61 was about 14,000-19,000 acre-feet per year. Much of this underflow discharged into the Humboldt River within the study area and constituted a large part of the base flow of the river. Streamflow in the Humboldt River increases substantially in the early spring, principally because of runoff to the river in the reaches upstream from the study area. The resulting increase of the stage of the river causes the river to lose large amounts of water by infiltration to the ground-water reservoir in the study area. In addition, there is much recharge to the ground-water reservoir in the spring and early summer as a result of seepage losses from irrigation ditches and the downward percolation of some of the excess water applied for irrigation. The average net increase of ground water in storage in the deposits beneath and adjacent to the flood plain of the Humboldt River during the spring and early summer is about 10,000 acre-feet.

Fish Research Project Oregon; Aspects of Life History and Production of Juvenile Oncorhynchus Mykiss in the Grande Ronde River Basin, Northeast Oregon, 1995-1999 Summary Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Van Dyke, Erick S.; Jonnasson, Brian C.; Carmichael, Richard W.

2001-07-01

Rotary screw traps, located at four sites in the Grande Ronde River basin, were used to characterize aspects of early life history exhibited by juvenile Onchorhychus mykiss during migration years 1995-99. The Lostine, Catherine Creek and upper Grande Ronde traps captured fish as they migrated out of spawning areas into valley rearing habitats. The Grande Ronde Valley trap captured fish as they left valley habitats downstream of Catherine Creek and upper Grande Ronde River rearing habitats. Dispersal downstream of spawning areas was most evident in fall and spring, but movement occurred during all seasons that the traps were fished. Seawardmore » migration occurred primarily in spring when O. mykiss smolts left overwintering area located in both spawning area and valley habitats. Migration patterns exhibited by O. mykiss suggest that Grande Ronde Valley habitats are used for overwintering and should be considered critical rearing habitat. We were unable to positively differentiate anadromous and resident forms of O. mykiss in the Grande Ronde River basin because both forms occur in our study area. The Grande Ronde Valley trap provided the best information on steelhead production in the basin because it fished below valley habitats where O. mykiss overwinter. Length frequency histograms of O. mykiss captured below upper spawning and rearing habitats showed a bimodal distribution regardless of the season of capture. Scale analyses suggested that each mode represents a different brood year. Length frequency histograms of O. mykiss captured in the Grande Ronde Valley trap were not bimodal, and primarily represented a size range consistent with other researchers' accounts of anadromous smolts.« less

27 CFR 9.57 - Green Valley of Russian River Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Green Valley of Russian River Valley. 9.57 Section 9.57 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.57 Green Valley of Russian River...

27 CFR 9.57 - Green Valley of Russian River Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Green Valley of Russian River Valley. 9.57 Section 9.57 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.57 Green Valley of Russian River...

27 CFR 9.57 - Green Valley of Russian River Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Green Valley of Russian River Valley. 9.57 Section 9.57 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.57 Green Valley of Russian River...

27 CFR 9.57 - Green Valley of Russian River Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Green Valley of Russian River Valley. 9.57 Section 9.57 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.57 Green Valley of Russian River...

27 CFR 9.57 - Green Valley of Russian River Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Green Valley of Russian River Valley. 9.57 Section 9.57 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.57 Green Valley of Russian River...

Principal facts for gravity stations in the Dry Valley area, west-central Nevada and east-central California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sanger, Elizabeth A.; Ponce, David A.

2003-01-01

In June, 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) established 143 new gravity stations and 12 new rock samples in the Dry Valley area, 30 miles north of Reno, Nevada, on the California - Nevada border (see fig. 1). This study reports on gravity, magnetic, and physical property data intended for use in modeling the geometry and depth of Dry Valley for groundwater analysis. It is part of a larger study that aims to characterize the hydrologic framework of several basins in Washoe County. Dry Valley is located south of the Fort Sage Mountains and south-east of Long Valley, on USGS 7.5’ quadrangles Constantia and Seven Lakes (fig. 2). The Cretaceous granitic rocks and Tertiary volcanic rocks that bound the sediment filled basin (fig. 3) may be especially important to future modeling because of their impact on groundwater flow. The granitic and volcanic rocks of Dry Valley exhibit densities and magnetic susceptibilities higher than the overlaying sediments, and create a distinguishable pattern of gravity and magnetic anomalies that reflect these properties.

Scaling relations for large Martian valleys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Som, Sanjoy M.; Montgomery, David R.; Greenberg, Harvey M.

2009-02-01

The dendritic morphology of Martian valley networks, particularly in the Noachian highlands, has long been argued to imply a warmer, wetter early Martian climate, but the character and extent of this period remains controversial. We analyzed scaling relations for the 10 large valley systems incised in terrain of various ages, resolvable using the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) and the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS). Four of the valleys originate in point sources with negligible contributions from tributaries, three are very poorly dissected with a few large tributaries separated by long uninterrupted trunks, and three exhibit the dendritic, branching morphology typical of terrestrial channel networks. We generated width-area and slope-area relationships for each because these relations are identified as either theoretically predicted or robust terrestrial empiricisms for graded precipitation-fed, perennial channels. We also generated distance-area relationships (Hack's law) because they similarly represent robust characteristics of terrestrial channels (whether perennial or ephemeral). We find that the studied Martian valleys, even the dendritic ones, do not satisfy those empiricisms. On Mars, the width-area scaling exponent b of -0.7-4.7 contrasts with values of 0.3-0.6 typical of terrestrial channels; the slope-area scaling exponent $\\theta$ ranges from -25.6-5.5, whereas values of 0.3-0.5 are typical on Earth; the length-area, or Hack's exponent n ranges from 0.47 to 19.2, while values of 0.5-0.6 are found on Earth. None of the valleys analyzed satisfy all three relations typical of terrestrial perennial channels. As such, our analysis supports the hypotheses that ephemeral and/or immature channel morphologies provide the closest terrestrial analogs to the dendritic networks on Mars, and point source discharges provide terrestrial analogs best suited to describe the other large Martian valleys.

Study on Plan of Rural Waterfront Greenway in Beijing Based On Valley Economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Li; Ma, Xiaoyan

2018-01-01

Valley economy is a major strategy for the development of Beijing mountainous area. This paper tried to apply the theory of rural waterfront greenway in valley, propose the grade system of rural greenway, which has important meaning to the refining of ecological network, the integration of tourism resources, and the promotion of agricultural industry in rural area. By way of illustration, according to the detailed analysis of the hydrology, altitude, slope, aspect, soil and vegetation conditions by GIS, the waterfront greenway, named ‘four seasons flowers’, in Yanqing county area was planned, so as to provide scientific guidance for the rural waterfront greenway construction.

Ground-water resources of the Sevier River basin between Yuba Dam and Leamington Canyon, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bjorklund, Louis Jay; Robinson, Gerald B.

1968-01-01

The area investigated is a segment of the Sevier River basin, Utah, comprising about 900 square miles and including a 19-mile reach of the Sevier River between Yuba Dam and Leamington Canyon. The larger valleys in the area are southern Juab, Round, and Scipio Valleys. The smaller valleys are Mills, Little, Dog, and Tinctic Wash Valleys.The geology of parts of Scipio, Little, and Mills Valleys and parts of the surrounding highlands was mapped and studied to explain the occurrence of numerous sinkholes in the thre valleys and to show their relation to the large springs in Mills Valley. The sinkholes, which are formed in the alluvium, are alined along faults, which penetrate both the alluvium and the underlying bedrock, and they have been formed by collapse of solution cavities in the underlying bedrock. The bedrock is mostly sandy limestone beds of the upper part of the North Horn Formation and of the Flagstaff Limestone. The numerous faults traversing Scipio Valley in a north-northeasterly direction trend directly toward Molter and Blue Springs in Mills Valley. One fault, which can be traced directly between the springs, probably is the principal channelway for the ground water moving from Scipio and Little Valleys to the springs.

Hydrogeology of the Susquehanna River valley-fill aquifer system and adjacent areas in eastern Broome and southeastern Chenango Counties, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heisig, Paul M.

2012-01-01

The hydrogeology of the valley-fill aquifer system along a 32-mile reach of the Susquehanna River valley and adjacent areas was evaluated in eastern Broome and southeastern Chenango Counties, New York. The surficial geology, inferred ice-marginal positions, and distribution of stratified-drift aquifers were mapped from existing data. Ice-marginal positions, which represent pauses in the retreat of glacial ice from the region, favored the accumulation of coarse-grained deposits whereas more steady or rapid ice retreat between these positions favored deposition of fine-grained lacustrine deposits with limited coarse-grained deposits at depth. Unconfined aquifers with thick saturated coarse-grained deposits are the most favorable settings for water-resource development, and three several-mile-long sections of valley were identified (mostly in Broome County) as potentially favorable: (1) the southernmost valley section, which extends from the New York–Pennsylvania border to about 1 mile north of South Windsor, (2) the valley section that rounds the west side of the umlaufberg (an isolated bedrock hill within a valley) north of Windsor, and (3) the east–west valley section at the Broome County–Chenango County border from Nineveh to East of Bettsburg (including the lower reach of the Cornell Brook valley). Fine-grained lacustrine deposits form extensive confining units between the unconfined areas, and the water-resource potential of confined aquifers is largely untested. Recharge, or replenishment, of these aquifers is dependent not only on infiltration of precipitation directly on unconfined aquifers, but perhaps more so from precipitation that falls in adjacent upland areas. Surface runoff and shallow groundwater from the valley walls flow downslope and recharge valley aquifers. Tributary streams that drain upland areas lose flow as they enter main valleys on permeable alluvial fans. This infiltrating water also recharges valley aquifers. Current (2012) use of water resources in the area is primarily through domestic wells, most of which are completed in fractured bedrock in upland areas. A few villages in the Susquehanna River valley have supply wells that draw water from beneath alluvial fans and near the Susquehanna River, which is a large potential source of water from induced infiltration.

Groundwater quality in the Owens Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dawson, Barbara J. Milby; Belitz, Kenneth

2012-01-01

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Owens Valley is one of the study areas being evaluated. The Owens study area is approximately 1,030 square miles (2,668 square kilometers) and includes the Owens Valley groundwater basin (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). Owens Valley has a semiarid to arid climate, with average annual rainfall of about 6 inches (15 centimeters). The study area has internal drainage, with runoff primarily from the Sierra Nevada draining east to the Owens River, which flows south to Owens Lake dry lakebed at the southern end of the valley. Beginning in the early 1900s, the City of Los Angeles began diverting the flow of the Owens River to the Los Angeles Aqueduct, resulting in the evaporation of Owens Lake and the formation of the current Owens Lake dry lakebed. Land use in the study area is approximately 94 percent (%) natural, 5% agricultural, and 1% urban. The primary natural land cover is shrubland. The largest urban area is the city of Bishop (2010 population of 4,000). Groundwater in this basin is used for public and domestic water supply and for irrigation. The main water-bearing units are gravel, sand, silt, and clay derived from surrounding mountains. Recharge to the groundwater system is primarily runoff from the Sierra Nevada, and by direct infiltration of irrigation. The primary sources of discharge are pumping wells, evapotranspiration, and underflow to the Owens Lake dry lakebed. The primary aquifers in Owens Valley are defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health database. Public-supply wells in Owens Valley are completed to depths between 210 and 480 feet (64 to 146 meters), consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of 50 to 80 feet (15 to 24 meters), and are screened or perforated below the solid casing.

Predictive modeling of slope deposits and comparisons of two small areas in Northern Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shary, Peter A.; Sharaya, Larisa S.; Mitusov, Andrew V.

2017-08-01

Methods for correct quantitative comparison of several terrains are important in the development and use of quantitative landscape evolution models, and they need to introduce specific modeling parameters. We introduce such parameters and compare two small terrains with respect to the link slope-valley for the description of slope deposits (colluvium) in them. We show that colluvium accumulation in small areas cannot be described by linear models and thus introduce non-linear models. Two small areas, Perdoel (0.29 ha) and Bornhöved (3.2 ha), are studied. Slope deposits in the both are mainly in dry valleys, with a total thickness Mtotal up to 2.0 m in Perdoel and up to 1.2 m in Bornhöved. Parent materials are mainly Pleistocene sands aged 30 kyr BP. Exponential models of multiple regression that use a 1-m LiDAR DEM (digital elevation model) explained 70-93% of spatial variability in Mtotal. Parameters DH12 and DV12 of horizontal and vertical distances are introduced that permit to characterize and compare conditions of colluvium formation for various terrains. The study areas differ 3.7 times by the parameter DH12 that describes a horizontal distance from thalwegs at which Mtotal diminishes 2.72 times. DH12 is greater in Bornhöved (29.7 m) than in Perdoel (8.12 m). We relate this difference in DH12 to the distinction between types of the link slope-valley: a regional type if catchment area of a region outside a given small area plays an important role, and a local type when accumulation of colluvium from valley banks within a small area is of more importance. We argue that the link slope-valley is regional in Perdoel and local in Bornhöved. Peaks of colluvium thickness were found on thalwegs of three studied valleys by both direct measurements in a trench, and model surfaces of Mtotal. A hypothesis on the formation mechanism of such peaks is discussed. The parameter DV12 describes a vertical distance from a peak of colluvium thickness along valley bottom at which Mtotal diminishes 2.72 times; values of this parameter differ 1.4 times for the study areas. DV12 is greater in Perdoel (3.0 m) than in Bornhöved (2.1 m) thus indicating more sharp peaks of Mtotal in Bornhöved. Exponential models allow construction of predictive maps of buried Pleistocene surfaces for both the terrains and calculate colluvium volumes with an error 4.2% for Perdoel and 7.1% for Bornhöved. Comparisons of buried and present surfaces showed that the latter are more smoothed, more strongly in valleys where flow branching is increased.

Determination of water-soluble ions in soils from the dry valleys of Antarctica

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bustin, R.

1981-01-01

The soil chemistry of the dry valleys of Antarctica was studied. These valleys furnish a terrestrial analog for the surface of Mars. The abundance of the water-soluble ions magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium chloride, and nitrate in soil samples was determined. All samples examined contained water-soluble salts reflecting the aridity of the area. Movement of salts to low-lying areas was verified. Upward ionic migration was evident in all core samples. Of all cations observed, sodium showed the greatest degree of migration.

EPA Region 1 - Valley Depth in Meters

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Raster of the Depth in meters of EPA-delimited Valleys in Region 1.Valleys (areas that are lower than their neighbors) were extracted from a Digital Elevation Model (USGS, 30m) by finding the local average elevation, subtracting the actual elevation from the average, and selecting areas where the actual elevation was below the average. The landscape was sampled at seven scales (circles of 1, 2, 4, 7, 11, 16, and 22 km radius) to take into account the diversity of valley shapes and sizes. Areas selected in at least four scales were designated as valleys.

Preliminary results from a study of natural slope failures triggered by the storm of November 3.5.1985, Germany Valley, West Virginia and Virginia: Chapter 4 in Landslides of eastern North America

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jacobson, Robert B.; Cron, Elizabeth D.; McGeehin, John P.

1987-01-01

During the first five days of November 1985, a low-pressure system in the Ohio River valley combined with a low-pressure system referred to as Tropical Storm Juan to produce heavy rainfall in the Potomac, James, and Rappahannock River basins. Severe flooding accompanied the rainfall; 43 lives were lost and the flood was estimated to be the most expensive natural disaster of 1985 in the United States (Scatena, 1986). The rainfall also triggered many slope failures. An especially large concentration of slope failures was associated with an area of moderate rainfall centered in the Germany Valley in Pendleton County, West Virginia (fig. 4.1A ). This report describes some preliminary results from our continuing research into the geological and meteorological controls on the distributions of slope failures in the Germany Valley area. The Germany Valley is the first major anticlinal valley in the Valley and Ridge province east of the Allegheny structural front (Diecchio, 1986). Our interest is focused on the portion from near Mouth of Seneca, West Virginia, in the Onego 7 .5-minute quadrangle, to near Mill Gap, Virginia, in the Mustoe 7.5-minute quadrangle (patterned in figs. 4.1 and 4.2). This area was a natural experiment for studying the effects of the storm because rainfall varied systematically from southwest to northeast along the valley, while bedrock lithology and structure are nearly constant. Furthermore, variation of rock types across the valley allows comparisons among lithologies at given levels of precipitation. The valley is floored by Ordovician carbonates of the Trenton, Black River, and St. Paul Groups and shales of the Martinsburg (Reedsville) Shale. The ridges are formed by sandstones of the Tuscarora and Oswego Sandstones, and the Juniata formation. The southwestern quarter of the valley is drained by Back Creek of the James River basin, and the remainder of the valley drains north and west to the North Fprk of the South Branch Potomac River.

Gravity Data from Newark Valley, White Pine County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mankinen, Edward A.; McKee, Edwin H.

2007-01-01

The Newark Valley area, eastern Nevada is one of thirteen major ground-water basins investigated by the BARCAS (Basin and Range Carbonate Aquifer Study) Project. Gravity data are being used to help characterize the geophysical framework of the region. Although gravity coverage was extensive over parts of the BARCAS study area, data were sparse for a number of the valleys, including the northern part of Newark Valley. We addressed this lack of data by establishing seventy new gravity stations in and around Newark Valley. All available gravity data were then evaluated to determine their reliability, prior to calculating an isostatic residual gravity map to be used for subsequent analyses. A gravity inversion method was used to calculate depths to pre-Cenozoic basement rock and estimates of maximum alluvial/volcanic fill. The enhanced gravity coverage and the incorporation of lithologic information from several deep oil and gas wells yields a view of subsurface shape of the basin and will provide information useful for the development of hydrogeologic models for the region.

Groundwater quality in the Indian Wells Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dawson, Barbara J. Milby; Belitz, Kenneth

2012-01-01

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Indian Wells Valley is one of the study areas being evaluated. The Indian Wells study area is approximately 600 square miles (1,554 square kilometers) and includes the Indian Wells Valley groundwater basin (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). Indian Wells Valley has an arid climate and is part of the Mojave Desert. Average annual rainfall is about 6 inches (15 centimeters). The study area has internal drainage, with runoff from the surrounding mountains draining towards dry lake beds in the lower parts of the valley. Land use in the study area is approximately 97.0 percent (%) natural, 0.4% agricultural, and 2.6% urban. The primary natural land cover is shrubland. The largest urban area is the city of Ridgecrest (2010 population of 28,000). Groundwater in this basin is used for public and domestic water supply and for irrigation. The main water-bearing units are gravel, sand, silt, and clay derived from the Sierra Nevada to the west and from the other surrounding mountains. Recharge to the groundwater system is primarily runoff from the Sierra Nevada and to the west and from the other surrounding mountains. Recharge to the groundwater system is primarily runoff from the Sierra Nevada and direct infiltration from irrigation and septic systems. The primary sources of discharge are pumping wells and evapotranspiration near the dry lakebeds. The primary aquifers in the Indian Wells study area are defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health database. Public-supply wells in Indian Wells Valley are completed to depths between 240 and 800 feet (73 to 244 meters), consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of 180 to 260 feet (55 to 79 meters), and are screened or perforated below the solid casing.

California GAMA program: ground-water quality data in the San Diego drainages hydrogeologic province, California, 2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wright, Michael T.; Belitz, Kenneth; Burton, Carmen A.

2005-01-01

Because of concerns over ground-water quality, the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has implemented the Ground-Water Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. A primary objective of the program is to provide a current assessment of ground-water quality in areas where public supply wells are an important source of drinking water. The San Diego GAMA study unit was the first region of the state where an assessment of ground-water quality was implemented under the GAMA program. The San Diego GAMA study unit covers the entire San Diego Drainages hydrogeologic province, and is broken down into four distinct hydrogeologic study areas: the Temecula Valley study area, the Warner Valley study area, the Alluvial Basins study area, and the Hard Rock study area. A total of 58 ground-water samples were collected from public supply wells in the San Diego GAMA study unit: 19 wells were sampled in the Temecula Valley study area, 9 in the Warner Valley study area, 17 in the Alluvial Basins study area, and 13 in the Hard Rock study area. Over 350 chemical and microbial constituents and water-quality indicators were analyzed for in this study. However, only select wells were measured for all constituents and water-quality indicators. Results of analyses were calculated as detection frequencies by constituent classification and by individual constituents for the entire San Diego GAMA study unit and for the individual study areas. Additionally, concentrations of constituents that are routinely monitored were compared to maximum contaminant levels (MCL) and secondary maximum contaminant levels (SMCL). Concentrations of constituents classified as 'unregulated chemicals for which monitoring is required' (UCMR) were compared to the 'detection level for the purposes of reporting' (DLR). Eighteen of the 88 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and gasoline oxygenates analyzed for were detected in ground-water samples. Twenty-eight wells sampled in the San Diego GAMA study had at least a single detection of VOCs or gasoline oxygenates. These constituents were most frequently detected in the Alluvial Basin study area (11 of 17 wells), and least frequently detected in the Warner Valley study area (one of nine wells). Trihalomethanes (THMs) were the most frequently detected class of VOCs (18 of 58 wells). The most frequently detected VOCs were chloroform (18 of 58 wells), bromodichloromethane (8 of 58 wells), and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) (7 of 58 wells). Three VOCs were detected at concentrations greater than their MCLs. Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) were detected in one well in the Hard Rock study area at concentrations of 9.75 and 7.27 micrograms per liter (?g/L), respectively; the MCL for these compounds is 5 ?g/L. MTBE was detected in one well in the Alluvial Basins study area at a concentration of 28.3 ?g/L; the MCL for MTBE is 13 ?g/L. Twenty-one of the 122 pesticides and pesticide degradates analyzed for were detected in ground-water samples. Pesticide or pesticide degradates were detected in 33 of 58 wells sampled, and were most frequently detected in the Temecula Valley study area wells (9 of 14 wells), and least frequently in the Warner Valley study area wells (3 of 9 wells). Herbicides were the most frequently detected class of pesticides (31 of 58 wells), and simazine was the most frequently detected compound (27 of 58 wells), followed by deethylatrazine (14 of 58 wells), prometon (10 of 58 wells), and atrazine (9 of 58 wells). None of the pesticides detected in ground-water samples had concentrations that exceeded MCLs. Eight waste-water indicator compounds were detected in ground-water samples. Twenty-one of 47 wells sampled for waste-water indicator compounds had at least a single detection. Waste-water indicator compounds were detected most frequently in the Allu

Hydrology of stock-water development on the public domain of western Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Snyder, Charles T.

1963-01-01

A geologic and hydrologic reconnaissance was made on the public domain of western Utah to appraise the water resources of the area and to provide a basis for locating and developing sources of stock water. The study area includes the Bonneville, Pahvant, and Virgin Grazing Districts, in parts of Tooele, Utah, Juab, Millard, Beaver, Iron, and Washington Counties, Utah.Western Utah is in the Great Basin section of the Basin and Range physiographic province and is typified by northward-trending parallel mountain ranges, and basins of interior drainage. Precipitation ranges from 5 to 9 inches annually in most of the valleys but in some places it is as much as 15 or 16 inches and probably is considerably greater in the mountains.The valleys of western Utah have been classified in the report according to their hydrologic and topographic characteristics. The Great Salt Lake valley and the Sevier Lake valley are closed or terminal valleys having no outlet for the discharge of water except by evaporation. Such valleys are topographically closed and hydrologically undrained. Valleys tributary to these terminal valleys are topographically open valleys from which water is discharged by gravity flow to the terminal valley. Quality of ground water in the valleys of western Utah depends upon the valley type and place where the water is sampled with respect to the body of ground water in the valley fill. Quality of the water in the drained parts of the valleys is usually good whereas water in the undrained parts of the valleys may be heavily charged with dissolved mineral contaminants. Limits of tolerance for use of salt-contaminated water are cited.The adequacy of distribution of water supplies in western Utah was determined by application of the service area concept to the existing supplies. Stock-water supplies are obtained from wells, springs, and reservoirs. Most of the wells are in the valleys where water is obtained from valley fill; the depth to water ranges from a few tens of feet to several hundred feet. Ground water generally cannot be obtained in the mountains because the rocks either lack permeability or are drained.Data collected in 13 valleys, each valley forming a ground-water unit, are listed in the tables and are used to evaluate the prospects for obtaining additional water supplies.

Applying a water quality index model to assess the water quality of the major rivers in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

PubMed

Regmi, Ram Krishna; Mishra, Binaya Kumar; Masago, Yoshifumi; Luo, Pingping; Toyozumi-Kojima, Asako; Jalilov, Shokhrukh-Mirzo

2017-08-01

Human activities during recent decades have led to increased degradation of the river water environment in South Asia. This degradation has led to concerns for the populations of the major cities of Nepal, including those of the Kathmandu Valley. The deterioration of the rivers in the valley is directly linked to the prevalence of poor sanitary conditions, as well as the presence of industries that discharge their effluents into the river. This study aims to investigate the water quality aspect for the aquatic ecosystems and recreation of the major rivers in the Kathmandu Valley using the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment water quality index (CCME WQI). Ten physicochemical parameters were used to determine the CCME WQI at 20 different sampling locations. Analysis of the data indicated that the water quality in rural areas ranges from excellent to good, whereas in denser settlements and core urban areas, the water quality is poor. The study results are expected to provide policy-makers with valuable information related to the use of river water by local people in the study area.

When the School Is the Community: A Case Study of Fourche Valley School, Briggsville, Arkansas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadden, Patricia Demler

Fourche Valley School District in central Arkansas has a single K-12 school serving 157 students. Surrounded by the Ouachita National Forest, Fourche Valley is unusually isolated and lacking in economic opportunity, leading to "low aspirations" among students who desire to remain in the area. Nevertheless, the school is thriving in the…

Hydrogeology of the stratified-drift aquifers in the Cayuta Creek and Catatonk Creek valleys in parts of Tompkins, Schuyler, Chemung, and Tioga Counties, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, Todd S.; Pitman, Lacey M.

2012-01-01

The surficial deposits, areal extent of aquifers, and the water-table configurations of the stratified-drift aquifer systems in the Cayuta Creek and Catatonk Creek valleys and their large tributary valleys in Tompkins, Schuyler, Chemung, and Tioga Counties, New York were mapped in 2009, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Well and test-boring records, surficial deposit maps, Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data, soils maps, and horizontal-to-vertical ambient-noise seismic surveys were used to map the extent of the aquifers, construct geologic sections, and determine the depth to bedrock (thickness of valley-fill deposits) at selected locations. Geologic materials in the study area include sedimentary bedrock, unstratified drift (till), stratified drift (glaciolacustrine and glaciofluvial deposits), and recent alluvium. Stratified drift consisting of glaciofluvial sand and gravel is the major component of the valley fill in this study area. The deposits are present in sufficient amounts in most places to form extensive unconfined aquifers throughout the study area and, in some places, confined aquifers. Stratified drift consisting of glaciolacustrine fine sand, silt, and clay are present locally in valleys underlying the surficial sand and gravel deposits in the southern part of the Catatonk Creek valley. These unconfined and confined aquifers are the source of water for most residents, farms, and businesses in the valleys. A generalized depiction of the water table in the unconfined aquifer was constructed using water-level measurements made from the 1950s through 2010, as well as LIDAR data that were used to determine the altitudes of perennial streams at 10-foot contour intervals and water surfaces of ponds and wetlands that are hydraulically connected to the unconfined aquifer. The configuration of the water-table contours indicate that the general direction of groundwater flow within Cayuta Creek and Catatonk Creek stratified-drift aquifers is predominantly from the valley walls toward the main streams in the valleys. The groundwater discharges from the aquifer system to the main-stem streams in the valleys. Locally, the direction of groundwater flow is radially away from groundwater mounds that have formed beneath upland tributaries that typically lose water where they flow on alluvial fans in the valleys. In some places, groundwater that would normally flow toward streams is intercepted by pumping wells.

Field Surveys, IOC Valleys. Volume III, Part II. Cultural Resources Survey, Pine and Wah Wah Valleys, Utah.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-08-01

valleys are typical of the Basin and Range Province, characterized by parallel, north-south trending mountain ranges, separated by hydrologically closed... basins . Pine and Wah Wah valleys each have hardpan-playas in their lowest areas. State Highway 21 runs roughly northwest-southeast through both val...have been important for prehis- toric and historic use of the area. Pine Valley: Pine and Wah Wah valleys are closed alluvial basins . The central part

Valley s'Asymmetric Characteristics of the Loess Plateau in Northwestern Shanxi Based on DEM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, J.

2016-12-01

The valleys of the Loess Plateau in northwestern Shanxi show great asymmetry. This study using multi-scale DEMs, high-resolution satellite images and digital terrain analysis method, put forward a quantitative index to describe the asymmetric morphology. Several typical areas are selected to test and verify the spatial variability. Results show: (1) Considering the difference of spatial distribution, Pianguanhe basin, Xianchuanhe basin and Yangjiachuan basin are the areas where show most significant asymmetric characteristics . (2) Considering the difference of scale, the shape of large-scale valleys represents three characteristics: randomness, equilibrium and relative symmetry, while small-scale valleys show directionality and asymmetry. (3) Asymmetric morphology performs orientation, and the east-west valleys extremely obvious. Combined with field survey, its formation mechanism can be interpreted as follows :(1)Loess uneven distribution in the valleys. (2) The distribution diversities of vegetation, water , heat conditions and other factors, make a difference in water erosion capability which leads to asymmetric characteristics.

Chemical analyses for selected wells in San Joaquin County and part of Contra Costa County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keeter, Gail L.

1980-01-01

The study area of this report includes the eastern valley area of Contra Costa County and all of San Joaquin County, an area of approximately 1,600 square miles in the northern part of the San Joaquin Valley, Calif. Between December 1977 and December 1978, 1,489 wells were selectively canvassed. During May and June in 1978 and 1979, water samples were collected for chemical analysis from 321 of these wells. Field determinations of alkalinity, conductance, pH, and temperature were made, and individual constituents were analyzed. This report is the fourth in a series of baseline data reports on wells in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. (USGS)

27 CFR 9.154 - Chiles Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... Chiles Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area described in this section is “Chiles Valley... viticultural area are four 1:24,000 Scale U.S.G.S. topography maps. They are titled: (1) St. Helena, CA 1960 photorevised 1980; (2) Rutherford, CA 1951 photorevised 1968; (3) Chiles Valley, CA 1958 photorevised 1980; (4...

Ground water in Fountain and Jimmy Camp Valleys, El Paso County, Colorado with a section on Computations of drawdowns caused by the pumping of wells in Fountain Valley

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jenkins, Edward D.; Glover, Robert E.

1964-01-01

The part of Fountain Valley considered in this report extends from Colorado Springs to the Pueblo County line. It is 23 miles long and has an area of 26 square miles. The part of Jimmy Camp Valley discussed is 11 miles long and has an area of 9 square miles. The topography is characterized by level flood plains and alluvial terraces that parallel the valley and by rather steep hills along the valley sides. The climate is semiarid, average annual precipitation being about 13 inches. Farming and stock raising are the principal occupations in the valleys; however, some of the agricultural land near Colorado Springs is being used for housing developments. The Pierre Shale and alluvium underlie most of the area, and mesa gravel caps the shale hills adjacent to Fountain Valley. The alluvium yields water to domestic, stock, irrigation, and public-supply wells and is capable of yielding large quantities of water for intermittent periods. Several springs issue along the sides of the valley at the contact of the mesa gravel and the underlying Pierre Shale. The water table ranges in depth from less than 10 feet along the bottom lands to about 80 feet along the sides of the valleys; the saturated thickness ranges from less than a foot to about 50 feet. The ground-water reservoir in Fountain Valley is recharged by precipitation that falls within the area, by percolation from Fountain Creek, which originates in the Pikes Peak, Monument Valley, and Rampart Range areas, and by seepage from irrigation water. This reservoir contains about 70,000 acre-feet of ground water in storage. The ground-water reservoir in Jimmy Camp Valley is recharged from precipitation that falls within the area, by percolation from Jimmy Camp Creek during periods of streamflow, and by seepage from irrigation water. The Jimmy Camp ground-water reservoir contains about 25,000 acre-feet of water in storage. Ground water is discharged from the area by movement to the south, by evaporation and transpiration in areas of shallow water table, by seepage into Fountain and Jimmy Camp Creeks, and through wells. About 3 to 4 mgd (million gallons per day) of ground water moves through the Fountain Valley alluvium at a velocity of about 15 feet per day. About 1 mgd of ground water moves through the Jimmy Camp Valley alluvium at a velocity of about 6 feet per day. Most of the wells in the area are drilled, but a few are dug. Many large-diameter wells are used for irrigation and public supply: one of the wells

New York State Department of Transportation, Lower Hudson Valley, Region 8 : intelligent transportation systems early deployment planning study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-11-01

The purpose of this study is to provide the framework for future implementation of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in the Lower Hudson Valley area. The focus of the planning study is the regional freeway system, major arterial routes and the...

Scaling relationships and concavity of small valley networks on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penido, Julita C.; Fassett, Caleb I.; Som, Sanjoy M.

2013-01-01

Valley networks are widely interpreted as the preserved erosional record of water flowing across the martian surface. The manner in which valley morphometric properties scale with drainage area has been widely examined on Earth. Earlier studies assessing these properties on Mars have suggested that martian valleys are morphometrically distinct from those on Earth. However, these earlier measurements were generally made on large valley systems because of the limited topographic data available. In this study, we determine the scaling properties of valley networks at smaller scales than have been previously assessed, using digital elevation models from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). We find a Hack's law exponent of 0.74, larger than on Earth, and our measurements also reveal that individual small valleys have concave up, concave down, and quasi-linear longitudinal profiles, consistent with earlier studies of dissected terrain on Mars. However, for many valleys, widths are observed to increase downstream similarly to how they scale in terrestrial channels. The similarities and differences between valley networks on Mars and Earth are consistent with the idea that valleys on Mars are comparatively immature, and precipitation was a likely mechanism for delivering water to these networks.

Agricultural Development, Land Change, and Livelihoods in Tanzania's Kilombero Valley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Connors, John Patrick

The Kilombero Valley lies at the intersection of a network of protected areas that cross Tanzania. The wetlands and woodlands of the Valley, as well as the forest of surrounding mountains are abundant in biodiversity and are considered to be critical areas for conservation. This area, however, is also the home to more than a half million people, primarily poor smallholder farmers. In an effort to support the livelihoods and food security of these farmers and the larger Tanzanian population, the country has recently targeted a series of programs to increase agricultural production in the Kilombero Valley and elsewhere in the country. Bridging concepts and methods from land change science, political ecology, and sustainable livelihoods, I present an integrated assessment of the linkages between development and conservation efforts in the Kilombero Valley and the implications for food security. This dissertation uses three empirical studies to understand the process of development in the Kilombero Valley and to link the priorities and perceptions of conservation and development efforts to the material outcomes in food security and land change. The first paper of this dissertation examines the changes in land use in the Kilombero Valley between 1997 and 2014 following the privatization of agriculture and the expansion of Tanzania's Kilimo Kwanza program. Remote sensing analysis reveals a two-fold increase in agricultural area during this short time, largely at the expense of forest. Protected areas in some parts of the Valley appear to be deterring deforestation, but rapid agricultural growth, particularly surrounding a commercial rice plantation, has led to loss of extant forest and sustained habitat fragmentation. The second paper focuses examines livelihood strategies in the Valley and claims regarding the role of agrobiodiversity in food security. The results of household survey reveal no difference or lower food security among households that diversify their agricultural activities. Some evidence, however, emerges regarding the importance of home gardens and crop diversification for dietary diversity. The third paper considers the competing discourses surrounding conservation and development in the Kilombero Valley. Employing q-method, this paper discerns four key viewpoints among various stakeholders in the Valley. While there are some apparently intractable distinctions between among these discourses, consensus regarding the importance of wildlife corridors and the presence of boundary-crossing individuals provide the promise of collaboration and compromise.

Atmospheric reactivity studies of aliphatic amines

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Ambient studies of particulate matter have shown that alkyl amines are often present in particles in areas impacted by agricultural emissions. These locations include California’s Central Valley and Inland Empire and Utah’s Cache Valley. These compounds are not typically observed in airsheds that so...

Project update: evaluating the community health legacy of WWI chemical weapons testing.

PubMed

Fox, Mary A

2014-10-01

The Spring Valley community of Washington, District of Columbia, was built on the site of a World War I chemical weapons lab where testing activities had distributed arsenic to surface soil and waste disposal had resulted in localized subsurface contamination. In previous work, findings were suggestive of potential site-related health issues, although no evidence of cancer clustering was found. In follow-up, we updated the community health assessment and explored time trends for several arsenic-related cancers. Health indicators continue to be very good in Spring Valley. For all major causes of mortality, Spring Valley rates were lower than United States (US) rates with most substantially lower (20-80 %); rates for heart diseases, Alzheimer's, and essential hypertension and related kidney disease were only slightly lower than US rates (3-8 %). Incidence and mortality rates for the selected cancers in the Spring Valley area were lower than US rates. Small non-statistically significant increasing time trends were observed in Spring Valley for incidence of two arsenic-related cancers: bladder and lung and bronchus. A moderate statistically significant increasing rate trend was observed for lung and bronchus cancer mortality in Spring Valley (p < 0.01). Lung and bronchus cancer mortality rates were also increasing in the Chevy Chase community, the local comparison area closely matched to Spring Valley on important demographic variables, suggesting that the observed increases may not be site-related. A full profile of common cancer site rates and trends for both study areas was suggested to better understand the rate trend findings but no epidemiological study was recommended.

Hydrogeologic framework of the Wood River Valley aquifer system, south-central Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bartolino, James R.; Adkins, Candice B.

2012-01-01

The Wood River Valley contains most of the population of Blaine County and the cities of Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey, and Bellevue. This mountain valley is underlain by the alluvial Wood River Valley aquifer system, which consists primarily of a single unconfined aquifer that underlies the entire valley, an underlying confined aquifer that is present only in the southernmost valley, and the confining unit that separates them. The entire population of the area depends on groundwater for domestic supply, either from domestic or municipal-supply wells, and rapid population growth since the 1970s has caused concern about the long-term sustainability of the groundwater resource. As part of an ongoing U.S. Geological Survey effort to characterize the groundwater resources of the Wood River Valley, this report describes the hydrogeologic framework of the Wood River Valley aquifer system. Although most of the Wood River Valley aquifer system is composed of Quaternary-age sediments and basalts of the Wood River Valley and its tributaries, older igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rocks that underlie these Quaternary deposits also are used for water supply. It is unclear to what extent these rocks are hydraulically connected to the main part of Wood River Valley aquifer system and thus whether they constitute separate aquifers. Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in and near the study area that produce water to wells and springs are the Phi Kappa and Trail Creek Formations (Ordovician and Silurian), the Milligen Formation (Devonian), and the Sun Valley Group including the Wood River Formation (Pennsylvanian-Permian) and the Dollarhide Formation (Permian). These sedimentary rocks are intruded by granitic rocks of the Late Cretaceous Idaho batholith. Eocene Challis Volcanic Group rocks overlie all of the older rocks (except where removed by erosion). Miocene Idavada Volcanics are found in the southern part of the study area. Most of these rocks have been folded, faulted, and metamorphosed to some degree, thus rock types and their relationships vary over distance. Quaternary-age sediment and basalt compose the primary source of groundwater in the Wood River Valley aquifer system. These Quaternary deposits can be divided into three units: a coarse-grained sand and gravel unit, a fine-grained silt and clay unit, and a single basalt unit. The fine- and coarse-grained units were primarily deposited as alluvium derived from glaciation in the surrounding mountains and upper reaches of tributary canyons. The basalt unit is found in the southeastern Bellevue fan area and is composed of two flows of different ages. Most of the groundwater produced from the Wood River Valley aquifer system is from the coarse-grained deposits. The altitude of the pre-Quaternary bedrock surface in the Wood River Valley was compiled from about 1,000 well-driller reports for boreholes drilled to bedrock and about 70 Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) ambient-noise measurements. The bedrock surface generally mimics the land surface by decreasing down tributary canyons and the main valley from north to south; it ranges from more than 6,700 feet in Baker Creek to less than 4,600 feet in the central Bellevue fan. Most of the south-central portion of the Bellevue fan is underlain by an apparent topographically closed area on the bedrock surface that appears to drain to the southwest towards Stanton Crossing. Quaternary sediment thickness ranges from less than a foot on main and tributary valley margins to about 350 feet in the central Bellevue fan. Hydraulic conductivity for 81 wells in the study area was estimated from well-performance tests reported on well-driller reports. Estimated hydraulic conductivity for 79 wells completed in alluvium ranges from 1,900 feet per day (ft/d) along Warm Springs Creek to less than 1 ft/d in upper Croy Canyon. A well completed in bedrock had an estimated hydraulic conductivity value of 10 ft/d, one well completed in basalt had a value of 50 ft/d, and three wells completed in the confined system had values ranging from 32 to 52 ft/d. Subsurface outflow of groundwater from the Wood River Valley aquifer system into the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer was estimated to be 4,000 acre-feet per year. Groundwater outflow beneath Stanton Crossing to the Camas Prairie was estimated to be 300 acre-feet per year.

Hydrogeology and sources of water to select springs in Black Canyon, south of Hoover Dam, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada and Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moran, Michael J.; Wilson, Jon W.; Beard, L. Sue

2015-11-03

Several major faults, including the Salt Cedar Fault and the Palm Tree Fault, play an important role in the movement of groundwater. Groundwater may move along these faults and discharge where faults intersect volcanic breccias or fractured rock. Vertical movement of groundwater along faults is suggested as a mechanism for the introduction of heat energy present in groundwater from many of the springs. Groundwater altitudes in the study area indicate a potential for flow from Eldorado Valley to Black Canyon although current interpretations of the geology of this area do not favor such flow. If groundwater from Eldorado Valley discharges at springs in Black Canyon then the development of groundwater resources in Eldorado Valley could result in a decrease in discharge from the springs. Geology and structure indicate that it is not likely that groundwater can move between Detrital Valley and Black Canyon. Thus, the development of groundwater resources in Detrital Valley may not result in a decrease in discharge from springs in Black Canyon.

Geology of the Greenwater Range, and the dawn of Death Valley, California—Field guide for the Death Valley Natural History Conference, 2013

USGS Publications Warehouse

Calzia, J.P.; Rämö, O.T.; Jachens, Robert; Smith, Eugene; Knott, Jeffrey

2016-05-02

Much has been written about the age and formation of Death Valley, but that is one—if not the last—chapter in the fascinating geologic history of this area. Igneous and sedimentary rocks in the Greenwater Range, one mountain range east of Death Valley, tell an earlier story that overlaps with the formation of Death Valley proper. This early story has been told by scientists who have studied these rocks for many years and continue to do so. This field guide was prepared for the first Death Valley Natural History Conference and provides an overview of the geology of the Greenwater Range and the early history (10–0 Ma) of Death Valley.

Air-quality bioindication in the greater central valley of California, with epiphytic macrolichen communities.

Treesearch

Sarah Jovan; Bruce McCune

2005-01-01

Air-quality monitoring in the United States is typically focused on urban areas even though the detrimental effects of pollution often extend into surrounding ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to construct a model, based upon epiphytic macrolichen community data, to indicate air-quality and climate in forested areas throughout the greater Central Valley of...

Water storage capacity of the natural river valley - how sedge communities influence it. Case study of Upper Biebrza Basin (Poland) based on ALS and TLS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brach, Marcin; Chormański, Jarosław

2014-05-01

The exact determination of water storage capacity in river valley is an important issue for hydrologists, ecologist and flood modellers. In case of natural river valley, the dense and complexity vegetation of the natural ecosystems can influence the proper identification of the water storage. Methods considered to be sufficient in other cases (urbanized, agricultural) may not produce correct results. Sedge communities in natural river valleys form characteristic tussocks, built from the species roots, other organic material and silt or mud. They are formed due to partial flooding during the inundation, so the plants can survive in hard, anaerobic conditions. They can growth even up to 0.5 meters, which is not so visible due to very dense vegetation in the valleys. These tussocks form a microtopography or a river valley. Currently, the most commonly used technology to register the terrain topography is an Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS), but in the case of the tussocks and the dense vegetation it generates high errors on elevation in the areas of the sedges (Carex appropinquata). This study concerns the Upper Biebrza Valley which is located in the northeastern Poland. For purpose of our work we used Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) technology to determine microtopography of selected fields. Before measurements, the green part of the sedge was cut in selected measurements fields. It make possible to register only tussocks shape. Next, step was collection of the airborne ALS data of the valley with density of 8 points/sq m. The experimental field was divided on two sub-fields: one was cut and scanned using TLS before ALS collection, while the second after. Data collected as ALS and the TLS were then compared. The accuracy of the ALS data depends on the land cover of an area, while TLS accuracy is around 2 millimeters (when georeferenced it depends on the accuracy of reference points - in our case it was made using GPS RTK which gave us accuracy of few centimeters). The analysis shown that differences between ALS measurements and TLS on leaf free area is on average of 5 centimeters, while on areas which were not mowed it grows up to 0,5 m. Thanks to this studies we were able to determine water storage possibilities of valley while considering the tussocks shape.

Kinematics at the Intersection of the Garlock and Death Valley Fault Zones, California: Integration of TM Data and Field Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Verosub, Kenneth L.; Brady, Roland H., III; Abrams, Michael

1989-01-01

Kinematic relationships at the intersection of the southern Death Valley and Garlock fault zones were examined to identify and delineate the eastern structural boundary between the Mojave and the Basin and Range geologic terrains, and to construct a model for the evolution of this boundary through time. In order to accomplish this, satellite imagery was combined with field investigations to study six areas in the vicinity of the intersection, or possible extensions, of the fault zones. The information gathered from these areas allows the test of various hypotheses that were proposed to explain the interaction between the Death Valley and Garlock fault zones.

75 FR 9827 - Proposed Expansion of the Santa Maria Valley Viticultural Area (2008R-287P)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-04

... 105(e) of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (FAA Act), 27 U.S.C. 205(e), authorizes the Secretary... Valley as a ``natural funnel-shaped'' valley.) Temperatures remain consistent throughout the gentle west... 1974. (c) Boundary. The Santa Maria Valley viticultural area is located in Santa Barbara and San Luis...

Superfund Record of Decision (EPA Region 9): San Fernando Valley Area 2, operable unit 2, Los Angeles County, CA, June 1993

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1993-06-01

This decision document presents the selected remedial action for the Glendale North Operable Unit, San Fernando Valley Area 2 Superfund site. The remedy involves groundwater extraction and treatment for the shallow aquifer system in the Glendale area of the San Fernando Valley.

Superfund Record of Decision (EPA Region 9): San Fernando Valley Area 2, operable unit 3, Los Angeles County, CA, June 1993

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1993-06-01

This decision document presents the selected remedial action for the Glendale South Operable Unit, San Fernando Valley Area 2 Superfund site. The remedy involves groundwater extraction and treatment for the shallow aquifer system in the Glendale area of the San Fernando Valley.

Geophysical Data from Spring Valley to Delamar Valley, East-Central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mankinen, Edward A.; Roberts, Carter W.; McKee, Edwin H.; Chuchel, Bruce A.; Morin, Robert L.

2007-01-01

Cenozoic basins in eastern Nevada and western Utah constitute major ground-water recharge areas in the eastern part of the Great Basin and these were investigated to characterize the geologic framework of the region. Prior to these investigations, regional gravity coverage was variable over the region, adequate in some areas and very sparse in others. Cooperative studies described herein have established 1,447 new gravity stations in the region, providing a detailed description of density variations in the middle to upper crust. All previously available gravity data for the study area were evaluated to determine their reliability, prior to combining with our recent results and calculating an up-to-date isostatic residual gravity map of the area. A gravity inversion method was used to calculate depths to pre-Cenozoic basement rock and estimates of maximum alluvial/volcanic fill in the major valleys of the study area. The enhanced gravity coverage and the incorporation of lithologic information from several deep oil and gas wells yields a much improved view of subsurface shapes of these basins and provides insights useful for the development of hydrogeologic models for the region.

Estimates of natural ground-water discharge and characterization of water quality in Dry Valley, Washoe County, West-Central Nevada, 2002-2003

USGS Publications Warehouse

Berger, David L.; Maurer, Douglas K.; Lopes, Thomas J.; Halford, Keith J.

2004-01-01

The Dry Valley Hydrographic Area is being considered as a potential source area for additional water supplies for the Reno-Sparks area, which is about 25 miles south of Dry Valley. Current estimates of annual ground-water recharge to Dry Valley have a considerable range. In undeveloped valleys, such as Dry Valley, long-term ground-water discharge can be assumed the same as long-term ground-water recharge. Because estimating ground-water discharge has more certainty than estimating ground-water recharge from precipitation, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Washoe County, began a three-year study to re-evaluate the ground-water resources by estimating natural ground-water discharge and characterize ground-water quality in Dry Valley. In Dry Valley, natural ground-water discharge occurs as subsurface outflow and by ground-water evapotranspiration. The amount of subsurface outflow from the upper part of Dry Valley to Winnemucca and Honey Lake Valleys likely is small. Subsurface outflow from Dry Valley westward to Long Valley, California was estimated using Darcy's Law. Analysis of two aquifer tests show the transmissivity of poorly sorted sediments near the western side of Dry Valley is 1,200 to 1,500 square feet per day. The width of unconsolidated sediments is about 4,000 feet between exposures of tuffaceous deposits along the State line, and decreases to about 1,500 feet (0.5 mile) west of the State line. The hydraulic gradient east and west of the State line ranges from 0.003 to 0.005 foot per foot. Using these values, subsurface outflow to Long Valley is estimated to be 50 to 250 acre-feet per year. Areas of ground-water evapotranspiration were field mapped and partitioned into zones of plant cover using relations derived from Landsat imagery acquired July 8, 2002. Evapotranspiration rates for each plant-cover zone were multiplied by the corresponding area and summed to estimate annual ground-water evapotranspiration. About 640 to 790 acre-feet per year of ground water is lost to evapotranspiration in Dry Valley. Combining subsurface-outflow estimates with ground-water evapotranspiration estimates, total natural ground-water discharge from Dry Valley ranges from a minimum of about 700 acre-feet to a maximum of about 1,000 acre-feet annually. Water quality in Dry Valley generally is good and primary drinking-water standards were not exceeded in any samples collected. The secondary standard for manganese was exceeded in three ground-water samples. One spring sample and two surface-water samples exceeded the secondary standard for pH. Dry Valley has two primary types of water chemistry that are distinguishable by cation ratios and related to the two volcanic-rock units that make up much of the surrounding mountains. In addition, two secondary types of water chemistry appear to have evolved by evaporation of the primary water types. Ground water near the State line appears to be an equal mixture of the two primary water chemistries and has as an isotopic characteristic similar to evaporated surface water.

MX Siting Investigation Geotechnical Evaluation Verification Study - Cave Valley, Nevada. Volume I. Synthesis.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-10-26

areas of non- rippable materials may be encountered throughout the northwestern portion of the valley. Laboratory test results and field observations...non- rippable at shallow depths, thereby classifying them in this instance as areas of rock and/or shallow rock. When this occurs, these areas may...OCCUR- Rock is defined as any earth material which is not rippable RING WITHIN 50 FEET 015m) AND by conventional excavation methods. Where available

Ground-water discharge determined from measurements of evapotranspiration, other available hydrologic components, and shallow water-level changes, Oasis Valley, Nye County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reiner, S.R.; Laczniak, R.J.; DeMeo, G.A.; Smith, J. LaRue; Elliott, P.E.; Nylund, W.E.; Fridrich, C.J.

2002-01-01

Oasis Valley is an area of natural ground-water discharge within the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system of southern Nevada and adjacent California. Ground water discharging at Oasis Valley is replenished from inflow derived from an extensive recharge area that includes the northwestern part of the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Because nuclear testing has introduced radionuclides into the subsurface of the NTS, the U.S. Department of Energy currently is investigating the potential transport of these radionuclides by ground water flow. To better evaluate any potential risk associated with these test-generated contaminants, a number of studies were undertaken to accurately quantify discharge from areas downgradient in the regional ground-water flow system from the NTS. This report refines the estimate of ground-water discharge from Oasis Valley. Ground-water discharge from Oasis Valley was estimated by quantifying evapotranspiration (ET), estimating subsurface outflow, and compiling ground-water withdrawal data. ET was quantified by identifying areas of ongoing ground-water ET, delineating areas of ET defined on the basis of similarities in vegetation and soil-moisture conditions, and computing ET rates for each of the delineated areas. A classification technique using spectral-reflectance characteristics determined from satellite imagery acquired in 1992 identified eight unique areas of ground-water ET. These areas encompass about 3,426 acres of sparsely to densely vegetated grassland, shrubland, wetland, and open water. Annual ET rates in Oasis Valley were computed with energy-budget methods using micrometeorological data collected at five sites. ET rates range from 0.6 foot per year in a sparse, dry saltgrass environment to 3.1 feet per year in dense meadow vegetation. Mean annual ET from Oasis Valley is estimated to be about 7,800 acre-feet. Mean annual ground-water discharge by ET from Oasis Valley, determined by removing the annual local precipitation component of 0.5 foot, is estimated to be about 6,000 acre-feet. Annual subsurface outflow from Oasis Valley into the Amargosa Desert is estimated to be between 30 and 130 acre-feet. Estimates of total annual ground-water withdrawal from Oasis Valley by municipal and non-municipal users in 1996 and 1999 are 440 acre-feet and 210 acre-feet, respectively. Based on these values, natural annual ground-water discharge from Oasis Valley is about 6,100 acre-feet. Total annual discharge was 6,500 acre-ft in 1996 and 6,300 acre-ft in 1999. This quantity of natural ground-water discharge from Oasis Valley exceeds the previous estimate made in 1962 by a factor of about 2.5. Water levels were measured in Oasis Valley to gain additional insight into the ET process. In shallow wells, water levels showed annual fluctuations as large as 7 feet and daily fluctuations as large as 0.2 foot. These fluctuations may be attributed to water loss associated with evapotranspiration. In shallow wells affected by ET, annual minimum depths to water generally occurred in winter or early spring shortly after daily ET reached minimum rates. Annual maximum depths to water generally occurred in late summer or fall shortly after daily ET reached maximum rates. The magnitude of daily water-level fluctuations generally increased as ET increased and decreased as depth to water increased.

Landslide susceptibility in the Tully Valley area, Finger Lakes region, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jager, Stefan; Wieczorek, Gerald E.

1994-01-01

As a consequence of a large landslide in the Tully Valley, Onondaga County, New York, an investigation was undertaken to determine the factors responsible for the landslide in order to develop a model for regional landslide susceptibility. The April 27, 1993 Tully Valley landslide occurred within glacial lake clays overlain by till and colluvium on gentle slopes of 9-12 degrees. The landslide was triggered by extreme climatic events of prolonged heavy rainfall combined with rapid melting of a winter snowpack. A photoinventory and field checking of landslides within a 415 km2 study area, including the Tully Valley, revealed small recently-active landslides and other large dormant prehistoric landslides, probably Pleistocene in age. Similar to the larger Tully Valley landslide, the smaller recently-active landslides occurred in red, glacial lake clays very likely triggered by seasonal rainfall. The large dormant landslides have been stable for long periods as evidenced by slope denudational processes that have modified the landslides. These old and ancient landslides correspond with proglacial lake levels during the Pleistocene, suggesting that either inundation or rapid drainage was responsible for triggering these landslides. A logistic regression analysis was performed within a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment to develop a model of landslide susceptibility for the Tully Valley study area. Presence of glacial clays, slope angle, and glacial lake levels were used as explanatory variables for landslide incidence. The spatial probability of landsliding, categorized as low, moderate and high, is portrayed within 90-m square cells on the susceptibility map.

Understanding the paleo environment in the Danish North Sea using 2D and 3D seismic analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prins, Lasse K.; Clausen, Ole R.; Andresen, Katrine J.

2017-04-01

This study presents the first detailed and integrated mapping of buried Quaternary valleys, river systems and iceberg scourings from the Danish North Sea region. The mapped features coincide spatially but have very different characteristics and incision levels which allow us to constrain their relative timing and differentiate their environment of formation (subglacial, proglacial and marine). The results of the study bring new critical information regarding the paleoenvironment of the North Sea Basin during the latest Quaternary deglaciation period and our analysis provide a well-tested workflow for utilizing 2D and 3D seismic data in relation to paleogeographical reconstructions. Our analysis is based on interpretation of conventional 3D seismic and high-resolution sparker data from the Southern Danish Central Graben. The project forms part of the portfolio for the 'Danish Hydrocarbon Research and Technology Centre' and aims at building a high-resolution 3D geological-geotechnical model of the shallow subsurface by using geophysical data combined with geological and geotechnical data from shallow borings. One of the objectives is to map potential geohazards for offshore installations such as buried valleys and constrain their geotechnical properties. The central North Sea is known to have been covered by glaciers several times during the Quaternary with climate changing between arctic and boreal. Marine conditions periodically prevailed and large river systems mainly from central Europe dominated during periods of subaerial exposure. Hence, many buried erosional incisions, primarily tunnel valleys but also river systems, can be observed within the upper 200-400 meters of the Quaternary succession throughout the central North Sea region. A high-resolution mapping of the infill of the tunnel valleys and river systems have however not previously been presented. Our analysis shows that within the study area at least four generations of tunnel valley formation and river system incisions can be mapped. The tunnel valleys have a strong NE-SW orientation and are typically characterized by an irregular base. The fluvial river systems which are the youngest, are smaller, typically with an anastomosing appearance. They generally have an NW-SE strike perpendicular to the older tunnel valleys. Clear sedimentary structures can be recognized on the high-resolution 2D seismic data indicating a complex history of cut and fill. In general, the study area displays a very heterogenic sedimentation pattern with varying valley types and significant lateral variations within the same valleys revealing a subtle interplay between incision and infilling. In some areas we furthermore see a distinct control of the river system morphology by deeper salt structures adding to the complexity of controlling factors for the rivers and tunnel valleys in the study area. The results of the study provide valuable information on the evolution of the Quaternary ice-sheets and drainage patterns and hence exemplify the use of seismic data for Quaternary paleo-environmental studies. With the good control on the distribution and infill of buried valleys and river systems, the study furthermore provides the first constrain to a detailed 3D model of different litho-facies based on seismic facies analysis combined with information from shallow borings.

Nitrogen and sulfur desposition and forest nutrient status in the valley of Mexico

Treesearch

Mark E. Fenn; L.I. De Baur; A. Quevedo-Nolasco; C. Rodriguez-Frausto

1999-01-01

Mexico City experiences some of the most severe air pollution in the world. Ozone injury has been documented in sensitive tree species in urban and forested areas in the Valley of Mexico. However, little is known of the levels of other atmospheric pollutants and their ecological effects on forests in the Valley of Mexico. In this study bulk throughfall deposition of...

Nitrogen and sulfur deposition and forest nutrient status in the Valley of Mexico

Treesearch

M. E. Fenn; L. I. de Bauer; A. Quevedo-Nolasco; Rodriquez-Frausto-C.

1999-01-01

Mexico City experiences some of the most severe air pollution in the world. Ozone injury has been documented in sensitive tree species in urban and forested areas in the Valley of Mexico. However, little is known of the levels of other atmospheric pollutants and their ecological effects on forests in the Valley of Mexico. In this study bulk throughfall deposition of...

A Survey of Light Pollution in the Rogue Valley, Southwest Oregon, By St. Mary’s School, Medford, Oregon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bensel, Holly; Arianna Ashby, Colin Cai, Thomas Cox, Genna Dorrell, Gabe FitzPatrick, Meaghan FitzPatrick, Jason Mars Liu, Mitchell Moczygemba, Kieran Rooney, Emry Timmons,; Ray You, students, (St. Mary's. School)

2015-01-01

Rural areas in Oregon, including the Rogue Valley, are renowned for beautiful dark skies. Electric light came to Medford, Oregon, the largest town in the Rogue Valley, in 1894. During the past 100 years the Rogue Valley grew from 2,500 individuals in 1895 to a population of 76,462 and a metropolitan area population of 208,545, in 2012. The increased population density resulted in increased light pollution. A light pollution chart using DMSP, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, data was published in 2006, but did not show the spatial variation in detail. In the spring of 2014, the 9th grade physics students, astronomy students, and members of the Astronomy Club from St. Mary's School conducted the first detailed night sky survey. The purpose of the survey is to create a baseline of the variations in light pollution in the Rogue Valley.The project started with a talk by Steve Bosbach, former Texas IDA coordinator, on the topic of light pollution and how it affects our lives and the environment. Groups of students were given the tasks of measuring the night sky brightness in the Rogue Valley, doing a light audit in an area of their choice, and researching what light pollution is and its effects on the environment. From this they created a presentation for a final physics grade. The basis for this project, along with procedures can be found on the Globe at Night (www.globeatnight.org) website. The light audit and research portion were developed from the Dark Sky Rangers section (www.globeatnight.org/dsr/) of the website. In the fall of 2014, astronomy students and club members extended this study to the town of Ashland and the Sothern Oregon University campus, areas of the valley not surveyed in the Spring.This survey will increase awareness of light pollution in the Rogue Valley, as well as educate developers and city planners on the impact that light pollution has on the environment in Southern Oregon. It will help determine areas of concern and areas of dark sky compliant lighting, which could spur appropriate regulation regarding outdoor lighting.

Woody plants selected by beavers in the Appalacian Ridge and Valley Province

Treesearch

Hewlette S. Crawford; R. G. Hooper; R. F. Harlow

1976-01-01

The availability of woody plants and the selection of plants by beavers along mountain streams was studied in four areas of the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Province in Virginia. Beavers' choice of woody plants varied between areas. Many species of woody plants were cut by beavers. They climbed slopes with gradients up to 80 percent to cut trees. Large as well as...

Physical characteristics and chemical quality of selected springs in parts of Juab, Millard, Tooele, and Utah counties, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilberg, D.E.; Stolp, B.J.

1985-01-01

Hydrologic, geologic, and partial water quality data were collected at 90 selected springs in west-central Utah, and chemical analyses performed on water samples from 62 of the springs. Descriptions of the physiographic and geologic conditions, climate, and vegetation patterns for the study area are included. Allowable limits of certain chemical constituents in water for human and livestock consumption are included with the water quality data. Three classifications of springs were established based on physical characteristics of the springs, and chemical composition of the springflow: (1) mountain springs; (2) non-thermal valley springs, and (3) thermal valley springs. Mountain springs are in and near recharge areas, have seasonal variations of discharge and temperature, typically discharge from extrusive and metamorphic geohydrologic units, and generally discharge freshwater. Non-thermal valley springs are peripheral to recharge areas, have seasonal variations of discharge and temperature, typically discharge from a variety of geohydrologic units, and have variable water composition. Thermal valley springs are near topographic low areas of valleys , and have little seasonal variation of discharge or temperature. They typically discharge from unconsolidated deposits (but the discharge probably has flowed through buried carbonate geohydrologic units). They also have a considerable range of water composition that reflects the relative complexity of the groundwater system. (Author 's abstract)

27 CFR 9.23 - Napa Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Napa Valley. 9.23 Section 9.23 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.23 Napa Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area...

27 CFR 9.23 - Napa Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Napa Valley. 9.23 Section 9.23 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.23 Napa Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area...

27 CFR 9.23 - Napa Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Napa Valley. 9.23 Section 9.23 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.23 Napa Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area...

27 CFR 9.23 - Napa Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Napa Valley. 9.23 Section 9.23 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.23 Napa Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area...

27 CFR 9.23 - Napa Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Napa Valley. 9.23 Section 9.23 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.23 Napa Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area...

Delineation of the Pahute Mesa–Oasis Valley groundwater basin, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fenelon, Joseph M.; Halford, Keith J.; Moreo, Michael T.

2016-01-22

This report delineates the Pahute Mesa–Oasis Valley (PMOV) groundwater basin, where recharge occurs, moves downgradient, and discharges to Oasis Valley, Nevada. About 5,900 acre-feet of water discharges annually from Oasis Valley, an area of springs and seeps near the town of Beatty in southern Nevada. Radionuclides in groundwater beneath Pahute Mesa, an area of historical underground nuclear testing at the Nevada National Security Site, are believed to be migrating toward Oasis Valley. Delineating the boundary of the PMOV groundwater basin is necessary to adequately assess the potential for transport of radionuclides from Pahute Mesa to Oasis Valley.The PMOV contributing area is defined based on regional water-level contours, geologic controls, and knowledge of adjacent flow systems. The viability of this area as the contributing area to Oasis Valley and the absence of significant interbasin flow between the PMOV groundwater basin and adjacent basins are shown regionally and locally. Regional constraints on the location of the contributing area boundary and on the absence of interbasin groundwater flow are shown by balancing groundwater discharges in the PMOV groundwater basin and adjacent basins against available water from precipitation. Internal consistency for the delineated contributing area is shown by matching measured water levels, groundwater discharges, and transmissivities with simulated results from a single-layer, steady-state, groundwater-flow model. An alternative basin boundary extending farther north than the final boundary was rejected based on a poor chloride mass balance and a large imbalance in the northern area between preferred and simulated recharge.

The geology of the Oceanographer Transform: The ridge-transform intersection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karson, J. A.; Fox, P. J.; Sloan, H.; Crane, K. T.; Kidd, W. S. F.; Bonatti, E.; Stroup, J. B.; Fornari, D. J.; Elthon, D.; Hamlyn, P.; Casey, J. F.; Gallo, D. G.; Needham, D.; Sartori, R.

1984-06-01

Seven dives in the submersible ALVIN and four deep-towed (ANGUS) camera lowerings have been made at the eastern ridge-transform intersection of the Oceanographer Transform with the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. These data constrain our understanding of the processes that create and shape the distinctive morphology that is characteristic of slowly-slipping ridge-transform-ridge plate boundaries. Although the geological relationships observed in the rift valley floor in the study area are similar to those reported for the FAMOUS area, we observe a distinct change in the character of the rift valley floor with increasing proximity to the transform. Over a distance of approximately ten kilometers the volcanic constructional terrain becomes increasingly more disrupted by faulting and degraded by mass wasting. Moreover, proximal to the transform boundary, faults with orientations oblique to the trend of the rift valley are recognized. The morphology of the eastern rift valley wall is characterized by inward-facing scarps that are ridge-axis parallel, but the western rift valley wall, adjacent to the active transform zone, is characterized by a complex fault pattern defined by faults exhibiting a wide range of orientations. However, even for transform parallel faults no evidence for strike-slip displacement is observed throughout the study area and evidence for normal (dip-slip) displacement is ubiquitous. Basalts, semi-consolidated sediments (chalks, debris slide deposits) and serpentinized ultramafic rocks are recovered from localities within or proximal to the rift valley. The axis of accretion-principal transform displacement zone intersection is not clearly established, but appears to be located along the E-W trending, southern flank of the deep nodal basin that defines the intersection of the transform valley with the rift floor.

Refraction seismic studies in the Miami River, Whitewater River, and Mill Creek valleys, Hamilton and Butler Counties, Ohio

USGS Publications Warehouse

Watkins, Joel S.

1963-01-01

Between September 17 and November 9, 1962, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Ohio Division of Water, Miami Conservancy District, and c,ty of Cincinnati, Ohio, co.,:ducted a refraction seismic study in Hamilton and Butler Counties, southwest Ohio. The area lies between Hamilton, Ohio, and the Ohio River and includes a preglacial valley now occupied by portions of the Miami River, Whitewater River, and Mill Creek. The valley is partially filled with glacial debris which yields large quantities of good-quality water. The object of the study was to determine the thickness of these glacial deposits and the shape of the preglacial valley.

Selected hydrologic data for Cedar Valley, Iron County, southwestern Utah, 1930-2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Howells, James H.; Mason, James L.; Slaugh, Bradley A.

2001-01-01

This report presents hydrologic data collected by the U. S. Geological Survey from 1930 to 2001 with emphasis on data collected from 1997 to 2001 as part of a study of ground-water resources in Cedar Valley, Iron County, southwestern Utah (fig. 1). Data collected prior to this study are also presented to show long-term trends. Data were collected during this study in cooperation with the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District; Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Resources; Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Quality; Cedar City; and Enoch City; as part of a study to better understand the ground-water resources of Cedar Valley and to assess possible effects of increased ground-water withdrawal on water quality. Quality of ground water in Cedar Valley is variable and water suppliers need to know if additional water resources can be developed without drawing water of lower quality into public-supply wells.Cedar Valley is in central Iron County at the transitional boundary between the Basin and Range and Colorado Plateau physiographic provinces described by Hunt (1974) and covers about 570 mi2. Additional data from wells west of Cedar Valley and to the south in the vicinity of Kanarraville in the Virgin River drainage (Colorado River Basin) adjacent to the study area are included. Cedar Valley is bounded on the east by the Markagunt Plateau and Red Hills, on the southwest by the Harmony Mountains, on the west by a complex of low hills, and on the north by the Black Mountains. Altitudes in the study area range from about 5,300 ft in Mud Spring Canyon to about 10,400 ft at Blowhard Mountain to the east.

Geophysical reconnaissance of Lemmon Valley, Washoe County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schaefer, Donald H.; Maurer, Douglas K.

1981-01-01

Rapid growth in the Lemmon Valley area, Nevada, during recent years has put increasing importance on knowledge of stored ground water for the valley. Data that would fill voids left by previous studies are depth to bedrock and depth to good-quality water beneath the two playas in the valley. Depths to bedrock calculated from a gravity survey in Lemmon Valley indicate that the western part of Lemmon Valley is considerably deeper than the eastern part. Maximum depth in the western part is about 2 ,600 feet below land surface. This depression approximately underlies the Silver Lake playa. A smaller, shallower depression with a maximum depth of about 1,500 feet below land surface exists about 2.5 miles north of the playa. The eastern area is considerably shallower. The maximum calculated depth to bedrock is about 1,000 feet below land surface, but the depth throughout most the eastern area is only about 400 feet below land surface. An electrical resistivity survey in Lemmon Valley consisting of 10 Schlumberger soundings was conducted around the playas. The maximum depth of poor-quality water (characterized by a resistivity less than 20 ohm-meters) differed considerably from place to place. Maximum depths of poor-quality water beneath the playa east of Stead varied from about 120 feet to almost 570 feet below land surface. At the Silver Lake playa, the maximum depths varied from about 40 feet in the west to 490 feet in the east. (USGS)

Geohydrology, water quality, and simulation of groundwater flow in the stratified-drift aquifer system in Virgil Creek and Dryden Lake Valleys, Town of Dryden, Tompkins County, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, Todd S.; Bugliosi, Edward F.

2013-01-01

In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Tompkins County Planning Department and the Town of Dryden, New York, began a study of the stratified-drift aquifer system in the Virgil Creek and Dryden Lake Valleys in the Town of Dryden, Tompkins County. The study provided geohydrologic data needed by the town and county to develop a strategy to manage and protect their water resources. In this study area, three extensive confined sand and gravel aquifers (the upper, middle, and lower confined aquifers) compose the stratified-drift aquifer system. The Dryden Lake Valley is a glaciated valley oriented parallel to the direction of ice movement. Erosion by ice extensively widened and deepened the valley, truncated bedrock hillsides, and formed a nearly straight, U-shaped bedrock trough. The maximum thickness of the valley fill in the central part of the valley is about 400 feet (ft). The Virgil Creek Valley in the east part of the study area underwent less severe erosion by ice than the Dryden Lake Valley, and hence, it has a bedrock floor that is several hundred feet higher in altitude than that in the Dryden Lake Valley. The sources and amounts of recharge were difficult to identify in most areas because the confined aquifers are overlain by confining units. However, in the vicinity of the Virgil Creek Dam, the upper confined aquifer crops out at land surface in the floodplain of a gorge eroded by Virgil Creek, and this is where the aquifer receives large amounts of recharge from precipitation that directly falls over the aquifer and from seepage losses from Virgil Creek. The results of streamflow measurements made in Virgil Creek where it flows through the gorge indicated that the stream lost 1.2 cubic feet per second (ft3/s) or 0.78 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water in the reach extending from 220 ft downstream from the dam to 1,200 ft upstream from the dam. In the southern part of the study area, large amounts of recharge also replenish the stratified-drift aquifers at the Valley Heads Moraine, which consists of heterogeneous sediments including coarse-grained outwash and kame sediments, as well as zones containing till with a fine-grained matrix. In the southern part of the study area, the confining units are thin and likely to be discontinuous in some places, resulting in windows of permeable sediment, which can more readily transmit recharge from precipitation and from tributaries that lose water as they flow over the valley floor. In contrast, in the northern part of the study area, the confining units are thick, continuous, and comprise homogeneous fine-grained sediments that more effectively confine the aquifers than in the southern part of the study area. Most groundwater in the northern part of the study area discharges to the Village of Dryden municipal production wells, to the outlet to Dryden Lake, to Virgil Creek, and as groundwater underflow that exits the northern boundary of the study area. Most northward-flowing groundwater in the southern part of the study area discharges to Dryden Lake, to the inlet to Dryden Lake, and to homeowner, nonmunicipal community (a mobile home community and several apartments), and commercial wells. Most of this pumped water is returned to the groundwater system via septic systems. Most southward-flowing groundwater in the southern part of the study area discharges to the headwaters of Owego Creek and to agricultural wells; some flow also exits the southern boundary of the study area as groundwater underflow. The largest user of groundwater in the study area is the Village of Dryden. Water use in the village has approximately tripled between the early 1970s when withdrawals ranged between 18 and 30 million gallons per year (Mgal/yr) and from 2000 through 2008 when withdrawals ranged between 75 and 85 Mgal/yr. The estimated groundwater use by homeowners, nonmunicipal communities, and small commercial facilities outside the area supplied by the Village of Dryden municipal wells is estimated to be about 18.4 Mgal/yr. Most of this pumped water is returned to the groundwater system via septic systems. For this investigation, an aquifer test was conducted at the Village of Dryden production well TM 981 (finished in the middle confined aquifer at a well depth of 72 ft) at the Jay Street pumping station during June 19–21, 2007. The aquifer test consisted of pumping production well TM 981 at 104 gallons per minute over a 24-hour period. The drawdown in well TM 981 at the end of 24 hours of pumping was 19.2 ft. Results of the aquifer-test analysis for a partially penetrating well in a confined aquifer indicated that the transmissivity was 1,560 feet squared per day, and the horizontal hydraulic conductivity was 87 feet per day, based on a saturated thickness of 18 ft. During 2003–5, 14 surface-water samples were collected at 8 sites, including Virgil Creek, Dryden Lake outlet, and several tributaries. During 2003 through 2009, eight groundwater samples were collected from eight wells, including three municipal production wells, two test wells, and three domestic wells. Calcium dominates the cation composition, and bicarbonate dominates the anion composition in most groundwater and surface-water samples. None of the common inorganic constituents collected exceeded any Federal or State water-quality standards. Results from a three-dimensional, finite-difference groundwater-flow model were used to compute a water budget and to estimate the areal extent of the zone of groundwater contribution to the Village of Dryden municipal production wells. The model-computed water budget indicated that the sources of recharge to the confined aquifer system are precipitation that falls directly on the valley-fill sediments (40 percent of total recharge), stream leakage (35.5 percent), seepage from wetlands and ponds (12 percent), unchanneled runoff and groundwater inflow from the uplands (8.5 percent), and groundwater underflow into the eastern end of the model area (4 percent). Most groundwater discharges to surface-water bodies, including Dryden Lake (33 percent), streams (33 percent), and wetlands and ponds (10 percent of the total). In addition, some groundwater discharges as underflow out of the southern and northern ends of the model area (15 percent), to simulated pumping wells (4.5 percent), and to drains that represent seepage from the bluffs exposed in the gorge in the vicinity of the Virgil Creek Dam (4.5 percent). The areal extents of the zones of groundwater contribution for Village of Dryden municipal production wells TM 202 (Lake Road pump station, finished in the upper confined aquifer) and TM 981 (Jay Street pump station, finished in the middle confined aquifer) are 0.5 square mile (mi2) and 0.9 mi2, respectively. The areal extent of the zone of contribution to production well TM 202 extends 2.2 miles (mi) southeast into the Virgil Creek Valley, whereas production well TM 981 extends 3.8 mi south in the Dryden Lake Valley. The areal extent of the zone of contribution to production well TM1046 (South Street pump station) is 1.4 mi2 and extends 2.4 mi into Dryden Lake Valley and 0.5 mi into Virgil Creek Valley.

Groundwater model of the Great Basin carbonate and alluvial aquifer system version 3.0: Incorporating revisions in southwestern Utah and east central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brooks, Lynette E.

2017-12-01

The groundwater model described in this report is a new version of previously published steady-state numerical groundwater flow models of the Great Basin carbonate and alluvial aquifer system, and was developed in conjunction with U.S. Geological Survey studies in Parowan, Pine, and Wah Wah Valleys, Utah. This version of the model is GBCAAS v. 3.0 and supersedes previous versions. The objectives of the model for Parowan Valley were to simulate revised conceptual estimates of recharge and discharge, to estimate simulated aquifer storage properties and the amount of reduction in storage as a result of historical groundwater withdrawals, and to assess reduction in groundwater withdrawals necessary to mitigate groundwater-level declines in the basin. The objectives of the model for the area near Pine and Wah Wah Valleys were to recalibrate the model using new observations of groundwater levels and evapotranspiration of groundwater; to provide new estimates of simulated recharge, hydraulic conductivity, and interbasin flow; and to simulate the effects of proposed groundwater withdrawals on the regional flow system. Meeting these objectives required the addition of 15 transient calibration stress periods and 14 projection stress periods, aquifer storage properties, historical withdrawals in Parowan Valley, and observations of water-level changes in Parowan Valley. Recharge in Parowan Valley and withdrawal from wells in Parowan Valley and two nearby wells in Cedar City Valley vary for each calibration stress period representing conditions from March 1940 to November 2013. Stresses, including recharge, are the same in each stress period as in the steady-state stress period for all areas outside of Parowan Valley. The model was calibrated to transient conditions only in Parowan Valley. Simulated storage properties outside of Parowan Valley were set the same as the Parowan Valley properties and are not considered calibrated. Model observations in GBCAAS v. 3.0 are groundwater levels at wells and discharge locations; water-level changes; and discharge to springs, evapotranspiration of groundwater, rivers, and lakes. All observations in the model outside of Parowan Valley are considered to represent steady-state conditions. Composite scaled sensitivities indicate the observations of discharge to rivers and springs provide more information about model parameters in the model focus area than do water-level observations. Water levels and water-level changes, however, provide the only information about specific yield and specific storage parameters and provide more information about recharge and withdrawals in Parowan Valley than any other observation group. Comparisons of simulated water levels and measured water levels in Parowan Valley indicated that the model fits the overall trend of declining water levels and provides reasonable estimates of long-term reduction in storage and of storage changes from 2012 to 2013. The conceptual and simulated groundwater budgets for Parowan Valley from November 2012 to November 2013 are similar, with recharge of about 20,000 acre-feet and discharge of about 45,000 acre-feet. In the simulation, historical withdrawals averaging about 28,000 acre-feet per year (acre-ft/yr) cause major changes in the groundwater system in Parowan Valley. These changes include the cessation of almost all natural discharge in the valley and the long-term removal of water from storage. Simulated recharge in Pine Valley of 11,000 acre-ft/yr and in Wah Wah Valley of 3,200 acre-ft/yr is substantially less in GBCAAS v. 3.0 than that simulated by previous model versions. In addition, the valleys have less simulated inflow from and outflow to other hydrographic areas than were simulated by previous model versions. The effects of groundwater development in these valleys, however, are independent of the amount of water recharging in and flowing through the valleys. Groundwater withdrawals in Pine and Wah Wah Valleys will decrease groundwater storage (causing drawdown) until discharge in surrounding areas and mountain springs around the two valleys is reduced by the rate of withdrawal. The model was used to estimate that reducing withdrawals in Parowan Valley from 35,000 to about 22,000 acre-ft/yr would likely stabilize groundwater levels in the valley if recharge varies as it did from about 1950 to 2012. The model was also used to demonstrate that withdrawals of 15,000 acre-ft/yr from Pine Valley and 6,500 acre-ft/yr from Wah Wah Valley could ultimately cause long-term steady-state water-level declines of about 1,900 feet near the withdrawal wells and of more than 5 feet in an area of about 10,500 square miles. The timing of drawdown and capture and the ultimate amount of drawdown are dependent on the proximity to areas of simulated natural groundwater discharge, simulated transmissivity, and simulated storage properties. The model projections are a representation of possible effects.

Is It Working? Lysimeter Monitoring in the Southern Willamette Valley Groundwater Management Area

EPA Science Inventory

Groundwater nitrate contamination affects thousands of households in the southern Willamette Valley and many more across the Pacific Northwest. The southern Willamette Valley Groundwater Management Area (SWV GWMA) was established in 2004 due to nitrate levels in the groundwater ...

The Politics of Place: Official, Intermediate and Community Discourses in Depopulated Rural Areas of Central Spain. The Case of the Riaza River Valley (Segovia, Spain)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paniagua, Angel

2009-01-01

This paper provides theoretical and methodological arguments to study the politics of space in small marginal and depopulated areas of Spain. The case for research is the Riaza river valley in the province of Segovia. Usually the analysis of rural space (and the geographical space in general) provides opposing presentations: vertical, between…

Geology and sinkhole development of the Hagerstown Valley : phase II summary report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

As a part of this study, karst areas of the Hagerstown, Mason Dixon, Williamsport, Clear Spring, and Hedgesville : quadrangles (western half of the Hagerstown Valley) were mapped in detail to determine the distribution of karst : features relative to...

Water in the Humboldt River Valley near Winnemucca, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cohen, Philip M.

1966-01-01

Most of the work of the interagency Humboldt River Research Project in the Winnemucca reach of the Humboldt River valley has been completed. More than a dozen State and Federal agencies and several private organizations and individuals participated in the study. The major objective of the project, which began in 1959, is to evaluate the water resources of the entire Humboldt River basin. However, because of the large size of the basin, most of the work during the first 5 years of the project was done in the Winnemucca area. The purpose of this report is to summarize briefly and simply the information regarding the water resources of the Winnemucca area-especially the quantitative aspects of the flow system-given in previous reports of the project. The Winnemucca reach of the Humboldt River valley, which is in north-central Nevada, is about 200 miles downstream from the headwaters of the Humboldt River and includes that part of the valley between the Comus and Rose Creek gaging stations. Average annual inflow to the storage area (the valley lowlands) in the Winnemucca reach in water years 1949-62 was about 250,000 acre-feet. Of this amount, about 68 percent was Humboldt River streamflow, as measured at the Comus gaging station, 23 percent was precipitation directly on the storage area, 6 percent was ground-water inflow, and about 3 percent was tributary streamflow. Average annual streamflow at the Rose Creek gaging station during the same period was about 155,000 acre-feet, or about 17,000 acre-feet less than that at the Comus gaging station. Nearly all the streamflow lost was consumed by evapotranspiration in the project area. Total average annual evapotranspiration loss during the period was about 115,000 acre-feet, or about 42 percent of the total average annual outflow. The most abundant ions in the ground and surface water in the area are commonly sodium and bicarbonate. Much of the water has a dissolved-solids content that ranges from 500 to 750 parts per million; however, locally, the dissolved-solids content of the ground water is more than 5,000 parts per million. The chemical quality of the Humboldt River, especially during periods of low flow, reflects the chemical quality of ground-water inflow from tributary areas that discharges into the river. Almost all water in the project area is moderately hard to very hard; otherwise, it is generally suitable for most uses. Increased ground-water development, the conjunctive use of ground and surface water, and increased irrigation efficiency would probably conserve much of the water presently consumed by nonbeneficial evapotranspiration. Intensive ground-water development, especially from the highly permeable medial gravel subunit, will, however, decrease the flow of the Humboldt River to the extent that some pumpage may not be offset by a corresponding decrease in natural evapotranspiration losses. Such streamflow depletions will therefore infringe upon downstream surface-water rights. The results of this study indicate that the Humboldt River and ground water in the unconsolidated deposits beneath and adjacent to the river in the Winnemucca area are closely related. Somewhat similar conditions probably exist elsewhere in the Humboldt River valley. Additional detailed studies are needed-both upstream and downstream from the Winnemucca area-to adequately define the flow system and the interrelations among the components of the system in the remainder of the valley. Before proceeding with additional detailed studies, however, a 1-year overall appraisal of the water resources of the basin should be considered. A major objective of this study would be to provide information that would help select the next subarea of the valley to be studied in detail and to decide which of the methods of study used in the Winnemucca area could be most effectively used in the future studies.

Color Image of Death Valley, California from SIR-C

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-09-27

This radar image shows the area of Death Valley, California and the different surface types in the area. Radar is sensitive to surface roughness with rough areas showing up brighter than smooth areas, which appear dark.

Glacial landform assemblages in the catchment area of the upper Quitarasca valley (Cordillera Blanca, Perú)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iturrizaga, L.

2012-04-01

The research project focuses on the glacial landform sequences in the upper Quitarasca valley (8°51´S/77°36´W) with particular consideration of the Pucahirca glacier. The study area is located at the eastern side of the Cordillera Blanca, about almost 40 km valley upstream of the confluence with the Rio Santa valley. The highest catchment area is the Pucahirca Massif (6020 m a.s.l.). The present glacier tongue terminates at an elevation of 4500 m a.s.l.. The investigations analyzed the extent of the glaciations from the Last Glacial Maximum to modern times in regard to the transition of the moraine types during the course of deglaciation. The distinct moraine stages were correlated with existent glacial chronologies of adjacent valleys. Due to the hazard potential of the Laguna Safuna Alta, which developed in the late 1940s at the terminus of the Pucahirca glacier, detailed studies have been carried out by various research groups in regard to the composition of the historical / Neoglacial moraine composition providing at the same time valuable material for multi-temporal comparison of the recent development of the glacier tongue. The investigations presented here are part of a project on the glacial geomorphology in the Tropical Andes, financed by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Preliminary report on geology and ground water of the Pajaro Valley area, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Muir, K.S.

1972-01-01

The Pajaro Valley area, California, covering about 120 square miles, extends from the southern part of Santa Cruz County to several miles south of the county line into Monterey County. It borders the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Santa Cruz Mountains on the east. The city of Watsonville is the largest center of population. Deposits that range in age from Pliocene to Holocene make up the ground-water reservoir. These include, from oldest to youngest, the Purisima Formation, Aromas Red Sands of Allen (1946), terrace deposits, alluvium, and dune sand. These deposits underlie an area of about 80 square miles and have a maximum thickness of about 4,000 feet. The alluvium yields most of the water pumped from wells in the area. Pre-Pliocene rocks underlie and form the boundaries of the ground-water reservoir. These rocks contain ground water in fractures and in sandstone beds. However, they are not an important source of ground water. There is close continuity between the geology of the Pajaro Valley area and that of the Soquel-Aptos area, which is contiguous on the north. Ground water in the Pajaro Valley area is derived from three sources: (1) Precipitation within the Pajaro Valley area that reaches the ground-water body by direct infiltration or by seepage from streams, (2) seepage from the Pajaro River as it crosses the Pajaro Valley carrying runoff which originates upstream from the valley, and (3) precipitation in the Soquel-Aptos area that infiltrates and then moves southeastward at depth into the Pajaro Valley area. Ground water in most wells in the Pajaro Valley area occurs under confined (artesian) conditions; the only exception is ground water in the upper, near-surface part of the alluvium and that in the dune sand. It moves south from the north part of the area and southwest away from the San Andreas fault toward and out under Monterey Bay. In the south part of the area, ground-water movement is almost due west. The San Andreas fault probably is the only fault that has a restrictive effect on the movement of ground water. Water levels in wells in the Pajaro Valley area in 1970 averaged about 2 feet lower than that in 1950. Ground-water pumpage averaged 46,100 acre-feet per year during the period 1963 through 1969. There are two distinct ground-water quality zones in the Pajaro Valley area: a shallow, semiperched zone of poor-quality water and a deeper, confined zone of good quality-water. Also, sea-water intrusion has occurred in limited areas near the mouth of the Pajaro River and in the vicinity of McClusky Slough. The channel of the Pajaro River near Aromas and the beds of streams that drain the area north and northeast of Watsonville have the greatest potential for artificial recharge by surface infiltration of water. The gravel at the base of the alluvium is the best zone for injection of water through wells.

Water-quality assessment of the Rio Grande Valley, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas; shallow ground-water quality of a land-use area in the San Luis Valley, south-central Colorado, 1993

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anderholm, S.K.

1996-01-01

This report describes the quality of shallow ground water in an agricultural area in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, and discusses how natural and human factors affect the quality of shallow ground water. Thirty-five wells were installed, and water samples were collected from these wells and analyzed for selected dissolved common constituents, nutrients, trace elements, radionuclides, and synthetic organic compounds. The San Luis Valley is a high intermontane valley that is partially drained by the Rio Grande. The San Luis Valley land-use study area was limited to a part of the valley where the depth to water is generally less than 25 feet. The area where the 35 monitor wells were installed was further limited to the part of the study area where center-pivot overhead sprinklers are used to irrigate crops. Precipitation, runoff from adjacent mountainous areas, and ground-water inflow from the adjacent mountainous areas are the main sources of water to the aquifers in the San Luis Valley. Discharge of water from the shallow, unconfined aquifer in the valley is mainly from evapotranspiration. The dominant land use in the San Luis Valley is agriculture, although nonirrigated land and residential land are interspersed with agricultural land. Alfalfa, native hay, barley, wheat, potatoes, and other vegetables are the main crops. Dissolved-solids concentrations in shallow ground water sampled ranged from 75 to 1,960 milligrams per liter. The largest median concentration of cations was for calcium, and the largest median concentration of anions was for bicarbonate in shallow ground water in the San Luis Valley. Calcium concentrations ranged from 7.5 to 300 milligrams per liter, and bicarbonate concentrations ranged from 28 to 451 milligrams per liter. Nitrite plus nitrate concentrations ranged from less than 0.1 to 58 milligrams per liter as N; water from 11 wells had nitrite plus nitrate concentrations greater than 10 milligrams per liter as N. With the exception of the following trace elements--aluminum, barium, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and uranium--the concentrations of trace elements were less than 10 micrograms per liter in 90 percent of the samples. All trace-element concentrations measured were below the maximum contaminant levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Five samples exceeded the proposed maximum contaminant level of 0.02 milligram per liter for uranium. All samples collected exceeded the proposed maximum contaminant level for radon-222. The volatile organic compound methyltertbutylether was detected in one sample at a concentration of 0.6 microgram per liter. Of the pesticides analyzed for, one or more were detected in water from 5 of the 35 wells sampled. Metribuzin was the most commonly detected pesticide and was detected in water from three wells at concentrations ranging from an estimated 0.005 to 0.017 microgram per liter. Metolachlor (detected in one sample at a concentration of 0.072 microgram per liter), prometon (detected in one sample at a concentration of 0.01 microgram per liter), and p,p'-DDE (detected in one sample at an estimated concentration of 0.002 microgram per liter) were the other pesticides detected. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lifetime health advisory for metolachlor, metribuzin, and prometon is 100 micrograms per liter, which is much larger than the concentrations measured in the shallow ground water sampled for this study. The elevated nitrite plus nitrate concentrations in shallow ground water are indicative of leaching of fertilizers from the land surface. This conclusion is consistent with conclusions made in other investigations of the San Luis Valley. On the basis of areal distribution and range of trace-element concentrations, human activities have not caused widespread trace-element contamination in the shallow grou

Salinity Trends in the Upper Colorado River Basin Upstream From the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit, Colorado, 1986-2003

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leib, Kenneth J.; Bauch, Nancy J.

2008-01-01

In 1974, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act was passed into law. This law was enacted to address concerns regarding the salinity content of the Colorado River. The law authorized various construction projects in selected areas or 'units' of the Colorado River Basin intended to reduce the salinity load in the Colorado River. One such area was the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit in western Colorado. The U. S. Geological Survey has done extensive studies and research in the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit that provide information to aid the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Natural Resources Conservation Service in determining where salinity-control work may provide the best results, and to what extent salinity-control work was effective in reducing salinity concentrations and loads in the Colorado River. Previous studies have indicated that salinity concentrations and loads have been decreasing downstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit, and that the decreases are likely the result of salinity control work in these areas. Several of these reports; however, also document decreasing salinity loads upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit. This finding was important because only a small amount of salinity-control work was being done in areas upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit at the time the findings were reported (late 1990?s). As a result of those previous findings, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation entered into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey to investigate salinity trends in selected areas bracketing the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit and regions upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit. The results of the study indicate that salinity loads were decreasing upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit from 1986 through 2003, but the rates of decrease have slowed during the last 10 years. The average rate of decrease in salinity load upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit was 10,700 tons/year. This accounts for approximately 27 percent of the decrease observed downstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit. Salinity loads were decreasing at the fastest rate (6,950 tons/year) in Region 4, which drains an area between the Colorado River at Cameo, Colorado (station CAMEO) and Colorado River above Glenwood Springs, Colorado (station GLEN) streamflow-gaging stations. Trends in salinity concentration and streamflow were tested at station CAMEO to determine if salinity concentration, streamflow, or both are controlling salinity loads upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit. Trend tests of individual ion concentrations were included as potential indicators of what sources (based on mineral composition) may be controlling trends in the upper Colorado. No significant trend was detected for streamflow from 1986 to 2003 at station CAMEO; however, a significant downward trend was detected for salinity concentration. The trend slope indicates that salinity concentration is decreasing at a median rate of about 3.54 milligrams per liter per year. Five major ions (calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfate, and chloride) were tested for trends. The results indicate that processes within source areas with rock and soil types (or other unidentified sources) bearing calcium, sodium, and sulfate had the largest effect on the downward trend in salinity load upstream from station CAMEO. Downward trends in salinity load resulting from ground-water sources and/or land-use change were thought to be possible reasons for the observed decreases in salinity loads; however, the cause or causes of the decreasing salinity loads are not fully understood. A reduction in the amount of ground-water percolation from Region 4 (resulting from work done through Federal irrigation system improvement programs as well as privately funded irrigation system improvements) has helped reduce annual salinity load from Region 4 by approxima

An Isotopic view of water and nitrogen transport through the vadose zone in Oregon's southern Willamette Valley's Groundwater Management Area

EPA Science Inventory

Background/Question/MethodsGroundwater nitrate contamination affects thousands of households in Oregon's southern Willamette Valley and many more across the Pacific Northwest. The southern Willamette Valley Groundwater Management Area (SWV GWMA) was established in 2004 due to nit...

Is it working? A look at the changing nutrient practices in the Southern Willamette Valley's Groundwater Management Area

EPA Science Inventory

Groundwater nitrate contamination affects thousands of households in the southern Willamette Valley and many more across the Pacific Northwest. The southern Willamette Valley Groundwater Management Area (SWV GWMA) was established in 2004 due to nitrate levels in the groundwater ...

Illinois Valley Industry Retention Program. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, John P.

The Illinois Valley Industry Retention Program was conceived with the goals of retaining existing industries in the area and saving presently available jobs for the area's citizens. A program committee, formed in March 1982 of representatives from state government, Illinois Valley Community College (IVCC), and local businesses, undertook a survey…

Ground-water hydrology of Dugway Proving Ground and adjoining area, Tooele and Juab counties, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Steiger, Judy I.; Freethey, Geoffrey W.

2001-01-01

Dugway Proving Ground (DPG) is a U.S. Department of Defense chemical, biological, and explosives testing facility in northwestern Utah.  The facility includes about 620 mi2 in Tooele County.  The town of Dugway, referred to as English Village, is the administrative headquarters for the military facility, the primary residential area, and community center.  The English Village area is located at the southern end of Skull Valley and is separated from the Fries area by a surface-water divide.  Most of the facility is located just to the west of Skull Valley in Government Creek Valley, Dugway Valley, and the Great Salt Lake Desert (fig. 1).

Structural and lithologic study of northern coast ranges and Sacramento Valley, California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rich, E. I. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Analysis of ERTS-1 imagery of the Northern California Coast Ranges has disclosed a potential relation between a heretofore unrecognized fracture system and known deposits of mercury and geothermally active areas in the Coast Range and between oil and gas fields in the Sacramento Valley. Three potentially important systems of linear elements within the Coast Ranges, detected on ERTS-1 imagery, may represent fault systems or zones of shearing because topographic offset and stratigraph disruption can be seen along one or two of the lineations. One of the systems in subparallel to the San Andreas fault and is confined to the Pacific Coastal Belt. Another set is confined to the central core of the Coast Ranges. The third set of linear features (Valley System) has not heretofore been recognized. Some of the known mercury deposits and geothermally active areas near Clear Lake, in the Coast Ranges, are along the Valley System or at the intersection of the Central and Valley Systems. The plotted locations of some of the oil and gas fields in the Sacramento Valley are associated with the Valley and/or Central Systems. If these relations prove reliable, the ERTS-1 imagery may prove to be an extremely useful exploration tool.

Hydrologic effects of stress-relief fracturing in an Appalachian Valley

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wyrick, Granville G.; Borchers, James W.

1981-01-01

A hydrologic study at Twin Falls State Park, Wyoming County, West Virginia, was made to determine how fracture systems affect the occurrence and movement of ground water in a typical valley of the Appalachian Plateaus Physiographic Province. Twin Falls was selected because it is generally unaffected by factors that would complicate an analysis of the data. The study area was the Black Fork Valley at Twin Falls. The valley is about 3 miles long and 400 to 600 feet wide and is cut into massive sandstone units interbedded with thin coal and shale beds. The study was made to determine how aquifer characteristics were related to fracture systems in this valley, so that the relation could be applied to studies of other valleys. Two sites were selected for test drilling, pumping tests, and geophysical studies. One site is in the upper part of the valley, and the second is near the lower central part. At both sites, ground water occurs mainly in horizontal bedding-plane fractures under the valley floor and in nearly vertical and horizontal slump fractures along the valley wall. The aquifer is under confined conditions under the valley floor and unconfined conditions along the valley wall. The fractures pinch out under the valley walls, which form impermeable barriers. Tests of wells near the valley center indicated a change in storage coefficient as the cone of depression caused by pumping reached the confined-unconfined boundaries; the tests also indicated barrier-image effects when the cone reached the impermeable boundaries. Drawdown from pumping near the center of the valley affected water levels at both sites, indicating a hydraulic connection from the upper to the lower end of the valley. Stream gain-and-loss studies show that ground water discharges to the stream from horizontal fractures beneath Black Fork Falls, near the mouth of Black Fork. The fracture systems that constitute most of the transmissive part of the aquifer at Twin Falls are like those described as being formed from stress relief. As stress-relief fractures have been described in other valleys of the Appalachian Plateaus, the same aquifer conditions may exist in those valleys.

Morbidity by tuberculosis in the Jiu Valley: relation with diagnostic practice and the impact on therapeutic results.

PubMed

Petre, Nicolae; Homorodean, Daniela; Pop, Carmen Monica

2017-01-01

In the last two and a half decades the dynamics of tuberculosis has been modelled by social and economic conditions, with consequences on the life style, and effects on the onset and evolution of the disease. The Jiu Valley is an area with social problems: mining, mines closing down and ceasing activity, poverty. We looked for a relationship between changes of life style in the Jiu Valley and the dynamics of tuberculosis. We studied 528 patients who asked for medical services in different hospitals in the Jiu Valley between 2010-2013. We structurally characterized this group, we identified the characteristics of life style, and we assessed the health state, in particular the relation with tuberculosis. We found out that the quality of life was influenced by the health state, especially by tuberculous disease. Quality of life was influenced by the life style, professional factors and their long term consequences. The study evidenced a strong relationship between apparently very different factors such as life style, professional factors on one side and those characterizing tuberculosis. We report the first detailed epidemiological data on tuberculosis in an economically poor area, the Jiu Valley.

Groundwater quality in the San Diego Drainages Hydrogeologic Province, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wright, Michael T.; Belitz, Kenneth

2011-01-01

More than 40 percent of California's drinking water is from groundwater. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State's groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. The San Diego Drainages Hydrogeologic Province (hereinafter referred to as San Diego) is one of the study units being evaluated. The San Diego study unit is approximately 3,900 square miles and consists of the Temecula Valley, Warner Valley, and 12 other alluvial basins (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). The study unit also consists of all areas outside defined groundwater basins that are within 3 kilometers of a public-supply well. The study unit was separated, based primarily on hydrogeologic settings, into four study areas: Temecula Valley, Warner Valley, Alluvial Basins, and Hard Rock (Wright and others, 2005). The sampling density for the Hard Rock study area, which consists of areas outside of groundwater basins, was much lower than for the other study areas. Consequently, aquifer proportions for the Hard Rock study area are not used to calculate the aquifer proportions shown by the pie charts. An assessment of groundwater quality for the Hard Rock study area can be found in Wright and Belitz, 2011. The temperatures in the coastal part of the study unit are mild with dry summers, moist winters, and an average annual rainfall of about 10 inches. The temperatures in the mountainous eastern part of the study unit are cooler than in the coastal part, with an annual precipitation of about 45 inches that occurs mostly in the winter. The primary aquifers consist of Quaternary-age alluvium and weathered bedrock in the Temecula Valley, Warner Valley, and Alluvial Basins study areas, whereas in the Hard Rock study area the primary aquifers consist mainly of fractured and decomposed granite of Mesozoic age. The primary aquifers are defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) database. Public-supply wells typically are drilled to depths between 200 and 700 feet, consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of about 60 to 170 feet, and are perforated, or consist of an open hole, below the solid casing. Water quality in the shallow and deep parts of the aquifer system may differ from water quality in the primary aquifers. Municipal water use accounts for approximately 70 percent of water used in the study unit; the majority of the remainder is used for agriculture, industry, and commerce. Groundwater accounts for approximately 8 percent of the municipal supply, and surface water, the majority of which is imported, accounts for the rest. Recharge to groundwater occurs through stream-channel infiltration from rivers and their tributaries, infiltration in engineered recharge basins, and infiltration of water from precipitation and irrigation. The primary source of discharge is water pumped from wells.

27 CFR 9.132 - Rogue Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Rogue Valley. 9.132... Rogue Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area described in this section is “Rouge Valley.” (b) Approved map. The appropriate map for determining the boundaries of the Rogue Valley viticultural...

Surficial Geologic Map of the Death Valley Junction 30' x 60' Quadrangle, California and Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Slate, Janet L.; Berry, Margaret E.; Menges, Christopher M.

2009-01-01

This surficial geologic map of the Death Valley Junction 30' x 60' quadrangle was compiled digitally at 1:100,000 scale. The map area covers the central part of Death Valley and adjacent mountain ranges - the Panamint Range on the west and the Funeral Mountains on the east - as well as areas east of Death Valley including some of the Amargosa Desert, the Spring Mountains and Pahrump Valley. Shaded relief delineates the topography and appears as gray tones in the mountain ranges where the bedrock is undifferentiated and depicted as a single unit.

California's restless giant: the Long Valley Caldera

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hill, David P.; Bailey, Roy A.; Hendley, James W.; Stauffer, Peter H.; Marcaida, Mae

2014-01-01

Scientists have monitored geologic unrest in the Long Valley, California, area since 1980. In that year, following a swarm of strong earthquakes, they discovered that the central part of the Long Valley Caldera had begun actively rising. Unrest in the area persists today. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) continues to provide the public and civil authorities with current information on the volcanic hazard at Long Valley and is prepared to give timely warnings of any impending eruption.

27 CFR 9.76 - Knights Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Knights Valley. 9.76 Section 9.76 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.76 Knights Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultura...

27 CFR 9.29 - Sonoma Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Sonoma Valley. 9.29 Section 9.29 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.29 Sonoma Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural...

27 CFR 9.76 - Knights Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Knights Valley. 9.76 Section 9.76 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.76 Knights Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultura...

27 CFR 9.29 - Sonoma Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Sonoma Valley. 9.29 Section 9.29 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.29 Sonoma Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural...

27 CFR 9.142 - Bennett Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Bennett Valley. 9.142 Section 9.142 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.142 Bennett Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.29 - Sonoma Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Sonoma Valley. 9.29 Section 9.29 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.29 Sonoma Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural...

27 CFR 9.29 - Sonoma Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Sonoma Valley. 9.29 Section 9.29 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.29 Sonoma Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural...

27 CFR 9.53 - Alexander Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Alexander Valley. 9.53 Section 9.53 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.53 Alexander Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.53 - Alexander Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Alexander Valley. 9.53 Section 9.53 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.53 Alexander Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.76 - Knights Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Knights Valley. 9.76 Section 9.76 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.76 Knights Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultura...

27 CFR 9.76 - Knights Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Knights Valley. 9.76 Section 9.76 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.76 Knights Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultura...

27 CFR 9.29 - Sonoma Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Sonoma Valley. 9.29 Section 9.29 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.29 Sonoma Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural...

27 CFR 9.142 - Bennett Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Bennett Valley. 9.142 Section 9.142 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.142 Bennett Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.142 - Bennett Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Bennett Valley. 9.142 Section 9.142 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.142 Bennett Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.142 - Bennett Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Bennett Valley. 9.142 Section 9.142 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.142 Bennett Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.53 - Alexander Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Alexander Valley. 9.53 Section 9.53 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.53 Alexander Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.76 - Knights Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Knights Valley. 9.76 Section 9.76 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.76 Knights Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultura...

27 CFR 9.53 - Alexander Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Alexander Valley. 9.53 Section 9.53 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.53 Alexander Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.53 - Alexander Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Alexander Valley. 9.53 Section 9.53 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.53 Alexander Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.142 - Bennett Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Bennett Valley. 9.142 Section 9.142 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.142 Bennett Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

Groundwater quality in the shallow aquifers of the Monterey Bay, Salinas Valley, and adjacent highland areas, Southern Coast Ranges, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burton, Carmen

2018-05-30

The Monterey-Salinas Shallow Aquifer study unit covers approximately 7,820 square kilometers (km2) in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo Counties in the Central Coast Hydrologic Region of California. The study unit was divided into four study areas—Santa Cruz, Pajaro Valley, Salinas Valley, and Highlands. More than 75 percent of the water used for drinking-water supply in the Central Coast Hydrologic Region of California is groundwater, and there are more than 8,000 well driller’s logs for domestic wells (California Department of Water Resources, 2013).

Groundwater Quality in the Shallow Aquifers of the Monterey Bay, Salinas Valley, and Adjacent Highland Areas, Southern Coast Ranges, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burton, Carmen

2018-05-30

The Monterey-Salinas Shallow Aquifer study unit covers approximately 7,820 square kilometers (km2) in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo Counties in the Central Coast Hydrologic Region of California. The study unit was divided into four study areas—Santa Cruz, Pajaro Valley, Salinas Valley, and Highlands. More than 75 percent of the water used for drinking-water supply in the Central Coast Hydrologic Region of California is groundwater, and there are more than 8,000 well driller’s logs for domestic wells (California Department of Water Resources, 2013).

The Late Oligocene to Early Miocene early evolution of rifting in the southwestern part of the Roer Valley Graben

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deckers, Jef

2016-06-01

The Roer Valley Graben is a Mesozoic continental rift basin that was reactivated during the Late Oligocene. The study area is located in the graben area of the southwestern part of the Roer Valley Graben. Rifting initiated in the study area with the development of a large number of faults in the prerift strata. Some of these faults were rooted in preexisting zones of weakness in the Mesozoic strata. Early in the Late Oligocene, several faults died out in the study area as strain became focused upon others, some of which were able to link into several-kilometer-long systems. Within the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene northwestward prograding shallow marine syn-rift deposits, the number of active faults further decreased with time. A relatively strong decrease was observed around the Oligocene/Miocene boundary and represents a further focus of strain onto the long fault systems. Miocene extensional strain was not accommodated by further growth, but predominantly by displacements along the long fault systems. Since the Oligocene/Miocene boundary coincides with a radical change in the European intraplate stress field, the latter might have contributed significantly to the simultaneous change of fault kinematics in the study area.

Ground-water areas and well logs, central Sevier Valley, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Young, Richard A.

1960-01-01

Between September 1959 and June 1960 the United States Geological Survey and the Utah State Engineer, with financial assistance from Garfield, Millard, Piute, Sanpete, and Sevier Counties and from local water-users’ associations, cooperated in an investigation to determine the structural framework of the central Sevier Valley and to evaluate the valley’s ground-water potential. An important aspect of the study was the drilling of 22 test holes under private contract. These data and other data collected during the course of the larger ground-water investigation of which the test drilling was a part will be evaluated in a report on the geology and ground-water resources of the central Sevier Valley. The present report has been prepared to make available the logs of test holes and to describe in general terms the availability of ground water in the different areas of the valley.

Uranium in Holocene valley-fill sediments, and uranium, radon, and helium in waters, Lake Tahoe-Carson Range area, Nevada and California, U.S.A.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Otton, J.K.; Zielinski, R.A.; Been, J.M.

1989-01-01

Uraniferous Holocene sediments occur in the Carson Range of Nevada and California, U.S.A., between Lake Tahoe and Carson Valley. The hosts for the uranium include peat and interbedded organic-rich sand, silt, and mud that underly valley floors, fens, and marshes along stream valleys between the crest of the range and the edge of Lake Tahoe. The known uranium accumulations extend along the Carson Range from the area just southeast of South Lake Tahoe northward to the area just east of Carson City; however, they almost certainly continue beyond the study area to the north, west, and south. Due to the young age of the accumulations, uranium in them is in gross disequilibrium with its highly radioactive daughter products. These accumulations have thus escaped discovery with radiation detection equipment in the past. The uranium content of these sediments approaches 0.6 percent; however, the average is in the range of 300-500 ppm. Waters associated with these sediments locally contain as much as 177 ppb uranium. Modest levels of helium and radon also occur in these waters. Uraniferous waters are clearly entering the private and public water supply systems in some parts of the study area; however, it is not known how much uranium is reaching users of these water supplies. Many of the waters sampled in the study area exceed the published health effects guidance level of the Environmental Protection Agency. Regulatory standards for uranium in waters have not been published, however. Much uranium is stored in the sediments along these stream valleys. Estimates for a marsh and a fen along one drainage are 24,000 and 15,000 kg, respectively. The potential effects of man-induced environmental changes on the uranium are uncertain. Laboratory studies of uraniferous sediment rich in organic matter may allow us to evaluate the potential of liberating uranium from such sediments and creating transient increases in the level of uranium moving in water in the natural environment. ?? 1989 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

Summary of the hydrogeology of the Valley and Ridge, Blue Ridge, and Piedmont Physiographic Provinces in the eastern United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Swain, Lindsay A.; Mesko, Thomas O.; Hollyday, Este F.

2004-01-01

The Appalachian Valley and Piedmont Regional Aquifer-System Analysis study (1988-1993) analyzed rock types in the 142,000-square-mile study area, identified hydrogeologic terranes, determined transmissivity distributions, determined the contribution of ground water to streamflow, modeled ground-water flow, described water quality, and identified areas suitable for the potential development of municipal and industrial ground-water supplies. Ground-water use in the Valley and Ridge, the Blue Ridge, and the Piedmont Physiographic Provinces exceeds 1.7 billion gallons per day.Thirty-three rock types in the study area were analyzed, and the rock types with similar water-yielding characteristics were combined and mapped as 10 hydrogeologic terranes. Based on well records, the interquartile ranges of estimated transmissivities are between 180 to 17,000 feet squared per day (ft2/d) for five hydrologic terranes in the Valley and Ridge; between 9 to 350 ft2/d for two terranes in the Blue Ridge; and between 9 to 1,400 ft2/d for three terranes in the Piedmont Physiographic Province. Based on streamflow records, the interquartile ranges of estimated transmissivities for all three physiographic provinces are between 290 and 2,900 ft2/d. The mean ground-water contribution to streams from 157 drainage basins ranges from 32 to 94 percent of mean streamflow with a median of 67 percent. In three small areas in two of the physiographic provinces, more than 54 percent of ground-water flow was modeled as shallow and local. Although ground-water chemical composition in the three physiographic provinces is distinctly different, the water generally is not highly mineralized, with a median dissolved-solids concentration of 164 milligrams per liter, and is mostly calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate. Based on aquifer properties and current pumpage, areas favorable for the development of municipal and industrial ground-water supplies are underlain by alluvium of glacial origin near the northeastern part of the study area, by clay-free carbonate rocks primarily in the Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province, and by siliciclastic rocks in the three northernmost Mesozoic basins.

Hydrology of Northern Utah Valley, Utah County, Utah, 1975-2005

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cederberg, Jay R.; Gardner, Philip M.; Thiros, Susan A.

2009-01-01

The ground-water resources of northern Utah Valley, Utah, were assessed during 2003-05 to describe and quantify components of the hydrologic system, determine a hydrologic budget for the basin-fill aquifer, and evaluate changes to the system relative to previous studies. Northern Utah Valley is a horst and graben structure with ground water occurring in both the mountain-block uplands surrounding the valley and in the unconsolidated basin-fill sediments. The principal aquifer in northern Utah Valley occurs in the unconsolidated basin-fill deposits where a deeper unconfined aquifer occurs near the mountain front and laterally grades into multiple confined aquifers near the center of the valley. Sources of water to the basin-fill aquifers occur predominantly as either infiltration of streamflow at or near the interface of the mountain front and valley or as subsurface inflow from the adjacent mountain blocks. Sources of water to the basin-fill aquifers were estimated to average 153,000 (+/- 31,500) acre-feet annually during 1975-2004 with subsurface inflow and infiltration of streamflow being the predominant sources. Discharge from the basin-fill aquifers occurs in the valley lowlands as flow to waterways, drains, ditches, springs, as diffuse seepage, and as discharge from flowing and pumping wells. Ground-water discharge from the basin-fill aquifers during 1975-2004 was estimated to average 166,700 (+/- 25,900) acre-feet/year where discharge to wells for consumptive use and discharge to waterways, drains, ditches, and springs were the principal sources. Measured water levels in wells in northern Utah Valley declined an average of 22 feet from 1981 to 2004. Water-level declines are consistent with a severe regional drought beginning in 1999 and continuing through 2004. Water samples were collected from 36 wells and springs throughout the study area along expected flowpaths. Water samples collected from 34 wells were analyzed for dissolved major ions, nutrients, and stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen. Water samples from all 36 wells were analyzed for dissolved-gas concentration including noble gases and tritium/helium-3. Within the basin fill, dissolved-solids concentration generally increases with distance along flowpaths from recharge areas, and shallower flowpaths tend to have higher concentrations than deeper flowpaths. Nitrate concentrations generally are at or below natural background levels. Dissolved-gas recharge temperature data support the conceptual model of the basin-fill aquifers and highlight complexities of recharge patterns in different parts of the valley. Dissolved-gas data indicate that the highest elevation recharge sources for the basin-fill aquifer are subsurface inflow derived from recharge in the adjacent mountain block between the mouths of American Fork and Provo Canyons. Apparent ground-water ages in the basin-fill aquifer, as calculated using tritium/helium-3 data, range from 2 to more than 50 years. The youngest waters in the valley occur near the mountain fronts with apparent ages generally increasing near the valley lowlands and discharge area around Utah Lake. Flowpaths are controlled by aquifer properties and the location of the predominant recharge sources, including subsurface inflow and recharge along the mountain front. Subsurface inflow is distributed over a larger area across the interface of the subsurface mountain block and basin-fill deposits. Subsurface inflow occurs at a depth deeper than that at which mountain-front recharge occurs. Recharge along the mountain front is often localized and focused over areas where streams and creeks enter the valley, and recharge is enhanced by the associated irrigation canals.

Sun Valley Elementary School Reading and Writing Assessment Project: Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zakaluk, Beverley L.

A study investigated the effectiveness of integrating computer technology (multimedia learning resources in a "virtual" classroom) with content area and reading and writing curriculum. All students in grades 2 through 5 at Sun Valley Elementary School, Canada, had their reading and writing assessed. In addition, the writing performance…

Effects of fracturing on well yields in the coalfield areas of Wise and Dickenson counties, southwestern Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wright, W.G.

1985-01-01

Fracturing associated with lineaments are the primary influence on yields from wells in the coalfields of southwestern Virgnia. Graphical comparison of yield from wells shows that wells located in valleys with lineaments produce larger quantities of water than wells in valleys without lineaments. Pumping tests at wells located in valleys with lineaments indicate transmissivities as high as 598 ft2/d, caused principally by secondary permeability. Analysis of data collected from packer-injection tests in a test hole located on a ridge indicate relatively large hydraulic conductivities ranging from 2x10(sup -2) to 1x10(sup -1) feet per day in upper parts of the test hole, compared to values typical of unfractured rocks in the study area. Fracturing due to stress relief contribute to these large values. Yields from wells located on lineaments are consistently higher than well yields from wells in unfractured rock in the study area, but well yields from wells placed randomly in areas suspected of having stress relief fractures cannot be predicted. (USGS)

The Prehistory and Paleoenvironment of Hominy Creek Valley. 1979 Field Season,

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-01-01

study of Hiominy Creek Valley (Henry, 1977a:1-5). The program focuses on the definition of adaptive strate- gies throughout the prehistoric occupation...area of the shelter is estimated 75m 2 with approximately one-fifth of this area covered by rockfall . The cellng is generally level with a height...greater rates of deposition than fewer numbers Gi occupants. These open floodplain sites may LW -98- well have represented alternative encampments to the

77 FR 73387 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Determinations of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-10

... Ozone Standard for the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Moderate Nonattainment Area AGENCY: Environmental... independent determinations regarding the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area (the.... Among those nonattainment areas is the Pittsburgh Area, which includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver...

Numerical Simulation of Nocturnal Drainage Flows in Idealized Valley-Tributary Systems.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Steen, Lance B.

2000-11-01

Numerical simulations of nocturnal drainage flow and transport in idealized valley-tributary systems are compared with the Atmospheric Science in Complex Terrain (ASCOT) meteorological field data and tracer studies from the Brush Creek valley of western Colorado. Much of the general valley-tributary flow behavior deduced from observations is qualitatively reproduced in the numerical results. The spatially complex, unsteady nature of the tributary flow found in the field data is also seen in the simulations. Oscillations in the simulated tributary flow are similar to some field observations. However, observed oscillations in the valley flow at the mouth of the tributary could not be reproduced in the numerical results. Thus, hypotheses of strongly coupled valley-tributary flow oscillations, based on field data, cannot be supported by these simulations. Along-valley mass flux calculations based on model results for the valley-tributary system indicate an increase of 5%-10% over a valley without a tributary. Enhanced valley mass fluxes were found from 8 km above the tributary to almost the valley mouth. However, the valley mass fluxes for topography with and without a tributary were nearly equal at the valley outflow. ASCOT field data suggested a tributary mass flow contribution of 5%-15% for a Brush Creek tributary of similar drainage area to the model tributary employed here. Numerical simulations of transport in the nocturnal valley-tributary flow strongly support ASCOT tracer studies in the Pack Canyon tributary of Brush Creek. These results suggest that the valley-tributary interaction can significantly increase plume dispersion under stable conditions. Overall, the simulation results presented here indicate that simple terrain geometries are able to capture many of the salient features of drainage flow in real valley-tributary systems.

27 CFR 9.78 - Ohio River Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Ohio River Valley. 9.78... River Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area described in this section is “Ohio River Valley.” (b) Approved maps. The approved maps for determining the boundary of the Ohio River Valley...

Does Israel Have a Need to Retain the Golan Heights? (The View from Israel).

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-06

the west side of the Jordan River .18 At the zenith of their power, their kingdom included the whole area west of the Jordan River , the Jordan Valley ...Israeli armistice demarcation lines changed from the mandatory borders in some areas east of the Jordan River and the Yarmuk Valley in Syria’s favor. The...Yarmuk Valley to the Jordan River . The Israelis gained control of the entire Golan Heights and impeded the Syrian artillery dominance of the valley to

Mapping Ecosystem Services in the Jordan Valley, Jordan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luz, Ana; Marques, Ana; Ribeiro, Inês; Alho, Maria; Catarina Afonso, Ana; Almeida, Erika; Branquinho, Cristina; Talozi, Samer; Pinho, Pedro

2016-04-01

In the last decade researchers started using ecosystem services as a new framework to understand the relationships between environment and society. Habitat quality and water quality are related with ecosystem services regulation and maintenance, or even provision. According to the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) both habitat quality and water quality are associated with lifecycle maintenance, habitat and gene pool protection, and water conditions, among others. As there is increased pressure on habitats and rivers especially for agricultural development, mapping and evaluating habitat and water quality has important implications for resource management and conservation, as well as for rural development. Here, we model and map habitat and water quality in the Jordan Valley, Jordan. In this study, we aim to identify and analyse ecosystem services both through 1) habitat quality and 2) water quality modelling using InVest, an integrated valuation of ecosystem services and tradeoffs. The data used in this study mainly includes the LULC, Jordan River watershed and main threats and pollutants in the study area, such as agriculture, industry, fish farms and urbanization. Results suggest a higher pressure on natural habitats in the Northern region of the Jordan Valley, where industry is dominant. Agriculture is present along the Jordan Valley and limits the few natural forested areas. Further, water pollution is mainly concentrated in disposal sites due to the low flow of the Jordan River. Our results can help to identify areas where natural resources and water resource management is most needed in the Jordan Valley. Acknowledgements: Transbasin FP7 project

The Cenozoic western Svalbard margin: sediment geometry and sedimentary processes in an area of ultraslow oceanic spreading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amundsen, Ingrid Marie Hasle; Blinova, Maria; Hjelstuen, Berit Oline; Mjelde, Rolf; Haflidason, Haflidi

2011-12-01

The northeastern high-latitude North Atlantic is characterised by the Bellsund and Isfjorden fans on the continental slope off west Svalbard, the asymmetrical ultraslow Knipovich spreading ridge and a 1,000 m deep rift valley. Recently collected multichannel seismic profiles and bathymetric records now provide a more complete picture of sedimentary processes and depositional environments within this region. Both downslope and alongslope sedimentary processes are identified in the study area. Turbidity currents and deposition of glacigenic debris flows are the dominating downslope processes, whereas mass failures, which are a common process on glaciated margins, appear to have been less significant. The slide debrite observed on the Bellsund Fan is most likely related to a 2.5-1.7 Ma old failure on the northwestern Barents Sea margin. The seismic records further reveal that alongslope current processes played a major role in shaping the sediment packages in the study area. Within the Knipovich rift valley and at the western rift flank accumulations as thick as 950-1,000 m are deposited. We note that oceanic basement is locally exposed within the rift valley, and that seismostratigraphic relationships indicate that fault activity along the eastern rift flank lasted until at least as recently as 1.5 Ma. A purely hemipelagic origin of the sediments in the rift valley and on the western rift flank is unlikely. We suggest that these sediments, partly, have been sourced from the western Svalbard—northwestern Barents Sea margin and into the Knipovich Ridge rift valley before continuous spreading and tectonic activity caused the sediments to be transported out of the valley and westward.

MM5 simulations for air quality modeling: An application to a coastal area with complex terrain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sang-Mi; Princevac, Marko; Mitsutomi, Satoru; Cassmassi, Joe

A series of modifications were implemented in MM5 simulation in order to account for wind along the Santa Clarita valley, a north-south running valley located in the north of Los Angeles. Due to high range mountains in the north and the east of the Los Angeles Air Basin, sea breeze entering Los Angeles exits into two directions. One branch moves toward the eastern part of the basin and the other to the north toward the Santa Clarita valley. However, the northward flow has not been examined thoroughly nor simulated successfully in the previous studies. In the present study, we proposed four modifications to trigger the flow separation. They were (1) increasing drag over the ocean, (2) increasing soil moisture content, (3) selective observational nudging, and (4) one-way nesting for the innermost domain. The Control run overpredicted near-surface wind speed over the ocean and sensible heat flux, in an urbanized area, which justifies the above 1st and 2nd modification. The Modified run provided an improvement in near-surface temperature, sensible heat flux and wind fields including southeasterly flow along the Santa Clarita valley. The improved MM5 wind field triggered a transport to the Santa Clarita valley generating a plume elongated from an urban center to the north, which did not exist in MM5 Control run. In all, the modified MM5 fields yielded better agreement in both CO and O3 simulations especially in the Santa Clarita area.

27 CFR 9.66 - Russian River Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Russian River Valley. 9.66 Section 9.66 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.66 Russian River Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.66 - Russian River Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Russian River Valley. 9.66 Section 9.66 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.66 Russian River Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.66 - Russian River Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Russian River Valley. 9.66 Section 9.66 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.66 Russian River Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.66 - Russian River Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Russian River Valley. 9.66 Section 9.66 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.66 Russian River Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.64 - Dry Creek Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Dry Creek Valley. 9.64 Section 9.64 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.64 Dry Creek Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.64 - Dry Creek Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Dry Creek Valley. 9.64 Section 9.64 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.64 Dry Creek Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.64 - Dry Creek Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Dry Creek Valley. 9.64 Section 9.64 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.64 Dry Creek Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.66 - Russian River Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Russian River Valley. 9.66 Section 9.66 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.66 Russian River Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.64 - Dry Creek Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Dry Creek Valley. 9.64 Section 9.64 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.64 Dry Creek Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.64 - Dry Creek Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Dry Creek Valley. 9.64 Section 9.64 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.64 Dry Creek Valley. (a) Name. The name of the...

27 CFR 9.119 - Middle Rio Grande Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Middle Rio Grande Valley. 9.119 Section 9.119 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.119 Middle Rio Grande Valley. (a) Name. The...

27 CFR 9.119 - Middle Rio Grande Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Middle Rio Grande Valley. 9.119 Section 9.119 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS Approved American Viticultural Areas § 9.119 Middle Rio Grande Valley. (a) Name. The...

A hierarchical network approach for modeling Rift Valley fever epidemics with applications in North America

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a vector-borne zoonotic disease which causes high morbidity and mortality in livestock. In the event Rift Valley fever virus is introduced to the United States or other non-endemic areas, understanding the potential patterns of spread and the areas at risk based on disease...

Observations on the epidemiology of Rift Valley fever in Kenya.

PubMed

Davies, F G

1975-10-01

The epizootic range of Rift Valley fever in Kenya is defined from the results of virus isolations during epizootics, and form an extensive serological survey of cattle which were exposed during an epizootic. A study of the sera from a wide range of wild bovidae sampled immediately after the epizootic, showed that they did not act as reservoir or amplifying hosts for RVF. Virus isolation attempts from a variety of rodents proved negative. Rift Valley fever did not persist between epizootics by producing symptomless abortions in cattle in areas within its epizootic range. A sentinel herd sampled annually after an epizootic in 1968 revealed not one single seroconversion from 1969 to 1974. Certain forest and forest edge situations were postulated as enzootic for Rift Valley fever, and a small percentage of seroconversions were detected in cattle in these areas, born four years after the last epizootic. This has been the only evidence for the persistence of the virus in Kenya since 1968, and may be a part of the interepizootic maintenance cycle for Rift Valley fever in Kenya, which otherwise remains unknown.

Ground-water resources investigation in the Amran Valley, Yeman Arab Republic

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tibbitts, G. Chase; Aubel, James

1980-01-01

A program of hydrologic studies and exploratory drilling was conducted intermittently between 1974 and 1978 to evaluate the water-bearing properties of the unconsolidated alluvial sediments and associated rocks in the semi-arid Amran Valley basin, an 800-square-kilometer area in north-central Yemen Arab Republic. Inventory data from 395 wells were compiled, observation well and rain-gage networks were established and 16 standard complete chemical analyses were made for samples from selected wells. The water resources of the area were overexploited. The chemical quality of the water is generally good. Four aquifer tests were run to determine transmissivity and storage characteristics. The pumping tests show that groundwater occurs under semi-confined leaky-aquifer conditions in the valley fill. Wells drilled in the alluvial fill of the south-central part of the valley have the highest yields. Wells penetrating the limestone and volcanic rocks generally have little or no yield except in fracture zones. Basalt flows occur interbedded with the wadi alluvium at several depths. Cropping out rocks in the Amran Valley range in age from late Jurassic to Holocene. (USGS)

Feeling Blue in the South Valley: A Case Study of Nitrate Contamination in Albuquerque's South Valley

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohr, Beth A.

2009-01-01

This article examines, by way of a case study, a community where groundwater has been highly contaminated with nitrate and how that situation brings together matters of public policy, environmental justice, and emerging technology. The Mountain View community lies in an unincorporated area of Bernalillo County, New Mexico; the neighborhood is 77%…

Late Holocene liquefaction features in the Dominican Republic: A powerful tool for earthquake hazard assessment in the northeastern Caribbean

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tuttle, M.P.; Prentice, C.S.; Dyer-Williams, K.; Pena, L.R.; Burr, G.

2003-01-01

Several generations of sand blows and sand dikes, indicative of significant and recurrent liquefaction, are preserved in the late Holocene alluvial deposits of the Cibao Valley in northern Dominican Republic. The Cibao Valley is structurally controlled by the Septentrional fault, an onshore section of the North American-Caribbean strike-slip plate boundary. The Septentrional fault was previously studied in the central part of the valley, where it sinistrally offsets Holocene terrace risers and soil horizons. In the eastern and western parts of the valley, the Septentrional fault is buried by Holocene alluvial deposits, making direct study of the structure difficult. Liquefaction features that formed in these Holocene deposits as a result of strong ground shaking provide a record of earthquakes in these areas. Liquefaction features in the eastern Cibao Valley indicate that at least one historic earthquake, probably the moment magnitude, M 8, 4 August 1946 event, and two to four prehistoric earthquakes of M 7 to 8 struck this area during the past 1100 yr. The prehistoric earthquakes appear to cluster in time and could have resulted from rupture of the central and eastern sections of the Septentrional fault circa A.D. 1200. Liquefaction features in the western Cibao Valley indicate that one historic earthquake, probably the M 8, 7 May 1842 event, and two prehistoric earthquakes of M 7-8 struck this area during the past 1600 yr. Our findings suggest that rupture of the Septentrional fault circa A.D. 1200 may have extended beyond the central Cibao Valley and generated an earthquake of M 8. Additional information regarding the age and size distribution of liquefaction features is needed to reconstruct the prehistoric earthquake history of Hispaniola and to define the long-term behavior and earthquake potential of faults associated with the North American-Caribbean plate boundary.

Hydrogeology and ground-water flow of the drift and Platteville aquifer system, St Louis Park, Minnesota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lindgren, R.J.

1995-01-01

Model simulations indicate that vertical ground-water flow from the drift aquifers and from the Platteville aquifer to underlying bedrock aquifers is greatest through bedrock valleys. The convergence of flow paths near bedrock valleys and the greater volume of water moving through the valleys would likely result in both increased concentrations and greater vertical movement of contaminants in areas underlain by bedrock valleys as compared to areas not underlain by bedrock valleys. Model results also indicate that field measurements of hydraulic head might not help locate discontinuities in confining units and additional test drilling to locate discontinuities might be necessary.

An Ethnobotanical study of Medicinal Plants in high mountainous region of Chail valley (District Swat- Pakistan)

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background This paper represents the first ethnobotanical study in Chail valley of district Swat-Pakistan and provides significant information on medicinal plants use among the tribal people of the area. The aim of this study was to document the medicinal uses of local plants and to develop an ethnobotanical inventory of the species diversity. Methods In present study, semi-structured interviews with 142 inhabitants (age range between 31–75 years) were conducted. Ethnobotanical data was analyzed using relative frequency of citation (RFC) to determine the well-known and most useful species in the area. Results Current research work reports total of 50 plant species belonging to 48 genera of 35 families from Chail valley. Origanum vulgare, Geranium wallichianum and Skimmia laureola have the highest values of relative frequency of citation (RFC) and are widely known by the inhabitants of the valley. The majority of the documented plants were herbs (58%) followed by shrubs (28%), trees (12%) and then climbers (2%). The part of the plant most frequently used was the leaves (33%) followed by roots (17%), fruits (14%), whole plant (12%), rhizomes (9%), stems (6%), barks (5%) and seeds (4%). Decoction was the most common preparation method use in herbal recipes. The most frequently treated diseases in the valley were urinary disorders, skin infections, digestive disorders, asthma, jaundice, angina, chronic dysentery and diarrhea. Conclusion This study contributes an ethnobotanical inventory of medicinal plants with their frequency of citations together with the part used, disease treated and methods of application among the tribal communities of Chail valley. The present survey has documented from this valley considerable indigenous knowledge about the local medicinal plants for treating number of common diseases that is ready to be further investigated for biological, pharmacological and toxicological screening. This study also provides some socio-economic aspects which are associated to the local tribal communities. PMID:24739524

Trend in Air Quality of Kathmandu Valley: A Satellite, Observation and Modelling Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahapatra, P. S.; Praveen, P. S.; Adhikary, B.; Panday, A. K.; Putero, D.; Bonasoni, P.

2016-12-01

Kathmandu (floor area of 340 km2) in Nepal is considered to be a `hot spot' of urban air pollution in South Asia. Its structure as a flat basin surrounded by tall mountains provides a unique case study for analyzing pollution trapped by topography. Only a very small number of cities with similar features have been studied extensively including Mexico and Santiago-de-Chile. This study presents the trend in satellite derived Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) from MODIS AQUA and TERRA (3x3km, Level 2) over Kathmandu from 2000 to 2015. Trend analysis of AOD shows 35% increase during the study period. Determination of the background pollution would reveal the contribution of only Kathmandu Valley for the observation period. For this, AOD at 1340m altitude outside Kathmandu, but nearby areas were considered as background. This analysis was further supported by investigating AOD at different heights around Kathmandu as well as determining AOD from CALIPSO vertical profiles. These analysis suggest that background AOD contributed 30% in winter and 60% in summer to Kathmandu Valley's observed AOD. Thereafter the background AOD was subtracted from total Kathmandu AOD to determine contribution of only Kathmandu Valley's AOD. Trend analysis of only Kathmandu Valley AOD (subtracting background AOD) suggested an increase of 50% during the study period. Further analysis of Kathmandu's visibility and AOD suggest profound role of background AOD on decreasing visibility. In-situ Black Carbon (BC) mass concentration measurements (BC being used as a proxy for surface observations) at two sites within Kathmandu valley have been analyzed. Kathmandu valley lacks long term trends of ambient air quality measurement data. Therefore, surface observations would be coupled with satellite measurements for understanding the urban air pollution scenario. Modelling studies to estimate the contribution of background pollution to Kathmandu's own pollution as well as the weekend effect on air quality will be further discussed in detail.

Integrating Multiple Geophysical Methods to Quantify Alpine Groundwater- Surface Water Interactions: Cordillera Blanca, Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glas, R. L.; Lautz, L.; McKenzie, J. M.; Baker, E. A.; Somers, L. D.; Aubry-Wake, C.; Wigmore, O.; Mark, B. G.; Moucha, R.

2016-12-01

Groundwater- surface water interactions in alpine catchments are often poorly understood as groundwater and hydrologic data are difficult to acquire in these remote areas. The Cordillera Blanca of Peru is a region where dry-season water supply is increasingly stressed due to the accelerated melting of glaciers throughout the range, affecting millions of people country-wide. The alpine valleys of the Cordillera Blanca have shown potential for significant groundwater storage and discharge to valley streams, which could buffer the dry-season variability of streamflow throughout the watershed as glaciers continue to recede. Known as pampas, the clay-rich, low-relief valley bottoms are interfingered with talus deposits, providing a likely pathway for groundwater recharged at the valley edges to be stored and slowly released to the stream throughout the year by springs. Multiple geophysical methods were used to determine areas of groundwater recharge and discharge as well as aquifer geometry of the pampa system. Seismic refraction tomography, vertical electrical sounding (VES), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), and horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) seismic methods were used to determine the physical properties of the unconsolidated valley sediments, the depth to saturation, and the depth to bedrock for a representative section of the Quilcayhuanca Valley in the Cordillera Blanca. Depth to saturation and lithological boundaries were constrained by comparing geophysical results to continuous records of water levels and sediment core logs from a network of seven piezometers installed to depths of up to 6 m. Preliminary results show an average depth to bedrock for the study area of 25 m, which varies spatially along with water table depths across the valley. The conceptual model of groundwater flow and storage derived from these geophysical data will be used to inform future groundwater flow models of the area, allowing for the prediction of groundwater resources for the region in the absence of glacial meltwater.

Annual ground-water discharge by evapotranspiration from areas of spring-fed riparian vegetation along the eastern margin of Death Valley, 2000-02

USGS Publications Warehouse

Laczniak, Randell J.; Smith, J. LaRue; DeMeo, Guy A.

2006-01-01

Flow from major springs and seeps along the eastern margin of Death Valley serves as the primary local water supply and sustains much of the unique habitat in Death Valley National Park. Together, these major spring complexes constitute the terminus of the Death Valley Regional Ground-Water Flow System--one of the larger flow systems in the Southwestern United States. The Grapevine Springs complex is the least exploited for water supply and consequently contains the largest area of undisturbed riparian habitat in the park. Because few estimates exist that quantify ground-water discharge from these spring complexes, a study was initiated to better estimate the amount of ground water being discharged annually from these sensitive, spring-fed riparian areas. Results of this study can be used to establish a basis for estimating water rights and as a baseline from which to assess any future changes in ground-water discharge in the park. Evapotranspiration (ET) is estimated volumetrically as the product of ET-unit (general vegetation type) acreage and a representative ET rate. ET-unit acreage is determined from high-resolution multi-spectral imagery; and a representative ET rate is computed from data collected in the Grapevine Springs area using the Bowen-ratio solution to the energy budget, or from rates given in other ET studies in the Death Valley area. The ground-water component of ET is computed by removing the local precipitation component from the ET rate. Two different procedures, a modified soil-adjusted vegetation index using the percent reflectance of the red and near-infrared wavelengths and land-cover classification using multi-spectral imagery were used to delineate the ET units within each major spring-discharge area. On the basis of the more accurate procedure that uses the vegetation index, ET-unit acreage for the Grapevine Springs discharge area totaled about 192 acres--of which 80 acres were moderate-density vegetation and 112 acres were high-density vegetation. ET-unit acreage for two other discharge areas delineated in the Grapevine Springs area (Surprise Springs and Staininger Spring) totaled about 6 and 43 acres, respectively; and for the discharge areas delineated in the Furnace Creek area (Nevares Springs, Cow Creek-Salt Springs, Texas Spring, and Travertine Springs) totaled about 29, 13, 11, and 21 acres, respectively. In discharge areas other than Grapevine Springs, watering and spring diversions have altered the natural distribution of the vegetation. More...

Quantifying Ground-Water and Surface-Water Discharge from Evapotranspiration Processes in 12 Hydrographic Areas of the Colorado Regional Ground-Water Flow System, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeMeo, Guy A.; Smith, J. LaRue; Damar, Nancy A.; Darnell, Jon

2008-01-01

Rapid population growth in southern Nevada has increased the demand for additional water supplies from rural areas of northern Clark and southern Lincoln counties to meet projected water-supply needs. Springs and rivers in these undeveloped areas sustain fragile riparian habitat and may be susceptible to ground-water withdrawals. Most natural ground-water and surface-water discharge from these basins occurs by evapotranspiration (ET) along narrow riparian corridors that encompassed about 45,000 acres or about 1 percent of the study area. This report presents estimates of ground- and surface-water discharge from ET across 3.5 million acres in 12 hydrographic areas of the Colorado Regional Ground-Water Flow System. Ground-and surface-water discharge from ET were determined by identifying areas of ground- and surface-water ET, delineating areas of similar vegetation and soil conditions (ET units), and computing ET rates for each of these ET units. Eight ET units were identified using spectral-reflectance characteristics determined from 2003 satellite imagery, high-resolution aerial photography, and land classification cover. These ET units are dense meadowland vegetation (200 acres), dense woodland vegetation (7,200 acres), moderate woodland vegetation (6,100 acres), dense shrubland vegetation (5,800 acres), moderate shrubland vegetation (22,600 acres), agricultural fields (3,100 acres), non-phreatophytic areas (3,400,000 acres), and open water (300 acres). ET from diffuse ground-water and channelized surface-water is expressed as ETgs and is equal to the difference between total annual ET and precipitation. Total annual ET rates were calculated by the Bowen ratio and eddy covariance methods using micrometeorological data collected from four sites and estimated at 3.9 ft at a dense woodland site (February 2003 to March 2005), 3.6 ft at a moderate woodland site (July 2003 to October 2006), 2.8 ft at a dense shrubland site (June 2005 to October 2006), and 1.5 ft at a moderate shrubland site (April 2006 to October 2006). Annual ETgs rates were 3.4 ft for dense woodland vegetation, 3.2 ft for moderate woodland vegetation, 2.2 ft for dense shrubland vegetation, and 1.0 ft for moderate shrubland vegetation. Published annual rates of ETgs were used for the other ET units found in the study area. These rates were 3.4 ft for dense meadowland vegetation, 5.2 ft for agricultural fields, and 4.9 ft for open water. For the non-phreatophytic ET unit, ETgs was assumed to be zero. Estimated ground- and surface-water discharge from ET was calculated by multiplying the ETgs by the ET-unit acreage and equaled 24,480 acre-ft for dense woodland vegetation, 19,520 acre-ft for moderate woodland vegetation, 12,760 acre-ft for dense shrubland vegetation, 22,600 acre-ft for moderate shrubland vegetation, 680 acre-ft for dense meadowland vegetation, 16,120 acre-ft for agricultural fields, 1,440 acre-ft for open water, and 0 acre-ft for the non-phreatophytic ET unit. Estimated ground-water and surface-water discharge from ET from each hydrographic area was calculated by summing the total annual ETgs rate for ET units found within each hydrographic area and equaled 1,952 acre-ft for the Black Mountains Area, 6,080 acre-ft for California Wash, 4,090 acre-ft for the Muddy River Springs Area, 11,510 acre-ft for Lower Moapa Valley, 51,960 acre-ft for the Virgin River Valley, 16,168 acre-ft for Lower Meadow Valley Wash, 5,840 acre-ft for Clover Valley, and 0 acre-ft for Coyote Spring Valley, Kane Springs Valley, Tule Desert, Hidden Valley (North), and Garnet Valley. The annual discharge from ETgs for the study area totals about 98,000 acre-ft.

Hydrologic reconnaissance of Curlew Valley, Utah and Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bolke, E.L.; Price, Don

1969-01-01

This report is the fifth in a series of reports prepared by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Rights, that describe the water resources of selected basins in western Utah. Previously published reports in this series are listed on page 35 and the areas covered by them are shown in figure 1. The purpose of this report is to present available hydrologic data on the Utah part of Curlew Valley, to provide an evaluation of the potential water-resource development of the valley, and to identify needed studies that would help provide an understanding of the valley's water supply.

78 FR 20244 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Determinations of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-04

... CFR 51.918), a final determination of attainment suspends the CAA requirements for the Pittsburgh Area... Ozone Standard for the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Moderate Nonattainment Area AGENCY: Environmental... determinations regarding the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area (the Pittsburgh Area...

Increased body mass of ducks wintering in California's Central Valley

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fleskes, Joseph P.; Yee, Julie L.; Yarris, Gregory S.; Loughman, Daniel L.

2016-01-01

Waterfowl managers lack the information needed to fully evaluate the biological effects of their habitat conservation programs. We studied body condition of dabbling ducks shot by hunters at public hunting areas throughout the Central Valley of California during 2006–2008 compared with condition of ducks from 1979 to 1993. These time periods coincide with habitat increases due to Central Valley Joint Venture conservation programs and changing agricultural practices; we modeled to ascertain whether body condition differed among waterfowl during these periods. Three dataset comparisons indicate that dabbling duck body mass was greater in 2006–2008 than earlier years and the increase was greater in the Sacramento Valley and Suisun Marsh than in the San Joaquin Valley, differed among species (mallard [Anas platyrhynchos], northern pintail [Anas acuta], America wigeon [Anas americana], green-winged teal [Anas crecca], and northern shoveler [Anas clypeata]), and was greater in ducks harvested late in the season. Change in body mass also varied by age–sex cohort and month for all 5 species and by September–January rainfall for all except green-winged teal. The random effect of year nested in period, and sometimes interacting with other factors, improved models in many cases. Results indicate that improved habitat conditions in the Central Valley have resulted in increased winter body mass of dabbling ducks, especially those that feed primarily on seeds, and this increase was greater in regions where area of post-harvest flooding of rice and other crops, and wetland area, has increased. Conservation programs that continue to promote post-harvest flooding and other agricultural practices that benefit wintering waterfowl and continue to restore and conserve wetlands would likely help maintain body condition of wintering dabbling ducks in the Central Valley of California.

Assessment of road traffic noise indices in urban residential areas of Klang Valley, Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halim, Herni; Abdullah, Ramdzani; Nor, Mohd Jailani Mohd; Aziz, Hamidi Abdul; Rahman, Noorhazlinda Abd

2017-10-01

Traffic noise has been recognized as a serious threat to the quality of life in most industrialised nations. Klang valley is rapidly emerging as industrialized and urbanized city and has started facing severe noise pollution problems. Urban noise quality assessment is studied in three residential areas; Desa Tun Razak, Kinrara Court and Taman Sentul Utama. Noise pollution indices of L10, L50, L90, Lmax and Lmin as well as equivalent continuous noise level (Leq) were measured for all dwellings. Noise indices results illustrate that Desa Tun Razak recorded the highest values of noise levels among three studied sites. Results also indicate that the highest Leq of 75.7 dB(A) was observed in Desa Tun Razak followed by 74.3 dB(A) in Kinrara Court, and 72.1 dB(A) in Taman Sentul Utama. The noise assessment study clearly reveals the alarming condition of noise pollution in residential areas of Klang Valley as the noise level measured exceeded permissible limit by WHO and Malaysia Guidelines.

Student Action for the Valley Environment (SAVE).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phoenix Union High School District, AZ.

A multi-disciplinary approach to environmental studies for high school students, combining the areas of earth science, social science, and health education, is developed in this guide. Student Action for the Valley Environment (SAVE) is primarily a simulation program concerned with a serious problem of today--the survival of life in the cities. It…

Geophysical studies in the vicinity of Blue Mountain and Pumpernickel Valley near Winnemucca, north-central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ponce, David A.

2012-01-01

From May 2008 to September 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected data from more than 660 gravity stations, 100 line-km of truck-towed magnetometer traverses, and 260 physical-property sites in the vicinity of Blue Mountain and Pumpernickel Valley, northern Nevada (fig. 1). Gravity, magnetic, and physical-property data were collected to study regional crustal structures as an aid to understanding the geologic framework of the Blue Mountain and Pumpernickel Valley areas, which in general, have implications for mineral- and geothermal-resource investigations throughout the Great Basin.

78 FR 27168 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Alaska: Mendenhall Valley PM10...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-09

... micrometers (PM 10 ) submitted by the State of Alaska on May 8, 2009 for the Mendenhall Valley nonattainment area (Mendenhall Valley NAA), and the State's request to redesignate the area to attainment for the... comments. Email: [email protected] Mail: Mr. Keith Rose, U.S. EPA Region 10, Office of Air, Waste...

Preliminary study of the aquifers of the lower Mesilla Valley in Texas and New Mexico by model simulation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gates, J.S.; White, D.E.; Leggat, E.R.

1984-01-01

Because the salinity of water in all three aquifers south of Canutillo is greater than elsewhere in the study area, there is potential for movement of this water northward toward the Canutillo well field if the cone of depression reaches that part of the aquifer system. This potential should be evaluated in future geohydrologic studies of the lower Mesilla Valley.

Groundwater quality in the Santa Clara River Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burton, Carmen A.; Landon, Matthew K.; Belitz, Kenneth

2011-01-01

The Santa Clara River Valley (SCRV) study unit is located in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, California, and is bounded by the Santa Monica, San Gabriel, Topatopa, and Santa Ynez Mountains, and the Pacific Ocean. The 460-square-mile study unit includes eight groundwater basins: Ojai Valley, Upper Ojai Valley, Ventura River Valley, Santa Clara River Valley, Pleasant Valley, Arroyo Santa Rosa Valley, Las Posas Valley, and Simi Valley (California Department of Water Resources, 2003; Montrella and Belitz, 2009). The SCRV study unit has hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. Average annual rainfall ranges from 12 to 28 inches. The study unit is drained by the Ventura and Santa Clara Rivers, and Calleguas Creek. The primary aquifer system in the Ventura River Valley, Ojai Valley, Upper Ojai Valley, and Simi Valley basins is largely unconfined alluvium. The primary aquifer system in the remaining groundwater basins mainly consists of unconfined sands and gravels in the upper portion and partially confined marine and nonmarine deposits in the lower portion. The primary aquifer system in the SCRV study unit is defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) database. Public-supply wells typically are completed in the primary aquifer system to depths of 200 to 1,100 feet below land surface (bls). The wells contain solid casing reaching from the land surface to a depth of about 60-700 feet, and are perforated below the solid casing to allow water into the well. Water quality in the primary aquifer system may differ from the water in the shallower and deeper parts of the aquifer. Land use in the study unit is approximately 40 percent (%) natural (primarily shrubs, grassland, and wetlands), 37% agricultural, and 23% urban. The primary crops are citrus, avocados, alfalfa, pasture, strawberries, and dry beans. The largest urban areas in the study unit are the cities of Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Simi Valley, Newhall, and Santa Clarita. Currently, groundwater pumping for agricultural use accounts for the greatest amount of discharge from the aquifer system in the SCRV study unit, followed by municipal use. Recharge to the groundwater system is through stream-channel infiltration from the three main river systems and by direct infiltration of precipitation and irrigation. Recharge facilities in the Oxnard forebay play an important role in recharging the local aquifer systems.

[Land-use and urinary schistosomiasis in Daloa (Côte d'Ivoire)].

PubMed

Fournet, F; N'Guessan, N A; Cadot, E

2004-02-01

The relation between agricultural land development of inland-valleys and health population has been studied in a town of the Ivorian forest area using urinary schistosomiasis as an indicator. Snails were collected during 4 months in rice fields and water holes used for market gardening of two urban inland-valleys (Batagnihi and Gakognihi). Prevalence of schistosomiasis was evaluated in two districts, Kennedy II and Fadiga, located close to the investigated inland-valleys. Schistosomiasis risk was higher in the Batagnihi where rice cultivation was more developed and prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis was higher in the Kennedy II district which is close to this inland-valley particularly among the Northern migrant people. The Kennedy II population has much more contacts with the inland-valley because of rice cultivation and social status. The higher socio-economic level of the Fadiga population limiting its contacts with the inland-valley can explain this result.

A Study of the Educational and Manpower Needs of the Catawba Valley Technical Institute Impact Area.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sumerell, Craven H.

The purpose of this study was to make a survey of the educational needs of the community served by the Catawba Valley Technical Institute (CVTI), the results of which would serve as a basis for the projection, planning, and revision of the CVTI instructional programs and the planning of physical facilities. In this cooperative venture, the data…

Characterization and simulation of ground-water flow in the Kansas River Valley at Fort Riley, Kansas, 1990-98

USGS Publications Warehouse

Myers, Nathan C.

2000-01-01

Hydrologic data and a ground-water flow model were used to characterize ground-water flow in the Kansas River alluvial aquifer at Fort Riley in northeast Kansas. The ground-water flow model was developed as a tool to project ground-water flow and potential contaminant-transport paths in the alluvial aquifer on the basis of past hydrologic conditions. The model also was used to estimate historical and hypothetical ground-water flow paths with respect to a private- and several public-supply wells. The ground-water flow model area extends from the Smoky Hill and Republican Rivers downstream to about 2.5 miles downstream from the city of Ogden. The Kansas River Valley has low relief and, except for the area within the Fort Riley Military Reservation, is used primarily for crop production. Sedimentary deposits in the Kansas River Valley, formed after the ancestral Kansas River eroded into bedrock, primarily are alluvial sediment deposited by the river during Quaternary time. The alluvial sediment consists of as much as about 75 feet of poorly sorted, coarse-to-fine sand, silt, and clay, 55 feet of which can be saturated with ground water. The alluvial aquifer is unconfined and is bounded on the sides and bottom by Permian-age shale and limestone bedrock. Hydrologic data indicate that ground water in the Kansas River Valley generally flows in a downstream direction, but flow direction can be quite variable near the Kansas River due to changes in river stage. Ground-water-level changes caused by infiltration of precipitation are difficult to detect because they are masked by larger changes caused by fluctuation in Kansas River stage. Ratios of strontium isotopes Sr87 and Sr86 in water collected from wells in the Camp Funston Area indicate that the ground water along the northern valley wall originates, in part, from upland areas north of the river valley. Water from Threemile Creek, which flows out of the uplands north of the river valley, had Sr87:Sr86 ratios similar to those in ground water from wells in the northern Camp Funston Area. In addition, comparison of observed water levels from wells CF90-06, CF97-101, and CF97-401 in the Camp Funston Area and ground-water levels simulated for these wells using floodwave-response analysis indicates that ground-water inflow from bedrock is a hydraulic stress that, in addition to the changing stage in the Kansas River, acts on the aquifer. This hydraulic stress seems to be located near the northern valley wall because the effect of this stress is greater for well CF97-101, which is the well closest to the valley wall. Ground-water flow was simulated using a modular, three-dimensional, finite-difference ground-water flow model (MODFLOW). Particle tracking, used to visualize ground-water flow paths in the alluvial aquifer, was accomplished using MODPATH. Forward-in-time particle tracking indicated that, in general, particles released near the Kansas River followed much more variable paths than particles released near the valley wall. Although particle tracking does not simulate solute transport, this increased path variability indicates that, near the river, ground-water contaminants could follow many possible paths towards the river, whereas more distant from the river, ground-water contaminants likely would follow a narrower corridor. Particle tracks in the Camp Funston Area indicate that, for the 1990-98 simulation period, contaminants from the ground-water study sites in the Camp Funston Area would be unlikely to move into the vicinity of Ogden's supply wells. Backward-in-time particle tracking indicated that the flow-path and recharge areas for model cells corresponding to Ogden's supply wells lie near the northern valley wall and extend into the northern Camp Funston Area. The flow-path and recharge areas for model cells corresponding to Morris County Rural Water District wells lie within Clarks Creek Valley and probably extend outside the model area. Three hypothetical simulations, i

Groundwater-Mining-Induced Subsidence and Earth Fissures in Cedar Valley, Southwestern Utah

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knudsen, T. R.; Inkenbrandt, P.; Lund, W. R.; Lowe, M.; Bowman, S. D.

2014-12-01

Groundwater pumping in excess of recharge (groundwater mining) has lowered the potentiometric surface in Cedar Valley, southwestern Utah, by as much as 114 feet since 1939. Lowering the potentiometric surface (head decline) has caused permanent compaction of fine-grained sediments of the Cedar Valley aquifer. Recently acquired interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) imagery shows that land subsidence is occurring over an ~100 square-mile area, including two pronounced subsidence bowls in the northeastern (Enoch graben) and southwestern (Quichapa Lake area) parts of the valley. A lack of accurate historical benchmark elevation data over much of the valley prevents detailed long-term quantification of subsidence. In response to the land subsidence, earth fissures have formed along the margins of the Enoch graben and north and west of Quichapa Lake. Our initial inventory of Cedar Valley fissures, which relied on aerial-photography analysis, identified 3.9 miles of fissures in 2009. With newly acquired light detection and ranging (LiDAR) coverage in 2011, we more than doubled the total length of mapped fissures to 8.3 miles. Fissures on the west side of the Enoch graben exhibit ongoing vertical surface displacement with rates as high as 1.7 inches/year. The largest Enoch-graben-west fissure has displaced street surfaces, curb and gutter, and sidewalks, and has reversed the flow direction of a sewer line in a partially developed subdivision. Several Cedar Valley fissures are closely associated with, and in some places coincident with, mapped Quaternary faults. While the majority of Cedar Valley fissures are mapped in agricultural areas, continued groundwater mining and resultant subsidence will likely cause existing fissures to lengthen and new fissures to form that may eventually impact other developed areas of the valley.

Compilation of Stratigraphic Thicknesses for Caldera-Related Tertiary Volcanic Rocks, East-Central Nevada and West-Central Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sweetkind, D.S.; Du Bray, E.A.

2008-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Desert Research Institute (DRI), and a designee from the State of Utah are currently conducting a water-resources study of aquifers in White Pine County, Nevada, and adjacent areas in Nevada and Utah, in response to concerns about water availability and limited geohydrologic information relevant to ground-water flow in the region. Production of ground water in this region could impact water accumulations in three general types of aquifer materials: consolidated Paleozoic carbonate bedrock, and basin-filling Cenozoic volcanic rocks and unconsolidated Quaternary sediments. At present, the full impact of extracting ground water from any or all of these potential valley-graben reservoirs is not fully understood. A thorough understanding of intermontane basin stratigraphy, mostly concealed by the youngest unconsolidated deposits that blanket the surface in these valleys, is critical to an understanding of the regional hydrology in this area. This report presents a literature-based compilation of geologic data, especially thicknesses and lithologic characteristics, for Tertiary volcanic rocks that are presumably present in the subsurface of the intermontane valleys, which are prominent features of this area. Two methods are used to estimate volcanic-rock thickness beneath valleys: (1) published geologic maps and accompanying descriptions of map units were used to compile the aggregate thicknesses of Tertiary stratigraphic units present in each mountain range within the study areas, and then interpolated to infer volcanic-rock thickness in the intervening valley, and (2) published isopach maps for individual out-flow ash-flow tuff were converted to digital spatial data and thickness was added together to produce a regional thickness map that aggregates thickness of the individual units. The two methods yield generally similar results and are similar to volcanic-rock thickness observed in a limited number of oil and gas exploration drill holes in the region, although local geologic complexity and the inherent assumptions in both methods allow only general comparison. These methods serve the needs of regional ground-water studies that require a three-dimensional depiction of the extent and thickness of subsurface geologic units. The compilation of geologic data from published maps and reports provides a general understanding of the distribution and thickness of tuffs that are presumably present in the subsurface of the intermontane valleys and are critical to understanding the ground-water hydrology of this area.

Current distribution and status of Himalayan ibex in upper Neelum Valley, District Neelum Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan.

PubMed

Ali, Usman; Ahmed, Khawaja Bashrat; Awan, Muhammad Siddique; Asraf, Shaid; Basher, Mohammad; Awan, Mohammad Naeem

2007-09-15

Nine months field survey was conducted from July 2004 to August 2005 to take the data on the distribution and population status of Himalayan ibex (Capra ibex sibirica) in the upper Neelum valley of Azad Kashmir. Survey was carried out using direct (senses) as well as indirect (sampling) methods. 122 animals of different categories were recorded in the study area. Total average population was composed of 31.79% male, 32.79% female, 25.41% young and 9.84% yearling animals. Various threats to the population of ibex in the area were also studied.

Hydrogeology and water quality of the stratified-drift aquifer in the Pony Hollow Creek Valley, Tompkins County, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bugliosi, Edward F.; Miller, Todd S.; Reynolds, Richard J.

2014-01-01

The lithology, areal extent, and the water-table configuration in stratified-drift aquifers in the northern part of the Pony Hollow Creek valley in the Town of Newfield, New York, were mapped as part of an ongoing aquifer mapping program in Tompkins County. Surficial geologic and soil maps, well and test-boring records, light detection and ranging (lidar) data, water-level measurements, and passive-seismic surveys were used to map the aquifer geometry, construct geologic sections, and determine the depth to bedrock at selected locations throughout the valley. Additionally, water-quality samples were collected from selected streams and wells to characterize the quality of surface and groundwater in the study area. Sedimentary bedrock underlies the study area and is overlain by unstratified drift (till), stratified drift (glaciolacustrine and glaciofluvial deposits), and recent post glacial alluvium. The major type of unconsolidated, water-yielding material in the study area is stratified drift, which consists of glaciofluvial sand and gravel, and is present in sufficient amounts in most places to form an extensive unconfined aquifer throughout the study area, which is the source of water for most residents, farms, and businesses in the valleys. A map of the water table in the unconfined aquifer was constructed by using (1) measurements made between the mid-1960s through 2010, (2) control on the altitudes of perennial streams at 10-foot contour intervals from lidar data collected by Tompkins County, and (3) water surfaces of ponds and wetlands that are hydraulically connected to the unconfined aquifer. Water-table contours indicate that the direction of groundwater flow within the stratified-drift aquifer is predominantly from the valley walls toward the streams and ponds in the central part of the valley where groundwater then flows southwestward (down valley) toward the confluence with the Cayuta Creek valley. Locally, the direction of groundwater flow is radially away from groundwater mounds that have formed beneath upland tributaries that lose water where they flow on alluvial fans on the margins of the valley. In some places, groundwater that would normally flow toward streams is intercepted by pumping wells. Surface-water samples were collected in 2001 at four sites including Carter, Pony Hollow (two sites), and Chafee Creeks, and from six wells throughout the aquifer. Calcium dominates the cation composition and bicarbonate dominates the anion composition in groundwater and surface-water samples and none of the common inorganic constituents collected exceeded any Federal or State water-quality standards. Groundwater samples were collected from six wells all completed in the unconfined sand and gravel aquifer. Concentrations of calcium and magnesium dominated the ionic composition of the groundwater in all wells sampled. Nitrate, orthophosphate, and trace metals were detected in all groundwater samples, but none were more than U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or New York State Department of Health regulatory limits.

Groundwater quality in the Valley and Ridge and Piedmont and Blue Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers, eastern United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lindsey, Bruce; Belitz, Kenneth

2017-01-19

Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water. The Valley and Ridge and Piedmont and Blue Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers constitute two of the important areas being evaluated. One or more inorganic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at high concentrations in about 15 percent of the study area and at moderate concentrations in about 17 percent. Organic constituents were not detected at high concentrations in the study area. One or more organic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at moderate concentrations in about 2 percent of the study area.

Comparison of peak discharges among sites with and without valley fills for the July 8-9, 2001 flood in the headwaters of Clear Fork, Coal River basin, mountaintop coal-mining region, southern West Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiley, Jeffrey B.; Brogan, Freddie D.

2003-01-01

The effects of mountaintop-removal mining practices on the peak discharges of streams were investigated in six small drainage basins within a 7-square-mile area in southern West Virginia. Two of the small basins had reclaimed valley fills, one basin had reclaimed and unreclaimed valley fills, and three basins did not have valley fills. Indirect measurements of peak discharge for the flood of July 8-9, 2001, were made at six sites on streams draining the small basins. The sites without valley fills had peak discharges with 10- to 25-year recurrence intervals, indicating that rainfall intensities and totals varied among the study basins. The flood-recurrence intervals for the three basins with valley fills were determined as though the peak discharges were those from rural streams without the influence of valley fills, and ranged from less than 2 years to more than 100 years.

Hydrogeologic Settings and Ground-Water Flow Simulations for Regional Studies of the Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants to Public-Supply Wells - Studies Begun in 2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paschke, Suzanne S.

2007-01-01

This study of the Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants to public-supply wells (TANC study) is being conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program and was designed to increase understanding of the most important factors to consider in ground-water vulnerability assessments. The seven TANC studies that began in 2001 used retrospective data and ground-water flow models to evaluate hydrogeologic variables that affect aquifer susceptibility and vulnerability at a regional scale. Ground-water flow characteristics, regional water budgets, pumping-well information, and water-quality data were compiled from existing data and used to develop conceptual models of ground-water conditions for each study area. Steady-state regional ground-water flow models were used to represent the conceptual models, and advective particle-tracking simulations were used to compute areas contributing recharge and traveltimes from recharge to selected public-supply wells. Retrospective data and modeling results were tabulated into a relational database for future analysis. Seven study areas were selected to evaluate a range of hydrogeologic settings and management practices across the Nation: the Salt Lake Valley, Utah; the Eagle Valley and Spanish Springs Valley, Nevada; the San Joaquin Valley, California; the Northern Tampa Bay region, Florida; the Pomperaug River Basin, Connecticut; the Great Miami River Basin, Ohio; and the Eastern High Plains, Nebraska. This Professional Paper Chapter presents the hydrogeologic settings and documents the ground-water flow models for each of the NAWQA TANC regional study areas that began work in 2001. Methods used to compile retrospective data, determine contributing areas of public-supply wells, and characterize oxidation-reduction (redox) conditions also are presented. This Professional Paper Chapter provides the foundation for future susceptibility and vulnerability analyses in the TANC study areas and comparisons among regional aquifer systems. The report is organized in sections. In addition to the introductory section (Section 1) are seven sections that present the hydrogeologic characterization and ground-water flow model documentation for each TANC regional study area (Sections 2 through 8). Abstracts in Sections 2 through 8 provide summaries and major findings for each regional study area.

Regional ground-water evapotranspiration and ground-water budgets, Great Basin, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nichols, William D.

2000-01-01

PART A: Ground-water evapotranspiration data from five sites in Nevada and seven sites in Owens Valley, California, were used to develop equations for estimating ground-water evapotranspiration as a function of phreatophyte plant cover or as a function of the depth to ground water. Equations are given for estimating mean daily seasonal and annual ground-water evapotranspiration. The equations that estimate ground-water evapotranspiration as a function of plant cover can be used to estimate regional-scale ground-water evapotranspiration using vegetation indices derived from satellite data for areas where the depth to ground water is poorly known. Equations that estimate ground-water evapotranspiration as a function of the depth to ground water can be used where the depth to ground water is known, but for which information on plant cover is lacking. PART B: Previous ground-water studies estimated groundwater evapotranspiration by phreatophytes and bare soil in Nevada on the basis of results of field studies published in 1912 and 1932. More recent studies of evapotranspiration by rangeland phreatophytes, using micrometeorological methods as discussed in Chapter A of this report, provide new data on which to base estimates of ground-water evapotranspiration. An approach correlating ground-water evapotranspiration with plant cover is used in conjunction with a modified soil-adjusted vegetation index derived from Landsat data to develop a method for estimating the magnitude and distribution of ground-water evapotranspiration at a regional scale. Large areas of phreatophytes near Duckwater and Lockes in Railroad Valley are believed to subsist on ground water discharged from nearby regional springs. Ground-water evapotranspiration by the Duckwater phreatophytes of about 11,500 acre-feet estimated by the method described in this report compares well with measured discharge of about 13,500 acre-feet from the springs near Duckwater. Measured discharge from springs near Lockes was about 2,400 acre-feet; estimated ground-water evapotranspiration using the proposed method was about 2,450 acre-feet. PART C: Previous estimates of ground-water budgets in Nevada were based on methods and data that now are more than 60 years old. Newer methods, data, and technologies were used in the present study to estimate ground-water recharge from precipitation and ground-water discharge by evapotranspiration by phreatophytes for 16 contiguous valleys in eastern Nevada. Annual ground-water recharge to these valleys was estimated to be about 855,000 acre-feet and annual ground-water evapotranspiration was estimated to be about 790,000 acrefeet; both are a little more than two times greater than previous estimates. The imbalance of recharge over evapotranspiration represents recharge that either (1) leaves the area as interbasin flow or (2) is derived from precipitation that falls on terrain within the topographic boundary of the study area but contributes to discharge from hydrologic systems that lie outside these topographic limits. A vegetation index derived from Landsat-satellite data was used to estimate phreatophyte plant cover on the floors of the 16 valleys. The estimated phreatophyte plant cover then was used to estimate annual ground-water evapotranspiration. Detailed estimates of summer, winter, and annual ground-water evapotranspiration for areas with different ranges of phreatophyte plant cover were prepared for each valley. The estimated ground-water discharge from 15 valleys, combined with independent estimates of interbasin ground-water flow into or from a valley, were used to calculate the percentage of recharge derived from precipitation within the topographic boundary of each valley. These percentages then were used to estimate ground-water recharge from precipitation within each valley. Ground-water budgets for all 16 valleys were based on the estimated recharge from precipitation and estimated evapotranspiration. Any imba

Geohydrology and water-chemistry of the Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Metzger, Loren F.; Farrar, Christopher D.; Koczot, Kathryn M.; Reichard, Eric G.

2006-01-01

This study of the geohydrology and water chemistry of the Alexander Valley, California, was done to provide an improved scientific basis for addressing emerging water-management issues, including potential increases in water demand and changes in flows in the Russian River. The study tasks included (1) evaluation of existing geohydrological, geophysical, and geochemical data; (2) collection and analysis of new geohydrologic data, including subsurface lithologic data, ground-water levels, and streamflow records; and (3) collection and analysis of new water-chemistry data. The estimated total water use for the Alexander Valley for 1999 was approximately 15,800 acre-feet. About 13,500 acre-feet of this amount was for agricultural use, primarily vineyards, and about 2,300 acre-feet was for municipal/industrial use. Ground water is the main source of water supply for this area. The main sources of ground water in the Alexander Valley are the Quaternary alluvial deposits, the Glen Ellen Formation, and the Sonoma Volcanics. The alluvial units, where sufficiently thick and saturated, comprise the best aquifer in the study area. Average recharge to the Alexander Valley is estimated from a simple, basinwide water budget. On the basis of an estimated annual average of 298,000 acre-feet of precipitation, 160,000 acre-feet of runoff, and 113,000 to 133,000 acre-feet of evapotranspiration, about 5,000 to 25,000 acre-feet per year is available for ground-water recharge. Because this estimate is based on differences between large numbers, there is significant uncertainty in this recharge estimate. Long-term changes in ground-water levels are evident in parts of the study area, but because of the sparse network and lack of data on well construction and lithology, it is uncertain if any significant changes have occurred in the northern part of the study area since 1980. In the southern half of the study area, ground-water levels generally were lower at the end of the 2002 irrigation season than at the end of the 1980 season, which suggests that a greater amount of ground water is being pumped in the southern half of the study area in recent years compared with that pumped in the early 1980s. Water-chemistry data for samples collected from 11 wells during 2002-04 indicate that water quality in the study area generally is acceptable for potable use. Two wells, however, each contained one constituent (241 ?g/L of manganese and 1,350 ?g/L of boron) in excess of the recommended standards for drinking water (50 ?g/L and 1,000 ?g/L, respectively). The chemical composition of water from most of the wells sampled for major ions plot as a mixed cation-bicarbonate, magnesium-bicarbonate, or calcium-bicarbonate type water. The ionic composition of the historical and recent samples from wells in the Alexander Valley is similar to that of the historical surface-water samples collected from the Russian River near Healdsburg. This suggests a similar source of water, particularly for wells that are less than 200 feet total depth and perforated in Quaternary alluvial deposits. Water from deeper, non-alluvial wells may contain slightly higher concentrations of sodium as a result of cation exchange. Water samples collected from several wells over an approximately 30-year period suggest a progressive change in water chemistry over time. Samples from the southern part of the valley show a trend towards higher ionic concentrations and increasing concentrations of particular constituents such as sulfate.

NV PFA - Steptoe Valley

DOE Data Explorer

Jim Faulds

2015-10-29

All datasets and products specific to the Steptoe Valley model area. Includes a packed ArcMap project (.mpk), individually zipped shapefiles, and a file geodatabase for the northern Steptoe Valley area; a GeoSoft Oasis montaj project containing GM-SYS 2D gravity profiles along the trace of our seismic reflection lines; a 3D model in EarthVision; spreadsheet of links to published maps; and spreadsheets of well data.

36 CFR 7.26 - Death Valley National Monument.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Death Valley National... INTERIOR SPECIAL REGULATIONS, AREAS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM § 7.26 Death Valley National Monument. (a) Mining. Mining in Death Valley National Monument is subject to the following regulations, which are...

Delineating riparian zones for entire river networks using geomorphological criteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández, D.; Barquín, J.; Álvarez-Cabria, M.; Peñas, F. J.

2012-03-01

Riparian zone delineation is a central issue for riparian and river ecosystem management, however, criteria used to delineate them are still under debate. The area inundated by a 50-yr flood has been indicated as an optimal hydrological descriptor for riparian areas. This detailed hydrological information is, however, not usually available for entire river corridors, and is only available for populated areas at risk of flooding. One of the requirements for catchment planning is to establish the most appropriate location of zones to conserve or restore riparian buffer strips for whole river networks. This issue could be solved by using geomorphological criteria extracted from Digital Elevation Models. In this work we have explored the adjustment of surfaces developed under two different geomorphological criteria with respect to the flooded area covered by the 50-yr flood, in an attempt to rapidly delineate hydrologically-meaningful riparian zones for entire river networks. The first geomorphological criterion is based on the surface that intersects valley walls at a given number of bankfull depths above the channel (BFDAC), while the second is based on the surface defined by a~threshold value indicating the relative cost of moving from the stream up to the valley, accounting for slope and elevation change (path distance). As the relationship between local geomorphology and 50-yr flood has been suggested to be river-type dependant, we have performed our analyses distinguishing between three river types corresponding with three valley morphologies: open, shallow vee and deep vee valleys (in increasing degree of valley constrainment). Adjustment between the surfaces derived from geomorphological and hydrological criteria has been evaluated using two different methods: one based on exceeding areas (minimum exceeding score) and the other on the similarity among total area values. Both methods have pointed out the same surfaces when looking for those that best match with the 50-yr flood. Results have shown that the BFDAC approach obtains an adjustment slightly better than that of path distance. However, BFDAC requires bankfull depth regional regressions along the considered river network. Results have also confirmed that unconstrained valleys require lower threshold values than constrained valleys when deriving surfaces using geomorphological criteria. Moreover, this study provides: (i) guidance on the selection of the proper geomorphological criterion and associated threshold values, and (ii) an easy calibration framework to evaluate the adjustment with respect to hydrologically-meaningful surfaces.

Socio-Economic Appraisal of Flood Hazard among the Riparian Communities: Case Study of Brahmaputra Valley in Assam; India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Nikhil; Wasini Pandey, Bindhy

2017-04-01

Brahmaputra valley of Assam is one of the most hazard prone areas of the Indian subcontinent. Recurring floods have severely affected the riparian communities of the region since time immemorial. But, the frequency of the problem has been intensified after the great earthquakes of 1897 and 1950. These two extreme earthquakes have disturbed the geological setting of the basin and the channel morphology has been altered henceforth. The impact of floods on riparian communities in Brahmaputra valley has been abysmal. During the monsoon season almost 30 per cent of the valley has been inundated with floods and the riparian communities are mostly affected. Large chunk of people have been uprooted from their native lands due to recurring floods in the low lying areas of the region. Although it is impossible to quantify the human tragedy during the natural disasters, but one can easily understand the situation by the facts that about 1.8 million people and 200,000 hectares of farmland were affected in the 2016 floods of Assam. In the present study, an attempt has been made to assess the spatio-temporal changes of the morphology of Brahmaputra River and its impact on the livelihood of the riparian communities. For that, LANDSAT and SENTINEL imageries have been used to examine the shifting of bank lines of three decades. CARTOSAT DEM has been used to prepare the FLOOD HAZARD ZONATION map of the Brahmaputra valley to examine the flood vulnerable areas of the region. The present study also tries to explain the livelihood condition of the Internally Displaced Persons and their social cohesion. Keywords: Brahmaputra River, Flood, LANDSAT, CARTOSAT DEM, FLOOD HAZARD ZONATION, Riparian Communities

Case Studies of Water Vapor and Surface Liquid Water from AVIRIS Data Measured Over Denver, CO and Death Valley, CA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gao, B.-C.; Kierein-Young, K. S.; Goetz, A. F. H.; Westwater, E. R.; Stankov, B. B.; Birkenheuer, D.

1991-01-01

High spatial resolution column atmospheric water vapor amounts and equivalent liquid water thicknesses of surface targets are retrieved from spectral data collected by the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS). The retrievals are made using a nonlinear least squares curve fitting technique. Two case studies from AVIRIS data acquired over Denver-Platteville area, Colorado and over Death Valley, California are presented. The column water vapor values derived from AVIRIS data over the Denver-Platteville area are compared with those obtained from radiosondes, ground level upward-looking microwave radiometers, and geostationary satellite measurements. The column water vapor image shows spatial variation patterns related to the passage of a weather front system. The column water vapor amounts derived from AVIRIS data over Death Valley decrease with increasing surface elevation. The derived liquid water image clearly shows surface drainage patterns.

Evaluation of Ground Water Near Sidney, Western Nebraska, 2004-05

USGS Publications Warehouse

Steele, G.V.; Sibray, S.S.; Quandt, K.A.

2007-01-01

During times of drought, ground water in the Lodgepole Creek area around Sidney, western Nebraska, may be insufficient to yield adequate supplies to private and municipal wells. Alternate sources of water exist in the Cheyenne Tablelands north of the city, but these sources are limited in extent. In 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey and the South Platte Natural Resources District began a cooperative study to evaluate the ground water near Sidney. The 122-square-mile study area lies in the south-central part of Cheyenne County, with Lodgepole Creek and Sidney Draw occupying the southern and western parts of the study area and the Cheyenne Tablelands occupying most of the northern part of the study area. Twenty-nine monitoring wells were installed and then sampled in 2004 and 2005 for physical characteristics, nutrients, major ions, and stable isotopes. Some of the 29 sites also were sampled for ground-water age dating. Ground water is limited in extent in the tableland areas. Spring 2005 depths to ground water in the tableland areas ranged from 95 to 188 feet. Ground-water flow in the tableland areas primarily is northeasterly. South of a ground-water divide, ground-water flows southeasterly toward Lodgepole Creek Valley. Water samples from monitoring wells in the Ogallala Group were predominantly a calcium bicarbonate type, and those from monitoring wells in the Brule Formation were a sodium bicarbonate type. Water samples from monitoring wells open to the Brule sand were primarily a calcium bicarbonate type at shallow depths and a sodium bicarbonate type at deeper depths. Ground water in Lodgepole Creek Valley had a strong sodium signature, which likely results from most of the wells being open to the Brule. Concentrations of sodium and nitrate in ground-water samples from the Ogallala were significantly different than in water samples from the Brule and Brule sand. In addition, significant differences were seen in concentrations of calcium between water samples from the Ogallala and the Brule sand. Median concentrations of nitrate varied by aquifer-2.6 milligrams per liter (Ogallala), 2.1 milligrams per liter (Brule), and 1.3 milligrams per liter (Brule sand). The chemistry of the ground water in the study area indicates that ground water flows from recharge areas in both the tableland areas and Lodgepole Creek Valley to discharge areas beyond the study area. Recharging water that percolates into the Ogallala in the tableland areas either enters the Ogallala aquifer, flows along the Ogallala-Brule contact, or enters Brule fractures or sand. Although limited in amount, ground water flowing along the Ogallala-Brule contact or in the Brule fractures or sand appears to be the predominant means by which water moves from the tableland areas to Lodgepole Creek Valley. Apparent ground-water ages from chlorofluorocarbon and sulfur hexafluoride data generally were similar. Age of ground water for most monitoring wells located in Lodgepole Creek Valley ranged from the mid- to late 1960s to the early 1990s. Ages of ground water in samples from monitoring wells located in tableland draw areas ranged from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. Water in the Brule (areas without known secondary permeability structures) or deeper Brule sand aquifer was substantially older than water in the Ogallala aquifer and probably was recharged between 10,000 to 30,000 years before present. The stable isotopic data indicate that the ground water in the study area probably originated from precipitation. Ground water in Lodgepole Creek and the tableland areas are similar in chemistry. However, there appears to be limited interaction between ground water within the Ogallala to the north of Sidney and Lodgepole Creek Valley. Available data indicate that although some of the ground water in the Ogallala likely flows across the Ogallala-Brule contact, most of it does not move toward Lodgepole Creek.

Iron and nutrient content of wind-erodible sediment in the ephemeral river valleys of Namibia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dansie, A. P.; Wiggs, G. F. S.; Thomas, D. S. G.

2017-08-01

Research concerning the global distribution of aeolian dust sources has principally focussed on salt/clay pan and desiccated lacustrine emission areas. In southern Africa such sources are identified as Etosha Pan in northern Namibia and Makgadikgadi Pans in northern Botswana. Dust emitting from ephemeral river valleys, however, has been largely overlooked. Rivers are known nutrient transport pathways and the flooding regimes of ephemeral river valleys frequently replenish stores of fine sediment which, on drying, can become susceptible to aeolian erosion. Such airborne sediment may be nutrient rich and thus be significant for the fertilisation of marine waters once deposited. This study investigates the dust source sediments from three ephemeral river valleys in Namibia in terms of their particle size distribution and their concentrations of bioavailable N, P and Fe. We compare the nutrient content of these sediments from the ephemeral river valleys to those collected from Etosha and Makgadikgadi Pans and consider their relative ocean fertilising potential. Our results show that the ephemeral river valleys contain fine grained sediment similar in physical character to Etosha and Makgadikgadi Pans yet they have up to 43 times greater concentrations of bioavailable iron and enriched N and P macronutrients that are each important for ocean fertilisation. The known dust-emitting river valleys of Namibia may therefore be contributing a greater fertilisation role in the adjacent marine system than previously considered, and not-yet investigated. Given this finding a re-assessment of the potential role of ephemeral river valleys in providing nutrient-rich sediment into the aeolian and marine systems in other dryland areas is necessary.

Magnetometry and Ground-Penetrating Radar Studies in the Sihuas Valley, Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wisnicki, E.; Papadimitrios, K.; Bank, C.

2013-12-01

The Quillcapampa la Antigua site in Peru's Sihuas Valley is a settlement from Peru's Middle Horizon (600-100 A.D.). Archaeological interest in the area stems from the question of whether ancient civilizations were able to have extensive state control of distant groups, or whether state influence occurred through less direct ties (e.g., marriage, religion, or trade). Our geophysical surveys are preliminary to archaeological digging in the area. Ground-penetrating radar and magnetometry attempt to locate areas of interest for focused archaeological excavation, characterize the design of architectural remains and burial mounds in the area, and allow archaeologists to interpret the amount of influence the Wari civilization had on the local residents.

Ground-Water Occurrence and Movement, 2006, and Water-Level Changes in the Detrital, Hualapai, and Sacramento Valley Basins, Mohave County, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anning, David W.; Truini, Margot; Flynn, Marilyn E.; Remick, William H.

2007-01-01

Ground-water levels for water year 2006 and their change over time in Detrital, Hualapai, and Sacramento Valley Basins of northwestern Arizona were investigated to improve the understanding of current and past ground-water conditions in these basins. The potentiometric surface for ground water in the Basin-Fill aquifer of each basin is generally parallel to topography. Consequently, ground-water movement is generally from the mountain front toward the basin center and then along the basin axis toward the Colorado River or Lake Mead. Observed water levels in Detrital, Hualapai, and Sacramento Valley Basins have fluctuated during the period of historic water-level records (1943 through 2006). In Detrital Valley Basin, water levels in monitored areas have either remained the same, or have steadily increased as much as 3.5 feet since the 1980s. Similar steady conditions or water-level rises were observed for much of the northern and central parts of Hualapai Valley Basin. During the period of historic record, steady water-level declines as large as 60 feet were found in wells penetrating the Basin-Fill aquifer in areas near Kingman, northwest of Hackberry, and northeast of Dolan Springs within the Hualapai Valley Basin. Within the Sacramento Valley Basin, during the period of historic record, water-level declines as large as 55 feet were observed in wells penetrating the Basin-Fill aquifer in the Kingman and Golden Valley areas; whereas small, steady rises were observed in Yucca and in the Dutch Flat area.

Assessing the Habitat of Coccidioides posadasii, the Valley Fever Pathogen: A Study of Environmental Variables and Human Incidence Data in Arizona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mann, Sarina N.

Coccidioidomycosis, or Valley Fever, is an infectious disease caused by inhalation of soil-dwelling fungus Coccidioides posadasii spores in the Lower Sonoran Life Zone (LSLZ) in Arizona. In the context of climate change, the habitat of environmentally-mediated infectious diseases, such as Valley Fever, are expected to change. Connections have been drawn between climate and Valley Fever infection. The operational scale of the organism is still unknown. Here, we use climatic variables, including precipitation, soil moisture, and temperature. We use PRISM precipitation and temperature data, and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a measure of soil moisture for the entire state of Arizona, divided into 126 primary care areas (PCA). These data are analyzed and regressed with Valley Fever incidence to determine the effects of climatic variability on disease distribution and timing. This study confirms that Valley Fever occurrence is clustered in the LSLZ. Seasonal Valley Fever outbreak was found to be variable year-to-year based on climatic variability. The inconclusive regression analyses indicate that the operational scale of Coccidioides is smaller than the PCA region. All variables are related to Valley Fever infection, but one variable was not found to hold more predictive power than others.

Aeromagnetic measurements in the Cascade Range and Modoc Plateau of northern California; report on work done from December 1, 1980, to May 31, 1981

USGS Publications Warehouse

Couch, Richard W.; Gemperle, Michael

1982-01-01

Spectral analysis of aeromagnetic data collected over 6orth-central California during the summer of 1980 aided in determining magnetic-source bottom depths beneath the survey area. Five regions of shallow magnetic source bottom depths were detected: 1) Secret Spring Mountain and National Lava Beds Monument area, 2) the Mount Shasta area, 3) the Eddys Mountain area, 4) the Big Valley Mountains area, and 5) an area northeast of Lassen Peak. Except for the Eddys Mountain area, all regions exhibiting shallow depths are suggested to be due to elevated Curie-point isotherms. The elevated Curie-point depth beneath Secret Spring Mountain and the National Lava Beds Monument area was found to be 4-7 km BSL (Below Sea Level) and is an extension of a zone mapped beneath an area immediately to the north in Oregon. A similar depth was detected for the Mount Shasta area and the area northeast of Lassen Peak. A depth of 4-6 km BSL was detected beneath the Big Valley Mountains area. The shallow Curie-point depths beneath Secret Spring Mountain, Mount Shasta, Big Valley Mountains, and the area northeast of Lassen Peak appear to form a segmented Zone of elevated Curie-point isotherm depths which underlies the High Cascade Mountains and Modoc Plateau in north-central California. A small area of shallow depths to magnetic-source bottoms, 4-5 km BSL, beneath the Eddys Mountain area is attributed to a lithologic boundary rather than an elevated Curie-point isotherm. Deeper magnetic source bottom depths were mapped throughout the remainder of the study area, with depths greater than 9 km BSL indicated beneath Lassen Peak and greater than ii km BSL indicated beneath the Western Cascades, Eastern Klamath Mountains, and Great Valley.

Early Indians Use Jones Valley. (Reading for "The South: Birmingham Case Study and the South as a Region". Grade Five (Unit IV) Project Social Studies.)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis. Project Social Studies Curriculum Center.

Readings designed to accompany Unit IV, (ED 069 562) which is intended for fifth grade students, describe the Birmingham region from 1812 to 1872. Nine themes in the study illustrate settlement in the valley, early growth in Birmingham, and the changing use of the area in terms of different perceptions of natural resources. Technical advancement…

Philosophical Studies in Education: Proceedings of the 1978 Annual Meeting of the Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, John E., Ed.; Angello, Richard, Ed.

The proceedings consist of the presidential address, papers, responses, and dialogue presented at the annual meeting of the Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society. Papers emphasized several themes: 1) appraisals of professionalism, 2) obligations of teachers in the areas of ethics and morality, 3) historical arguments relating to the…

Hydrologic Modeling of Relatively Recent Martian Streams and Lake

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-09-15

This map of an area within the Arabia Terra region on Mars shows where hydrologic modeling predicts locations of depressions that would have been lakes (black), overlaid with a map of the preserved valleys (blue lines, with width exaggerated for recognition) that would have been streams. The area today holds numerous features called "fresh shallow valleys." Research findings in 2016 interpret the fresh shallow valleys as evidence for flows of liquid water that occurred several hundred million years -- up to about a billion years -- after the ancient lakes and streams previously documented on Mars. Most of the fresh shallow valleys in this northern portion of Arabia Terra terminate at the margins of model-predicted submerged basins, consistent with an interpretation of flows into lakes and out of lakes. Some valley segments connect to form longer systems, consistent with connections forged by flowing water between interspersed lakes. In the area mapped here, for example, valleys connect basin "A" to basin "B," and basin B to "Heart Lake," each lower in elevation in that chain. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20839

Depth to water, 1991, in the Rathdrum Prairie, Idaho; Spokane River valley, Washington; Moscow-Lewiston-Grangeville area, Idaho; and selected intermontane valleys, east-central Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Berenbrock, Charles E.; Bassick, M.D.; Rogers, T.L.; Garcia, S.P.

1995-01-01

This map report illustrates digitally generated depth-to-water zones for the Rathdrum Prairie in Idaho; part of the Spokane River Valley in eastern Washington; and the intermontane valleys of the upper Big Wood, Big Lost, Pahsimeroi, Little Lost, and Lemhi Rivers and Birch Creek in Idaho. Depth to water is 400 to 500 feet below land surface in the northern part of Rathdrum Prairie, 100 to 200 feet below land surface at the Idaho-Washington State line, and 0 to 250 feet below land surface in the Spokane area. Depth to water in the intermontane valleys in east-central Idaho is least (usually less than 50 feet) near streams and increases toward valley margins where mountain-front alluvial fans have formed. Depths to water shown in the Moscow-Lewiston-Grangeville area in Idaho are limited to point data at individual wells because most of the water levels measured were not representative of levels in the uppermost aquifer but of levels in deeper aquifers.

BET surface area distributions in polar stream sediments: Implications for silicate weathering in a cold-arid environment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marra, Kristen R.; Elwood Madden, Megan E; Soreghan, Gerilyn S.; Hall, Brenda L

2014-01-01

BET surface area values are critical for quantifying the amount of potentially reactive sediments available for chemical weathering and ultimately, prediction of silicate weathering fluxes. BET surface area values of fine-grained (<62.5 μm) sediment from the hyporheic zone of polar glacial streams in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (Wright and Taylor Valleys) exhibit a wide range (2.5–70.6 m2/g) of surface area values. Samples from one (Delta Stream, Taylor Valley) of the four sampled stream transects exhibit high values (up to 70.6 m2/g), which greatly exceed surface area values from three temperate proglacial streams (0.3–12.1 m2/g). Only Clark stream in Wright Valley exhibits a robust trend with distance, wherein surface area systematically decreases (and particle size increases) in the mud fraction downstream, interpreted to reflect rapid dissolution processes in the weathering environment. The remaining transects exhibit a range in variability in surface area distributions along the length of the channel, likely related to variations in eolian input to exposed channel beds, adjacent snow drifts, and to glacier surfaces, where dust is trapped and subsequently liberated during summer melting. Additionally, variations in stream discharge rate, which mobilizes sediment in pulses and influences water:rock ratios, the origin and nature of the underlying drift material, and the contribution of organic acids may play significant roles in the production and mobilization of high-surface area sediment. This study highlights the presence of sediments with high surface area in cold-based glacier systems, which influences models of chemical denudation rates and the impact of glacial systems on the global carbon cycle.

Effects of two contrasting agricultural land uses on shallow groundwater quality in the San Joaquin Valley, California; design and preliminary interpretation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dubrovsky, N.M.; Burow, Karen R.; Gronberg, Jo Ann M.

1995-01-01

From 1992 through 1994, the San Joaquin-Tulare Basins Study team of the USGS National Water Quality Assessment program investigated the occurrence and distribution of water quality con- stituents in shallow groundwater underlying two areas of different agricultural land uses: almond orchards and vineyards. The study was restricted to the alluvial fans of the eastern San Joaquin Valley, the area of most groundwater use in the valley. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to delineate the distribution of the two target land uses, to evaluate ancillary data, and to select candidate wells that fit prescribed criteria. Twenty domestic water supply wells were sampled in each of the two areas. In addition, pairs of observation wells were installed and sampled at five of the sites in each area to evaluate whether the water quality in the domestic wells reflects that of the shallow groundwater underlying the target land use. A preliminary evaluation of the results shows that nitrate concentrations in the shallow groundwater are significantly higher in the almond orchard areas than in the vineyard area (p=0.005). In contrast, concentrations of 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) were higher in the vineyard area than in the almond orchard area (p=0.032). The most frequently detected pesticides in groundwater underlying both areas were simazine, atrazine, and desethylatrazine (an atrazine degradation product). These observations are explained, in part, by differences in chemical application and hydrogeologic factors.

Comparative geomorphic analysis of surficial deposits at three central Appalachian watersheds: Implications for controls on sediment-transport efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Stephen B.; Steven Kite, J.

2006-08-01

Factors that control the routing and storage of sediments in the Appalachian region are poorly understood. This study involves a comparative geomorphic analysis of three watersheds underlain by sandstones and shales of the Acadian clastic wedge. These areas include the Fernow Experimental Forest, Tucker County, West Virginia; the North Fork basin, Pocahontas County, West Virginia; and the Little River basin, Augusta County, Virginia. GIS-based analyses of surficial map units allow first-order approximation of sediment-storage volumes in valley bottoms. Estimates of volumes are examined in tandem with morphometric analyses and the distribution of bedrock channels to make inferences regarding controls on sediment-transport efficiency in the central Appalachians. The Fernow and North Fork areas are characterized by V-shaped valleys with mixed reaches of alluvial-bedrock channels distributed throughout the drainage network. In contrast, the Little River valley is notably wider and gravelly alluvial fill is abundant. Comparator watershed parameters for the Fernow, North Fork and Little River areas include, respectively: (1) basin area = 15.2 km 2, 49.3 km 2, 41.5 km 2; (2) basin relief = 0.586 km, 0.533 km, 0.828 km; (3) drainage density = 4.2 km - 1 , 3.3 km - 1 , 4.7 km - 1 ; (4) ruggedness = 2.5, 1.7, 3.9; (5) Shreve magnitude = 139, 287, 380; (6) total valley-bottom area (km 2) = 0.76 km 2, 1.86 km 2, 3.09 km 2; (7) average hillslope gradients = 17.2°, 18.4°, 22.1°; (8) total debris-fan surface area = 0.113 km 2, 0.165 km 2, 0.486 km 2; and (9) debris-fan frequency = 2.0 km - 2 , 1.0 km - 2 , 2.8 km - 2 . The storage volumes in valley bottoms were estimated using map polygon areas and surface heights above channel grade. The Little River contains significantly higher sediment volumes in floodplain, terrace and fan storage compartments; total volumes of the valley bottoms are approximately twice that of the Fernow and North Fork areas combined. Unit storage volumes for the Fernow, North Fork and Little River are 5.2 × 10 4 m 3 km - 2 , 5.5 × 10 4 m 3 km - 2 and 1.6 × 10 5 m 3 km - 2 , respectively. A conceptual model postulates that valley-width morphometry and style of delivery from hillslopes are the primary factors controlling the efficiency of sediment transport. Steep, debris-flow-prone hillslopes at the Little River deliver high volumes of gravelly sediment at magnitudes greater than transport capacity of the channel. Patterns of stream power are complex, as low-order tributaries are under capacity and high-order tributaries over capacity with respect to sediment load. Aggraded alluvial fill insulates valley-floor bedrock from vertical erosion and valley widening dominates. Expansion of the valley width creates a positive response via increased storage capacity and lower unit stream power. Conversely, the Fernow and North Fork are characterized by diffusive mass movement on hillslopes with incremental bedload transport to higher-order tributaries. Rates of hillslope delivery are balanced by the rate of channel export. Mixed alluvial-bedrock reaches provide the optimal channel configuration for active incision of the valley floor. Low expansion of valley width promotes high unit stream power and processes of vertical erosion. The model implies that the Fernow and North Fork have been more effective at sediment transport during the Late Quaternary. Given similar climatic and tectonic settings, variation in bedrock lithofacies is likely the primary factor modulating the efficiency of sediment transport.

Comparison of inversion models using AIRSAR data for Death Valley, California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kierein-Young, Kathryn S.

1993-01-01

Polarimetric Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AIRSAR) data were collected for the Geologic Remote Sensing Field Experiment (GRSFE) over Death Valley, California, USA, in September 1989. AIRSAR is a four-look, quid-polarizaiton, three frequency instrument. It collects measurements at C-band (5.66 cm), L-band (23.98 cm), and P-band (68.13 cm), and has a GIFOV of 10 meters and a swath width of 12 kilometers. Because the radar measures at three wavelengths, different scales of surface roughness are measured. Also, dielectric constants can be calculated from the data. The scene used in this study is in Death Valley, California and is located over Trail Canyon alluvial fan, the valley floor, and Artists Drive alluvial fan. The fans are very different in mineralogic makeup, size, and surface roughness. Trail Canyon fan is located on the west side of the valley at the base of the Panamint Range and is a large fan with older areas of desert pavement and younger active channels. The source for the material on southern part of the fan is mostly quartzites and there is an area of carbonate source on the northern part of the fan. Artists Drive fan is located at the base of the Black Mountains on the east side of the valley and is a smaller, young fan with its source mostly from volcanic rocks. The valley floor contains playa and salt deposits that range from smooth to Devil's Golf course type salt pinnacles.

Understanding Public Views about Air Quality and Air Pollution Sources in the San Joaquin Valley, California.

PubMed

Cisneros, Ricardo; Brown, Paul; Cameron, Linda; Gaab, Erin; Gonzalez, Mariaelena; Ramondt, Steven; Veloz, David; Song, Anna; Schweizer, Don

2017-01-01

The San Joaquin Valley of California has poor air quality and high rates of asthma. Surveys were collected from 744 residents of the San Joaquin Valley from November 2014 to January 2015 to examine the public's views about air quality. The results of this study suggest that participants exposed to high PM 2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in size) concentrations perceived air pollution to be of the worst quality. Air quality in the San Joaquin Valley was primarily perceived as either moderate or unhealthy for sensitive groups. Females perceived air pollution to be of worse quality compared to males. Participants perceived unemployment, crime, and obesity to be the top three most serious community problems in the San Joaquin Valley. Participants viewed cars and trucks, windblown dust, and factories as the principle contributors to air pollution in the area. There is a need to continue studying public perceptions of air quality in the San Joaquin Valley with a more robust survey with more participants over several years and seasons.

Understanding Public Views about Air Quality and Air Pollution Sources in the San Joaquin Valley, California

PubMed Central

Brown, Paul; Cameron, Linda; Gaab, Erin; Gonzalez, Mariaelena; Ramondt, Steven; Veloz, David; Song, Anna; Schweizer, Don

2017-01-01

The San Joaquin Valley of California has poor air quality and high rates of asthma. Surveys were collected from 744 residents of the San Joaquin Valley from November 2014 to January 2015 to examine the public's views about air quality. The results of this study suggest that participants exposed to high PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in size) concentrations perceived air pollution to be of the worst quality. Air quality in the San Joaquin Valley was primarily perceived as either moderate or unhealthy for sensitive groups. Females perceived air pollution to be of worse quality compared to males. Participants perceived unemployment, crime, and obesity to be the top three most serious community problems in the San Joaquin Valley. Participants viewed cars and trucks, windblown dust, and factories as the principle contributors to air pollution in the area. There is a need to continue studying public perceptions of air quality in the San Joaquin Valley with a more robust survey with more participants over several years and seasons. PMID:28469673

Hydrogeochemical investigation of groundwater in Jericho area in the Jordan Valley, West Bank, Palestine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Da'as, Ammar; Walraevens, Kristine

2013-06-01

Water resources in the Middle East, particularly in Palestine, are extremely scarce and costly. The Jordan Valley is a fertile productive region, described as the food basket of Palestine. Groundwater originating from the Quaternary Aquifer System forms the main water resource in the Jordan Valley. However, the quality of this groundwater is threatened mainly by the high chloride concentration. The most representative area of the Jordan Valley is Jericho area, which was chosen to be the study area. The study area (65 km2) is almost a flat area with a gentle decline towards the east. It is the lowest land on earth with ground levels reaching 400 meters below sea level (mbsl) near the Dead Sea shores. The Quaternary Aquifer System in the study area could be divided into an upper alluvial layer with thickness varying from 40 to 150 m and a lower low-permeable Lisan layer, which crops out in the eastern part of the study area with thickness over 200 m. Hydrogeochemical investigation reveals that the water is generally earth alkaline with higher content of earth alkalis and prevailing chloride. According to Stuyfzand (1986) and Piper's (1944) classification systems, water type in the Alluvial Aquifer varies from fresh hard CaMgHCO3 or MgCaHCO3 water in the west and northwest to brackish very-hard MgNaCl or NaMgCl in the middle. In the east, the water becomes brackish-salt extremely-hard MgNaCl or NaCl. Groundwater quality is deteriorating (increase in salinity) spatially towards the east and vertically with increasing depth (when nearing the Lisan Formation). As an indication of groundwater salinity, total dissolved solids show some variability with time over the last 21 years (1983-2004). In short-time scale, there are high seasonal and yearly fluctuations with regard to salinity, specifically in Cl- and SO42- contents. Spring water from the Upper Cenomanian Aquifer (CaHCO3) represents the fresh end member, while Rift Valley Brines (RVB-CaNaCl) and Dead Sea Brines (DSB-MgNaCl) represent the saline end members. Existing water types are mixtures of the 3 end members. There is a consistency in results and analysis of geological, hydrogeological, hydrochemical and geophysical data. There are three probable sources of increase in groundwater salinity: mixing with saline end members (RVB/DSB); dissolution of minerals of the Lisan Formation (calcite, dolomite, gypsum and halite); and to some extent, agricultural effluent pollution.

Groundwater quality in the shallow aquifers of the Monterey Bay, Salinas Valley, and adjacent highland areas, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burton, Carmen

2018-05-30

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. The shallow aquifers of the groundwater basins around Monterey Bay, the Salinas Valley, and the highlands adjacent to the Salinas Valley constitute one of the study units.

Hydrogeologic framework of Antelope Valley and Bedell Flat, Washoe County, west-central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Berger, D.L.; Ponce, D.A.; Ross, W.C.

2001-01-01

Description of the hydrogeologic framework of Antelope Valley and Bedell Flat in west-central Nevada adds to the general knowledge of regional ground-water flow north of the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area. The hydrogeologic framework is defined by the rocks and deposits that transmit ground water or impede its movement and by the combined thickness of Cenozoic deposits. When data are lacking about the subsurface geology of an area, geophysical methods can be used to provide additional information. In this study, gravimetric and seismic-refraction methods were used to infer the form of structural features and to estimate the thickness of Cenozoic deposits in each of the two valleys. In Antelope Valley, the thickness of these deposits probably does not exceed about 300 feet, suggesting that ground-water storage in the basin-fill aquifer is limited. Beneath Bedell Flat is an elongated, northeast-trending structural depression in the pre-Cenozoic basement; the maximum thickness of Cenozoic deposits is about 2,500 feet beneath the south-central part of the valley. Shallow ground water in the northwest corner of Bedell Flat may be a result of decreasing depth to the pre-Cenozoic basement.

Ground-water resources of the South Platte River Basin in western Adams and southwestern Weld Counties, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Rex O.; Schneider, P.A.; Petri, Lester R.

1964-01-01

The area described in this report consists of about 970 square miles in western Adams and southwestern Weld Counties in northeastern Colorado. It includes that part of the South Platte River valley between Denver and Kuner, Colo., all of Beebe Draw, and the lower part of the valley of Box Elder Creek. The stream-valley lowlands are separated by rolling uplands. The climate is semiarid, the normal annual precipitation being about 13 inches; thus, irrigation is essential for stable agricultural development. The area contains about 220,000 acres of irrigated land in the stream valleys. Most of the remaining 400,000 acres of land is used for dry farming or grazing because it lacks irrigation water. Most of the lowlands were brought under irrigation with surface water during the early 1900's, and now nearly all the surface water in the area is appropriated for irrigation within and downstream from the area. Because the natural flow of the streams is sometimes less than the demand for water, ground water is used to supplement the surface-water supply. Wells, drilled chiefly since 1930, supply the supplemental water and in some places are the sole supply for irrigation use. Rocks exposed in the area are of sedimentary origin and range in age from Lato Cretaceous to Recent. Those that are consolidated, called 'bedrock' in this report, consist of the Fox Hills sandstone and the Laramie and Arapahoe formations, all of Late Cretaceous age, and the Denver formation and Dawson arkose of Late Cretaceous and Tertiary age. The surface of the bedrock was shaped by ancestral streams, the valleys of which are reflected by the present surface topography. Dune sand, slope wash, and thin upland deposits of Quaternary age mantle the bedrock in the divide areas, and stream deposits ranging in thickness from 0 to about 125 feet partly fill the ancestral valleys. The valley-fill deposits consist of beds and lenses of clay, silt, sand, gravel, cobbles, and boulders. Abundant supplies of ground water for irrigation, municipal, and industrial use are obtained in the principal stream valleys from wells tapping valley-fill deposits beneath the flood plain and bordering terraces. Many domestic and stock wells obtain water from the unconsolidated deposits both on the uplands and in the valleys. The ground water in the valley-fill deposits generally is unconfined but in a few places is under slight artesian pressure. The bedrock formations yield small to moderate supplies of water to municipal, industrial, domestic, and stock wells, but the yields are not sufficient for irrigation. Ground water in the South Platte River valley moves downstream and toward the river and is discharged into the river. The direction of ground-water movement in Beebe Draw and Box Elder Creek valley is nearly parallel to the streams. Beebe Seep, the stream in Beebe Draw, gains water from the groundwater reservoir in some reaches and loses water in others, but Box Elder Creek loses water to the ground-water reservoir throughout its course especially during floods. The shape and slope of the water table are affected chiefly by the permeability of the valley-fill deposits, the location and altitude of the areas of recharge and discharge, and the configuration of the underlying bedrock floor. The depth to water in the South Platte River valley ranges from less than 1 foot beneath the flood plain to as much as 80 feet beneath the terraces. In Beebe Draw the depth to water ranges from less than 1 foot to about 60 feet and in Box Elder Creek valley from about 5 feet to about 40 feet. During the period of record the annual fluctuation of water levels in wells in the area has ranged from 2 to 13 feet. Precipitation within the area and infiltrating water from irrigated tracts, reservoirs, canals, and streams are the principal sources of recharge to the ground-water reservoir; some recharge results from underflow from outside the area. Ground water is discharged by evapotranspiratio

Habitat selection by female northern pintails wintering in the Grassland Ecological Area, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fleskes, Joseph P.; Gilmer, David S.; Jarvis, Robert L.

2004-01-01

To determine relative importance of habitats available in the Grassland Ecological Area (GEA) to wintering female northern pintails, Anas acuta, we studied habitat use relative to availability (i.e., habitat selection) in the GEA during September through March, 1991-94 for 196 Hatch-Year (HY) and 221 After-Hatch-Year (AHY) female pintails that were radio tagged during August-early October in the GEA (n = 239), other San Joaquin Valley areas (n = 132), or other Central Valley areas (n = 46). Habitat availability and use varied among seasons and years, but pintails always selected shallow and, except on hunting days, open habitats. Swamp timothy, Heleochloa schoenoides, marsh was the most available, used, and selected habitat. Watergrass, Echinochloa crusgalli, marsh in the GEA was used less than available at night in contrast to previous studies in other SJV areas. Preferred late-winter habitats were apparently lacking in the GEA, at least relative to in the Sacramento Valley and Delta where most pintails moved to in December each year. Impacts on pintails of the increasing practice of managing marshes for increased emergent vegetation to attract other species should be monitored. Shallow, open habitats that produce seeds and invertebrates available to pintails in late winter would help maintain pintail abundance in the GEA.

Geophysical setting of western Utah and eastern Nevada between latitudes 37°45′ and 40°N

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mankinen, Edward A.; McKee, Edwin H.; Tripp, Bryce; Krahulec, Ken; Jordan, Lucy

2009-01-01

Gravity and aeromagnetic data refine the structural setting for the region of western Utah and eastern Nevada between Snake and Hamlin Valleys on the west and Tule Valley on the east. These data are used here as part of a regional analysis. An isostatic gravity map shows large areas underlain by gravity lows, the most prominent of which is a large semi-circular low associated with the Indian Peak caldera complex in the southwestern part of the study area. Another low underlies the Thomas caldera in the northeast, and linear lows elsewhere indicate low-density basin-fill in all major north-trending graben valleys. Gravity highs reflect pre-Cenozoic rocks mostly exposed in the mountain ranges. In the Confusion Range, however, the gravity high extends about 15 km east of the range front to Coyote Knolls, indicating a broad pediment cut on upper Paleozoic rocks and covered by a thin veneer of alluvium. Aeromagnetic highs sharply delineate Oligocene and Miocene volcanic rocks and intracaldera plutons associated with the Indian Peak caldera complex and the Pioche–Marysvale igneous belt. Jurassic to Eocene plutons and volcanic rocks elsewhere in the study area, however, have much more modest magnetic signatures. Some relatively small magnetic highs in the region are associated with outcrops of volcanic rock, and the continuation of those anomalies indicates that the rocks are probably extensive in the subsurface. A gravity inversion method separating the isostatic gravity anomaly into fields representing pre-Cenozoic basement rocks and Cenozoic basin deposits was used to calculate depth to basement and estimate maximum amounts of alluvial and volcanic fill within the valleys. Maximum depths within the Indian Peak caldera complex average about 2.5 km, locally reaching 3 km. North of the caldera complex, thickness of valley fill in most graben valleys ranges from 1.5 to 3 km thick, with Hamlin and Pine Valleys averaging ~3 km. The main basin beneath Tule Valley is relatively shallow (~0.6 km), reaching a maximum depth of ~1 km over a small area northeast of Coyote Knolls. Maximum horizontal gradients were calculated for both long-wavelength gravity and magnetic-potential data, and these were used to constrain major density and magnetic lineaments. These lineaments help delineate deep-seated crustal structures that separate major tectonic domains, potentially localizing Cenozoic tectonic features that may control regional ground-water flow.

GIS- and field based mapping of geomorphological changes in a glacier retreat area: A case study from the Kromer valley, Silvretta Alps (Austria)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guttmann, Markus; Pöppl, Ronald

2017-04-01

Global warming results in an ongoing retreat of Alpine glaciers, leaving behind large amounts of easily erodible sediments. As a consequence processes like rockfalls, landslides and debris flows as well as fluvial processes occur more frequently in pro- and paraglacial areas, often involving catastrophic consequences for humans and infrastructure in the affected valleys. The main objective of the presented work was to map and spatially quantify glacier retreat and geomorphological changes in the Kromer valley, Silvretta Alps (Austria) by applying GIS- and field-based geomorphological mapping. In total six geomorphological maps (1950s, 1970s, 2001, 2006, 2012, and 2016) were produced and analyzed in the light of the study aim. First results have shown a significant decrease of total glaciated area from 96 ha to 53 ha which was accompanied by increased proglacial geomorphic activity (i.e. fluvial processes, rockfalls, debris flows, shallow landslides) in the last 15 years. More detailed results will be presented at the EGU General Assembly 2017.

Relative tectonics and debris flow hazards in the Beijing mountain area from DEM-derived geomorphic indices and drainage analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Weiming; Wang, Nan; Zhao, Min; Zhao, Shangmin

2016-03-01

The geomorphic setting of the tectonically active area around Beijing is a result of complex interactions involving Yanshan neotectonic movements and processes of erosion and deposition. The Beijing Mountain study area contains the junction of two mountain ranges (the Yanshan Mountains and the Taihang Mountains). Tectonic activity has significantly influenced the drainage system and the geomorphic situation in the area, leading to a high probability of the development of debris flows, which is one of the major abrupt geological disasters in the region. Based on 30-m-resolution ASTER GDEM data, a total of 752 drainage basins were extracted using ArcGIS software. A total of 705 debris flow valleys were visually interpreted from ALOS satellite images and published documents. Seven geomorphic indices were calculated for each basin including the relief amplitude, the hypsometric integral, the stream length gradient, the basin shape indices, the fractal dimension, the asymmetry factor, and the ratio of the valley floor width to the height. These geomorphic indices were divided into five classes and the ratio of the number of the debris flow valleys to the number of the drainage basins for each geomorphic index was computed and analyzed for every class. Average class values of the seven indices were used to derive an index of relative active tectonics (IRAT). The ratio of the number of the debris flow valleys to the number of the drainage basins was computed for every class of IRAT. The degree of probable risk level was then defined from the IRAT classes. Finally, the debris flow hazard was evaluated for each drainage basin based on the combined effect of probable risk level and occurrence frequency of the debris flows. The result showed a good correspondence between IRAT classes and the ratio of the number of the debris flow valleys to the number of the drainage basins. Approximately 65% of the drainage basins with occurred debris flow valleys are at a high risk level, while 43% of the drainage basins without occurred debris flow valleys are at a high risk level. A comparison with results from past studies demonstrated that the accuracy of these findings is greater than 85%, indicating that the basin topography created by rapid tectonic deformations is more favorable for debris flows.

Ground-water conditions and geologic reconnaissance of the Upper Sevier River basin, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carpenter, Carl H.; Robinson, Gerald B.; Bjorklund, Louis Jay

1967-01-01

The upper Sevier River basin is in south-central Utah and includes an area of about 2,400 .square miles of high plateaus and valleys. It comprises the entire Sevier River drainage basin above Kingston, including the East Fork Sevier River and its tributaries. The basin was investigated to determine general ground-water conditions, the interrelation of ground water and surface water, the effects of increasing the pumping of ground water, and the amount of ground water in storage.The basin includes four main valleys - Panguitch Valley, Circle Valley, East Fork Valley, and Grass Valley - which are drained by the Sevier River, the East Fork Sevier River, and Otter Creek. The plateaus surrounding the valleys consist of sedimentary and igneous rocks that range in age from Triassic to Quaternary. The valley fill, which is predominantly alluvial gravel, sand, silt, and clay, has a maximum thickness of more than 800 feet.The four main valleys constitute separate ground-water basins. East Fork Valley basin is divided into Emery Valley, Johns Valley, and Antimony subbasins, and Grass Valley basin is divided into Koosharem and Angle subbasins. Ground water occurs under both artesian and water-table conditions in all the basins and subbasins except Johns Valley, Emery Valley, and Angle subbasins, where water is only under water-table conditions. The water is under artesian pressure in beds of gravel and sand confined by overlying beds of silt and clay in the downstream parts of Panguitch Valley basin, Circle Valley basin, and Antimony subbasin, and in most of Koosharem subbasin. Along the sides and upstream ends of these basins, water is usually under water-table conditions.About 1 million acre-feet of ground water that is readily available to wells is stored in the gravel and sand of the upper 200 feet of saturated valley fill. About 570,000 acre-feet is stored in Panguitch Valley basin, about 210,000 in Circle Valley basin, about 6,000 in Emery Valley subbasin, about 90,000 in Johns Valley subbasin, about 36,000 in Antimony subbasin, about 90,000 in Koosharem subbasin, and about 60,000 in Angle subbasin. Additional water, although it is not readily available to wells, is stored in beds of silt and clay. Some ground water also is available in the bedrock underlying and surrounding the basins, although the bedrock formations generally are poor aquifers.The principal source of recharge to the valley fill in the upper Sevier River basin is infiltration from streams, canals, and irrigated fields. Some ground water also miles into the valley till from the bedrock surrounding the basins.The basin contains about 300 wells, most of which are less than 4 inches in diameter, are less than 250 feet deep, and are used for domestic purposes and stock watering. More than half the wells are flowing wells in Koosharem subbasin.Approximately 82,000 acre-feet of ground water was discharged in 1962 from the valley till. Springs discharged about 33,000 acre-feet, wells about 3,000, and drains about 3,000; and evapotranspiration from phreatophyte areas about 43,000 acre-feet. Springs in bedrock discharged an additional 75,000 acre-feet. Most of the water discharged by springs, wells, and drains was used for irrigation.The ground water in the basin generally is of good chemical quality. The water is excellent for irrigation and stock but is not as desirable for most domestic and industrial uses because of its hardness. The dissolved-solids content of the ground water generally increases slightly from the upstream end of the individual ground-water basins to. the downstream end owing mostly to repeated use of the water for irrigation. Surface water and ground water in the upper Sevier River basin are inter- connected, and the base flows of streams are affected by changes in ground- water levels. Increased pumping of ground water would result in (1) an increase in the recharge to the aquifers from surface-water sources or (2) a decrease in the discharge from streams, springs, flowing wells, and areas of phreatophytes or (3) a combination of these.About 43,000 acre-feet of ground water is now discharged annually by evapotranspiration from phreatophyte areas, and perhaps one-third of this loss, or about 14,000 acre-feet, could be salvaged by eliminating wet areas and phreatophytes. The areas where water could be salvaged are at the downstream ends of Panguitch Valley basin, Circle Valley basin, and Antimony subbasin. Most of the 14,000 acre-feet 'of water could be pumped from large-diameter wells or developed by properly designed drains without greatly affecting stream- flow and with only moderate effect on 'spring discharge. If the wells were properly located, the pumping would lower water levels and dry up wet areas where phreatophytes grow. Conjunctive use of ground water and surface water would facilitate the more efficient use of all water resources in the basin

Hydrology reconnaissance of the Sink Valley area, Tooele and Box Elder Counties, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Price, Don; Bolke, E.L.

1970-01-01

This is the sixth in a series of reports by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Rights, which describe the water resources of selected basins in western Utah. Areas covered by previously published reports in this series are shown in figure 1 and are listed on page 29. The purpose of this report is to present available hydrologic data on the Sink Valley (Puddle Valley) area, to provide an evaluation of the potential for water-resource development in the area, and to serve as a basis for planning possible later detailed investigations.

Housing conditions, respiratory illness, and lung function in children in South Wales.

PubMed Central

Yarnell, J W; St Leger, A S

1977-01-01

The hypothesis was tested that respiratory illness in children occurs more commonly in old housing than in housing built to modern standards. Three areas of housing were chosen in a South Wales valley: a recently constructed council estate with district central heating; a modern council estate heated with open coal fires; and an area of much older, traditional valley housing. Mothers reported the greatest proportion of children free of colds and sore throats during the previous 12 months in the area of traditional valley housing; mothers of children in the centrally heated estate reported the least proportion of children free of colds. Children's lung function was best in the area of traditional valley housing and worst in the centrally heated council estate. Data on demographic indices and respiratory morbidity suggest that the inhabitants of the two council estates have comparable characteristics. Another hypothesis which may explain the findings is proposed. PMID:588858

A groundwater-flow model for the Treasure Valley and surrounding area, southwestern Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bartolino, James R.; Vincent, Sean

2017-04-17

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in partnership with the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) and Idaho Water Resource Board (IWRB), will construct a numerical groundwater-flow model of the Treasure Valley and surrounding area. Resource managers will use the model to simulate potential anthropogenic and climatic effects on groundwater for water-supply planning and management. As part of model construction, the hydrogeologic understanding of the aquifer system will be updated with information collected during the last two decades, as well as new data collected for the study.

Geology and ground water in Russian River Valley areas and in Round, Laytonville, and Little Lake Valleys, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cardwell, G.T.

1965-01-01

This report describes the occurrence, availability, and quality of ground water in seven valley areas along the course of the Russian River in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, Calif., and in three valleys in the upper drainage reach of the Eel River in Mendocino County. Except for the westward-trending lower Russian River valley, the remaining valley areas along the Russian River (Healdsburg, Alexander, Cloverdale, Sanel, Ukiah, and Potter Valleys) lie in northwest-trending structurally controlled depressions formed in marine rocks of Jurassic and Cretaceous age. The principal aquifer in all the valleys is the alluvium of Recent age, which includes highly permeable channel deposits of gravel and sand. Water for domestic, irrigation, industrial, and other uses is developed by (1) direct diversion from the Russian River and its tributaries, (2) withdrawal of ground water and river water from shallow wells near the river, and (3) withdrawals of ground water from wells in alluvial deposits at varying distances from the river. Surface water in the Russian River and most tributaries is of good chemical quality. The water is a calcium magnesium bicarbonate type and contains 75,200 parts per million of dissolved solids. Ground water is also of good chemical quality throughout most of the drainage basin, but the concentration of dissolved solids (100-300 parts per million) is somewhat higher than that in the surface water. Round, Laytonville, and Little Lake Valleys are in central and northern Mendocino County in the drainage basin of the northwestward flowing Eel River. In Round Valley the alluvium of Recent age yields water of good chemical quality in large quantities. Yields are lower and the chemical quality poorer in Laytonville Valley. Ground water in Little Lake Valley is relatively undeveloped. Selected descriptions of wells, drillers' logs, chemical analyses, and hydrographs showing water-level fluctuations are included in the report. Accompanying maps show the distribution of water-bearing formations and the location of wells.

Effects of ground-water withdrawals on flow in the Sauk River Valley Aquifer and on streamflow in the Cold Spring area, Minnesota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lindgren, R.J.

2001-01-01

The simulated contributing areas for selected watersupply wells in the Cold Spring area generally extend to and possibly beyond the model boundaries to the north and to the southeast. The contributing areas for the Gold'n Plump Poultry Processing Plant supply wells extend: (1) to the Sauk River, (2) to the north to and possibly beyond to the northern model boundary, and (3) to the southeast to and possibly beyond the southeastern model boundary. The primary effects of projected increased ground-water withdrawals of 0.23 cubic feet per second (7.5 percent increase) were to: (1) decrease outflow from the Sauk River Valley aquifer through constant-head boundaries and (2) decrease leakage from the valley unit of the Sauk River Valley aquifer to the streams. No appreciable differences were discernible between the simulated steady-state contributing areas to wells with 1998 pumpage and those with the projected pumpage.

Impact of the Rhône and Durance valleys on sea-breeze circulation in the Marseille area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bastin, Sophie; Drobinski, Philippe; Dabas, Alain; Delville, Patricia; Reitebuch, Oliver; Werner, Christian

2005-03-01

Sea-breeze dynamics in the Marseille area, in the south of France, is investigated in the framework of the ESCOMPTE experiment conducted during summer 2001 in order to evaluate the role of thermal circulations on pollutant transport and ventilation. Under particular attention in this paper is the sea-breeze channelling by the broad Rhône valley and the narrow Durance valley, both oriented nearly-north-south, i.e., perpendicular to the coastline, and its possible impact on the sea-breeze penetration, intensity and depth, which are key information for air pollution issues. One situation of slight synoptic pressure gradient leading to a northerly flow in the Rhône valley (25 June 2001) and one situation of a weak onshore prevailing synoptic wind (26 June 2001) are compared. The impact of the Rhône and Durance valleys on the sea-breeze dynamics on these two typical days is generalized to the whole ESCOMPTE observing period. The present study shows by combining simple scaling analysis with wind data from meteorological surface stations and Doppler lidars that (i) the Durance valley always affects the sea breeze by accelerating the flow. A consequence is that the Durance valley contributes to weaken the temperature gradient along the valley and thus the sea-breeze circulation. In some cases, the acceleration of the channelled flow in the Durance valley suppresses the sea-breeze flow by temperature gradient inhibition; (ii) the Rhône valley does not generally affect the sea breeze significantly. However, if the sea breeze is combined with an onshore flow, it leads to further penetration inland and intensification of the low-level southerly flow. In this situation, lateral constriction may accelerate the sea breeze. Simple scaling analysis suggests that Saint Paul (44.35°N, about 100 km from the coastline) is the lower limit where sea breeze can be affected by the Rhône valley. These conclusions have implications in air quality topics as channelled sea breeze may advect far inland pollutants which may be incorporated into long-range transport, particularly in the Durance valley.

Diversity of inland valleys and opportunities for agricultural development in Sierra Leone.

PubMed

Dossou-Yovo, Elliott Ronald; Baggie, Idriss; Djagba, Justin Fagnombo; Zwart, Sander Jaap

2017-01-01

Inland valleys are becoming increasingly important agricultural production areas for rural households in sub-Saharan Africa due to their relative high and secure water availability and soil fertility. In addition, inland valleys are important as water buffer and biodiversity hot spots and they provide local communities with forest, forage, and fishing resources. As different inland-valley ecosystem functions may conflict with agricultural objectives, indiscriminate development should be avoided. This study aims to analyze the diversity of inland valleys in Sierra Leone and to develop guidelines for more precise interventions. Land use, biophysical and socio-economic data were analyzed on 257 inland valleys using spatial and multivariate techniques. Five cluster groups of inland valleys were identified: (i) semi-permanently flooded with high soil organic carbon (4.2%) and moderate available phosphorus (10.2 ppm), mostly under natural vegetation; (ii) semi-permanently flooded with low soil organic carbon (1.5%) and very low available phosphorus (3.1 ppm), abandoned by farmers; (iii) seasonally flooded with moderate soil organic carbon (3.1%) and low available phosphorus (8.3 ppm), used for rainfed rice and off-season vegetables produced without fertilizer application for household consumption and market; (iv) well drained with moderate soil organic carbon (3.8%) and moderate available phosphorus (10.0 ppm), used for rainfed rice and off-season vegetables produced with fertilizer application for household consumption and market; and (v) well drained with moderate soil organic carbon (3.6%) and moderate available phosphorus (11 ppm), used for household consumption without fertilizer application. Soil organic carbon, available phosphorus, hydrological regime, physical accessibility and market opportunity were the major factors affecting agricultural intensification of inland valleys. Opening up the areas in which inland valleys occur through improved roads and markets, and better water control through drainage infrastructures along with an integrated nutrient management would promote the sustainable agricultural use of inland valleys.

Aquifer systems in the Great Basin region of Nevada, Utah, and adjacent states: A study plan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harrill, James R.; Welch, Alan H.; Prudic, David E.; Thomas, James M.; Carman, Rita L.; Plume, Russell W.; Gates, Joseph S.; Mason, James L.

1983-01-01

The Great Basin Regional Aquifer Study includes about 140,000 square miles in parts of Nevada, Utah, California, Idaho, Oregon, and Arizona. Within that area, 240 hydrographic areas occupy structural depressions formed primarily by basin-and-range faulting. The principal aquifers are in basin- fill deposits; however, permeable carbonate rocks underlie valleys in much of eastern Nevada and western Utah and are significant regional aquifers. Anticipated future water needs require a better understanding of the resource so that wise management will be possible. In October 1980, the U.S Geological Survey started a 4-year study to (1) describe the ground-water systems as they existed under natural conditions and as they exist today, (2) analyze the changes that have led to the systems' present condition, (3) tie the results of this and previous studies together in a regional analysis, and (4) provide means by which effects of future ground-water development can be estimated.A plan of work is presented that describes the general approach to be taken in this study. It defines (1) the major task necessary to meet objectives and (2) constraints on the scope of work. The approach has been strongly influenced by the diverse nature of ground-water flow systems and the large number of basins. A detailed appraisal of 240 individual areas would require more resources than are available. Consequently, the general approach is to study selected "typical" areas and key hydrologic processes. Effort during the first 3 years will be directed toward describing the regional hydrology, conducting detailed studies of "type" areas, and studying selected hydrologic processes. Effort during the final year will be directed toward developing a regional analyses of results.Special studies that will address hydrologic processes, key components of the ground-water system, and improved use of technology include evaluations of regional geochemistry, regional hydrogeology, recharge, ground-water discharge, and the use of remote sensing. Areas selected for study using ground-water flow models include the regional carbonate-rock province in eastern Nevada and western Utah, six valleys Las Vegas, Carson, Paradise, Dixie, Smith Creek, and Stagecoach in Nevada, plus Jordan Valley, the Milford area, and Tule Valley in Utah.

Geohydrology of Big Bear Valley, California: phase 1--geologic framework, recharge, and preliminary assessment of the source and age of groundwater

USGS Publications Warehouse

Flint, Lorraine E.; Brandt, Justin; Christensen, Allen H.; Flint, Alan L.; Hevesi, Joseph A.; Jachens, Robert; Kulongoski, Justin T.; Martin, Peter; Sneed, Michelle

2012-01-01

The Big Bear Valley, located in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California, has increased in population in recent years. Most of the water supply for the area is pumped from the alluvial deposits that form the Big Bear Valley groundwater basin. This study was conducted to better understand the thickness and structure of the groundwater basin in order to estimate the quantity and distribution of natural recharge to Big Bear Valley. A gravity survey was used to estimate the thickness of the alluvial deposits that form the Big Bear Valley groundwater basin. This determined that the alluvial deposits reach a maximum thickness of 1,500 to 2,000 feet beneath the center of Big Bear Lake and the area between Big Bear and Baldwin Lakes, and decrease to less than 500 feet thick beneath the eastern end of Big Bear Lake. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) was used to measure pumping-induced land subsidence and to locate structures, such as faults, that could affect groundwater movement. The measurements indicated small amounts of land deformation (uplift and subsidence) in the area between Big Bear Lake and Baldwin Lake, the area near the city of Big Bear Lake, and the area near Sugarloaf, California. Both the gravity and InSAR measurements indicated the possible presence of subsurface faults in subbasins between Big Bear and Baldwin Lakes, but additional data are required for confirmation. The distribution and quantity of groundwater recharge in the area were evaluated by using a regional water-balance model (Basin Characterization Model, or BCM) and a daily rainfall-runoff model (INFILv3). The BCM calculated spatially distributed potential recharge in the study area of approximately 12,700 acre-feet per year (acre-ft/yr) of potential in-place recharge and 30,800 acre-ft/yr of potential runoff. Using the assumption that only 10 percent of the runoff becomes recharge, this approach indicated there is approximately 15,800 acre-ft/yr of total recharge in Big Bear Valley. The INFILv3 model was modified for this study to include a perched zone beneath the root zone to better simulate lateral seepage and recharge in the shallow subsurface in mountainous terrain. The climate input used in the INFILv3 model was developed by using daily climate data from 84 National Climatic Data Center stations and published Parameter Regression on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) average monthly precipitation maps to match the drier average monthly precipitation measured in the Baldwin Lake drainage basin. This model resulted in a good representation of localized rain-shadow effects and calibrated well to measured lake volumes at Big Bear and Baldwin Lakes. The simulated average annual recharge was about 5,480 acre-ft/yr in the Big Bear study area, with about 2,800 acre-ft/yr in the Big Bear Lake surface-water drainage basin and about 2,680 acre-ft/yr in the Baldwin Lake surface-water drainage basin. One spring and eight wells were sampled and analyzed for chemical and isotopic data in 2005 and 2006 to determine if isotopic techniques could be used to assess the sources and ages of groundwater in the Big Bear Valley. This approach showed that the predominant source of recharge to the Big Bear Valley is winter precipitation falling on the surrounding mountains. The tritium and uncorrected carbon-14 ages of samples collected from wells for this study indicated that the groundwater basin contains water of different ages, ranging from modern to about 17,200-years old.The results of these investigations provide an understanding of the lateral and vertical extent of the groundwater basin, the spatial distribution of groundwater recharge, the processes responsible for the recharge, and the source and age of groundwater in the groundwater basin. Although the studies do not provide an understanding of the detailed water-bearing properties necessary to determine the groundwater availability of the basin, they do provide a framework for the future development of a groundwater model that would help to improve the understanding of the potential hydrologic effects of water-management alternatives in Big Bear Valley.

Linking plant hydraulics and beta diversity in tropical forests

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christoffersen, Bradley; Meir, Patrick; McDowell, Nate G.

In tropical forests, studies of xylem traits governing water transport through plants, or ‘hydraulic architecture’ (Tyree et al., 1991), and changes in species composition across environmental gradients, or ‘beta diversity’ (Gentry, 1988; Ackerly & Cornwell, 2007), have progressedmostly in parallel until recently (Hao et al., 2008; Bartlett et al., 2016). In this issue of New Phytologist, Cosme et al. (pp. 000–5 000) present a timely contribution to the intersection of plant hydraulic architecture (HA) with trait-based community ecology. Building on previous biogeographical work that demonstrated shifts in species composition (beta diversity) across a gradient from valleys to plateaus in centralmore » Amazonia (Schietti et al., 2014), Cosme et al. explore how variation in HA might underpin this sorting, sampling pairs of congeneric species restrictedmostly to either plateau or valley habitats. Valley species had significantly lower wood density and higher hydraulically-weighted vessel diameter and vessel area. By contrast, trees with some of the largest hydraulically-weighted vessel diameters existed in tall, deciduous plateau species, while the leaf: sapwood area ratio decreased with height in valley but not plateau species. These intriguing results suggest that species differentiation in water transport traits mediate edaphic filtering along the valley-toplateau gradient, in contrast to previous work where wood mechanical support mediated valley-to-plateau environmental filtering (Fortunel et al., 2014).« less

Dispersion of Perfluorocarbon Tracers within the Salt Lake Valley during VTMX 2000

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fast, Jerome D.; Allwine, K. Jerry; Dietz, Russell N.; Clawson, Kirk L.; Torcolini, Joel C.

2006-06-01

Six perfluorocarbon tracer experiments were conducted in Salt Lake City, Utah, during October 2000 as part of the Vertical Transport and Mixing (VTMX) field campaign. Four tracers were released at different sites to obtain information on dispersion during stable conditions within down-valley flow, canyon outflow, and interacting circulations in the downtown area. Some of the extensive tracer data that were collected are presented in the context of the meteorological field campaign measurements. Tracer measurements at building-top sites in the downtown area and along the lower slopes of the Wasatch Front indicated that vertical mixing processes transported material up to at least 180 m above the valley floor, although model simulations suggest that tracers were transported upward to much higher elevations. Tracer data provided evidence of downward mixing of canyon outflow, upward mixing within down-valley flow, horizontal transport above the surface stable layer, and transport within horizontal eddies produced by the interaction of canyon and down-valley flows. Although point meteorological measurements are useful in evaluating the forecasts produced by mesoscale models, the tracer data provide valuable information on how the time-varying three-dimensional mean and turbulent motions over urban and valley spatial scales affect dispersion. Although the mean tracer transport predicted by the modeling system employed in this study was qualitatively similar to the measurements, improvements are needed in the treatment of turbulent vertical mixing.

Hydrogeologic characteristics and geospatial analysis of water-table changes in the alluvium of the lower Arkansas River Valley, southeastern Colorado, 2002, 2008, and 2015

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holmberg, Michael J.

2017-05-15

The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District measures groundwater levels periodically in about 100 wells completed in the alluvial material of the Arkansas River Valley in Pueblo, Crowley, Otero, Bent, and Prowers Counties in southeastern Colorado, of which 95 are used for the analysis in this report. The purpose of this report is to provide information to water-resource administrators, managers, planners, and users about groundwater characteristics in the alluvium of the lower Arkansas Valley extending roughly 150 miles between Pueblo Reservoir and the Colorado-Kansas State line. This report includes three map sheets showing (1) bedrock altitude at the base of the alluvium of the lower Arkansas Valley; (2) estimated spring-to-spring and fall-to-fall changes in water-table altitude between 2002, 2008, and 2015; and (3) estimated saturated thickness in the alluvium during spring and fall of 2002, 2008, and 2015, and thickness of the alluvium in the lower Arkansas Valley. Water-level changes were analyzed by geospatial interpolation methods.Available data included all water-level measurements made between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2015; however, only data from fall and spring of 2002, 2008, and 2015 are mapped in this report. To account for the effect of John Martin Reservoir in Bent County, Colorado, lake levels at the reservoir were assigned to points along the approximate shoreline and were included in the water-level dataset. After combining the water-level measurements and lake levels, inverse distance weighting was used to interpolate between points and calculate the altitude of the water table for fall and spring of each year for comparisons. Saturated thickness was calculated by subtracting the bedrock surface from the water-table surface. Thickness of the alluvium was calculated by subtracting the bedrock surface from land surface using a digital elevation model.In order to analyze the response of the alluvium to varying environmental and anthropogenic conditions, the percentage of area of the lower Arkansas Valley showing an absolute change of 3 feet or less was calculated for each of the six water-table altitude change maps. For fall water-table altitude change maps, the periods between 2002 and 2008, 2008 and 2015, and 2002 and 2015 showed that 86.5 percent, 85.2 percent, and 66.3 percent of the study area, respectively, showed a net change of 3 feet or less. In the spring water-table altitude change maps these periods showed a net change of 3 feet or less in 94.4 percent, 96.1 percent, and 90.2 percent of the study area, respectively. While the estimated change in water-table altitude was slightly greater and more variable in fall-to-fall comparisons, these high percentages of area with relatively small net changes indicated that, at least in comparisons of the years presented, there was not a large amount of fluctuation in the altitude of the water table.The saturated thickness in the lower Arkansas Valley was between 25 and 50 feet in 34.4 to 35.9 percent of the study area, depending on the season and year. Between 30.2 and 35.6 percent of the area showed saturated thicknesses between 0 and 25 feet. Less than 1 percent of the area showed a saturated thickness greater than 200 feet in all mapped seasons and years.

Pupils' Environmental Awareness and Knowledge: A Springboard for Action in Primary Schools in Kenya's Rift Valley

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mutisya, Sammy M.; Barker, Miles

2011-01-01

This study was carried out with 276 standard eight pupils in eleven primary schools in the rural town of Narok in Kenya's Rift Valley. It evaluated their awareness of key environmental issues in their local area and their knowledge about the causes, effects and solutions pertaining to these environmental issues. A descriptive research design was…

Chapter 2: Beginning of water studies in the Central Arizona Highlands

Treesearch

Gerald J. Gottfried; Leonard F. DeBano; Malchus B. Baker

1999-01-01

Water has been recognized as an important resource in central Arizona and has affected populations occupying the Salt River Valley for centuries. Water related activities have been documented since about 200 before the common era, when Hohokam Indians settled the Valley and constructed canals to irrigate their fields. Europeans began to settle in the Phoenix area in...

75 FR 8745 - Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan Amendment and Associated Environmental...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-25

... of the Lower Clear Creek and Grass Valley Creek Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, Redding, CA...) and Grass Valley Creek (in eastern Trinity County) as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC...

The Bitterroot Valley of western Montana: Area economic profile

Treesearch

Larry Swanson

2001-01-01

This profile provides a description and assessment of the area economy of the Bitterroot Valley of southwestern Montana. Changing conditions and trends in the area economy over the course of the last twenty to twenty- five years are examined, including trends in population and employment growth and associated income changes and economic restructuring. Changing...

Imaging Radar Applications in the Death Valley Region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farr, Tom G.

1996-01-01

Death Valley has had a long history as a testbed for remote sensing techniques (Gillespie, this conference). Along with visible-near infrared and thermal IR sensors, imaging radars have flown and orbited over the valley since the 1970's, yielding new insights into the geologic applications of that technology. More recently, radar interferometry has been used to derive digital topographic maps of the area, supplementing the USGS 7.5' digital quadrangles currently available for nearly the entire area. As for their shorter-wavelength brethren, imaging radars were tested early in their civilian history in Death Valley because it has a variety of surface types in a small area without the confounding effects of vegetation. In one of the classic references of these early radar studies, in a semi-quantitative way the response of an imaging radar to surface roughness near the radar wavelength, which typically ranges from about 1 cm to 1 m was explained. This laid the groundwork for applications of airborne and spaceborne radars to geologic problems in and regions. Radar's main advantages over other sensors stems from its active nature- supplying its own illumination makes it independent of solar illumination and it can also control the imaging geometry more accurately. Finally, its long wavelength allows it to peer through clouds, eliminating some of the problems of optical sensors, especially in perennially cloudy and polar areas.

Landslide activity as a threat to infrastructure in river valleys - An example from outer Western Carpathians (Poland)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Łuszczyńska, Katarzyna; Wistuba, Małgorzata; Malik, Ireneusz

2017-11-01

Intensive development of the area of Polish Carpathians increases the scale of landslide risk. Thus detecting landslide hazards and risks became important issue for spatial planning in the area. We applied dendrochronological methods and GIS analysis for better understanding of landslide activity and related hazards in the test area (3,75 km2): Salomonka valley and nearby slopes in the Beskid Żywiecki Mts., Outer Western Carpathians, southern Poland. We applied eccentricity index of radial growth of trees to date past landslide events. Dendrochronological results allowed us to determine the mean frequency of landsliding at each sampling point which were next interpolated into a map of landslide hazard. In total we took samples at 46 points. In each point we sampled 3 coniferous trees. Landslide hazard map shows a medium (23 sampling points) and low (20 sampling points) level of landslide activity for most of the area. The highest level of activity was recorded for the largest landslide. Results of the dendrochronological study suggest that all landslides reaching downslope to Salomonka valley floor are active. LiDAR-based analysis of relief shows that there is an active coupling between those landslides and river channel. Thus channel damming and formation of an episodic lake are probable. The hazard of flooding valley floor upstream of active landslides should be included in the local spatial planning system and crisis management system.

Land use in the Paraiba Valley through remotely sensed data. [Brazil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dejesusparada, N. (Principal Investigator); Lombardo, M. A.; Novo, E. M. L. D.; Niero, M.; Foresti, C.

1980-01-01

A methodology for land use survey was developed and land use modification rates were determined using LANDSAT imagery of the Paraiba Valley (state of Sao Paulo). Both visual and automatic interpretation methods were employed to analyze seven land use classes: urban area, industrial area, bare soil, cultivated area, pastureland, reforestation and natural vegetation. By means of visual interpretation, little spectral differences are observed among those classes. The automatic classification of LANDSAT MSS data using maximum likelihood algorithm shows a 39% average error of omission and a 3.4% error of inclusion for the seven classes. The complexity of land uses in the study area, the large spectral variations of analyzed classes, and the low resolution of LANDSAT data influenced the classification results.

Water-Resource Trends and Comparisons Between Partial-Development and October 2006 Hydrologic Conditions, Wood River Valley, South-Central Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Skinner, Kenneth D.; Bartolino, James R.; Tranmer, Andrew W.

2007-01-01

This report analyzes trends in ground-water and surface-water data, documents 2006 hydrologic conditions, and compares 2006 and historic ground-water data of the Wood River Valley of south-central Idaho. The Wood River Valley extends from Galena Summit southward to the Timmerman Hills. It is comprised of a single unconfined aquifer and an underlying confined aquifer present south of Baseline Road in the southern part of the study area. Streams are well-connected to the shallow unconfined aquifer. Because the entire population of the area depends on ground water for domestic supply, either from domestic or municipal-supply wells, rapid population growth since the 1970s has raised concerns about the continued availability of ground and surface water to support existing uses and streamflow. To help address these concerns, this report evaluates ground- and surface-water conditions in the area before and during the population growth that started in the 1970s. Mean annual water levels in three wells (two completed in the unconfined aquifer and one in the confined aquifer) with more than 50 years of semi-annual measurements showed statistically significant declining trends. Mean annual and monthly streamflow trends were analyzed for three gaging stations in the Wood River Valley. The Big Wood River at Hailey gaging station (13139500) showed a statistically significant trend of a 25-percent increase in mean monthly base flow for March over the 90-year period of record, possibly because of earlier snowpack runoff. Both the 7-day and 30-day low-flow analyses for the Big Wood River near Bellevue gaging station (13141000) show a mean decrease of approximately 15 cubic feet per second since the 1940s, and mean monthly discharge showed statistically significant decreasing trends for December, January, and February. The Silver Creek at Sportsman Access near Picabo gaging station (13150430) also showed statistically significant decreasing trends in annual and mean monthly discharge for July through February and April from 1975 to 2005. Comparisons of partial-development (ground-water conditions from 1952 to 1986) and 2006 ground-water resources in the Wood River Valley using a geographic information system indicate that most ground-water levels for the unconfined aquifer in the study area are either stable or declining. Declines are predominant in the southern part of the study area south of Hailey, and some areas exceed what is expected of natural fluctuations in ground-water levels. Some ground-water levels rose in the northern part of the study area; however, these increases are approximated due to a lack of water-level data in the area. Ground-water level declines in the confined aquifer exceed the range of expected natural fluctuations in large areas of the confined aquifer in the southern part of the study area in the Bellevue fan. However, the results in this area are approximated due to limited available water-level data.

Geochemistry of soils from the San Rafael Valley, Santa Cruz County, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Folger, Helen W.; Gray, Floyd

2013-01-01

This study was conducted to determine whether surficial geochemical methods can be used to identify subsurface mineraldeposits covered by alluvium derived from surrounding areas. The geochemical investigation focused on an anomalous geo-physical magnetic high located in the San Rafael Valley in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The magnetic high, inferred to be asso-ciated with a buried granite intrusion, occurs beneath Quaternary alluvial and terrace deposits. Soil samples were collected at a depth of 10 to 30 centimeters below land surface along transects that traverse the inferred granite. The samples were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and by the partial-leach Mobile Metal Ion™ method. Principal component and factor analyses showed a strong correlation between the soils and source rocks hosting base-metal replacement deposits in the Harshaw and Patagonia Mining Districts. Factor analysis also indicated areas of high metal concentrations associated with the Meadow Valley Flat. Although no definitive geochemical signature was identified for the inferred granite, concentrations otungsten and iron in the surrounding area were slightly elevated.

Determination of geohydrologic framework and extent of d- water contamination using surface geophysical techniques at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lacombe, Pierre

1986-01-01

Seismic-refraction, electric-resistivity sounding, and electromagnetic conductivity techniques were used to determine the geohydrologic framework and extent of groundwater contamination at Picatinny Arsenal in northern New Jersey. The area studied encompasses about 4 sq mi at the southern end of the Arsenal. The bedrock surface beneath the glacial sediments was delineated by seismic-refraction techniques. Data for 12 seismic lines were collected using a 12-channel engineering seismograph. Competent bedrock crops out on both sides of the valley, but is about 290 ft below land surface in the deepest part of the topographic valley. Where the exposed bedrock surface forms steep slopes on the valley side, it remains steep below the valley fill. Likewise, gentle bedrock valley slopes have gentle subsurface slopes. The deepest part of the bedrock valley is along the southern extension of the Green Pond fault. The electric-resistivity sounding technique was used to determine the sediment types. Data were collected from four sites using the offset Wenner electrode configuration. Below the surface layer, the sediments have apparent and computed resistivity values of 120 to 170 ohm-meters. These values correspond to a saturated fine-grained sediment such as silt or interbedded sand and clay. Groundwater contamination was by electromagnetic conductivity techniques using transmitting and receiving coils separated by 32.8 ft and 12 ft. Thirteen sites have apparent conductivity values exceeding 15 millimhos/m. Of these, seven sites indicate groundwater contamination from a variety of sources including a sanitary landfill, pyrotechnic testing ground, burning area, former domestic sewage field, salt storage facility, hazardous waste disposal lagoon, sewage treatment plant, and fertilizer storage shed. Three areas underlain by clay or muck are interpreted to be free of contamination. (Author 's abstract)

Associating Land Surface Temperature Retrieved From Satellite and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Data With Urban Cover and Topography in Aburrá Valley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guzmán, G.; Hoyos Ortiz, C. D.

2017-12-01

Urban heat island effect commonly refers to temperature differences between urban areas and their countrysides due to urbanization. These temperature differences are evident at surface, and within the canopy and the boundary layer. This effect is heterogeneous within the city, and responds to urban morphology, prevailing materials, amount of vegetation, among others, which are also important in the urban balance of energy. In order to study the relationship between land surface temperature (LST) and urban coverage over Aburrá Valley, which is a narrow valley locate at tropical Andes in northern South America, Landsat 8 mission products of LST, density of vegetation (normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI), and a proxy of soil humidity are derived and used. The results are analyzed from the point of view of dominant urban form and settlement density at scale of neighborhoods, and also from potential downward solar radiation received at the surface. Besides, specific sites were chosen to obtain LST from thermal imaging using an unmanned aerial vehicle to characterize micro-scale patterns and to validate Landast retrievals. Direct relationships between LST, NDVI, soil humidity, and duration of insolation are found, showing the impact of the current spatial distribution of land uses on surface temperature over Aburrá Valley. In general, the highest temperatures correspond to neighborhoods with large, flat-topped buildings in commercial and industrial areas, and low-rise building in residential areas with scarce vegetation, all on the valley bottom. Landsat images are in the morning for the Aburrá Valley, for that reason the coldest temperatures are prevalent at certain orientation of the hillslope, according with the amount of radiation received from sunrise to time of data.

Multi-scale curvature for automated identification of glaciated mountain landscapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasicek, Günther; Otto, Jan-Christoph; Montgomery, David R.; Schrott, Lothar

2014-03-01

Erosion by glacial and fluvial processes shapes mountain landscapes in a long-recognized and characteristic way. Upland valleys incised by fluvial processes typically have a V-shaped cross-section with uniform and moderately steep slopes, whereas glacial valleys tend to have a U-shaped profile with a changing slope gradient. We present a novel regional approach to automatically differentiate between fluvial and glacial mountain landscapes based on the relation of multi-scale curvature and drainage area. Sample catchments are delineated and multiple moving window sizes are used to calculate per-cell curvature over a variety of scales ranging from the vicinity of the flow path at the valley bottom to catchment sections fully including valley sides. Single-scale curvature can take similar values for glaciated and non-glaciated catchments but a comparison of multi-scale curvature leads to different results according to the typical cross-sectional shapes. To adapt these differences for automated classification of mountain landscapes into areas with V- and U-shaped valleys, curvature values are correlated with drainage area and a new and simple morphometric parameter, the Difference of Minimum Curvature (DMC), is developed. At three study sites in the western United States the DMC thresholds determined from catchment analysis are used to automatically identify 5 × 5 km quadrats of glaciated and non-glaciated landscapes and the distinctions are validated by field-based geological and geomorphological maps. Our results demonstrate that DMC is a good predictor of glacial imprint, allowing automated delineation of glacially and fluvially incised mountain landscapes.

Topoclimatological and snowhydrological survey of Switzerland

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winiger, M. (Principal Investigator)

1980-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Low temperature zones depend on the topography and the terrain coverage type (besides the meteorological situation). The usual pattern of cold zones at the bottom of the valleys, warmer belts along the valley slopes, and cold mountain tops is modified by the terrain coverage type. Rural and forested areas normally have different surface temperatures, but along a vertical profile the temperature decrease (or increase) is often of the same order of magnitude. Because there is also a close correlation between the topography and terrain coverage (high percentage of forested areas at the valley slopes up to the timber line, much less along the valley floors), the surface temperature of the warm slope zone is increased compared to a valley profile with uniform coverage.

Pumpernickel Valley Geothermal Project Thermal Gradient Wells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Z. Adam Szybinski

2006-01-01

The Pumpernickel Valley geothermal project area is located near the eastern edge of the Sonoma Range and is positioned within the structurally complex Winnemucca fold and thrust belt of north-central Nevada. A series of approximately north-northeast-striking faults related to the Basin and Range tectonics are superimposed on the earlier structures within the project area, and are responsible for the final overall geometry and distribution of the pre-existing structural features on the property. Two of these faults, the Pumpernickel Valley fault and Edna Mountain fault, are range-bounding and display numerous characteristics typical of strike-slip fault systems. These characteristics, when combined withmore » geophysical data from Shore (2005), indicate the presence of a pull-apart basin, formed within the releasing bend of the Pumpernickel Valley – Edna Mountain fault system. A substantial body of evidence exists, in the form of available geothermal, geological and geophysical information, to suggest that the property and the pull-apart basin host a structurally controlled, extensive geothermal field. The most evident manifestations of the geothermal activity in the valley are two areas with hot springs, seepages, and wet ground/vegetation anomalies near the Pumpernickel Valley fault, which indicate that the fault focuses the fluid up-flow. There has not been any geothermal production from the Pumpernickel Valley area, but it was the focus of a limited exploration effort by Magma Power Company. In 1974, the company drilled one exploration/temperature gradient borehole east of the Pumpernickel Valley fault and recorded a thermal gradient of 160oC/km. The 1982 temperature data from five unrelated mineral exploration holes to the north of the Magma well indicated geothermal gradients in a range from 66 to 249oC/km for wells west of the fault, and ~283oC/km in a well next to the fault. In 2005, Nevada Geothermal Power Company drilled four geothermal gradient wells, PVTG-1, -2, -3, and -4, and all four encountered geothermal fluids. The holes provided valuable water geochemistry, supporting the geothermometry results obtained from the hot springs and Magma well. The temperature data gathered from all the wells clearly indicates the presence of a major plume of thermal water centered on the Pumpernickel Valley fault, and suggests that the main plume is controlled, at least in part, by flow from this fault system. The temperature data also defines the geothermal resource with gradients >100oC/km, which covers an area a minimum of 8 km2. Structural blocks, down dropped with respect to the Pumpernickel Valley fault, may define an immediate reservoir. The geothermal system almost certainly continues beyond the recently drilled holes and might be open to the east and south, whereas the heat source responsible for the temperatures associated with this plume has not been intersected and must be at a depth greater than 920 meters (depth of the deepest well – Magma well). The geological and structural setting and other characteristics of the Pumpernickel Valley geothermal project area are markedly similar to the portions of the nearby Dixie Valley geothermal field. These similarities include, among others, the numerous, unexposed en echelon faults and large-scale pull-apart structure, which in Dixie Valley may host part of the geothermal field. The Pumpernickel Valley project area, for the majority of which Nevada Geothermal Power Company has geothermal rights, represents a geothermal site with a potential for the discovery of a relatively high temperature reservoir suitable for electric power production. Among locations not previously identified as having high geothermal potential, Pumpernickel Valley has been ranked as one of four sites with the highest potential for electrical power production in Nevada (Shevenell and Garside, 2003). Richards and Blackwell (2002) estimated the total heat loss and the preliminary production capacity for the entire Pumpernickel Valley geothermal system to be at 35MW. A more conservative estimate, for the hot spring area only, was presented by GeothermEx Inc. (2004), which projected that power generation capacities for the Pumpernickel Valley site are 10 MW-30yrs minimum (probablility of >90%), and most likely 13 MW-30yrs.« less

Infill of tunnel valleys associated with landward-flowing ice sheets: The missing Middle Pleistocene record of the NW European rivers?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreau, Julien; Huuse, Mads

2014-01-01

The southern termination of the Middle and Late Pleistocene Scandinavian ice sheets was repeatedly located in the southern North Sea (sNS) and adjacent, north-sloping land areas. Giant meltwater-excavated valleys (tunnel valleys) formed at the southern termination of the ice sheets and contain a hitherto enigmatic succession of northward prograding clinoforms, comprising 1000s km3 of sediment. This study analyses 3D seismic data, covering the entire sNS, and demonstrates for the first time that the formation of these tunnel valleys was separate from their infill. The infill constitutes the postglacial record of the NW European river deltas, which had so far been considered missing.

Application of airborne remote sensing to the ancient Pompeii site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vitiello, Fausto; Giordano, Antonio; Borfecchia, Flavio; Martini, Sandro; De Cecco, Luigi

1996-12-01

The ancient Pompeii site is in the Sarno Valley, an area of about 400 km2 in the South of Italy near Naples, that was utilized by man since old time (thousands of years ago). Actually the valley is under critical environmental conditions because of the relevant industrial development. ENEA is conducting various studies and research in the valley. ENEA is employing historical research, ground campaigns, cartography and up-to-date airborne multispectral remote sensing technologies to make a geographical information system. Airborne remote sensing technologies are very suitable for situations as that of the Sarno Valley. The paper describes the archaeological application of the research in progress as regarding the ancient site of Pompeii and its fluvial port.

Valley fill in the Roswell-Artesia area, New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lyford, Forest P.

1973-01-01

Drill samples from 225 water and oil wells in an area 70 miles long and 20 miles wide in the Roswell-Artesia area, southeastern New Mexico were examined. A thickness map and a saturated thickness map of the valley-fill sediments were constructed. Maximum depth of valley fill is about 300 feet in large closed depressions near Roswell, Hagerman, and Artesia. The depressions were formed by the solution of carbonates and evaporites that underlie the fill. Maximum saturated thickness is about 250 feet in depressions near Hagerman and Artesia and about 300 feet in a depression near Roswell.

Temporal Variation Analysis on Climate of Dry-Hot Valley Since 1950s in Upper Yangtze River Basin, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, L.; Cai, Y.

2017-12-01

Climate of dry-hot valley areas regarding their long term temporal changes are seldom studied. In this paper, climate change in lower reach of Yalongjiang River, a typical dry-hot valley area locating in upper Yangtze River Basin, was analyzed. Ten single meteorological factors were used to investigate basic climatic characteristics, and two integrated index (i.e. relative evapotranspiration(AET/P), standard precipitation evapotranspiration index(SPEI)) were selected to reflect changes from human activities and gauge climate drought regime. Mann-Kendall mutation test was applied to identify mutation year, and variation trends were diagnosed with linear regression and distance average analysis. Mean values were tested to find if there were significant changes resulting from a large artificial reservoir constructed in 1999. Results of mutation test showed that minimum temperature, relative humidity, and AET/P in two stations changed significantly in 2000s. Temperature increased since 1990s, and other single index fluctuated in recent 50 years. Precipitation decreased and temperature increased in autumn significantly, while precipitation in summer decreased slightly. The variation of SPEI implied that the area was humid from 1980s to 2000s, but drought in 2010s. The results of mean test indicated that 56% meteorological index changed significantly, which might be related to the construction of the large reservoir. This research not only reveals the climate change in a dry-hot valley, but also helps study concerning human activities especially the construction of cascade reservoirs in the future in this area.

Development of an Interactive Shoreline Management Tool for the Lower Wood River Valley, Oregon - Phase I: Stage-Volume and Stage-Area Relations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haluska, Tana L.; Snyder, Daniel T.

2007-01-01

This report presents the parcel and inundation area geographic information system (GIS) layers for various surface-water stages. It also presents data tables containing the water stage, inundation area, and water volume relations developed from analysis of detailed land surface elevation derived from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data recently collected for the Wood River Valley at the northern margin of Agency Lake in Klamath County, Oregon. Former shoreline wetlands that have been cut off from Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes by dikes might in the future be reconnected to Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes by breaching the dikes. Issues of interest associated with restoring wetlands in this way include the area that will be inundated, the volume of water that may be stored, the change in wetland habitat, and the variation in these characteristics as surface-water stage is changed. Products from this analysis can assist water managers in assessing the effect of breaching dikes and changing surface-water stage. The study area is in the approximate former northern margins of Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes in the Wood River Valley.

Characterization of Solang valley watershed in western Himalaya for bio-resource conservation using remote sensing techniques.

PubMed

Kumar, Amit; Chawla, Amit; Rajkumar, S

2011-08-01

The development activities in mountainous region though provide comfort to the human being and enhance the socioeconomic status of the people but create pressure on the bio-resources. In this paper, the current status of land use/landcover and the vegetation communities of the Solang valley watershed in Himachal Pradesh of Indian western Himalaya has been mapped and presented using remote sensing. This watershed area was dominated by alpine and sub-alpine pastures (30.34%) followed by scree slopes (22.34%) and forests (21.06%). Many tree, shrub, and herb species identified in the study area are among the prioritized species for conservation in the Indian Himalayan Region. Thus, scientific interventions and preparation of action plans based on ecological survey are required for conservation of the Solang valley watershed.

Quaternary geology of the Bellevue area in Blaine and Camas Counties, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmidt, Dwight Lyman

1962-01-01

The Bellevue area covers about 350 square miles of a foothill belt between the Rocky Mountains to the north and the Snake River plains to the south. Complexly deformed impure quartzites and limestones of the Mississippian Milligen and Pennsylvanian-Permian Wood River formations were intruded by large bodies of quartz diorite and granodiorite along regional structures trending northwesterly; the intrusions are part of the Cretaceous Idaho batholith. Erosional remnants of the Challis volcanics, dominantly latitic to andesitic in composition and early(?) to middle Tertiary in age, rest unconformably on the older rocks. A sequence of Pliocene Rhyolitic ash flows and basaltic lava flows unconformably overlies the Challis and older rocks and is in turn unconformably overlain by olivine basalt of late Pliocene or early Quaternary age. The main valleys of the area, partly Erosional and partly structural in origin, are underlaind by late Quaternary olivine basalt flows (Snake River basalt) and intercalated lacustrine, fluvial, proglacial sediments. The Big Wood River, the master stream of the area, flows southward through a narrow steep-sided valley in the mountainous country north of the Bellevue area and debouches into a broad alluvial valley, the Wood River Valley, in the foothill belt. The valley has the shape of an isosceles triangle with a ten mile long, east-west base consisting of a ridge of Pliocene volcanics which separates the valley from the Snake River Plains to the south. The river now flows through a narrow gap in the southwest corner of the triangle. A similar, but wider, gap around the east end of the ridge was formerly occupied by the river. The river has been shifted back and forth between these two gaps at least four times during an interval in which six late Quaternary basalt flows erupted in the Bellevue area. Two of the flows caused direct diversion of the river and another was influential in bringing about a diversion on an aggradational fan upstream from the lava dam. Just prior to the Bull Lake stage the river, flowing out the east gap, was blocked but not diverted by the youngest basalt flow in the Bellevue area. During the proglacial aggradation, the river shifted widely on its fan and spilled alternatively out both the east and west gaps. After the Bull Lake stage, the west gap had an advantageous base level relative to the lava-blocked east gap, and the river cut down in the west gap. After the second, Pinedale, proglacial aggradation in the Wood River Valley, the west gap still maintained an advantageous base level, and the river again cut down in the west outlet valley where it remains today. Periglacial deposits completely dominate the sidestream valleys of the Bellevue area. They formed under a rigorous climate during the Pinedale stage, when slope erosion accelerated by frost activated processes caused aggradation of valley floors by local detritus. Even at present the larger sidestreams are so choked with detritus that the streams have not regained control of their valley floors. Recent basalt, comparable in age to the younger flows of the Craters of the Moon National Monument, spread from a rugged, cratered vent several miles south of the Bellevue area. Using degree of weathering, erosion, and soil development as a basis of comparison, this flow provides and end point for estimating the relative ages of the six late Quaternary flows in the Bellevue area.

Electromagnetic surveys to detect clay-rich sediment in the Rio Grande inner valley, Albuquerque area, New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bartolino, James R.; Sterling, Joseph M.

2000-01-01

Information on the presence of clay-rich layers in the inner-valley alluvium is essential for quantifying the amount of water transmitted between the Rio Grande and the Santa Fe Group aquifer system. This report describes a study that used electromagnetic surveys to provide this information. In the first phase of the study, electromagnetic soundings were made using time-domain and frequency-domain electro- magnetic methods. On the basis of these initial results, the time- domain method was judged ineffective because of cultural noise in the study area, so subsequent surveys were made using the frequency-domain method. For the second phase of the study, 31 frequency-domain electromagnetic surveys were conducted along the inner valley and parallel to the Rio Grande in the Albuquerque area in the spring and summer of 1997 to determine the presence of hydrologically significant clay-rich layers buried in the inner-valley alluvium. For this report, the 31 survey sections were combined into 10 composite sections for ease of interpretation. Terrain-conductivity data from the surveys were modeled using interpretation software to produce geoelectric cross sections along the survey lines. This modeling used lithologic logs from two wells installed near the survey lines: the Bosque South and Rio Bravo 5 wells. Because of cultural interference, location of the wells and soundings, complex stratigraphy, and difficulty interpreting lithology, such interpretation was inconclusive. Instead, a decision process based on modeling results was developed using vertical and horizontal dipole 40-meter intercoil spacing terrain-conductivity values. Values larger than or equal to 20 millisiemens per meter were interpreted to contain a hydrologically significant thickness of clay-rich sediment. Thus, clay-rich sediment was interpreted to underlie seven segments of the 10 composited survey lines, totaling at least 2,660 meters of the Rio Grande inner valley. The longest of these clay-rich segments is a 940-meter reach between Bridge and Rio Bravo Boulevards.

Rock face stability analysis and potential rockfall source detection in Yosemite Valley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matasci, B.; Stock, G. M.; Jaboyedoff, M.; Oppikofer, T.; Pedrazzini, A.; Carrea, D.

2012-04-01

Rockfall hazard in Yosemite Valley is especially high owing to the great cliff heights (~1 km), the fracturing of the steep granitic cliffs, and the widespread occurrence of surface parallel sheeting or exfoliation joints. Between 1857 and 2011, 890 documented rockfalls and other slope movements caused 15 fatalities and at least 82 injuries. The first part of this study focused on realizing a structural study for Yosemite Valley at both regional (valley-wide) and local (rockfall source area) scales. The dominant joint sets were completely characterized by their orientation, persistence, spacing, roughness and opening. Spacing and trace length for each joint set were accurately measured on terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) point clouds with the software PolyWorks (InnovMetric). Based on this fundamental information the second part of the study aimed to detect the most important failure mechanisms leading to rockfalls. With the software Matterocking and the 1m cell size DEM, we calculated the number of possible failure mechanisms (wedge sliding, planar sliding, toppling) per cell, for several cliffs of the valley. Orientation, spacing and persistence measurements directly issued from field and TLS data were inserted in the Matterocking calculations. TLS point clouds are much more accurate than the 1m DEM and show the overhangs of the cliffs. Accordingly, with the software Coltop 3D we developed a methodology similar to the one used with Matterocking to identify on the TLS point clouds the areas of a cliff with the highest number of failure mechanisms. Exfoliation joints are included in this stability analysis in the same way as the other joint sets, with the only difference that their orientation is parallel to the local cliff orientation and thus variable. This means that, in two separate areas of a cliff, the exfoliation joint set is taken into account with different dip direction and dip, but its effect on the stability assessment is the same. Areas with a high density of possible failure mechanisms are shown to be more susceptible to rockfalls, demonstrating a link between high fracture density and rockfall susceptibility. This approach enables locating the most probable future rockfall sources and provides key elements needed to evaluate the potential volume and run-out distance of rockfall blocks. This information is used to improve rockfall hazard assessment in Yosemite Valley and elsewhere.

Data network, collection, and analysis in the Diamond Valley flow system, central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knochenmus, Lari A.; Berger, David L.; Moreo, Michael T.; Smith, J. LaRue

2011-01-01

Future groundwater development and its effect on future municipal, irrigation, and alternative energy uses in the Diamond Valley flow system are of concern for officials in Eureka County, Nevada. To provide a better understanding of the groundwater resources, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Eureka County, commenced a multi-phase study of the Diamond Valley flow system in 2005. Groundwater development primarily in southern Diamond Valley has resulted in water-level declines since the 1960s ranging from less than 5 to 100 feet. Groundwater resources in the Diamond Valley flow system outside of southern Diamond Valley have been relatively undeveloped. Data collected during phase 2 of the study (2006-09) included micrometeorological data at 4 evapotranspiration stations, 3 located in natural vegetation and 1 located in an agricultural field; groundwater levels in 95 wells; water-quality constituents in aquifers and springs at 21 locations; lithologic information from 7 recently drilled wells; and geophysical logs from 3 well sites. This report describes what was accomplished during phase 2 of the study, provides the data collected, and presents the approaches to strengthen relations between evapotranspiration rates measured at micrometeorological stations and spatially distributed groundwater discharge. This report also presents the approach to improve delineation of areas of groundwater discharge and describes the current methodology used to improve the accuracy of spatially distributed groundwater discharge rates in the Diamond Valley flow system.

Sources of phosphorus to the Carson River upstream from Lahontan Reservoir, Nevada and California, Water Years 2001-02

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alvarez, Nancy L.; Seiler, Ralph L.

2004-01-01

Discharge of treated municipal-sewage effluent to the Carson River in western Nevada and eastern California ceased by 1987 and resulted in a substantial decrease in phosphorus concentrations in the Carson River. Nonetheless, concentrations of total phosphorus and suspended sediment still commonly exceed beneficial-use criteria established for the Carson River by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. Potential sources of phosphorus in the study area include natural inputs from undisturbed soils, erosion of soils and streambanks, construction of low-head dams and their destruction during floods, manure production and grazing by cattle along streambanks, drainage from fields irrigated with streamwater and treated municipal-sewage effluent, ground-water seepage, and urban runoff including inputs from golf courses. In 2000, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Carson Water Subconservancy District, began an investigation with the overall purpose of providing managers and regulators with information necessary to develop and implement total maximum daily loads for the Carson River. Two specific goals of the investigation were (1) to identify those reaches of the Carson River upstream from Lahontan Reservoir where the greatest increases in phosphorus and suspended-sediment concentrations and loading occur, and (2) to identify the most important sources of phosphorus within the reaches of the Carson River where the greatest increases in concentration and loading occur. Total-phosphorus concentrations in surface-water samples collected by USGS in the study area during water years 2001-02 ranged from <0.01 to 1.78 mg/L and dissolved-orthophosphate concentrations ranged from <0.01 to 1.81 mg/L as phosphorus. In streamflow entering Carson Valley from headwater areas in the East Fork Carson River, the majority of samples exceeding the total phosphorus water-quality standard of 0.1 mg/L occur during spring runoff (March, April, and May) when suspended-sediment concentrations are high. Downstream from Carson Valley, almost all samples exceed the water-quality standard, with the greatest concentrations observed during spring and summer months. Estimated annual total-phosphorus loads ranged from 1.33 tons at the West Fork Carson River at Woodfords to 43.41 tons at the Carson River near Carson City during water years 2001-02. Loads are greatest during spring runoff, followed by fall and winter, and least during the summer, which corresponds to the amount of streamflow in the Carson River. The estimated average annual phosphorus load entering Carson Valley was 21.9 tons; whereas, the estimated average annual phosphorus load leaving Carson Valley was 37.8 tons, for an annual gain in load across Carson Valley of 15.9 tons. Thus, about 58 percent of the total-phosphorus load leaving Carson Valley on an annual basis could be attributed to headwater reaches upstream from Carson Valley. During spring and summer (April 1-September 30) an average of 85 percent of the total-phosphorus load leaving Carson Valley could be attributed to headwater reaches. During fall and winter (October 1-March 31) only 17 percent of the phosphorus load leaving Carson Valley could be attributed to headwater reaches. The composition of the phosphorus changes during summer from particulate phosphorus entering Carson Valley to dissolved orthophosphate leaving Carson Valley. Particulate phosphorus entering Carson Valley could be settling out when water is applied to fields and be replaced by dissolved orthophosphate from other sources. Alternatively, the particulate phosphorus could be converted to dissolved orthophosphate as it travels across Carson Valley. Data collected during the study are not sufficient to distinguish between the two possibilities. Eagle Valley and Dayton-Churchill Valleys may act as sinks for phosphorus. On an annual basis, during water years 2001-02, about 90 percent of the phosphorus entering Eagle Valley left the

Source-to-mainstem: hydrochemical changes of the evolving surface drainage in the valley Brøggerdalen, NW Spitsbergen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zwolinski, Zbigniew; Mazurek, Malgorzata; Gudowicz, Joanna; Niedzielski, Przemyslaw

2017-04-01

Present-day paraglacial areas arising in the High Arctic during the Holocene are evidence of large changes in relief and deposits of polar regions. Geosuccession, thus the change of the morphogenetic domain from subglacial to subaerial one implies changes of morphogenetic factors and processes in areas recently exposed to the ice covers. The effect of changes in the morphogenetic domain is the constitution of a new set of landforms. Among the dominant processes that transform contemporary areas freed from the glaciers are slope and fluvial processes expanded in periglacial conditions. During the summer campaign of the project "Late-glacial and present landscape evolution following deglaciation in a climate-sensitive High-Arctic region" we made two field mapping, namely geomorphological and hydrogeochemical in the area left by the retreating glacier Brøgger in the valley Brøggerdalen west of Ny-Ålesund on Brøggerhaløvya (NW Spitsbergen). Intensive glacier recession since the Little Ice Age has created a new set of landforms, for which we examined the chemical properties of sediments and water flowing down the slopes of the valley to the valley floor, i.e. main stem of Brøggerelva. Hydrochemical transformations of fresh waters flowing in paraglacial watercourses on the background of the geochemical properties of the surface sediment covers became the main objective of the study. On the poster we present the results of field studies, the spatial distribution of hydrochemical properties of surface water, alternating directions hydrochemical these waters and pointed out the nature of the water transition from the slope system to a fluvial one. It was found that despite the major relief changes in the valley of the Brøggerbreen contemporary hydrochemical transformations of fresh waters do not stand up now too great diversity.

A Study of the Connection Among Basin-Fill Aquifers, Carbonate-Rock Aquifers, and Surface-Water Resources in Southern Snake Valley, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2008-01-01

The Secretary of the Interior through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act approved funding for research to improve understanding of hydrologic systems that sustain numerous water-dependent ecosystems on Federal lands in Snake Valley, Nevada. Some of the streams and spring-discharge areas in and adjacent to Great Basin National Park have been identified as susceptible to ground-water withdrawals (Elliott and others, 2006) and research has shown a high potential for ground-water flow from southern Spring Valley into southern Snake Valley through carbonate rocks that outcrop along a low topographic divide known as the Limestone Hills (Welch and others, 2007). Comprehensive geologic, hydrologic, and chemical information will be collected and analyzed to assess the hydraulic connection between basin-fill aquifers and surface-water resources, water-dependent ecological features, and the regional carbonate-rock aquifer, the known source of many high-discharge springs. Understanding these connections is important because proposed projects to pump and export ground water from Spring and Snake Valleys in Nevada may result in unintended capture of water currently supplying springs, streams, wetlands, limestone caves, and other biologically sensitive areas (fig. 1). The methods that will be used in this study may be transferable to other areas in the Great Basin. The National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service submitted the proposal for funding this research to facilitate science-based land management. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Resources and Geologic Disciplines, and the University of Nevada, Reno, will accomplish four research elements through comprehensive data collection and analysis that are concentrated in two distinct areas on the eastern and southern flanks of the Snake Range (fig. 2). The projected time line for this research is from July 2008 through September 2011.

Developing a Satellite Based Automatic System for Crop Monitoring: Kenya's Great Rift Valley, A Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucciani, Roberto; Laneve, Giovanni; Jahjah, Munzer; Mito, Collins

2016-08-01

The crop growth stage represents essential information for agricultural areas management. In this study we investigate the feasibility of a tool based on remotely sensed satellite (Landsat 8) imagery, capable of automatically classify crop fields and how much resolution enhancement based on pan-sharpening techniques and phenological information extraction, useful to create decision rules that allow to identify semantic class to assign to an object, can effectively support the classification process. Moreover we investigate the opportunity to extract vegetation health status information from remotely sensed assessment of the equivalent water thickness (EWT). Our case study is the Kenya's Great Rift valley, in this area a ground truth campaign was conducted during August 2015 in order to collect crop fields GPS measurements, leaf area index (LAI) and chlorophyll samples.

Hazard connected to tunnel construction in Mt Stena karstic area (Rosandra Valley, Classical Karst)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cucchi, F.; Boschin, W.; Visintin, L.; Zini, L.

2009-04-01

Rosandra Valley -a unique geomorphological environment- is located in the western side of the Classical Karst plateau. This deep limestone gorge is crossed by a stream that is fed by a large basin located in Slovenia. Rosandra Valley is the only example of Classical Karst river valley with surface hydrography; the torrent digs a deep gully into the rock, rich in rapids, swirl holes, small waterfalls, enclosed meanders and basins; here, the first seepage phenomena occur, and part of the water feeds the underground aquifer. Rosandra Valley is theatre to complex structural situation; the NE slope culminates in the structure of Mt Stena, a limestone tectonic scale located between two faults and firmly rooted in the karst platform. Tectonics is quite important for the development of deep karst in this area; Mt Stena, in particular, hosts a comprehensive net of articulated and diversely shaped caves, basically organised on several levels, which stretches over a total of 9,000 metres, bearing testimony to ancient geological and hydrogeological origins. The deepest areas of the system reach a suspended aquifer that is probably sustained by an overthrust and placed about 100 meters above Rosandra torrent underground aquifer. During feasibility studies about Trieste-Divača high velocity railway link, interaction between project and karst features was examined; in fact the proximity of proposal project and Mt Stena karst system suggest to improve the knowledge related to karst and hydrogeological aspects of the massif. Compatibly with the project requirements, risk of voids intersection and water contamination were analyzed. In fact the Mt Stena suspended aquifer partially feeds Rosandra torrent which flows in a protected natural area. Karst features were represented in a 3D model in order to better understand the spatial relationship between railway project and karst system.

Occurrence of anthropogenic organic compounds in ground water and finished water of community water systems in Eagle and Spanish Springs Valleys, Nevada, 2002-2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rosen, Michael R.; Shaefer, Donald H.; Toccalino, Patricia A.; Delzer, Gregory C.

2006-01-01

As a part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program, an effort to characterize the quality of major rivers and aquifers used as a source of supply to some of the largest community water systems (CWSs) in the United States has been initiated. These studies, termed Source Water-Quality Assessments (SWQAs), consist of two sampling phases. Phase 1 was designed to determine the frequency of detection and concentrations of about 260 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticides and pesticide degradates, and other anthropogenic organic compounds in source water of 15 CWS wells in each study. Phase 2 monitors concentrations in the source water and also the associated finished water of CWSs for compounds most frequently detected during phase 1. One SWQA was completed in the Nevada Basin and Range area in Nevada. Ten CWS wells in Eagle Valley and five CWS wells in Spanish Springs Valley were sampled. For phase 2, two wells were resampled in Eagle Valley. Samples were collected during 2002-2004 for both phases. Water use in Eagle Valley is primarily for domestic purposes and is supplied through CWSs. Ground-water sources provide about 55 percent of the public-water supply, and surface-water sources supply about 45 percent. Lesser amounts of water are provided by domestic wells. Very little water is used for agriculture or manufacturing. Spanish Springs Valley has water-use characteristics similar to those in Eagle Valley, although there is more agricultural water use in Spanish Springs Valley than in Eagle Valley. Maximum contaminant concentrations were compared to two human-health benchmarks, if available, to describe the water-quality data in a human-health context for these findings. Measured concentrations of regulated contaminants were compared to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Nevada Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) values. Measured concentrations of unregulated contaminants were compared to Health-Based Screening Levels, which are not regulatory standards and are not legally enforceable values. All of the contaminants detected in this study were found at concentrations less than available human-health benchmarks. In the source waters sampled in phase 1, 10 contaminants of the approximately 260 measured were detected in samples collected from Eagle Valley, and 4 contaminants were detected in samples from Spanish Springs Valley. The most frequently detected compounds in the Eagle Valley source water were chloroform (a disinfection by-product), which was detected in samples from four wells, and deethylatrazine (a degradation product of the herbicide atrazine), which was detected in samples from three wells. Each of the four contaminants detected in the Spanish Springs Valley source waters was detected in samples from one well. The detection frequencies of VOCs and pesticides in samples from the SWQA wells were similar to those in samples from both shallow and deep monitoring wells in Carson City, Reno, and Spanish Springs. This indicates that the SWQA sampling is representative of the organic chemical compounds likely to be detected in the aquifers sampled. However, more organic compounds were detected at low frequencies and concentrations in samples from the monitoring wells than in samples from SWQA wells. Three contaminants were detected in one finished-water sample collected from Eagle Valley. Comparison of SWQA results in the Nevada Basin and Range Study Unit to results of an SWQA in the larger urban area of Salt Lake City showed that fewer anthropogenic compounds were detected in Eagle and Spanish Springs Valleys and generally at lower concentrations than in the Salt Lake City study.

Pesticides and amphibian population declines in California, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sparling, Donald W.; Fellers, Gary M.; McConnell, Laura L.

2001-01-01

Several species of anuran amphibians have undergone drastic population declines in the western United States over the last 10 to 15 years. In California, the most severe declines are in the Sierra Mountains east of the Central Valley and downwind of the intensely agricultural San Joaquin Valley. In contrast, coastal and more northern populations across from the less agrarian Sacramento Valley are stable or declining less precipitously. In this article, we provide evidence that pesticides are instrumental in declines of these species. Using Hyla regilla as a sentinel species, we found that cholinesterase (ChE) activity in tadpoles was depressed in mountainous areas east of the Central Valley compared with sites along the coast or north of the Valley. Cholinesterase was also lower in areas where ranid population status was poor or moderate compared with areas with good ranid status. Up to 50% of the sampled population in areas with reduced ChE had detectable organophosphorus residues, with concentrations as high as 190 ppb wet weight. In addition, up to 86% of some populations had measurable endosulfan concentrations and 40% had detectable 4,4'- dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, 4,4'-DDT, and 2,4'-DDT residues.

Ground water in selected areas in the Klamath Basin, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leonard, A.R.; Harris, A.B.

1973-01-01

GROUNDWATER FEATURES OF SIX LOWLAND AREAS IN THE KLAMATH BASIN OF OREGON--KLAMATH MARSH AREA, AND SPRAGUE RIVER, SWAN LAKE, YONNA, POE, AND LANGELL VALLEYS--ARE DESCRIBED. RUGGED MOUNTAINS AND RIDGES SURROUND AND SEPARATE THESE LOWLANDS WHERE FLOORS RANGE IN ALTITUDE FROM 4,100 FEET IN POE VALLEY TO 4,600 FEET NORTH OF KLAMATH MARSH. THE SIX AREAS EXTEND OVER A NORTH-SOUTH DISTANCE OF 70 MILES, AN EAST-WEST DISTANCE OF 40 MILES, AND INCLUDE AN AREA OF APPROXIMATELY 600 SQUARE MILES. THE AREA IS SEMIARID AND RECEIVED ABOUT 14 TO 18 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION A YEAR. EXTINCT VOLCANOES AND THEIR EXTRUSIONS CHARACTERIZE THE AREA. MOST WELLS TAP PERMEABLE BASALT OR CINDERY RUBBLE BENEATH THE LACUSTRINE BEDS. THE DEPTHS OF WELLS RANGE FROM LESS THAN 50 TO NEARLY 2,000 FEET--MOST ARE BETWEEN 100 AND 1,000 FEET DEEP. FLOWING WELLS OCCUR IN ALL AREAS EXCEPT SWAN LAKE VALLEY. THE MOST EXTENSIVE AREA OF FLOWING WELLS IS IN THE SPRAGUE RIVER VALLEY, WHERE ABOUT 25 WELLS, SOME FLOWING MORE THAN 2,000 GPM, SUPPLY WATER FOR IRRIGATION. WATER LEVELS IN WELLS FLUCTUATE SEASONALLY FROM 1 TO 4 FEET. GROUNDWATER IN THE BASIN IS OF EXCELLENT QUALITY FOR DRINKING, IRRIGATION, AND MOST INDUSTRIAL USES.

Aquifer-test results, direction of ground-water flow, and 1984-90 annual ground-water pumpage for irrigation, lower Big Lost River Valley, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bassick, M.D.; Jones, M.L.

1992-01-01

The study area (see index map of Idaho), part of the Big Lost River drainage basin, is at the northern side of the eastern Snake River Plain. The lower Big Lost River Valley extends from the confluence of Antelope Creek and the Big Lost River to about 4 mi south of Arco and encompasses about 145 mi2 (see map showing water-level contours). The study area is about 18 mi long and, at its narrowest, 4 mi wide. Arco, Butte City, and Moore, with populations of 1,016, 59, and 190, respectively, in 1990, are the only incorporated towns. The entire study area, except the extreme northwestern part, is in Butte City. The study area boundary is where alluvium and colluvium pinch out and abut against the White Knob Mountains (chiefly undifferentiated sedimentary rock with lesser amounts of volcanic rock) on the west and the Lost River Range (chiefly sedimentary rock) on the east. Gravel and sand in the valley fill compose the main aquifer. The southern boundary is approximately where Big Lost River valley fill intercalates with or abuts against basalt of the Snake River Group. Spring ground-water levels and flow in the Big Lost River depend primarily on temperature and the amount and timing of precipitation within the entire drainage basin. Periods of abundant water supply and water shortages are, therefore, related to the amount of annual precipitation. Surface reservoir capacity in the valley (Mackay Reservoir, about 20 mi northwest of Moore) is only 20 percent of the average annual flow of the Big Lost River (Crosthwaite and others, 1970, p. 3). Stored surface water is generally unavailable for carryover from years of abundant water supply to help relieve drought conditions in subsequent years. Many farmers have drilled irrigation wells to supplement surface-water supplies and to increase irrigated acreage. Average annual flow of the Big Lost River below Mackay Reservoir near Mackay (gaging station 13127000, not shown) in water years 1905, 1913-14, and 1920-90 was about 224,600 acre-ft; average annual flow of the Big Lost River near Arco (gaging station 13132500; see map showing water-level contours) in water years 1947-61, 1967-80, and 1983-90 was about 79,000 acre-ft (Harenberg and others, 1991, p. 254-255). Moore Canal and East Side Ditch divert water from the Big Lost River at the Moore Diversion, 3 mi north of Moore (see map showing water-level contours) and supply water for irrigation near the margins of the valley. When water supply is average or greater, water in the Big Lost River flows through the study area and onto the Snake River Plain, where it evaporates or infiltrates into the Snake River Plain aquifer. When water supply is below average, water in the Big Lost River commonly does not reach Arco; rather, it is diverted for irrigation in the interior of the valley, evaporates, or infiltrates to the valley-fill aquifer. This report describes the results of a study by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Water Resources, to collect hydrologic data needed to help address water-supply problems in the Big Lost River Valley. Work involved (1) field inventory of 81 wells, including 46 irrigation wells; (2) measurement of water levels in 154 wells in March 1991; (3) estimation of annual ground-water pumpage for irrigation from 1984 through 1990; and (4) analysis of results of an aquifer test conducted southwest of Moore. All data obtained during this study may be inspected at the U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho District office, Boise.

78 FR 16792 - Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of California; Imperial Valley...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-19

... (see, e.g., the PM 10 area designations in 40 CFR 81.305 for Coso Junction planning area, Owens Valley..., this action: Is not ``significant regulatory actions'' subject to review by the Office of Management..., 1999); Is not economically significant regulatory actions based on health or safety risks subject to...

75 FR 61174 - Warner Valley Comprehensive Site Plan, Final Environmental Impact Statement, Lassen Volcanic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-04

... Warner Valley fen and wetland areas; (3) Removal or repair of Dream Lake Dam and restoration of... project planning area. This area includes Dream Lake Dam, built in 1932 by Alex Sifford, which impounds an... built the 10 structures which now form the core of Drakesbad Guest Ranch Historic District (both Dream...

Building a Commitment to Partnerships in the Coachella Valley: The Santa Rosa Mountains-A Case Study

Treesearch

Russell L. Kaldenberg

1992-01-01

The Coachella Valley is situated in eastern Riverside County, California, approximately 100 miles east of Los Angeles. During the 1980s it was one of the fastest growing areas in the nation with an annual growth rate of 8.3 percent. As open space diminished, many governing jurisdictions, and environmental and educational organizations began looking for a commitment to...

Along-axis variations in the MARK area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karson, J. A.

During May and June 1986, scientists aboard the R/V Atlantis 11 carried out an investigation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) axis just south of the Kane Fracture Zone at 24°N (MARK Area). This was the first nearbottom study of the MAR median valley outside of a transform fault intersection since the French-American Mid-Ocean Undersea Study (FAMOUS) and AMAR investigations of the 1970s. At the MARK Area, manned submersible dives with the DSRV ALVIN, deep-towed Angus camera runs, dredges, hydrocasts, and Sea Beam surveys were concentrated in four east-west transects across the rift valley at distances of 25, 40, 60, and 75 km south of the Kane ridge-transform intersection. The goal of the study was to determine along-axis variations in style of seafloor spreading, and the results document that radical variations do indeed exist over lateral distances of less than 20 km. The northernmost transect (23°22‧N) is only 25 km south of the Kane Transform and has an asymmetric form, with the west wall of the median valley being steeper and higher than the east wall. The axial region of the valley is dominated by a narrow, 600-m-high volcanic constructional ridge that extends north all the way to the transform. This ridge marks the neovolcanic zone and is the site of active black smoker hydrothermal vents and associated mineral deposits and biological communities. The vents are very similar to those of the East Pacific Rise and indicate the presence of a magma chamber at less than 2 km depth. Just 15 km to the south (23°15‧N), there is no well-defined median valley at all. At this point the spreading center has no recognizable neovolcanic zone, but the seafloor is pervasively fissured and faulted over a width of at least 15 km. Asymmetric fault blocks up to 400 m high occur near the axial trace of the rift. In both of these two transects, serpentinized peridotites were found to crop out extensively on the west median valley wall.

Bibliography of literature pertaining to Long Valley Caldera and associated volcanic fields

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ewert, John W.; Harpel, Christopher J.; Brooks, Suzanna K.; Marcaida, Mae

2011-01-01

On May 25-27, 1980, Long Valley caldera was rocked by four M=6 earthquakes that heralded the onset of a wave of seismic activity within the caldera which has continued through the present. Unrest has taken the form of seismic swarms, uplift of the resurgent dome, and areas of vegetation killed by increased CO2 emissions, all interpreted as resulting from magma injection into different levels beneath the caldera, as well as beneath Mammoth Mountain along the southwest rim of the caldera. Continuing economic development in the Mammoth Lakes area has swelled the local population, increasing the risk to people and property if an eruption were to occur. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been monitoring geophysical activity in the Long Valley area since the mid-1970s and continues to track the unrest in real time with a sophisticated network of geophysical sensors. Hazards information obtained by this monitoring is provided to local, State, and Federal officials and to the public through the Long Valley Observatory. The Long Valley area also was scientifically important before the onset of current unrest. Lying at the eastern foot of the Sierra Nevada, the deposits from this active volcanic system have provided fertile ground for research into Neogene tectonics, Quaternary geology and geomorphology, regional stratigraphy, and volcanology. In the early 1970s, intensive studies of the area began through the USGS Geothermal Investigations Program, owing to the presence of a large young silicic volcanic system. The paroxysmal eruption of Long Valley caldera about 760,000 years ago produced the Bishop Tuff and associated Bishop ash. The Bishop Tuff is a well-preserved ignimbrite deposit that has continued to provide new and developing insights into the dynamics of ignimbrite-forming eruptions. Another extremely important aspect of the Bishop Tuff is that it is the oldest known normally magnetized unit of the Brunhes Chron. Thus, the age of the Bishop Tuff is used to define the beginning of the Brunhes Chron and helps constrain the Brunhes-Matuyama boundary. The Bishop ash, which was dispersed as far east as Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas, provides an important tephrostratigraphic marker throughout the Western United States. The obsidian domes of both the Mono and Inyo Craters, which were produced by rhyolitic eruptions in the past 40,000 years, have been well studied, including extensive scientific drilling through the domes. Exploratory drilling to 3-km depth on the resurgent dome and subsequent instrumentation of the Long Valley Exploratory Well (LVEW) have led to a number of important new insights. Scientific drilling also has been done within the Casa Diablo geothermal field, which, aside from drilling, has been commercially developed and is currently feeding 40 MW of power into the Southern California Edison grid. Studies in all the above-mentioned volcanic fields have contributed to the extensive scientific literature published on the Long Valley region. Although most of this scientific literature has been published since 1970, a significant amount of historical literature extends backward to the late 1800s. The purpose of this bibliography is to compile references pertaining to the Long Valley region from all time periods and all Earth science fields into a single listing, thus providing an easily accessible guide to the published literature for current and future researchers.

Groundwater quality in the Bear Valley and Lake Arrowhead Watershed, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mathany, Timothy; Burton, Carmen; Fram, Miranda S.

2017-06-20

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. The Bear Valley and Lake Arrowhead Watershed study areas in southern California compose one of the study units being evaluated.

Application LANDSAT imagery to geologic mapping in the ice-free valleys of Antarctica

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Houston, R. S. (Principal Investigator); Marrs, R. W.; Smithson, S. B.

1976-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Studies in the Ice-Free Valleys are resulted in the compilation of a sizeable library of maps and publications. Rock reflectance measurements were taken during the Antarctic summer of 1973. Spectral reflectance of rocks (mostly mafic lava flows) in the McMurdo and Ice-Free Valleys areas were measured using a filter wheel photometer equipped to measure reflectances in the four Landsat bands. A series of samples were collected at regular intervals across a large differentiated, mafic sill near Lake Vida. Chemical analyses of the sample suggest that the tonal variations in this sill are controlled by changes in the iron content of the rock. False color images were prepared for a number of areas by the diazo method and with an optical multispectral biviewer. These images were useful in defining boundaries of sea ice, snow cover, and in the study of ablating glaciers, but were not very useful for rock discrimination.

Evolution of collapse valleys in karst - examples from the Carpatho-Balkanides of Serbia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrović, Aleksandar S.; Ćalić, Jelena; Spalević, Aleksandra; Pantić, Marko

2016-04-01

Development of valleys in karst is an issue which has not been sufficiently studied in karst surface morphology. THESE valleys are long linear forms whose orthogonal projections resemble normal valleys, but most of their characteristics are strongly influenced by karst process. In largest number of relevant references, this subject is either only briefly mentioned or completely lacking. This paper presents the examples of a particular type of valley in karst formed by cave ceiling collapse close to the topographical surface. Karst of the Carpatho-Balkanides in eastern Serbia is characterized by uneven spatial distribution in several large massifs, but also in a large number of relatively small outcrops (patches and belts), which enable the development of contact karst and fluviokarst. Many morphological elements are of fluvial origin, subsequently modified by karst process. Collapse valleys occur mostly at the downstream contacts (where a seasonal watercourse leaves limestones) or in karst/limestone belts. In the first phase, which is visible on the example of the Radovanska Reka, the river course sinks to the swallets in the riverbed and forms a blind valley. After sinking, the water flows through the tunnel cave, while largest part of the valley remains above the cave. The bottom of the dry valley is dissected by deep dolines, reaching almost to the cave roof. In this part of the study, the area was scanned by a multistation Leica Nova MS 50 (resolution 20 cm @ 10 m). In the second phase, the doline bottoms reach the cave ceilings which develop holes at certain points, as it is case at the Zamna River valley. These hollows tend to enlarge with time, and the surface of the cave ceiling is reduced. The third, final phase is characterised by collapse of larger segments of cave ceilings. Only the natural bridges remain, as the remnants of former caves (e.g. in the Vratna River valley, Ravna Reka valley). These parts of valleys in karst are usually narrow, steep-sided, resembling classical gorges. A closer look to the morphogenesis of this type of valleys is discussed. Key words: valley in karst, collapse valley, karst surface relief, Carpatho-Balkanides.

Recharge of valley-fill aquifers in the glaciated northeast from upland runoff

USGS Publications Warehouse

Williams, J.H.; Morrissey, D.J.

1996-01-01

Channeled and unchanneled runoff from till-covered bedrock uplands is a major source of recharge to valley-fill aquifers in the glaciated northeastern United States. Streamflow measurements and model simulation of average steady-state conditions indicate that upland runoff accounted for more recharge to two valley-fill aquifers in moderately high topographic-relief settings than did direct infiltration of precipitation. Recharge from upland runoff to a modeled valley-fill aquifer in an area of lower relief was significant but less than that from direct infiltration of precipitation. The amount of upland runoff available for recharging valley-fill aquifers in the glaciated Northeast ranges from about 1.5 to 2.5 cubic feet per second per square mile of drainage area that borders the aquifer. Stream losses from tributaries that drain the uplands commonly range from 0.3 to 1.5 cubic feet per second per 1,000 feet of wetted channel where the tributaries cross alluvial fans in the main valleys. Recharge of valley-fill aquifers from channeled runoff was estimated from measured losses and average runoff rates and was represented in aquifer models as specified fluxes or simulated by head-dependent fluxes with streamflow routing in the model cells that represent the tributary streams. Unchanneled upland runoff, which includes overland and subsurface flow, recharges the valley-fill aquifers at the contact between the aquifer and uplands near the base of the bordering till-covered hillslopes. Recharge from unchanneled runoff was estimated from average runoff rates and the hillslope area that borders the aquifer and was represented as specified fluxes to model-boundary cells along the valley walls.

Groundwater quality in the shallow aquifers of the Tulare, Kaweah, and Tule Groundwater Basins and adjacent highlands areas, Southern San Joaquin Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fram, Miranda S.

2017-01-18

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. The shallow aquifers of the Tulare, Kaweah, and Tule groundwater basins and adjacent highlands areas of the southern San Joaquin Valley constitute one of the study units being evaluated.

Deployment Area Selection and Land Withdrawal/Acquisition. Chapter 3. M-X/MPS (M-X/Multiple Protective Shelter). Volume 2. Affected Environment.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-10-02

hydrologic cycle 3-16 3.2.2.1-2 Generalized valley cross section showing basin and range geology 3-19 3.2.2.1-3 Regional groundwater flow in the Great Basin ...vicinity of the Texas/New Mexico study area 3-280 Ix ••,. -%- .7 . ... -., *No. Page 3.3.2.1-3 Major drainage basins and stream gauging stations 3...water-bearing characteristics of hydrogeologic units in the Great Basin 3-20 *3.2.2.1-3 Water availability for Nevada/Utah M-X-affected * valleys 3-29

Research in seismology and earthquake engineering in Venezuela

USGS Publications Warehouse

Urbina, L.; Grases, J.

1983-01-01

After the July 29, 1967, damaging earthquake (with a moderate magnitude of 6.3) caused widespread damage to the northern coastal area of Venezuela and to the Caracas Valley, the Venezuelan Government decided to establish a Presidential Earthquake Commission. This commission undertook the task of coordinating the efforts to study the after-effects of the earthquake. The July 1967 earthquake claimed numerous lives and caused extensive damage to the capital of Venezuela. In 1968, the U.S Geological Survey conducted a seismological field study in the northern coastal area and in the Caracas Valley of Venezuela. the objective was to study the area that sustained severe, moderate, and no damage to structures. A reported entitled Ground Amplification Studies in Earthquake Damage Areas: The Caracas Earthquake of 1967 documented, for the first time, short-period seismic wave ground-motion amplifications in the Caracas Valley. Figure 1 shows the area of severe damage in the Los Palos Grantes suburb and the correlation with depth of alluvium and the arabic numbers denote the ground amplification factor at each site in the area. the Venezuelan Government initiated many programs to study in detail the damage sustained and to investigate the ongoing construction practices. These actions motivated professionals in the academic, private, and Government sectors to develops further capabilities and self-sufficiency in the fields of engineering and seismology. Allocation of funds was made to assist in training professionals and technicians and in developing new seismological stations and new programs at the national level in earthquake engineering and seismology. A brief description of the ongoing programs in Venezuela is listed below. these programs are being performed by FUNVISIS and by other national organizations listed at the end of this article.   

Syn- and post-sedimentary controls on clay mineral assemblages in a tectonically active basin, Andean Argentinean foreland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Do Campo, Margarita; Nieto, Fernando; del Papa, Cecilia; Hongn, Fernando

2014-07-01

In the northern part of the Calchaquí Valley (NW Argentina), Palaeogene Andean foreland sediments are represented by a 1400-metre-thick continental succession (QLC: Quebrada de Los Colorados Formation) consisting of claystones, siltstones, sandstones, and conglomerates representing sedimentation in fluvial-alluvial plains and alluvial fan settings. To understand the main syn- and postsedimentary variables controlling the clay mineral assemblages of this succession, we have studied the fine-grained clastic sediments by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy, along with a detailed sedimentary facies analysis, for two representative sections. In the northern section, the whole succession was sampled and analysed by XRD, whereas in the second section, a control point 15 km to the south, only the basal levels were analysed. The XRD study revealed a strong contrast in clay mineral assemblages between these two sections as well as with sections in the central Calchaquí Valley studied previously. In the northernmost part of the study area, a complete evolution from smectite at the top to R3 illite/smectite mixed-layers plus authigenic kaolinite at the bottom, through R1-type mixed-layers in between, has been recognized, indicating the attainment of late diagenesis. In contrast, the clay mineral assemblages of equivalent foreland sediments cropping out only 15 km to the south contain abundant smectite and micas, subordinate kaolinite and chlorite, and no I/S mixed-layers to the bottom of the sequence. Early diagenetic conditions were also inferred in a previous study for equivalent sediments of the QLC Formation cropping out to the south, in the central Calchaquí Valley, as smectite occurs in basal strata. Burial depths of approximately 3000 m were estimated for the QLC Formation in the central and northern Calchaquí Valley; in addition, an intermediate to slightly low geothermal gradient can be considered likely for both areas as foreland basins are regarded as hypothermal basins. Consequently, the attainment of late diagenesis in the northernmost study area cannot be explained by significant differences in burial depth nor in geothermal gradient in relation to the section 15 km to the south nor with the central Calchaquí Valley. The formation of R3 mixed-layer I/S and authigenic kaolinite in the northern study area was most likely controlled by the circulation of hot, deep fluids along the reverse faults that bounded the Calchaquí valley. These faults were active during the Cenozoic, as evidenced by the syndepositional deformation features preserved in the studied sediments. Stress could also have been a driving force in burial diagenesis at the R3 mixed-layer I/S stage in these young continental sediments.

Late Pleistocene Hansel Valley basaltic ash, northern Lake Bonneville, Utah, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, D.M.; Oviatt, Charles G.; Nash, B.P.

2008-01-01

The Hansel Valley ash bed lies within 5 cm of the base of deposits of Lake Bonneville (???28 ka) in the vicinity of Great Salt Lake and provides a useful stratigraphic marker for this area of the lake basin. However, it has not been matched to an eruptive edifice, presumably because such an edifice was eroded by waves of Lake Bonneville. We present data for the chemical composition of the tephra and for possible matching lavas and tephras of the region, as well as grain size data for the tephra in an attempt to identify the location of the eruption. Matches with other tephras are negative, but lavas near the coarsest ash deposits match well with the distinctive high values of TiO2 and P2O5 of the ash. Neither chemistry nor grain size data points uniquely to a source area, but an area near the northwest shore of Great Salt Lake and within Curlew Valley is most likely. The Hansel Valley ash is an example of an ash that has no direct numerical date from proximal deposits, despite considerable study, yet nonetheless is useful for stratigraphic studies by virtue of its known stratigraphic position and approximate age. Basaltic tephras commonly are not as widespread as their rhyolitic counterparts, and in some cases apparently are produced by eruptive sources that are short lived and whose edifices are not persistent. ?? 2007 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA.

Plant diversity and conservation status of Himalayan Region Poonch Valley Azad Kashmir (Pakistan).

PubMed

Khan, Muhammad Azam; Khan, Mir Ajab; Hussain, Mazhar; Mujtaba, Ghulam

2014-09-01

The plant diversity of Himalayan region has been reduced to greater extent due to environmental degradation and human exploitation. Anthropogenic disturbance was the major factor responsible for fragmentation of forest vegetation into small patches. Little research has been conducted in the Himalayan region of Poonch Valley of North eastern Pakistan with reference to plants biodiversity and its conservation. The present research was carried out to provide a checklist of vegetation for biodiversity conservation. A total of 430 vascular and 5 nonvascular plant species with 5 species of Bryophytes (5 families), 13 species of Pteridophytes (6 families), 4 species of Gymnosperms (1 family) and 413 species of angiosperms (95 families) were enumerated from the Poonch valley Azad Kashmir. The genera were classified into three categories according to the number of species. 25 plant communities with phytosociological parameters and diversity indices were reported. Present study revealed that there were 145 threatened, 30 endangered, 68 vulnerable and 47 rare species. It is recorded that extensive grazing, uprooting of plants and soil slope erosion intensify the environmental problems. Since there is maximum exploitation of vegetation, the valley showed a decline in plant diversity. The study was also indicated that the main threats to the biodiversity are expansion of settlement and army installations in the forest area of the valley. For sustainable use In-situ and Ex-situ conservation, controlled harvesting and afforestation may be the solution. Moreover, forest area should be declared prohibited for settlements and army installations.

Geologic Map of the House Rock Valley Area, Coconino County, Northern Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Billingsley, George H.; Priest, Susan S.

2010-01-01

This geologic map is a cooperative effort of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Forest Service to provide a geologic database for resource management officials and visitor information services. This map was produced in response to information needs related to a proposed withdrawal of three segregated land areas near Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, from new hard rock mining activity. House Rock Valley was designated as the east parcel of the segregated lands near the Grand Canyon. This map was needed to provide connectivity for the geologic framework of the Grand Canyon segregated land areas. This geologic map of the House Rock Valley area encompasses approximately 280 mi2 (85.4 km2) within Coconino County, northern Arizona, and is bounded by longitude 111 degrees 37'30' to 112 degrees 05' W. and latitude 36 degrees 30' to 36 degrees 50' N. The map area is in the eastern part of the Arizona Strip, which lies within the southern Colorado Plateaus geologic province (herein Colorado Plateau). The Arizona Strip is the part of Arizona lying north of the Colorado River. The map is bound on the east by the Colorado River in Marble Canyon within Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, on the south and west by the Kaibab National Forest and Grand Canyon National Game Preserve, and on the north by the Vermilion Cliffs Natural Area, the Paria Canyon Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area, and the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. House Rock State Buffalo Ranch also bounds the southern edge of the map area. The Bureau of Land Management Arizona Field Office in St. George, Utah, manages public lands of the Vermilion Cliffs Natural Area, Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. The North Kaibab Ranger District in Fredonia, Arizona, manages U.S. Forest Service land along the west edge of the map area and House Rock State Buffalo Ranch. Other lands include about 13 sections of Arizona State land, about ? of a section of private land along House Rock Wash, and about 1? sections of private land at Cliff Dwellers Lodge, Vermilion Cliffs Lodge, and Marble Canyon, Arizona. Landmark features within the map area include the Vermilion Cliffs, Paria Plateau, Marble Canyon, and House Rock Valley. Surface drainage in House Rock Valley is to the east toward the Colorado River in Marble Canyon. Large tributaries of Marble Canyon from north to south include Badger Canyon, Soap Creek, Rider Canyon, North Canyon, Bedrock Canyon, and South Canyon. Elevations range from about 2,875 ft (876 m) at the Colorado River in the southeast corner of the map to approximately 7,355 ft (2,224 m) on the east rim of Paria Plateau along the north-central edge of the map area. Three small settlements are in the map area along U.S. Highway 89A, Cliff Dwellers Lodge, Vermilion Cliffs Lodge, and Marble Canyon, Arizona. The community of Jacob Lake is about 9 mi (14.5 km) west of House Rock Valley on the Kaibab Plateau. Lees Ferry is 5 mi (8 km) north of Marble Canyon and marks the confluence of the Paria and Colorado Rivers and the beginning of Marble Canyon. U.S. Highway 89A provides access to the northern part of the map area. Dirt roads lead south into House Rock Valley from U.S. Highway 89A and are collectively maintained by the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. National Forest Service, and the Grand Canyon Trust. House Rock Valley is one of the few remaining areas where uniform geologic mapping is needed for connectivity to the regional Grand Canyon geologic framework. This information is useful to Federal and State resource managers who direct environmental and land management programs that encompass such issues as range management, biological studies, flood control, water, and mineral-resource investigations. The geologic information will support future and ongoing geologic investigations and scientific studies

Environment and forest regeneration in the Illinois Valley area of southwestern Oregon.

Treesearch

Don Minore; Joseph N. Graham; Edward W. Murray

1984-01-01

Multiple regression analyses were used to relate environmental factors to forest regeneration on clearcut and partial cut areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management in the Illinois Valley area southwest of Grants Pass, Oregon. Difficulty of regenerating clearcuttings at elevations between 3,000 and 4,900 feet (914 and 1 494 m) increased with increases in soil...

Detailed study of selenium and other constituents in water, bottom sediment, soil, alfalfa, and biota associated with irrigation drainage in the Uncompahgre Project area and in the Grand Valley, west-central Colorado, 1991-93

USGS Publications Warehouse

Butler, D.L.; Wright, W.G.; Stewart, K.C.; Osmundson, B.C.; Krueger, R.P.; Crabtree, D.W.

1996-01-01

In 1985, the U.S. Department of the Interior began a program to study the effects of irrigation drainage in the Western United States. These studies were done to determine whether irrigation drainage was causing problems related to human health, water quality, and fish and wildlife resources. Results of a study in 1991-93 of irrigation drainage associated with the Uncompahgre Project area, located in the lower Gunnison River Basin, and of the Grand Valley, located along the Colorado River, are described in this report. The focus of the report is on the sources, distribution, movement, and fate of selenium in the hydrologic and biological systems and the effects on biota. Generally, other trace- constituent concentrations in water and biota were not elevated or were not at levels of concern. Soils in the Uncompahgre Project area that primarily were derived from Mancos Shale contained the highest concentrations of total and watrer-extractable selenium. Only 5 of 128\\x11alfalfa samples had selenium concentrations that exceeded a recommended dietary limit for livestock. Selenium data for soil and alfalfa indicate that irrigation might be mobilizing and redistributing selenium in the Uncompahgre Project area. Distribution of dissolved selenium in ground water is affected by the aqueous geochemical environment of the shallow ground- water system. Selenium concentrations were as high as 1,300\\x11micrograms per liter in water from shallow wells. The highest concentrations of dissolved selenium were in water from wells completed in alluvium overlying the Mancos Shale of Cretaceous age; selenium concentrations were lower in water from wells completed in Mancos Shale residuum. Selenium in the study area could be mobilized by oxidation of reduced selenium, desorption from aquifer sediments, ion exchange, and dissolution. Infiltration of irrigation water and, perhaps nitrate, provide oxidizing conditions for mobilization of selenium from alluvium and shale residuum and for transport to streams and irrigation drains that are tributary to the Gunnison, Uncompahgre, and Colorado Rivers. Selenium concentrations in about 64\\x11percent of water samples collected from the lower Gunnison River and about 50 percent of samples from the Colorado River near the Colorado-Utah State line exceeded the U.S.\\x11Environmental Protection Agency criterion of 5\\x11micrograms per liter for protection of aquatic life. Almost all selenium concentrations in samples collected during the nonirrigation season from Mancos Shale areas exceeded the aquatic-life criterion. The maximum selenium concentrations in surface-water samples were 600\\x11micrograms per liter in the Uncompahgre Project area and 380\\x11micrograms per liter in the Grand Valley. Irrigation drainage from the Uncompahgre Project and the Grand Valley might account for as much as 75 percent of the selenium load in the Colorado River near the Colorado-Utah State line. The primary source areas of selenium were the eastern side of the Uncompahgre Project and the western one-half of the Grand Valley, where there is extensive irrigation on soils derived from Mancos Shale. The largest mean selenium loads from tributary drainages were 14.0 pounds per day from Loutsenhizer Arroyo in the Uncompahgre Project and 12.8 pounds per day from Reed Wash in the Grand Valley. Positive correlations between selenium loads and dissolved-solids loads could indicate that salinity-control projects designed to decrease dissolved-solids loads also could decrease selenium loads from the irrigated areas. Selenium concentrations in irrigation drainage in the Grand Valley were much higher than concentrations predicted by simple evaporative concentration of irrigation source water. Selenium probably is removed from pond water by chemical and biological processes and incorporated into bottom sediment. The maximum selenium concentration in bottom sediment was 47 micrograms per gram from a pond on the eastern side of the

Hydrogeology of Valley-Fill Aquifers and Adjacent Areas in Eastern Chemung County, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heisig, Paul M.

2015-10-19

Water-resource potential is greatest within saturated sand and gravel in the Chemung River valley (nearly 1 mile wide), especially where induced infiltration of additional water from the Chemung River is possible. The second most favorable area is the Newtown Creek valley at the confluence of Newtown Creek with North Branch Newtown Creek east of Horseheads, N.Y. Extensive sand and gravel deposits within the Breesport, N.Y., area are largely unsaturated but may have greater saturation along the east side of Jackson Creek immediately north of Breesport. Till deposits confine sand and gravel along Newtown Creek at Erin, N.Y., and along much of the upper reach of North Branch Newtown Creek; this confining unit may limit recharge and potential well yield. The north-south oriented valleys of Baldwin and Wynkoop Creeks end at notched divides that imply input of glacial meltwater and limited sediment from outside of the present watersheds. These two valleys are relatively narrow but contain variably sorted sand and gravel, which, in places, may be capable of supplying modest-size community water systems.

Investigating the Maya Polity at Lower Barton Creek Cayo, Belize

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kollias, George Van, III

The objectives of this research are to determine the importance of Lower Barton Creek in both time and space, with relation to other settlements along the Belize River Valley. Material evidence recovered from field excavations and spatial information developed from Lidar data were employed in determining the socio-political nature and importance of this settlement, so as to orient its existence within the context of ancient socio-political dynamics in the Belize River Valley. Before the investigations detailed in this thesis no archaeological research had been conducted in the area, the site of Lower Barton Creek itself was only recently identified via the 2013 West-Central Belize LiDAR Survey (WCBLS 2013). Previously, the southern extent of the Barton Creek area represented a major break in our knowledge not only of the Barton Creek area, but the southern extent of the Belize River Valley. Conducting research at Lower Barton Creek has led to the determination of the polity's temporal existence and allowed for a greater and more complex understanding of the Belize River Valley's interaction with regions abutting the Belize River Valley proper.

A subsynoptic-scale kinetic energy study of the Red River Valley tornado outbreak (AVE-SESAME 1)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jedlovec, G. J.; Fuelberg, H. E.

1981-01-01

The subsynoptis-scale kinetic energy balance during the Red River Valley tornado outbreak is presented in order to diagnose storm environment interactions. Area-time averaged energetics indicate that horizontal flux convergence provides the major energy source to the region, while cross contour flow provides the greatest sink. Maximum energy variability is found in the upper levels in association with jet stream activity. Area averaged energetics at individual observation times show that the energy balance near times of maximum storm activity differs considerably from that of the remaining periods. The local kinetic energy balance over Oklahoma during the formation of a limited jet streak receives special attention. Cross contour production of energy is the dominant local source for jet development. Intense convection producing the Red River Valley tornadoes may have contributed to this local development by modifying the surrounding environment.

Hydrology of the San Luis Valley, south-central Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Emery, P.A.; Boettcher, A.J.; Snipes, R.J.; Mcintyre, H.J.

1969-01-01

An investigation of the water resources of the Colorado part of the San Luis Valley was begun in 1966 by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Colorado Water Conservation Board. (See index map, fig. 1). The purpose of the investigation is to provide information for planning and implementing improved water-development and management practices. The major water problems in the San Luis Valley include (1) waterlogging, (2) waste of water by nonbeneficial evapotranspiration, (3) deterioration of ground-water chemical quality, and (4) failure of Colorado to deliver water to New Mexico and Texas in accordance with the Rio Grande Compact. This report describes the hydrologic environment, extent of water-resource development, and some of the problems related to that development. Information presented is based on data collected from 1966 to 1968 and on previous studies. Subsequent reports are planned as the investigation progresses. The San Luis Valley extends about 100 miles from Poncha Pass near the northeast corner of Saguache County, Colo., to a point about 16 miles south of the Colorado-New Mexico State line. The total area is 3,125 square miles, of which about 3,000 are in Colorado. The valley is nearly flat except for the San Luis Hills and a few other small areas. The Colorado part of the San Luis Valley, which is described in this report, has an average altitude of about 7,700 feet. Bounding the valley on the west are the San Juan Mountains and on the east the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Most of the valley floor is bordered by alluvial fans deposited by streams originating in the mountains, the most extensive being the Rio Grande fan (see block diagram, fig. 2 in pocket). Most of the streamflow is derived from snowmelt from 4,700 square miles of watershed in the surrounding mountains. The northern half of the San Luis Valley is internally drained and is referred to as the closed basin. The lowest part of this area is known locally as the "sump." The remainder of the valley is drained by the Rio Grande and its tributaries. The climate of the San Luis Valley is arid, and a successful agricultural economy would not be possible without irrigation. It is characterized by cold winters, moderate summers, and much sunshine. The average annual precipitation on the valley floor ranges from 7 to 10 inches. More than half the precipitation occurs from July to September. Moisture deficiency in the valley is shown by the graph comparing pan evaporation and precipitation {fig. 3}. For the years 1961-67 average pan evaporation for the period April through September was 52.25 inches, but average precipitation for the period was only 5.02 inches. Average annual precipitation was 7.8 inches. Owing to the short growing season (90-120 days), crops a.re restricted mainly to barley, oats, potatoes, and other vegetables.

Assessment of surface water quality of inland valleys for cropping in SW Nigeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aboyeji, O. S.; Ogunkoya, O. O.

2017-05-01

Inland valley agro-ecosystems which are a category of wetlands have potential for sustainable crop production relative to uplands. A major challenge to their utilisation in the study area is their heterogeneity in hydrology, morphology, soil types and agro-economy. The study assessed the surface water quality of three typologies of the agro-ecosystems—amphitheatre-like valley-heads (Am), valley-side (VS), and low depression (LD)—for cropping. Surface water of six sites were sampled during the wet and dry seasons. The physicochemical properties and metal concentrations of the samples were analysed. Descriptive statistics and water quality indices were used to assess the suitability of the waters of the agro-ecosystems for cropping. Results showed that the valleys have neutral to slightly alkaline waters. Values of physicochemical parameters are generally within the acceptable range for cropping. The concentration of major cations varied across the inland valley types, but exhibited similar characteristics within each valley. The dominance of the major cations is in the order of Na > Ca > K > Mg. ANOVA results indicated that there is no significant difference in the concentration of heavy metals across the valleys ( F = 2.044, p = 0.138, α = 0.05). Generally, most of the physicochemical parameters and trace metals have low concentrations and are non-toxic to plants. Values of water quality indices (sodium adsorption ratio, soluble sodium percentage, total dissolved solids and permeability index) indicated that the concentrations of minerals in waters across the valley typologies are generally within permissible limits for cropping.

Application of shuttle imaging radar to geologic mapping

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Labotka, T. C.

1986-01-01

Images from the Shuttle Imaging Radar - B (SIR-B) experiment covering the area of the Panamint Mountains, Death Valley, California, were examined in the field and in the laboratory to determine their usefulness as aids for geologic mapping. The covered area includes the region around Wildrose Canyon where rocks ranging in age from Precambrian to Cenozoic form a moderately rugged portion of the Panamint Mountains, including sharp ridges, broad alluviated upland valleys, and fault-bounded grabens. The results of the study indicate that the available SIR-B images of this area primarily illustrate variations in topography, except in the broadly alluviated areas of Panamint Valley and Death Valley where deposits of differing reflectivity can be recognized. Within the mountainous portion of the region, three textures can be discerned, each representing a different mode of topographic expression related to the erosion characteristics of the underlying bedrock. Regions of Precambrian bedrock have smooth slopes and sharp ridges with a low density of gullies. Tertiary monolithologic breccias have smooth, steep slopes with an intermediate density of gullies with rounded ridges. Tertiary fanglomerates have steep rugged slopes with numerous steep-sided gullies and knife-sharp ridges. The three topographic types reflect the consistancy and relative susceptibility to erosion of the bedrock; the three types can readily be recognized on topographic maps. At present, it has not been possible to distinguish on the SIR-B image of the mountainous terrain the type of bedrock, independent of the topographic expression.

Effects of Groundwater Development on Uranium: Central Valley, California, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jurgens, Bryant C.; Fram, Miranda S.; Belitz, Kenneth; Burow, Karen R.; Landon, Matthew K.

2009-01-01

Uranium (U) concentrations in groundwater in several parts of the eastern San Joaquin Valley, California, have exceeded federal and state drinking water standards during the last 20 years. The San Joaquin Valley is located within the Central Valley of California and is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. Increased irrigation and pumping associated with agricultural and urban development during the last 100 years have changed the chemistry and magnitude of groundwater recharge, and increased the rate of downward groundwater movement. Strong correlations between U and bicarbonate suggest that U is leached from shallow sediments by high bicarbonate water, consistent with findings of previous work in Modesto, California. Summer irrigation of crops in agricultural areas and, to lesser extent, of landscape plants and grasses in urban areas, has increased Pco2 concentrations in the soil zone and caused higher temperature and salinity of groundwater recharge. Coupled with groundwater pumping, this process, as evidenced by increasing bicarbonate concentrations in groundwater over the last 100 years, has caused shallow, young groundwater with high U concentrations to migrate to deeper parts of the groundwater system that are tapped by public-supply wells. Continued downward migration of U-affected groundwater and expansion of urban centers into agricultural areas will likely be associated with increased U concentrations in public-supply wells. The results from this study illustrate the potential longterm effects of groundwater development and irrigation-supported agriculture on water quality in arid and semiarid regions around the world.

Potential development and recharge of ground water in Mill Creek Valley, Butler and Hamilton Counties, Ohio, based on analog model analysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fidler, Richard E.

1971-01-01

Mill Creek valley is part of the greater Cincinnati industrial area in southwestern Ohio. In 1964, nearly 30 percent of the water supply in the study area of about 27 square miles was obtained from wells in the glacial-outwash aquifer underlying the valley. Ground-water demand has increased steadily since the late 1800's, and excessive pumpage during the years of World War II caused water levels to decline to critical levels. Natural recharge to the aquifer, from precipitation, is about 8.5 mgd (million gallons per day). In 1964, the total water use was about 30 mgd, of which 8.1 mgd was obtained from wells in Mill Creek valley, and the remainder was imported from outside the basin. With rapid industrial expansion and population growth, demand for ground water is continuing to increase. By the year 2000 ground-water pumpage is expected to exceed 25 mgd. At a public hearing before the Ohio Water Commission in 1961, artificial recharge of the aquifer through injection wells was proposed as a possible solution to the Mill Creek valley water-supply problem. The present study attempts to determine the feasibility of injection-well recharge systems in the Mill Creek valley. Although basically simple, the hydrologic system in Mill Creek valley is complex in detail and is difficult to evaluate using conventional quantitative methods. Because of this complexity, an electric analog model was used to test specific development plans. Three hypothetical pumping plans were developed by projecting past pumpage data to the years 1980 and 2000. Various combinations of injection wells were tested on the model under different hypothetical conditions of pumpage. Based on analog model analysis, from three to eight inject-ion wells, with an approximate input of 2 mgd each, would reverse the trend in declining groundwater levels and provide adequate water to meet anticipated future demands.

Terrain changes, caused by the 15-17 June 2013 heavy rainfall in the Garhwal Himalaya, India: A case study of Alaknanda and Mandakini basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehta, Manish; Shukla, Tanuj; Bhambri, Rakesh; Gupta, Anil K.; Dobhal, D. P.

2017-05-01

Exceptional early high monsoon rains between 15 and 17 June 2013 combined with discharge from snowmelt water caused widespread floods in every major river of the Garhwal Himalaya. This catastrophic event triggered widespread landslides and devastation in the region, affecting the movement of the people that led to stranding of pilgrims in various pilgrimage routes. This event caused many casualties and irreparable damage to the infrastructures and property in the Garhwal Himalaya. A large volume of debris was deposited in Kedarnath town (3.9 × 106 m3), and a huge amount of debris was removed from Rambara and surrounding areas (2.6 × 108 m3). The study also found that villages like Lambaghar, Bhyundar (Alaknanda River Valley), and Rambara (Mandakini River Valley) were completely washed away, leaving no trace of earlier settlement. Govindghat and Pulna villages in the Alaknanda River Valley were also badly damaged. Approximately 0.3 × 106 and 0.72 × 106 m3 of debris was deposited, respectively. Similarly in the Mandakini Valley, Kedarnath and Sonprayag towns were also badly damaged and 3.9 × 106 and 1.4 × 106 m3 of debris was deposited in the area, respectively. Simultaneously, the moraine-dammed Chorabari Lake breached releasing 6.1 × 105 m3 of water with an average rate of 1429 m3/s (discharge of lake). The towns of Pandukeshwar in the Alaknanda Valley and Gaurikund in the Mandakini Valley were partially damaged. However, no evidence of such magnitude of destruction was reported from the Yamuna River Valley during the same period. This catastrophic event changed the landscape in many parts of Uttarakhand, making the whole region more fragile and vulnerable. A disaster of such magnitude was perhaps not witnessed by the region for at least the last 100 years.

Emplacement temperature estimation of the 2015 dome collapse of Volcán de Colima as key proxy for flow dynamics of confined and unconfined pyroclastic density currents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pensa, Alessandra; Capra, Lucia; Giordano, Guido; Corrado, Sveva

2018-05-01

The recent 10th-11th of July 2015 Volcán de Colima eruption involved the collapse of the summit dome that breached to the south generating pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) along the Montegrande ravine on the southern flank of the volcano. Trees within the valley were buried, uprooted and variably transported by the PDCs, while the trees on the edges of the valley and on the overbanks, were mainly burned and folded. The emplacement temperature of valley confined and overbank PDC deposits were reconstructed using Partial Thermal Remanent Magnetization (pTRM) analysis of lithic clasts and Charcoal Reflectance analysis (Ro %) applied to the charred wood. A total of 13 sites were sampled for the pTRM study and 39 charcoaled wood fragments were collected for the charcoal optical analysis along the entire deposit length in order to detect temperature variation from proximal to distal zone. The result overlap from both data sets display a T max from ≃345°-385 °C in valley-confined area (from 3.5 to 8.5 km from the vent) and ≃170°-220 °C (from 8.0 to 10.5 km from the vent) in unconfined distal area. The emplacement temperature pattern along the 10.5 km long deposit appears related to the degree of topography confinement: valley confined and unconfined. In particular the valley confined setting is very conservative in terms of temperature, while the major drop occurs in a very narrow space where the PDC expanded over unconfined flat topography just at the exit of the main valley. This study represents the first attempt in determining the relationship between PDCs flow dynamics variation and topographic confining using deposit emplacement temperature as key proxy.

Ground water in Utah's densely populated Wasatch Front area - The challenge and the choices

USGS Publications Warehouse

Price, Don

1985-01-01

Utah's Wasatch Front area comprises about 4,000 square miles in the north-central part of the State. I n 1980, the area had a population of more than 1.1 million, or about 77 percent of Utah's total population. It contains several large cities, including Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Provo, and is commonly called Utah's urban corridor.Most of the water supply for the Wasatch Front area comes from streams that originate in the Wasatch Range and nearby Uinta Mountains; however, ground water has played an important role in the economic growth of the area. The principal source of ground water is the unconsolidated fill (sedimentary deposits) in the valleys of the Wasatch Front area northern Juab, Utah, Goshen, and Salt Lake Valleys; the East Shore area (a valley area east of the Great Salt Lake), and the Bear River Bay area. Maximum saturated thickness of the fill in the principal ground-water reservoirs in these valleys exceeds 6,000 feet, and the estimated volume of water that can be withdrawn from just the upper 100 feet of the saturated fill is about 8 million acre-feet. In most places the water is fresh, containing less than 1,000 milligrams per liter of dissolved solids; in much of the Bear River Bay area and most of Goshen Valley (and locally in the other valleys), the water is slightly to moderately saline, with 1,000 to 10,000 milligrams per liter of dissolved solids.The principal ground-water reservoirs receive recharge at an annual rate that is estimated to exceed 1 million acre-feet chiefly as seepage from consolidated rocks in the adjacent mountains from canals, ditches, and irrigated land, directly from precipitation, and from streams. Discharge during 1980 (which was chiefly from springs, seepage to streams, evapotranspiration, and withdrawal by wells) was estimated to be about 1.1 million acre-feet. Withdrawal from wells, which began within a few years after the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, and had increased to about 320,000 acre-feet during 1979. Additional withdrawals from wells may cause water levels to decline, possibly leading to such problems as conflicts among water-right owners, increased pumping costs, land subsidence, and deterioration of ground-water quality. Some of these problems cannot be avoided if the principal ground-water reservoirs are to be fully used; however, management practices such as artificial ground-water recharge in intensivelypumped areas may help to alleviate those problems.

Uses of Local Plant Biodiversity among the Tribal Communities of Pangi Valley of District Chamba in Cold Desert Himalaya, India

PubMed Central

Rana, Pawan Kumar; Kumar, Puneet; Singhal, Vijay Kumar; Rana, Jai Chand

2014-01-01

Pangi Valley is the interior most tribal area in Himachal Pradesh of Northwest Himalaya. An ethnobotanical investigation is attempted to highlight the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants being used by the tribes of Pangi Valley. Various localities visited in the valley 2-3 times in a year and ethnobotanical information was collected through interviews with elderly people, women, shepherds, and local vaids during May 2009 to September 2013. This paper documented 67 plant species from 59 genera and 36 families along with their botanical name, local name, family name, habit, medicinal parts used, and traditional usage, including the use of 35 plants with new ethnomedicinal and other use from the study area for the first time. Wild plants represent an important part of their medicinal, dietary, handicraft, fuel wood, veterinary, and fodder components. These tribal inhabitants and migrants depend on the wild plant resources for food, medicines, fuel, fibre, timber, and household articles for their livelihood security. The present study documents and contributes significant ethnobotanical information from the remote high altitude and difficult region of the world, which remains cut off from rest of the world for 6-7 months due to heavy snowfall. PMID:24696658

Preliminary Surficial Geologic Map of the Mesquite Lake 30' X 60' Quadrangle, California and Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmidt, Kevin M.; McMackin, Matthew

2006-01-01

The Quaternary surficial geologic map of the Mesquite Lake, California-Nevada 30'X60' quadrangle depicts deposit age and geomorphic processes of erosion and deposition, as identified by a composite of remote sensing investigations, laboratory analyses, and field work, in the arid to semi-arid Mojave Desert area, straddling the California-Nevada border. Mapping was motivated by the need to address pressing scientific and social issues such as understanding and predicting the effects of climate and associated hydrologic changes, human impacts on landscapes, ecosystem function, and natural hazards at a regional scale. As the map area lies just to the south of Las Vegas, Nevada, a rapidly expanding urban center, land use pressures and the need for additional construction materials are forecasted for the region. The map contains information on the temporal and spatial patterns of surface processes and hazards that can be used to model specific landscape applications. Key features of the geologic map include: (1) spatially extensive Holocene alluvial deposits that compose the bulk of Quaternary units (~25%), (2) remote sensing and field studies that identified fault scarps or queried faults in the Kingston Wash area, Shadow Mountains, southern Pahrump Valley, Bird Spring Range, Lucy Gray Mountains and Piute Valley, (3) a lineament indicative of potential fault offset is located in Mesquite Valley, (4) active eolian dunes and sand ramps located on the east side of Mesquite, Ivanpah, and Hidden Valleys adjacent to playas, (4) groundwater discharge deposits in southern Pahrump Valley, Spring Mountains, and Lucy Gray Mountains and (5) debris-flow deposits spanning almost the entire Quaternary period in age.

Multi-scale curvature for automated identification of glaciated mountain landscapes☆

PubMed Central

Prasicek, Günther; Otto, Jan-Christoph; Montgomery, David R.; Schrott, Lothar

2014-01-01

Erosion by glacial and fluvial processes shapes mountain landscapes in a long-recognized and characteristic way. Upland valleys incised by fluvial processes typically have a V-shaped cross-section with uniform and moderately steep slopes, whereas glacial valleys tend to have a U-shaped profile with a changing slope gradient. We present a novel regional approach to automatically differentiate between fluvial and glacial mountain landscapes based on the relation of multi-scale curvature and drainage area. Sample catchments are delineated and multiple moving window sizes are used to calculate per-cell curvature over a variety of scales ranging from the vicinity of the flow path at the valley bottom to catchment sections fully including valley sides. Single-scale curvature can take similar values for glaciated and non-glaciated catchments but a comparison of multi-scale curvature leads to different results according to the typical cross-sectional shapes. To adapt these differences for automated classification of mountain landscapes into areas with V- and U-shaped valleys, curvature values are correlated with drainage area and a new and simple morphometric parameter, the Difference of Minimum Curvature (DMC), is developed. At three study sites in the western United States the DMC thresholds determined from catchment analysis are used to automatically identify 5 × 5 km quadrats of glaciated and non-glaciated landscapes and the distinctions are validated by field-based geological and geomorphological maps. Our results demonstrate that DMC is a good predictor of glacial imprint, allowing automated delineation of glacially and fluvially incised mountain landscapes. PMID:24748703

A comparison of estimates of basin-scale soil-moisture evapotranspiration and estimates of riparian groundwater evapotranspiration with implications for water budgets in the Verde Valley, Central Arizona, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tillman, Fred; Wiele, Stephen M.; Pool, Donald R.

2015-01-01

Population growth in the Verde Valley in Arizona has led to efforts to better understand water availability in the watershed. Evapotranspiration (ET) is a substantial component of the water budget and a critical factor in estimating groundwater recharge in the area. In this study, four estimates of ET are compared and discussed with applications to the Verde Valley. Higher potential ET (PET) rates from the soil-water balance (SWB) recharge model resulted in an average annual ET volume about 17% greater than for ET from the basin characteristics (BCM) recharge model. Annual BCM PET volume, however, was greater by about a factor of 2 or more than SWB actual ET (AET) estimates, which are used in the SWB model to estimate groundwater recharge. ET also was estimated using a method that combines MODIS-EVI remote sensing data and geospatial information and by the MODFLOW-EVT ET package as part of a regional groundwater-flow model that includes the study area. Annual ET volumes were about same for upper-bound MODIS-EVI ET for perennial streams as for the MODFLOW ET estimates, with the small differences between the two methods having minimal impact on annual or longer groundwater budgets for the study area.

78 FR 16827 - Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; State of California; Imperial Valley...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-19

...EPA is proposing to clarify the description of the Imperial Valley planning area, an area designated as nonattainment for the national ambient air quality standard for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of a nominal 10 microns or less (PM10). EPA is not proposing to change the boundaries of the PM10 area or the status of the area as a ``serious'' PM10 nonattainment area but is proposing to clarify the description of this partial county area in the Code of Federal Regulations.

Climatic implications of reconstructed early - Mid Pliocene equilibrium-line altitudes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

USGS Publications Warehouse

Krusic, A.G.; Prentice, M.L.; Licciardi, J.M.

2009-01-01

Early-mid Pliocene moraines in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, are more extensive than the present alpine glaciers in this region, indicating substantial climatic differences between the early-mid Pliocene and the present. To quantify this difference in the glacier-climate regime, we estimated the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) change since the early-mid Pliocene by calculating the modern ELA and reconstructing the ELAs of four alpine glaciers in Wright and Taylor Valleys at their early-mid Pliocene maxima. The area-altitude balance ratio method was used on modern and reconstructed early-mid Pliocene hypsometry. In Wright and Victoria Valleys, mass-balance data identify present-day ELAs of 800-1600 m a.s.l. and an average balance ratio of 1.1. The estimated ELAs of the much larger early-mid Pliocene glaciers in Wright and Taylor Valleys range from 600 to 950 ?? 170 m a.s.l., and thus are 250-600 ??170 m lower than modern ELAs in these valleys. The depressed ELAs during the early-mid-Pliocene most likely indicate a wetter and therefore warmer climate in the Dry Valleys during this period than previous studies have recognized.

Potential for aquifer compaction, land subsidence, and earth fissures in Avra Valley, Pima and Pinal counties, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anderson, S.R.

1987-01-01

Avra Valley is a large north-trending alluvial basin about 15 mi west of Tucson in Pima and Pinal Counties, Arizona. The climate of Avra Valley is semiarid, and the average annual precipitation ranges from 8 to 12 in. Two major ephemeral streams, the Santa Cruz River and Brawley Wash, drain the area. These streams and their tributaries provide a source of recharge to an extensive alluvial aquifer that underlies the valley floor. The aquifer consists of interbedded gravel, sand, silt, and clay and contains a vast quantity of groundwater. The physiography, fertile soil, and mild climate of Avra Valley make it an ideal environment for agriculture and urban development. Although the aquifer is replenished by natural recharge and underflow, rates of recharge and underflow have not kept pace with the rate of pumping. Pumping has exceeded recharge for several decades, resulting in a lowering of groundwater levels throughout most of the valley. In places, water level declines have resulted in small amounts of aquifer compaction and land subsidence. Earth fissures, some of which may be the result of localized differential subsidence, also have been observed in the valley. Geohydrologic characteristics of Avra Valley that may contribute to potential aquifer compaction, land subsidence, and earth fissures are described. The quantitative evaluation of potential land subsidence in this report is presented as an interim land- and water-use planning tool pending acquisition and study of additional data. Because of data limitations, the evaluation is made on the assumption that future rates of compaction and subsidence in Avra Valley will be similar to those in the Eloy-Picacho area. The evaluation also assumes that water level declines in the aquifer will continue. Several factors that may reduce groundwater withdrawals, and thus the potential for compaction and subsidence in Avra Valley, were not evaluated. These factors include the enactment of the 1980 Arizona Ground-Water Management Act, the planned importation of Colorado River water by the Central Arizona Project, the increased reuse and reclamation of effluent, and the probable long-term decrease in pumping by agricultural and some industrial users. (Lantz-PTT)

Preliminary groundwater flow model of the basin-fill aquifers in Detrital, Hualapai, and Sacramento Valleys, Mohave County, northwestern Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tillman, Fred D.; Garner, Bradley D.; Truini, Margot

2013-01-01

Preliminary numerical models were developed to simulate groundwater flow in the basin-fill alluvium in Detrital, Hualapai, and Sacramento Valleys in northwestern Arizona. The purpose of this exercise was to gather and evaluate available information and data, to test natural‑recharge concepts, and to indicate directions for improving future regional groundwater models of the study area. Both steady-state and transient models were developed with a single layer incorporating vertically averaged hydraulic properties over the model layer. Boundary conditions for the models were constant-head cells along the northern and western edges of the study area, corresponding to the location of the Colorado River, and no-flow boundaries along the bedrock ridges that bound the rest of the study area, except for specified flow where Truxton Wash enters the southern end of Hualapai Valley. Steady-state conditions were simulated for the pre-1935 period, before the construction of Hoover Dam in the northwestern part of the model area. Two recharge scenarios were investigated using the steady-state model—one in which natural aquifer recharge occurs directly in places where water is available from precipitation, and another in which natural aquifer recharge from precipitation occurs in the basin-fill alluvium that drains areas of available water. A transient model with 31 stress periods was constructed to simulate groundwater flow for the period 1935–2010. The transient model incorporates changing Colorado River, Lake Mead, and Lake Mohave water levels and includes time-varying groundwater withdrawals and aquifer recharge. Both the steady-state and transient models were calibrated to available water-level observations in basin-fill alluvium, and simulations approximate observed water-level trends throughout most of the study area.

Geohydrology and Water Quality of the Valley-Fill Aquifer System in the Upper Sixmile Creek and West Branch Owego Creek Valleys in the Town of Caroline, Tompkins County, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, Todd S.

2009-01-01

In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Town of Caroline and Tompkins County Planning Department, began a study of the valley-fill aquifer system in upper Sixmile Creek and headwaters of West Branch Owego Creek valleys in the Town of Caroline, NY. The purpose of the study is to provide geohydrologic data to county and town planners as they develop a strategy to manage and protect their water resources. The first aquifer reach investigated in this series is in the Town of Caroline and includes the upper Sixmile Creek valley and part of West Branch Owego Creek valley. The portions of the valley-fill aquifer system that are comprised of saturated coarse-grained sediments including medium to coarse sand and sandy gravel form the major aquifers. Confined sand and gravel units form the major aquifers in the western and central portions of the upper Sixmile Creek valley, and an unconfined sand and gravel unit forms the major aquifer in the eastern portion of the upper Sixmile Creek valley and in the headwaters of the West Branch Owego Creek valley. The valley-fill deposits are thinnest near the edges of the valley where they pinch out along the till-mantled bedrock valley walls. The thickness of the valley fill in the deepest part of the valley, at the western end of the study area, is about 100 feet (ft); the thickness is greater than 165 ft on top of the Valley Heads Moraine in the central part of the valley. An estimated 750 people live over and rely on groundwater from the valley-fill aquifers in upper Sixmile Creek and West Branch Owego Creek valleys. Most groundwater withdrawn from the valley-fill aquifers is pumped from wells with open-ended 6-inch diameter casings; the remaining withdrawals are from shallow dug wells or cisterns that collect groundwater that discharges to springs (especially in the Brooktondale area). The valley-fill aquifers are the sources of water for about 200 households, several apartment complexes, two mobile home parks, a school, and several farms and small businesses. Most groundwater that is withdrawn from pumped wells is returned to the groundwater system via septic systems. Groundwater in the upper and basal confined aquifers in the upper Sixmile Creek valley is under artesian conditions everywhere except where the water discharges to springs along bluffs in the western end of the Sixmile Creek valley. Principal sources of recharge to the confined aquifers are (1) the sides of the valley where the confined aquifers may extend up along the flank of the bedrock valley wall and crop out at land surface or are overlain and in contact with surficial coarse-grained deltaic and fluvial sediments that provide a pathway through which direct precipitation and seepage losses from tributary streams can reach the buried aquifers, or (2) where the buried aquifers are isolated and receive recharge only from adjacent fine-grained sediment and bedrock. The base-flow and runoff components of total streamflow at two streamgages, Sixmile Creek at Brooktondale and Sixmile Creek at Bethel Grove, were calculated using hydrograph-separation techniques from 2003 to 2007 discharge records. Base flow constituted 64 and 56 percent of the total annual flow at the Brooktondale and Bethel Grove streamgages, respectively. Water-quality samples were collected from 2003 to 2005, with 10 surface-water samples collected seasonally during base-flow conditions at the Sixmile Creek at Brooktondale streamgage, and 12 samples were collected during base-flow conditions at several selected tributaries from 2004 to 2005. The predominant cation detected in the surface-water samples was calcium, but moderate amounts of magnesium, silica, and sodium were also detected; the major anions were bicarbonate, chloride, and sulfate. Sodium and chloride concentrations were relatively low in all samples but increased downstream from the Sixmile Creek sampling site at Six Hundred Road near Slaterville Springs, NY, to B

Geothermal environmental studies, Heber Region, Imperial Valley, California. Environmental baseline data acquisition. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1977-02-01

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has been studying the feasibility of a Low Salinity Hydrothermal Demonstration Plant as part of its Geothermal Energy Program. The Heber area of the Imperial Valley was selected as one of the candidate geothermal reservoirs. Documentation of the environmental conditions presently existing in the Heber area is required for assessment of environmental impacts of future development. An environmental baseline data acquisition program to compile available data on the environment of the Heber area is reported. The program included a review of pertinent existing literature, interviews with academic, governmental and private entities, combined with fieldmore » investigations and meteorological monitoring to collect primary data. Results of the data acquisition program are compiled in terms of three elements: the physical, the biological and socioeconomic settings.« less

Cajon Valley Union School District: Changing the Culture of Learning to Empower Students. From the Field. Digital Learning Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwartzbeck, Terri Duggan

2013-01-01

The K-8 Cajon Valley Union School District (Cajon Valley USD) is one of forty-two school districts in the greater San Diego, California metropolitan area. Serving approximately 16,000 students, the Cajon Valley USD is extremely diverse; 36 percent of students are Hispanic, 46 percent are white, 7 percent are African American, and many students are…

Is it working? A look at the changing nutrient practices in the Southern Willamette Valley’s Groundwater Management Area

EPA Science Inventory

Groundwater nitrate contamination affects thousands of households in the southern Willamette Valley and many more across the Pacific Northwest. The southern Willamette Valley Groundwater Management Area (SWV GWMA) was established in 2004 to address the occurrence of high groundw...

Preliminary Results from VOC measurements in the Lower Fraser Valley in July/Aug 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schiller, C. L.; Jones, K.; Vingarzan, R.; Leaitch, R.; Macdonald, A.; Osthoff, H. D.; Reid, K.

2012-12-01

In July/August 2012, a pilot study looking at the effect of ClNO2 production on the ozone concentrations in the lower Fraser valley near Abbotsford, BC was conducted. The lower Fraser valley in British Columbia Canada has some of the highest ozone concentrations and visibility issues in Canada. Abbotsford is located approximately 80 kms east of Vancouver, BC and approximately 30 kms from the ocean. The site was located in a largely agricultural area with fruit farms (raspberries and blueberries) and poultry barns predominating. During the study biogenic and anthropogenic VOCs were measured in situ using a GCMS/FID with hourly samples. Particle composition was measured using an ACSM and size distribution using an SMPS. Preliminary results from the study will be discussed.

Records of wells, water levels, and chemical quality of ground water in the French Prairie-Mission Bottom area, northern Willamette Valley, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Price, Don

1961-01-01

An investigation of the ground-water resources of the northern Willamette Valley was begun in 1960 as a cooperative program between the Ground Water Branch, U.S. Geological Survey, and the Oregon State Engineer. The northern Willamette Valley area is one of the fastest growing areas of ground-water use within the state. The purpose of the investigation is to obtain an understanding of the availability, movement, and chemical quality of the ground-water resources of the area. This information is needed to attain an optimum development of the ground-water resources of the area and to aid in the prevention of problems of overdevelopment and pollution. The first phase of the program was the collection of well records, water level records, and chemical quality data in the central part of this area, which is known as the French Prairie-Mission Bottom area. The records collected in this phase of the study are essential in the preparation of an interpretive report describing the occurrence and movement of ground-water in the French Prairie-Mission Bottom area. These records, which will not be included in the interpretive report that is being prepared at this time, are being made available in this publication to aid in the location and the development of the ground-water resources of the area, and to serve as a supplement to the forthcoming interpretive report.

Updated computations and estimates of streamflows tributary to Carson Valley, Douglas County, Nevada, and Alpine County, California, 1990-2002

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maurer, Douglas K.; Watkins, Sharon A.; Burrowws, Robert L.

2004-01-01

Rapid population growth in Carson Valley has caused concern over the continued availability of water resources to sustain future growth. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Douglas County, began a study to update estimates of water-budget components in Carson Valley for current climatic conditions. Data collected at 19 sites included 9 continuous records of tributary streamflows, 1 continuous record of outflow from the valley, and 408 measurements of 10 perennially flowing but ungaged drainages. These data were compiled and analyzed to provide updated computations and estimates of streamflows tributary to Carson Valley, 1990-2002. Mean monthly and annual flows were computed from continuous records for the period 1990-2002 for five streams, and for the period available, 1990-97, for four streams. Daily mean flow from ungaged drainages was estimated using multi-variate regressions of individual discharge measurements against measured flow at selected continuous gages. From the estimated daily mean flows, monthly and annual mean flows were calculated from 1990 to 2002. These values were used to compute estimates of mean monthly and annual flows for the ungaged perennial drainages. Using the computed and estimated mean annual flows, annual unit-area runoff was computed for the perennial drainages, which ranged from 0.30 to 2.02 feet. For the period 1990-2002, estimated inflow of perennial streams tributary to Carson Valley totaled about 25,900 acre-feet per year. Inflow computed from gaged perennial drainages totaled 10,300 acre-feet per year, and estimated inflow from ungaged perennial drainages totaled 15,600 acre-feet per year. The annual flow of perennial streams ranges from 4,210 acre-feet at Clear Creek to 450 acre-feet at Stutler Canyon Creek. Differences in unit-area runoff and in the seasonal timing of flow likely are caused by differences in geologic setting, altitude, slope, or aspect of the individual drainages. The remaining drainages are ephemeral and supply inflow to the valley floor only during spring runoff in wet years or during large precipitation events. Annual unit-area runoff for the perennial drainages was used to estimate inflow from ephemeral drainages totaling 11,700 acre-feet per year. The totaled estimate of perennial and ephemeral tributary inflows to Carson Valley is 37,600 acre-feet per year. Gaged perennial inflow is 27 percent of the total, ungaged perennial inflow is 42 percent, and ephemeral inflow is 31 percent. The estimate is from 50 to 60 percent greater than three previous estimates, one made for a larger area and similar to two other estimates made for larger areas. The combined uncertainty of the estimates totaled about 33 percent of the total inflow or about 12,000 acre-feet per year.

27 CFR 9.100 - Mesilla Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Mesilla Valley. 9.100 Section 9.100 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT... Mesilla Valley viticultural area is located within Dona Ana County, New Mexico, and El Paso County, Texas...

27 CFR 9.100 - Mesilla Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Mesilla Valley. 9.100 Section 9.100 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT... Mesilla Valley viticultural area is located within Dona Ana County, New Mexico, and El Paso County, Texas...

27 CFR 9.37 - California Shenandoah Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false California Shenandoah Valley. 9.37 Section 9.37 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU...) Boundaries. The Shenandoah Valley viticultural Area is located in portions of Amador and El Dorado Counties...

27 CFR 9.37 - California Shenandoah Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false California Shenandoah Valley. 9.37 Section 9.37 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU...) Boundaries. The Shenandoah Valley viticultural Area is located in portions of Amador and El Dorado Counties...

Fy00 Treasure Valley ITS Deployment Project : advanced traffic management system (ATMS) software procurement and implementation process

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-08-02

In 2000, the Treasure Valley area of the State of Idaho received a federal earmark of $390,000 to develop an Advanced Transportation Management System (ATMS) for the Treasure Valley region of Idaho. The Ada County Highway District (ACHD), located in ...

40 CFR 81.81 - Merrimack Valley-Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.81 Merrimack Valley-Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region. The Merrimack Valley Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region (Massachusetts-New Hampshire) consists of the territorial area encompassed by the boundaries of the following...

40 CFR 81.81 - Merrimack Valley-Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.81 Merrimack Valley-Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region. The Merrimack Valley Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region (Massachusetts-New Hampshire) consists of the territorial area encompassed by the boundaries of the following...

40 CFR 81.81 - Merrimack Valley-Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.81 Merrimack Valley-Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region. The Merrimack Valley Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region (Massachusetts-New Hampshire) consists of the territorial area encompassed by the boundaries of the following...

40 CFR 81.81 - Merrimack Valley-Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.81 Merrimack Valley-Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region. The Merrimack Valley Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region (Massachusetts-New Hampshire) consists of the territorial area encompassed by the boundaries of the following...

40 CFR 81.81 - Merrimack Valley-Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.81 Merrimack Valley-Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region. The Merrimack Valley Southern New Hampshire Interstate Air Quality Control Region (Massachusetts-New Hampshire) consists of the territorial area encompassed by the boundaries of the following...

40 CFR 81.48 - Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.48 Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region. The Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region (Vermont-New York) has been revised to consist of the...

40 CFR 81.48 - Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.48 Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region. The Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region (Vermont-New York) has been revised to consist of the...

40 CFR 81.48 - Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.48 Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region. The Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region (Vermont-New York) has been revised to consist of the...

40 CFR 81.48 - Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.48 Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region. The Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region (Vermont-New York) has been revised to consist of the...

27 CFR 9.25 - San Pasqual Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

.... They are entitled: (1) “Escondido Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series; (2) “San Pasqual Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series; (3) “Valley Center Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series. (c) Boundaries. The San Pasqual Valley viticultural area is...

27 CFR 9.25 - San Pasqual Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

.... They are entitled: (1) “Escondido Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series; (2) “San Pasqual Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series; (3) “Valley Center Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series. (c) Boundaries. The San Pasqual Valley viticultural area is...

27 CFR 9.25 - San Pasqual Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

.... They are entitled: (1) “Escondido Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series; (2) “San Pasqual Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series; (3) “Valley Center Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series. (c) Boundaries. The San Pasqual Valley viticultural area is...

27 CFR 9.25 - San Pasqual Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

.... They are entitled: (1) “Escondido Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series; (2) “San Pasqual Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series; (3) “Valley Center Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series. (c) Boundaries. The San Pasqual Valley viticultural area is...

27 CFR 9.25 - San Pasqual Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

.... They are entitled: (1) “Escondido Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series; (2) “San Pasqual Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series; (3) “Valley Center Quadrangle, California—San Diego County”, 7.5 minute series. (c) Boundaries. The San Pasqual Valley viticultural area is...

A network-based meta-population approach to model Rift Valley fever epidemics

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) has been expanding its geographical distribution with important implications for both human and animal health. The emergence of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in the Middle East, and its continuing presence in many areas of Africa, has negatively impacted both medical and vet...

Detection and Response for Rift Valley fever

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rift Valley fever is a viral disease that impacts domestic livestock and humans in Africa and the Middle East, and poses a threat to military operations in these areas. We describe a Rift Valley fever Risk Monitoring website, and its ability to predict risk of disease temporally and spatially. We al...

Rift Valley fever outbreak, southern Mauritania, 2012.

PubMed

Sow, Abdourahmane; Faye, Ousmane; Ba, Yamar; Ba, Hampathé; Diallo, Diawo; Faye, Oumar; Loucoubar, Cheikh; Boushab, Mohamed; Barry, Yahya; Diallo, Mawlouth; Sall, Amadou Alpha

2014-02-01

After a period of heavy rainfall, an outbreak of Rift Valley fever occurred in southern Mauritania during September-November 2012. A total of 41 human cases were confirmed, including 13 deaths, and 12 Rift Valley fever virus strains were isolated. Moudjeria and Temchecket Departments were the most affected areas.

40 CFR 81.48 - Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.48 Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region. The Champlain Valley Interstate Air Quality Control Region (Vermont-New York) has been revised to consist of the...

Appraisal of the water resources of Death Valley, California-Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, Glenn Allen

1977-01-01

The hydrologic system in Death Valley is probably in a steady-state condition--that is, recharge and discharge are equal, and net changes in the quantity of ground water in storage are not occurring. Recharge to ground water in the valley is derived from interbasin underflow and from local precipitation. The two sources may be of the same magnitude. Ground water beneath the valley moves toward the lowest area, a 200-square-mile saltpan, much of which is underlain by rock salt and other saline minerals, probably to depths of hundreds of feet or even more than 1,000 feet. Some water discharges from the saltpan by evaportranspiration. Water beneath the valley floor, excluding the saltpan, typically contains between 3,000 and 5,000 milligrams per liter of dissolved solids. Water from most springs and seeps in the mountains contains a few hundred to several hundred milligrams per liter of dissolved solids. Water from large springs that probably discharge from interbasin flow systems typically contains between 500 and 1,000 milligrams per liter dissolved solids. Present sites of intensive use by man are supplied by springs, with the exception of the Stovepipe Wells Hotel area. Potential sources of supply for this area include (1) Emigrant Spring area, (2) Cottonwood Spring, and (3) northern Mesquite Flat. (Woodard-USGS)

Geologic map and database of the Salem East and Turner 7.5-minute quadrangles, Marion County, Oregon: a digital database

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tolan, Terry L.; Beeson, Marvin H.; Digital Database by DuRoss, Christopher B.

2000-01-01

The Salem East and Turner 7.5-minute quadrangles are situated in the center of the Willamette Valley near the western margin of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) distribution. The terrain within the area is of low to moderate relief, ranging from about 150 to almost 1,100-ft elevation. Mill Creek flows northward from the Stayton basin (Turner quadrangle) to the northern Willamette Valley (Salem East quadrangle) through a low that dissects the Columbia River basalt that forms the Salem Hills on the west and the Waldo Hills to the east. Approximately eight flows of CRBG form a thickness of up to 700� in these two quadrangles. The Ginkgo intracanyon flow that extends from east to west through the south half of the Turner quadrangle is exposed in the hills along the southeast part of the quadrangle. Previous geologic mapping by Thayer (1939) and Bela (1981) while providing the general geologic framework did not subdivide the CRBG which limited their ability to delineate structural elements. Reconnaissance mapping of the CRBG units in the Willamette Valley indicated that these stratigraphic units could serve as a series of unique reference horizons for identifying post-Miocene folding and faulting (Beeson and others, 1985,1989; Beeson and Tolan, 1990). Crenna, et al. (1994) compiled previous mapping in the Willamette Valley in a study of the tectonics of the Salem area. The major emphasis of this study was to identify and map CRBG units within the Salem East and Turner Quadrangles and to utilize this detailed CRBG stratigraphy to identify and characterize structural features. Water well logs were used to provide better subsurface stratigraphic control. Three other quadrangles (Scotts Mills, Silverton, and Stayton NE) in the Willamette Valley have been mapped in this way (Tolan and Beeson, 1999). This area was a lowland area of weathered and eroded marine sedimentary when the Columbia River basalts encroached on this area approximately 15-16 m.y. ago. An incipient Coast Range apparently stopped or diverted the fluid lava flows from moving much farther westward toward the coast at this latitude. It is assumed also that an ancestral Willamette River flowed northward through this low-lying area so that water was present as streams and ponds along the flood plain.

[The use of RAPD and ITE molecular markers to study genetical structure of the Crimean population of Triticum boeoticum Boiss].

PubMed

Mallabaeva, D Sh; Ignatov, A N; Sheĭko, I A; Isikov, V P; Geliuta, V P; Boĭko, N G; Seriapin, A A; Dorokhov, D B

2007-01-01

Wild wheat Triticum boeoticum Boiss. is the rare species are included in the Red Book of Ukraine. This species are reducing the magnitude of population and the area of distribution under anthropogenic activity. We studied genetic structure of two populations of T. boeoticum, located on Sapun Mountain and in Baidar Valley in Crimea. According RAPD and ITE molecular analysis we have estimated that the population of T. boeoticum on Sapun Mountain is genetically more impoverished than a population from the Baidar Valley. For preservation of maximal natural genetic polymorphism of the rare species it is recommended to direct efforts to preservations of a population of T. boeoticum from the Baidar Valley.

Evidences of early aqueous Mars: Implications on the origin of branched valleys in the Ius Chasma, Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martha, Tapas R.; Jain, Nirmala; Vamshi, Gasiganti T.; Vinod Kumar, K.

2017-11-01

This study shows results of morphological and spectroscopic analyses of Ius Chasma and its southern branched valleys using Orbiter datasets such as Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)-Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (MRO-HiRISE) and digital terrain model (HRSC-DTM). Result of the spectral analysis reveals presence of hydrated minerals such as opal, nontronite and vermiculite in the floor and wall rock areas Ius Chasma indicating alteration of parent rock in an water rich environment of early Mars. Topographic gradient and morphological evidences such as V-shaped valleys with theatre shaped stubby channels, dendritic drainage and river piracy indicate that these valleys were initially developed by surface runoff due to episodic floods and further expanded due to groundwater sapping controlled by faults and fractures. Minerals formed by aqueous alteration during valley formation and their intricate association with different morphological domains suggest that surface runoff played a key role in the development of branched valleys south of Ius Chasma on Mars.

View of the Salinas River Valley area south of Monterey Bay, California

NASA Image and Video Library

1973-08-15

SL3-88-004 (July-September 1973) --- A vertical view of the Salinas River Valley area south of Monterey Bay, California area is seen in this Skylab 3 Earth Resources Experiments Package S190-B (five-inch Earth terrain camera) photograph taken from the Skylab space station in Earth orbit. The valley is an irrigated agricultural area, and is indicated by the dark-green and light-gray rectangular patterns in the centre of the picture. The city of Salinas is barely visible under the cloud cover at the top (north) end of the valley. The dark mass on the left (west) side of the valley is the Santa Lucia mountain range. The Big Sur area is on the left and partly covered by clouds. The Diablo Range forms the dark mass in the lower right (southeast) corner of the photograph. The town of Hollister is the gray area in the dark-green rectangular farm tracts which occupy the floor of the San Benito Valley in the upper right (northeast) corner of the photograph. The Salinas River flows northwestward toward Monterey Bay. The towns of Soledad, Greenfield and King City appear as gray areas along U.S. 101 in the Salinas Valley. The geology of the area is complex, and has been racked by several earthquakes resulting from movement along the San Andreas and subsidiary faults. Here, the surface expression of the San Andreas Fault can be traced from a point just west of Hollister at the contrast of dark brown and tan to a point about one inch left of the lower right (southeast) corner of the picture. Subsidiary faults are indicated by the curving trend of the rocks along the right side. The photograph will provide detailed information on land use patterns (Dr. R. Colwell, University of California, Berkeley) and fault tectonics (Dr. P. Merifield, Earth Science Res., Inc. and Dr. M. Abdel-Gawad, Rockwell International). Federal agencies participating with NASA on the EREP project are the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers. All EREP photography is available to the public through the Department of Interior’s Earth Resources Observations Systems Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 57198. Photo credit: NASA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cunningham, C.G.; Steven, T.A.

In studying the economic mineral potential of the Tushar Mountains and adjacent areas in west-central Utah, members of the US Geological Survey have delineated several geologic environments that seem favorable for the occurrence of uranium deposits. This report is concerned primarily with three areas: (1) the ring fracture zone of the Mount Belknap caldera, (2) the Beaver Valley, and (3) the Sevier River Valley near Marysvale. The data and interpretations presented are tentative and will be revised as work in the area continues. Other environments containing uranium exist, but are not discussed here. This report presents preliminary geologic data andmore » interpretations to assist in uranium resource evaluation by the US Department of Energy, and to aid in exploration programs by private industry.« less

Variability of surface-water quantity and quality and shallow groundwater levels and quality within the Rio Grande Project Area, New Mexico and Texas, 2009–13

USGS Publications Warehouse

Driscoll, Jessica M.; Sherson, Lauren R.

2016-03-15

Drought conditions during the study period of January 1, 2009, to September 30, 2013, caused a reduction in surface-water releases from water-supply storage infrastructure of the Rio Grande Project, which led to changes in surface-water and groundwater (conjunctive) use in downstream agricultural alluvial valleys. Surface water and groundwater in the agriculturally dominated alluvial Rincon and Mesilla Valleys were investigated in this study to measure the influence of drought and subsequent change in conjunctive water use on quantity and quality of these water resources. In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Mexico Environment Department and the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, began a study to (1) calculate dissolved-solids loads over the study period at streamgages in the study area where data are available, (2) assess the temporal variability of dissolved-solids loads at and between each streamgage where data are available, and (3) relate the spatiotemporal variability of shallow groundwater data (groundwater levels and quality) within the alluvial valleys of the study area to spatiotemporal variability of surface-water data over the study period. This assessment included the calculation of surface-water dissolved-solids loads at streamgages as well as a mass-balance approach to measure the change in salt load between these streamgages. Bimodal surface-water discharge data led to a temporally-dynamic volumetric definition of release and nonrelease seasons. Continuous surface-water discharge and water-quality data from three streamgages on the Rio Grande were used to calculate daily dissolved-solids loads over the study period, and the results were aggregated annually and seasonally. Results show the majority of dissolved-solids loading occurs during release season; however, decreased duration of the release season over the 5-year study period has resulted in a decrease of the total annual loads at each streamgage. Calculation of the change of salt loads using a mass-balance approach was applied between streamgages. Results from these calculations suggest differing responses to releases in the Rincon and Mesilla Valleys over the period of study; there is a decreasing sink of salt in the Rincon Valley whereas there is an increasing sink of salt in the Mesilla Valley. Daily groundwater-level and water-quality data from shallow wells within the two alluvial valleys show spatial heterogeneity of water quality over the study period. Mass-balance salt-loading trends during the study period are similar to previous trends during the 1950s drought as well as a wet period in the 1980s. The similarity of salt-loading trends from the 1950s, 1980s, and 2000s independent of the climate indicates salt loading in this hydrologic setting may be driven by water-use practices rather than a single climatic variable.

A bill to reauthorize the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, the Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area, the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, and the Schuylkill River Valley National Heritage Area.

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA

2013-06-13

Senate - 07/31/2013 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 113-93. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Adaptive strategies to climate change in Southern Malawi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chidanti-Malunga, J.

Climate change poses a big challenge to rural livelihoods in the Shire Valley area of Southern Malawi, where communities have depended almost entirely on rain-fed agriculture for generations. The Shire Valley area comprises of low-altitude dambo areas and uplands which have been the main agricultural areas. Since early to mid 1980s, the uplands have experienced prolonged droughts and poor rainfall distribution, while the dambos have experienced recurrent seasonal floods. This study assessed some of the adaptive strategies exercised by small-scale rural farmers in response to climate change in the Shire Valley. The methodology used in collecting information includes group discussions, household surveys in the area, secondary data, and field observations. The results show that small-scale rural farmers exercise a number of adaptive strategies in response to climate change. These adaptive strategies include: increased use of water resources for small-scale irrigation or wetland farming, mostly using simple delivery techniques; increased management of residual moisture; and increased alternative sources of income such as fishing and crop diversity. It was also observed that government promoted the use of portable motorized pumps for small-scale irrigation in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, these external interventions were not fully adopted; instead the farmers preferred local interventions which mostly had indigenous elements.

Feasibility study report for the Imperial Valley Ethanol Refinery: a 14. 9-million-gallon-per-year ethanol synfuel refinery utilizing geothermal energy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1981-03-01

The construction and operation of a 14,980,000 gallon per year fuel ethanol from grain refinery in the Imperial Valley of California is proposed. The Imperial Valley Ethanol Refinery (refinery) will use hot geothermal fluid from geothermal resources at the East Mesa area as the source of process energy. In order to evaluate the economic viability of the proposed Project, exhaustive engineering, cost analysis, and financial studies have been undertaken. This report presents the results of feasibility studies undertaken in geothermal resource, engineering, marketing financing, management, environment, and permits and approvals. The conclusion of these studies is that the Project ismore » economically viable. US Alcohol Fuels is proceeding with its plans to construct and operate the Refinery.« less

Progress report on the geology and ground-water hydrology of the lower Platte River Valley, Nebraska, with a section on the chemical quality of the ground water

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waite, Herbert A.; Swenson, Herbert A.

1949-01-01

The occurrence of abundant ground-water supplies in the lower Platte River Valley has made possible the present agricultural and industrial economy of the area. Likewise, the future development of the area is dependent on the wise use of this important resource. The current investigation, on which this report is based, is a necessary step in the planning for the greatest ultimate utilization of the water resources in the lower Platte River Valley.The area covered by this study is the floor of the lower Platte River Valley between North Platte and Fremont and embraces about 2,500 square miles. The entire valley floor is underlain by unconsolidated Pleistocene sediments which consist of clay, silt, sand and gravel and range in thickness from less than 20 feet to nearly 200 feet. Westward from Cozad these sediments were deposited in a valley entrenched in bedrock, but east of Cozad they are continuous with similar deposits which underlie the adjacent uplands. Bedrock formations of Tertiary age are in contact with the basal Pleistocene sediments from the west end of the area to about Central City. From Central City eastward, formations of Cretaceous age immediately underlie the Pleistocene deposits.The Pleistocene sediments and underlying pervious formations are water saturated below depths which range from less than 1 foot to about 90 feet below the surface. In general, the configuration of the water table is similar to the topography of the land surface, but the relief on the water table is considerably less by comparison. Movement of ground water is either toward the river or parallel to it. Based on present information, movement of ground water out of the valley is not indicated but additional water-level control is needed south of the valley between Grand Island and Columbus to determine the possibility of ground-water loss in this stretch of the valley.Periodic observations of water-table fluctuations have constituted an important phase of ground-water studies in the lower Platte River Valley. Examination of water-level data collected by the Geological Survey in cooperation with the Conservation and Survey Division of the University of Nebraska indicates that water levels throughout most of the valley between Gothenburg and Grand Island declined during the 9-year period, December 1930 to December 1939. The maximum net declines observed during this period were a little greater than 4 feet. During the period December 1939 to December 1946, water levels recovered throughout much of the same area; in local areas on the south side of the Platte River between North Platte and Overton water levels rose in excess of 10 feet as a result of seepage losses tram canals and irrigated lands. However, north of Wood River in western Hall County water levels continued to decline to the extent that in at least 3 observation wells water levels in December 1946 were more than 5 feet lower than in December 1930.Water levels were measured monthly in 1946 and bimonthly in 1947 in observation wells located throughout the area covered by this report. During this period water levels fluctuated through a range of about 3 feet, the lowest levels being reached in September 1946 and the highest levels being reached in July 1947. Average fluctuations between successive measurements were a little less than 0.4 foot. The amount of ground-water discharge in the summer months of 1947 was approximately double that of the previous summer. However, replenishment to groundwater storage during the fall of 1946 and the spring of 1947 was sufficiently great that the amount of water in storage in the valley as a whole at the end of the 2-year period was essentially equal to the amount in storage at the beginning of the period. At the end of 1947 the Dawson and Buffalo County areas showed gains to storage whereas the remainder of the valley suffered vary slight losses during the same 2 years.The quantity of ground water that a water-bearing material will yield is dependent upon the hydrologic properties of the material. Two hydrologic properties of greatest importance are permeability and specific yield. During the course of the present investigation 5 pumping tests were conducted to determine the coefficients of permeability and storage of the Pleistocene deposits. The values of the former range from 955 to 4,925 and the latter tram 0.007. to 0.236 attar 24 hours of pumping.The mineral character of the ground water has been determined from analyses of samples, of which 15 represented municipal supplies and 3 were irrigation waters. Ground waters analyzed for this report contained variable amounts of dissolved solids ranging from 240 to 1,060 parts per million, with hardness values above limits considered desirable tor public supplies. The increased concentration of dissolved solids for ground waters in the western part of the valley as a result of return flow conditions, is noted. Ground waters in the valley are discussed as to suitability for municipal and irrigation uses, and analyses of samples do not reveal any serious condition that would adversely affect the use of these waters for the purposes intended. As irrigation increases, periodic chemical analyses of ground waters in this area will be required to evaluate the effects of the re-use of drainage waters and to provide information for salinity control.Ground-water supplies are drawn upon extensively for irrigation purposes, for municipal supplies, and for rural, domestic and stock supplies. Nearly 4,000 irrigation wells are known to exist in the area, the greatest concentrations of these being in Dawson, Buffalo, and Hall Counties.

Ground-water discharge determined from estimates of evapotranspiration, Death Valley regional flow system, Nevada and California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Laczniak, Randell J.; Smith, J. LaRue; Elliott, Peggy E.; DeMeo, Guy A.; Chatigny, Melissa A.; Roemer, Gaius J.

2001-01-01

The Death Valley regional flow system (DVRFS) is one of the larger ground-water flow systems in the southwestern United States and includes much of southern Nevada and the Death Valley region of eastern California. Centrally located within the ground-water flow system is the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The NTS, a large tract covering about 1,375 square miles, historically has been used for testing nuclear devices and currently is being studied as a potential repository for the long-term storage of high-level nuclear waste generated in the United States. The U.S. Department of Energy, as mandated by Federal and State regulators, is evaluating the risk associated with contaminants that have been or may be introduced into the subsurface as a consequence of any past or future activities at the NTS. Because subsurface contaminants can be transported away from the NTS by ground water, components of the ground-water budget are of great interest. One such component is regional ground-water discharge. Most of the ground water leaving the DVRFS is limited to local areas where geologic and hydrologic conditions force ground water upward toward the surface to discharge at springs and seeps. Available estimates of ground-water discharge are based primarily on early work done as part of regional reconnaissance studies. These early efforts covered large, geologically complex areas and often applied substantially different techniques to estimate ground-water discharge. This report describes the results of a study that provides more consistent, accurate, and scientifically defensible measures of regional ground-water losses from each of the major discharge areas of the DVRFS. Estimates of ground-water discharge presented in this report are based on a rigorous quantification of local evapotranspiration (ET). The study identifies areas of ongoing ground-water ET, delineates different ET areas based on similarities in vegetation and soil-moisture conditions, and determines an ET rate for each delineated area. Each area, referred to as an ET unit, generally consists of one or more assemblages of local phreatophytes or a unique moist soil environment. Ten ET units are identified throughout the DVRFS based on differences in spectral-reflectance characteristics. Spectral differences are determined from satellite imagery acquired June 21, 1989, and June 13, 1992. The units identified include areas of open playa, moist bare soils, sparse to dense vegetation, and open water. ET rates estimated for each ET unit range from a few tenths of a foot per year for open playa to nearly 9 feet per year for open water. Mean annual ET estimates are computed for each discharge area by summing estimates of annual ET from each ET unit within a discharge area. The estimate of annual ET from each ET unit is computed as the product of an ET unit's acreage and estimated ET rate. Estimates of mean annual ET range from 450 acre-feet in the Franklin Well area to 30,000 acre-feet in Sarcobatus Flat. Ground-water discharge is estimated as annual ET minus that part of ET attributed to local precipitation. Mean annual ground-water discharge estimates range from 350 acre-feet in the Franklin Well area to 18,000 acre-feet in Ash Meadows. Generally, these estimates are greater for the northern discharge areas (Sarcobatus Flat and Oasis Valley) and less for the southern discharge areas (Franklin Lake, Shoshone area, and Tecopa/ California Valley area) than those previously reported.

Hydrogeology of the Waverly-Sayre area in Tioga and Chemung ounties, New York and Bradford County, Pennsylvania

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reynolds, Richard J.

2002-01-01

The hydrogeology of a 135-square-mile area centered at Waverly, N.Y. and Sayre, Pa. is summarized in a set of five maps and a sheet of geologic sections, all at 1:24,000 scale, that depict locations of wells and test holes (sheet 1), surficial geology (sheet 2), altitude of the water table (sheet 3), saturated thickness of the surficial aquifer (sheet 4), thickness of the lacustrine confining unit (sheet 5), and geologic sections (sheet 6). The valley-fill deposits that form the aquifer system in the Waverly-Sayre area occupy an area of approximately 30 square miles, within the valleys of the Susquehanna River, Chemung River, and Cayuta Creek.The saturated thickness of the surficial aquifer, which consists of alluvium, valley-train outwash, and underlying ice-contact deposits, ranges from zero to 90 feet and is greatest in areas where (1) the outwash is underlain by ice-contact sand and gravel or (2) the outwash is overlain by alluvium and alluvial fans. Estimated transmissivity of the surficial aquifer ranges from 5,600 to 100,270 feet squared per day, and estimated hydraulic conductivity ranges from 50 feet per day for ice-contact deposits to 1,300 feet per day for well-sorted, valley-train outwash.The surficial aquifer is underlain by deposits of lacustrine sand, silt, and clay in the main valleys; these deposits reach thicknesses of as much as 150 ft and form a thick confining unit. Beneath the lacustrine silt and clay confining unit is a thin, discontinuous sand and gravel aquifer whose thickness averages 5 feet but may be as much as 30 feet locally. This confined aquifer supplies many domestic well in the area; yields average about 22 gallons per minute for 6-inch-diameter, open-ended wells. Average annual recharge to the aquifer system is estimated to be approximately 52.5 Mgal/d (million gallons per day), of which 29.7 Mgal/d is from direct precipitation, 7.6 Mgal/d is from unchanneled upland runoff that infiltrates the stratified drift along the valley wall, and 15.2 Mgal/d is from infiltration from tributary streams on the valley floor.

Geology and ground water of the Luke area, Maricopa County, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stulik, Ronald S.; Twenter, F.R.

1964-01-01

Luke Air Force Base, in the Salt River Valley in central Arizona. is within an intermontane basin--the Phoenix basin--in the Basin and Range lowlands province. The Luke area, the subject of this study, extends beyond the limits of the base. Ground-water resources of the Luke area were studied to determine the possibility of developing a water supply of optimum quantity and quality to supplement the base supply. Several wells drilled for this purpose, prior to the study, either produced an inadequate supply of water or produced ware-that had a high dissolved-solids content. The Phoenix basin is filled with unconsolidated to semiconsolidated Tertiary and Quaternary sedimentary rocks that are referred to as valley fill. Although its total thickness is unknown, 2,784 feet of valley fill--primarily consisting of clay, silt, sand, and gravel--has been penetrated. Percentage-distribution maps of fine-grained materials indicate a gross-facies pattern and a selective depositional area of the valley-fill materials. The maps also indicate that the areal distribution of fine-grained materials increases with depth. In general, the better producing wells, regardless of depth, are in areas where tee valley fill is composed of less than 60 percent fine-grained materials. The water table in the area is declining because large quantities of water are withdrawn and recharge is negligible. The decline near Luke Air Force Base during the period 1941-61 was about 150 feet. Ground water was moving generally southwest in the spring of 1961. Locally, changes in the direction of movement indicate diversion toward two major depressions. The dissolved-solids content of the ground water ranged from about 190 to 6,300 ppm. The highest concentration of dissolved solids is in water from the southern part of the area and seems to come from relatively shallow depths; wells in the northern part generally yield water of good quality. After a reconnaissance of the area, the U.S. Geological Survey located and supervised the drilling of two test wells--wells (B-2-1) 9bcb and (B-2-1) 5abc?on Luke Air Force Base. The quantity of water produced by the wells was adequate. The dissolved-solids content of water from the wells was low, and the overall quality of water from well (B-2-1) 5abc was good. When well (B-2-1) 9bcb was perforated between 907 and 977 feet, the water had a fluoride concentration of 4.4 ppm; however, the fluoride concentration decreased to 2.8 ppm when new perforations were cut at a shallower depth, and it was decided that dilution with other base water supplies probably would alleviate any possible fluoride problem.

Hydrologic reconnaissance of the Blue Creek Valley area, Box Elder County, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bolke, E.L.; Price, Don

1972-01-01

This report is the tenth in a series of reports prepared by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Rights, that describe the water resources of selected areas in northwestern Utah. The purpose of this report is to present available hydrologic data for the Blue Creek Valley area and to provide a quantitative evaluation of the potential water-resources development of the area.

Touristic infrastructure of municipalities in the border section of Bug valley's Dołhobyczów-Włodawa in the context of existing protected areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kałamucka, Wioletta; Kałamucki, Krzysztof

2011-01-01

This article presents results of research concerning tourist infrastructure in some districts located in the Bug river valley, in the context of protected areas. The territory examined includes 9 rural districts and 2 towns in the immediate neighborhood of the river. These administrative units are characterized by great natural value. Their total area is 687,7 km2 that makes 6,7% of the whole Lublin voivodship. On the other hand, the share of protected areas (without Natura 2000) is twice as high - 11,1%. Protected areas makes 37,6% of the territory under study. In some units, share of protected areas is very high: Dubienka - 72%, Horodło - 69,5%. In 2009 in the region examined there were 48 objects of collective accommodation - 16,8% of total number in the voivodship. 83,6% of all objects were situated in Włodawa. Characteristic feature of accommodation is seasonality. There are only 7 objects that functions the whole year and year-round lodging places (280) makes barely 9,3% of the totality. Comparing tourist management with presence of areas of the highest natural values, one can see strong correlation between these two indexes only in rural unit - Włodawa, located within the borders of Biosphere Reserves "Polesie Zachodnie" (West Polesie) In case of other units such a interdependance does not exist. On the contrary, there is opposite relation. In Dołhobyczów, Mircze, Horodło, where apart from areas of Natura 2000, in the Bug river valley landscapes protected areas and landscapes parks were created, tourist infrastructure is insignificant or even does not exist. The existence of large protected areas and natural value make it possible to develop various forms of environmentally friendly tourism - tourism qualified, especially fishing and canoeing, hiking, biking, nature education tourism. Tourist service centers should be located outside the valley. Due to the high natural values, caution is advisable to adapt the area for tourism. Such decisions should precede the insightful observations and fieldstudy in order not to affect the structure of natural and touristic values of this area.

Assessment of sediment sources throughout the proglacial area of a small Arctic catchment based on high-resolution digital elevation models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kociuba, Waldemar

2017-06-01

The article presents calculations of quantitative modifications of the morphology of selected subsystems of a glacial valley through: (i) identification of the spatial distribution of important sources of sediment, (ii) assessment of the spatiotemporal variety of sediment volume and landform morphology, and (iii) assessment of the role of particular subsystems in sediment distribution. The study involved a comparison of the results of field measurements from 2010 to 2013 performed in the Scott Glacier catchment (10.1 km2) in NW Wedel Jarlsberg Land (Spitsbergen). The assessment of the landform surface changes was performed by means of a precise Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) survey. The applied field and post-processing techniques for oblique laser scanning permitted the acquisition of digital elevation data at a resolution 0.01 m and density > 500 pt m- 2. This allowed the development of a detailed terrain model, and balancing spatial quantitative changes in six research test areas (10,000 m2) located within two subsystems of the catchment in a cascade arrangement. In the alluvial valley-floor subsystem, the survey covered: 1) the glacier terminus, 2) the intramarginal outwash plain, 3) the extramarginal braid-plain and 4) the alluvial fan, and in the slope subsystem: 5) the erosional-depositional slope in the gorge through terminal moraines, and 6) the solifluction slope. Three zones differing in terms of the spatiotemporal dynamics of geomorphic processes were distinguished within the two analysed valley subsystems. In the valley floor subsystem, these are: (i) the zone of basic supply (distribution throughout the melting season) and (ii) the redeposition zone (distribution particularly during floods), and in the slope subsystem: (iii) zone of periodical supply (distributed mainly in periods of increased precipitation and rapid increases in temperature in summer and during snow avalanches in winter). The glacier and the landforms of the channel and valley floor, as well as slope sediments transported as a result of mass wasting processes and activity of the active permafrost layer, constitute important sources of sediment supply over a short/3-year timescale. Evidence of major changes of the surface morphology (slopes, floodplain and channel platform) resulted in varied sediment budgets. The subtraction of consecutive DEMs of the test areas located in the alluvial valley subsystem revealed downstream spatial and volumetric differentiation, from the predominance of erosion (79% of volume; 43% of area) to the dominance of deposition (90/91%, respectively) in upper part of the valley floor to erosion predominance in the central (88/95%) and lower (87/82%) part of valley floor. The test areas located on the slope subsystem showed the opposite relationship: deposition dominance (88% of volume; 80% of area) in the upper gorge and erosion dominance (99/99%, respectively) in the lower part (solifluction slopes). The analysis of short-time repeated surveys (3-week survey) where volumes were calculated following DEM subtraction showed increased deposition (82% of volume; 79% of area) for the alluvial fan, and for solifluction slopes (70/57%, respectively).

Knickpoints and Hanging Valleys of Licus Vallis, Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goudge, T. A.; Fassett, C.

2016-12-01

Licus Vallis is a 350 km long valley system located along the dichotomy boundary on Mars. The main trunk of the valley is incised 200-700 m into the surrounding terrain. The valley heads at an outlet breach of a shallow, 30 km diameter impact crater, and is also fed by a system of tributaries incised into the plateau surrounding Licus Vallis. Many of the tributary valleys, as well as the main stem of the valley fed by the paleolake outlet, have profiles that are not smoothly graded, but rather have distinct reaches with concave downward topography. These sections are either knickpoints or hanging valleys that develop in response to changes in the effective local base level, changes in climate conditions during incision of the valley, or lithologic boundaries in the substrate. Here we present remote sensing observations from images and topography to test these competing hypotheses and further characterize the evolution of this large valley system. Slope-watershed area relationships for the tributaries and main trunk valley are used to distinguish between knickpoints and hanging valleys. Analysis of orbital images does not reveal any distinct layer above which knickpoints develop, and the elevation of knickpoints show no systematic trends that might be expected of a regional lithologic unit(s). Our preliminary results suggest that the distance of knickpoint retreat is correlated with the position of the tributary valley and not the watershed area. Downstream valleys have retreated the most, suggesting they have had the most time to adjust to lowering of the local base level associated with incision of the main valley. These results are most consistent with a wave of incision sweeping up the valley system as it adjusts to a low base level in the northern plains. This conclusion is also consistent with observations of the incision depth of Licus Vallis, which increases approximately linearly downstream. Understanding this signature of base level control on the incision of valley network systems such as Licus Vallis provides a unique opportunity to develop predictions for the evolution of regional hydrology and the martian hydrologic cycle.

Introduction. [usefulness of modern remote sensing techniques for studying components of California water resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colwell, R. N.

1973-01-01

Since May 1970, personnel on several campuses of the University of California have been conducting investigations which seek to determine the usefulness of modern remote sensing techniques for studying various components of California's earth resources complex. Emphasis has been given to California's water resources as exemplified by the Feather River project and other aspects of the California Water Plan. This study is designed to consider in detail the supply, demand, and impact relationships. The specific geographic areas studied are the Feather River drainage in northern California, the Chino-Riverside Basin and Imperial Valley areas in southern California, and selected portions of the west side of San Joaquin Valley in central California. An analysis is also given on how an effective benefit-cost study of remote sensing in relation to California's water resources might best be made.

An aeromagnetic survey in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Alaska. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anma, K.

1971-01-01

Geologic and magnetic studies of the Katmai area have further demonstrated the close relationship between the Katmai Caldera, Novarupta plug, and the pyroclastic flows in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. The magnetic fields observed appear to be associated with the thickness of the pyroclastic flow and the different rock units within it for lower flight levels, and also the contrast between the valley fill and the rock units at the Valley margins. Consistent magnetic anomalies are associated with the larger fumarole lines, which were presumably sites of large scale activity, while the smaller fumaroles are not usually seen in the aeromagnetic map. A possible correlation between low positive anomalies and nuee ardente deposits was revealed by the aeromagnetic survey, but was not strong. A ground survey was also carried out in several parts of the Valley with a view to detailed delineation of the magnetic signatures of the pyroclastic flow, as an aid to interpreting the aeromagnetic date.

A Real Options Method for Estimating the Adoption Potential of Forestry and Agroforestry Systems on Private Lands in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, USA

Treesearch

Gregory E. Frey; D. Evan Mercer; Frederick W. Cubbage; Robert C. Abt

2010-01-01

The Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (LMAV), once was the largest forested bottom-land area in the continental United States, but has undergone widespread loss of forest through conversion to farmland. Restoration of forest functions and values has been a key conservation goal in the LMAV since the 1970s. This study utilizes a partial differential real options...

Using airborne lidar as a sampling tool for estimating forest biomass resources in the upper Tanana Valley of interior Alaska

Treesearch

Hans-Erik Andersen; Jacob Strunk; Hailemariam Temesgen

2011-01-01

Airborne laser scanning, collected in a sampling mode, has the potential to be a valuable tool for estimating the biomass resources available to support bioenergy production in rural communities of interior Alaska. In this study, we present a methodology for estimating forest biomass over a 201,226-ha area (of which 163,913 ha are forested) in the upper Tanana valley...

Arbovirus Prevalence in Mosquitoes, Kenya

PubMed Central

Sutherland, Laura J.; Muiruri, Samuel; Muchiri, Eric M.; Gray, Laurie R.; Zimmerman, Peter A.; Hise, Amy G.; King, Charles H.

2011-01-01

Few studies have investigated the many mosquito species that harbor arboviruses in Kenya. During the 2006–2007 Rift Valley fever outbreak in North Eastern Province, Kenya, exophilic mosquitoes were collected from homesteads within 2 affected areas: Gumarey (rural) and Sogan-Godud (urban). Mosquitoes (n = 920) were pooled by trap location and tested for Rift Valley fever virus and West Nile virus. The most common mosquitoes trapped belonged to the genus Culex (75%). Of 105 mosquito pools tested, 22% were positive for Rift Valley fever virus, 18% were positive for West Nile virus, and 3% were positive for both. Estimated mosquito minimum infection rates did not differ between locations. Our data demonstrate the local abundance of mosquitoes that could propagate arboviral infections in Kenya and the high prevalence of vector arbovirus positivity during a Rift Valley fever outbreak. PMID:21291594

Preliminary Water-Table Map and Water-Quality Data for Part of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Alaska, 2005

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moran, Edward H.; Solin, Gary L.

2006-01-01

The Matanuska-Susitna Valley is in the northeastern part of the Cook Inlet Basin, Alaska, an area experiencing rapid population growth and development proximal to many lakes. Here water commonly flows between lakes and ground water, indicating interrelation between water quantity and quality. Thus concerns exist that poorer quality ground water may degrade local lake ecosystems. This concern has led to water-quality sampling in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. A map showing the estimated altitude of the water table illustrates potential ground-water flow directions and areas where ground- and surface-water exchanges and interactions might occur. Water quality measured in selected wells and lakes indicates some differences between ground water and surface water. 'The temporal and spatial scarcity of ground-water-level and water-quality data limits the analysis of flow direction and water quality. Regionally, the water-table map indicates that ground water in the eastern and southern parts of the study area flows southerly. In the northcentral area, ground water flows predominately westerly then southerly. Although ground and surface water in most areas of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley are interconnected, they are chemically different. Analyses of the few water-quality samples collected in the area indicate that dissolved nitrite plus nitrate and orthophosphorus concentrations are higher in ground water than in surface water.'

An Isotopic View of Water and Nitrate Transport Through the Vadose Zone in Oregon’s Southern Willamette Valley’s Groundwater Management Area (S-GWMA)

EPA Science Inventory

Groundwater nitrate contamination affects thousands of households in Oregon’s southern Willamette Valley and many more across the USA. The southern Willamette Valley Groundwater Management Area (GWMA) was established in 2004 due to nitrate levels in the groundwater exceedi...

77 FR 8895 - Jimbilnan, Pinto Valley, Black Canyon, Eldorado, Ireteba Peaks, Nellis Wash, Spirit Mountain, and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-15

..., Pinto Valley, Black Canyon, Eldorado, Ireteba Peaks, Nellis Wash, Spirit Mountain, and Bridge Canyon..., Eldorado, Ireteba Peaks, Nellis Wash, Spirit Mountain, and Bridge Canyon Wilderness Areas, Lake Mead... wilderness character; providing for reasonable use of Spirit Mountain and adjacent areas in a manner meeting...

The Skagit Valley Controversy: A Case History in Environmental Politics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perry, Thomas I., Jr.

1975-01-01

Citizens of the Skagit Valley became concerned when that area was to be flooded to produce energy for the United States. Through political citizen action, they saved this area from ecological destruction and set a precedent for further environmental policy decisions. The importance of environmental impact assessment became evident. (MA)

75 FR 77655 - Notice of Proposed Supplementary Rules for Public Lands in Colorado: Saguache, Alamosa, Rio...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-13

... included in the San Luis Resource Area Travel Management Plan (TMP), approved on June 4, 2009. These... Luis Resource Area Travel Management Plan'' in the subject line). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT... Resource Valley Travel Management Plan and Amend San Luis Valley Resource Management Plan and Start the...

75 FR 70024 - Notice of Expansion of the Lisbon Valley Known Potash Leasing Area, Utah

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-16

... expressions of interest. Any competitive leases issued will be subject to the oil and gas leasing stipulations... of Expansion of the Lisbon Valley Known Potash Leasing Area, Utah AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management... classification standards for the Utah portion of the Paradox Basin geologic province, which includes Lisbon...

Rates of evapotranspiration, recharge from precipitation beneath selected areas of native vegetation, and streamflow gain and loss in Carson Valley, Douglas County, Nevada, and Alpine County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maurer, Douglas K.; Berger, David L.; Tumbusch, Mary L.; Johnson, Michael J.

2006-01-01

Rapid growth and development in Carson Valley is causing concern over the continued availability of water resources to sustain such growth into the future. A study to address concerns over water resources and to update estimates of water-budget components in Carson Valley was begun in 2003 by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Douglas County, Nevada. This report summarizes micrometeorologic, soil-chloride, and streambed-temperature data collected in Carson Valley from April 2003 through November 2004. Using these data, estimates of rates of discharge by evapotranspiration (ET), rates of recharge from precipitation in areas of native vegetation on the eastern and northern sides of the valley, and rates of recharge and discharge from streamflow infiltration and seepage on the valley floor were calculated. These rates can be used to develop updated water budgets for Carson Valley and to evaluate potential effects of land- and water-use changes on the valley's water budget. Data from eight ET stations provided estimates of annual ET during water year 2004, the sixth consecutive year of a drought with average or below average precipitation since 1999. Estimated annual ET from flood-irrigated alfalfa where the water table was from 3 to 6 feet below land surface was 3.1 feet. A similar amount of ET, 3.0 feet, was estimated from flood-irrigated alfalfa where the water table was about 40 feet below land surface. Estimated annual ET from flood-irrigated pasture ranged from 2.8 to 3.2 feet where the water table ranged from 2 to 5 feet below land surface, and was 4.4 feet where the water table was within 2 feet from land surface. Annual ET estimated from nonirrigated pasture was 1.7 feet. Annual ET estimated from native vegetation was 1.9 feet from stands of rabbitbrush and greasewood near the northern end of the valley, and 1.5 feet from stands of native bitterbrush and sagebrush covering alluvial fans along the western side of the valley. Uncertainty in most ET estimates is about 12 percent, but ranged from +30 and +50 percent to -20 and -40 percent for nonirrigated pasture and native bitterbrush and sagebrush. Estimated rates for water year 2004 likely are less than those during years of average, or above average precipitation when the water table would be closer to land surface. Test holes drilled in areas of native vegetation on the northern and eastern sides of Carson Valley had high concentrations of soil chloride at depths ranging from 4 to 18 feet below land surface at six locations on the eastern side of the valley. The high chloride concentrations indicate that modern-day precipitation at the six locations does not percolate deeper than the root zone of native vegetation. Estimates of the time required to accumulate the measured amount of chloride to depths of about 30 feet below land surface at the six test holes ranged from about 3,000 to 12,000 years. Low concentrations of soil chloride in two test holes on the northern end of Carson Valley and in a test hole on the eastern side of Fish Spring Flat indicate that a small amount of recharge from modern-day precipitation is taking place. Estimated annual recharge from precipitation at the two locations was 0.03 and 0.04 foot on the northern end of the valley and 0.02 foot on the eastern side of Fish Spring Flat. Uncertainty in the estimated recharge rates was about ?0.01 foot. Estimates of the time required to accumulate the measured amount of chloride to depths of about 30 feet below land surface at the three test holes ranged from about 100 to 700 years. The two test holes near the northern end of the valley are in gravel and eolian sand deposits and recharge from precipitation may be taking place at similar rates in other areas with gravel and eolian sand deposits. Based on results from other test holes, recharge at the rate estimated for the test hole on the eastern side of Fish Spring Flat is not likely applicable to a large area. Data from 37 site

Volume of Valley Networks on Mars and Its Hydrologic Implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, W.; Cang, X.; Howard, A. D.; Heo, J.

2015-12-01

Valley networks on Mars are river-like features that offer the best evidence for water activities in its geologic past. Previous studies have extracted valley network lines automatically from digital elevation model (DEM) data and manually from remotely sensed images. The volume of material removed by valley networks is an important parameter that could help us infer the amount of water needed to carve the valleys. A progressive black top hat (PBTH) transformation algorithm has been adapted from image processing to extract valley volume and successfully applied to simulated landform and Ma'adim Valles, Mars. However, the volume of valley network excavation on Mars has not been estimated on a global scale. In this study, the PBTH method was applied to the whole Mars to estimate this important parameter. The process was automated with Python in ArcGIS. Polygons delineating the valley associated depressions were generated by using a multi-flow direction growth method, which started with selected high point seeds on a depth grid (essentially an inverted valley) created by PBTH transformation and grew outward following multi-flow direction on the depth grid. Two published versions of valley network lines were integrated to automatically select depression polygons that represent the valleys. Some crater depressions that are connected with valleys and thus selected in the previous step were removed by using information from a crater database. Because of large distortion associated with global dataset in projected maps, the volume of each cell within a valley was calculated using the depth of the cell multiplied by the spherical area of the cell. The volumes of all the valley cells were then summed to produce the estimate of global valley excavation volume. Our initial result of this estimate was ~2.4×1014 m3. Assuming a sediment density of 2900 kg/m3, a porosity of 0.35, and a sediment load of 1.5 kg/m3, the global volume of water needed to carve the valleys was estimated to be ~7.1×1017 m3. Because of the coarse resolution of MOLA data, this is a conservative lower bound. Comparing with the hypothesized northern ocean volume 2.3×1016 m3 estimated by Carr and Head (2003), our estimate of water volume suggests and confirms an active hydrologic cycle for early Mars. Further hydrologic analysis will improve the estimate accuracy.

27 CFR 9.44 - Solano County Green Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Solano County Green Valley. 9.44 Section 9.44 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU... Solano County Green Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area described in this section is...

75 FR 81846 - Expansion of the Santa Maria Valley Viticultural Area

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-29

... Authority Section 105(e) of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (FAA Act), 27 U.S.C. 205(e), authorizes... Valley as a ``natural funnel-shaped'' valley.) Temperatures are consistent throughout the gentle west-to...,'' Albert J. Winkler, University of California Press, 1975, pages 61-64). Soils: According to the petition...

Organisms of the Hubbard Brook Valley, New Hampshire

Treesearch

Richard T. Holmes; Gene E. Likens

1999-01-01

Lists the organisms, both plant and animal, that have been identified by scientists engaged in multidisciplinary ecological research in the Hubbard Brook Valley, New Hampshire, during the past three decades. The Valley encompasses the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, Mirror Lake, and nearby areas within the White Mountain region of Grafton County. The species lists...

Intelligent transportation systems deployment project for the Ada County Highway District FY99 Treasure Valley ITS : final self evaluation report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-11-01

In 1999, the Treasure Valley area of the State of Idaho received a federal earmark of $441,470 to develop an Incident Management Plan for the Treasure Valley and to design/deploy Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) devices for Interstates 84 and...

Alpine ethnobotany in Italy: traditional knowledge of gastronomic and medicinal plants among the Occitans of the upper Varaita valley, Piedmont

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

A gastronomic and medical ethnobotanical study was conducted among the Occitan communities living in Blins/Bellino and Chianale, in the upper Val Varaita, in the Piedmontese Alps, North-Western Italy, and the traditional uses of 88 botanical taxa were recorded. Comparisons with and analysis of other ethnobotanical studies previously carried out in other Piemontese and surrounding areas, show that approximately one fourth of the botanical taxa quoted in this survey are also known in other surrounding Occitan valleys. It is also evident that traditional knowledge in the Varaita valley has been heavily eroded. This study also examined the local legal framework for the gathering of botanical taxa, and the potential utilization of the most quoted medicinal and food wild herbs in the local market, and suggests that the continuing widespread local collection from the wild of the aerial parts of Alpine wormwood for preparing liqueurs (Artemisia genipi, A. glacialis, and A. umbelliformis) should be seriously reconsidered in terms of sustainability, given the limited availability of these species, even though their collection is culturally salient in the entire study area. PMID:19895681

Montana Valley and Foothill Prairies Ecoregion: Chapter 6 in Status and trends of land change in the Western United States--1973 to 2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Taylor, Janis L.

2012-01-01

The Montana Valley and Foothill Prairies Ecoregion comprises numerous intermountain valleys and low-elevation foothill prairies spread across the western half of Montana, on both sides of the Continental Divide (Omernik, 1987; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1997). The ecoregion, which covers approximately 64,658 km2 (24,965 mi2), includes the Flathead Valley and the valleys surrounding Helena, Missoula, Bozeman, Billings, Anaconda, Dillon, and Lewistown (fig. 1). These valleys are generally characterized by shortgrass prairie vegetation and are flanked by forested mountains (Woods and others, 1999); thus, the valleys’ biotas with regards to fish and insects are comparable. In many cases, the valleys are conduits for some of the largest rivers in the state, including Clark Fork and the Missouri, Jefferson, Madison, Flathead, Yellowstone, Gallatin, Smith, Big Hole, Bitterroot, and Blackfoot Rivers (fig. 2). The Montana Valley and Foothill Prairies Ecoregion also includes the “Rocky Mountain front,” an area of prairies along the eastern slope of the northern Rocky Mountains. Principal land uses within the ecoregion include farming, grazing, and mining. The valleys serve as major transportation and utility corridors and also contain the majority of Montana’s human population. The Montana Valley and Foothill Prairies Ecoregion extends into 17 mostly rural counties throughout western Montana. Only three of the counties—Carbon, Yellowstone, and Missoula—are part of a metropolitan statistical area with contiguous built-up areas tied to an employment center. Nearly two-thirds of Montana residents live in nonmetropolitan counties (Albrecht, 2008). Ten of the counties within the ecoregion had population growth rates greater than national averages (9–13 percent) between 1970 and 2000 (table 1). Ravalli and Gallatin Counties had the highest growth rates. Population growth was largely due to amenity-related inmigration and an economy dependent on tourism, health care, and services. Counties that had population declines, such as Deer Lodge, Silver Bow, and Meagher Counties, also had declines in agriculture and mining activity, and they had railroad closures as well. Climate varies from north to south and from the east side of the Continental Divide to the west side. However, all areas are semiarid with long cold winters and short growing seasons. In the western part of the ecoregion, Beaverhead, Bitterroot, Flathead, and Lolo National Forests provide the natural resources, particularly timber, that form the economic base for towns within nearby valleys. Mineral resources from mines in and around Anaconda, Deer Lodge, and Butte have long provided an economic base for these towns (fig. 3).

Multi-scale curvature for automated identification of glaciated mountain landscapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasicek, Günther; Otto, Jan-Christoph; Montgomery, David; Schrott, Lothar

2014-05-01

Automated morphometric interpretation of digital terrain data based on impartial rule sets holds substantial promise for large dataset processing and objective landscape classification. However, the geomorphological realm presents tremendous complexity in the translation of qualitative descriptions into geomorphometric semantics. Here, the simple, conventional distinction of V-shaped fluvial and U-shaped glacial valleys is analyzed quantitatively using the relation of multi-scale curvature and drainage area. Glacial and fluvial erosion shapes mountain landscapes in a long-recognized and characteristic way. Valleys incised by fluvial processes typically have V-shaped cross-sections with uniform and moderately steep slopes, whereas glacial valleys tend to have U-shaped profiles and topographic gradients steepening with distance from valley floor. On a DEM, thalweg cells are determined by a drainage area cutoff and multiple moving window sizes are used to derive per-cell curvature over a variety of scales ranging from the vicinity of the flow path at the valley bottom to catchment sections fully including valley sides. The relation of the curvatures calculated for the user-defined minimum scale and the automatically detected maximum scale is presented as a novel morphometric variable termed Difference of Minimum Curvature (DMC). DMC thresholds determined from typical glacial and fluvial sample catchments are employed to identify quadrats of glaciated and non-glaciated mountain landscapes and the distinctions are validated by field-based geological and geomorphological maps. A first test of the novel algorithm at three study sites in the western United States and a subsequent application to Europe and western Asia demonstrate the transferability of the approach.

Map showing geochemistry of stream sediments in the Jerry Peak Wilderness Study Area, Custer County, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Callahan, J.E.; McIntyre, D.H.; Cooley, E.F.; Cookro, T.M.

1984-01-01

The Jerry Peak Wilderness Study Area is about 25 mi south of Challis in Custer County, central Idaho (fig. 1). The study area contains 46,150 acres of land administered by the by the Bureau of Land Management and 1 sq mi owned by the State of Idaho, a total of 46,790 acres. Most of the study area is readily accessible by roads along tributaries of the East Fork Salmon River, especially Road Creek, Herd Creek, and Lake Creek. The southeastern part of the area can be reached from Road Creek by the road down Peck's Canyon and by roads from Thousand Springs Valley, southeast of the study area. Several access roads to past logging operations extend up Sage Creek and its tributaries in the southeast part of the study area. Access to points within the northern part of the area is facilitated by jeep trails that connect with Road Creek and lake Creek and by improved road that extends northward from Herd Lake. The study area is moderately rugged, with local relief approaching 2,000 ft. Jerry (10,010 ft), the highest point within the area, is a low knoll on a north-trending linear ridge (fig. 1). The ridge has not been glaciated, despite its relatively high altitude. Most of the area is thinly covered by grass and low shrubs; trees, for the most part, are restricted to valley bottoms or to local, small groves on hillslopes.

Evaluation of hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry of Truckee Meadows area, Washoe County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cohen, Philip M.; Loeltz, Omar J.

1964-01-01

Practically all the ground water of economic importance in the Truckee Meadows area, an alluviated intermontane basin in western Nevada is in the valley fill, which consists of unconsolidated and partially consolidated sedimentary deposits. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic consolidated rocks of the mountains bordering the valley contain some water in fractures and other openings, but they have virtually no interstitial permeability. The permeability of the valley fill is extremely variable. The Truckee Formation, which is the oldest deposit of the valley fill, yields very little water to wells. Permeable lenses of sand and gravel in the valley fill that are younger than the Truckee Formation yield moderate to large amounts of water to wells. The estimated average annual recharge to and discharge from the groundwater reservoir is 35,000 acre-feet. About 25,000 acre-feet of the recharge is from the infiltration of irrigation water diverted from the Truckee River. Most of the discharge is by evapotranspiration and by seepage to ditches and streams. Some water in the area is unsuitable for many uses because of its poor chemical quality. Water in the Steamboat Springs area is hot and has high concentrations of chloride and dissolved solids. Both water draining areas of bleached rock and ground water downgradient from areas of leached rock have high concentrations of sulfate and dissolved solids. Surface water of low dissolved-solids content mixes with and dilutes some highly mineralized ground water. Increased pumping in discharge areas will help to alleviate waterlogged conditions and will decrease ground-water losses by evapotranspiration. Increased pumping near the Truckee River may induce recharge from the river to the ground-water system.

The potential effects of global warming on changes in canine leishmaniasis in a focus outside the classical area of the disease in southern France.

PubMed

Dereure, Jacques; Vanwambeke, Sophie O; Malé, Pierre; Martinez, Susana; Pratlong, Francine; Balard, Yves; Dedet, Jean-Pierre

2009-12-01

In 1994, an ecoepidemiologic study was carried out in the mid-Ariège valley (French Pyrenees) where autochthonous cases of canine leishmaniasis had been previously reported. Serologic samples were collected from 336 dogs in two groups of villages. The seroprevalences were 11.67% in the valley villages and only 1.43% in the foothill villages. Five lymph node biopsies were taken from serologically positive dogs, and resultant isolates were identified as Leishmania infantum zymodeme MON-1. Phlebotomine sandflies were collected in five locations by CDC light traps. Both of the known French vectors, Phlebotomus ariasi and P. perniciosus, were identified. Bioclimatic and floristic studies showed that this area is an enclave of the supra-Mediterranean climatic zone, containing a typically xerothermophilic Mediterranean flora. The Pyrenees Mountains are usually considered to be outside of the endemic range of leishmaniasis in southern France, and so our demonstration of a microfocus of canine leishmaniasis in the northern foothills is noteworthy. A second serologic survey carried out in 2007 (216 dogs) showed an inversion of the seropositive rates between the two groups of villages compared with those of 1994: only 2.72% in the valley villages and 11.32% in the foothills villages. The decrease of seroprevalence in the first area (valley villages) can be related to a considerable use of deltamethrin collars during the transmission season. The increase of seroprevalence of the foothill villages could be related to climatic conditions, since there was an increase of about 1 degrees C in the mean annual temperature.

Exploring changes in the spatial distribution of stream baseflow generation during a seasonal recession

USGS Publications Warehouse

Payn, R.A.; Gooseff, M.N.; McGlynn, B.L.; Bencala, K.E.; Wondzell, S.M.

2012-01-01

Relating watershed structure to streamflow generation is a primary focus of hydrology. However, comparisons of longitudinal variability in stream discharge with adjacent valley structure have been rare, resulting in poor understanding of the distribution of the hydrologic mechanisms that cause variability in streamflow generation along valleys. This study explores detailed surveys of stream base flow across a gauged, 23 km2 mountain watershed. Research objectives were (1) to relate spatial variability in base flow to fundamental elements of watershed structure, primarily topographic contributing area, and (2) to assess temporal changes in the spatial patterns of those relationships during a seasonal base flow recession. We analyzed spatiotemporal variability in base flow using (1) summer hydrographs at the study watershed outlet and 5 subwatershed outlets and (2) longitudinal series of discharge measurements every ~100 m along the streams of the 3 largest subwatersheds (1200 to 2600 m in valley length), repeated 2 to 3 times during base flow recession. Reaches within valley segments of 300 to 1200 m in length tended to demonstrate similar streamflow generation characteristics. Locations of transitions between these segments were consistent throughout the recession, and tended to be collocated with abrupt longitudinal transitions in valley slope or hillslope-riparian characteristics. Both within and among subwatersheds, correlation between the spatial distributions of streamflow and topographic contributing area decreased during the recession, suggesting a general decrease in the influence of topography on stream base flow contributions. As topographic controls on base flow evidently decreased, multiple aspects of subsurface structure were likely to have gained influence.

Hydrological Responses of Weather Conditions and Crop Change of Agricultural Area in the Rincon Valley, New Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahn, S.; Sheng, Z.; Abudu, S.

2017-12-01

Hydrologic cycle of agricultural area has been changing due to the impacts of climate and land use changes (crop coverage changes) in an arid region of Rincon Valley, New Mexico. This study is to evaluate the impacts of weather condition and crop coverage change on hydrologic behavior of agricultural area in Rincon Valley (2,466km2) for agricultural watershed management using a watershed-scale hydrologic model, SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool). The SWAT model was developed to incorporate irrigation of different crops using auto irrigation function. For the weather condition and crop coverage change evaluation, three spatial crop coverages including a normal (2008), wet (2009), and dry (2011) years were prepared using USDA crop data layer (CDL) for fourteen different crops. The SWAT model was calibrated for the period of 2001-2003 and validated for the period of 2004-2006 using daily-observed streamflow data. Scenario analysis was performed for wet and dry years based on the unique combinations of crop coverages and releases from Caballo Reservoir. The SWAT model simulated the present vertical water budget and horizontal water transfer considering irrigation practices in the Rincon Valley. Simulation results indicated the temporal and spatial variability for irrigation and non-irrigation seasons of hydrologic cycle in agricultural area in terms of surface runoff, evapotranspiration, infiltration, percolation, baseflow, soil moisture, and groundwater recharge. The water supply of the dry year could not fully cover whole irrigation period due to dry weather conditions, resulting in reduction of crop acreage. For extreme weather conditions, the temporal variation of water budget became robust, which requires careful irrigation management of the agricultural area. The results could provide guidelines for farmers to decide crop patterns in response to different weather conditions and water availability.

Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the North San Francisco Bay Shallow Aquifer study unit, 2012; California GAMA Priority Basin Project (ver. 1.1, February 2018)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bennett, George L.

2017-07-20

Groundwater quality in the North San Francisco Bay Shallow Aquifer study unit (NSF-SA) was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study unit is in Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma Counties and included two physiographic study areas: the Valleys and Plains area and the surrounding Highlands area. The NSF-SA focused on groundwater resources used for domestic drinking water supply, which generally correspond to shallower parts of aquifer systems than that of groundwater resources used for public drinking water supply in the same area. The assessments characterized the quality of untreated groundwater, not the quality of drinking water.This study included three components: (1) a status assessment, which characterized the status of the quality of the groundwater resources used for domestic supply for 2012; (2) an understanding assessment, which evaluated the natural and human factors potentially affecting water quality in those resources; and (3) a comparison between the groundwater resources used for domestic supply and those used for public supply.The status assessment was based on data collected from 71 sites sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey for the GAMA Priority Basin Project in 2012. To provide context, concentrations of constituents measured in groundwater were compared to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water regulatory and non-regulatory benchmarks for drinking-water quality. The status assessment used a grid-based method to estimate the proportion of the groundwater resources that has concentrations of water-quality constituents approaching or above benchmark concentrations. This method provides statistically unbiased results at the study-area scale and permits comparisons to other GAMA Priority Basin Project study areas.In the NSF-SA study unit as a whole, inorganic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at high relative concentrations (RCs) in 27 percent of the shallow aquifer system, and inorganic constituents with secondary maximum contaminant levels (SMCL) were detected at high RCs in 24 percent of the system. The inorganic constituents detected at high RCs were arsenic, boron, fluoride, manganese, nitrate, iron, sulfate, and total dissolved solids (TDS). Organic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at high RCs in 1 percent of the shallow aquifer system. Of the 148 organic constituents analyzed, 30 constituents were detected, although only 1, chloroform, had a detection frequency greater than 10 percent.Natural and anthropogenic factors that could affect the groundwater quality were evaluated by using results from statistical testing of associations between constituent concentrations and values of potential explanatory factors. Groundwater age class (modern, mixed, or pre-modern), redox class (oxic or anoxic), aquifer lithology class (metamorphic, sedimentary, or volcanic), and dissolved oxygen concentrations were the explanatory factors that explained distribution patterns of most of the inorganic constituents best. Groundwater classified primarily as pre-modern or mixed in age was associated with higher concentrations of arsenic and fluoride than waters classified as modern. Anoxic or mixed redox conditions were associated with higher concentrations of boron, fluoride, and manganese. Similar patterns of association with explanatory variables were seen for inorganic constituents with aesthetic-based benchmarks detected at high concentrations. Nitrate and perchlorate had higher concentrations in oxic than in the anoxic redox class and were positively correlated with urban land use.The NSF-SA water-quality results were compared to those of the GAMA North San Francisco Bay Public-Supply Aquifer study unit (NSF-PA). The NSF-PA was sampled in 2004 and covers much of the same area as the NSF-SA, but focused on the deeper public-supply aquifer system. The comparison of the NSF-PA to the NSF-SA showed that there were more differences between the Valleys and Plains study areas of the two study units than between the Highlands study areas of the two study units. As expected from the shallower depth of wells, the NSF-SA Valleys and Plains study area had a lesser proportion of pre-modern age groundwater and greater proportion of modern age groundwater than the NSF-PA Valleys and Plains study area. In contrast, well depths and groundwater ages were not significantly different between the two Highlands study areas. Arsenic, manganese, and nitrate were present at high RCs, and perchlorate was detected in greater proportions of the NSF-SA Valleys and Plains study area than the NSF-PA Valleys and Plains study area.

Foehn-induced effects on local dust pollution, frontal clouds and solar radiation in the Dead Sea valley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kishcha, Pavel; Starobinets, Boris; Savir, Amit; Alpert, Pinhas; Kaplan, Michael

2018-06-01

Despite the long history of investigation of foehn phenomena, there are few studies of the influence of foehn winds on air pollution and none in the Dead Sea valley. For the first time the foehn phenomenon and its effects on local dust pollution, frontal cloudiness and surface solar radiation were analyzed in the Dead Sea valley, as it occurred on 22 March 2013. This was carried out using both numerical simulations and observations. The foehn winds intensified local dust emissions, while the foehn-induced temperature inversion trapped dust particles beneath this inversion. These two factors caused extreme surface dust concentration in the western Dead Sea valley. The dust pollution was transported by west winds eastward, to the central Dead Sea valley, where the speed of these winds sharply decreased. The transported dust was captured by the ascending airflow contributing to the maximum aerosol optical depth (AOD) over the central Dead Sea valley. On the day under study, the maximum surface dust concentration did not coincide with the maximum AOD: this being one of the specific effects of the foehn phenomenon on dust pollution in the Dead Sea valley. Radar data showed a passage of frontal cloudiness through the area of the Dead Sea valley leading to a sharp drop in noon solar radiation. The descending airflow over the downwind side of the Judean Mountains led to the formation of a cloud-free band followed by only the partial recovery of solar radiation because of the extreme dust pollution caused by foehn winds.

Selected hydrologic data for the Bonneville Salt Flats and Pilot Valley, western Utah, 1991-93

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mason, James L.; Brothers, William C.; Gerner, Linda J.; Muir, Pamela S.

1995-01-01

This report contains hydrologic data collected during 1991-93 in the Bonneville Salt Flats and Pilot Valley study area of western Utah. These data were collected in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, as part of a study to investigate possible salt loss from the Bonneville Salt Flats. The Bonneville Salt Flats and adjacent Pilot Valley are located in the western part of the Great Salt Lake Desert in Utah, near the Nevada border. The Bonneville Salt Flats playa has a thick, perennial salt crust and the Pilot Valley playa has a thin, ephemeral salt crust. Well-completion data, including well depth and screened intervals, are presented in this report for selected shallow and deep monitoring wells. Water-level measurements are reported with corresponding specfic-gravity and temperature measurements. Results of chemical analyses are reported for brine collected from wells and pore fluids extracted from cores.

Master Plan for Public Use Development and Resource Management, Lake Traverse, Minnesota - South Dakota.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-05-01

White Rock Dam Recreation Area 25 Reservation Highway Recreation Area 27 Brown’s Valley Dike Recreation Area 28 Potential Recreation Areas 28 Section...Development 35 White Rock Dam 35 Reservation Highway 39 Brown’s Valley Dike 39 Land Use Allocation 42 Project Operations ൲ Operations: Recreation--Intensive...Facilities 4 Proposed Facilities v i i u < *1 I_ • In I . .. PROJECT DAT ~PROJECT DATA LAKE TRAVERSE AND RESERVATION DAM Reservoir Flowage rights to

Implementation of ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography for inspecting the Greco-Roman Necropolis at Kilo 6 of the Golden Mummies Valley, Bahariya Oasis, Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbas, Abbas M.; Ghazala, Hosni H.; Mesbah, Hany S.; Atya, Magdy A.; Radwan, Ali; Hamed, Diaa E.

2016-06-01

Bahariya Oasis is one of the lately inspected spots in Egypt and has a long historical record extending from the old kingdom till the emergence of Islam. Since June 1999, the Valley of the Golden Mummies near Bawiti (at kilometer 6 on the road leads to Farafra Oasis) became significant due to the discoveries of amazing mummies of gelded faces. The archeologists believe that the Valley has more valuable tombs that still unrevealed. Also, the possibility that the Greco-Roman Necropolis extends to areas other than Kilo-6 is sustainable. The ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography are two geophysical tools that have successful applications in archeological assessment. The two techniques were used in integration plan to assert the archeological potentiality of the studied site and to map the feasible tombs. Sum of 798 GPR profiles and 19 ERT cross sections was carried out over the study area. The results of them were analyzed to envisage these results in archeological terms.

Effects of Groundwater Development on Uranium: Central Valley, California, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jurgens, B.C.; Fram, M.S.; Belitz, K.; Burow, K.R.; Landon, M.K.

2010-01-01

Uranium (U) concentrations in groundwater in several parts of the eastern San Joaquin Valley, California, have exceeded federal and state drinking water standards during the last 20 years. The San Joaquin Valley is located within the Central Valley of California and is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. Increased irrigation and pumping associated with agricultural and urban development during the last 100 years have changed the chemistry and magnitude of groundwater recharge, and increased the rate of downward groundwater movement. Strong correlations between U and bicarbonate suggest that U is leached from shallow sediments by high bicarbonate water, consistent with findings of previous work in Modesto, California. Summer irrigation of crops in agricultural areas and, to lesser extent, of landscape plants and grasses in urban areas, has increased Pco2 concentrations in the soil zone and caused higher temperature and salinity of groundwater recharge. Coupled with groundwater pumping, this process, as evidenced by increasing bicarbonate concentrations in groundwater over the last 100 years, has caused shallow, young groundwater with high U concentrations to migrate to deeper parts of the groundwater system that are tapped by public-supply wells. Continued downward migration of U-affected groundwater and expansion of urban centers into agricultural areas will likely be associated with increased U concentrations in public-supply wells. The results from this study illustrate the potential long-term effects of groundwater development and irrigation-supported agriculture on water quality in arid and semiarid regions around the world. Journal compilation ?? 2009 National Ground Water Association. No claim to original US government works.

Space Radar Image of Sunbury, Pennsylvania

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-04-14

Scientists are using this radar image of the area surrounding Sunbury, Pennsylvania to study the geologic structure and land use patterns in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge province. This image was collected on October 6, 1994 by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/ X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) on orbit 102 of the space shuttle Endeavour. The image is centered on latitude 40.85 degrees North latitude and 76.79 degrees West longitude. The area shown is approximately 30.5 km by 38 km. (19 miles by 24 miles). North is towards the upper right of the image. The Valley and Ridge province occurs in the north-central Appalachians, primarily in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. It is an area of adjacent valleys and ridges that formed when the Appalachian mountain were created some 370 to 390 million years ago. During the continental collision that formed the Appalachians, the rocks in this area were pushed from the side and buckled much like a rug when pushed from one end. Subsequent erosion has produced the landscape we see in this image. The more resistant rocks, such as sandstone, form the tops of the ridges which appear as forested greenish areas on this image. The less resistant rocks, such as limestone, form the lower valleys which are cleared land and farm fields and are purple in this image. Smaller rivers and streams in the area flow along the valleys and in places cut across the ridges in "water gaps." In addition to defining the geography of this region, the Valley and Ridge province also provides this area with natural resources. The valleys provide fertile farmland and the folded mountains form natural traps for oil and gas accumulation; coal deposits are also found in the mountains. The colors in the image are assigned to different frequencies and polarizations of the SIR-C radar as follows: red is L-band horizontally transmitted, horizontally received; green is L-band horizontally transmitted, vertically received; blue is C-band horizontally transmitted, horizontally received. The river junction near the top of the image is where the West Branch River flows into the Susquehanna River, which then flows to the south-southwest past the state capitol of Harrisburg, 70 km (43 miles) to the south and not visible in this image. The town of Sunbury is shown along the Susquehanna on the east just to the southeast of the junction with West Branch. Three structures that cross the Susquehanna; the northern and southern of these structures are bridges and middle structure is the Shamokin Dam which confines the Susquehanna just south of the junction with West Branch. The prominent S-shaped mountain ridge in the center of the image is, from north to south, Little Mountain (the top of the S), Line Mountain (the middle of the S), and Mahantango Mountain (the bottom of the S). http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01306

Preliminary report on geophysics of the Verde River headwaters region, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langenheim, V.E.; Duval, J.S.; Wirt, Laurie; DeWitt, Ed

2000-01-01

This report summarizes the acquisition, data processing, and preliminary interpretation of a high-resolution aeromagnetic and radiometric survey near the confluence of the Big and Little Chino basins in the headwaters of the Verde River, Arizona. The goal of the aeromagnetic study is to improve understanding of the geologic framework as it affects groundwater flow, particularly in relation to the occurrence of springs in the upper Verde River headwaters region. Radiometric data were also collected to map surficial rocks and soils, thus aiding geologic mapping of the basin fill. Additional gravity data were collected to enhance existing coverage. Both aeromagnetic and gravity data indicate a large gradient along the Big Chino fault, a fault with Quaternary movement. Filtered aeromagnetic data show other possible faults within the basin fill and areas where volcanic rocks are shallowly buried. Gravity lows associated with Big Chino and Williamson Valleys indicate potentially significant accumulations of low-density basin fill. The absence of a gravity low associated with Little Chino Valley indicates that high-density rocks are shallow. The radiometric maps show higher radioactivity associated with the Tertiary latites and with the sediments derived from them. The surficial materials on the eastern side of the Big Chino Valley are significantly lower in radioactivity and reflect the materials derived from the limestone and basalt east of the valley. The dividing line between the low radioactivity materials to the east and the higher radioactiviy materials to the west coincides approximately with the major drainage system of the valley, locally known as Big Chino Wash. This feature is remarkably straight and is approximately parallel to the Big Chino Fault. The uranium map shows large areas with concentrations greater than 5 ppm eU, and we expect that these areas will have a significantly higher risk potential for indoor radon.

Pajaro River Basin UVAS - Carnadero Creek, Santa Clara County, California. General Design Memorandum. Phase I. Main Report and Environmental Statement.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-07-01

hills and nine wineries are located in the study area. Most agricultural land in the study area is irrigated by groundwater. Labor Force and...Vineyards in the hills supply nine wineries located in the study area. Most of the agricultural land in the study area is irrigated by pumped ground water... wineries located in the study area. Some pasture and grain are grown around the fringes of the valley floor. 4.39 There are 60 manufacturing plants in

The hydrogeology of the Tully Valley, Onondaga County, New York: an overview of research, 1992-2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kappel, William M.

2014-01-01

Onondaga Creek begins approximately 15 miles south of Syracuse, New York, and flows north through the Onondaga Indian Nation, then through Syracuse, and finally into Onondaga Lake in central New York. Tully Valley is in the upper part of the Onondaga Creek watershed between U.S. Route 20 and the Valley Heads end moraine near Tully, N.Y. Tully Valley has a history of several unusual hydrogeologic phenomena that affected past land use and the water quality of Onondaga Creek; the phenomena are still present and continue to affect the area today (2014). These phenomena include mud volcanoes or mudboils, landslides, and land-surface subsidence; all are considered to be naturally occurring but may also have been influenced by human activity. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Onondaga Lake Partnership, began a study of the Tully Valley mudboils beginning in October 1991 in hopes of understanding (1) what drives mudboil activity in order to remediate mudboil influence on the water quality of Onondaga Creek, and (2) land-surface subsidence issues that have caused a road bridge to collapse, a major pipeline to be rerouted, and threatened nearby homes. Two years into this study, the 1993 Tully Valley landslide occurred just over 1 mile northwest of the mudboils. This earth slump-mud flow was the largest landslide in New York in more than 70 years (Fickies, 1993); this event provided additional insight into the geology and hydrology of the valley. As the study of the Tully Valley mudboils progressed, other unusual hydrogeologic phenomena were found within the Tully Valley and provided the opportunity to perform short-term, small-scale studies, some of which became graduate student theses—Burgmeier (1998), Curran (1999), Morales-Muniz (2000), Baldauf (2003), Epp (2005), Hackett, (2007), Tamulonis (2010), and Sinclair (2013). The unusual geology and hydrology of the Tully Valley, having been investigated for more than two decades, provides the basis for this report.

Vascular plant checklist of the Chimney Spring and Limestone Flats Prescribed Burning Study Areas within ponderosa pine experimental forests in northern Arizona

Treesearch

Catherine Scudieri; James F. Fowler; Carolyn Hull Sieg; Laura Williams; Sally M. Haase

2008-01-01

This paper presents a vascular plant species list for two sites that are part of a long-term study exploring the effects of varying fire intervals on forest characteristics including the abundance and composition of understory vegetation. The Chimney Spring study area is on the Fort Valley Experimental Forest near Flagstaff, AZ, and the Limestone Flats study area is on...

Mapping deep aquifer salinity trends in the southern San Joaquin Valley using borehole geophysical data constrained by chemical analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillespie, J.; Shimabukuro, D.; Stephens, M.; Chang, W. H.; Ball, L. B.; Everett, R.; Metzger, L.; Landon, M. K.

2016-12-01

The California State Water Resources Control Board and the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources are collaborating with the U.S. Geological Survey to map groundwater resources near oil fields and to assess potential interactions between oil and gas development and groundwater resources. Groundwater resources having salinity less than 10,000 mg/L total dissolved solids may be classified as Underground Sources of Drinking Water (USDW) and subject to protection under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. In this study, we use information from oil well borehole geophysical logs, oilfield produced water and groundwater chemistry data, and three-dimensional geologic surfaces to map the spatial distribution of salinity in aquifers near oil fields. Salinity in the southern San Joaquin Valley is controlled primarily by depth and location. The base of protected waters occurs at very shallow depths, often < 300 meters, in the western part of the valley where aquifer recharge is low in the rain shadow of the Coast Ranges. The base of protected water is much deeper, often >1,500 meters, in the eastern part of the San Joaquin Valley where higher runoff from the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada provide relatively abundant aquifer recharge. Stratigraphy acts as a secondary control on salinity within these broader areas. Formations deposited in non-marine environments are generally fresher than marine deposits. Layers isolated vertically between confining beds and cut off from recharge sources may be more saline than underlying aquifers that outcrop in upland areas on the edge of the valley with more direct connection to regional recharge areas. The role of faulting is more ambiguous. In some areas, abrupt changes in salinity may be fault controlled but, more commonly, the faults serve as traps separating oil-bearing strata that are exempt from USDW regulations, from water-bearing strata that are not exempt.

A recombinant Rift Valley fever virus glycoprotein subunit vaccine confers full protection against Rift Valley fever challenge in sheep

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic pathogen causing disease outbreaks in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The virus has great potential for transboundary spread due to the presence of competent vectors in non-endemic areas. There is currently no fully licensed vaccine suita...

Assessing effects of seasonality on the epidemiology of Pierce’s disease in the southern San Joaquin Valley

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Introduction of the glassy-winged sharpshooter to California resulted in epidemics of Pierce’s disease in the Temecula Valley and the southern San Joaquin Valley in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, respectively. In response, an area-wide suppression program was initiated that successfully suppresse...

27 CFR 9.214 - Haw River Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Haw River Valley. 9.214... River Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area described in this section is “Haw River Valley”. For purposes of part 4 of this chapter, “Haw River Valley” and “Haw River” are terms of viticultural...

Assessing the impact of climate change on soil salinity development in agricultural areas using ground and satellite sensors

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Changes in climatic patterns have impacted some agricultural areas. Examples include the historic drought in California’s San Joaquin Valley (2011-2015) and the recent 18-year above average annual rainfall and snowfall in the Red River Valley of the Midwestern USA (1993-2011). Climate change has imp...

Ecological restoration experiments (1992-2007) at the G. A. Pearson Natural Area, Fort Valley Experimental Forest

Treesearch

Margaret M. Moore; W. Wallace Covington; Peter Z. Fule; Stephen C. Hart; Thomas E. Kolb; Joy N. Mast; Stephen S. Sackett; Michael R. Wagner

2008-01-01

In 1992 an experiment was initiated at the G. A. Pearson Natural Area on the Fort Valley Experimental Forest to evaluate long-term ecosystem responses to two restoration treatments: thinning only and thinning with prescribed burning. Fifteen years of key findings about tree physiology, herbaceous, and ecosystem responses are presented.

Isostatic gravity map of the Death Valley ground-water model area, Nevada and California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ponce, D.A.; Blakely, R.J.; Morin, R.L.; Mankinen, E.A.

2001-01-01

An isostatic gravity map of the Death Valley groundwater model area was prepared from over 40,0000 gravity stations as part of an interagency effort by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Energy to help characterize the geology and hydrology of southwest Nevada and parts of California.

Rio Grande Valley State Park maintenance, improvements, and developments

Treesearch

Tony Barron

1996-01-01

Managing the Rio Grande Valley State Park as a valued riparian-wetland area is very important as it encourages conditions for the growth of vegetation. This growth supports a riparian community consisting of various insects, animals, birds, and fish, as well as other wildlife. Human activity in riparian areas has led to historic use patterns causing erosion, re-...

Assessment and recommendations for two sites with active and potential aquaculture production in Rift Valley and Coast Provinces, Kenya

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Kenya has a long history of local fish consumption. The population in the Lake Victoria area (Rift Valley Province) Northwest of Nairobi and coastal communities (Coast Province) have historically included fish in their diet. Migration from villages to urban areas and increasing commerce has created ...

Forest resources of the Susitna Valley, Alaska.

Treesearch

Karl M. Hegg

1970-01-01

This report summarizes the data from the first intensive inventory of the forests in the Susitna Valley, Alaska, conducted during the period 1964-65. The primary purposes of the inventory were to determine the total area of forested lands, the commercial forest area and timber volume, and the condition and growth of this resource, and to report on...

Geologic map of the Lower Valley quadrangle, Caribou County, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Oberlindacher, H. Peter; Hovland, R. David; Miller, Susan T.; Evans, James G.; Miller, Robert J.

2018-04-05

The Lower Valley 7.5-minute quadrangle, located in the core of the Southeast Idaho Phosphate Resource Area, includes Mississippian to Triassic marine sedimentary rocks, Pliocene to Pleistocene basalt, and Tertiary to Holocene surficial deposits. The Mississippian to Triassic marine sedimentary sequence was deposited on a shallow shelf between an emergent craton to the east and the Antler orogenic belt to the west. The Meade Peak Phosphatic Shale Member of the Permian Phosphoria Formation hosts high-grade deposits of phosphate that were the subject of geologic studies through much of the 20th century. Open-pit mining of the phosphate has been underway within and near the Lower Valley quadrangle for several decades.

Using Geomorphologic Data and Numerical Hydrodynamic Models To Delineate Flood Hazards On Alluvial Fans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, D.; Shaller, P.; Cattarossi, A.

The 100-year flood hazard was reappraised for a parcel of land in the central Coachella Valley of southern California, USA, by use of geologic mapping, geomorphic analy- sis, analysis of historical aerial photos, and computer-aided hydrologic modeling. An- nual precipitation is only about 6 inches, but the area is subject to rare but extreme rainfall events resulting from thunderstorms and hurricanes. The principal flooding hazard at the parcel is from nearby Thousand Palms Wash, which transmits drainage directly from the Little San Bernardino Mountains into the central Coachella Valley. A perceived secondary flood hazard originates from several drainage basins in the Little San Bernardino Mountains northwest of the Indio Hills. This source was the subject of this investigation. The San Andreas fault, which consists of two major active strands in the upper Coachella Valley area, dominates the geology, landforms, groundwater conditions and surface hydrology in the study area. Gouge associated with the faults impedes groundwater flow, resulting in shallow groundwater levels, lush vegetation, and the stabilization of large masses of sand dunes along the fault traces. Sand forms dominate the surface of the Coachella Valley and pose two barriers to storm water flow: a physical barrier created by their height, and a hydrologic barrier caused by their high infiltration rate. Probable routes of future storm water flows in the study area were evaluated using historical aerial photos of flood events that struck the area between 1974 and 1991. The Willow Hole gap is the most direct route for storm waters from the Little San Bernardino Mountains to the central Coachella Valley. Historical air photo data indicate that storm water from the Little San Bernardino Mountains does not normally flow through the gap, but rather is shunted around a large shutter ridge associated with the San Andreas fault. Two FLO-2D hydrologic models were developed to evaluate the 100-year flooding potential at the subject property from sources in the Little San Bernardino Mountains. The upstream model, which was run assuming no infiltration, was used as input to the downstream model, which was run using three different values for infiltration. Where infiltration was considered at all (even at a level much lower than the minimum predicted from soils mapping of the area), no storm water from the Little San Bernardino Mountains was able reach the 1 subject property whatsoever. The subject property therefore does not appear to be at risk from secondary flooding sources in the Little San Bernardino Mountains in the 100-year storm. This case study was performed in accordance with new guidelines for flood hazards on alluvial fans issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency who is the lead agency in the USA that identifies flood prone areas. 2

The Imperial Valley of California is critical to wintering Mountain Plovers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wunder, Michael B.; Knopf, F.L.

2003-01-01

We surveyed Mountain Plovers (Charadrius montanus) wintering in the Imperial Valley of California in January 2001, and also recorded the types of crop fields used by plovers in this agricultural landscape. We tallied 4037 plovers in 36 flocks ranging in size from 4 to 596 birds. Plovers were more common on alfalfa and Bermudagrass fields than other field types. Further, most birds were on alfalfa fields that were currently being (or had recently been) grazed, primarily by domestic sheep. Plovers used Bermudagrass fields only after harvest and subsequent burning. Examination of Christmas Bird Count data from 1950–2000 indicated that the Mountain Plover has abandoned its historical wintering areas on the coastal plains of California. Numbers in the Central Valley seem to have undergone recent declines also. We believe that the cultivated landscape of the Imperial Valley provides wintering habitats for about half of the global population of Mountain Plovers. We attribute the current importance of the Imperial Valley for Mountain Plovers to loss of native coastal and Central Valley habitats rather than to a behavioral switching of wintering areas through time. Future changes in specific cropping or management practices in the Imperial Valley will have a major impact on the conservation status of this species.

Using airborne light detection and ranging as a sampling tool for estimating forest biomass resources in the upper Tanana Valley of interior Alaska

Treesearch

Hans-Erik Andersen; Jacob Strunk; Hailemariam Temesgen

2011-01-01

Airborne laser scanning, collected in a sampling mode, has the potential to be a valuable tool for estimating the biomass resources available to support bioenergy production in rural communities of interior Alaska. In this study, we present a methodology for estimating forest biomass over a 201,226-ha area (of which 163,913 ha are forested) in the upper Tanana valley...

The development of deep karst in the anticlinal aquifer structure based on the coupling of multistage flow systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, M.; Zhong, L.; Yang, Y.

2017-12-01

Under the background of neotectonics, the multistage underground flow system has been form due the different responses of main stream and tributaries to crust uplift. The coupling of multistage underground flow systems influences the development of karst thoroughly. At first, the research area is divided into vadose area, shunted area and exorheic area based on the development characteristics of transverse valley. Combining the controlling-drain action with topographic index and analyzing the coupling features of multistage underground flow system. And then, based on the coupling of multistage underground flow systems, the characteristics of deep karst development were verified by the lossing degree of surface water, water bursting and karst development characteristics of tunnels. The vadose area is regional water system based, whose deep karst developed well. It resulted the large water inflow of tunnels and the surface water drying up. The shunted area, except the region near the transverse valleys, is characterized by regional water system. The developed deep karst make the surface water connect with deep ground water well, Which caused the relatively large water flow of tunnels and the serious leakage of surface water. The deep karst relatively developed poor in the regions near transverse valleys which is characterized by local water system. The exorheic area is local water system based, whose the deep karst developed poor, as well as the connection among surface water and deep ground water. It has result in the poor lossing of the surface water under the tunnel construction. This study broadens the application field of groundwater flow systems theory, providing a new perspective for the study of Karst development theory. Meanwhile it provides theoretical guidance for hazard assessment and environmental negative effect in deep-buried Karst tunnel construction.

Remote geologic structural analysis of Yucca Flat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foley, M. G.; Heasler, P. G.; Hoover, K. A.; Rynes, N. J.; Thiessen, R. L.; Alfaro, J. L.

1991-12-01

The Remote Geologic Analysis (RGA) system was developed by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) to identify crustal structures that may affect seismic wave propagation from nuclear tests. Using automated methods, the RGA system identifies all valleys in a digital elevation model (DEM), fits three-dimensional vectors to valley bottoms, and catalogs all potential fracture or fault planes defined by coplanar pairs of valley vectors. The system generates a cluster hierarchy of planar features having greater-than-random density that may represent areas of anomalous topography manifesting structural control of erosional drainage development. Because RGA uses computer methods to identify zones of hypothesized control of topography, ground truth using a well-characterized test site was critical in our evaluation of RGA's characterization of inaccessible test sites for seismic verification studies. Therefore, we applied RGA to a study area centered on Yucca Flat at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and compared our results with both mapped geology and geologic structures and with seismic yield-magnitude models. This is the final report of PNL's RGA development project for peer review within the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Arms Control (OAC) seismic-verification community. In this report, we discuss the Yucca Flat study area, the analytical basis of the RGA system and its application to Yucca Flat, the results of the analysis, and the relation of the analytical results to known topography, geology, and geologic structures.

Bedrock mapping of buried valley networks using seismic reflection and airborne electromagnetic data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oldenborger, G. A.; Logan, C. E.; Hinton, M. J.; Pugin, A. J.-M.; Sapia, V.; Sharpe, D. R.; Russell, H. A. J.

2016-05-01

In glaciated terrain, buried valleys often host aquifers that are significant groundwater resources. However, given the range of scales, spatial complexity and depth of burial, buried valleys often remain undetected or insufficiently mapped. Accurate and thorough mapping of bedrock topography is a crucial step in detecting and delineating buried valleys and understanding formative valley processes. We develop a bedrock mapping procedure supported by the combination of seismic reflection data and helicopter time-domain electromagnetic data with water well records for the Spiritwood buried valley aquifer system in Manitoba, Canada. The limited spatial density of water well bedrock observations precludes complete depiction of the buried valley bedrock topography and renders the water well records alone inadequate for accurate hydrogeological model building. Instead, we leverage the complementary strengths of seismic reflection and airborne electromagnetic data for accurate local detection of the sediment-bedrock interface and for spatially extensive coverage, respectively. Seismic reflection data are used to define buried valley morphology in cross-section beneath survey lines distributed over a regional area. A 3D model of electrical conductivity is derived from inversion of the airborne electromagnetic data and used to extrapolate buried valley morphology over the entire survey area. A spatially variable assignment of the electrical conductivity at the bedrock surface is applied to different features of the buried valley morphology identified in the seismic cross-sections. Electrical conductivity is then used to guide construction of buried valley shapes between seismic sections. The 3D locus of points defining each morphological valley feature is constructed using a path optimization routine that utilizes deviation from the assigned electrical conductivities as the cost function. Our resulting map represents a bedrock surface of unprecedented detail with more complexity than has been suggested by previous investigations. Our procedure is largely data-driven with an adaptable degree of expert user input that provides a clear protocol for incorporating different types of geophysical data into the bedrock mapping procedure.

Geomorphic characteristics and classification of Duluth-area streams, Minnesota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fitzpatrick, Faith A.; Peppler, Marie C.; DePhilip, Michele M.; Lee, Kathy E.

2006-01-01

In 2003 and 2004, a geomorphic assessment of streams in 20 watersheds in the Duluth, Minn., area was conducted to identify and summarize geomorphic characteristics, processes, disturbance mechanisms, and potential responses to disturbance. Methods used to assess the streams included watershed characterization, descriptions of segment slopes and valley types, historical aerial photograph interpretation, and rapid field assessments and intensive field surveys of stream reaches. Geomorphic conditions were summarized into a segment-scale classification with 15 categories mainly based on drainage-network position and slope, and, secondarily, based on geologic setting, valley type, and dominant geomorphic processes. Main causes of geomorphic disturbance included historical logging and agriculture, and ongoing urban development, human-caused channel alterations, road and storm sewer drainage, ditching, hiking trails, and gravel pits or quarries. Geomorphic responses to these disturbances are dependent on a combination of drainage-network position, slope, and geologic setting. Geologic setting is related to drainage-network position because the geologic deposits parallel the Lake Superior shoreline. Headwater streams in large watersheds flow over glacial deposits above altitudes of about 1,200 feet (ft). Headwater tributaries and upper main stems have ditch-like channels with gentle slopes and no valleys. Urban development and road drainage cause increased runoff and flood peaks in these segments resulting in channel widening. Below about 1,200 ft, main-stem segments generally are affected by bedrock type and structure and have steep slopes and confined or entrenched valleys. Increases in flood peaks do not cause incision or widening in the bedrock-controlled valleys; instead, the flow and scour areas are expanded. Feeder tributaries to these main stems have steep, confined valleys and may be sources for sediment from urban areas, road runoff, or storm sewer outfalls. Main-stem segments near the glacial deposits/surficial bedrock contact (1,000–1,200 ft) have the most potential for response to disturbance because they tend to have narrow valleys with sandy glacial lakeshore deposits and moderate slopes. Increases in flood peaks (from upstream increases in runoff) increase the potential for landslides and mass wasting from valley sides as well as channel widening.

Hydrology and simulation of ground-water flow in Cedar Valley, Iron County, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brooks, Lynette E.; Mason, James L.

2005-01-01

Cedar Valley, located in the eastern part of Iron County in southwestern Utah, is experiencing rapid population growth. Cedar Valley traditionally has supported agriculture, but the growing population needs a larger share of the available water resources. Water withdrawn from the unconsolidated basin fill is the primary source for public supply and is a major source of water for irrigation. Water managers are concerned about increasing demands on the water supply and need hydrologic information to manage this limited water resource and minimize flow of water unsuitable for domestic use toward present and future public-supply sources.Surface water in the study area is derived primarily from snowmelt at higher altitudes east of the study area or from occasional large thunderstorms during the summer. Coal Creek, a perennial stream with an average annual discharge of 24,200 acre-feet per year, is the largest stream in Cedar Valley. Typically, all of the water in Coal Creek is diverted for irrigation during the summer months. All surface water is consumed within the basin by irrigated crops, evapotranspiration, or recharge to the ground-water system.Ground water in Cedar Valley generally moves from primary recharge areas along the eastern margin of the basin where Coal Creek enters, to areas of discharge or subsurface outflow. Recharge to the unconsolidated basin-fill aquifer is by seepage of unconsumed irrigation water, streams, direct precipitation on the unconsolidated basin fill, and subsurface inflow from consolidated rock and Parowan Valley and is estimated to be about 42,000 acre-feet per year. Stable-isotope data indicate that recharge is primarily from winter precipitation. The chloride mass-balance method indicates that recharge may be less than 42,000 acre-feet per year, but is considered a rough approximation because of limited chloride concentration data for precipitation and Coal Creek. Continued declining water levels indicate that recharge is not sufficient to meet demand. Water levels in many areas are at or close to historic lows.In 2000, withdrawal from wells was estimated to be 36,000 acre-feet per year. About 4,000 acre-feet per year are estimated to discharge to evapotranspiration or as subsurface outflow. Prior to large-scale ground-water development, ground-water discharge by evapotranspiration and discharge to springs was much larger.Ground water along the eastern margin of the valley between Cedar City and Enoch is unsuitable for domestic use because of high dissolved-solids and nitrate concentrations. The predominant ions of Ca and SO4 in this area indicate dissolution of gypsum in the Markagunt Plateau to the east. Data collected during this study were compared to historic data; there is no evidence to indicate deterioration in ground-water quality. The spatial distribution of ground water with high nitrate concentration does not appear to be migrating beyond its previously known extent. No single source can be identified as the cause for elevated nitrate concentrations in ground water. Low nitrogen-15 values north of Cedar City indicate a natural geologic source. Higher nitrogen-15 values toward the center of the basin and associated hydrologic data indicate probable recharge from waste-water effluent. Excess dissolved nitrogen gas and low nitrate concentrations in shallow ground water indicate that denitrification is occurring in some areas.A computer ground-water flow model was developed to simulate flow in the unconsolidated basin fill. The method of determining recharge from irrigation was changed during the calibration process to incorporate more areal and temporal variability. In general, the model accurately simulates water levels and water-level fluctuations and can be considered an adequate tool to help determine the valley-wide effects on water levels of additional ground-water withdrawals and changes in water use. The model was used to simulated water-level changes caused by projecting current withdrawal rates, increased withdrawal rates, and a 10-year drought. Water levels declined 20 to 275 feet in the southern and central parts of the valley and less than 20 feet north of Enoch

Ground-water resources of the lower Rio Grande Valley area, Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baker, R.C.; Dale, O.C.

1964-01-01

Further studies should be made in the area to correct important deficiencies in available information. A continuing program is recommended because information such as fluctuations in water levels and the amount and distribution of pumping can be obtained only on a current basis.

The study of ozone variations in the Las Vegas metropolitan area using remote sensing information and ground observations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Xian, G.; Crane, M.

2006-01-01

Urban development in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, has grown rapidly in the past fifty years. Associated with this growth has been a change in landscape from natural cover types to developed urban land mixed with planned vegetation canopy throughout in the metropolitan area. Air quality in the Las Vegas Valley has been affected by increases in anthropogenic emissions and concentrations of carbon monoxide, ozone, and criteria pollutants of particular matter. Ozone concentration in the region is generally influenced by synoptic and mesoscale meteorological conditions, as well as regional transport of pollutants from the western side of Las Vegas. Local influences from ground-level nitrogen oxide emissions and vegetation canopy coverage also affect ozone concentration. Multi-year observational data collected by a network of local air monitoring stations in Clark County, Nevada, indicate that ozone maximums develop in May and June, while minimums exist primarily from November to February. Ozone concentrations are high on the west and northwest sides of the valley. A nighttime ozone reduction in the urban area characterizes the heterogeneous features of spatial distribution for average ozone levels in the Las Vegas urban area. The urban vegetation canopy has a locally positive effect by reducing ozone in urban areas. Decreased ozone levels associated with increased urban development density suggests that the highest ozone concentrations are associated with medium- to low-density urban development in Las Vegas.

Valley formation by groundwater seepage, pressurized groundwater outbursts and crater-lake overflow in flume experiments with implications for Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marra, Wouter A.; Braat, Lisanne; Baar, Anne W.; Kleinhans, Maarten G.

2014-04-01

Remains of fluvial valleys on Mars reveal the former presence of water on the surface. However, the source of water and the hydrological setting is not always clear, especially in types of valleys that are rare on Earth and where we have limited knowledge of the processes involved. We investigated three hydrological scenarios for valley formation on Mars: hydrostatic groundwater seepage, release of pressurized groundwater and crater-lake overflow. Using physical modeling in laboratory experiments and numerical hydrological modeling we quantitatively studied the morphological development and processes involved in channel formation that result from these different sources of water in unconsolidated sediment. Our results show that valleys emerging from seeping groundwater by headward erosion form relatively slowly as fluvial transport takes place in a channel much smaller than the valley. Pressurized groundwater release forms a characteristic source area at the channel head by fluidization processes. This head consist of a pit in case of superlithostatic pressure and may feature small radial channels and collapse features. Valleys emerging from a crater-lake overflow event develop quickly in a run-away process of rim erosion and discharge increase. The valley head at the crater outflow point has a converging fan shape, and the rapid incision of the rim leaves terraces and collapse features. Morphological elements observed in the experiments can help in identifying the formative processes on Mars, when considerations of experimental scaling and lithological characteristics of the martian surface are taken into account. These morphological features might reveal the associated hydrological settings and formative timescales of a valley. An estimate of formative timescale from sediment transport is best based on the final channel dimensions for groundwater seepage valleys and on the valley dimensions for pressurized groundwater release and crater-lake overflow valleys. Our experiments show that different sources of water form valleys of similar size in quite different timescales.

Estimates of average annual tributary inflow to the lower Colorado River, Hoover Dam to Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Owen-Joyce, Sandra J.

1987-01-01

Estimates of tributary inflow by basin or area and by surface water or groundwater are presented in this report and itemized by subreaches in tabular form. Total estimated average annual tributary inflow to the Colorado River between Hoover Dam and Mexico, excluding the measured tributaries, is 96,000 acre-ft or about 1% of the 7.5 million acre-ft/yr of Colorado River water apportioned to the States in the lower Colorado River basin. About 62% of the tributary inflow originates in Arizona, 30% in California, and 8% in Nevada. Tributary inflow is a small component in the water budget for the river. Most of the quantities of unmeasured tributary inflow were estimated in previous studies and were based on mean annual precipitation for 1931-60. Because mean annual precipitation for 1951-80 did not differ significantly from that of 1931-60, these tributary inflow estimates are assumed to be valid for use in 1984. Measured average annual runoff per unit drainage area on the Bill Williams River has remained the same. Surface water inflow from unmeasured tributaries is infrequent and is not captured in surface reservoirs in any of the States; it flows to the Colorado River gaging stations. Estimates of groundwater inflow to the Colorad River valley. Average annual runoff can be used in a water budget; although in wet years, runoff may be large enough to affect the calculation of consumptive use and to be estimated from hydrographs for the Colorado River valley are based on groundwater recharge estimates in the bordering areas, which have not significantly changed through time. In most areas adjacent to the Colorado River valley, groundwater pumpage is small and pumping has not significantly affected the quantity of groundwater discharged to the Colorado River valley. In some areas where groundwater pumpage exceeds the quantity of groundwater discharge and water levels have declined, the quantity of discharge probably has decreased and groundwater inflow to the Colorado River valley will eventually be reduced if not stopped completely. Groundwater discharged at springs below Hoover Dam is unused and flows directly to the Colorado River. (Lantz-PTT)

Impact assessment of proposed ski areas: A GIS approach integrating biological, physical and landscape indicators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Geneletti, Davide

Ski centres are characterized by significant environmental impacts that occur during both the construction and the operation phase. In Trentino, a well-known ski destination located in northern Italy, new ski areas were identified by planning tools without conducting a formal assessment of their effects on the environment. This paper presents a study to assess and compare the impacts of the proposed ski areas within two valleys strongly linked to winter tourism: the Fiemme and Fassa Valleys. The method is based on the computation of spatial indicators using a Geographical Information System (GIS) to predict and quantify critical impacts, such asmore » ecosystem loss and fragmentation, soil erosion, geomorphologic hazards, interference with flora and fauna, and visibility. Subsequently, multicriteria analysis was applied to generate composite indices, and to rank ski areas according to their overall suitability. Finally, sensitivity analyses allowed to test the stability of the results. The study concluded that two of the proposed ski areas are located in highly unsuitable environment, and the relevant plan provisions should be revised.« less

Hydrogeology of a drift-filled bedrock valley near Lino Lakes, Anoka County, Minnesota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Winter, T.C.; Pfannkuch, H.O.

1976-01-01

The bedrock surface of east-central Minnesota is dissected by an intricate network of valleys. Outside the bedrock valley at site B, 3 mi (4. 8 km) from site A, 100 ft (30 m) of drift overlies the bedrock surface. Observation wells were installed at the two sites to determine the vertical ground-water movement between the various aquifer units and the lateral movement between the two sites. An aquifer test of the lowest valley-fill aquifer at site A showed that the observation well completed in the same aquifer as the pumping well responded immediately; whereas a lag of about 100 min occurred between the lower valley fill and uppermost body of sand and gravel. This indicates that the hydraulic connection between these two layers is poor at the immediate site. Test results show that the lower sand-and-gravel aquifer has a transmissivity between 14,000 and 27,000 ft2/d (1,300 and 2,500 m2/d). Although the hydraulic gradient is vertically downward in the valley, much of the drift fill is poorly permeable. This suggests that the quantity of downward-percolating water reaching the lowest valley-fill aquifer is relatively small at the test site. Because valley cut through a number of bedrock aquifers in the region, they could potentially be an important avenue of contamination from land-surface waste. In addition, the vast network of bedrock valleys in the Twin Cities area might cause contaminants to disseminate rather rapidly throughout a large area.

Quality and sources of shallow ground water in areas of recent residential development in Salt Lake Valley, Salt Lake County, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thiros, Susan A.

2003-01-01

Residential and commercial development of about 80 square miles that primarily replaced undeveloped and agricultural areas occurred in Salt Lake Valley, Utah, from 1963 to 1994. This study evaluates the occurrence and distribution of natural and anthropogenic compounds in shallow ground water underlying recently developed (post 1963) residential and commercial areas. Monitoring wells from 23 to 153 feet deep were installed at 30 sites. Water-quality data for the monitoring wells consist of analyses of field parameters, major ions, trace elements, nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds.Dissolved-solids concentration ranged from 134 to 2,910 milligrams per liter (mg/L) in water from the 30 monitoring wells. Dissolved arsenic concentration in water from 12 wells exceeded the drinking-water maximum contaminant level of 10 micrograms per liter. Water from monitoring wells in the northwestern part of the valley generally contained higher arsenic concentrations than did water from other areas. Nitrate concentration in water sampled from 26 of the 30 monitoring wells (86.7 percent) was higher than a background level of 2 mg/L, indicating a possible human influence. Nitrate concentrations ranged from less than 0.05 to 13.3 mg/L.Fifteen of the 104 pesticides and pesticide degradation products analyzed for were detected in 1 or more water samples from the monitoring wells. No pesticides were detected at concentrations that exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water standards or guidelines for 2002. The high detection frequency of atrazine, a restricted-use pesticide, in residential areas on the west side of Salt Lake Valley may be the result of application in agricultural or industrial areas that have been converted to residential uses or application in areas upgradient from the residential areas that was then transported by ground water.Fifteen of the 86 volatile organic compounds analyzed for were detected in 1 or more water samples from the monitoring wells. The most frequently detected volatile organic compounds were chloroform (90 percent), bromodichloromethane (56.7 percent), tetrachloroethylene (53.3 percent), and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (50 percent). The widespread occurrence of chloroform and bromodichloromethane in shallow ground water is likely a result of the recharge of chlorinated public-supply water used to irrigate lawns and gardens in residential areas of Salt Lake Valley. Tetrachloroethylene (PCE), primarily used as a dry cleaning agent and solvent, was detected in water from 16 wells.

Erosion and deposition produced by the flood of December 1964 on Coffee Creek, Trinity County, California

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stewart, J.H.; LaMarrhe, V.C. Jr.

1967-01-01

The flood was unprecedented in the 110-yr period since settlement of the area and had a catastrophic effect on the valley of Coffee Creek. Erosion destroyed large areas of meadowland and forests containing 200-yr old trees and many of the buildings and structures on the valley bottom. Deposits of sand and poorly sorted gravel laid down during the flood cover at least 70% of the flooded area. The largest boulder transported was approximately 6 x 4 x 3 ft. Natural levees formed during the flood occur along the sides of the main flood channels. These levees are composed of coarsemore » bouldery gravel, are generally 30-50 ft wide, and slope gently away from the flood channel. Along much of the valley the amount of material lost from an area where the postflood surface is below the preflood surface (net scour) tends to be matched by a corresponding gain of material in nearby areas where the postflood surface is above the preflood surface (net fill). The effect of the 1964 flood on Coffee Creek clearly indicates that it is catastrophic events of this sort that largely determine valley morphology, channel pattern and location, and the character of alluvial deposits. (24 refs.)« less

Hydrology of the Ferron sandstone aquifer and effects of proposed surface-coal mining in Castle Valley, Utah, with sections on stratigraphy and leaching of overburden

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lines, Gregory C.; Morrissey, Daniel J.; Ryer, Thomas A.; Fuller, Richard H.

1983-01-01

Coal in the Ferron Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale of Cretaceous age has traditionally been mined by underground techniques in the Emery Coal Field in the southern end of Castle Valley in east-central Utah. However, approximately 99 million tons are recoverable by surface mining. Ground water in the Ferron is the sole source of supply for the town of Emery, but the aquifer is essentially untapped outside the Emery area.The Ferron Sandstone Member crops out along the eastern edge of Castle Valley and generally dips 2 ? to 10 ? to the northwest. Sandstones in the Ferron are enclosed between relatively impermeable shale in the Tununk and Blue Gate Members of the Mancos Shale. Along the outcrop, the Ferron ranges in thickness from about 80 feet in the northern part of Castle Valley to 850 feet in the southern part. The Ferron also generally thickens in the subsurface downdip from the outcrop. Records from wells and test holes indicate that the full thickness of the Ferron is saturated with water in most areas downdip from the outcrop area.Tests in the Emery area indicate that transmissivity of the Ferron sandstone aquifer ranges from about 200 to 700 feet squared per day where the Ferron is fully saturated. Aquifer transmissivity is greatest near the Paradise Valley-Joes Valley fault system where permeability has been increased by fracturing. Storage coefficient ranges from about 10 .6 to 10 -3 where the Ferron sandstone aquifer is confined and probably averages 5 x 10-2 where it is unconfined.

Glacial history of Tranquilo glacier (Central Patagonia) since the Last Glacial Maximum through to the present.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sagredo, E. A.; Araya, P. S.; Schaefer, J. M.; Kaplan, M. R.; Kelly, M. A.; Lowell, T. V.; Aravena, J. C.

2014-12-01

Deciphering the timing and the inter-hemispheric phasing of former glacial fluctuations is critical for understanding the mechanisms and climate signals underlying these glacial events. Here, we present a detailed chronology of glacial fluctuations for Río Tranquilo glacier (47°S), since the LGM, including up to the present. Río Tranquilo is a small glacial valley located on the northern flank of Monte San Lorenzo, an isolated granitic massif, ~70 km to the east of the southern limit of the Northern Patagonian Icefield. Although Mt. San Lorenzo is located on the leeward side of the Andes, it is one of the most glacierized mountains in the region, with an ice surface area of ~140 km2. Geomorphic evidence suggests that during past episodes of climate change several small glaciers that today occupy the headwalls of Río Tranquilo valley expanded and coalesced, depositing a series of moraines complexes along the flanks and bottom of the valley. We used two independent dating techniques to constrain the age of the glacial history of the area. 10Be surface exposure ages from boulders located atop moraine ridges reveal that Río Tranquilo valley underwent glacial expansion/stabilization during at least the LGM (late LGM?), Late glacial (ACR and Younger Dryas) and Mid-Holocene. Within the Mid-Holocene limits, tree-ring based chronology indicates that Río Tranquilo glacier expanded during the Late Holocene as well. Our results are the first detailed chronology of glacial fluctuations from a single valley glacier, spanning the entire period from the (end of the) LGM up to the present, in southern South America. By identifying different glacial episodes within a single alpine valley, this study provides baseline data for studying the relative magnitude of the climate events responsible for these glacial events.

Extensional Structures on the Po Valley Side of the Northern Apennines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bettelli, G.; Vannucchi, P.; Capitani, M.

2001-12-01

The present-day tectonics of the Northern Apennines is characterized by extension in the inner Tyrrhenian side and compression in the outer Po Valley-Adriatic side. The boundary separating the two domains, extensional and compressional, is still largely undetermined and mainly based on geophysical data (focal mechanisms of earthquakes). Map-scale extensional structures have been studied only along the Tyrrhenian side of the Northern Apennines (Tuscany), while along the Po Valley-Adriatic area the field studies concentrated on compressional features. A new, detailed field mapping of the Po Valley side of the Northern Apennines carried out in the last ten years within the Emilia Romagna Geological Mapping Program has shown the presence of a large extensional fault crossing the high Bologna-Modena-Reggio Emilia provinces, from the Sillaro to the Val Secchia valleys. This Sillaro-Val Secchia Normal Fault (SVSNF) is NW-SE trending, NE dipping and about 80 km long. The age, based on the younger displaced deposits, is post-Miocene. The SVSNF is a primary regional structure separating the Tuscan foredeep units from the Ligurian Units in the south-east sector of the Northern Apennines, and it is responsible for the exhumation of the Tuscan foredeep units along the Apennine water divide. The sub-vertical, SW-NE trending faults, formerly interpreted as strike slip, are transfer faults associated to the extensional structure. A geological cross-section across the SVSNF testifies a former thickness reduction and lamination of the Ligurian Units, as documented in the field, in the innermost areas of the Bologna-Modena-Reggio Emilia hills, implying the occurrence of a former extensional fault. These data indicate that the NE side of the water divide has already gone under extension reducing the compressional domain to the Po Valley foothills and plain. They can also help in interpreting the complex Apennines kinematics.

Hydrology and simulation of ground-water flow in Kamas Valley, Summit County, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brooks, L.E.; Stolp, B.J.; Spangler, L.E.

2003-01-01

Kamas Valley, Utah, is located about 50 miles east of Salt Lake City and is undergoing residential development. The increasing number of wells and septic systems raised concerns of water managers and prompted this hydrologic study. About 350,000 acre-feet per year of surface water flows through Kamas Valley in the Weber River, Beaver Creek, and Provo River, which originate in the Uinta Mountains east of the study area. The ground-water system in this area consists of water in unconsolidated deposits and consolidated rock; water budgets indicate very little interaction between consolidated rock and unconsolidated deposits. Most recharge to consolidated rock occurs at higher altitudes in the mountains and discharges to streams and springs upgradient of Kamas Valley. About 38,000 acre-feet per year of water flows through the unconsolidated deposits in Kamas Valley. Most recharge is from irrigation and seepage from major streams; most discharge is to Beaver Creek in the middle part of the valley. Long-term water-level fluctuations range from about 3 to 17 feet. Seasonal fluctuations exceed 50 feet. Transmissivity varies over four orders of magnitude in both the unconsolidated deposits and consolidated rock and is typically 1,000 to 10,000 feet squared per day in unconsolidated deposits and 100 feet squared per day in consolidated rock as determined from specific capacity. Water samples collected from wells, streams, and springs had nitrate plus nitrite concentrations (as N) substantially less than 10 mg/L. Total and fecal coliform bacteria were detected in some surface-water samples and probably originate from livestock. Septic systems do not appear to be degrading water quality. A numerical ground-water flow model developed to test the conceptual understanding of the ground-water system adequately simulates water levels and flow in the unconsolidated deposits. Analyses of model fit and sensitivity were used to refine the conceptual and numerical models.

22. VIEW EAST TOWARDS WAIKOLU VALLEY OF PIPELINE ALONG PALI. ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

22. VIEW EAST TOWARDS WAIKOLU VALLEY OF PIPELINE ALONG PALI. EYE BOLTS IN ROCK FACE AT RIGHT WERE USED BRIEFLY IN PLACE OF PIERS TO SUSPEND PIPE BY CHAIN BECAUSE THE CONCRETE PIERS WERE SUSCEPTIBLE TO HEAVY WAVE ACTION IN THIS AREA. - Kalaupapa Water Supply System, Waikolu Valley to Kalaupapa Settlement, Island of Molokai, Kalaupapa, Kalawao County, HI

Home destruction examination: Grass Valley Fire, Lake Arrowhead, California

Treesearch

Jack D. Cohen; Richard D. Stratton

2008-01-01

The Grass Valley Fire started October 22, 2007 at approximately 0508, one-mile west of Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains. Fuel and weather conditions were extreme due to drought, dry Santa Ana winds, and chaparral and conifer vegetation on steep terrain. The fire proceeded south through the Grass Valley drainage one-mile before impacting an area of dense...

Sierra Nevada, California

NASA Image and Video Library

1994-09-30

STS068-267-097 (30 September-11 October 1994) --- An extensive view eastward from the irrigated San Joaquin Valley in the foreground, across the Sierra Nevada (living up to its name in early October), into the desert of eastern California and Nevada (which has no snow, despite the name). Mono Lake is just visible at the left edge of the frame; Owens Valley extends southward to Owens Lake, the next valley is Panamint Valley, and then Death Valley. Las Vegas and Lake Mead are visible at the upper right of the frame. The Space Radar Laboratory 2 (SRL-2) obtained extensive, multiple-pass data from many test sites within the region displayed, including Mammoth Mountain ski area south of Mono Lake, and in Death Valley.

Vascular plant checklist of the Chimney Spring and Limestone Flats prescribed burning study areas within ponderosa pine experimental forests in northern Arizona (P-53)

Treesearch

Catherine Scudieri; James Fowler; Carolyn Hull Sieg; Laura Williams; Sally Haase

2008-01-01

This paper presents a vascular plant species list for two sites that are part of a long-term study exploring the effects of varying fire intervals on forest characteristics including the abundance and composition of understory vegetation. The Chimney Spring study area is on the Fort Valley Experimental Forest near Flagstaff, AZ and the Limestone Flats study area is on...

Extensive Quaternary glaciations in eastern Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeşilyurt, Serdar; Akçar, Naki; Doǧan, Uǧur; Yavuz, Vural; Ivy-Ochs, Susan; Vockenhuber, Christof; Schlunegger, Fritz; Schlüchter, Christian

2016-04-01

During cold periods in the Quaternary, global ice volume increased and as a result valley glaciers advanced and the vice versa occurred during the warm periods. Quaternary glacier fluctuations had been also recorded in the Turkish mountains. Recently, the chronology of Late Quaternary advances in the northern and western Turkish mountains was reconstructed by surface exposure dating. However, these advances in the eastern Turkey are not dated yet. In this study, we investigated paleoglaciations in Kavuşşahap Mountains, which is located to the south of Lake Van in eastern Turkey. These mountains are one of the extensively glaciated areas in Turkey. Glacial activity is evidenced by more than 20 U-shaped valleys. For instance, one of the prominent and well-preserved glacial landscapes of Turkey is situated in the Narlıca valley system. Lateral and terminal moraines in the valley system indicate more than 10 glacial advances. To build their chronology, 39 erratic carbonaceous boulders were sampled for surface exposure dating with cosmogenic 36Cl. We also reconstructed the ice margin reconstruction of the Narlıca paleoglacier using the accumulation area ratio and area-altitude balance ratio approaches. We estimated an equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of ca. 2900 m above sea level based on the maximum ice extend, which implied ca. 800 m decrease in the ELA during the Late Quaternary in comparison to the lower bound of the modern ELA estimate. The first results of the surface exposure dating will be presented.

Ecological restoration experiments (1992-2007) at the G.A. Pearson Natural Area, Fort Valley Experimental Forest (P-53)

Treesearch

Margaret M. Moore; Wallace Covington; Peter Z. Fulé; Stephen C. Hart; Thomas E. Kolb; Joy N. Mast; Stephen S. Sackett; Michael R. Wagner

2008-01-01

In 1992 an experiment was initiated at the G. A. Pearson Natural Area on the Fort Valley Experimental Forest to evaluate long-term ecosystem responses to two restoration treatments: thinning only and thinning with prescribed burning. Fifteen years of key findings about tree physiology, herbaceous, and ecosystem responses are presented.

Map showing depth to pre-Cenozoic basement in the Death Valley ground-water model area, Nevada and California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Blakely, R.J.; Ponce, D.A.

2001-01-01

A depth to basement map of the Death Valley groundwater model area was prepared using over 40,0000 gravity stations as part of an interagency effort by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Energy to help characterize the geology and hydrology of southwest Nevada and parts of California.

Potential impact of air quality restrictions on logging residue burning

Treesearch

Owen P. Cramer; James N. Westwood

1970-01-01

The number of potential burning days and the potential burn acreage under smoke control restrictions were estimated for hypothetical forest areas on both sides of a pollution prone area, the Willamette Valley in western Oregon. On the basis of a sample of 2 dry years, the greatest impact on burning operations applied to low elevation forests west of the Valley. The...

Evaluating connection of aquifers to springs and streams, Great Basin National Park and vicinity, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prudic, David E.; Sweetkind, Donald S.; Jackson, Tracie R.; Dotson, K. Elaine; Plume, Russell W.; Hatch, Christine E.; Halford, Keith J.

2015-12-22

Groundwater flow from southern Spring Valley continues through the western side of Hamlin Valley before being directed northeast toward the south end of Snake Valley. This flow is constrained by southward-flowing groundwater from Big Spring Wash and northward-flowing groundwater beneath central Hamlin Valley. The redirection to the northeast corresponds to a narrowing of the width of flow in southern Snake Valley caused by a constriction formed by a steeply dipping middle Paleozoic siliciclastic confining unit exposed in the flanks of the mountains and hills on the east side of southern Snake Valley and shallowly buried beneath basin fill in the valley. The narrowing of groundwater flow could be responsible for the large area where groundwater flows to springs or is lost to evapotranspiration between Big Springs in Nevada and Pruess Lake in Utah.

Ground-water quality in east-central Idaho valleys

USGS Publications Warehouse

Parliman, D.J.

1982-01-01

From May through November 1978, water quality, geologic, and hydrologic data were collected for 108 wells in the Lemhi, Pahsimeroi, Salman River (Stanley to Salmon), Big Lost River, and Little Lost River valleys in east-central Idaho. Data were assembled to define, on a reconnaissance level, water-quality conditions in major aquifers and to develop an understanding of factors that affected conditions in 1978 and could affect future ground-water quality. Water-quality characteristics determined include specific conductance, pH, water temperature, major dissolved cations, major dissolved anions, and coliform bacteria. Concentrations of hardness, nitrite plus nitrate, coliform bacteria, dissolved solids, sulfate, chloride, fluoride , iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium or bicarbonate exceed public drinking water regulation limits or were anomalously high in some water samples. Highly mineralized ground water probably is due to the natural composition of the aquifers and not to surface contamination. Concentrations of coliform bacteria that exceed public drinking water limits and anomalously high dissolved nitrite-plus-nitrite concentrations are from 15- to 20-year old irrigation wells in heavily irrigated or more densely populated areas of the valleys. Ground-water quality and quantity in most of the study area are sufficient to meet current (1978) population and economic demands. Ground water in all valleys is characterized by significant concentrations of calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate plus carbonate ions. Variations in the general trend of ground-water composition (especially in the Lemhi Valley) probably are most directly related to variability in aquifer lithology and proximity of sampling site to source of recharge. (USGS)

Surface Sediment Geochemistry in and around the Hudson Shelf Valley Offshore of New York

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mecray, E. L.; ten Brink, M. B.; Butman, B.; Denny, J.; Murray, R. W.

2001-05-01

The Hudson Shelf Valley, an ancient submerged portion of the Hudson River, extends across the continental shelf offshore of New York and New Jersey. Between 1959 and 1987, the area near the head of the valley was used for disposal of approximately 1.20 x 108 m3 of dredged material and sewage sludge. The distribution of metal concentrations and sediment characteristics were used to investigate the transport and fate of the sediments and their associated contaminants. Surface (0-2cm) sediments collected at 440 stations throughout the New York Bight between 1993 and 1998 were used to establish the regional distribution of pollutant metals, grain size, organic carbon, and Clostridium perfringens spores. Sediments in the New York Bight are generally sandy, however fine-grained sediments are found in the axis of the Valley. Statistical methods identified common sources and chemical mobility within groups of anthropogenic and naturally-occurring elements. High metal concentrations, fine-grained sediments, and higher organic carbon concentrations co-occur in depo-centers within the Valley. Normalization of the metal concentrations to these factors shows higher metal concentrations on the fine-grained particles in sandy areas of the Bight, particularly along the southern shore of Long Island. These distributions have implications for evaluating the impact of the mass distribution for contaminated metals in different habitats and areas. Decreasing concentrations of pollutants with time are observed, reflecting reduced contaminant loading in the upper region of the Valley; however, concentrations are still above natural background levels.

Formation of regolith-collapse sinkholes in southern Illinois: Interpretation and identification of associated buried cavities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Panno, S.V.; Wiebel, C.P.; Heigold, P.C.; Reed, P.C.

1994-01-01

Three regolith-collapse sinkholes formed near the Dongola Unit School and the Pentecostal Church in the southern Illinois village of Dongola (Union County) during the spring of 1993. The sinkholes appeared over a three-month period that coincided with development of a new municipal well. The new well was drilled through clay-rich, valley-fill sediment into karstified limestone bedrock. The piezometric surface of the limestone aquifer is above land surface, indicating the presence of an upward hydraulic gradient in the valley and that the valley fill is acting as a confining unit. Pumping during development of the well lowered the piezometric surface of the limestone aquifer to an elevation below the base of the valley fill. It is hypothesized that drainage of water from the sediments, the resulting loss of hydrostatic pressure and buoyant force in overlying sediments, increased intergranular pressure, and the initiation of groundwater flow toward the well resulted in rapid sediment transport, subsurface erosion, and collapse of the valley-fill sediment. The sinkholes follow an approximately east-west alignment, which is consistent with one of the two dominant alignments of passages of nearby joint-controlled caves. A constant electrode-separation resistivity survey of the school playground was conducted to locate areas that might contain incipient sinkholes. The survey revealed a positive resistivity anomaly trending N75E in the southern part of the study area. The anomaly is linear, between 5 and 10 m wide, and its trend either intersects or is immediately adjacent to the three sinkholes. The anomaly is interpreted to be a series of pumping-induced cavities in the valley-fill sediments that formed over a preexisting crevice in the karstified bedrock limestone. ?? 1994 Springer-Verlag.

An Investigation of Topography Modulated Low Level Moisture Convergence Patterns in the Southern Appalachians Using WRF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, A. M.; Duan, Y.; Barros, A.

2015-12-01

The Southern Appalachian Mountains (SAM) region is a biodiversity hot-spot that is vulnerable to land use/land cover changes due to its proximity to the rapidly growing population in the Southeast U.S. Persistent near surface moisture and associated microclimates observed in this region have been documented since the colonization of the area. The landform in this area, in particular in the inner mountain region, is highly complex with nested valleys and ridges. The geometry of the terrain causes distinct diurnal and seasonal local flow patterns that result in highly complex interactions of this low level moisture with meso- and synoptic-scale cyclones passing through the region. The Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) was used to conduct high resolution simulations of several case studies of warm season precipitation in the SAM with different synoptic-scale conditions to investigate this interaction between local and larger-scale flow patterns. The aim is to elucidate the microphysical interactions among these shallow orographic clouds and preexisting precipitating cloud systems and identify uncertainties in the model microphysics using in situ measurements. Findings show that ridge-valley precipitation gradients, in particular the "reverse" to the classical orographic effect observed in inner mountain valleys, is linked to horizontal heterogeneity in the vertical structure of low level cloud and precipitation promoted through landform controls on local flow. Moisture convergence patterns follow the peaks and valleys as represented by WRF terrain, and the topography effectively controls their timing and spatial structure. The simulations support the hypothesis that ridge-valley precipitation gradients, and in particular the reverse orographic enhancement effect in inner mountain valleys, is linked to horizontal heterogeneity in the vertical structure of low level clouds and precipitation promoted through landform controls on moisture convergence.

Variations of surface ozone concentration across the Klang Valley, Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latif, Mohd Talib; Huey, Lim Shun; Juneng, Liew

2012-12-01

Hourly air quality data covering the period 2004-2008 was obtained from the Air Quality Division, the Department of Environment (DOE) through long-term monitoring by Alam Sekitar Sdn. Bhd. (ASMA) were analysed to investigate the variations of surface ozone (O3) in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. A total of nine monitoring stations were selected for analysis in this study and the results show that there are distinct seasonal patterns in the surface O3 across the Klang Valley. A high surface O3 concentration is usually observed between January and April, while a low surface O3 concentration is found between June and August. Analysis of daily variations in surface O3 and the precursors - NO, NO2, CO, NMHC and UVb, indicate that the surface O3 photochemistry in this study area exhibits a positive response to the intensity and wavelength in UVb while being influenced by the concentration of NOx, particularly through tritration processes. Although results from our study suggested that NMHCs may influence the maximum O3 concentration, further investigation is required. Wind direction during different monsoons was found to influence the concentration of O3 around the Klang Valley. HYSPLIT back trajectories (-72 h) were used to indicate the air-mass transport patterns on days with high concentrations of surface O3 in the study area. Results show that 47% of the high O3 days was associated with the localized circulation. The remaining 32% and 22% were associated with mid-range and long-range transport across the South China Sea from the northeast.

Gravity and Magnetic Investigations of the Mojave National Preserve and Adjacent Areas, California and Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langenheim, V.E.; Biehler, S.; Negrini, R.; Mickus, K.; Miller, D.M.; Miller, R.J.

2009-01-01

Gravity and aeromagnetic data provide the underpinnings of a hydrogeologic framework for the Mojave National Preserve by estimating the thickness of Cenozoic deposits and locating inferred structural features that influence groundwater flow. An inversion of gravity data indicates that thin (<1 km) basin deposits cover much of the Preserve, except for Ivanpah Valley and the Woods Mountains volcanic center. Localized areas of Cenozoic deposits thicker than 500 m are predicted beneath parts of Lanfair Valley, Fenner Valley, near Kelso, Soda Lake, and southeast of Baker. Along the southern margin of the Mojave National Preserve, basins greater than 1 km deep are located between the Clipper and Marble Mountains, between the Marble and Bristol Mountains, and south of the Bristol Mountains near Amboy. Both density and magnetization boundaries defined by horizontal-gradient analyses coincide locally with Cenozoic faults and can be used to extend these faults beneath cover. Magnetization boundaries also highlight the structural grain within the crystalline rocks and may serve as a proxy for fracturing, an important source of permeability within the generally impermeable basement rocks, thus mapping potential groundwater pathways through and along the mountain ranges in the study area.

Fluviokarst and classical karst: Examples from the Dinarics (Krk Island, Northern Adriatic, Croatia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benac, Čedomir; Juračić, Mladen; Matičec, Dubravko; Ružić, Igor; Pikelj, Kristina

2013-02-01

In order to contribute to the debate on the role of fluvial erosion in the shaping of karst, two nearby areas with different karstic landscapes were compared. Areas A and B are located relatively close to each other on the southern side of the Krk Island (Adriatic Sea, Croatia). Both areas are composed of similar limestone with a very high CaCO3 content. Area A is a typical doline or polygonal type ("classical") of karst with numerous dolines (up to 57/km2) covered with terra rossa (red soil) and Mediterranean maquis shrubland. Dolines are located in zones which correspond to the strike of the main geological structures. Dry karstic valleys are visible only on gently inclined coastal slopes bordering the karstic plateau. In contrast, area B is typical of a bare karst landscape with a strong (palaeo)fluvial imprint. The dolines are absent, and the bedrock is only sporadically covered with terra rossa. Palaeogene marls have been observed in a few elongated depressions and in the coastal zone of area B. Along steep coastal slopes, valleys (up to 460 m/km2) are cut into the carbonates. The traces of episodic surface flows are visible in some of these valleys, in contrast to the valleys in area A. Remnants of a disrupted ancient fluvial network are clearly visible on the elevated karstic plateau in area B. Differences in the recent morphology are attributed mainly to varying thicknesses of the Palaeogene impermeable marly cover, and the intensity of tectonics in the two areas.

A Literature Review of Archaeological, Historical, and Paleontological Resources of the Sheyenne River Basin in North Dakota

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-01-01

description of the Red River valley area was derived from Shay (1967: 231-237) and Scoby et. al. (1973). The Red River valley per se is flat except where...it is inter- rupted by the Sheyenne delta escarpment and the glacial Lake Agassiz shorelines ( Scoby et. al. 1973: 16). Surface drainage in the area is...very poor with runoff tending to collect in low lying areas ( Scoby et. al. 1973: 23). Prior to inten- sive drainage the area may have possessed many

Reading the landscape at volcano-tectonic locations within the Tharsis Montes, Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helgason, Johann

2017-04-01

In the Tharsis volcanic province on Mars the volcano Arsia Mons is comparable in size to a mantle plume volcanic region on Earth, such as Iceland. The volcano has a caldera with a diameter of 110 km. Extending from the NE and SW sides of Arsia Mons are landforms that form an irregular pattern, or a network of 1 km deep valleys and near circular vent-like depression areas. These suggest large scale erosion and removal of material into the surrounding lowland area up to a distance of 1000 km. This observation of erosion can only be valid if supported by a powerful erosive agent capable of substantial mass wasting and widespread material transport. By anology with Earth-like volcanoes these valley landforms coincide with rifting or crustal extension, or the location to which magma travels from a centrally located magma chamber. Thus these sites represent areas of chamber wall failure and probably one of the most active volcano regimes in Arsia Mons. It is suggested that the primary erosive agent responisble for the valley formation is jökulhlaups or meltwater released through magma/ice interaction. A focus is presented on the SW side of Arsia Mons where two main valleys cut into the volcano flank that grade into numerous smaller and narrower canyons of a similar depth, above which isolated bowl-like and elongated depresions are observed. The visualized ersoion process assumes volcanism at depth where magma was in contact with ice. Subsurface meltwater flowed from the caldera rim area and in the process eroded a channel. The valley formation site, namely at the volcano lower level, is where all meltwater had to pass. In contrast, the area above the valleys, where fewer eruptive sites occur, is characterized with circular isolated depressions or less erosion. This implies large volumes of ice appear to be part of the volcano stratigraphy. The nature of the suggested ice source is, however, unclear.

National Hydroelectric Power Resources Study: Regional Assessment: Volume XXII: Western Systems Coordinating Council, (WSCC). Volume 22

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-09-01

respectively; the Klamath Mountains of Oregon and California; the Basin and Ranges of Nevada, the Teton Range of Wyoming; the Uinta Mountains of Utah...approximately 292,000 square miles, includes all of the Columbia River system in the United States and all other river basins in Idaho, Oregon, and...Central Valley and the Los Angeles Basin of California. The western valleys of the Pacific Northwest, the Denver-Cheyenne area along the Rockies’ eastern

Calleguas Creek Simi Valley to Moorpark Ventura County, California.

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-06-01

Valley and Moorpark; (2) the elimination of flood hazard to health and safety; (3) availability of 185 acres of flood plain for urban growths ; (4...again. The outlook is high for continued production. 22. In the study area, most of the oil and gas fields are along the Oak Ridge-Santa Susana fault and...the Simi field. The Simi oil fields are relatively large. 23. Most of the commercial sand and gravel produced in Ventura County in 1972 was from the

Irrigated Acreage Within the Basin and Range Carbonate-Rock Aquifer System, White Pine County, Nevada, and Adjacent Areas in Nevada and Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Welborn, Toby L.; Moreo, Michael T.

2007-01-01

Accurate delineations of irrigated acreage are needed for the development of water-use estimates and in determining water-budget calculations for the Basin and Range carbonate-rock aquifer system (BARCAS) study. Irrigated acreage is estimated routinely for only a few basins in the study area. Satellite imagery from the Landsat Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper platforms were used to delineate irrigated acreage on a field-by-field basis for the entire study area. Six hundred and forty-three fields were delineated. The water source, irrigation system, crop type, and field activity for 2005 were identified and verified through field reconnaissance. These data were integrated in a geodatabase and analyzed to develop estimates of irrigated acreage for the 2000, 2002, and 2005 growing seasons by hydrographic area and subbasin. Estimated average annual potential evapotranspiration and average annual precipitation also were estimated for each field.The geodatabase was analyzed to determine the spatial distribution of field locations, the total amount of irrigated acreage by potential irrigation water source, by irrigation system, and by crop type. Irrigated acreage in 2005 totaled nearly 32,000 acres ranging from less than 200 acres in Butte, Cave, Jakes, Long, and Tippett Valleys to 9,300 acres in Snake Valley. Irrigated acreage increased about 20 percent between 2000 and 2005 and increased the most in Snake and White River Valleys. Ground-water supplies as much as 80 percent of irrigation water during dry years. Almost 90 percent of the irrigated acreage was planted with alfalfa.

The McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: Terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems responding to climatic events that enhance hydrologic transport acress the landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKnight, D. M.; Lyons, W. B.; Fountain, A. G.; Gooseff, M. N.; Doran, P. T.; Wall, D. H.; Virginia, R. A.; Priscu, J. C.; Adams, B.; Vesbach-Takacs, C.; Barrett, J. E.; Howkins, A.

2014-12-01

The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica is comprised of alpine and terminal glaciers, large expanses of patterned ground, and permanently ice-covered lakes in the valley floors, which are linked by glacial meltwater streams that flow during the austral summer. These valleys were first explored by Robert Scott and his party in 1903. In 1968 the New Zealand Antarctic Program began a gauging network on the Onyx River, a 32 km river in Wright Valley which is the longest river in Antarctica. As part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological research project our research group has monitored meteorological conditions, glacial mass balance, lake level and streamflow in the adjacent Taylor Valley. The extent of liquid water throughout the landscape is strongly controlled by summer climate, and the availability of liquid water in turn is a limitation to the microscopic life that is present in the diverse habitats in the valleys. We have studied the responses of soil, lake, stream and cryoconite ecosystems through a sustained cooling period that has been driven by atmospheric changes associated with the ozone hole. In the past decade, this cooling period appears to have ceased and summer conditions have become more variable. Three warm sunny summers have occurred since 2001/02. These conditions have created weeks long "flood events" in the valleys, causing wet areas to emerge in the soils, thermokarsting in some stream channels and increases in lake level. These flood events can be considered as pulse events that drive an increase in ecosystem connectivity, changing rates of biogeochemical processes and the distribution of biota. Collectively the ecosystems of the McMurdo Dry Valleys are highly responsive to dynamic climatic influences associated with the ozone hole and global warming.

Resistivity structure and geochemistry of the Jigokudani Valley hydrothermal system, Mt. Tateyama, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seki, Kaori; Kanda, Wataru; Tanbo, Toshiya; Ohba, Takeshi; Ogawa, Yasuo; Takakura, Shinichi; Nogami, Kenji; Ushioda, Masashi; Suzuki, Atsushi; Saito, Zenshiro; Matsunaga, Yasuo

2016-10-01

This study clarifies the hydrothermal system of Jigokudani Valley near Mt. Tateyama volcano in Japan by using a combination of audio-frequency magnetotelluric (AMT) survey and hot-spring water analysis in order to assess the potential of future phreatic eruptions in the area. Repeated phreatic eruptions in the area about 40,000 years ago produced the current valley morphology, which is now an active solfatara field dotted with hot springs and fumaroles indicative of a well-developed hydrothermal system. The three-dimensional (3D) resistivity structure of the hydrothermal system was modeled by using the results of an AMT survey conducted at 25 locations across the valley in 2013-2014. The model suggests the presence of a near-surface highly conductive layer of < 50 m in thickness across the entire valley, which is interpreted as a cap rock layer. Immediately below the cap rock is a relatively resistive body interpreted as a gas reservoir. Field measurements of temperature, pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) were taken at various hot springs across the valley, and 12 samples of hot-spring waters were analyzed for major ion chemistry and H2O isotopic ratios. All hot-spring waters had low pH and could be categorized into three types on the basis of the Cl-/SO 42 - concentration ratio, with all falling largely on a mixing line between magmatic fluids and local meteoric water (LMW). The geochemical analysis suggests that the hydrothermal system includes a two-phase zone of vapor-liquid. A comparison of the resistivity structure and the geochemically inferred structure suggests that a hydrothermal reservoir is present at a depth of approximately 500 m, from which hot-spring water differentiates into the three observed types. The two-phase zone appears to be located immediately beneath the cap rock structure. These findings suggest that the hydrothermal system of Jigokudani Valley exhibits a number of factors that could trigger a future phreatic eruption.

The timing and extent of Quaternary glaciation of Stok, northern Zanskar Range, Transhimalaya, of northern India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orr, Elizabeth N.; Owen, Lewis A.; Murari, Madhav K.; Saha, Sourav; Caffee, Marc W.

2017-05-01

The glacial history of three tributary valleys (Namlung, Gopal Kangri and Stok Kangri) of the Stok valley, south of the Indus valley in the northern sector of the Zanskar Range, northern India is characterized using geomorphic mapping and cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure dating. The new glacial chronostratigraphy for the Stok valley is the first for the northern Zanskar Range and provides insights into the spatial variability of glaciation in the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen. This framework facilitates the understanding of the nature and the timing of landscape evolution and paleoenvironmental change in the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen. At least four glacial stages are evident within each of the tributary valleys of Gopal Kangri (MG1-MG4, youngest to oldest) and Stok Kangri (MS1-MS4) that feed into the Stok valley. With the exception of the MG4 glacial advance ( 124 ka) in Gopal Kangri, the Stok valley has preserved evidence of glaciations from 50 ka to the present. Equilibrium-line altitudes and glacier reconstructions for the Stok valley and its tributaries demonstrate that glaciations have become progressively less extensive through time. Former glacier extents of the Stok region are comparable in length with glacial advances during the last glacial cycle in eastern Zanskar and in the southern Ladakh Range to the south and north of the Indus valley, respectively. Landscape evolution in the study area has occurred across numerous glacial-interglacial cycles by a combination of glacial and fluvial processes and is similar to that of the Ladakh Range.

Is drinking water from 'improved sources' really safe? A case study in the Logone valley (Chad-Cameroon).

PubMed

Sorlini, S; Palazzini, D; Mbawala, A; Ngassoum, M B; Collivignarelli, M C

2013-12-01

Within a cooperation project coordinated by the Association for Rural Cooperation in Africa and Latin America (ACRA) Foundation, water supplies were sampled across the villages of the Logone valley (Chad-Cameroon) mostly from boreholes, open wells, rivers and lakes as well as from some piped water. Microbiological analyses and sanitary inspections were carried out at each source. The microbiological quality was determined by analysis of indicators of faecal contamination, Escherichia coli, Enterococci and Salmonellae, using the membrane filtration method. Sanitary inspections were done using WHO query forms. The assessment confirmed that there are several parameters of health concern in the studied area; bacteria of faecal origins are the most significant. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) classification and E. coli measurement are not sufficient to state water safety. In fact, in the studied area, JMP defined 'improved sources' may provide unsafe water depending on their structure and sources without E. coli may have Enterococci and Salmonellae. Sanitary inspections also revealed high health risks for some boreholes. In other cases, sources with low sanitary risk and no E. coli were contaminated by Enterococci and Salmonellae. Better management and protection of the sources, hygiene improvement and domestic water treatment before consumption are possible solutions to reduce health risks in the Logone valley.

Extension of the Cerro Prieto field and zones in the Mexicali Valley with geothermal possibilities in the future

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fonseca L, H.L.; de la Pena L, A.; Puente C, I.

This study concerns the possible extension of the Cerro Prieto field and identification of other zones in the Mexicali Valley with geothermal development potential by assessing the structural geologic conditions in relation to the regional tectonic framework and the integration of geologic and geophysical surveys carried out at Cerro Prieto. This study is based on data obtained from the wells drilled to date and the available geological and geophysical information. With this information, a geologic model of the field is developed as a general description of the geometry of what might be the geothermal reservoir of the Cerro Prieto field.more » In areas with geothermal potential within the Mexicali Valley, the location of irrigation wells with anomalous temperatures was taken as a point of departure for subsequent studies. Based on this initial information, gravity and magnetic surveys were made, followed by seismic reflection and refraction surveys and the drilling of 1200-m-deep multiple-use wells. Based on the results of the final integration of these studies with the geology of the region, it is suggested that the following areas should be explored further: east of Cerro Prieto, Tulecheck, Riito, Aeropuerto-Algodones, and San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora.« less

A plan to study the aquifer system of the Central Valley of California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bertoldi, Gilbert L.

1979-01-01

Unconsolidated Quaternary alluvial deposits comprise a large complex aquifer system in the Central Valley of California. Millions of acre-feet of water is pumped from the system annually to support a large and expanding agribusiness industry. Since the 1950's, water levels have been steadily declining in many areas of the valley and concern has been expressed about the ability of the entire ground-water system to support agribusiness at current levels, not to mention its ability to function at projected expansion levels. At current levels of ground-water use, an estimated 1.5 to 2 million acre-feet is withdrawn from storage each year; that is, 1.5 to 2 million acre-feet of water is pumped annually in excess of annual replenishment. The U.S. Geological Survey has initiated a 4-year study to develop geologic, hydrologic, and hydraulic information and to establish a valleywide ground-water data base that will be used to build computer models of the ground-water flow system. Subsequently, these models may be used to evaluate the system response to various ground-water management alternatives. This report describes current problems, objectives of the study, and outlines the general work to be accomplished in the study area. A bibliography of about 600 references is included. (Kosco-USGS)

Chemical quality of ground water in the central Sacramento Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fogelman, Ronald P.

1978-01-01

The study area includes about 1,200 square miles in the central Sacramento Valley adjacent to the Sacramento River from Knights Landing to Los Molinos, Calif. With recent agricultural development in the area, additional land has been brought under irrigation from land which had been used primarily for dry farming and grazing. This report documents the chemical character of the ground water prior to water-level declines resulting from extensive pumping for irrigation or to changes caused by extensive use of imported surface water. Chemical analyses of samples from 209 wells show that most of the area is underlain by ground water of a quality suitable for most agricultural and domestic purposes. Most of the water sampled in the area has dissolved-solids concentrations ranging from 100 to 700 milligrams per liter. The general water types for the area are a calcium magnesium bicarbonate or magnesium calcium bicarbonate and there are negligible amounts of toxic trace elements. (Woodard-USGS)

75 FR 39581 - Yosemite Valley Plan; Yosemite National Park; Mariposa, Madera, and Tuolumne Counties, California...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-09

... processes in Yosemite Valley, to ameliorate environmental impacts, to preserve cultural resource values, and... of No Significant Impact (FONSI decisions) for Yosemite Lodge area redevelopment and improvements at...

Dawn in the Apollo Valley

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-12-18

Beam Wave Guide antennas at Goldstone, known as the Beam Waveguide Cluster. They are located in an area at Goldstone called Apollo Valley. The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex is located in the Mojave Desert in California, USA.

Quantitative estimation of dust fall and smoke particles in Quetta Valley*

PubMed Central

Sami, Muhammad; Waseem, Amir; Akbar, Sher

2006-01-01

Tightening of air quality standards for populated urban areas has led to increasing attention to assessment of air quality management areas, where violation of air quality standards occurs, and development of control strategies to eliminate such violation of air quality standards. The Quetta urban area is very densely built and has heavy motorized traffic. The increase of emissions mainly from traffic and industry are responsible for the increase in atmospheric pollution levels during the last years. The dust examined in the current study was collected by both deposit gauge and Petri dish methods at various sites of Quetta Valley. Smoke particles were obtained by bladder method from the exhausts of various types of motor vehicles. The concentration of lead found in the smoke ranged from 1.5×10−6 to 4.5×10−6. PMID:16773727

Task 1, Fractal characteristics of drainage patterns observed in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge and Plateau provinces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilson, T.; Dominic, J.; Halverson, J.

1996-04-10

Drainage patterns observed in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge and Plateau provinces exhibit distinctly different patterns. The patterns appear to be controlled by varying influences of local structural and lithologic variability. Drainage patterns in the Valley and Ridge study area can be classified as a combination of dendritic and trellis arrangements. The patterns vary over short distances in both the strike and dip directions. In the Granny Creek area of the Appalachian Plateau drainage patterns are predominantly dendritic. The possibility that these drainage patterns have fractal characteristics was evaluated by box-counting. Results obtained from box counting do not yield amore » well defined fractal regime in either areas. In the Valley and Ridge a space-filling, or random regime (D=2) is observed for boxes with side-lengths of 300 meters and greater. Below 300 meters, large changes in D occur between consecutively smaller box sizes. From side lengths of 300 to 150m, 150 to 75m, and 75 to 38m, D is measured at 1.77, 1.39, and 1.08 respectively. For box sizes less than 38m the fractal dimension is 1 or less. While the l0g-log response of the box counting data is nonlinear and does not define a fractal regime, the curves offer the possibility of characterizing non-fractal patterns. The rate at which D drops outside the random regime correlates to drainage density. D in areas with a smaller density of drainage segments fell toward saturation (D=1) more abruptly. The break-away point from the random regime and the transition to the saturated regime may provide useful information about the relative lengths of stream segments.« less

New summer areas and mixing of two greater sandhill crane populations in the Intermountain West

USGS Publications Warehouse

Collins, Daniel P.; Grisham, Blake A.; Conring, Courtenay M.; Knetter, Jeffrey M.; Conway, Warren C.; Carleton, Scott A.; Boggie, Matthew A.

2016-01-01

Population delineation throughout the annual life cycle for migratory birds is needed to formulate regional and national management and conservation strategies. Despite being well studied continentally, connectivity of sandhill crane Grus canadensis populations throughout the western portion of their North American range remains poorly described. Our objectives were to 1) use global positioning system satellite transmitter terminals to identify summer distributions for the Lower Colorado River Valley Population of greater sandhill cranes Grus canadensis tabida and 2) determine whether intermingling occurs among any of the western greater sandhill crane populations: Rocky Mountain Population, Lower Colorado River Valley Population, and Central Valley Population. Capture and marking occurred during winter and summer on private lands in California and Idaho as well as on two National Wildlife Refuges: Cibola and Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuges. A majority of marked greater sandhill cranes summered in what is established Lower Colorado River Valley Population breeding areas in northeastern Nevada and southwestern Idaho. A handful of greater sandhill cranes summered outside of traditional breeding areas in west-central Idaho around Cascade Reservoir near Donnelly and Cascade, Idaho. For example, a greater sandhill crane colt captured near Donnelly in July 2014 survived to winter migration and moved south to areas associated with the Rocky Mountain Population. The integration of the greater sandhill crane colt captured near Donnelly provides the first evidence of potential intermingling between the Lower Colorado River Population and Rocky Mountain Population. We suggest continued marking and banding efforts of all three western populations of greater sandhill cranes will accurately delineate population boundaries and connectivity and inform management decisions for the three populations.

Pelagic erosion and sedimentation north of Carnegie Ridge, eastern equatorial Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brooks, C. K.; Lyle, M. W.; Marcantonio, F.; Lewis, D. M.; Paul, C.

2011-12-01

The Carnegie Ridge is one of three bathymetric highs bounding the Panama Basin and is known to exhibit erosion and redeposition of pelagic sediments. The extent of erosion and redeposition was studied during the R/V Melville cruise MV1014 in November 2010 to compare with geochemical estimates of sediment focusing. The MV1014 cruise acquired geochemical, geological and geophysical data using multichannel 2-D seismic and 3.5 kHz sub-bottom profiler, swathmap bathymetry, coring, and water casts. The seismic reflection, digital sub-bottom profiler and swathmap bathymetry data were used to investigate biogenic sedimentary deposition in the Panama Basin and erosion from Carnegie Ridge. We compare the new geophysical results with drilling on ODP Leg 202, the NEMO-03 site survey cruise for Leg 202, an early survey from 1969 and other data compiled by Ecuadorian surveys. Areas of non-deposition and/or erosion include the bathymetric highs along the ridge, seamounts, and an area of interest, a valley located on the northwestern flank of the ridge. The valley encompasses 183 km2 and exhibits large scale erosion, cutting down through sediments deposited over the 10-million year life of this segment of the Carnegie Ridge. All other valleys located within the Carnegie Ridge study area demonstrate ample deposition with sedimentary packages ranging from 200-800m with an average value trending around 400m. Higher sediment deposition is found in basins to the north of the erosional valley but similar sedimentation is also found even further north, beyond intervening high topography. The thickest sediment deposit near the Carnegie Ridge is actually found on the southern flank of the ridge, more than 100 km to the south of the survey area. Digital chirp sub-bottom profiler data combined with high-resolution seismic illustrate changes in sedimentation and erosion on the Carnegie Ridge, highlighting the dynamic sedimentary environment.

Installation Development Environmental Assessment Travis Air Force Base, California

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-11-01

United States Code USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service USGS United States...kilometers) north to south, its northern half referred to as the Sacramento Valley and its southern half as the San Joaquin Valley . This area is...Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, fans and floodplains of tributary streams, and terraces and foothills around the edge of the valleys . Elevation

Preliminary geologic map of the Black Mountain area northeast of Victorville, San Bernardino County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stone, Paul

2006-01-01

The Black Mountain area is in the Mojave Desert about 20 km northeast of Victorville, California. The geology of this area is of interest primarily for its excellent exposures of the early Mesozoic Fairview Valley Formation, a sequence of weakly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks including a thick, commercially important unit of limestone conglomerate that has been mined for cement at Black Mountain Quarry for several decades. Recent geochronologic work has shown that the Fairview Valley Formation is probably of Early Jurassic age. This preliminary geologic map of the Black Mountain area depicts the stratigraphic and structural relations of the Fairview Valley Formation and the associated rocks, most notably the overlying Sidewinder Volcanics of Early(?), Middle, and Late(?) Jurassic age. The map is based on new field studies by the author designed to clarify details of the stratigraphy and structure unresolved by previous investigations. The map is considered preliminary because the ages of some geologic units critical for a satisfactory understanding of the stratigraphic and structural framework remain unknown. The map area also includes a segment of the Helendale Fault, one of several faults of known or inferred late Cenozoic right-lateral displacement that make up the Eastern California Shear Zone. The fault is marked by aligned northeast-facing scarps in Pleistocene or older alluvial deposits and the underlying bedrock units. Relations in the map area suggest that right-lateral displacement on the Helendale Fault probably does not exceed 2 km, a conclusion compatible with previous estimates of displacement on this fault based on relations both within and outside the Black Mountain area.

Mapping geodiversity and cultural heritage; a case study: Aït Bou Oulli valley in central High-Atlas, Morocco.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouzekraoui, Hicham; Barakat, Ahmed; El Youssi, Mohammed; El Khalki, Yahia; Hafid, Abdelatif; Mouaddine, Atika

2016-04-01

Central High-Atlas mountain in the centre of Morocco, contains an exceptional geodiversity. Some geomorphological and geological objects of it are included and protected recently by the World Heritage list. The valley of Aït Bou Oulli is located in the heart of the Moroccan central High-Atlas, whose height is 4068 m in Ighil M'goun and 3800 m in Rat Mountain. The mountain areas are characterized by higher geodiversity in comparison with other areas. The valley possesses a geological and geomorphological heritage which is very rich, much diversified and exceptional landscapes of high mountains. It is part of geopark M'Goun; the valley attracts a number of tourists every year. However, this number remains restricted because of the lack of the tools of promotion, valuation and mediation of this geoheritage. Moreover, the touristic infrastructure is modest. Regarding this situation, the geotouristic map appears as a tool of promotion of the geotourism and diversification of the regional and national tourist product. This work aims at elaborating new maps of geomorphosites, cultural sites, and geomonuments in high Mountain landscapes of the valley, suggested in geotourism circuits. The first results reveal the low exploitation of the geodiversity of this valley-oasis: the spectacular waterfalls, water sources, canyons, glacial cirques and U-shaped valleys, superficial karstic forms (sinkholes and swallow-holes), high-Atlas peaks and cliffs, spectacular scree slopes, badlands landscapes, fairy chimneys, and the geological history dating back to the Paleozoic and angular unconformity. In addition, the valley has diverse tangible cultural heritage spanning hundreds of years such as the enigmatic rock engravings (dating from 2000 to 3000 years), troglodyte caves and terraced agriculture landscapes, geomonuments (old cooperative storage, Kasbah, traditional water mills) and the architecture of the villages. It has also an intangible cultural heritage such as folklore. This cultural heritage, however, remains low valued. This richness was the object of 3 geodidactic and geotouristic circuits and itineraries that will be proposed at the end of this work. Keywords: geomorphosites, geoheritage, cultural heritage, circuits, geotouristic map, geotourism.

Differences and Commonalities: Farmer Stratifications in the San Luis Valley Research/Extension Project Area. ARE Research Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eckert, Jerry B.

A research project in the San Luis Valley of Colorado sought to isolate a few unique farm types that could become target groups for the design and implementation of agricultural research and extension programs. Questionnaires were completed by 44 of 65 farmers in one watershed area of Conejos County. Analysis revealed a complex pattern of…

Reflections upon the Development of a Dementia Screening Service for Individuals with Down's Syndrome across the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Area

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cairns, Victoria; Lamb, Isobel; Smith, Esther

2011-01-01

The high prevalence of dementia in individuals with Down's syndrome has led learning disability services in the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley (HRV) area to develop a screening service to address this need; this paper offers reflections upon this process by its members after the first 12 months of operation. A multidisciplinary team comprising…

Riverside East Solar Energy Zone (SEZ) - California

Science.gov Websites

Los Mogotes East Nevada Amargosa Valley Dry Lake Dry Lake Valley North Gold Point Millers New Mexico Pavement Cultural Gravel Bench I 10 Wiley Well Road South Wiley Well Rest Stop Ford Dry Lake Get Adobe there are also dry lake beds, sandy areas, and dry washes with ironwood and other trees. Some areas are

COHORT OF WOMEN LIVING IN OR NEAR A HIGHLY INDUSTRIALIZED AREA OF KANAWHA RIVER VALLEY IN WEST VIRGINIA: ENDOMETRIOSIS AND BLOOD LEVELS OF DIOXIN AND DIOXIN-LIKE CHEMICALS

EPA Science Inventory

Introduction Historical releases of dioxin and dioxin-like chemicals with subsequent impacts to environmental media in the Kanawha River Valley (KRV) of West Virginia have been well documented.' The bulk of dioxin found in this area appears to be derived from the production of 2,...

Detection and measurement of land subsidence using Global Positioning System and interferometric synthetic aperture radar, Coachella Valley, California, 1996-98

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sneed, Michelle; Ikehara, Marti E.; Galloway, D.L.; Amelung, Falk

2001-01-01

Land subsidence associated with ground-water-level declines has been recognized as a potential problem in Coachella Valley, California. Since the early 1920s, ground water has been a major source of agricultural, municipal, and domestic supply in the valley, resulting in water-level declines as large as 15 meters (50 feet) through the late 1940s. In 1949, the importation of Colorado River water to the lower Coachella Valley began, resulting in a reduction in ground-water pumping and a recovery of water levels from the 1950s through the 1970s. Since the late 1970s, the demand for water in the valley has exceeded the deliveries of imported surface water, again resulting in increased pumping and ground-water-level declines. The magnitude and temporal occurrence of land subsidence in the lower Coachella Valley are not well known; data are sparse and accuracy varies. Also, the area is tectonically active and has subsided during the past several million years, which further complicates interpretations of the data. Land-surface-elevation data have been collected by many agencies using various methods and different geographic scales; because of this, the -150 millimeters (-0.5 foot) of subsidence determined for the southern parts of the valley for 1930-96 may have a possible error of plus or minus (?)90 millimeters (?0.3 foot). The location, extent, and magnitude of vertical land-surface changes from 1996 to 1998 were determined using Global Positioning System (GPS) and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) methods. GPS measurements for 14 monuments in the lower Coachella Valley indicate that the vertical land-surface changes from 1996 to 1998 ranged from -13 to -67 millimeters ? 40 millimeters (-0.04 to -0.22 foot ?0.13 foot). Changes at seven of the monuments exceeded the measurement error of ?40 millimeters (?0.13 foot), which indicates that small amounts of land subsidence occurred at these monuments between 1996 and 1998. Some of the water levels measured in wells near several of these monuments during 1996-98 were the lowest water levels in the recorded histories of the wells. The possible relation between the stresses caused by historically low water levels and the measured vertical changes in land surface suggests that the preconsolidation stress of the aquifer system may have been exceeded during this period and that subsidence may be permanent. Comparisons of several paired monuments and wells indicated that the relation between short-term ground-water-level changes and vertical changes in land surface in the lower Coachella Valley is not clearly defined. Results of InSAR measurements made between 1996 and 1998 indicate that vertical changes in land surface, ranging from about -20 to -70 millimeters ? 5-10 millimeters (-0.07 to -0.23 foot ? 0.02-0.03 foot), occurred in three areas of the Coachella Valley--near Palm Desert, Indian Wells, and Lake Cahuilla. The areas of subsidence near Palm Desert and Indian Wells coincide with areas of substantial ground-water production during 1996-98. The Coachella Valley Water District reported that they had no ground-water production wells in the Lake Cahuilla area but that there may be private production wells in the area. Production from these wells or possibly tectonic activity may be contributing to or causing the subsidence. The geodetic network used for the GPS measurements described in this report covers the area from the Salton Sea on the south to just northwest of Indio. The maps processed using InSAR overlap the part of the geodetic network west of Coachella and north of Lake Cahuilla, and include the Palm Desert area. Both methods of measuring vertical land-surface changes, GPS and InSAR, were used to characterize vertical land-surface changes from the Palm Desert area to the Salton Sea. Because InSAR produces more spatially detailed data over large areas, it generally was useful where vertical land-surface changes were previously unrecognized, such as the

Hydrogeology of, and simulation of ground-water flow in a mantled carbonate-rock system, Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chichester, D.C.

1996-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a study in a highly productive and complex regolith-mantled carbonate valley in the northeastern part of the Cumberland Valley, Pa., as part of its Appalachian Valleys and Piedmont Regional Aquifer-system Analysis program. The study was designed to quantify the hydrogeologic characteristics and understand the ground-water flow system of a highly productive and complex thickly mantled carbonate valley. The Cumberland Valley is characterized by complexly folded and faulted carbonate bedrock in the valley bottom, by shale and graywacke to the north, and by red-sedimentary and diabase rocks in the east-southeast. Near the southern valley hillslope, the carbonate rock is overlain by wedge-shaped deposit of regolith, up to 450 feet thick, that is composed of residual material, alluvium, and colluvium. Locally, saturated regolith is greater than 200 feet thick. Seepage-run data indicate that stream reaches, near valley walls, are losing water from the stream, through the regolith, to the ground-water system. Results of hydrograph-separation analyses indicate that base flow in stream basins dominated by regolith-mantled carbonate rock, carbonate rock, and carbonate rock and shale are 81.6, 93.0, and 67.7 percent of total streamflow, respectively. The relative high percentage for the regolith-mantled carbonate-rock basin indicates that the regolith stores precipitation and slowly, steadily releases this water to the carbonate-rock aquifer and to streams as base flow. Anomalies in water-table gradients and configuration are a result of topography and differences in the character and distribution of overburden material, permeability, rock type, and geologic structure. Most ground-water flow is local, and ground water discharges to nearby springs and streams. Regional flow is northeastward to the Susquehanna River. Average-annual water budgets were calculated for the period of record from two continuous streamflow-gaging stations. Average-annual precipitation range from 39.0 to 40.5 inches, and averages about 40 inches for the model area. Average-annual recharge, which was assumed equal to the average-annual base flow, ranged from 12 inches for the Conodoguinet Creek, and 15 inches for the Yellow Breeches Creek. The thickly-mantled carbonate system was modeled as a three- dimensional water-table aquifer. Recharge to, ground-water flow through, and discharge from the Cumberland Valley were simulated. The model was calibrated for steady-state conditions using average recharge and discharge data. Aquifer horizontal hydraulic conductivity was calculated from specific-capacity data for each geologic unit in the area. Particle-tracking analyses indicate that interbasin and intrabasin flows of groundwater occur within the Yellow Breeches Creek Basin and between the Yellow Breeches and Conodoguinet Creek Basins.

Predicted liquefaction in the greater Oakland area and northern Santa Clara Valley during a repeat of the 1868 Hayward Fault (M6.7-7.0) earthquake

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holzer, Thomas L.; Noce, Thomas E.; Bennett, Michael J.

2010-01-01

Probabilities of surface manifestations of liquefaction due to a repeat of the 1868 (M6.7-7.0) earthquake on the southern segment of the Hayward Fault were calculated for two areas along the margin of San Francisco Bay, California: greater Oakland and the northern Santa Clara Valley. Liquefaction is predicted to be more common in the greater Oakland area than in the northern Santa Clara Valley owing to the presence of 57 km2 of susceptible sandy artificial fill. Most of the fills were placed into San Francisco Bay during the first half of the 20th century to build military bases, port facilities, and shoreline communities like Alameda and Bay Farm Island. Probabilities of liquefaction in the area underlain by this sandy artificial fill range from 0.2 to ~0.5 for a M7.0 earthquake, and decrease to 0.1 to ~0.4 for a M6.7 earthquake. In the greater Oakland area, liquefaction probabilities generally are less than 0.05 for Holocene alluvial fan deposits, which underlie most of the remaining flat-lying urban area. In the northern Santa Clara Valley for a M7.0 earthquake on the Hayward Fault and an assumed water-table depth of 1.5 m (the historically shallowest water level), liquefaction probabilities range from 0.1 to 0.2 along Coyote and Guadalupe Creeks, but are less than 0.05 elsewhere. For a M6.7 earthquake, probabilities are greater than 0.1 along Coyote Creek but decrease along Guadalupe Creek to less than 0.1. Areas with high probabilities in the Santa Clara Valley are underlain by young Holocene levee deposits along major drainages where liquefaction and lateral spreading occurred during large earthquakes in 1868 and 1906.

Raptor ecology of Raft River Valley, Idaho

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thurow, T.L.; White, C.M.; Howard, R.P.

1980-09-01

Raptor data were gathered in the 988-km/sup 2/ Raft River Valley in southcentral Idaho while conducting a tolerance study on the nesting Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) near the Department of Energy's Raft River Geothermal Site. Prior research from 1972 to 1977 on the nesting activity of the Ferruginous Hawk population provided a historical information base. These data are combined with new Ferruginous Hawk data collected between 1978 and 1980 to give a continuous 9-year breeding survey. Information on the distribution, density, and production of the other raptor species found in the study area during 1978 and 1979 is also provided.

Lithologic controls on valley width and strath terrace formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schanz, Sarah A.; Montgomery, David R.

2016-04-01

Valley width and the degree of bedrock river terrace development vary with lithology in the Willapa and Nehalem river basins, Pacific Northwest, USA. Here, we present field-based evidence for the mechanisms by which lithology controls floodplain width and bedrock terrace formation in erosion-resistant and easily friable lithologies. We mapped valley surfaces in both basins, dated straths using radiocarbon, compared valley width versus drainage area for basalt and sedimentary bedrock valleys, and constructed slope-area plots. In the friable sedimentary bedrock, valleys are 2 to 3 times wider, host flights of strath terraces, and have concavity values near 1; whereas the erosion-resistant basalt bedrock forms narrow valleys with poorly developed, localized, or no bedrock terraces and a channel steepness index half that of the friable bedrock and an average channel concavity of about 0.5. The oldest dated strath terrace on the Willapa River, T2, was active for nearly 10,000 years, from 11,265 to 2862 calibrated years before present (cal YBP), whereas the youngest terrace, T1, is Anthropocene in age and recently abandoned. Incision rates derived from terrace ages average 0.32 mm y- 1 for T2 and 11.47 mm y- 1 for T1. Our results indicate bedrock weathering properties influence valley width through the creation of a dense fracture network in the friable bedrock that results in high rates of lateral erosion of exposed bedrock banks. Conversely, the erosion-resistant bedrock has concavity values more typical of detachment-limited streams, exhibits a sparse fracture network, and displays evidence for infrequent episodic block erosion and plucking. Lithology thereby plays a direct role on the rates of lateral erosion, influencing valley width and the potential for strath terrace planation and preservation.

Evaluating Tourist Perception of Environmental Changes as a Contribution to Managing Natural Resources in Glacierized Areas: A Case Study of the Forni Glacier (Stelvio National Park, Italian Alps)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garavaglia, Valentina; Diolaiuti, Guglielmina; Smiraglia, Claudio; Pasquale, Vera; Pelfini, Manuela

2012-12-01

Climate change effects are noticeably evident above the timberline where glacier and permafrost processes and mass movements drive the surface evolution. In particular, the cryosphere shrinkage is deeply changing the features and characteristics of several glacierized mountain areas of the world, and these modifications can also affect the landscape perception of tourists and mountaineers. On the one hand glacier retreat is increasing the interest of tourists and visitors in areas witnessing clear climate change impacts; on the other hand cryosphere shrinkage can impact the touristic appeal of mountain territories which, diminishing their ice and snow coverage, are also losing part of their aesthetic value. Then, to promote glacierized areas in a changing climate and to prepare exhaustive and actual proposals for sustainable tourism, it is important to deepen our knowledge about landscape perception of tourists and mountaineers and their awareness of the ongoing environmental modifications. Here we present the results from a pilot study we performed in summer 2009 on a representative glacierized area of the Alps, the Forni Valley (Stelvio National Park, Lombardy, Italy), a valley shaped by Forni, the largest Italian valley glacier. During the 2009 summer season we asked tourists visiting the Forni Valley to complete a questionnaire. This study was aimed at both describing the features and characteristics of tourists and mountaineers visiting this Alpine zone in summer and evaluating their landscape perception and their ability to recognize climate change impacts and evidence. Our results suggest that the dissemination strategies in a natural protected area have to take into account not only the main landscape features but also the sites where the information will be given. In particular considering the peculiarities of the huts located in the area, such as their different accessibility and the fact that they are included or not in a mountaineering network like that of the Italian Alpine Club. Both these factors can influence the kind of visitors to the area, thus requiring different dissemination strategies. Moreover, differences in the viewpoints from where visitors could watch and understand landscape also have to be considered. Next, in a protected area where climate change effects are evident, the dissemination strategies should be developed in close cooperation with scientists who are analyzing the area and with the support of periodic interviews which could be very useful to evaluate the effectiveness of the applied dissemination methods. Last but not least, the questionnaire should be standardized and distributed in several protected areas, thus permitting useful comparisons and the identification of common solutions for sharing in a friendly way scientific knowledge about climate change and its effects on the environment and the landscape.

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Rolling Down the Arizona EV Highway

Science.gov Websites

representatives from all city and county governments in the Phoenix-Tucson area. Valley of the Sun Clean Cities Guide Tucson Clean Cities Coalition Valley of the Sun Clean Cities Coalition

The First Prediction of a Rift Valley Fever Outbreak

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anyamba, Assaf; Chretien, Jean-Paul; Small, Jennifer; Tucker, Compton J.; Formenty, Pierre; Richardson, Jason H.; Britch, Seth C.; Schnabel, David C.; Erickson, Ralph L.; Linthicum, Kenneth J.

2009-01-01

El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) related anomalies were analyzed using a combination of satellite measurements of elevated sea surface temperatures, and subsequent elevated rainfall and satellite derived normalized difference vegetation index data. A Rift Valley fever risk mapping model using these climate data predicted areas where outbreaks of Rift Valley fever in humans and animals were expected and occurred in the Horn of Africa from December 2006 to May 2007. The predictions were subsequently confirmed by entomological and epidemiological field investigations of virus activity in the areas identified as at risk. Accurate spatial and temporal predictions of disease activity, as it occurred first in southern Somalia and then through much of Kenya before affecting northern Tanzania, provided a 2 to 6 week period of warning for the Horn of Africa that facilitated disease outbreak response and mitigation activities. This is the first prospective prediction of a Rift Valley fever outbreak.

A Recombinant Rift Valley Fever Virus Glycoprotein Subunit Vaccine Confers Full Protection against Rift Valley Fever Challenge in Sheep.

PubMed

Faburay, Bonto; Wilson, William C; Gaudreault, Natasha N; Davis, A Sally; Shivanna, Vinay; Bawa, Bhupinder; Sunwoo, Sun Young; Ma, Wenjun; Drolet, Barbara S; Morozov, Igor; McVey, D Scott; Richt, Juergen A

2016-06-14

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic pathogen causing disease outbreaks in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The virus has great potential for transboundary spread due to the presence of competent vectors in non-endemic areas. There is currently no fully licensed vaccine suitable for use in livestock or humans outside endemic areas. Here we report the evaluation of the efficacy of a recombinant subunit vaccine based on the RVFV Gn and Gc glycoproteins. In a previous study, the vaccine elicited strong virus neutralizing antibody responses in sheep and was DIVA (differentiating naturally infected from vaccinated animals) compatible. In the current efficacy study, a group of sheep (n = 5) was vaccinated subcutaneously with the glycoprotein-based subunit vaccine candidate and then subjected to heterologous challenge with the virulent Kenya-128B-15 RVFV strain. The vaccine elicited high virus neutralizing antibody titers and conferred complete protection in all vaccinated sheep, as evidenced by prevention of viremia, fever and absence of RVFV-associated histopathological lesions. We conclude that the subunit vaccine platform represents a promising strategy for the prevention and control of RVFV infections in susceptible hosts.

A Recombinant Rift Valley Fever Virus Glycoprotein Subunit Vaccine Confers Full Protection against Rift Valley Fever Challenge in Sheep

PubMed Central

Faburay, Bonto; Wilson, William C.; Gaudreault, Natasha N.; Davis, A. Sally; Shivanna, Vinay; Bawa, Bhupinder; Sunwoo, Sun Young; Ma, Wenjun; Drolet, Barbara S.; Morozov, Igor; McVey, D. Scott; Richt, Juergen A.

2016-01-01

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic pathogen causing disease outbreaks in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The virus has great potential for transboundary spread due to the presence of competent vectors in non-endemic areas. There is currently no fully licensed vaccine suitable for use in livestock or humans outside endemic areas. Here we report the evaluation of the efficacy of a recombinant subunit vaccine based on the RVFV Gn and Gc glycoproteins. In a previous study, the vaccine elicited strong virus neutralizing antibody responses in sheep and was DIVA (differentiating naturally infected from vaccinated animals) compatible. In the current efficacy study, a group of sheep (n = 5) was vaccinated subcutaneously with the glycoprotein-based subunit vaccine candidate and then subjected to heterologous challenge with the virulent Kenya-128B-15 RVFV strain. The vaccine elicited high virus neutralizing antibody titers and conferred complete protection in all vaccinated sheep, as evidenced by prevention of viremia, fever and absence of RVFV-associated histopathological lesions. We conclude that the subunit vaccine platform represents a promising strategy for the prevention and control of RVFV infections in susceptible hosts. PMID:27296136

Assessment of fluvial geomorphological change in the confluence of Chindwin and Ayeyarwady Rivers in Myanmar using remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piman, T.; Vasconcelos, V. V.; Apirumanekul, C.; Krittasudthacheewa, C.

2017-12-01

Bank erosion along the braided stretches of Ayeyarwady and Chindwin Rivers has been one of the main concerns at Sagaing region, in Myanmar, because it threatens villages, infrastructure and farmland, while the consequent sedimentation hampers boat transportation. This study assesses the changes on these two river channels and its sandbanks, in their confluence area. A special focus is given to infer the risk of villages to bank erosion. Landsat images from 1973, 1989, and annual series from 1998 to 2015 were used to evaluate frequency and rates of erosion, deposition and vegetation restabilization. Maps showed where the channels maintained stable and which areas faced bank erosion more frequently. From 1973 to 2015, 30% of the river valley in the studied area faced bank erosion. Although the summed area of the river channel remained relatively stable throughout the period, the rates of bank erosion vs. bank restabilization were higher after 2004. Most of the village area in the in the river valley within the bluffs (89% - 71km2) have not faced bank erosion since 1973, while 8.9% (7 km2) are in vulnerable areas that faced erosion before 2012, and bank erosion destroyed 1.3% (1 km2) of the villages from 2012 to 2015. The average rate of village land loss from bank erosion within the river valley from 1973 to 2012 was 0.18 km2/year, but increased to 0.33km2/year during 2012-2015. The villages located just downstream from the confluence of Chindwin and Ayeyarwady River faced higher problems with bank erosion. Approximately half of the village area (51.5% - 87km2) adjacent to the bluffs (outside the river valley) were facing stable land since 1973 (lowest risk), while 5.8% (10 km2) were facing stable river channel (low risk) and 42.7% (73 km2) were facing areas of unstable river channel (possible risk). As for the biggest urban sites, Monywa and Pakokku face areas of unstable river channel, while Sagaing and Myingyan are safer, facing areas of stable land. A detailed assessment of remote sensing images also showed how Chindwin channel widened progressively due to bank erosion in the direction of Su Lay Kon and Ah Myning villages, in Monywa district. The rapid changes in river geomorphology calls for public's attention on alternative ways to live with these dynamic but important rivers.

Generalized surficial geologic map of the Fort Irwin area, San Bernadino: Chapter B in Geology and geophysics applied to groundwater hydrology at Fort Irwin, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, David M.; Menges, Christopher M.; Lidke, David J.; Buesch, David C.

2014-01-01

The geology and landscape of the Fort Irwin area, typical of many parts of the Mojave Desert, consist of rugged mountains separated by broad alluviated valleys that form the main coarse-resolution features of the geologic map. Crystalline and sedimentary rocks, Mesozoic and older in age, form most of the mountains with lesser accumulations of Miocene sedimentary and volcanic rocks. In detail, the area exhibits a fairly complex distribution of surficial deposits resulting from diverse rock sources and geomorphology that has been driven by topographic changes caused by recent and active faulting. Depositional environments span those typical of the Mojave Desert: alluvial fans on broad piedmonts, major intermittent streams along valley floors, eolian sand dunes and sheets, and playas in closed valleys that lack through-going washes. Erosional environments include rocky mountains, smooth gently sloping pediments, and badlands in readily eroded sediment. All parts of the landscape, from regional distribution of mountains, valleys, and faults to details of degree of soil development in surface materials, are portrayed by the surficial geologic map. Many of these attributes govern infiltration and recharge, and the surface distribution of permeable rock units such as Miocene sedimentary and volcanic rocks provides a basis for evaluating potential groundwater storage. Quaternary faults are widespread in the Fort Irwin area and include sinistral, east-striking faults that characterize the central swath of the area and the contrasting dextral, northwest-striking faults that border the east and west margins. Bedrock distribution and thickness of valley-fill deposits are controlled by modern and past faulting, and faults on the map help to identify targets for groundwater exploration.

Diversity patterns of microbial eukaryotes mirror those of bacteria in Antarctic cryoconite holes.

PubMed

Sommers, Pacifica; Darcy, John L; Gendron, Eli M S; Stanish, Lee F; Bagshaw, Elizabeth A; Porazinska, Dorota L; Schmidt, Steven K

2018-01-01

Ice-lidded cryoconite holes on glaciers in the Taylor Valley, Antarctica, provide a unique system of natural mesocosms for studying community structure and assembly. We used high-throughput DNA sequencing to characterize both microbial eukaryotic communities and bacterial communities within cryoconite holes across three glaciers to study similarities in their spatial patterns. We expected that the alpha (phylogenetic diversity) and beta (pairwise community dissimilarity) diversity patterns of eukaryotes in cryoconite holes would be related to those of bacteria, and that they would be related to the biogeochemical gradient within the Taylor Valley. We found that eukaryotic alpha and beta diversity were strongly related to those of bacteria across scales ranging from 140 m to 41 km apart. Alpha diversity of both was significantly related to position in the valley and surface area of the cryoconite hole, with pH also significantly correlated with the eukaryotic diversity. Beta diversity for both bacteria and eukaryotes was significantly related to position in the valley, with bacterial beta diversity also related to nitrate. These results are consistent with transport of sediments onto glaciers occurring primarily at local scales relative to the size of the valley, thus creating feedbacks in local chemistry and diversity. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Association of Rift Valley fever virus infection with miscarriage in Sudanese women: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Baudin, Maria; Jumaa, Ammar M; Jomma, Huda J E; Karsany, Mubarak S; Bucht, Göran; Näslund, Jonas; Ahlm, Clas; Evander, Magnus; Mohamed, Nahla

2016-11-01

Rift Valley fever virus is an emerging mosquito-borne virus that causes infections in animals and human beings in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Outbreaks of Rift Valley fever lead to mass abortions in livestock, but such abortions have not been identified in human beings. Our aim was to investigate the cause of miscarriages in febrile pregnant women in an area endemic for Rift Valley fever. Pregnant women with fever of unknown origin who attended the governmental hospital of Port Sudan, Sudan, between June 30, 2011, and Nov 17, 2012, were sampled at admission and included in this cross-sectional study. Medical records were retrieved and haematological tests were done on patient samples. Presence of viral RNA as well as antibodies against a variety of viruses were analysed. Any association of viral infections, symptoms, and laboratory parameters to pregnancy outcome was investigated using Pearson's χ 2 test. Of 130 pregnant women with febrile disease, 28 were infected with Rift Valley fever virus and 31 with chikungunya virus, with typical clinical and laboratory findings for the infection in question. 15 (54%) of 28 women with an acute Rift Valley fever virus infection had miscarriages compared with 12 (12%) of 102 women negative for Rift Valley fever virus (p<0·0001). In a multiple logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age, haemorrhagic disease, and chikungunya virus infection, an acute Rift Valley fever virus infection was an independent predictor of having a miscarriage (odds ratio 7·4, 95% CI 2·7-20·1; p<0·0001). This study is the first to show an association between infection with Rift Valley fever virus and miscarriage in pregnant women. Further studies are warranted to investigate the possible mechanisms. Our findings have implications for implementation of preventive measures, and evidence-based information to the public in endemic countries should be strongly recommended during Rift Valley fever outbreaks. Schlumberger Faculty for the Future, CRDF Global (31141), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the County Council of Västerbotten, and the Faculty of Medicine, Umeå University. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Janerich, D.T.; Stark, A.D.; Greenwald, P.

The New York State Department of Health was asked in September 1978 of investigate a cluster of leukemias and lymphomas in a rural town in western New York State of less than 1,000 people. Four cases of these diseases had been diagnosed in the town's population in the previous 10 months. Residents were concerned about environmental hazards such as background radiation and contamination of their water supply. A total environmental study of the area was not feasible or warranted, but certain environmental studies of the area were conducted. No environmental health hazards were identified. Incidence rates for towns in themore » four-county area (population 281,000) surrounding the study town were analyzed, based on data from the New York State Cancer Registry. These four counties had been severely affected by the flood following the 1972 Hurricane Agnes. Examination of annual leukemia and lymphoma incidence rates for these counties for 1966--77 revealed that the rates for towns in the river valley (population 102,000), but not for nonriver-valley towns, were 20 to 50 percent above the statewide rates for 1972--77. All other cancer rates remained level throughout both periods. An analysis of spontaneous abortion rates for the four counties for 1968--77 showed a significant peak in 1973, but not for the rest of upstate New York. The peak was concentrated in the towns in the river valley. The apparent time-space cluster of leukemias and lymphomas in conjunction with a marked increase in the spontaneous abortion rate suggests an unidentified flood-related environmental exposure.« less

Present-day crustal motion along the Longitudinal Valley Fault, eastern Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Shui-Beih; Kuo, Long-Chen

2001-04-01

The NNE-striking Longitudinal Valley Fault (LVF) in eastern Taiwan is an extremely active high-angle thrust fault. It bounds the Coastal Range and the Longitudinal Valley, which is considered a collision boundary between the Philippine Sea and the Eurasian plates. Repeated GPS data in the Longitudinal Valley area from 1992 to 1999 are utilized to study the spatial variation of crustal motion along the LVF. With respect to Penghu in the Chinese continental margin, velocities for stations on the western side of the LVF (Longitudinal Valley and eastern Central Range) are 18-35 mm/yr in directions 283-311°, whereas those on the eastern side of the LVF, the Coastal Range, are 28-68 mm/yr in directions 303-324°. A major discontinuity of about 30 mm/yr on the rate of crustal motion across the Longitudinal Valley is attributed to the aseismic slip along the LVF as revealed by trilateration data previously. To the south of Fengping, the block motions of the Coastal Range are 31-40 mm/yr in 317-330° relative to the Central Range, while the near-fault motions are 13-33 mm/yr in 309-336°. Various partitions on the left-lateral strike-slip and convergent components along the LVF are found. In the southern Longitudinal Valley crustal motion is mainly accommodated on the LVF and the Luyeh Fault. In contrast, those in the central and northern Longitudinal Valley are partly taken up on the faults to the east of the LVF or result in the elastic deformation of the Coastal Range. The crustal motion in the northern Longitudinal Valley area is likely to be distributed in the several NE-striking thrusts in a horsetail pattern and obliquely cut the northern Coastal Range, with a small portion of fault-slips along the LVF. Data from dense-deployed GPS networks across the LVF can be employed to give better estimates of near-fault motions and delineate the surface traces of the LVF. Repeated GPS and leveling data from two stations on both ends of the Yuli Bridge that are 575 m apart clearly indicate that the surface trace of the LVF passes beneath the bridge with oblique horizontal motion of 23 mm/yr in 306° and uplift rate of 24 mm/yr.

Geologic Map of the Warm Spring Canyon Area, Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California, With a Discussion of the Regional Significance of the Stratigraphy and Structure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wrucke, Chester T.; Stone, Paul; Stevens, Calvin H.

2007-01-01

Warm Spring Canyon is located in the southeastern part of the Panamint Range in east-central California, 54 km south of Death Valley National Park headquarters at Furnace Creek Ranch. For the relatively small size of the area mapped (57 km2), an unusual variety of Proterozoic and Phanerozoic rocks is present. The outcrop distribution of these rocks largely resulted from movement on the east-west-striking, south-directed Butte Valley Thrust Fault of Jurassic age. The upper plate of the thrust fault comprises a basement of Paleoproterozoic schist and gneiss overlain by a thick sequence of Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic rocks, the latter of which includes diamictite generally considered to be of glacial origin. The lower plate is composed of Devonian to Permian marine formations overlain by Jurassic volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous plutons intrude rocks of the area, and one pluton intrudes the Butte Valley Thrust Fault. Low-angle detachment faults of presumed Tertiary age underlie large masses of Neoproterozoic dolomite in parts of the area. Movement on these faults predated emplacement of middle Miocene volcanic rocks in deep, east-striking paleovalleys. Excellent exposures of all the rocks and structural features in the area result from sparse vegetation in the dry desert climate and from deep erosion along Warm Spring Canyon and its tributaries.

Hydrogeology and Water Quality of the Pepacton Reservoir Watershed in Southeastern New York. Part 3. Responses of Stream Base-Flow Chemistry to Hydrogeologic Factors and Nonpoint-Sources of Contamination

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heisig, Paul M.; Phillips, Patrick J.

2004-01-01

The implications of this study are that seasonal and more frequent base-flow surveys of water chemistry from small stream basins can help refine the understanding of local hydrogeologic systems and define the effects of nonpointsource contamination on base-flow water quality. The concentration of most nonpoint sources in valley-bottom or lower-hillside areas helped indicate the relative contributions of water from hillside and valley-bottom areas at different times of year. The positive correlations between the intensity of nonpoint-source activities and nonpoint-source constituents in base flow underscores the link between land use (nonpoint sources), ground-water quality, and surface-water quality.

Glacier lake outburst floods caused by glacier shrinkage: case study of Ala-Archa valley, Kyrgyz Ala Too, northern Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrakov, D.; Erochin, S. A.; Harbor, J.; Ivanov, M.; Rogozhina, I.; Stroeven, A. P.; Usubaliev, R.

2012-12-01

Changes in glacier extent and runoff in Central Asia increase socio-economic stress and may result in political conflict between donors of freshwater (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) and recipients of freshwater (Uzbekistan, China). Glaciers in the Pamir and Tian Shan regions have experienced an unprecedented downwasting due to regional climate changes over the past decades. This is because air temperature increases are in some areas accompanied by a decrease in precipitation. Such conditions have already resulted in a reduction of glacier runoff, especially in the northern and western Tian Shan, and an increase of the number and area of glacial lakes in Kyrgyzstan. Even though glacial lakes in the mountains are in general relatively small and located far from densely populated areas, their outbursts often produce destructive debris flows. Such debris flows are especially common in Kyrgyzstan because of its steep river channels and abundance of Holocene and Quaternary glacier deposits that can be remobilized. The glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in the Shakhimardan river catchment in 1999, for example, resulted in 100 fatalities in Uzbekistan, and the GLOF from the Zyndan glacial lake led to substantial economic losses in 2009. According to the latest inventory, there are more than 350 glacial lakes in Kyrgyzstan of which about 70 occur in the Kyrgyz Ala Too. The Ala-Archa valley is among the most important glacierized catchments in Kyrgyzstan. Despite the presence of a relatively small glacier-covered area of 36 km2, the Ala-Archa river is of critical importance to the Bishkek area, its agriculture, and its population which currently exceeds one million. GLOFs are therefore a threat to both numerous settlements of touristic value in the Ala-Archa headwaters and to Bishkek. The Teztor lake in the Adygene catchment of the Ala-Archa river system experienced an outburst during 1988 and 2005. On the early morning of July 31, 2012, this lake began draining through a dam composed of stagnant ice and debris. With the water discharge being merely a few m3/s, the GLOF transformed into a debris flow beyond a steep front of rock glacier, which is within 150 m downstream of the lake. After rushing through the ca. 7 km-long Adygene valley, the debris flow formed a fan in the Ala-Archa valley and transformed into a flood. The flood wave reached Bishkek located more than 40 km downstream. This led to a panic amongst local dwellers and Bishkek residents. The maximum discharge of the debris flow in the lower part of the Adygene valley was assessed as 300 m3/s and the discharge of the flood in Bishkek as 35 m3/s. The latter exceeds the standard discharge of the Ala-Archa river substantially. Although no fatalities resulted from this event, economic losses as a consequence of a destroyed mineral water factory could possibly amount to USD 200000, which is a substantial sum by Kyrgyz standards. Because of the prior history, it is expected that GLOFs from the Teztor valley will recur in the upcoming years. We conclude that installation of an early warning system in lower Adygene valley is needed to prevent further damage in the study area.

Tree ecophysiology research at Taylor Woods

Treesearch

Thomas E. Kolb; Nate G. McDowell

2008-01-01

We summarize the key findings of tree ecophysiology studies performed at Taylor Woods, Fort Valley Experimental Forest, Arizona between 1994 and 2003 that provide unique insight on impacts of long-term stand density management in ponderosa pine forests on tree water relations, leaf gas exchange, radial growth, leaf area-to-sapwood-area ratio, growth efficiency, leaf...

Sacramento River Flood Control Project, California Mid-Valley Area, Phase 3. Design Memorandum Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-06-01

in the study area. Plants that are candidates for Federal listing are the Suisun aster, heart-scale, California hibiscus , delta tule-pea. Mason’s...agricultural chemicals. According to Sutter County Environmental Health , the State Water Resources Control Board tested a sediment sample taken under the

Botanical survey of Myrtle Island Research Natural Area, Oregon.

Treesearch

Ralph L. Thompson

2001-01-01

Myrtle Island Research Natural Area, an 11.3-ha island in the Umpqua River Valley of the Oregon Coast Range, was established in 1951 to preserve an old-growth stand of Umbellularia californica and scattered old-growth Pseudotsuga menziesii. This floristic study documented 363 specific and infraspecific taxa in 237 genera and 78...

Ground water in the Thousand Oaks area, Ventura County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

French, James J.

1980-01-01

The ground-water basin beneath the city of Thousand Oaks, Calif. , corresponds closely in area with the surface-water drainage basin of Conejo Valley. Before World War II there was little ground-water development. After World War II, urban development put a stress on the ground-water basin; many wells were drilled and water levels in wells were drawn down as much as 300 feet in places. Beginning in 1963, imported water replaced domestic and municipal ground-water systems, and water levels rapidly recovered to predevelopment levels or nearly so. Most of the ground water in the Thousand Oaks area is stored in fractured basalt of the middle Miocene Conejo Volcanics. Depending on the degree of occurrence of open fractures and cavities in the basalt, recoverable ground water in the upper 300 to 500 feet of aquifer is estimated to be between 400,000 and 600,000 acre-feet. The yield of water from wells in the area ranges from 17 to 1,080 gallons per minute. Most of the ground-water in the eastern part of the valley is high insulfate and has a dissolved-solids concentration greater than 1,000 milligrams per liter. In the western part of the valley the ground-water is mostly of a bicarbonate type, and the dissolved-solids concentration is less than 800 milligrams per liter. In most areas of Conejo Valley, ground-water is a viable resource for irrigation of public lands and recreation areas. (USGS)

Ground-water-quality and ground-water-level data, Bernalillo County, central New Mexico, 1990-1993

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kues, G.E.; Garcia, B.M.

1995-01-01

Ground-water-quality and ground-water-level data were collected in four unincorporated areas of Bernalillo County during 1990-93. Twenty wells in the east mountain area of Bernalillo County were sampled approximately monthly between January 1990 and June 1993. The water samples were analyzed for concentrations of chloride and selected nutrient species; many of the samples also were analyzed for concentrations of total organic carbon and dissolved boron and iron. Eleven wells northeast of the city of Albuquerque, 20 wells in the Rio Grande Valley immediately north of Albuquerque, and 30 wells in the Rio Grande Valley immediately south of Albuquerque were sampled once each between December 1992 and September 1993; all water samples were analyzed for chloride and selected nutrient species, and selected samples from wells in the north and south valley areas were also analyzed for major dissolved constituents, iron, manganese, and methylene blue active substances. Samples from 10 of the wells in the north and south valley areas were analyzed for 47 selected pesticides. Field measurements of specific conductance, pH, temperature, and alkalinity were made on most samples at the time of sample collection. Water levels also were measured at the time of sample collection when possible. Results of the monthly water-quality and water-level monitoring in the east mountain area of Bernalillo County are presented in graphical form. Water-quality and water-level data collected from the other areas are presented in tabular form.

Spatial analysis of lettuce downy mildew using geostatistics and geographic information systems.

PubMed

Wu, B M; van Bruggen, A H; Subbarao, K V; Pennings, G G

2001-02-01

ABSTRACT The epidemiology of lettuce downy mildew has been investigated extensively in coastal California. However, the spatial patterns of the disease and the distance that Bremia lactucae spores can be transported have not been determined. During 1995 to 1998, we conducted several field- and valley-scale surveys to determine spatial patterns of this disease in the Salinas valley. Geostatistical analyses of the survey data at both scales showed that the influence range of downy mildew incidence at one location on incidence at other locations was between 80 and 3,000 m. A linear relationship was detected between semivariance and lag distance at the field scale, although no single statistical model could fit the semi-variograms at the valley scale. Spatial interpolation by the inverse distance weighting method with a power of 2 resulted in plausible estimates of incidence throughout the valley. Cluster analysis in geographic information systems on the interpolated disease incidence from different dates demonstrated that the Salinas valley could be divided into two areas, north and south of Salinas City, with high and low disease pressure, respectively. Seasonal and spatial trends along the valley suggested that the distinction between the downy mildew conducive and nonconducive areas might be determined by environmental factors.

Sociodemographic correlates of unipolar major depression among the Chinese elderly in Klang Valley, Malaysia: an epidemiological study.

PubMed

Verma, Rohit Kumar; Min, Tan Hui; Chakravarthy, Srikumar; Barua, Ankur; Kar, Nilamadhab

2014-01-01

Depression, as one of the most disabling diseases around the world, had caught the global concern with its rising prevalence rate. There is a growing need of detecting depression, particularly in the old age population which is often left being overlooked. We conducted a cross-sectional community-based study which included 150 Chinese elderly aged 60 and above within Klang Valley area. We obtained the sociodemographic profiles and assessed the status of well-being, depression, and cognitive function of the participants with the help of instruments: WHO Five-Item Well-Being Index, Major (ICD-10) Depression Inventory, and 6-Item Cognitive Impairment Test. We found that the prevalence of depression among the Chinese elderly within Klang Valley region was 10.7%. With multiple logistic regression, decision to consult doctor on depressed mood or memory problem and presence of cognitive impairment were shown to be significantly associated with unipolar major depression, whereas wellbeing status was also found to be statistically correlated with depression in univariate analysis. The prevalence of unipolar depression among Chinese elderly within Klang Valley, Malaysia presented that there was an increased trend compared to the previous studies.

Sociodemographic Correlates of Unipolar Major Depression among the Chinese Elderly in Klang Valley, Malaysia: An Epidemiological Study

PubMed Central

Verma, Rohit Kumar; Chakravarthy, Srikumar; Barua, Ankur

2014-01-01

Background. Depression, as one of the most disabling diseases around the world, had caught the global concern with its rising prevalence rate. There is a growing need of detecting depression, particularly in the old age population which is often left being overlooked. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional community-based study which included 150 Chinese elderly aged 60 and above within Klang Valley area. We obtained the sociodemographic profiles and assessed the status of well-being, depression, and cognitive function of the participants with the help of instruments: WHO Five-Item Well-Being Index, Major (ICD-10) Depression Inventory, and 6-Item Cognitive Impairment Test. Results. We found that the prevalence of depression among the Chinese elderly within Klang Valley region was 10.7%. With multiple logistic regression, decision to consult doctor on depressed mood or memory problem and presence of cognitive impairment were shown to be significantly associated with unipolar major depression, whereas wellbeing status was also found to be statistically correlated with depression in univariate analysis. Conclusion. The prevalence of unipolar depression among Chinese elderly within Klang Valley, Malaysia presented that there was an increased trend compared to the previous studies. PMID:25544962

Demonstration of using quieter pavement in Death Valley National Park

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-06-01

Death Valley National Park provided an environment that allowed a demonstration of : quieter pavement use. Sound measurements near the tire-pavement interface, near the : road, and in areas of frequent human use were conducted and analyses performed ...

7. YOSEMITE VALLEY SHUTTLE BUS AT SENTINEL BRIDGE SHUTTLE BUS ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

7. YOSEMITE VALLEY SHUTTLE BUS AT SENTINEL BRIDGE SHUTTLE BUS AND PARKING LOT AREA. LOOKING WNW. GIS: N-37 40 36.2 / W-119 44 45.0 - Yosemite National Park Roads & Bridges, Yosemite Village, Mariposa County, CA

Coastal, valley, and oasis interaction: impact on the evolution of ancient populations in the South Central Andes.

PubMed

Varela, Héctor H; Cocilovo, Jose A; Fuchs, María L; O'Brien, Tyler G

2014-12-01

The existing biocultural links are analyzed among ancient inhabitants of the Cochabamba valleys (Bolivia) from the Formative and Tiwanaku periods, coastal and inland Azapa region (Chile) from the Late Archaic to the Late periods, and the Atacama Desert oases (Chile) from the Formative period to the time of European contact. Craniometric information obtained from a sample of 565 individuals from different sites of the studied regions was evaluated using methods derived from quantitative genetics and multivariate statistical analysis techniques. It is shown that during the Formative and Tiwanaku periods inhabitants of the Cochabamba valleys maintained contact with the population of northern Chile. This contact was more fluid with the people from the interior valley of Azapa than it was with the settlers of San Pedro Atacama (SPA). An important biological affinity in the Late Period between the inhabitants of the Azapa valley and the late SPA groups is also examined. The Late-Inca Catarpe SPA sample shows a broad genetic variability shared with the majority of the groups studied. The results reaffirm the differences between the coastal and interior Azapa valley groups and strengthen the hypothesis of two pathways to populating the south central Andean area. The divergence observed among subpopulations can be explained by the spatiotemporal dispersion between them, genetic drift dispersion compensated by the action of gene flow, and cultural norms that regulate within group mating. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Preliminary Geologic Map of the Southern Funeral Mountains and Adjacent Ground-Water Discharge Sites, Inyo County, California, and Nye County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fridrich, Christopher J.; Thompson, Ren A.; Slate, Janet L.; Berry, M.E.; Machette, Michael N.

2008-01-01

This map covers the southern part of the Funeral Mountains, and adjacent parts of four structural basins - Furnace Creek, Amargosa Valley, Opera House, and central Death Valley. It extends over three full 7.5-minute quadrangles, and parts of eleven others - a total area of about 950 square kilometers. The boundaries of this map were drawn to include all of the known proximal hydrogeologic features that may affect the flow of ground water that discharges from the springs of the Furnace Creek wash area, in the west-central part of the map. These springs provide the major potable water supply for Death Valley National Park.

Geology and ground-water hydrology of the Heart River irrigation project and the Dickinson area, North Dakota, with a section on the mineral quality of waters of the Heart River project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tychsen, Paul C.; Swenson, Herbert A.

1950-01-01

The Heart River irrigation project, in southwestern North Dakota, lies in the Missouri Plateau section of the Great Plains physiographic province, which extends from the Missouri escarpment to and beyond the western border of the State. The area ranges in altitude from 1,620 to 2,275 feet and locally has strong relief. The floor of the Heart River Valley is underlain by alluvial deposits of Quaternary age. In the westernmost part of the areas the Fort Union formation of Paleocene (Tertiary) age forms the valley sides, but in a downstream direction the Cannonball and Ludlow formations, here undifferentiated, also of Paleocene age, crop out in the valley sides and underlie progressively broader areas of the upland surface. The Hell Creek formation of Upper Cretaceous age appears above stream level only in the stretch of the valley between the center of T. 136 N., R. 85 W., and the northeastern part of T.. 137 N., R. 84 W. Glacial Drift, which once covered the whole area, now has been almost entirely removed by erosion except for .scattered boulders on the uplands. The Cannonball and Ludlow unit and the Fort Union formation yield, moderate supplies of ground water, and the river alluvium yields more abundant supplies. At the present rate of withdrawal and with normal precipitation there is little danger of seriously depleting the supply. In 1946 the average depth to water in observation wells in the Heart River Valley was 19 feet, whereas the depth to water in observation wells in the upland averaged 30 feet. The Dickinson area is small and is about 45 miles upstream from the Heart River irrigation project. Ground-water levels in the Dickinson municipal well field have declined considerably within recent years, but the impounding of Heart River water is expected to insure a more adequate water supply for the town. Samples of ground water from four wells in the lower Heart River Valley were analyzed to determine the present mineral character of the waters in this region. Waters from shallow and deep wells in the Dickinson area were analyzed to assist in determining the practicability of further utilization of ground water as a public supply. A map showing areas of the least-mineralized ground water in the Dickinson area is presented and the need of further exploratory work is discussed.

Understanding the behavior of carbon dioxide and surface energy fluxes in semiarid Salt Lake Valley, Utah, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramamurthy, Prathap

This dissertation reports the findings from the Salt Lake Valley flux study. The Salt Lake Valley flux study was designed to improve our understanding of the complex land-atmosphere interactions in urban areas. The flux study used the eddy covariance technique to quantify carbon dioxide and surface energy budget in the semiarid Salt Lake Valley. Apart from quantifying fluxes, the study has also added new insight into the nature of turbulent scalar transport in urban areas and has addressed some of the complications in using Eddy Covariance technique in urban areas. As part of this experiment, eddy fluxes of CO2 and surface energy fluxes were measured at two sites, with distinct urban landforms; One site was located in a suburban neighborhood with substantial vegetative cover, prototypical of many residential neighborhoods in the valley. The other CO2 site was in a preurban surrounding that resembled the Salt Lake Valley before it was urbanized. The two sites were intentionally chosen to illustrate the impact of urbanization on CO 2 and surface energy flux cycles. Results indicate that the suburban site acted as a sink of CO2 during the midday period due to photosynthesis and acted as a source of CO2 during the evening and nighttime periods. The vegetative cover around the suburban site also had a significant impact on the surface energy fluxes. Contribution from latent heat flux was substantially high at the suburban site during the summer months compared to sensible heat. The turbulence investigation found that the general behavior of turbulence was very much influenced by local factors and the statistics did not always obey Monin-Obukhov Similarity parameters. This investigation also found that the scalar (co)spectra observed at the suburban site were characterized by multiple peaks and were different compared to (co)spectra reported over forest and crop canopies. The study also observed multiscale CO2 transport at the suburban site during the convective period. While the suburban site acted as a net sink of CO2 during the midday periods, CO2 was transported positively at lower frequencies. Also, during the evening transition period, when the site switched from a sink of CO2 to a source, the net upward transport of CO2 was cancelled by the net downward transport of CO2. This balance caused the total net transport reduce to zero. Overall this research, apart from characterizing the behavior of scalar fluxes at a suburban site in a semiarid desert city has also added some valuable insight on the complex nature of urban scalar transport.

New geologic mapping of the northwestern Willamette Valley, Oregon, and its American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)—A foundation for understanding their terroir

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wells, Ray E.; Haugerud, Ralph A.; Niem, Alan; Niem, Wendy; Ma, Lina; Madin, Ian; Evarts, Russell C.

2018-04-10

A geologic map of the greater Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area is planned that will document the region’s complex geology (currently in review: “Geologic map of the greater Portland metropolitan area and surrounding region, Oregon and Washington,” by Wells, R.E., Haugerud, R.A., Niem, A., Niem, W., Ma, L., Evarts, R., Madin, I., and others). The map, which is planned to be published as a U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map, will consist of 51 7.5′ quadrangles covering more than 2,500 square miles, and it will represent more than 100 person-years of geologic mapping and studies. The region was mapped at the relatively detailed scale of 1:24,000 to improve understanding of its geology and its earthquake hazards. More than 100 geologic map units will record the 50-million-year history of volcanism, sedimentation, folding, and faulting above the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The geology contributes to the varied terroir of four American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in the northwestern Willamette Valley: the Yamhill-Carlton, Dundee Hills, Chehalem Mountains, and Ribbon Ridge AVAs. Terroir is defined as the environmental conditions, especially climate and soils, that influence the quality and character of a region’s crops—in this case, grapes for wine.On this new poster (“New geologic mapping of the northwestern Willamette Valley, Oregon, and its American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)—A foundation for understanding their terroir”), we present the geologic map at a reduced scale (about 1:175,000) to show the general distribution of geologic map units, and we highlight, discuss, and illustrate six major geologic events that helped shape the region and form its terrior. We also discuss the geologic elements that contribute to the character of each of the four AVAs in the northwestern Willamette Valley.

Serological surveillance studies confirm the Rift Valley fever virus free status in South Korea.

PubMed

Kim, Hyun Joo; Park, Jee-Yong; Jeoung, Hye-Young; Yeh, Jung-Yong; Cho, Yun-Sang; Choi, Jeong-Soo; Lee, Ji-Youn; Cho, In-Soo; Yoo, Han-Sang

2015-10-01

Rift Valley fever is a mosquito-borne zoonotic disease of domestic ruminants. This disease causes abortions in pregnant animals, and it has a high mortality rate in newborn animals. Recently, a Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) outbreak in the Arabian Peninsula increased its potential spread to new regions worldwide. In non-endemic or disease-free countries, early detection and surveillance are important for preventing the introduction of RVFV. In this study, a serological surveillance was conducted to detect antibodies against RVFV. A total of 2382 serum samples from goats and cattle were randomly collected from nine areas in South Korea from 2011 to 2013. These samples were tested for antibodies against RVFV, using commercial ELISA kits. None of the goats and cattle were positive for antibodies against RVFV. This finding suggests that this disease is not present in South Korea, and furthermore presents the evidence of the RVFV-free status of this country.

First recorded outbreak of yellow fever in Kenya, 1992-1993. II. Entomologic investigations.

PubMed

Reiter, P; Cordellier, R; Ouma, J O; Cropp, C B; Savage, H M; Sanders, E J; Marfin, A A; Tukei, P M; Agata, N N; Gitau, L G; Rapuoda, B A; Gubler, D J

1998-10-01

The first recorded outbreak of yellow fever in Kenya occurred from mid-1992 through March 1993 in the south Kerio Valley, Rift Valley Province. We conducted entomologic studies in February-March 1993 to identify the likely vectors and determine the potential for transmission in the surrounding rural and urban areas. Mosquitoes were collected by landing capture and processed for virus isolation. Container surveys were conducted around human habitation. Transmission was mainly in woodland of varying density, at altitudes of 1,300-1,800 m. The abundance of Aedes africanus in this biotope, and two isolations of virus from pools of this species, suggest that it was the principal vector in the main period of the outbreak. A third isolate was made from a pool of Ae. keniensis, a little-known species that was collected in the same biotope. Other known yellow fever vectors that were collected in the arid parts of the valley may have been involved at an earlier stage of the epidemic. Vervet monkeys and baboons were present in the outbreak area. Peridomestic mosquito species were absent but abundant at urban sites outside the outbreak area. The entomologic and epidemiologic evidence indicate that this was a sylvatic outbreak in which human cases were directly linked to the epizootic and were independent of other human cases. The region of the Kerio Valley is probably subject to recurrent wandering epizootics of yellow fever, although previous episodes of scattered human infection have gone unrecorded. The risk that the disease could emerge as an urban problem in Kenya should not be ignored.

How do Watershed Characteristics and Precipitation Influence Post-Wildfire Valley Sediment Storage and Delivery Over Time?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brogan, D. J.; Nelson, P. A.; MacDonald, L. H.

2016-12-01

Considerable advances have been made in understanding post-wildfire runoff, erosion, and mass wasting at the hillslope and small watershed scale, but the larger-scale effects on flooding, water quality, and sedimentation are often the most significant impacts. The problem is that we have virtually no watershed-specific tools to quantify the proportion of eroded sediment that is stored or delivered from watersheds larger than about 2-5 km2. In this study we are quantifying how channel and valley bottom characteristics affect post-wildfire sediment storage and delivery. Our research is based on intensive monitoring of sediment storage over time in two 15 km2 watersheds (Skin Gulch and Hill Gulch) burned in the 2012 High Park Fire using repeated cross section and longitudinal surveys from fall 2012 through summer 2016, five airborne laser scanning (ALS) datasets from fall 2012 through summer 2015, and both radar and ground-based precipitation measurements. We have computed changes in sediment storage by differencing successive cross sections, and computed spatially explicit changes in successive ALS point clouds using the multiscale model to model cloud comparison (M3C2) algorithm. These channel changes are being related to potential morphometric controls, including valley width, valley slope, confinement, contributing area, valley expansion or contraction, topographic curvature (planform and profile), and estimated sediment inputs. We hypothesize that maximum rainfall intensity and lateral confinement will be the primary independent variables that describe observed patterns of erosion and deposition, and that the results can help predict post-wildfire sediment delivery and identify high priority areas for restoration.

Effects of realistic topography on the ground motion of the Colombian Andes - A case study at the Aburrá Valley, Antioquia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Restrepo, Doriam; Bielak, Jacobo; Serrano, Ricardo; Gómez, Juan; Jaramillo, Juan

2016-03-01

This paper presents a set of deterministic 3-D ground motion simulations for the greater metropolitan area of Medellín in the Aburrá Valley, an earthquake-prone region of the Colombian Andes that exhibits moderate-to-strong topographic irregularities. We created the velocity model of the Aburrá Valley region (version 1) using the geological structures as a basis for determining the shear wave velocity. The irregular surficial topography is considered by means of a fictitious domain strategy. The simulations cover a 50 × 50 × 25 km3 volume, and four Mw = 5 rupture scenarios along a segment of the Romeral fault, a significant source of seismic activity in Colombia. In order to examine the sensitivity of ground motion to the irregular topography and the 3-D effects of the valley, each earthquake scenario was simulated with three different models: (i) realistic 3-D velocity structure plus realistic topography, (ii) realistic 3-D velocity structure without topography, and (iii) homogeneous half-space with realistic topography. Our results show how surface topography affects the ground response. In particular, our findings highlight the importance of the combined interaction between source-effects, source-directivity, focusing, soft-soil conditions, and 3-D topography. We provide quantitative evidence of this interaction and show that topographic amplification factors can be as high as 500 per cent at some locations. In other areas within the valley, the topographic effects result in relative reductions, but these lie in the 0-150 per cent range.