Topographic instructions of the United States Geological Survey.

At head of title: Department of the Interior. United States Geological Survey.

New publications of the Geological Survey /

Issues for Dec. 1988, July 1989 distributed to depository libraries in microfiche.

The geology of Rutland and the parts of Lincoln, Leicester, Northhampton, Huntingdon, and Cambridge, included in sheet 64 of the one-inch map of the Geological survey, with an introductory essay on the classification and correlation of the Jurassic rocks of the Midland district of England.

"Bibliography of the district": p. 293-301.

Talc deposits of steatite grade, Inyo County, California. Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Mode of access: Internet.

Interpretive U.S. Geological Survey Programs with municipalities in Iowa.

Mode of access: Internet.

The Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Mode of access: Internet.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits recovered by the Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ) during the 1971-1974 period in the Pacific Ocean

In 1974, the Geological Survey of Japan began its systematic investigation of manganese nodules in the Central Pacific Basin on the new geological research vessel Hakurei Maru. The first cruise (GH 74-5) was carried out over an eastern part area of the Basin (6°-10°30'N, 164°30'-171°30'W), and the authors report here the preliminary results on the occurrence of manganese nodule deposits, paying particular consideration to their relationship to submarine topography and surficial and sub-bottom sedimentary facies. The surveyed area comprises a deep-sea basin at 5,000-5,400 m, defined to the north and east by the chain of seamounts and guyots of the Christmas Ridge. The deep-sea basin is divided roughly into 2 contrasting topographic features. The eastern part is characterised by flattened topography resulting from continuous deposition of turbidities; the meridian and western parts are characterised by gently rolling topography and the existence of a large number of deep-sea hills. Manganese nodules are almost lacking in the former flattened eastern area, whereas they are widely distributed in the latter rolling meridian and western parts. The population density of nodules varies from less than 1 Kg/m² to 26 kg/m² and the higher density is found in the siliceous-calcareous ooze zone of rather small, flat basins surrounded by deep-sea hills. The density is closely related to the thickness of the transparent layer obtained by 3.5 kHz PDR profiling over the whole area. Considering the various data of grab sampling, 3.5 kHz PDR profiling and to a lesser extent of deep-sea television and camera observations, the most promising manganese field in the present area seems to be confined to the north of the western sector of the area.

Iowa : index to topographic and other map coverage / published and distributed by United States Geological Survey, National Mapping Program, 1989

This index is designed to inform map users of the various series of maps produced and distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey, and to assist users in selecting and purchasing maps.

Habitat mapping effort at the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary – Current status and future needs

With elevating interest to establish conservation efforts for groundfish stocks and continued scrutiny over the value of marine protected areas along the west coast, the importance of enhancing our knowledge of seabed characteristics through mapping activities is becoming increasingly more important, especially in a timely manner. Shortly after the inception of the Seabed Mapping Initiative instituted with the US Geological Survey (USGS), the National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) assembled a panel of habitat mapping experts. They determined that the status of existing data sets and future data acquisition needs varied widely among the individual sanctuaries and that more detailed site assessments were needed to better prioritize mapping efforts and outline an overall joint strategy. To assist with that specific effort and provide pertinent information for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary’s (OCNMS) Management Plan Review, this report summarizes the mapping efforts that have taken place at the site to date; calculates a timeframe for completion of baseline mapping efforts when operating under current data acquisition limitations; describes an optimized survey strategy to dramatically reduce the required time to complete baseline surveying; and provides estimates for the needed vessel sea-days (DAS) to accomplish baseline survey completion within a 2, 5 and 10 year timeframe. (PDF contains 38 pages.)

An assessment of chemical contaminants detected in passive water samplers deployed in the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER)

This report is the second in a series from a project to assess land-based sources of pollution (LBSP) and effects in the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER) in St. Thomas, USVI, and is the result of a collaborative effort between NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the University of the Virgin Islands, and The Nature Conservancy. Passive water samplers (POCIS) were deployed in the STEER in February 2012. Developed by the US Geological Survey (USGS) as a tool to detect the presence of water soluble contaminants in the environment, POCIS samplers were deployed in the STEER at five locations. In addition to the February 2012 deployment, the results from an earlier POCIS deployment in May 2010 in Turpentine Gut, a perennial freshwater stream which drains to the STEER, are also reported. A total of 26 stormwater contaminants were detected at least once during the February 2012 deployment in the STEER. Detections were high enough to estimate ambient water concentrations for nine contaminants using USGS sampling rate values. From the May 2010 deployment in Turpentine Gut, 31 stormwater contaminants were detected, and ambient water concentrations could be estimated for 17 compounds. Ambient water concentrations were estimated for a number of contaminants including the detergent/surfactant metabolite 4-tert-octylphenol, phthalate ester plasticizers DEHP and DEP, bromoform, personal care products including menthol, indole, n,n-diethyltoluamide (DEET), along with the animal/plant sterol cholesterol, and the plant sterol beta-sitosterol. Only DEHP appeared to have exceeded a water quality guideline for the protection of aquatic organisms.

Fish movement patterns in Virgin Islands National Park, Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument and adjacent waters

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)-Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment’s (CCMA) Biogeography Branch, National Park Service (NPS), US Geological Survey, and the University of Hawaii used acoustic telemetry to quantify spatial patterns and habitat affinities of reef fishes around the island of St. John, US Virgin Islands. The objective of the study was to define the movements of reef fishes among habitats within and between the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICRNM), the Virgin Islands National Park (VIIS), and Territorial waters surrounding St. John. In order to better understand species’ habitat utilization patterns among management regimes, we deployed an array of hydroacoustic receivers and acoustically tagged reef fishes. Thirty six receivers were deployed in shallow near-shore bays and across the shelf to depths of approximately 30 m. One hundred eighty four individual fishes were tagged representing 19 species from 10 different families with VEMCO V9-2L-R64K transmitters. The array provides fish movement information at fine (e.g., day-night and 100s meters within a bay) to broad spatial and temporal scales (multiple years and 1000s meters across the shelf). The long term multi-year tracking project provides direct evidence of connectivity across habitat types in the seascape and among management units. An important finding for management was that a number of individuals moved among management units (VICRNM, VINP, Territorial waters) and several snapper moved from near-shore protected areas to offshore shelf-edge spawning aggregations. However, most individuals spent the majority of their time with VIIS and VICRNM, with only a few wide-ranging species moving outside the management units. Five species of snappers (Lutjanidae) accounted for 31% of all individuals tagged, followed by three species of grunts (Haemulidae) accounting for an additional 23% of the total. No other family had more than a single species represented in the study. Bluestripe grunt (Haemulon sciurus) comprised 22% of all individuals tagged, followed by lane snappers (Lutjanus synagris) at 21%, bar jack (Carangoides ruber) at 11%, and saucereye porgy (Calamus calamus) at 10%. The largest individual tagged was a 70 cm TL nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum), followed by a 65 cm mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis), a 47 cm bar jack, and a 41 cm dog snapper (Lutjanus jocu). The smallest individuals tagged were a 19 cm blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) and a 19.2 cm doctorfish (Acanthurus chirurgus). Of the 40 bluestriped grunt acoustically tagged, 73% were detected on the receiver array. The average days at large (DAL) was 249 (just over 8 months), with one individual detected for 930 days (over two and a half years). Lane snapper were the next most abundant species tagged (N = 38) with 89% detected on the array. The average days at large (DAL) was 221 with one individual detected for 351 days. Seventy-one percent of the bar jacks (N = 21) were detected on the array with the average DALs at 47 days. All of the mutton snapper (N = 12) were detected on the array with an average DAL of 273 and the longest at 784. The average maximum distance travelled (MDT) was ca. 2 km with large variations among species. Grunts, snappers, jacks, and porgies showed the greatest movements. Among all individuals across species, there was a positive and significant correlation between size of individuals and MDT and between DAL and MDT.

Acoustic tracking of reef fishes to elucidate habitat utilization patterns and residence times inside and outside marine protected areas around the island of St. John, USVI

This technical memorandum describes a developing project under the direction of NOAA’s Biogeography Branch in consultation with the National Park Service and US Geological Survey to understand and quantify spatial patterns and habitat affinities of reef fishes in the US Virgin Islands. The purpose of this report is to describe and disseminate the initial results from the project and to share information on the location of acoustic receivers and species electronic tag ID codes. The Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICRNM), adjacent to Virgin Islands National Park (VIIS), was established by Executive Order in 2000, but resources within the monument are poorly documented and the degree of connectivity to VIIS is unknown. Whereas, VICRNM was established with full protection from resource exploitation, VIIS has incurred resource harvest by fishers since 1956 as allowed in its enabling legislation. Large changes in local reef communities have occurred over the past several decades, in part due to overexploitation. In order to better understand the habitat utilization patterns and movement of fishes among management regimes and areas open to fishing around St, John, an array of hydroacoustic receivers was deployed while a variety of reef fish species were acoustically tagged. In July 2006, nine receivers with a detection range of ca. 350 m were deployed in Lameshur Bay on the south shore of St. John, within VIIS. Receivers were located adjacent to reefs and in seagrass beds, inshore and offshore of these reefs. It was found that lane snappers and bluestriped grunts showed diel movement from reef habitats during daytime hours to offshore seagrass bed at night. Timing of migrations was highly predictable and coincided with changes in sunrise and sunset over the course of the year. Fish associated with reefs that did not have adjacent seagrass beds made more extensive movements than those fishes associated with reefs that had adjacent seagrass habitats. In April 2007, 21 additional receivers were deployed along much of the south shore of St. John (ca. 20 km of shoreline). This current array will address broader-scale movement among management units and examine the potential benefits of the VICRNM to provide adult “spillover” into VIIS and adjacent harvested areas. The results from this work will aid in defining fine to moderate spatial scales of reef fish habitat affinities and in designing and evaluating marine protected areas.

Microbial community analysis of Acropora palamata mucus swabs, water and sediment samples from Hawksnest Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Colonies of the scleractinian coral Acropora palmata, listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act in 2006, have been monitored in Hawksnest Bay, within Virgin Islands National Park, St. John, from 2004 through 2010 by scientists with the US Geological Survey, National Park Service, and the University of the Virgin Islands. The focus has been on documenting the prevalence of disease, including white band, white pox (also called patchy necrosis and white patches), and unidentified diseases (Rogers et al., 2008; Muller et al., 2008). In an effort to learn more about the pathologies that might be involved with the diseases that were observed, samples were collected from apparently healthy and diseased colonies in July 2009 for analysis. Two different microbial assays were performed on Epicentre Biotechnologies DNA swabs containing A. palmata coral mucus, and on water and sediment samples collected in Hawksnest Bay. Both assays are based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of portions of the small rRNA gene (16S). The objectives were to determine 1) if known coral bacterial pathogens Serratia marcescens (Acroporid Serratiosis), Vibrio coralliilyticus (temperature-dependent bleaching, White Syndrome), Vibrio shiloi (bleaching, necrosis), and Aurantimonas coralicida (White Plague Type II) were present in any samples, and 2) if there were any differences in microbial community profiles of each healthy, unaffected or diseased coral mucus swab. In addition to coral mucus, water and sediment samples were included to show ambient microbial populations. In the first test, PCR was used to separately amplify the unique and diagnostic region of the 16S rRNA gene for each of the coral pathogens being screened. Each pathogen test was designed so that an amplified DNA fragment could be seen only if the specific pathogen was present in a sample. A positive result was indicated by bands of DNA of the appropriate size on an agarose gel, which separates DNA fragments based on the size of the molecule. DNA from pure cultures of each of the pathogens was used as a positive control for each assay.

Simulation of Ground-Water Flow in the Cedar River Alluvial Aquifer Flow System, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Scientific

The Cedar River alluvial aquifer is the primary source of municipal water in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, area. Since 1992, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Cedar Rapids, has investigated the hydrogeology and water quality of the Cedar River alluvial aquifer. This report describes a detailed analysis of the ground-water flow system in the alluvial aquifer, particularly near well field areas. The ground-water flow system in the Cedar Rapids area consists of two main components, the unconsolidated Quaternary deposits and the underlying carbonate bedrock that has a variable fracture density. Quaternary deposits consist of eolian sand, loess, alluvium, and glacial till. Devonian and Silurian bedrock aquifers overlie the Maquoketa Shale (Formation) of Ordovician age, a regional confining unit. Ground-water and surface-water data were collected during the study to better define the hydrogeology of the Cedar River alluvial aquifer and Devonian and Silurian aquifers. Stream stage and discharge, ground-water levels, and estimates of aquifer hydraulic properties were used to develop a conceptual ground-water flow model and to construct and calibrate a model of the flow system. This model was used to quantify the movement of water between the various components of the alluvial aquifer flow system and provide an improved understanding of the hydrology of the alluvial aquifer.

Hydrogeologic Setting and Ground-Water Flow Simulations of the Eastern High Plains Regional Study Area, Nebraska

The transport of anthropogenic and natural contaminants to public-supply wells was evaluated in a part of the High Plains aquifer near York, Nebraska, as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program. The aquifer in the Eastern High Plains regional study area is composed of Quaternary alluvial deposits typical of the High Plains aquifer in eastern Nebraska and Kansas, is an important water source for agricultural irrigation and public water supply, and is susceptible and vulnerable to contamination. A six-layer, steady-state ground-water flow model of the High Plains aquifer near York, Nebraska, was constructed and calibrated to average conditions for the time period from 1997 to 2001. The calibrated model and advective particle-tracking simulations were used to compute areas contributing recharge and travel times from recharge areas to selected public-supply wells. Model results indicate recharge from agricultural irrigation return flow and precipitation (about 89 percent of inflow) provides most of the ground-water inflow, whereas the majority of ground-water discharge is to pumping wells (about 78 percent of outflow). Particle-tracking results indicate areas contributing recharge to public-supply wells extend northwest because of the natural ground-water gradient from the northwest to the southeast across the study area. Particle-tracking simulations indicate most ground-water travel times from areas contributing recharge range from 20 to more than 100 years but that some ground water, especially that in the lower confined unit, originates at the upgradient model boundary instead of at the water table in the study area and has travel times of thousands of years.