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• Continuing Progress Toward a National Assessment of Water Availability and Use

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  "This report is the second in a series of reports to the U.S. Congress on the progress toward a National Assessment of Water Availability and Use (also known as the USGS [U.S. Geological Survey] National Water Census). [...] This report describes the critical work that is underway to understand, assess, and deliver information about water availability, as well as the collaboration and coordination with other agencies and organizations that are essential for the Water Census to succeed. This report describes the on-going regional framework for presenting water-availability data through a set of geographic focus area studies and regional groundwater assessments, and the national framework for providing uniform information on water-budget components across the country through targeted topical studies. This report also documents the information management and delivery activities that are being conducted as part of the Water Census. Finally, this report describes the initiatives that are planned as part of the Water Census for the next 5 years."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Evenson, Eric J.; Jones, S. A. (Sonya A.); Barber, Nancy L. . . .

  2018
• Using a Bayesian Network to Predict Shore-Line Change Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise for the Coasts of the United States

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Abstract: "Sea-level rise is an ongoing phenomenon that is expected to continue and is projected to have a wide range of effects on coastal environments and infrastructure during the 21st century and beyond. Consequently, there is a need to assemble relevant datasets and to develop modeling or other analytical approaches to evaluate the likelihood of particular sea-level rise impacts, such as coastal erosion, and to inform coastal management decisions with this information. This report builds on previous work that compiled oceanographic and geomorphic data as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) for the U.S. Atlantic coast, and developed a Bayesian Network to predict shoreline-change rates based on sea-level rise plus variables that describe the hydrodynamic and geologic setting. This report extends the previous analysis to include the Gulf and Pacific coasts of the continental United States and Alaska and Hawaii, which required using methods applied to the USGS CVI dataset to extract data for these regions. The Bayesian Network converts inputs that include observations of local rates of relative sea-level change, mean wave height, mean tide range, a geomorphic classification, coastal slope, and observed shoreline-change rates to calculate the probability of the shoreline-erosion rate exceeding a threshold level of 1 meter per year for the coasts of the United States. The calculated probabilities were compared to the historical observations of shoreline change to evaluate the hindcast success rate of the most likely probability of shoreline change."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Gutierrez, Benjamin T.; Plant, Nathaniel G.; Pendleton, Elizabeth A. . . .

  2014
• Reported Investments in Earthquake Mitigation Top $73 to $80 Billion in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, Since the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  "The damaging 1989 Loma Prieta and 1994 Northridge earthquakes caused a considerable number of fatalities and economic losses in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles region, respectively. In both earthquakes, elevated freeways collapsed, hospitals and unreinforced masonry buildings were damaged, and some multistory buildings having weak first floors (soft-story buildings) collapsed. A span of the eastern section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The earthquake hazard in the San Francisco Bay Area remains high. The most recent earthquake forecast for the San Francisco Bay Area is a 72 percent likelihood of a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake in the next 30 years (Aagaard and others, 2016). The damaging 2014 South Napa earthquake was a recent reminder of the ongoing hazard posed by earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Area (Brocher and others, 2015). As a result of this and prior earthquake forecasts by the U.S. Geological Survey, and the losses sustained in the 1989 earthquake, government agencies as well as groups in the private and nonprofit sectors have invested in more than 700 structural retrofits and replacements to older structures, motivated by desire to mitigate the impacts of future earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Area and to improve the resiliency of the Bay Area community. Many of these are public investments that were supported by the electorate. The purpose of this report is to provide a compilation of structural retrofits and replacements of older buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area that have either been completed since 1989 or that are in progress as of October 2018. For the purposes of this report, all or parts of nine Bay Area counties were included: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. Santa Cruz County was not included. The compilation of 700 investments is presented as a table in the appendix. We consider this table as version 1, as we urge that those familiar with additional projects contact the report authors with information to update the table. In total, we have identified $73 to $80 billion in investments to retrofit or replace structures to mitigate the impacts of future San Francisco Bay Area earthquakes. These totals represent an average investment of $2.5 to $2.8 billion per year in retrofits and replacement of structures since 1989."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Brocher, Thomas M.; Gefeke, Kerri; Boatwright, John . . .

  2018
• Preliminary Peak Stage and Streamflow Data at Selected U.S. Geological Survey Streamgaging Stations in North and South Carolina for Flooding Following Hurricane Florence, September 2018

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  From the Abstract: "Hurricane Florence made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, shortly after dawn on September 14, 2018. Once over land, the forward motion of the hurricane slowed to about 2 to 3 miles per hour. Over the next several days, the hurricane delivered historic amounts of rainfall across North and South Carolina, causing substantial flooding in many communities across both States. [...] During the October 2015 flood in South Carolina, a 4-day total rainfall of 26.88 inches was recorded in Mount Pleasant; however, because that total rainfall was a combination of a tropical storm system and another front that was centered over the State, it is not considered the largest rainfall event from a tropical storm."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Feaster, Toby D.; Weaver, J. Curtis; Gotvald, Anthony J. . . .

  2018
• Flood-Inundation Maps of Selected Areas Affected by the Flood of October 2015 in Central and Coastal South Carolina

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  From the Purpose and Scope: "The purpose of this report is to document the data collection, flood peak magnitudes, and flood-inundation products generated by the USGS [United States Geological Survey] in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) response and recovery operations following the October 1-5, 2015, flood event throughout central and coastal South Carolina. High-water mark identification and surveying methods as well as flood-inundation maps depicting estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding are presented and described."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Musser, Jonathan W.; Watson, Kara M.; Gotvald, Anthony J. . . .

  2016
• Characterization of Peak Streamflows and Flood Inundation at Selected Areas in North Carolina Following Hurricane Matthew, October 2016

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  From the Abstract: "The passage of Hurricane Matthew through central and eastern North Carolina during October 7-9, 2016, brought heavy rainfall, which resulted in major flooding. More than 15 inches of rain was recorded in some areas. More than 600 roads were closed, including Interstates 95 and 40, and nearly 99,000 structures were affected by floodwaters. Immediately following the flooding, the U.S. Geological Survey documented 267 high-water marks, of which 254 were surveyed. North Carolina Emergency Management documented and surveyed 353 high-water marks. Using a subset of these high-water marks, seven flood-inundation maps were created for hard-hit communities. Digital datasets of the inundation areas, study reach boundary, and water-depth rasters are available for download. In addition, peak gage-height data, peak streamflow data, and annual exceedance probabilities (in percent) were determined for 24 U.S. Geological Survey stream-gages located near the heavily flooded communities."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Musser, Jonathan W.; Watson, Kara M.; Gotvald, Anthony J.

  2017-08
• Monitoring Earthquakes across the United States

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  "Those who plan for and respond to earthquake disasters, and those who study earthquakes, require timely notification of earthquake occurrences and information to mitigate losses. Earthquake events throughout the United States are currently monitored by sophisticated systems that provide the notification and information needed by decision makers before and during times of crisis. The national and regional earthquake monitoring systems for the United States have evolved into one of the world's finest emergency-management and research tools."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Brown, William M.; Buland, Raymond P.; Benz, Harley M. (Harley Mitchell)

  1997
• National Earthquake Information Center Strategic Plan, 2019-23

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  From the Executive Summary: "Damaging earthquakes occur regularly around the world; since the turn of the 20th century, hundreds of earthquakes have caused significant loss of life and (or) millions of dollars or more in economic losses. While most of these did not directly affect the United States and its Territories, by studying worldwide seismicity we can better understand how to mitigate the effects of earthquakes when they do occur within U.S. borders. Within the U.S. Government, this mandate falls on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC), which has the statutory responsibility for monitoring and reporting on earthquakes domestically and globally. [...] To maintain its prominent position in earthquake monitoring, the NEIC must continue to evolve, concurrently improving its operations and 24/7 robustness, streamlining services and infrastructure, and keeping pace with research and innovation in the field of seismology. This document outlines how the NEIC might best achieve such goals, by describing specific avenues and opportunities for development in the next five years (2019-23)."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Hayes, Gavin; Earle, Paul S.; Benz, Harley M. (Harley Mitchell) . . .

  2019
• Groundwater Quality and Geochemistry of West Virginia's Southern Coal Fields

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  From the Abstract: "Coal mining has been the dominant industry and land use in West Virginia's southern coal fields since the mid-1800s. Mortality rates for a variety of serious chronic conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer in Appalachian coal mining regions, are higher than in areas lacking substantial coal mining activity within the Appalachian Region or elsewhere in the United States. Causes of the increased mortality and morbidity are not clear, but poor diet, high rates of smoking, socioeconomic factors, and the quality of groundwater used by area residents are all possible contributing factors. This study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, with grant support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to assess the quality of groundwater in southern West Virginia. The data from this assessment of groundwater quality may be used by the CDC and other agencies to potentially investigate the role or lack thereof of groundwater quality with respect to mortality and morbidity rates in the region. The study was conducted in a region where a high density of current or past coal mining combined with a lack of advanced sewage treatment could affect concentrations of commonly occurring constituents plus contaminants, including nitrate, trace metals, major ions, indicator bacteria, radon, hydrogen sulfide, and dissolved hydrocarbons."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Kozar, Mark D.; McAdoo, Mitchell A.; Haase, Karl B.

  2020
• Numerical Simulation of Groundwater Availability in Central Moloka'i, Hawai'i

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  From the Abstract: "Since the 1990s, increased chloride concentrations of water pumped from wells (much of which is used for drinking water) and the effects of withdrawals on groundwater-dependent ecosystems have led to concerns over groundwater availability on the island of Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi. An improved understanding of the hydrologic effects of proposed groundwater withdrawals is needed to ensure effective management of the groundwater resources of Molokaʻi, plan for possible growth, and accommodate cultural, social, and economic concerns."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Oki, Delwyn S.; Engott, John A.; Rotzoll, Kolja

  2020
• Preliminary Analyses of Volcanic Hazards at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai'i, 2017-2018

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  From the Introduction: "From 2017 to 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) responded to ongoing and changing eruptions at Kīlauea Volcano as part of its mission to monitor volcanic processes, issue warnings of dangerous activity, and assess volcanic hazards. To formalize short-term hazards assessments--and, in some cases, issue prognoses for future activity--and make results discoverable to both the public and the authorities, HVO released reports online. These reports were published rapidly, received peer review under the USGS's Fundamental Science Practice guidelines, and were intended to address a focused question posed by one or more cooperating agencies--for this reason, they were called 'cooperator reports.' This Open-File Report concatenates four such products issued in 2017 and 2018 into a single publication. These reports have been reformatted and lightly edited for clarity, but the content has not otherwise been changed from the versions first publicly released."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Neal, Christina, 1959-; Anderson, Kyle R.

  2020
• Stormwater Quality of Infrastructure Elements in Rapid City, South Dakota, 2016-18

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  From the Purpose and Scope: "The purposes of this report are to describe the methods and data collected from urban flowpath sites in Rapid City during 2016-18 and to provide statistical summaries of the water-quality data for the various infrastructure site types that were sampled for the stormwater-quality study. This information could be used in hydrologic models to estimate FIB [fecal indicator bacteria] and TSS [total suspended solids] loading from certain infrastructure elements in urban environments. This study only involved data collection within the city of Rapid City; however, the results are transferable to urban drainages in cities with similar infrastructure and climate."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Hoogestraat, Galen K.

  2020
• Potential Duration of the Aftershocks of the 2020 Southwestern Puerto Rico Earthquake

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  From the Abstract: "Aftershocks (earthquakes clustered spatially and chronologically near the occurrence of a causative earthquake) are ongoing in southwestern Puerto Rico after a series of earthquakes, which include a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that occurred near Barrio Indios, Guayanilla, on January 7, 2020, and affected the surrounding area. This report estimates the expected duration of these aftershocks by incorporating observations of aftershocks as of January 17, 2020, into a well-established statistical model of how earthquake sequences behave. Aftershocks will persist for years to decades, although with decreasing frequency, and earthquakes will likely be felt on a daily basis for up to several months. [...] The aftershocks discussed in this report would be located in the same general area as the aftershocks that have already occurred. Our results do not imply a change in the risk of earthquakes in other parts of Puerto Rico."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Michael, A. J. (Andrew Jay); van der Elst, Nicholas J.; Hardebeck, Jeanne

  2020
• Have Humans Influenced Volcanic Activity on the Lower East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano? A Publication Review

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  From the Abstract: "Since the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, the topic of whether commercial developments not only caused the eruption to occur in the lower East Rift Zone (LERZ), but also caused its high eruption rate has been a subject of public discussion. We review Kīlauea Volcano publications from the past several decades and show that the eruptive behavior of the volcano has varied and that the 2018 eruption was similar to past eruptions in many ways. We find no evidence to support any human influence on Kīlauea Volcano."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Kauahikaua, James P.; Trusdell, Frank A.

  2020
• Effects of Urbanization on Floods in the Houston, Texas Metropolitan Area

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  From the Abstract: "This study provides relationships for estimating the magnitudes of annual flood peaks having selected recurrence intervals ranging from 2 to 100 years on streams in the Houston metropolitan area. Data on the size of the contributing watershed and the percent of impervious surface within the watershed are required for use of the relationships, which were defined by analyses of the flood peaks and watershed characteristics for 26 sites . In the analyses, a 60-year rainfall record was used in a rainfall-runoff model that had been calibrated for each site from a 4 to 10-year period of concurrent rainfall and runoff observations. Flood characteristics for each site were then determined from a frequency analysis of the 60-year synthesized flood record and related by multiple regression to the characteristics of each watershed. The relationships indicate that as urbanization increases the impervious surface from 1 to 35 percent, the magnitude of a 2-year peak is increased by a factor of 9 and the magnitude of a 50-year peak is increased by a factor of 5. Other analyses indicate that urbanization also significantly increases the magnitude of annual runoff."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Johnson, S. L. (Steven L.); Sayre, Douglas M.

  1973-04
• Effects of Urbanization on Floods in the Dallas, Texas, Metropolitan Area

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  From the Abstract: "The effects of urbanization on flood characteristics of streams in the Dallas metropolitan area were studied by use of a digital model of the hydrologic system. The model was calibrated by using observed rainfall and runoff data from 19 storms in six basins having various degrees of urbanization. The calibrated models were used with a 57-year rainfall record to simulate 57-year records of annual peak discharges in 14 basins. The flood-frequency characteristics were defined by fitting the simulated 57-year records to log-Pearson Type III distributions. Regional peak-discharge equations, which can be used to determine the maximum rates of discharge that could be expected to be equaled or exceeded on the average of once in 1.25, 2, 5, 10, 25, and 100 years, were derived from multiple-regression analyses. The relationships among flood frequency, drainage area, and a coefficient of impervious area are given in a nomograph. The analyses indicate that in a fully-developed residential area, the flood peaks will be 1.2 to 1.4 times those from an undeveloped area; and the annual direct runoff will be about double that from an undeveloped area. Data were not sufficient to determine the increase in runoff from a highly industrialized area where the effective imperviousness approaches 100 percent."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Dempster, G. R.

  1974-01
• Flood of July 17, 1972 in Gallup, New Mexico

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Abstract: "On July 17, 1972 severe flooding occurred in Gallup, N. Mex. An isolated storm approximately 9 miles east of Gallup covering 20 of the 558 square miles drained by the Puerco River was responsible. Floodwaters reached a peak gage height of 15.3 feet and peak discharge of 12,000 cubic feet per second at the crest-stage gage located on the Puerco River in Gallup. Peak discharge was 1.8 times a 50-year flood. Floodwaters damaged 120 residences, 48 businesses, and 11 public buildings and facilities. Total damages were estimated at $1,293,000. Gallup was declared a disaster area by Governor Bruce King on July 20, 1972 and by President Richard Nixon on August 1, 1972."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Waite, Loyd A.

  1973-10
• Basement Flooding and Foundation Damage from Water-Table Rise in the East New York Section of Brooklyn, Long Island, New York

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  From the Abstract: "A rising water table has been causing basement flooding and damage to building foundations in the East New York section of Brooklyn, Kings County, Long Island, N.Y., since the early fall of 1975. The rising water table is the result of shutdown of public-supply wells that had pumped large amounts of water from the early 1900's to the ground-water reservoir. [...] Relief of the basement-flooding problem in East New York and vicinity is complicated by the fact that the New York City sewer system carries both untreated sewage and storm-water runoff into sewage-treatment plants that cannot process all the inflow during times of heavy precipitation. Pumped ground water discharged into sewers could, therefore, adversely affect operations at treatment plants. Other suggested remedial measures, such as onsite injection of pumped ground water into deep confined aquifers or discharging it through separate pipelines to tidewater, are complicated by the poor quality of the pumped water and by the sea-water intrusion that would be caused by prolonged pumping."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Soren, Julian

  1976-10
• Magnitude and Frequency of Floods in Small Drainage Basins in Idaho

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  From the Abstract: "A method which relates basin characteristics with peak flow characteristics is presented for determining magnitude and frequency of flood on streams with drainage areas between 0.5 and 200 square miles. Regression equations for each of eight regions are presented for determination of the 10-year flood. Peak flows for the 25- and 50-year floods can then be estimated from ratios developed for each region. Regression equations are not developed because of poor definitions for several areas that total about 20,000 square miles. The equations were based on multiple-regression techniques using annual peaks and basin characteristics for 303 gaged sites."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Anderson, J. Michael; Thomas, C. A. (Cecil Albert), 1915-2002; Harenberg, W. A.

  1973-04
• Floods in New York, 1972, with Special Reference to Tropical Storm Agnes

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  From the Introduction: "Flooding and flood damage in New York during the calendar year 1972 are summarized in this report. The report was prepared at the request of the New York State Department of Transportation under provisions of an agreement between the department and the U.S. Geological Survey for a cooperative, statewide program to investigate the water resources of the State. In addition to the material included in the report, 39 flood maps were prepared from high water marks observed in the field by Geological Survey personnel. Also two hydrologic atlases were published by the flood at Corning. Complete references for the flood maps and the atlases are given under 'References.'"

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Robison, F. Luman

  1976-01
• Flood-Inundation Maps for the North Platte River at Scottsbluff and Gering, Nebraska, 2018

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Purpose and Scope: "This report describes the development of a series of estimated flood-inundation maps for the North Platte River at Scottsbluff, Nebr., and identifies where the maps can be found online and where ancillary data (geographic information system [GIS] flood polygons and depth grids) can be downloaded. The study covers an 8.8-mile (mi) reach of the North Platte River from 1.5 mi upstream from the Highway 92 bridge to 2 mi downstream from the Highway 71 bridge."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Strauch, Kellan R.

  2019
• Economic Effects of Wildfire Risk Reduction and Source Water Protection Projects in the Rio Grande River Basin in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado

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  From the Executive Summary: "This report investigates how investments made by the Rio Grande Water Fund (RGWF) in wildfire risk reduction and source water protection projects in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado affect local economic activity. These investments also support jobs and generate business sales activities within nearby local economies. The RGWF project area evaluated in this report consists of 13 counties in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado that are within a 17-State region referred to here as the Western States. To implement these projects, the RGWF spent a total of $855,000 in 2018 on contractors located in the Western States regional economy. In the Western States, including direct and secondary effects, these expenditures supported an estimated 22 jobs, $1,089,000 in labor income, $1,324,000 in value added, and $1,907,000 in economic output. The majority (73 percent or $623,000) of these expenditures were made by hiring local businesses operating within the 13-county region in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado RGWF project area. Within the RGWF project area, including direct and secondary effects, local expenditures supported an estimated 15 jobs, $676,000 in labor income, $791,000 in value added, and $1,120,000 in economic output. These results established that investments in wildfire risk reduction and source water protection projects can support jobs, generate business sales activities within nearby local economies and enhance livelihoods, small businesses, and rural economies in the Mountain West."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Cullinane Thomas, Catherine; Meldrum, James R.; Meier, Rachel . . .

  2019
• Monitoring Storm Tide and Flooding from Hurricane Matthew Along the Atlantic Coast of the United States, October 2016: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017-1122

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Introduction: "Hurricane Matthew moved adjacent to the coasts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The hurricane made landfall once near McClellanville, South Carolina, on October 8, 2016, as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (National Hurricane Center, 2012). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network of storm-tide sensors at 284 sites along the Atlantic coast from Florida to North Carolina to record the timing, areal extent, and magnitude of hurricane storm tide and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Matthew (fig. 1). Storm tide, as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2013), is the water-level rise generated by a combination of storm surge and astronomical tide during a coastal storm."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Frantz, Eric R.; Byrne, Michael L.; Caldwell, Andral W. . . .

  2017-10
• Map Depicting Susceptibility to Landslides Triggered by Intense Rainfall, Puerto Rico

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Executive Summary: "Puerto Rico is vulnerable to landsliding. This report summarizes creation of a new high-resolution model of rainfall-induced landslide susceptibility for the main island. The main island of Puerto Rico was classified at 5-meter pixel scale into categories of Low, Moderate, High, Very High, or Extremely High susceptibility to landsliding during and soon after intense rainfall, such as is produced during tropical cyclones. The map data can be downloaded as georeferenced files in multiple formats by the public or government agencies and used in a geographic information system platform. The model is intended for use in planning, development, and emergency management. The map highlights areas susceptible to landsliding that may warrant further site-specific evaluation by licensed professionals. This map product highlights an important collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Department of Geology at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez that materialized after the destructive Hurricanes Irma and María in September 2017. An inventory of more than 70,000 mass wasting sites triggered by Hurricane María represents one of the initial products of this partnership and was an essential dataset in the modeling effort described in the report."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Hughes, K. Stephen; Schulz, William H.

  2020
• Mudflow Hazards Along the Toutle and Cowlitz Rivers from a Hypothetical Failure of Spirit Lake Blockage

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Abstract: "The debris avalanche accompanying the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, in southwestern Washington, buried the former outlet channel of Spirit Lake, located 5 miles north of the volcano, to a depth ranging to 500 feet. Since that time, Spirit Lake has had no natural outlet and its water surface and contents have increased significantly. Recent studies of the debris dam stratigraphy and soil properties, and of erosion on the surface of the blockage, have led to concern that the lake may someday breach through or spill over the top. A study was made by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to determine the extent of inundation that might result downstream in the Toutle and Cowlitz Rivers if a hypothetical breach should occur and generate a mudflow flood of catastrophic proportions."

  United States. Department of the Interior; Geological Survey (U.S.)

  Swift, Charles H., III; Kresch, David L.

  1983
• Magnitude and Frequency of Floods in Alabama, 2015

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Purpose and Scope: "The purpose of this report is to describe the methods and results of a study to (1) update flood regions for all areas in Alabama; (2) update the AEP [annual exceedance probability] flows for rural streams at gaged locations; (3) update RREs [regional regression equations] for use at rural ungaged locations in Alabama; and (4) update the AEP flows for streamgages on large, regulated streams. All data used in support of the analysis and presented in this report, including geographic information system (GIS) data for the four flood regions in Alabama, are available from Anderson (2020). Urban stream flood frequency equations were not updated as part of this study and the results from Hedgecock and Lee (2010) are provided in table 1 for convenience. This report updates the flood-frequency analysis published by Hedgecock and Feaster (2007)."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Anderson, Brandon T.

  2020
• 2018 U.S. Geological Survey-California Geological Survey Fault-Imaging Surveys Across the Hollywood and Santa Monica Faults, Los Angeles County, California

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Abstract: "We acquired multiple types of seismic data across the Hollywood Fault in Hollywood, Calif., and the Santa Monica Fault in Beverly Hills, Calif., in May and June 2018. On the basis of our data, we infer near-surface locations of various traces of these faults. [...] Although the seismic surveys across both faults provide strong evidence for the locations of near-surface fault traces, the seismic data provide little or no information about the rupture history of the fault traces."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Catchings, Rufus Douglas; Chan, Joanne H.; Criley, Coyn J. . . .

  2020
• Ground Failure Triggered by Shaking During the November 30, 2018, Magnitude 7.1 Anchorage, Alaska, Earthquake

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Introduction: "The magnitude (M) 7.1 Anchorage, Alaska, earthquake occurred at 8:29 a.m. local time on November 30, 2018, about 12 kilometers (km) north of Anchorage. The focal depth of about 47 km and the normal focal mechanism indicate that the earthquake occurred in the subducting slab of the Pacific Plate. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) ShakeMap (Worden and Wald, 2016) of this event (fig. 1) shows severe (intensity VIII) shaking near the epicenter; this caused significant damage in the urban and infrastructure center of Alaska and was felt throughout the Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Valley areas. The USGS Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER; Wald and others, 2010) system gave an 'orange' alert within an hour of the origin time, indicating estimated economic losses in the range of $100 million to $1 billion with few fatalities. No fatalities were reported following the 2018 Anchorage earthquake, but considerable damages to roads, railway alignments, and homes were observed throughout the epicentral region. The 2018 Anchorage earthquake was one of the most damaging earthquakes in the United States in the past decade."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  Jibson, Randall W.; Witter, Robert C.; Allstadt, Kate . . .

  2020
• Ten Ways Mount St. Helens Changed Our World--The Enduring Legacy of the 1980 Eruption

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  From the Document: "Mount St. Helens was once enjoyed for its serene beauty and was considered one of America's most majestic volcanoes because of its perfect cone shape, similar to Japan's beloved Mount Fuji. Nearby residents assumed that the mountain was solid and enduring. That perception changed during the early spring of 1980. Then, on May 18, 1980, following 2 months of earthquakes and small explosions, the volcano's over-steepened north flank collapsed in a colossal landslide and triggered a near-horizontal blast, followed by a powerful vertical eruption. The high-speed, rock-filled, and gas-charged blast quickly evolved into a gravitationally driven pyroclastic flow, which leveled millions of trees, stripped them of their branches and bark, and scoured soil from bedrock. The vertical eruption that followed fed a towering plume of ash for more than 9 hours. Winds carried the ash from the volcano and deposited it hundreds of miles away. Lahars (volcanic mudflows) buried river valleys. These catastrophic events caused the worst volcanic disaster in the recorded history of the conterminous United States. The events violently transformed Mount St. Helens and left a lasting impression on the hearts and minds of people living in the Pacific Northwest and beyond."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  2020-05
• U.S. Geological Survey 2018 Kilauea Volcano Eruption Response in Hawai'i--After-Action Review

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  From the Executive Summary: "Americans are more at risk from cascading natural hazard events than ever before, and volcanoes hold high potential for catastrophic loss. The response of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hawai'ian Volcano Observatory (HVO) to the 2018 Kīlauea Volcano eruption (hereinafter Kīlauea eruption) vividly demonstrates that dedicated civil servants play an indispensable role in mitigating natural hazards and making our society a safer place to live. The HVO, through its core staff and extended support network, responded to the Kīlauea eruption by courageously working through dangerous and exhausting conditions to save lives; reduce economic losses; and mitigate local, national, and international impacts with a variety of adaptive hazard monitoring and emergency response activities."

  Geological Survey (U.S.); United States. Department of the Interior

  McBride, Sara; Cox, Dale A.; Moran, Seth C. (Seth Charles) . . .

  2020