Mapping Water
Mapping Water
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Emerging Flood Inundation Mapping Technologies
The following technologies represent state-of-the-art tools, methodologies, and techniques that the USGS and our partners are researching and testing. Most of these techniques are experimental and not publicly available, but could significantly improve our ability to plan for and respond to flooding events in the future.
Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Patapsco Watershed (Baltimore, Md. region)
Several watersheds in the Baltimore region have elevated PCB loads in tidal waters. Local jurisdictions are responsible for reducing PCB loading from their watersheds. The USGS is embarking on a pilot study in the Patapsco watershed that will help determine sources of PCBs and will demonstrate innovative monitoring and analysis techniques for more efficient use of mitigation resouces.
Thermal Imaging Cameras for Studying Groundwater/Surface-Water Exchange
USGS scientists are using high-resolution handheld and airborne thermal imaging cameras in groundwater/surface-water exchange studies and other investigations where surface temperature contrasts indicate various hydrological processes. These cameras are used to quickly locate and characterize thermal (temperature) anomalies along streams, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, and across the landscape...
What does groundwater have to do with ice in Alaska?
USGS scientists are working alongside university researchers in Alaska to understand how groundwater and permafrost conditions change over time due to seasonal variations and climate change. Changes in permafrost can pose a threat to built infrastructure (like roads, homes, and pipelines) and to valued ecological resources that provide important habitats for wildlife.
Fiber-Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing Technology for Surface-Water and Groundwater Studies
Fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS) technology can be used for characterizing estuary-aquifer and stream-aquifer interaction and for identifying transmissive fractures in bedrock boreholes.
Borehole Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
Borehole nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an emerging geophysical method being applied to hydrogeology investigations.
Spectral Gamma Borehole Logging
Spectral gamma borehole geophysical methods measure natural-gamma energy spectra, which are caused by the decay of uranium, thorium, potassium-40, and anthropogenic radioactive isotopes. Spectral gamma data can be used to identify and quantify the amount of uranium, thorium, and potassium-40 isotopes detected in boreholes.
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study
As one of several Focus Area Studies within the USGS National Water Census (NWC), the USGS has completed a 3-year study of water availability and use in the Colorado River Basin.
Water-Quality Trends
Is water quality getting better or worse? Answering this deceptively simple question has been a fundamental objective of the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Project’s research. Learn about trends in contaminants in the nation’s streams and rivers, trends in contaminants that collect in the bed sediment of streams and lakes, and changes in the quality of the nation’s groundwater.
Flood Inundation Mapping Science
When planning for a flood, there are three key questions that must be answered: What areas will be flooded? How deep will the flood waters get? When will the flood arrive? Historical flooding can help a community anticipate how much impact similar flood events could have, but there are other methods and tools that can provide more accurate and nuanced estimations of a wide variety of flood...
Flood Inundation Mapping (FIM) Program
Floods are the leading cause of natural-disaster losses in the U.S. More than 75 percent of declared Federal disasters are related to floods, and annual flood losses average almost $8 billion with over 90 fatalities per year. Although the amount of fatalities has declined due to improved early warning systems, economic losses continue to rise with increased urbanization in flood-hazard areas.