Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.

Filter Total Items: 16784

Long-term observations of bottom current and bottom sediment movement on the mid-Atlantic continental shelf

Long-term in situ observations made at three locations on the mid-Atlantic continental shelf during 1975–1976 clearly show intermittent movement of bottom sediment caused by currents, waves, and other forcing mechanisms. In winter, storm-associated bottom currents greater than 30 cm s−1 resuspended and transported sediments. Net water particle excursions during storms were about 20–30 km longshelf
Authors
Bradford Butman, Marlene A. Noble, David W. Folger

An instrument system for long-term sediment transport studies on the continental shelf

A bottom-mounted instrument system has been designed and built to monitor processes of bottom sediment movement on the continental shelf. The system measures bottom current speed and direction, pressure, temperature, and light transmission and photographs the bottom. The system can be deployed for periods of 2–6 months to monitor intermitent processes of sediment movement such as storms and to ass
Authors
Bradford Butman, David W. Folger

Structure and development of the Southeast Georgia Embayment and northern Blake Plateau: Preliminary analysis

Multichannel seismic reflection profiles from the Southeast Georgia Embayment and northern Blake Plateau show reflectors that have been correlated tentatively with horizons of known age. The top of the Cretaceous extends smoothly seaward beneath the continental shelf and Blake Plateau, unaffected at the present shelf edge. A reflector inferred to correspond approximately to the top of the Jurassic
Authors
William P. Dillon, Charles K. Paull, Richard T. Buffler, Jean-Pierre Fail

The Yellow Dog peridotite and a possible buried igneous complex of lower Keweenawan age in the northern peninsula of Michigan

Partly serpentinized peridotite of early Keweenawan age crops out in two places along a 20-kilometer-long zone of positive aeromagnetic anomalies in northern Marquette County, Michigan. Most of the area is mantled by Pleistocene drift with few bedrock exposures.Petrographic and electron microprobe studies show that the peridotite was originally a plagioclase lherzolite containing 40 to 50 percent 
Authors
John S. Klasner, David W. Snider, W. F. Cannon, John F. Slack

A one-dimensional, steady-state, dissolved-oxygen model and waste-load assimilation study for West Fork Blue River, Washington County, Indiana

The Indiana State Board of Health is developing a water-quality management plan that includes establishing limits for wastewater effluents discharged into Indiana streams. A digital model calibrated to conditions in West Fork Blue River was used to predict alternatives for future waste loadings that would be compatible with Indiana stream water-quality standards defined for two critical hydrologic
Authors
James G. Peters, William G. Wilber, Charles G. Crawford, Frank P. Girardi

Osprey distribution, abundance, and status in western North America: III. The Baja California and Gulf of California population

An estimated 810 ± 55 pairs (minimum estimate) of ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) were nesting in the study area during our survey (24 March-1 April 1977). Approximately 174 pairs nested along the Pacific side of Baja California, 255 pairs along the gulf side, 187 pairs on the Midriff Islands, and 194 pairs in coastal Sonora and Sinaloa. Most nested on cliffs adjacent to the sea (59%); some nested on
Authors
C. J. Henny, D. W. Anderson

Methylmercury: Reproductive and behavioral effects on three generations of mallard ducks

Three generations of mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) were fed either a control diet or a diet containing 0.5 ppm mercury in the form of methylmercury. The levels of mercury in adult tissues and eggs remained about the same over 3 generations. The methylmercury diet had no effect on adult weights or weight changes during the reproductive season. Females fed a diet containing 0.5 ppm mercury laid
Authors
G. H. Heinz

Organochlorine and mercury residues in Swainson's hawk eggs from the Pacific Northwest

Many raptorial species in the Pacific Northwest have not been studied from the viewpoint of pollutant contamination. The Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) is particularly interesting because of its highly migratory characteristic; it apparently winters primarily in Argentina (Brown and Amadon 1968, Houston 1968). White and Cade (1977) and others have suggested Central America and South America as
Authors
C. J. Henny, T. E. Kaiser

Mercury residues in tissues of dead and surviving birds fed methylmercury

Concentrations of mercury in passerine birds fed diets containing 40 ppm methylmercury were similar in tissues of birds that died from mercury poisoning and in those that were sacrificed after half the group had died. Residues were higher in tissues of birds that died, but the differences were not statistically significant. Residue levels were highest in livers, followed by kidneys and brains. Le
Authors
Mack T. Finley, William H. Stickel, R. E. Christensen

Organochlorine pollutants and population status of least terns in South Carolina

Least Tern nesting colonies on the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding areas in South Carolina were studied from 1971 through 1975. We located 10 colonies including 6 on the Refuge and 4 on nearby coastal islands. The number of nests in each colony ranged from several up to 220. Least Terns began reproductive activity in April, and the egg-laying period ranged from May to July. Th
Authors
L. J. Blus, R. M. Prouty

Acute oral and percutaneous toxicity of pesticides to mallards: Correlations with mammalian toxicity data

Acute oral (po) and 24-hr percutaneous (perc) LD50 values for 21 common pesticides (19 anticholinesterases, of which 18 were organophosphates, and one was a carbamate; one was an organochlorine central nervous system stimulant; and one was an organonitrogen pneumotoxicant) were determined in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos). Three of the pesticides tested were more toxic percutaneously than orally. A
Authors
R. H. Hudson, M. A. Haegele, R. K. Tucker