Publications

Introduction China's dominant position as the producer of over 95 percent of the world output of rare-earth minerals and rapid increases in the consumption of rare earths owing to the emergence of new clean-energy and defense-related technologies, combined with China's decisions to restrict exports of rare earths, have resulted in heightened concerns about the future availability of rare earths. A

Beach erosion is a chronic problem along many open-ocean shores of the United States. As coastal populations continue to grow and community infrastructures are threatened by erosion, there is increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present trends and rates of shoreline movement. There is also a need for a comprehensive analysis of shoreline movement that is consistent from one

The U.S. Geological Survey's Groundwater Resources Program is conducting an assessment of groundwater availability throughout the United States to gain a better understanding of the status of the Nation's groundwater resources and how changes in land use, water use, and climate may affect those resources. The goal of this National assessment is to improve our ability to forecast water availability

The Delaware River Basin Commission is charged with establishing water-quality objectives for the tidal and non-tidal portions of the Delaware River, which include developing nutrient standards that are scientifically defensible. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Delaware River Basin Commission and the Academy of Natural Sciences, studied the effects of nutrient enrichment in the

Natural resource management is plagued with uncertainty of many kinds, but not all uncertainties are equally important to resolve. The promise of adaptive management is that learning in the short-term will improve management in the long-term; that promise is best kept if the focus of learning is on those uncertainties that most impede achievement of management objectives. In this context, an exist

Phosphorus from natural and human sources is likely to be discharged from groundwater to streams in certain geochemical environments. Water-quality data collected from 1991 through 2007 in paired networks of groundwater and streams in different hydrogeologic and land-use settings of the Piedmont, Blue Ridge, and Valley and Ridge Physiographic Provinces in the eastern United States were compiled an

A series of widespread, large, low-pressure systems in southern New England in late February through late March 2010 resulted in record, or near record, rainfall and runoff. The total rainfall in the region during this period ranged from about 17 to 25 inches, which coupled with seasonal low evaporation, resulted in record or near record peak flows at 13 of 37 streamgages in central and eastern Ma

This report describes the results of a structured decision-making project by the U.S. Geological Survey to provide substantive input to the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) for use in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment concerning control of non-native fish below Glen Canyon Dam. A forum was created to allow the diverse cooperating agencies and Tribes to discuss, expand, and articula

The Palaeoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project has expanded to include a model intercomparison for the mid-Pliocene warm period (3.29 to 2.97 million yr ago). This project is referred to as PlioMIP (the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project). Two experiments have been agreed upon and together compose the initial phase of PlioMIP. The first (Experiment 1) is being performed with atmosphere-on

No abstract available.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting research at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (fig. 1; see sidebar, page 53) in southeastern Pennsylvania to determine the fate of trace metals, such as arsenic, cobalt, and lead, released into the environment during the iron-smelting process. Arsenic is a carcinogen, cobalt is a suspected carcinogen, and lead can cause severe health problems.I

No abstract available.