Emitt Witt (Former Employee)

Historic lead and zinc (Pb-Zn) mining in southeast Missouri’s ―Old Lead Belt‖ has left large chat piles dominating the landscape where prior to 1972 mining was the major industry of the region. As a result of variable beneficiation methods over the history of mining activity, these piles remain with large quantities of unrecovered Pb and Zn and to a lesser extent cadmium (Cd). Quantifying the resi

The isotopic composition of lead (Pb) in fugitive dust suspended by a vehicle from 13 unsurfaced roads in Missouri was measured to identify the source of Pb within an established long-term mining area. A three end-member model using 207Pb/206Pb and concentration as tracers resulted in fugitive dust samples plotting in the mixing field of well characterized heterogeneous end members. End members se

Growing use of two-dimensional (2-D) hydraulic models has created a need for high resolution data to support flood volume estimates, floodplain specific engineering data, and accurate flood inundation scenarios. Elevation data are a critical input to these models that guide the flood-wave across the landscape allowing the computation of valuable engineering specific data that provides a better und

Geospatial data are a key component of investigating, interpreting, and communicating the geological sciences. Locating geospatial data can be time-consuming, which detracts from time spent on a study because these data are not obviously placed in central locations or are served from many disparate databases. The National Map of the US Geological Survey is a publicly available resource for accessi

Imagine waking up at 2 o'clock in the morning by a violent rumbling that causes ceilings to fall, furniture to topple over, and windows to break. Your home is crumbling, it is dark, and by the time you realize what is going on the shaking stops. You quickly determine that your family members are okay, but you also realize your power is out, all the windows are broken, and there is substantial dama

Extreme emergency events of national significance that include manmade and natural disasters seem to have become more frequent during the past two decades. The Nation is becoming more resilient to these emergencies through better preparedness, reduced duplication, and establishing better communications so every response and recovery effort saves lives and mitigates the long-term social and economi

In October 2005, nearly one month after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a team of scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and the Missouri University of Science and Technology deployed to southern Louisiana to collect perishable environmental data resulting from the impacts of these storms. Perishable samples collected for this investigation are subject to destruction or ruin by removal, mixing, o

This study provided a comprehensive assessment of seven toxic trace elements (As, Pb, V, Cr, Cd, Cu, and Hg) in the soil/sediment of Katrina affected greater New Orleans region 1 month after the recession of flood water. Results indicated significant contamination of As and V and non-significant contamination of Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg and Pb at most sampling sites. Compared to the reported EPA Region 6 so

This article presents the post-Hurricane Katrina conditions of the flood-protection system of levees and floodwalls that failed in the environs of the Mississippi River Delta and New Orleans, La. Damage conditions and suggested mechanisms of failure are presented from the geotechnical point of view.

Nearly 4 weeks after Hurricane Katrina passed through St. Bernard Parish, the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Mid-Continent Geographic Science Center and the University of Missouri-Rolla's (UMR) Natural Hazard Mitigation Institute deployed a team of scientists to the region to collect perishable environmental and engineering data. The team collected 149 samples throughout the affected area to chem

The Interstate 10 Twin Span Bridge over Lake Pontchartrain north of New Orleans, La., was rendered completely unusable by Hurricane Katrina. The cause of the collapse of the bridges generated great interest among hydrologists and structural engineers as well as among the general public. What made this case study even more important was the fact that two nearby bridges sustained the effects of the

In October 2005, the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Mid-Continent Geographic Science Center and the University of Missouri-Rolla's (UMR) Environmental Research Center for Emerging Contaminants partnered to collect perishable environmental data along the Mississippi River Delta to catalog the effects of Hurricane Katrina, a category 3 storm that caused nearly complete destruction to the delta's po