us 1988 

GS 
United 

States 

Geological 

Survey 

Yearbook 

Fiscal Year 

1988 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

MANUEL LUJAN, JR. , Secretary 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL S RVEY 

Dallas L. Peck, Director 

Cn ited States Geological Sun·ey Yearboo k 

I S:'\ 0 92-3442 

An )' u c of trade. product, or firm names in this publica tion is for descripti,·e purpose on l~ · , nd does not imply 

endorsement b~' the t; .. Gove rnmelll 

lTED STAT ES GOVER! 

For sa le by the Book and Open-Fil Report Se uon, u .S. Geologica l Sun·ey 

Feder al Center, Box 25425, Dem-e r, 0 80225 
Contents 

1 Global Per p ti ve o n th Role of th e Ea rth 

S wnce 

7 atio nal Ma pping Program 

19 \t\ ater Re o urce lnve tiga tio ns 

4 1 Geologic In ve tigation 

63 I nt rn ational A ti iti 

9 In fo rmatio n Sy tem cti iti 

97 dmini trative a nd Facili ti Suppo rt 

103 People a nd Program of the U . . Geo logical urve 

Cot•er artwork by j eff Diellerle after a photograph fm blished 11 1 I 'olu me 2, I 79- 190-1 , of the hiotOI)' of the U. ·. .eological Sun •e_)', "Mi11 erals, La11d , a11 d Geology fo r the Common Dejenoe M l(/ 

Gn1eral \Veljare, .. b)' Mal)' Rabbi// ( 19 0). 

Contents Ill 

A Global Perspective on the Role 

of the Earth Sciences 

By Dallas L. Peck 

Director, .S. Geological Survey 

R fl eeting on the event of the 1988 fi cal yea r, I 

reca ll that it b gan with a troubli ng rem inder LO 

thi agency and LO the ation a LO how vu lnerable wear to the capriciou act of nature-th October 

I, 19 7, earthquake th a t wa cent red nea r Whittier, 

Ca li f., in the greater Lo Ang les metropoli ta n area. 

Wh il the magn iLUde 5.9 tremor wa not a tru ly large 

earthquake in a seismological en e, the impa t and 

effects of that shock were a triking rem inder that we 

a re not in control of the Earth, nor do we full y understand the geologic for e a nd proces e that affect it. 

The chall enge o f und rsta ndin g those for i wh a t 

ma k ea rth cience uch an exciting field of res a rch. 

the a tion 's principal ea rth cie n e age ncy, the 

Geologi al urvey i cha rged with advan in g understand ing of th earth y te rn , interpre tin th i nificance of ci ntifi c findin g , a nd communica ting those 

findin g. to the po licyma ke r and man age r who ne d 

th informa tion. 

VI e mu t remind our lve that the force a nd proce ses at work n Earth ar not mindful of ca lend a rs 

an d n w fi . ca l years, nor do they fit nicely within politica l boundari ·. \Vhate,·er th sea. on, admini n·ation , o r 

politi ca l climat , 1h Earth fu nction. o n its own tim -

clock, with it own ind p ndent coJ1lrols. In that ind -

pendenc of th Earth li . a pecial hallenge for the 

anh sci nLisl. \Ve mu t be cienti L. who vi w th 

Earth as a who! and )' t a re abl to r late that vi ew to 

o ur particular huma n a pira1ion and boundarie : and 

w must a lso be abl to tud )' region a nd small r a rea 

in gr at cl tail and th n xu·apolat tha t knowledg to a 

much broader, sometime. g lol a l, per p ctive . 

l have had a uniqu opponunit · durin this pa ·t 

yea r 10 put thai hall nge into play. l n what l s e a an 

ex trao rdinary compan ion role to that o f · G Dir ctor, l have had th privile or e rvin g a the Cha irman 

o f the Commiu eon Eanh ci n e. with in th e Fed raJ 

Coordin a tin g Council o n cie nce, Engine ring, and 

Tech no logy, und r the a usp ice of 1he Presi I nt' Scien dvisor. 

Tha t i quite a bureaucratic mo uthfu l, but the 

chairmansh ip or the Committee ha · allowed me, and 

n ourag d the G , to nter inLo asp ial a re na in 

whi h we not only ca n but ho uld play an impo rtant 

ro le. T ha t p cia! a rea is th m rgin g s i nee f glo ba l 

change. By global change I ref r to I oth ho n-te rm 

(Factng page) Atllttmtt Ott Mount 

Rattuer, \Va 1/ungton. (Pitotograplt by trll'a rt Tomlmw n.) 

(Above) ,\loon ot>er Rilla Rulge, 

central it•rra .\ 'ewula, Califom /(/ . 

(Photograph lr, Pau/ 1/,uh.) 

A Globa l Perspective on the Role of the Ea rth Sciences 
... we must concentrate our 

efforts on viewing the 

Earth as a complex, 

dynamic and interactive 

global ystem. 

and long-term chan es and proce o f 

the Earth' inte ra rive sphere : th lithophere, the Earth' surface and near surface; the hydro phere, the world 's fre hwater and ocean ; the atmo phere, the 

our e of life- u taining ox gen, but al o, 

all too often, th de tination f the result of human activitie ; the cryosphere, 

the cold reache of the Earth' two pole 

and it high mountains; and the 

biosphere, th life - pl ant, animal, and 

human-of the Earth. 

The implication and impact of global change-what can alread y b documented and what ca n b deciph red 

from the geologic record-are many, 

including climat change, ea-level ri e 

and fa ll , expa nsion and recessi n of 

enormou ice sheet , changes in plant 

and an imal li fe , and volcanic eruption 

Clea rly there i mu h to under tand and 

much to do. T he major charge to the 

Committee on Earth cience i to 

increa e "the overall effectivenes and 

productivity of Federal re ea rch and 

d evelopment efforts directed toward an 

under tanding of the Earth a a global 

y tem." That charge reinforce my belief 

that we mu t conce ntrate our effort on 

viewin g the Earth a a complex , dynamic, 

and interactive global y tem. Experti e 

from man y different organ izations and 

from a wide range of interrelated scientific disciplines i required to address the 

gl bal system-meteorology, oceanograph y, hydrology, geology, biology, ch mi -

try, and ph y ic , to name on ly a few. 

The GS has mu h to contribute to 

th e und e rstandin g of the Earth's system 

and natural and human-ca used changes 

in it; indeed mo t of our activiti es could 

be interpreted to relate to global chan ge. 

Our long hi tory of cientific inve tigation ha given us experience and abilities 

that will be important for monitoring 

aspects of global change, determining 

past hange and the cause and con equences of these change , under tanding 

2 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

some of th ph ical and hemi a l procse that are k y to predi ting global 

change, and evalu atin g possible managem nt strategie for r pond ing to 

change affectin g the land and hydrologi tem . The GS al o ha long 

xp ri n e in managing lar data base 

u h a th o ne e sary to eva lu ate global 

processe and hanges. Thi xperti e is 

particular! approp ri ate for addressing a 

current major global-change o n e rn , 

globa l warming. 

in g large numerical model of the 

energ and mass balan e of th atmophere, scienti t hav predict d global 

warming of 2-5 degree Cel iu ov r the 

n xt half-c ntury, as uming ad ubling 

of atm pheric carbon dioxide conce ntration due in part to mi ion from the 

combu tion of fo il fu I . T he e models 

have large uncertainti and differences, 

and the d not repre ent w II some of 

the key component of the global tem; 

however, th all indicate that warmin g 

would occur fir ·t and be gr ate tin magnitude at the pole . The G ha a long 

hi t ry of conductin g polar tudie and 

gla i r monitoring that cou ld provide an 

early indication of global warming. Earlier th i ' ar th publi hed the 

fir t volu me of a planned eri of 11 

atlases on the world 's major glacier that 

\ ill provide an excel! nt foundation for 

m nitoring su h change . 

The G ha been in vol ed in 

num rou in ve tigations of marine and 

terre trial ediment , lake and cave 

deposit , ice, tree ring , and fo il that 

provide information on pa t climatic onclition . Thi information will be critical 

for determining natural hort-term and 

long-term climatic variability. An arti le 

in thi yearbo k ummarizes inve tigation on a sed iment core from an ancient 

lake in Cali fornia, whi h document d 

regional climatic change for the pa t 3 

million years. 

Paleoclimate stud ie also ca n provide 

in formatio n on possible cau e of climate 

change an d environmental re ponses to 

the e change . While the genera l circulation models predict that climate change 

will be accompan ied by dramatic changes 

in the h ydrologic system, current mod els 

do not represent the whole hydrologic 

cycle in ufficient detail to provide usefu l 

information on the ignifica nce of hydrologic changes to the environment. The 
U GS ha a clear role to play in improving cientific und er tanding o f k y proce in th hyd rologic cycle uch a 

evapotran piration. Evaluation of hydrologic re pon e w li mate condition , uch 

as a receml tarted swd y of the Delaware Ri ver ba in , a l o will bee semial to 

e timatin g the ffect of limat hange. 

lm· tigation of lobal ciemific 

issue requ ire larg data ba . Th 

ati na l ronautic and pace Admini -

tration, th ceanic and tmoph ri dmini tration, the ational cience foundation, the 0 panment f 

En rg . the ' nited tat 1 av ',and the 

C are \ orkin g LO ether, throu h the 

l merag ncy Working Croup on Data 

1anagement for Globa l ,han , to provide the cientific commu nit with r ady 

a ce .. to th data n d d LO wdy global 

change. The Working Gro up is de ign in g 

a data ba e that would leave primary 

teward hip of most data to th ciemi t 

or agencie wh coll ect d th m but 

enabl acce. s and integratio n f data 

bases from wherev r they r id . test 

of this co ne pt wi ll b conduct d u in g 

ex i ting Arcti c data ba . The facil ities 

a nd ex p rtis of th e Earth R sources 

Obs rvation y L m Data C mer, th 

GS fac ility at ioux falls, . Oa k. 

wh ich ha ex t n ive experience in at !-

li te and remot ly e nsed data a rchivin g 

and pro essin g, wou ld pl ay a major rol 

in thi data base in managing la ndob e rvatio n d ata. Re entl we igned an 

agreement with the National Ae ronautic 

a nd Spa e dmini tration th at wou ld 

give r pon ibility to th G for archi ving, proces in g, and managing land 

data from NA A' plan ned Earth Observing at !lite in the 1990' , imilar t 

the rol \ e hav played in the pa t for 

Land at data. Combined with oth er 

' G eologic, h drologic, a nd canoraphic d ata base , these atellite data 

will be central to wdie of land- urface 

chang . 

T he activitie in lobal hang that I 

have memioned repre ent a mall fraction of th many exciting contributi n 

that the G i making an d will continu L make in thi field. For ou r o ntribution to direct policy deci ion effective ly, we mu t c ntinue to empha ize 

co p ratio n and coordinatio n within 

the federa l and internatio nal cientifi 

commu nity. 

Our global per pective is being 

alter d continuall y b event occurrin 

throughout th world. A I wa preparin g thi message, a nothe r earthqua ke 

took plac , o ne that too k thousands of 

live an d ca us d g reat damage, and the 

tudy of whi h will likely o cupy cientists, engineers, land-u ·e and urban p lann r , and ocial scienti t for many ear 

to come . The magn itude 6.9 anhqua ke 

th at , tru k the Armen ia n Soviet o iali L 

Half Dome at nmu t, l'owmtte 

, atio11al Park . • altfomw. (Photograph ~\' Dallas L. Pl'Ck.) 

A Global Perspective on the Role of the Earth Sciences 3 
ome of the devastation cattsed by 

the December 19 earthqut1ke i11 

the Arme11ian ov1et Socialist 

Republic. (Photograph by j ohn 

Fil 0 11.) 

Re public on Decembe r 7, 198 , wa a 

most tragic reminde r-again -of th e subLamia! lo s of li fe a nd great conomic 

los e that a dama ing earthqua ke ca n 

cause in j ust a few mi nute . h imm eliate \ orldwid e offer of a i La nce from 

the cie ntific commu nity we re immensely 

gratify ing. I was also plea ed that the 

team of 17 .S. ex pe rts who we nt to 

rmenia to assist oviet scienti ts, engineer , a nd rescue offi cial wa led by Dr. 

j ohn Fi lson of the U G and included 

six additional G cie ntists and technicia n . T hey, along wi th ciem ists and 

e ngineers from the ational Academ 

of S iences, the a tiona! In titute of 

tanda rd a nd Technology, a nd everal 

a ademic insti tuti n , an d with fin ancial 

support from the ational Science Foundation a nd othe r orga ni za ti on , we re able 

to a sist in assessin g the ea rthqua ke a nd 

in dete rmin ing the rea ons for its great 

d amage . 

A great deal can be lea rned in the 

afte rmath of a n ea rthqua ke. Scie nti t 

and engineers, workin g with la nd-u e 

planne r a nd rescue a nd reli e f group , 

can a certain much about geology, land 

u e, engineerin g and bu ildin g d e ign, 

and how to manage the response to a 

destructive earthquake. All of this know!-

4 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

ed g ca n h lp in the future to miti ga te 

the e ffe t of imila r, in itabl ea rthqua ke an whe re in th wo rld . 

In an effo rt to address th n d to 

r duce the ri ks from earthqua ke a nd 

othe r natura l d i a t rs the ational 

Academ of cie n e re e ntl)' began 

plann in g for the fme rnational De ade 

for atural Di aste r R duction to ta ke 

pia e durin g the Ia t decade of thi ce ntury. T h Decade will erve a a fo us fo r 

con ned worldwide a tion to redu ce 

huma n u ff ring from arthqua k . , landlid , fl ood , volcani e rupti n , and 

othe r natural haza rd . 

T h GS has a long traditi n of 

working lo · ly with the . . De pa rtme nt 

of tate's Office of Foreign Di a ter 

As i ta nc (OFDA) in re ponding to natural di aste rs world wide. W frequ entl y 

have sem our ciemists to all corners of 

the world to a i l OFDA and lo a l official and sciemist in dealing with the 

effe t of la nd lid s, arthq ua k , and 

volcan i erupti ns. l n the proce s, we 

have broaden d our ci mifi knowledge 

of the Ea rth , a knowled ge th at can h lp 

reduc th probable magnitud of d isasters occu rring in similar te rra in in the 

n ited tate a nd elsev,r he r in th 

world . 

T hrough th e contin uin g in ternational effort and ou r participation in 

deve loping a national program for incorporation in to the International D cade 

for atura l Di a te r Red uction, the 

SG is play ing what I strongly fee l to 

be a n a ppropriate and supportive role in 

providin g ea rth cie nce in servi e to the 

national a nd the global com munity. 

By the time that this yea rboo k is 

pu blished , the SGS and the 1 ationa l 

Academ of Sciences will be busily p r -

paring to host th e 2 th Inte rn ational 

Geological Co ngre s. T his p resti gious 

conven in g of ea rth scien ti t from most 

o f the nations in the world is held about 

once every fo ur years. T hi is the Ol ympics of the earth scie nces, a n event at 

wh ich we have the o pportunity to present 

pa pers a nd e nter into d iscus ions that 

allow u to expand the bounda ri es of our 

scientific kn owled ge . T hi Co ngress, t 

be held jul y 9-J 9, 1989, in Wa hin gto n, 

D.C., will mark the first time th at the 

Congress has met in the United tates 

sin e 1933. The previous Congress was 

held in Moscow in I 9 4 a nd the next one 
will be held in J a pan in 1992 . T hese are 

important meetings-important for the 

cientific knowledge that i exchanged 

and important for the pirit of cooperation that ca n be achieved. 

While I have concentrated much of 

thi mes age on the global and international aspects of the scientific work in 

which the G is involved , those activiti e represent only a portion of the wide 

range of Sur ey research a nd in vestigation . The excitin g technology that is 

being developed in ad anced ca rtogra phic systems-space-age mapping for 

the future -creative a ppli cations of 

oph i ti cated ompu ter modelin g in sol -

in g complex problems in dealin g with 

toxic contaminants in surface- and 

grou nd-wate r re ources, a nd ra pidl y 

improvin g predictive ca pabilitie in dea lin g with natural disa ter such as volcanic 

ruptions, land !ide , and a rthqua kes 

are ju t a qu ick list of some of the dayto-day work in wh ich our d edicated 

employees are engaged. 

During my nearly 40 yea r a a scientist and ma nage r with the SGS, the 

arth cien es have undergon a dramatic revolu tion, encompassing imaging 

and ex ploration of the pla nets, moon , 

and comet of the sola r l m; imaging 

and ex plorati n of th deep eabed; 

development and a ceptance of the theor of plate tectonics; development and 

u e of com puter technolo tO bett r 

under land h drologic ystems, geologi 

tru ture , and other a pplication ; inrea ed in volvement in olvin g immed iat 

earth science problem that directl y affect 

p ople's li v through applications of 

"rea l-time geolog ";and appli ation of 

new technolog , u h a lectron microprobe and ad anced cartographic a nd 

geographic in formation s tem . I ee 

that revolution continuing eve n a eel rating. Th integrated and cooperative 

efforts f ma ny ci ntific discipline in 

the stud y of global change will b part 

of that cominuin g re olution. 

The G has a long a nd proud tradition of providing "Earth Scien e in th e 

Public rv ice ." A our ation continu 

to face important que tions cone rnin g 

the ava il abilit a nd use of it land , wat r, 

ene rgy, a nd mine ral re ource , th urvey's m i sion to provid the sciemi fi e 

information nece sar to addre these 

qu estion ta kes on add d ignifica nce. 

T he article in thi yea rboo k, whi h I 

must emphasize r pre em on ly a sampling of the man y in ve tigation and 

studi e that a re being conducted in thi 

coun try a nd around the world , how that 

we continu all y rededicate our elv to 

addres in g tho e que tion . 

Lcugr dune; at real and Dunes 

National Nlonument, Colorado. The 

highe 1 dune i-1 about 00 f eet high . 

Mature tree. at base of dune are 

about 70 feet /ugh. (PhotograjJit /r;' 

j ohn R. Keith .) 

A Global Perspective on the Role of the Earth Sciences 5 

National Mapping Program 

Mission 

T he prima ry mission of the ational Ma pping 

Oivi ion is to o ndu t the ational Ma pping 

Program. Thi program, which in volves coll ectin g archi ving, and dis eminating ca rtogra phi , 

geogra phic, and remotely sen ed d ata, provid es accurate and up-to-date basic cartogra phic d ata for the 

nited States in forms that ca n be readily a pplied to 

pre e nt-d ay problems. T opographic maps at va rious 

scales illu trating d eta iled and precise! re fe ren ed 

information about natura l and manmad e feature on 

the Ea rth 's surface co ntinu e to be an important product 

of the .S. Geological Survey. T hese ma ps provide 

ba ic ca rtogra phic information need ed by mo t Fed e ral, 

State, a nd local government agencie in dealing with 

key issues rangin g from ene rgy production to con e rvation, from pre paring environmenta l impact tatement 

to developin g socially acce ptable solutions for environmental problems, and from locating commercial faciliti e to designin g public work . 

In addition to maps, th e ational Mapping Program al o produces ca rtogra phic da ta in compute rread able form. These data a re used in compute r-based 

re our e information and ma nag ment systems to evaluate alternative management plan a nd to stud y the 

effe t o f diffe r nt poli ie . 

(Above and fa cing page) Portion of 

the satellite image mafJ of the Denali 

ational Park and Pre e-rve, 

Alaska. The satellite imagery was 

recorded by multispectral >Ca nner on 

1 A A Landsats 3 and -. Mount 

McKinley is clearly hown on the 

facing page as the large white to 

blue (Sil ow- and glacier-covered) 

mass near the center. 

National Mapping Program 7 
Highlights 

Primary Mapping 

Economic Analysis 

By Larry L. Amos, Carl D. 

Shapiro, and Donald H. Zoller 

Ma pping activities at the .S. Geological Sur ey ar und ergoin g major programmatic and technological tran ition 

that will continu during the next several 

yea rs. Programmaticall y, the SG pla n 

to have ava ilable initial national coverage 

of primary-scale quad rangle map by the 

end of fiscal yea r 1990 . T here is now a 

growing demand for revision of previously completed primary maps where 

data have become outdated . As a result, 

the SG is placin g more empha i and 

resources on map revi ion e fforts. 

A technological revolution a lso is 

ta king place a compute r tOJ·age a nd 

ma nipulation of map data are rapidly 

cha ngin g a nd improving the ways in 

wh i h d ata can be used. In res ponse to 

new requ irement created by th i cha nging technology, the U G is digitizing it 

map to the extent resource permi t. T he 

developme nt and incr a ed u e of geogr aphic in fo rmation s tems, which provid e the technology for a utomated 

ma nipulation and analy is of the e digitized ma p data, have inte n ifi ed pre sure 

on the U G to prov ide mor d igitized 

ca rtograph i data. To res pond to this 

increa ing dema nd , the USC pla n to 

implemem ad a nced technology b ing 

d eveloped by the De pa rtment of 

Defe nse. This ad va nced techn ology, 

call ed Ad a nced Cartogr aphic ystem 

(A ), wi ll greatly increa e production 

ca pacity a nd will allow the SGS to 

achieve signifi cant cost saving ove r the 

next decad e. An Adva nced Ca rtogra ph ic 

Sy tem ost-e ffectiveness a nalysi , prepared in 1986, d emonstrated that AC is 

co t effective ove r a wide ra nge o f production lev Is. To help d etermine what 

prod uction level is approp ri ate, the 

SGS in itiated a prima ry mapping econom ic analysis. Beca use there i a time 

8 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

limit on the procurement of hard ware 

and oftwa re requir d C r the implementation fA a decision on this prod uction level has to be mad e in the nea r 

future . 

Methodology 

The assumption that primary map 

information is a public good i ce ntral to 

the m thodology in th is analysis. Because 

many pa rtie can u e the ame ma p 

information at the ame time, the benefits from the in formation in each map 

can be summed among it many use rs. 

The model developed in this analysis 

examine the benefits a nd costs of revisin g prima ry map in forma tion in each 

7.5-minute quadrangle in a sample of 

fi v tate . e rie o f ma p re ision 

cycles a re examined to id entify th best 

revision c cl for each quadrangle. T he 

re ults obtained in the sampl tate then 

are extrapolated stati ti ally to the 

ation . T he optimal C prod uction 

a pa ity i deri ed directly from the optimal revision cycles. 

The methodology incorporate the 

mu ltiplicity of use into the be nefit calculations. Rather than examining a sma ll 

number of application with d ramatic 

bene fi t , a la rge r number of a pplicatio ns 

with small er calculated bene fi t i studied . T he ex i tence fa large number of 

appli cation ma ke it possible to calcul ate 

a lower, conservative e timate of ben fit 

for ea h a pplication beca use th e sum o f 

the e conservative estimates i ti ll large 

enough to ma ke the re ults mea ningful. 

Be ne fits in th is analy i a re d fin ed 

as the amoun t th at a n o rga ni za tion would 

pend to update ma p in formation if cu rrent prima ry maps we re not ava ilable. 

Thi de fin ition provides a conservati e 

estimate of the benefit for each a pplication. The consumer surplu s (that i , the 

d iffe re nce between th e amoun t a u e r i 

wi ll in g to pay and the amo unt that the 

u e r ac tu all y pay ) is not incl uded in thi 

de finition . 

A decision tree wa developed to 

model the cl iff rent procedu res by which 

ma p use rs cou ld upd ate prima ry ma p 

in formation if the G we re not able to 

do so. T he cost o f implementing each of 

the branches of the decision tree was estimated from GS map p rod uction rec-
ords. s a result, the de ision tree provided e timated cost of various level of 

map revi ion that ranged fro m no acti ity 

to the maximum of a full ma p revisi n 

for eight laye rs of map in formation. 

T he decision-tree model wa a pplied 

to 216 case tudie in 5 States (Connecticut, Florid a, Illinois, Oregon, and tah). 

For each ca e stud , information wa collected on the appropriate bra nches of the 

decision tree and the geographic area 

whe re the a pplica tion was conducted. 

The costs examined in this a nal si 

included both the capita li za tion o ts for 

ACS betw en fiscal years 1989 and 2000 

a nd the production osts for revi ion of 

prima ry ma ps. Optimal ma p revi ion 

cycles w re alculated for each of the 

5,4 16 quadrangle in th e 5 sample States 

by eva luatin g ben fit an d costs for 20 

differe nt ma p revi ion cycles, ranging 

from a 1-yea r ycle r.o a 20-yea r cycle. 

The calculated best map re ision 

cycles were projected to the ation by 

classify ing geogra phic a reas in the five 

States and extra polatin g the result tO 

imilar geographic a rea in the ation. 

Four d ichotomous ca tegorie th at cou ld 

significant! ' affect the benefit or cost 

of ma p revision were ele ted for thi 

extra polation. These categorie were 

urba n/rura l, Federal la nd s/non-Federal 

land , energ lands/non-en rg la nd , 

and coastal area /inland a rea . T he e 4 

dichotomou atego ri e combin to form 

16 un iqu conditi n . Within each of th 

un ique co ndi tio n , the mean optima l 

revi ion ycle wa calculat d in the five 

State . T hi resu lt wa then projected o 

that areas ' ithin the ame clas ification 

ategory have the ame optimal revi ion 

c de throughout the ation. 

Result 

The optimal revi ion cycle in the 

five . ample tate range from I ear in 

lected urban and urban izin g ar a to 

yea rs in mo t rural and remote a reas. 

The re ult show that developing area 

out id th trad itional urban ore may 

require primar map r i ion as frequentl y as do urba n core area . ppli cation in urban and urbanizing area a nd 

on Federal lands are k y ariabl s th at 

ugg t more frequent map revi ion in 

th i. model. Frequent optimal revi ion 

cycles in the Western tate , wh re mo t 

Federal land is lo ated, provid vid nc 

of the la rge benefits from F d ra l applications. 

An a nal i of benefit an d co t 

curve how that, in the ~ am pie tate , 

Legend 

• 3 

4 

• 5 

Figure I . OfJiimal map-revi.;ioll 

C)'cles brued 0 11 extrapolatrd averaged benefit derived from a jivetale :.ample area. 

National Mapping Program 9 
net benefit are max imized a t a prod uctio n le \·el of a pproxima te ly I ,200 quadrangle re \·i eel p r 'ear. At th i 1 r duction leve l, th pr . ent va lu of aggregat 

n t benefit b twe n 19 9 and 2000 a\·e rag approx imat ly · 70,000 a qu·tdra ngle 

a nd co rre pond to a n a \·erage rev i 10n 

cycle of -J..- yea rs. 

The patte rn not d in th e fi \·e ta t 

continu wh n the d a ta a re extra polated 

to th conterminous Cn ited tat . as 

h01m in fi gur I. The importa nce o f 

primar)' map re \·i ion in urba ni zing a rea 

is shown drama ti ca ll y in th Ea t rn 

Cn ited tate , wh e r la rge popu la tio n 

o rrid o r · ex t nding beyo nd the trad iti o na l cemra l city r q uir more freque nt 

re \·isio n th an d o rura l a reas. The o ptima l 

productio n le\·e l a ocia t d with the 

xu·a1 o lated na tio na l mod I i a pproxima te ly 12,500 map re \·ised pe r y a r. 

nsitivity ana ly es, wh e r ben fit a re 

a rbitra ril y d o ubl d o r ha l\'ed, how a 

ra ng in the o ptima l ma p r visio n ca pacit)' for th e ' . . Geologica l u rvey o f 

10,000 to 17,000 maps a yea r. 

Standards for Digital 

Cartographic Data 

Exchange 

By Hedy ]. Ro smeis l 

Th ' .. Geological u rvey a sumed 

leader hip in d ve lo pin g, d e fin ing, and 

ma inta in in g Fed eral earth cience tan d -

a rds in F bruary 1980 with th e signin g 

of a memo ran dum of unde r ta nd ing 

b twe en th e atio na l Bureau of ta ndard (now the 1 a tio na l In tilLite of Sta ndard a nd Technology) a nd the SG . 

nd er the te rm of this memo ra ndum , 

th e GS has ought to develo p tanda rd for d igita l ca rtOgra phic d a ta 

x hange through the Stand ard s Working Gro up of the Fed eral Inte ragency 

Coordin atin g Committee o n Di gita l Ca rtOgrap hy and through g ra nts to the 

atio na l Committee for Digita l Cartograp hic Da ta Standa rds, which has o perated und e r the au pic of the Ame ri ca n 

Co ng ress on u rvey ing and Mappin g 

10 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

ince 19 2. pr po eel " ta nda rd for 

Di gita l Ca n ogra ph i Data,'' publish d in 

th J anua r ' 19 i ·u o f The America n 

Cartographer, re pre nt a m rge r of the 

ffo rts o f th e two ro ups. 

The pro posed ·tand a rcl co n ·ist of 

four pan. : d e finitio n a nd ref r nee , 

spa tia l data tran f r ·pecifica tion, digita l 

ca rtogra ph ic d ata qua li ty, and an ag ra ph ic r· a tur s. T h purpo e of th 

p ropo e I sta nd ard ha vo h'ed durin it 

lev lo pm m a l pe riod from an initia l 

emphasi o n d ata .. truclllr a nd cont nt 

to a le s re. trict d foc us o n transf r of 

dig ita l ca n o rap hi c d ata b tw en dissimila r . yst ms. 

Foll owin g publica ti o n of the propo. eel stan d a rd , em1 iri a l L ting wa beg un . tec h n i a l review board, chair d by 

the 'SG , wa tablished and charg d 

with O \ ' rsigh t of changes to the proposed sta nd a rd r ulti ng from L tin g. 

Te tin g inv h·e se \·e ra l lev I of effort. 

Fir La co nceptua l mod e l of spatial data i 

need cl to pe rmit excha n of informatio n be tw n dissimilar syst m . One a 

cone ptual mod I ha been cle\·e lop cl , 

th transfe r p rocess b g in , wh ich onsist of takin · d a ta from a e ncl er ' tem , 

putting th e d a ta intO sta nd a rd form , then 

e:-;trac tin g the d a ta from the ta ndarcl 

fo rm into a rec i\·e r y. tem. 

T he fir L phase of testin g th propo eel tanclarcl wa o nducted by th 

Federa l agencie mo L active in it de\·elo pme nt, in cl udin g the .. Burea u of 

th e Cen u , the Defe nse Mapping 

Agency, th e a \·a l Ocean Re ea rch and 

Dev lopm nt tivity , and the G . 

T he cone! phase of te tin , in volvin g a eros sectio n of govern ment, unive rsity, a nd private-sector o rga ni zatio n , 

bega n in eptember 19 . T he revi ew 

board o ug ht a broad spectrum of pa rticipa nt to tho ro ugh! te t appli ca tion o f 

the ta ncl a rcl in a man y discipline area 

as po sible. Submi tta l of the "Standa rd 

for Di gita l Cartogra phic Data" to the 

Natio na l I nstilll te o f ta ndards and 

T ech nology is ex pected to ta ke place 

afte r completio n o f the e o ne! phase of 

te tin g in ea rl y J 9 9. At th at point, the 

ta nd a rd will be revi wed by th e ational 

Instilllte of ta ncl a rd s and Techn ology 

fo r adoptio n a a fo rma l F ecl e ra l In forma tio n Processin tanda rd. 
Geographic Information Systems Research 

Laboratories-Bringing 

Data, Systems, and 

Users Together 

By john C. Houghton 

T he e ence of geogra phic in formation y tern (G I ) technology is th e ability to a nalyze the pati al aspect of data· 

the broad d e fi nition of GI technolog 

also en ompas e d ata coll ection, torage, 

updatin g, and output. G I a naly i typically use several diffe rent data ets, such 

as images and r mot ly se nsed d ata, line 

data from topogra phic ma ps, the a rea 

covered by a n aqui fer or a volcano or a 

hazardous wa te ite, or a wid e variety of 

other information. 

T he ra pid evolu tion o f GI techn ology ca n be attributed to seve ral factOr . 

O ne facto r i th e ra pidly incr a ing ca pabilities of compute r and periphe ral hardware. Anothe r fa tor is the growi ng a\ a ilabili ty and sophistication of comme rcial 

GIS softwa re. third facto r is th rapidly growing base of GI u er, which 

erves to defra th cost of hardware a nd 

software developm nt. 

he la rge nu mber of user has a n 

important ad antage in addition tO ma king softwa re and hardware le ex pe nive. he alient ~ atu re of a 1 i its 

abili ty to in tegrate many d iffe re nt ki nd 

of d ata et . T hi ability ma kes it a natu -

ra l proce t brin g toge ther hete rogeneous di ipli n s. Team conductin g G I 

studi es includ i nti t not onl from 

the U G bu t also from oth r Fed era l 

age ncies, national laborato ri e , tate a nd 

local gov rnment , nonp ro fi t in titution , 

academia, a nd the pri vate ector. The e 

cientist provid diffe rent di ciplin e pe rspecti es a nd contribu te a wid va ri ety of 

data. 

T he ra pid increa e in u e is al o 

due, in pa n , to th e existe nce of GI 

resear h laboratori e in the GS. A GIS 

laborato ry was established in Reston, Va., 

in 1985 a nd i now b in g u ed by nea rly 

I 00 scie ntists. GI labo rato ri e in Denve r 

olo., and Me nlo Pa rk, Calif. , we re e tablished during 19 8. Othe r G fi eld 

offi ce are al o adding to their pati al 

d ata pro e ing capabilitie . T he e I 

laboratori es offe r centrali zed fac ilities 

whe re n w equipme nt and technique 

ca n be in vestiga ted and the resul t pas ed 

on to other , wh re us r with diffe re nt 

backgro und ca n work a nd learn 

togethe r a nd where exp n i e eq uipment ca n be shared by the man user . 

In addi tio n to ea rth-scie nce re a r h 

work in uppon of the urv ' mi ion, 

the G IS laboratOri es a lso perfo rm a n 

importa nt educational functi n. T he 

Re ton GIS laborato ry, for exampl , provides demonstration on previou G 1 

pr ~ ct , a i t in the de ign of new 

proj ect , and conduct tours fo r more 

than 200 people a month . T he I laborato ri e are al o beginnin to moni tor 

and catalog di gital data coll ected ~ r particul a r proj e ts. 

GI labomtories offer 

centralized facilities whe·re 

new equipment and 

techniques can be 

investigated. 

Several G I proj ect have been 

unde rta ken in coope ration with other 

agencies. In a proj ect I d by the Environmenta l Protecti on Agency to help restore 

he apea ke Bay, the SGS helped 

develop a spati al data ba e to te t GI 

techniques in a nalyzin g the source 

tra n port, and impact of contamination 

on a highl y urbani zed watershed . In one 

sce nario, Gl oftwa re wa u ed to locate 

areas that were potentially affected by a 

source of lead contamin ation. In another 

coope rative proj ect with the En vironme ntal Protection Agency, GIS oftwa re was 

u ed to characteri ze a uperfund site 

during it 30-year life. One outcome wa 

Lh e ability to help po ition a monitorin g 

we ll by dete rmining the location of certa in ite feature and their proximity to 

existing topographic a nd culturalhistorical feature . A demonstration o f 

GI technology wa also d veloped with 

the .S. Forest Se rvice. The Co ppe r 

Ba in ar a of Prescott ational Fore t, 

National Mapping Program 11 
Ari z., wa u ed a a ca e stud y to evaluate 

the potential impact of a propo ed land 

exchange. GI will be u ed a the 

found ation for a future environmental 

impact tatement to de ribe a opper 

and molybdenum mining o p ration. 

In anothe r coo perative effort, the 

urvey is providin g as i tance to the .S. 

Fish and Wildlife ervi ce in the d evelopment of a omprehensive GI d ata bas 

fo r the Arctic ational Wildlif Refu ge. 

T he . . Bureau of Land Managemen t, 

th e State of Alas ka Department of atural Re ource , and the orth Slope Borough are al o acti ely participating in a 

cooperative effort to conduct biologi al 

and geologi al tudies to inve tiga te the 

area' va t potential oil and ga re ource 

and to protect its wildlife. 

The e cooperati ve efforts demonstrate the broad utility of GIS technology 

and the importance of providing ce ntralized fac ilities wh ere data and id a ca n be 

exchanged and d eveloped. 

Geographic 

Information System 

Modeling 

By Louis T. Steyaert 

Global changes in th e Earth ' na tural 

y te rn are current and critical i ues of 

cientific in vestiga tion. Detecting and 

understa nding the ca uses and implications of tho e changes d emand ophisticated research tools and large earthcience d ata ba e . One research 

approach that is unde r in vestigation 

by the USG is the use of geogra phic 

information ystem (G I ) technology 

for global monitorin g and scientific 

modelin g. 

A GIS is a compute r ha rdwa re and 

softwa re sy te rn designed to store, collect, 

manipulate, analyze, and display geographically referenced data. U GS scientists are investigating methods to incorporate the analysis of space- and timedependent data into the GIS process. 

This re earch includes the use of 

GIS in combination with other modeling 

12 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

tool , uch a tatistical and numerical 

methods, as part of an o erall y te rns 

approach to earth- ience modelin g 

in olvin g, for example, land- urface 

mon itoring, hydrologi and clima ti 

processe , or impact as es ments. 

· CIS modeling would allow 

cientist to go one step 

further into scientific 

znquzry. 

s the communi ty f GIS u er continues to grow, earth scientist are in ve tigating more complex data base and 

developing qu an tified model fo r more 

di ve r ified a pplication . Data avail able fo r 

I analysis have expa nded rapid! in 

rece nt yea rs and now in lude digita l ca rtogra phic data (base categories of in formation and uniqu e thematic map of 

earth-science data), histori cal data 

(hyd rologic, climatic, and geologic data), 

and da il y satelli te data for the entire 

globe. orne GI a pplications involving 

these data require ci nti t to in ve tigate 

and analyze the da ta across time, in three 

d im nsi ns, or on a global cale. T herefore, in add ition to fund am ntal GI 

map applications such a map overlay 

and polygon or point recla sifications, 

GIS applications a r incorporating surface, volume, and temporal analyses as 

well as in te rfaces with com plex hydrological and meteo rological fl ow modeling or 

economic modeling. T he d evelopment of 

a sy te rns approach fo r the integrated 

u e of GIS te hnology and sta ti tical and 

nume rical method will provide modeling 

capabilities that will enh ance many operational moni toring ystems, including 

those de igned to help in und erstanding 

and tracking global change. 

Re ent trends in GIS applications 

underscore the need for tatisti cal analysis procedures. For example, techniques 

for exploratory data analysis are essential 

to the in ve ti gation of complex data 

tructures. Such analysis ca pabilities repre ent the first step in developing models 

of ea rth-science processe involving, for 

example, climatic and hydrologic system . 
Specificall y, these technique assist in the 

search for association and depend ncies 

among the data and in the identification 

of pattern (or randomness), clusters, 

outli ers, anomalies, or trend in the data. 

T he technique rna be considered, 

therefore, a effective ways to look at the 

d ata from a variety of per pectives and 

to ex plore the data base. To enhance 

the u e of GIS te hnology, stand ard 

statistical methods for exploratory data 

analysis, includin g tatistical gra phics, 

and methods for smoothing and filterin g 

data in both space and time need to be 

in corporated. 

Preliminary research find in gs uggest that efficient global-change re earch 

in volvin g land- urface monitoring and 

d ynamic-proce modeli ng require the 

capability for interactive analy i based 

on a variet of oftware a pplication with 

high- peed computer response times. 

Such capabilitie are nece sar to efficiently inv tigate complex data structure ; dete rmine variou time and pace 

cale for anal si ; explore d ata; search 

for a sociation ; an d deve lop, test, an d 

use model in variou cena rios. In thi 

framework, GI modeli ng wou ld allo' 

scientists to go one tep further into cien tific inqu iry b ' permitting effective 

vi uali zation of the many complex data 

set involv d, whi le simulta n ou ly providin g a pabiliti for quantifi d in e tigation of patial and tempora l pattern in 

the data. 

These quamified anal i capabili ties 

will furth r enhanc the u efu lness of 

G I ' for global-change re earch. Current 

technolog provid s a com prehensiv et of advanced fun tiona! LOOI for 

proce in g, managing manipu latin g, and 

analyzing pati al data. G I techn log i 

ideall y uited to integrating and analyzin g spatial data theme uch as base a rtographic data, satellite-deriv d data on 

Earth surface and weather condition , 

gridded o utputs from general circu lation 

model , and irr gu la rly paced data et 

on climate and hydrology. The ability to 

int grate these diver theme and to 

examin e their interrelation hips promi es 

to mak modeling in the I environment a premier method for in ve tiga ting the complex que tion of global 

change. 

The National 

Gazetteer of the 

United States 

By Roger L. Payne 

The ational Gazeueer en 

ing publi hed in coop ration with the 

.. Board on Geographic ames as 

GS Profes ional Paper 1200. eparate volum is being prepar d for a h 

State and territory. T ' o phase f ompilation are requ ired for ea h volu me . 

Phase 1, which i now com plete for a ll 

State and terriL rie , includes the compilation of mo L of the 2 million named 

feature (except roads and highwa ) 

found on the large-scale wpograph i 

map of the SG . Pha e 2 includes 

re earch and com pilation from other 

Fed ral and tat sources and hi torical 

mate ria l . 

Each volum onta ins official and 

hi torical geographic name li ted in 

alphabetica l order. Variant names are 

cro s-referenced LO offi ial or primary 

name li tings. Each entry includ information on the type of fe ature, the official 

taw of th name, the co unty in which it 

is lo ated, the geograph ic coord inate 

(including ources of li near feature ), the 

elevati n f the pia e of the f awre, and 

the name of the topograp hic map on 

whi h the feature i found . 

1 ew J ersey was the fir t volume 

publi hed in the gazetteer serie in 19 2. 

Volumes for Delaware, Kansas, rizon a, 

and 1 ndiana have been published , and 

volume for South Dakota, onh 

Dakota, Florida, and Ma achu etts are 

sch duled for publication in the near 

futu re. An abridged, con ise volume 

con ta inin g the major populated place , 

phy ical feawre , and other key entrie 

for all tate i also being prepar d . urrently, re ear h and compilation of volume for Oregon, Iowa , Alabama, Mis isippi Penn ylvan ia, orth Caroli na, 

Tennessee, Mis ouri, and tah ar 

unde rway. 

National Mapping Program 13 
MERCATOR 

(conformal) 

MOLL WEIDE 

(equal-area ) 

BRIESEMEISTER 

(equal-area) 

ECKERT II 

(equal-area) 

EISENLOHR 

(conformal) 

ROBINSON 

(compromise) 
Expert Map Projection 

Selection System 

By Doyle G. Smith and john P. 

Snyder 

Cartographe r at the U.S. Geologica l 

Survey are developin g a sy tern for the 

computerized selection of ma p proj ections for special-purpose ma p and chart 

de ign a pplication . Th is s tern , named 

the Expe rt Ma p Proj ection Selecti on S -

tem (EMPSS), is a compu ter oftware 

package that use object-oriented tructure and artificial-i ntelli ge nce programmin g methods. The EMPS has been 

developed for u e in the design of thematic maps and other cu tomized map 

products o f the type generally contr ucted within a geographic information 

system environment. 

The map proj ection is one of the 

most important factors of any ma p or 

chart design. The validit and u tility of 

Map Projections 

map proj ction i u d to portray all 

or pa rt of the urface of the Ea rth on a fl at 

surface. Ever fl at map mi represents the urface of the Earth in orne wa . lo map can 

riva l a globe in trul y repre enting the Ea rth' 

urfac . E e1·y proj ection has it own set of 

adva ntag s and disadvantag . ; there i no 

"best" projection. Mapmakers must elect the 

one be t uited t their needs, so that the map 

wi ll di to rt lea t the things they want to how 

mo t. 

Mapmakers and mathematician have 

devised almost limitle s ways to proj ect the 

imag of the glob onto pa per. cientists at 

the eologica l urve have design d 

some proj ections for their pecific needs, 

such as the Space Oblique Mercator, which 

allow them to produce map from 

sa tellite image with little distortion. T he 

examples on the facing pag how seve ral 

histori all y important projections and proj ection frequentl y used b mapmaker today. 

an set of patial geogra phi information 

are dependent upon the cha ra t ri ti c of 

the coordinate r feren e system or map 

projection in which the information is 

drawn . For thi rea on, it i important 

that the ma p d igner select the ma p 

proj ection that mo t do l ati fi th 

usage requ irement of each produ t to b 

cr at d . Hundred of ma p proj tion 

are ava il able for product design. Each 

proj ection i defined b a set of ph si at 

attribute th at de crib it chara t ri ti 

feature and u ages. Many of th se 

attribute a re ommon to everal proj e -

tions bu t in different combina tion and at 

varying level of applicability or utility. 

Selecting the be t proj ection req uire th 

indepth know! dge and practi at experience of a human expert in the ma p projection domain . Human rea onin i the 

only pro e a pable of weighing the subj ective valu es an d m rit of different 

combination of projection attribute to 

determine the be t proj ection fo r any 

map or chart d sign. 

h EMPSS package in cludes a base 

of in formation that ontains humanexpert technical d e cription and val uations o f the ph y ical attribute of more 

than 50 of the most commonl y used ma p 

proj ectio n . The compute r acce es and 

organi zes thi human kn wledge and 

experti e and makes it avail able to map 

and cha rt d e igne rs. 

The EMPSS operates by a king the 

u er a se ri es of g neral qu estion about 

pecific need or a pplication . The 

an we rs to this seri e of I 0 to 24 que -

tions enable the y tem to construct an 

ideali zed et of pecification for the proposed application. Once thi ideal model 

has bee n constructed , the y tern evaluate each of the map proj ctions in the 

knowledge ba e again t the ideal m del, 

using the tored evaluative information 

provided by the human expert. The 

name of the ma p projection that ompare most favorabl y to the specification 

of the idealized model i · provided to the 

user a the optimal projection for the 

proposed appli ation or u age. The 

EMPS a! o provides a numeric rating of 

the ability of this projection to atisfy the 

stated requirement , a well a the rating 

of other po ible choices. 

National Mapping Program 15 
Figure 2. The concepts of feature, 

e11tity, Gild object. 

An Enhanced Digital 

Line Graph Design 

By Stephen C. Guptill and 

Robin G. Fegea 

The .. Ceo! gica l urvey ha b en 

producing digital cartographic data in 

digital li ne graph format for almo t a 

decade. During thi tim , the ta ks for 

which the data ar being u ed ha e 

become increasingly com plex, placing 

in forma tion demands on the data that 

were not plan ned for in their initial 

design. Tore pond to thee requ irements, th urvey ha de igned an 

en hanced version of the digital line 

graph, termed Digital Line Graph -

En hanced (DLG-E). 

The under! in g philosoph y behind 

DLG-E is to view cartography a an 

information transfer process centered on 

a spatial data ba e that can be considered, in itself, a multifaceted model of 

geographi reality. DLG-E data form the 

content of the spatia l data ba e. The 

DLG-E features must be representative 

of (and indeed must define) thi multifaceted model of geographic reali ty. 

In the DLG-E model, the phenomena of geographic and cartographic data 

are con idered, in totality, a entiti es. An 

entity is a real-world phenomenon that is 

not subdi vided into phenomena of the 

ame kind. An entity (and its digital repre entation) i termed a feature. T he 

concept of "feature " encompasses both 

entitie and objects. The common 

attribu te and relationships u ed to 

define the feature also apply to the corFeature 

I 

I I 

Entity Object 

I I 

"Real World" "Representation" 

I 

Feature Object 

I 

Spatial Object 

16 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

respond ing entities and obj e t . Figure 2 

illu trate the relationships among concepts of feawr , ntitie , and obj e t . 

For xample, one cou ld d clare a 

"bridge" to be a featur . A bridg is one 

of a numb r of built- up tru tures on or 

n ar the urface of the earth. It definition may be further refined to a stru -

ture erected o er a depres ion or ob tad 

to carry traffic. T hus, the feature 

"bridg " is an elem nt of a et of phenomena (an ' re ted tructure"), with 

the common attribu te of function ("to 

carry traffic") and location . It al o has 

the common relation hip of spann ing 

another featu r ("over a d pres ion or 

obstacle"). Th real-world entit "bridge" 

is defined b the common attribute and 

relation hip u ed to defin the feature. 

For the bridge example, the entit 

"bridge" i the erected unit in the real 

world (fig. 3). 

The underlying philosophy 

.. . is to view cartography as 

an information transfer 

fJrocess centered on a 

patial data base that can 

be considered . . . a mu.ltifaceted model of geographic 

reality. 

An object i the repre entation of all 

or part of an entity. For the bridge 

example, the object include point, line, 

and area ymbols and a ociated text on a 

map graphi c, or a colle tion of records in 

a file of digital data (fig. 4). T he con ept 

of "object" encompa es both feature 

object and spatial obj ect. 

A feature obj ect is an element u ed 

to represent the nonpositional as pects of 

an entity. In the example, the feature 

obj ect represents the entity de cribed by 

the definition of "brid ge ." patial objects 

are elements u ed to repre ent the position of an entity. Spatial objects are 

defined for zero-, one-, and twodimensional objects. To be mapped , a 

feature obj ect must be com posed of one 

or more spatial obj ects. 
Attribu te a re the patial and nonspatia l characte ristics of the emitie repre en ted by the object or o f an attribute 

value. Spatial attribu te de cribe an 

object's geographic location or geometri 

cha racte ristic. The nonspatial charact risti c of a feature includ e such concept a 

shape, siz , mate rial composition, fo rm, 

and function. T he attribute for the 

bridge feature are given below (fi g. 4). 

For eve ry feature in the domain, each 

as ociated attribute mu t ha e an 

attribu te value(s). 

Features hav re lationship both with 

othe r fea tu res and with the pati al objects 

that re pre ent them. Relation hip are 

the patial and non patial link between 

the obj ects. on patial relation hips are 

used to de fin e the clas e of object that 

correspond to ca rtogra phic features. patial relationships include the to p logical 

relation hips among objects. Ta ken collectively, the e obj ects, attribute , an d 

re lation hip make up the DLG-E data 

mod el. 

A 

B 

WOODROW WILSON 

MEMORIAL BRIDGE 

Feature: Bridge 

Attributes : 

Covering: 

Drawbridge Category: 

Not Covered 

With Drawbridge 

Woodrow Wilson 

Memorial Bridge 

Name: 

Number of Decks: 

Operational Status: Operational 

Figure 3. Example of an e11tity: 

Woodrow Wil 011 fllemorial Bridge 

in the ·'real world.·· 

To Component 

Spatial Objects 

Figure 4. Examples of objects: RepresenlatiOilS of the Woodrow Wil 011 

Memarial 81-idge. A, Graphic object; circle denotes dmwb1idge. 8, 

Digital object. 

National Mapping Program 17 
18 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 
Water Resources Investigations 

Mission 

T he GS has the principal respon ibility within 

the Federal Government tO provide the hydrologic information and und erstanding needed by 

others to achieve the be t use and managem nt of the 

ation's water resources. To accom pli h thi mi ion, 

the Wat r Re ources Division , in cooperation with tate, 

lo al, and other Federal agencie , 

• ystema ti cally oll ects a nd analyzes data to evaluate 

the quantity, quality, a nd u e of the ation' water 

re ource a nd provide re ult of the e investigation to 

the public. 

• Conduct water-re ourc apprai al des ribing the 

occurren e , ava il ability, and ph ysical, chemical, and biologic characteri tic of surface and ground ' ater. 

• Cond ucts basic a nd problem-oriented h drologic 

and related research that aids in a ll eviating waterresourc problems a nd provide an understanding of 

hydrologic systems sufficient to pred ict their res pon e 

to natural or human-cau ed tress. 

• oordinates the a ti itie of Federal agencie in the 

a qui ition of water-resources data for tream , la ke , 

re ervoirs, e tua rie , and ground ' ater. 

• Prov id es cientifi and techni al a i tance in hyd rologic field to oth r F de ra l, tate, a nd loca l agen ie , 

t li en e of the Federal Energy Regu lator ommision , and to international agenci on b half of the 

Department of tate. 

• Admini L r the tate Water Resources Re ear h 

In titul Program and th ational V\ ater Re ource 

Re ear h Grant Program. 

(Facing page, top) View upriver toward the northwe~ t of the alluvwl valley of 

the Mi issij1pi River a f ew mile above te. Ct>nevieve, Mo. (Facmg page, bottom) View of Lake umber/and, a resetVoir on the Cumberland Rn;er 111 Kenlucky, showing sediment-laden riv111· water (broum) flowing into the upper end of 

the lake. (Above) View np>-iver (we I} showing mixing of the brown, edimentladen water of the Ohio River (right) with the clearer water of the Mississippi 

River nea r Cairo, Ill. The jJhotogmph was taken on March 22, 19 8, during 

the spring runoff of the Ohio River before the time of peak ntnoff in the uppl!"r 

MississijJpi R>vt>r. (Photographs by Robert H. Meade and Terry F. Rees.) 

Water Resources Investigations 19 
Figure I . The J\1/issi.ssipjJi River 

dminage basin include about 40 

percent of the contenninous United 

State and a mall area of Ca nada. 

A new study begun in 19 7 is assessi11 g th e water quality of I ,200 

miles of the Miss is ipjli River and 

its major tributarie between St. 

Louis, Mo., and New Orleans, La. 

i 

(. 

\ I 

i 

\\,..!--·- - ··+-··- .) 

\ 

( I 

i 

Highlights 

Sediment-Transported 

Pollutants in the 

Mississippi River 

By Robert H. Meade 

T he Mississippi River and its tributaries drain about 40 percent of the conterminous nited State (fig. 1), and 

the ir waters have been used for a wide 

range of purpose -municipal, industrial, 

and agricu ltural-by the time they reach 

th Gulf of Mex ico. Although an exceptional range of known poll utant has 

been identified in the Mississippi Ri ver 

system, and the river itself is perceived 

by scientists and the public alike to be 

poll uted, there have been some sign of 

improvement in recent year . 

Large cities have curtailed d i charges 

of untreated ewage in to the Mis i ippi 

Ri er. The city of Memph is, Tenn., for 

example, wh ich until 1977 d ischarged at 

lea t 100 million gallons of raw sewage 

per day in to the Mississip pi, now d ischarge on ly the treated effluent water 

from its secondary-sewage plants. 

Another improvement is the recent 

decrease in the quantity of lead tran -

ported by the Mississippi , a result of the 

20 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

nationwide change from leaded to 

unleaded ga oline. On the other hand , 

new chemica l an d compounds are be ing 

in troduced to the river every y a r. And , 

as pollu ti n from point ource i grad ually curta il ed, the pollu tants from nonpoint or diffuse sources ass ume greater 

importance. In 1987, to a certa in 

whether the water quali ty of the river 

wa improv ing or deteriorating, GS 

cientists began a comprehensive a e -

ment of the Mississippi Ri er between St. 

Louis, Mo. , a nd 1 ew Orlean , La. 

In addition to providing a present 

a se sment of the water quali ty of the 

Missi sippi , the study enables SG cienti t to pursue a program of mul tidisciplinary research on how pollutants are 

transported by la rge rivers. Research 

question of in terest include : How are 

pollutant substances partitioned between 

true solu tion in river water and ad orption onto sed iment particles? Which speific fractions of the suspended sed iment 

(the tiniest clay particles versus the coarse t il t grains, for example) are mo t 

important to the tran port of pecific pollutants? How do the various pollutants 

repartition themselves between adsorbed 

and dis ol ed phases whe n two great rivers, such as the Mi i ippi and Ohio, 

each with its own di tinctive load of sediment and a semblage of pollutants, converge and graduall y mix ? How long can 

we ex pect a given pollutant ad orbed on 

a given sed iment particle to remain in 

storage in any given part of the river 

system? 

T he River 

Although the Mississippi Ri ver discharges an average of 420 billion gallon 

per day to the Gulf of Mex ico, not all 

parts of the drainage basin contribute 

water in equal measure. Nea rly half of 

the total water in the Mi issippi Ri ve r 

comes from on ly one-sixth of the total 

dra inage area-the Oh io Ri ve r basin, 

which includes the drainage basins of the 

Tennes ee, Cumbe rl a nd , and Wabash 

Ri ver (fig. 2). In contrast, the Missouri 

Ri ver, wh ich drains 43 percent of the 

tota l area, con tribu tes only 12 perce nt of 

the total water. T he Mississippi , upriver 
A notheT imjJrovement is 

the recent decrease 

in the quantity of lead 

tmnsported by the 

M ississijJpi. 

of the confluence with th e Missouri, contributes nl y 15 percent of the total water 

that is discharged lO the Gulf. 

The most strikin g feature of the lowe rmo t pa rt o f the Mi si sippi Ri ver system i the diversion of part of the discharge out of the mainstem and down 

the di tributary tchafalaya Ri ve r. Thi 

dive rsion began more than a century ago 

as part of the Mi si ippi Ri ve r's natural 

tendency to cha nge its lowe r cour e to 

the Gulf of Mexico eve ry 1,000 yea rs or 

o. T od ay, the proportion of the water 

discha rge that goes down the Atchafalaya 

i held at 30 percent o f the tota l (Mis issippi Rive r· plus Red Ri e r) by the Old 

River ontrol tructure , completed by 

the .S. Arm y Corps of Engineers in 

1963 and 1987. 

ediment and River Quality 

uspended s dime nt i a n important 

dete rminant of rive r quality be a u e 

many of the pollutant , such a metals, 

hydroca rbon , and insecti cides, a re arri ed in the adso rb d ta te. The principa l 

sour e a nd qua ntities of uspended ediment tran ported by the Mi si ippi Ri ve r 

in an ave rage re ent y a r are hown in 

figure 2. The present-day di cha rge o f 

susp nd ed edim nt to the Gulf o f Mexi o by th e Mississippi (includin g the Redtcha falaya) ave rages about 210 million 

tons pe r yea r. Mo t o f the principal 

tributa ry ·ediment loads have been meaured lO a reaso nable degre of accura 

but the stimate o f th e sediment di -

ha rge of th Ohio Ri ve r represe nts a 

major uncerta inty. No comprehensive 

susp nd ed-sed iment d ata have eve r 

be n ollected from th Ohio main tem. 

Instead, the Ohio's contribution ha bee n 

estimated from the diffe rence between 

the sediment discha rge measured in th e 

Missi sippi upriver (St. Loui ) and d ownriver ( icksburg, Mi .) from the mouth 

of the Ohio. This estimate howe er, 

depends on the a umption that no ediment i being remobilized from torag 

in the banks and floodplain of the Mi -

is ippi between the Ohio Rive r and 

Vicksburg, an assumption that needs to 

be tested. 

The sediment picture in the Missi -

sippi River was not alway as shown in 

figure 2. In its natural ta te th e Mi souri 

River was one of the world ' most prodigiou transporter of ediment. The j o urnals of the Lewis a nd Clark Expedition 

of 1804-1806 contain nume rou re ference lO hifting andbar , ca in g bank , 

a nd mudd y wate r in the Mis ouri . A 

recentl y as 1950, the Mi ouri Ri v r 

tran port d sediment in qua ntities nea rl y 

four times grea te r tha n it tra nspo rt to 

th e Mi i ippi today. Likewi e, the 

Arka n as Ri ve r be fo r 1950 contribut d 

nearly 10 time a mu h ediment as it 

contribute today. Sedime nt in both the 

Mi souri and Arka n a Rivers wa 

reduced dra ti ally wh n large dam 

we re con tru cted a ross them for 

hydropower and navigation purpose 

aft r W rid War II. The la rge re ervoirs 

that formed behind these dam now tra p 

mu h of the sediment that former! 

rea hed the Mi is ippi. 

Mississippi 

0 

Missouri 

c: 

w 

> ii' 

z 2 

~ 0 

0 

(/) Tennessee w 

-' 4 ~ 

... 

0 

(/) 

8 

c: 6 0 

z 

::::> 

::t: 

;;::: 

w 8 u 

z 

~ (/) 

5 

c: 10 w 

<!: 

c: 

12 

0 300 600 

I I I I I I 

WATER DISCHARGE. 

IN THOUSANDS OF 

CUBIC FEET PER SECOND 

Figure 2. DLrharges of wata (left) 

and su.>pended sedunent (right) in 

the lower I ,200 mile.\ of the J\.1 i..! L\-

sippi River during an avemge recent year. uspended-:.edimen/ data 

,·efer to average conditions fJrevalent 

around 19 0 and were compt!ed by 

the U. . Army Corps of Engineers. 

(Ohio River sediment contribution 

has a dashed outline to denote 

unce1·tainty.) 

0 

t. 100 200 

:-:·1::-:-::-:-:-:··:·::).1 

SUSPENDED· SEDIMENT 

DISCHARGE. IN M ILUONS 

OF METRIC TONS PER YEAR 

Water Resources Investigations 21 
.S. Geological u•11ey chemi t 

teadie; apjJaratus f or collecting 

water and suspended ediment while 

RJV Acad iana is being positioned 

f o•· •·iver samjJiing. Orange poles 0 11 

the river bank (background) mark 

the alignment of the section to be 

sampled, Missi ippi River at Helena, Ark. (PhotograjJh by Robert H. 

Meade.) 

Sediment in the Ohio Ri ve r, on th 

other ha nd , has in rea ed ove r natural 

level . ediment di charges in the Ohi 

River basin we r probabl y lower du ring 

th e yea rs be fore European settlement 

because the ba in was covered b nea rl y 

continuous fo r ts, whi h held the oil in 

place and reta rd ed ero ion. T wo emuri e of de forestatio n, crop fa rmin g, and 

coal mining has led LO accel rated ero ion 

and a n in rea e of sedi me nt in the Ohio 

Ri ver. On ba la nce, howeve r, the d ecrease 

of edirnent in the we tern tributa ri es ha 

been greate r than the in rea e in the 

ea te rn pa rt of the basin , and the Mis i -

ippi now carri e LO the ulf of Mex ico 

onl y about half the edimen t it carri ed 

be fore 1950. 

Sediment in the Ohio 

RiveT, on the otheT hand, 

ha inaea ed over 

natumllevels. 

Sediment storage i one furthe r factor that confounds our und er ta ndin g of 

su pended ediment a nd th e fate of the 

pollutant attached LO edimem particle 

in the Mis issippi Ri ve r. A rive r like th e 

Mi is ippi transports much of its sedi22 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

ment load on a chedule that i e pisodic 

and di continu ou . ediment pa rticle 

rna)' be transported for a dista nc downriver and then, if the ri ve r tage begin 

to fa ll , de po ited on the rive r bed or 

along its banks. If th e ri ve r i high 

enough to ove rflow it ba nks, ediment 

may be deposit d on the fl oodplain. T he 

I ngth of time a pa rtie! p nd in storage b fore the next e pis de o f movement 

is hi ghl y vari able and ra nges from a few 

day fo r a partie! tored on the ri ve r 

b d lO tens or hundreds of yea rs for a 

particle tored on th floodpla in . 

River-Quality A e m nt: 

Proc dures and Equipm nt 

T he reach of the river bein g studi ed 

in deta il begins near the confluences of 

the Missouri and Illinois Ri ve r with th e 

Mis i ippi n a r t. L ui a nd continue 

downri v r to ew Orlea ns. am ple are 

coll ected from th 57-foot Re ea r h Ye -

el Acadiana, operated b th e Louisiana 

nive rsities Marine Con oniu m. T he 

hip i equipped with u ffi ien t laborato ry a nd bunk space to a commodate a 3-

LO 4-wee k sampling trip along 1,200 miles 

of the Mi is ippi Ri ver an d it pri n ipa l 

tribu ta ri e . T wo trips we re completed in 

19 7, a nother one in 19 8, an d an average of two trip per year i plann ed fo r 

the next several year . At each of 16 tation , 9 on the Missi ippi ma in tern and 

7 on tributa ri e , a comprehensive series 

of amples i coll ected LO characte ri ze the 

ri ve r water, the sedime nt ca rri ed in u -

pe nsion, the materials re tin g on the 

ri ve r bottOm, a nd (on one trip o far) th e 

fish that feed on the bottom. Samples are 

given prelimin ary analysi a nd treatme nt 

aboa rd the resea rch vessel and a re 

shipped to the SG laboratori s in De nve r, Colo., for compre he nsive a naly i o f 

the full range of co nstituents, organi 

and in organi c, natural and man-made. 

Preliminary Results 

Although analyses a re still in progress a nd res ults a re preliminary, USC 

chemi ts W.E. Pe reira, C.E. Rostad , a nd 

T.j. Leike r have re p rted several 
interesting aspects of the organic pollutant . Some pollutant are found only in 

certain rivers. For example, fire retardant found in the Illinois River and a 

triaz ine-trione compound (a n industrial 

chemical) found in the Ohio River are 

absent from other rivers and ca n be used 

as chemical fingerprint to trace the 

waters of the Illinois and Ohio through 

the Mi sis ippi system. Atrazine and 

other herbi cides are ubiquitous throughout the entire Mi i ippi ystem. Currently, 100 ton of atrazine per yea r, or 

0.2 perce nt of th e entire .S. production , 

i estimated to be carried by the Mi i -

sippi Ri ver to the Gulf of Mexi o. Catfish 

in the river co ntain sign ificant levels of 

DDT and its metabolit in their fatty 

ti sue. Even th ough the use of this insecticide has been banned in the nited 

tates since 1972, nough DDT and 

metabolite remain stored in river sedime nts to be in gested by the bottomfeed ing catfish. 

The Missi sipjJi now 

carrie to the Gulf of 

Mexico only about half the 

sediment it carried 

befo1"e 1950. 

In order to gain ex perience and 

refi ne amp li ng te hniqu \ ith minimal 

hazard to personnel and equipment, the 

first three ampli ng trips were made during periods of low ri ver fl ow. ow that 

procedure a r fa irl y we ll et, the nex t 

few am pling trips will be scheduled for 

periods when the riv r i ex pected to be 

dee p and swift and when la rg qua ntitie 

of sedime nt will b in tran port. 0 er the 

next ev ra l year , oth r pha · of river 

activity, such a risin g stage a nd fa lling 

stage, wi ll b sampl d to a hieve a n 

und rstand in g of how poll uta nts are 

tra nsported and stored , and how the e 

proce s vary from one eason to the 

next durin g an average river year. With 

thi kn owled g , we will be b tter 

eq uipped to a se the condition of th 

Mi i sippi Ri ver. 

While a11 oceangoing freighter 

pruses in the earl)' moming bght, 

.S. Geological Sunuy mem·ch 

chemist adjusL< microwave navigation eqwpment 011 a jJiatfonn on the 

nver bank in preparattOII f or a day 

of amplmg of the Mts isstjJjJi Rtver 

a f ew miles downrive-r from ew 

Orleans, La. (Photograph by Robert 

H. Meade.) 

Water Resources Investigations 23 
Drought in the United 

States, 1987-88 

By Thomas G. Ross 

Drought occurred in the outheast 

in 19 6 and in the Pacific onhwe t and 

much of Californ ia in 1987. Drought is 

again occu rring in those areas and in 

other area of the nited tates. Data 

coll ected by many agencie indicate 

below-norma l precipitation , stream flow in 

the below-normal range, and low reservoir contents in the affected areas. 

Municipal water supply, tream water 

quality, agricu lture, recreation , fisherie , 

navigation, and power generation all suffered adversely from the effect of the 

latest drought. 

Just how evere is the drought of 

1987- 8? If mea ured in term of 

streamflow, the severity of the drought 

ca n be assessed in terms of how low 

streamflow becomes (inten ity), how 

widespread is the low streamfl ow (areal 

extent), a nd how long the low streamflow 

per ists (duration). The amount of water 

tored in re ervoir i al o an indi ator of 

drought severity. 

Drought Intensity 

A a g neral measure of treamflow 

conditions, the ombined flow of the 

three large t river in the lower 4 

States- Mississippi, St. Lawrence, and 

Colum bia-set a record low average June 

flow of 4 1 billion gallon per day (bgd), 

which i 45 percent below median. 

(Median stream fl ow is the middle value 

of monthl y flow that occurred in a given 

month during the 195 1-80 reference 

period. T hat i , streamflow was below 

th is median value in 15 of the 30 yea rs 

and above thi value in the other 15 

years.) The combined ave rage flow of the 

rivers dropped 22 percent from May to 

June. Combined flow for June 1988, the 

lowest Jun flow of record , was les than 

1 percent lower than the June 1934 flow, 

which was the previous June low for th 

period of combined record goin g back 59 

years; the widespread extent of the current drought i shown by its effect on the 

three major . . rive r basins. 

24 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

The inten ity of the drought al o is 

indicated by rec rd low fl ows during 

June 1988 at 33 treamflow index stations in southern Canada and the conterminous nited tates. Thirty-one of 

the e sites are on or east of th Mi i -

sippi Ri ver, including th Mi sissippi 

Ri v rat icksbu rg, Mi . On that ri er, 

the large tin the Un ited tate , the 

monthly ave rage di charge of 139 bgd 

was 62 per nt below median a nd 2 perce nt below the previous low for June, 

which occurred in 1934. 

At the tation with the longest period 

of record (99 yea rs) of th 33 stations, 

Ch ippe' a Ri rat hippewa Fall , Wis., 

June treamflow av raged 74 mgd , 79 

percent below median a nd 23 pe r ent 

below the pr vious low fl w for June, 

which also occurred in 1934. Of the 

record low flow for June, 14 broke 

record set in the "Du t Bowl" yea r 

(1930-36). 

Ar al Extent and Duration 

real extent and duration are two 

other measures of drought that m u t be 

taken into acco unt. treamflow map for 

outhern anada and the conterm inou 

nited State for water years 1986, l9 7, 

and 19 8 (a water year cover the peri d 

October 1 to eptember 30) show both 

the areal extent and the duration of 

below-normal-range treamflow (fig. 

3 -C). Streamflow cond ition for Ma 

through September 198 (fig. 3D- H) 

empha ize change during tho e month 

Streamflow was in the below-normal 

range over about 3 per ent of the a rea 

during May 198 , over about 60 percent 

of the area during June 1988, over about 

50 percent of the area during Jul y 198 , 

ov r about 39 percent of the a rea durin g 

August I 988, and over about 27 percent 

of the a rea during ptember 1988. 

An overall mea ure of the duration 

of dry conditions is the departure of 

acLUal treamflow from the 195 1-80 refe re nce period median flow. The percent 

departure of actual fl ow from median 

sine October I 9 3 for th e 1 1 index 

treamflow stations in so uthern Canada 

a nd the nited States (fig. 4A) shows 

th at stream fl ow was above median for 

every month through April I985, ge nerall y above median from May 1985 
A 1986 Wate r Yea r 

c 198 Wate r Year 

E June 19 8 

B 

0 

F 

H 

RANGES 

~ Abovr nurm<JI 

QNnrm:.tl 

[J Below normal 

19 7 \t\laterYea r 

May 19 

July 198 

eptember 19 8 

Figure 3 . treamflow condil1011 ,, 

co 111ermmons L'lltted tale.\ a111i 

south em Cattada. Above-11ormal 

flow 1s deji11ed a,\ flow lugh111· than 

7 - percent of thr floml at the stle 111 

a !Jilll'll 1110111h dur111g tht• 195 1-BO 

refrrmrr jJrnod. Below-noml(l/ flow 

~~ defined a.1 flow lower tha11 7 5 

percent of flows at the stir 111 a 

given month drm11g the / 9 5/ '0 

refermce penod. 

Water Resources Investigations 25 
Figure 4. Percell/ departure of 

actual monthly average /reamflow from the 19 51-80 referert ce 

fJertod medtan flow fo r the period 

October I, 19 J- SefJiember 30, 

1988. (ll'ro represen/.5 median flow 

for the referellce prriod.) 

through December 19 6, and gen ra lly 

below median since that time. R gional 

graphs (fig. 4B-F) show treamflow variabili ty in five areas everely affected b 

the 1988 drought: aliforn ia, the Pacific 

orthwe t, the orthern Great Plain , 

the We tern Great Lake , and the 

outheast. 

• California- treamflow at the six 

index tations has been below median in 

31 of 43 months since J anuary 1985, and 

continuou ly from Augu t 1987 through 

June 1988 (fig. 4B ). Streamflow at the 

index tations in 1988 ha rang d from 

38 percent above median Uuly) to 65 

percent below median (March). 1 o n w 

re ord low flow have occurred ince 

March. About 54 percent of the tota l 

annual runoff in Cali forn ia u ually 

occur from December through March, 

the highe t in February. February 

treamflow wa 7 1 percent below normal. 

• Pacific orthwest (Montana, Idaho, 

Wa hington , and Oregon)-Drought had 

persi ted for 18 co nsecutive months as of 

the end of eptemb r 19 (fig. 4 ). 

Above-average pre ipitation during pril 

increa d treamflow at the 17 ind ex stations to 6 percent below median, but 

June streamflow decrea ed to 42 percent 

below med ian. Late pring a nd ummer 

treamflow in the Pacific orthwest i 

highl y dependent on precipitation during 

the preced ing December to February 

period. Departure from normal of precipitation for that period in 19 7-88 was 

highl y ariable in the four State and , 

ba ed on a few ational Weather Service 

index sites, was as fo llows: Montana, 19 

to 73 perc nt b low normal ; Ida ho, 15 to 

46 percent below normal ; Wa hington, 

37 percent above normal to 34 percent 

below normal; a nd Oregon, 1 to 37 percent below normal. tual stream fl ow for 

the Ia t 12 months was much less tha n 

median un til April 1988. Median streamflow in the Pacific orthwest usuall y incr ase from March through June due to 

nowmelt. Even if the snowpack is below 

n rmal, increa es in treamflow ca n be 

caused by above-average precipitation in 

th form of ra in , as wa the ase during 

April. Since the snowpa k was gen ra ll y 

below normal in the four- tate ar a durin g the 19 7-88 winter, any sign ificant 

su ta in d increa e in streamfl ow had to 

come from rainfall in ex e of that 

required to satisfy oil-moisture deficits. 

• orthern Great Plains (the Dakotas, 

ebra ka, Minne ota a nd Iowa)-Total 

streamflow at the 16 index tations generall y was well abo e m dian through 

March 1987 (fig. 4D). Cond itions at the 

index station Missis ippi River at t. Pau l, 

Minn ., a re an example of what has 

occurred in the five -State area ince 

March 1987: In pril 1987, flow that 

had been in the above-normal rang 

from May 19 5 through Mar h I 987 

decreased in to the below-normal range, 

and it has been onl y as high a the normal range for 7 of the last 18 months 

(through Septemb r 1988). During water 

yea r 19 , streamflow was below median 

for 9 month a nd consecutivel y from 

March through September. 

• Western Great Lakes (Wi con in , Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio)-

Total stream fl ow at th I 8 index station 

generally was above med ian through 

December 19 6 (fig. 4£). Since then, 

flow have been below median during 15 

of 2 1 month , and consecutively from 

March through September 198 . T he 

June 198 flow of the hippewa Ri ver at 

Ch ippewa Fall , Wi ., was cited earlier as 

an example of record low flow for June, 

but record low flows for June also 

occurred at I 0 other ind ex stations in th 

region. 

A CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES 

140 .,.--..:.A;:.N.:..:D::....:::..:::..:::,..:.:..:=::ER:.:.:N..:....:;C;:-A:.:.:N:.:.:A:.=D.:..:A-,----, 200 8,.---.-~C...:.Arl...:.IF..:.O...:.R_N IA __ _, __ , c PACIFIC NORTHWEST 100ro---.---.~--,---,----, 

120 1-+---+---+----tH----+----1 150 ---+---r--,_--~-~ 

26 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

80 ~---+---r+--,_--~-~ 

0 

20 1-+---*~~~~~~ 
• outh a t-Actual streamflow has 

been below median for 14 of the Ia l 17 

month , ll of them co nsecuti ve through 

August 1988 (fig. 4F). The outhea t 

include those State in the a rea from the 

Mississippi River to the Atlanti Ocean 

and sou th of the Ohio Ri er and the 

Penn ylvan ia tate Line. Total treamflow at the 39 index tations in the 

Southea t has been at least 24 percent 

below median since October 1987 a nd 

wa 55 percent below median for June 

1988. In 8 of 12 months of the 19 8 

water yea r, streamfl ow has been lower 

than the streamflow in the compa rable 

months of water year 1986. Figure 4F 

clearl y shows the 19 6 drought as 10 

consecuti ve month of below-median 

treamflow and th 1988 drought as 11 

consecutive month of below-med ian 

stream fl ow. During the curr nt dry 

period, 17 new monthl y low flows 

occurred at index stations from June 

19 7 through April 19 8, 9 of them durin g March 19 , at ite from We t Virginia to Alabama. T here were no new 

low flow durin g May, but 16 new low 

flow o U IT d in th a t·ea du t·ing Jun . 

For example, streamflow of th Fr nch 

Broad Ri ver near hev ille, 1 .C. (92 

years of re ord), was 23 per ent below 

the previou June low, set in 1925, and 

69 percent below median for J un . 

Cont nts of Re ervo1r 

Man y areas of southern Canada and 

the co nterminous nited States are 

dependent on water tored in reservoirs 

for agricu ltural, municipal, a nd in dustrial 

water upply; for powe r generation ; for 

recreationa l use, from water spo rt to 

fi hin g; and for maintena nce of tr amflow for fish migratio n. The cu mulative 

D NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS 440 360 

400 320 360 280 320 

280 240 

240 200 

200 160 

160 120 

120 80 80 

40 40 

0 0 

- 40 

- 80 

E 

effects of man month of b low-norma lrange treamfl ware reflected in the 

amount of wat r tored in man re rvoirs nationwide. onthend ind x res rvoir conte nt for ptember 1988 I· er in 

the below-average range at 34 of I 00 

rep rting ite , including most re ervoir 

111 ew J ersey, rth Dakota Montana , 

VI yoming, Ida ho aliforn ia, and 

evada . ept mb r 1988 content w re 

lower than those f eptember 1987 at 

49 of the l 00 sites, including most res rvoirs in ew J ere , the Tennes alley, bra ka, th Dakota , Montana , 

Wyoming, Californ ia, evada, ta h, Colorado, a nd ew M xico. In th Southea t , 3 of the l 0 index reservoir with 

capacities greater than I ,000,000 ac refeet (an acre-foot i the amount of water 

n ce ary to over I acre of la nd with 

water l foot in d pth or about 326,000 

ga llons) had contents that were below 

those of eptember 19 6. 

Summary 

l nt n ity, area l extent, and dut·ationrecord low flow at 33 index station durin g June, 60 per ent of the area of 

outhern Ca nad a an d the conterminou 

n ited tales with treamflow in the 

below- normal range, and many months 

of below-m dian flow-these three criteria define the current drought as severe 

in ome area through Septemb r 1988. 

Are we in for a repeat of the "Dust 

Bowl'' yea r ? T he current drought ha 

not had the duration of the drought of 

the 1930's, but many record low flows 

that oc ut-red durin g the 1930's (a nd 

late r a nd honer drought e pisode of the 

mid-1960's, 1977, and 198 1) have been 

broken by new low fl ows set ince 1985. 

Onl weather a nd time wi ll tell. 

WESTERN GREAT LAKES F 200 

160 

120 

80 I 

I 

II 40 ..II 

40 

80 

SOUTHEAST 

I 

I I ,I Jd ll.lll • DIU IIIUUIU I" I lllllllllll 

u·• 10"11"1 'I 'flU w 

'I II I 1'1 

1987 1988 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 

Water Resources Investigations 27 
The rmrwwlly low water level of 

/9 8 exposed ma11y of the sa ndbars 

011 the bollom of tire t\ lissis;rfJ/Jr 

Rrver, uch a\ tim one oppo;rle the 

town of Helena, Ark. A few day; 

after tlllJ photograph wa taken, a 

backhoe wa.1 able to trench the sandbar, fltatlldrng a rare opportunity 

for ·c. hydrologist\ to study the 

bed matenal of the t\ liss/S.ItfJpi. 

(PhotografJh by Robert H. t\leade.) 

Reflections on Water 

Use in the United 

States 

By Wayne B. Solley 

look at tre nds developed from 

GS water-use e timate over th pa t 

35 yea r shows that the ation's tota l 

wate r u e more than doubled from 1950 

to 1985. Wate r withdrawals o er the Ia t 

5 yea r , however, have declined by 10 

pe rcent. T he drought tha t a ffected much 

of the ation during 19 al o had its 

e ffect on wate r use. pot sampling d uring the 1988 drought uggested th at 

wate r us gene rall y was higher than in 

rece nt ea rs. Alth ough nationwide e timates for 19 we re not available, there 

we re some local estimate . Publi c wate rupply withdrawals to meet th e d mand 

in Wa hin gton, D.C., for example , d u ring J une and July we re 14 pe rcent above 

the 5-yea r av rage. In pa rts of 1 ebra ka, 

fa rme rs and ra nchers turned to ground 

water as a ource for irriga ti on I month 

ea rlie r tha n norma l, and ground-wate r 

withdrawals were about twi ce the quantity withdrawn in rece nt yea r . 

The GS ha compiled a nd published e timates of wate r use in th e 

nited tates at 5-yea r inter al since 

1950. T hese water-u e timates can be 

u ed to a nalyze trend in water use, to 

. - _ _,.. 

28 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

apprai e pre e nt use, and to pla n for 

future u e of the ation' water 

re ou rces. 

The late t 1985 data how that the 

I 0 pe rcent d cline in total wate r withd rawa l wa observed in both surfa 

water a nd ground-wate r withdrawal . 

T he largest decrea es were in the th rmo lectri 1 owe r, indu tri al, and irrigation categories of use. 

A total o f 399 billi on ga llon per d ay 

of both fre h and ali ne wat r was withd rawn from la ke , rese rvoirs, streams, 

aqu ife rs, and prings during 1985 to 

meet th need for off tream uses uch 

a domestic, commercial, indu tria l, irriga tion, li ve tack, and the rmoelectric 

powe r pla nts. Fr shwat r withdrawal 

alone a e raged 33 billion ga llons per 

da , equ iva lent to about 1,400 gallons 

pe r day for each pe rso n in the nit d 

tales. I n add ition, wate r u d fo r hydroelectric p wer ge ne ration, the only 

in tream (nonwithdrawal) use compi led 

in 19 5, wa e timated to be 3,050 billion 

gallons per d a or 7 pe rce nt le than 

during 19 0. 

T he d ecrease from 19 0 to 19 5 in 

tota l withdrawal is in co ntrast to an 

increasing trend that p r isted from 1950 

to 1980. A slac ke n ing in the rate o f 

in rease o f tota l withdrawa ls from 1970 

to 1975 and again from 1975 tO 19 0, 

however, marked a downward tre nd th at 

wa confirmed by the 1985 d ata. 

The decrease in o ffstream u e was 

wide! spread aero the ation ; 37 

State r ported le s water withdrawn during 1985 than during 1980. Several factors might account fo r the d ownturn. 

Streamflow ge ne rall y wa mo re ple ntiful 

in 1985 tha n in 1980 because o f mo re 

rainfall , wh ich reduced th e de pe nde nce 

on ground water fo r irrigation in ma ny 

a rea a nd the need tO irriga te in some 

a reas. On the othe r hand , dema nd on 

the ground-wate r system te nd to lowe r 

water lev Is and increase the need for 

ne rgy to pump wate r, which in turn ca n 

decrea e the ava il abili ty and qua li ty of 

the wate r. Each of the e facto r ca n raise 

the cost of wate r a nd ma ke water use rs, 

especially irriga tors, more selective and 

effi cie nt in their use of ground water . 

Increased u e of recycled water, c upled with de pressed commod ity price , 

probably decrea ed the req uirements for 

indu trial a nd irriga tion withdrawals. 
rn 

a 250 z>-

<< 

~a 

Oa: 

::tw 

I-C.. 

zrn 

-z 

Clio 

_,_, 

<-' 

;;:< <" a:z 

co 

i=::::i _ _, ;;:~ 

-'U. 

ETI SURF ACE WATER 

c:::J GAOUNO WATER 

~0 

0 

1- /.9~ /.Pot? /.Po5 /.9717 /.975 /.9&::> /.96'5 

Final! , the 1985 estimate ar based on 

more reli able in formation and analysi 

than previous timates in thi erie . In 

many instances, it eems that pre iou 

estimate may have be n too high. 

Two water-use categorie that are 

exception to the downturn a re "publi 

upply" and "rural dome tic and 

li ve tack. " During 19 5, withdrawals for 

publi uppl were about 7 percent an d 

rura l us about 39 perce nt mor than 

during !9 0. he ?-percent increase in 

publi c- uppl withdrawal corre pond to 

a 7-per nt increa e in population 

erved, a nd the large in r a e in withdrawa ls for rural u e main! re fl ct 

large incr a es in fi h farming, particularl y in rkan a , Idaho, and Mi i ippi. 

Other highlight from th 19 5 data 

include th fo llowing: 

• The average withdrawal of fre hwater 

in th nited tate is eq ui valent to 

about 1,400 ga ll ons p r person per day 

for all u e ; however, th amount varie 

greatly from State to tate, ranging from 

a hi gh of 22,200 gallon per ca pita per 

day in Id aho to a low of 152 ga llon per 

capita per day in Rhode l land. Hi gh 

per-capita va lues a r charact ri tic of 

th inl y populated tates having large acreage of irrigated la nd . 

• Withdrawals for domestic purpo e 

averaged 7 gallons per apita p r day 

for people served by the ir wn water system and I 05 ga llons per capita per day 

for people served by a publi c- uppl y 

system. 

• E timates of withdrawals by source 

indicate that, during l 985, total surfacewater withdra,va ls were 325,000 million 

gallon per da y (Mgal/d), or l 0 per em 

le tha n during 19 0, and tota l groundwater withdrawal were 74,000 gaUd, 

or 12 percent les than during 19 0. 

• More '' ater wa ' ithdrawn in California (nearly 50,000 Mga l/d) th an in any 

other tate, more than twi e a much a 

in either Texas or Id aho , th n xt large t 

u r . Four states- Ca li fornia , Texas, 

Id aho, and Florida-ac OUI1led for 2 

perce nt of the wa te r withdra\ n in th e 

ation . 

• More wat r wa withdrawn (187,000 

Mgal/d) during 19 5 for therm electric 

power plant to g nerat el ctricity than 

for any other category of off tream u e; 

however, thi tota l was 13 percent les 

than during l 980. bout 56,000 1gal/d 

wa aline water. 

• Irrigation ranks econd in offstream 

' ater withdrawal in the . . - 137,000 

Mgal/d during 1985, 6 percent less than 

during 19 0. Irrigation accounts fo r 

about 80 p rcent of all ons umptive 

water use in the nited tat . 

• More than 90 percent of the irrigation water wa withdrawn in the Western 

nited tate . In contrast, almo t 90 perce nt of th e thermoelectric power withdrawal were in the Ea tern nited 

tate . 

• The tota l amount of con umptivefr hwater use-that is, water withdrawn 

that is evaporated, tran pired , incorporated into products and crops, con umed 

by humans or li ve tock, or otherwise 

rem ved from the immed iate water upply-averaged 92,300 Mgal/d during 

1985, or 9 percent le s than during l 980. 

Trell(f.., 111 water rmtlulrmm/,, by 

water-lt..lf ratt•gon• and .\OIIrff of 

>11/J/Jiy for n1ml , /1/dlt..lll)', Jmbltr 

SII/J/Jiy. 11'11[(011011 , and tltemwt•lrrtnr fJO!t•er ll.,e.,, 19-0-85 . 

Water Resources Investigations 29 
Before 1980, U GS wat r-use estimate were deri ed from a variety of 

sources and ranged wid ly in accuracy 

and consistenc . In 1977, the Congre s of 

the nited tates recognized the need 

for uniform, up-to-date, and reliable 

information on water use and directed 

the GS to e tabli h a ational Waterse Information Program to complement 

G data on the availabilit and qualit 

of the ation' water r sources. bus, the 

ational Water- e Information Program became part of the GS Federaltate Cooperative Program; as of 198 , 

49 State and Puerto Rico are participating in the program at various levels of 

in volveme nt. 

The ational Water-Use I nformation Program i de igned to be the ource 

for accurate, consistent, timely, and 

acce sible water-u e in formation. T he 

goals of the program are to colleCL and 

compile reliable site- pecific and aggr -

gated water- use information, to develop 

and refine omputerized water-u e information systems at State and national levels, to devise new method and techniques to improve the coll ection and the 

analysis of water-u e information , and to 

di eminate the information in ways that 

are beneficial to a variety of users. A the 

ational Water- se Information Program develops, more empha is will be 

placed on interpretive studies and the 

integration of water-u e in formation with 

other water-re ou rces projects. 

The late t national water-use estimate were com piled for 1985 and are 

published in .S. Geological Survey Circular 1004, "Estimated se of Water in 

the nited tates in 1985. " A new Aggregated Water-Use Data System (A W OS) 

wa developed and installed on each 

GS Oi trict computer to store and 

manage the water-use information compiled for this report. Although the information is publi hed by State and waterre ources region, the A WUDS data base 

contain more than 120 data elements for 

3,225 counties and 222 wat r-resources 

subregions. 

Analysi of field d ata and evaluations 

of exi ting water-use data were more 

com prehensive and more detailed in the 

compilation of data for the 1980 a nd 

1985 water-u e report than for previous 

water-use reports thanks to support from 

the broader ational Water-Use lnforma30 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

tion Program. The coll ection , ompilation, and analysi of the 19 5 wat r-use 

information wa a 2-year cooperative 

effort b tween the .S. eologica l Survey, other Fed ral agencies, and numerou tate a nd local organ izations. As the 

State water-use information program are 

developed an d refin d , the timelines 

and ac uracy of water-use data at the 

tate and the national leve l will continue 

to improve . 

Selenium in the San 

Joaquin Valley: 

Sources, Distribution, 

and Mobility 

By Robert ]. Gilliam 

Agricultural drainage problem 1n 

the San J oaqu in Valley of central California have attracted national attention since 

1983, when elenium in water from ubsurface tile-drainage y terns in the central part of the we tern va ll e was found 

to have toxic effects on waterfowl. Other 

constituents of drain water, particularly 

dissolved olids, boron, chromium, and 

molybdenum, may ca u e water-quality 

problems also, but elenium is the most 

widespread problem and the most 

limiting constraint on ma nagement 

alternatives. 

Thi article summarize the results 

a nd implications of SGS studi es and 

rel ated research by others through 1987, 

the halfway point of a 5-year tudy, on 

the sources, distribution , a nd mobility of 

selenium in the San Joaquin Valley. The 

USGS is a participating agency in the San 

Joaq uin Valley Drainage Program, which 

is cooperatively managed by the U.S. 

Department of the Interior and the State 

of California . 

Geologic Source and Distribution 

in Soil 

Selenium-related problems are most 

likel y to occur in areas where soils are 

formed of sediment from the marine 
Three specific areas of the 

western an j oaquin 

Valley . . . have the highe t 

selenium concent-rations 

in soil. 

ed imentary formations of the Coast 

Range. On a va ll eywide sca le, oil that 

contain the highest oncentrations of 

elenium are clearly d erived from the 

Coast Range. Three specifi areas of the 

western San J oaq uin Valley-the alluvi al 

fan in the vicinity of Pa nache and a ntua Cr e ks, an area southwest of the 

town of Lost Hills, and the Buena Vista 

Lake Bed area-have the highe t elenium concentrations in oil. The e areas 

of the va ll ey have the greate t potential 

for selenium-related problems in place 

where ali ne soil or ground water occur. 

High co ncentrations of sele nium occur in 

ub urface drain water in th vicin ity f 

all three area . 

Eff cts of Irrigation on the 

Ground-Water Flow System 

The key to e alu atin g the origin and 

pre ent-day distribution of high-selenium 

concentration in grou nd water is understand in g the r d istribution by irrigation 

water of luble forms of elen ium. I rrigation has had regional- cale effects on 

ground-water re harge and discharge 

and on the movement of solu ble sa lt , 

includin g selen ium . The dominant influences on ground water sin ce th earl y 

1900's have been increased recharge of 

irrigation water to ground water in the 

semiconfined zone and historic pumping 

of ground water from the confined zone. 

These agri cultural a tivities have 

caused the water table to rise ove r much 

of the western part of the va ll ey. The 

rising water table reflect a net recharge 

rate to the ground -water sy tern in excess 

of its capacity to transport water to a reas 

of discharge. Importation of urface 

water has led to increased a pplication of 

irrigation water and hence increased 

rate of recharge to the system. Concurrently, pumpage from the onfined zone 

ha decrea ed . In the pa t, tile-drainage 

sy tern ha e been in ta il ed in area with 

a hallow water table. The e tem ha e 

been effective in artifi iall ' removing 

enough shallow grou nd water to mainta in the water table at de ired depth in 

the confines of the drained area , but 

th ir u e is limited b the poor quality 

of the shall w ground \ ater that i oil cted. Th is water-table ris probabl will 

ontinue in the future if pre ent iJTi gation practice continu in the ab ence 

of other change in the ground-water 

s stem. 

Distribution of S lenium m 

Ground Wat r 

The present-day areal and depth 

distribution of el nium in the ground 

water of the entra l western vall y i the 

result of a combination of nawral processe and change in the hydrologic system cau ed by irrigation and groundwater withdrawa l . In the natural 

hydrologic sy tern, solubl e form of elenium are concentrated along with other 

solute in alin e soils of the lower and 

midd l part of Coast Range allu vial fan 

T he first few decade of irrigation of the 

allu vial-fa n oils leached much of the 

readily mobile selenium from the soil 

in to the ground water. The present-day 

areal di tribution of selen ium in shallow 

ground water follow man of the ame 

general patterns of soil salinity before 

much of the area wa extensively irrigated (figs. 5 and 6). Within about 10 to 

20 feet below the water table, selen ium 

one ntrations commonly range from 10 

to 50 microgram per liter g/L) , but 

they are 10 to I 00 time higher where 

the water table has been near the land 

surface and evaporative concentration 

has occurred . Within the range f 20 to 

150 feet below the water table, an interval of variable thickness occur in which 

sele nium conce ntrations are commonly 

50 to more than I ,000 g/L. Water in 

thi in terval i derived principa ll y from 

recharge of earlier irrigation water. 

ative grou nd water, with elenium oncentration of le s than I 0 giL, is below 

the hi gh-selen ium water. 

The large quantity of high- elen ium 

grou nd water in the centra l part of the 

Water Resources Investigations 31 
Figure 5. eleniwn concentration 

in hallow ground water, / 9 6. 

Figure 6. Sod lin ~ in the early 

1 940";. 

37" 00' 

36°30' 

37°00' 

36" 30' 

·· 'f. - 20- Ll! E OF EQ AL ELEN I M ~-;;-,; t• a C' 

- Interval, in" 1 

mi crograms per liter. is va riabl e .P 

BOU DARIE 

Coast Range alluvial fans 

Drainage divide 

~ Valley deposits 

0 

0 10 

\ 

10 20 MILES 

20 KILOMETERS 

'--.... 

'./"·'\ 

EXPLA ATIO '\ - 1.00 - LrNE OF EQ AL SOIL ALl 

Interva l is 0.25 percent soluble 

sa lts .P 

BOUN DARLES 

Coast Range alluvial fans 

Drai nage di vide 

~d, Vall ey deposits 

0 10 20 MILES 

0 10 20 KILOMETERS 
study area make it de irable to use management practices that leave this water 

where it is, rather than bring it to the 

land urface or allow it to move into 

part of the aqu ifer that ma be u ed for 

water uppl . Low concentrations of selenium in water near the water table impl y 

that, where evaporative co ncentration is 

controlled, continued irrigation with lowselenium water will result in a growing 

volume of thi low-selen ium grou nd 

water. Drainage strategies a imed at 

removing this IO\ -selen ium ground water 

near the water table may be feasible in 

some areas, but elen ium concentration 

still may ubsta ntially exceed waterquality criteria. 

Selenium in Tile-Drain Water 

Drainage systems play a key role in 

the evaluation of management alternatives because of the ir effective control of 

the water tab! and the large number of 

systems already in operation. Selenium 

concentrations vary greatly between 

drainage ystems but tend to be consistent o er time in drain water from a particular y tem. The ex eption i th fir t 

1 to 5 yea rs, when co ncentrations tend to 

be the highest a nd mo t variable. The 

low variabi lity of lenium concentration 

in water from exi ting mature drain age 

ystems under cores th fact that drainage y tems withdraw ground wat r, 

which tend to be of a generall constant 

chemica l character in a particular place. 

elenium from the 

an j oaquin Rive?-

probably is not having a 

measurable effect on 

water quality in ... San 

Francisco Bay at jJresent. 

The high variability in elenium concentrations between exi ting drainage 

system reflects the hi gh variability of 

elenium in shallow ground water, variable hydrologic conditions at individual 

fields, and the age of the drainage systems. Detailed study of individu al 

drained field hows that loca l water-table 

hi tory geologic condition , irri ation 

history, and drain age-s tem d ign, all 

factOr that var greatly b tween field , 

can marked! affect the t pe of \ ater 

that i removed b the drain . 

Mobility of Soil Selenium 

oil that ontain len ium a nd are 

irrigated are a ource of elenium in hallow ground water. R adil oluble form 

of selenium in pre ent-da ' so il ar onl ' 

a mall fraction of the tota l elen ium, but 

the quantitie of olu ble selenium can b 

ub tantiall y different betwe n oil in 

different field and at different depth . 

For example, in one fi eld that had been 

irrigated for decades and tile-drain d for 

15 yea r , the oils were highl y lea hed 

throughout the unsaturated zone. In two 

fields irrigated for ju t a lon g, but 

dra ined for I s than half a long, alin e 

soils with ub tantial quantitie of solubl 

elenium were at the 3-foot depth , even 

though then ar- urface oil were high! 

lea hed. Even after 40 yea r of irrigation, 

water percolating through oils of the e 

latter two field still contains high concentration of selen ium. 

Even in the most highly leached 

oil , dissolved-selenium concentrations in 

olution ranged from a media n of 13 

g/L at the 1-foot depth to 20 g/L at 

the 3-foot depth. T he e elenium concentration probabl y are th minimum that 

occur in actual recharge water pa ing 

through thi oil to th ground water. 

The e concentrations probabl y re ult 

from the slow di solu ti n of lightl y solubl forms of elenium, which may be a 

long-term source at such levels of leachin g. Thu , even after the mo t oluble 

forms of selenium have been leached 

from the soil by earlier irrigation, continued irrigation can re ult in recharge to 

ground water that conta in lower, but 

still undesirably high , oncentratio ns of 

elen ium. 

Selenium in the San Joaquin River 

At the present time, drain water 

from about 77,000 acres of tile-drain d 

farmland eventuall y f1 w to the an 

Joaquin River, mainl y from two tribu taries, alt and Mud Slough . Water from 

Water Resources Investigations 33 
individual drainage system that discharge to ' aterway that eventuall reach 

thes loughs or mailer tributarie contain from less than 10 to 4,000 1-1-g/L of 

selen ium, and mixtures of these waters 

contain from 20 to 100 1-1-g/L. Concentrations of selen ium in the an j oaquin 

Ri ver depend primarily on the magnitude of the seleni um load from the 

Iough and dilution by low- elenium 

water from all other sources of streamflow to the river. There are no substantial gains or lo se of selenium between 

the slough and the delta. 

During the swdy period , elenium 

concentrations at everal sites on the 

river at time exceeded propo d waterquality riteria. Available data indicate 

that selenium from the San Joaquin 

River probably i not having a measurable effect on water quality in the delta 

and San Francisco Bay at present. Selenium concentrations in the an J oaquin 

River can be reduced by limiting tiledrain water di charges to alt and Mud 

Slough and may be partly controllable 

by dilution with water from low- elenium 

sour e in the basin . 

Role of Sediment 

Chemistry in 

Water Quality 

By Arthur]. Horowitz 

Recent U GS research in sed iment 

chemi try ha concentrated on two major 

types of in vestigation: those intended to 

provide usable techniques for collecting, 

concentratin g, and analyzing both uspended and bed sediments and tho e 

designed to expla in the proce es-the 

concentrating and releasing mechanismsthat ontrol sed iment-chemical concentrations. 

One of the major problems fac ing 

investigators working with suspended 

sed iment ha been to obtain adequate 

quantities of material for study and analysis. The tandard method of collecting 

and concentrating suspended ediment 

using membrane filtration is inadequate 

for larg -scale national programs. At 

34 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Significant shifts in 

uspended-sedimenl 

concentrations ... have been 

detected ... over distances of 

as little as 16 to 3 3 f eel. 

be t, curr nt filtration te hniques permit 

the proce sing of on ly I to 2 quart of 

water per hour. e of a entrifuge in 

the laborator p rmit the proce ing of 

3 to 5 quart of water per hour. More 

rapid techniques have been investigated 

that permit the pro e ing of wat r ampies at the rate of I to 4 quart per 

minute for the separation of uspended 

sed iment for trace-element analy e . A 

imilar stud is now underway to ee if 

these technique can be u ed for organ ic 

analy e . 

To adequately assess how chemicals 

are transported in sed iment , cientist 

mu t have repr entative sample from 

different areas and at different time 

intervals; thus they mu t know how the 

di tribution of uspended sediment varies 

acros a section of river. Even when the 

most accurate measuring method urrentl y available are used , sign ificant shift 

in suspended-sediment concentrations 

and their associated chemical components 

have been detected in river cro s sections 

in a little as 20 to 30 minute and over 

distances of a little as 16 to 33 feet. 

The development of model 

designed to predict sed iment-as ociated 

trace-element transport requires a twopronged approach: (l) A thorough 

understanding of the relation among riverine flow and bed, bank, and overbank 

deposits and the conditions that induce 

sediment movement or deposition and 

(2) a thorough understanding of the 

intera tion between sed iments (suspended and bed) and water. A further 

issue i the accurate modeling of 

suspended-sediment tran port. At 

pre ent, most sed iment-tran port models 

deal with sand-sized (>63 micrometer ) 

particles; however, the highest traceelement concentrations are associated 

with the silt- and clay-sized (< 63 

micrometers) fractions. The SGS began 

a 2-year study in 1988 to investigate and 

model fine- ediment transport. Studies 
are also underway to help clarify 

sed iment-water in teraction . 

Research to develop an understanding of the geochemical processes that 

influe nce th e accumu lation of trace element in a variety of benthic organism 

from different segment of the food 

chain is continuing in both the natural 

environment and the laboratory. hese 

studies include asses ments of traceelement partitionin g in oxidized sediment and of the ph y iological proce ses 

that influence the accumulation of trace 

elements and their effect on organi ms. 

These tudies also wi ll defin the relation 

betwee n trace-element concentration in 

sed iments and conce ntration of tho e 

trace elements in biota. 

Reliable Remediation 

of Contaminated 

Aquifers 

By Steven M. Gorelick 

In the nited tate alone, more 

than 29,500 uncontroll ed hazardou -

waste ites have been inv ntoried by the 

U.S . Environmental Prot ction Age ncy. 

If the trend durin g the past I 0 y ar 

continues, the number will x eed 33,000 

by early I990. It i e timated that about 

0 perc nt of the e sites have the potenti al to ause ontamination o f ground 

water. Once ground water is contaminated , it can cost millions of doll ars a nd 

can ta ke d ecades to restore a n aq uife r to 

a condition whe r the water is again 

usable . In orne in du triali zed areas, 

many site and many aquifers have been 

contamin ated. For xample, in California' Sa nta Clara Vall ey ("Silicon Valley") 

where ground water furn ishes half of the 

water supply, there a re more than 50 significantly contamin ated site , a nd private 

industry alone has pent more than $200 

million on remediation since 1982. 

Given thi nationwide problem, cienti ts at the .S. Geological urvey have 

developed computer models to analyze 

and to serve as a n aid in the design of 

site-specific, reliable ground-water restoration schemes. At the forefront of thi 

Once ground water is 

contaminated, it can cost 

millions of dollars and can 

take decades to re tore an 

aquifeT. 

new m thodolog are t chniques that use 

combin d imulation-managem nt models to ide ntify the ground-water withdrawal strategie that wi ll mo t effectively 

remediate or re tOre contaminated aquifers. As the name imp li es, the models 

join compute r imulation te hniques, 

which predi ct the pattern of ubsurfacecontaminant migration, with advan ed 

mathematical and tatisti a! method , 

wh ich dete rmin the mo t conomical 

de ign for a remedi ation scheme. 

The e simulation-management 

model d etermine the be t location and 

pumping rate for well that cou ld be 

used to reli ably contain and remove contam inated water. The major component 

of the model is compu ter simulation to 

de cribe contaminant migration. nfortunately, the ph ysical, chemical, and biological mechan ism controlling transport 

of underground contamin ant are highly 

com plicated. 

Ignorin g the chemica l and biologi al 

me ha nisms, even the implest oluble 

compound will migrate and spread 

becau of hi ghl y variable tra n mi ion 

a nd storage properties in aquifer . The 

transmission property, known as hydrauli c conductivity, varie from place to 

place, both !at ra ll y and verticall y. T hi 

va ri ation can be more tha n a factor of 10 

with in the distance of a few meters. 

Much of the uncerta inty in predicting 

contaminant migration tem from the 

variability of aquifer propertie . The imulation models are ba ed on the phy ic 

of subsurface flow and requ ire knowledge of local aqu ifer propertie , yet it is 

virtually impos ible to mea ure the treme ndous patial variabili ty over a subta ntial p rti on of an aquifer. T herefore, 

the variation must be characterized statisticall y. tatistical in formation on the pati al va riability of aquife r propertie i 

specified in the simulation model , which 

Water Resources Investigations 35 
then produce sta ti ti al information on 

the hances that contamination will occur 

at a particula r time and place. 

Final! , the simulation-management 

model determine th be t remediation 

trategy u ing ground-water withdrawal 

so that ' ate r-quality sta ndards a re met at 

a de ired re li ability, perha ps 90 percent, 

at water- upply well . This promi ing tool 

~ r aqu ifer management require substantial computer effort. The a essment 

and de ig n of reliabl remediatio n 

scheme must be analyzed for each particula r haza rdou -waste ite; tho usand of 

simulation are needed to quantify th 

uncertainty of subsurface-contam inant 

migration. 

Microbial Reduction of 

Iron in Sedimentary 

Environments 

By De-rek R . Lov ley 

It i becoming increa ingly apparent 

that microor a ni m catalyze man of the 

important geochemical reaction that 

influence th e qua li ty of water supplie . A 

new g ro up of microorgan i m , th d isimilatory iron-reducin g ba teria that catalyze mo t of the reduction of ferri iron 

to ferrou iron in edimentary environments, has b en discovered . Before this 

d i covery, iro n reduction wa thought to 

be a trivial proces in th e metab li m of 

bacteria and mu h of the iron red uction 

in edime ntary environments was 

thought to be abiological. ow it is clear 

that direct microbial activity is req uired 

for the reduction of iron in most e nvironment a nd chat models of iron 

geochemistry must consid er the physiologica l limitation and capabi li ties of the 

iron-reducin g microorgan isms. 

Mi robial iron reduction onvens 

in olu ble ferric iron ox ides to more oluble ferrous iro n form , wh i h affect 

water qu ality in everal ways. Hi gh cone ntration of di olved iron are one of 

th most prevalent ground-water qu ali ty 

problem . Furthermore, the ex tent of 

microbial iro n reduction also controls the 

fate of toxic trace metals in aquati c envi36 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

ronments. I ron ox ide bind trace me tal 

and con ntrate them in the sedime nt . 

\ hen mi roorgan i ms red uce iro n , the 

trace metal are r lea ed in to the surrounding wate r. In a simila r manner, 

microbial iro n red uctio n releases the 

phosphat held b iron oxide in the bottom sed imen ts of la ke a nd e tua ri 

T hi re leas d pho phate i ofte n the 

nutrient that control the d evelopment f 

nuisa nce algal bl om . Exce ive growth 

of algae, for xample, is thoug ht to produ the low levels of oxygen in water 

of ome a rea of the Potomac Ri ver Estuar a nd he a pea ke Bay. 

Stud ie cond ucted with fre h\ ater 

ed iment from the Potomac Ri er Estua r)' in Mar land re ulted in the i olation 

of the first micr organ i m knO\ n to 

break down organ ic compounds to ca rbon d iox ide with the reduction of iron or 

mangane e . The organi m does not fi t 

any previou ly described genera and ha 

temporaril y been given the tra in designation GS- 1 -. Organisms with a imilar 

metabolism a ppear to be di tribu t d in a 

wide variet of environment , as such 

organ ism ~ere subsequenLly found in 

bracki h-water estuarine ed iment and 

in a deep aqu ifer in which products of 

iron reduction were degrad in g the water 

quality. 

tudi son sed iment · an d vario u 

iron-reducin g isolate d emon trated that 

mo t naturall y occurrin g organic compo und may be decompo ed by ironred ucing bacteria. However, ach particular type f iron-reducin g bacteria can 

o nl y metaboli ze a re tricted number of 

compounds. Therefore, food cha in s of 

everal differe nt types of iron-reducing 

bacteria are requ ired to om pletely ox idi ze sedim nt organi c matter. 

Iron-reducing microorgani ms w re 

also fo und to be potentiall y important in 

the removal of orga ni c co ntamin ants 

from water uppli es. romati compounds such a benzene are com mo n 

orga ni c contaminants of g round water. 

Geochemical evide nce uggests that iron 

reduction i a n important m cha ni m for 

ox id izin g these compo unds a nd , therel y, 

mitigating their adve rse effects. An ironreducing o rgani m wa isolated that 

could ox idize a romati c compounds by 

using the iron ox id e naturall y pre nt in 

th sediments of aquifers. T he metabolism of th is o rga nism demonstra tes a 
likely mecha ni m for th oxid ation o f 

aromati c co ntamina nts with iron reduction and p ro ides a mod el organi m 

(CS- 15) with which to begin stud yin g th e 

facto r controlling the rate of comaminant removal by thi proce s. 

Iron-reducin g bacteria we re found to 

generate copious quanti tie f ul tra-finegrained magnetite a a produ ct of iron 

reduction, a novel mecha ni m fo r the 

magnetiza tio n o f edime nt that may 

have importa nt implica tions for fi elds of 

tud y such a paleomagneti m. Thi 

metabolism also provides a like! mechani m for the d evelopment o f the massive 

accumul ations of magneti te in anciem 

iron ore d eposit a nd for th e magneti c 

anomalie associated with hydrocarbon 

depo its. 

tudie on the metaboli m of ironreducin g bacte ri a, and micr organi ms 

in volved in other a nae robic (oxygen-free) 

geochemical cycl such a metha ne production and ulfa te reduction, have led 

to the developmem of mathemati ca l 

model of these p ro e e . h e mode ls, 

which are based upon the ph ysiologica l 

characteri ti of the ed iment microorgan isms, have been fo u nd to ac u ra t ly 

predict the di tribution of importa nt 

organ ic and inorgan ic onstitue nt in the 

wate r of a wide variety of anae robic 

environments. more is learned about 

the microorgan ism re pon ibl fo r catalyzing geochemi a! reaction , these models will increase in pred ictive poweL 

National Water-Quality 

Assessment Program 

By William M. Alley and 

William G. Wilber 

Duri ng th e pa t two decades, Fed -

eral, State , a nd local gove rnm nts a nd 

indu try have made significa nt commitm nts to the protection f wa ter quality. 

Estimates by the Bureau of Economic 

Analysis show th at about l 4 billion was 

spent from 1972 to 1982 for wa te r pollution abat me nt and control. Future 

ex p nditures for pollu tion abateme nt 

and control through th e yea r 2000 have 

bee n proj ected to be as much as 600 

billion . Given the large fin ancial inve tm nts in water-quali ty manageme nt a nd 

prote Lion alread y mad e, the potential 

for ev n large r in vestment in the future, 

a nd the concerns about olving myriad 

problem , th ere i a need fo r reliable a nd 

nationally on i te nt information on th e 

sta tus of a nd trends in the qua lity of the 

ation' wa ter r source , a well a for 

cientifica ll y valid explanations o f the e 

condi tion and tre nds. 

Critica l to und e r tanding wate r qu ality i the ability to ma ke omparisons 

amon diffe re nt location and over time. 

Consistent in fo rmation i nece a ry to 

ma ke valid compa risons. Although this 

need has bee n w II recogni zed fo r a long 

time in conducting indi vidual wate rqu ality studies, it i onl y r centl y that the 

need for nationall y con i tent information to ma ke va lid regional a nd national 

compa risons about current wate r-quality 

conditions and about cha nge in the e 

condition ha be n well recogni zed . 

Beca use of this stated need for 

nationall y consi tent wate r-quality in fo rmation, beginnin g in 1986, the Co ngres 

has annuall y a ppropriated funds for the 

.. Geologica l Survey to te t a nd re fin e 

conce pt for a ational Wate r-Qu ality 

Assessment Program. Such a full- cale 

program would provide a nationally 

\lag'l!et1te produt t1011 by the til simi-

/alar)' 11"011-l'l'dura .S- 15. The 

brown Jr1-r1r oxule nt thr bottom of 

the tube Jn1or to growth wn, 11 0t 

nllmrted to the mng11 et. Dttn11g 

owth, G - 15 to11 verted the fernr 

ax1de to mag11 etlte, a mag11 et1C 

mmeml. 

Water Resources Investigations 37 
Location of the even pilot projects 

of the ational Water-Qualil)' 

Asses men/ Program. 

NATIONAL WATER-QUALITY ASSESSMENT PILOT PROGRAM 

EXPLANATION 

- Surface-water 

pilot studies 

consi te nt description of current wate rquality condition for a large pa rt of the 

ation's water resources; de fine longterm trends (o r lack o f trends) in wate r 

qua li ty; and id entify, describe, and 

explain the maj or fac tor that affect 

wate r-quality co nditions and tre nd . 

The program will focus on 

water-quality conditions 

that are prevalent or Large 

in scale and persistent 

in time. 

Determinin g the best method o f conductin g such an asse sment is complicated by the many wate r-quality consti tuems th at mu st be sampled for, the large 

wat r-qu ality va ri ations in time and 

among locations, and the high cost o f 

coll ecting a nd a nalyzing samples. At 

prese nt, the program is in a pilot pha e. 

S ven pilot proj ects, re presenting a 

ra nge of hydrologic environme nts, we re 

selected to test and furth e r refine the 

as essment concept ; four proj ect focus 

primarily on urface wate r, a nd three 

projects focus primarily on ground water. 

A decision to proceed to a full-scale 

national program will be made in 1990. 

38 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

The decision will be influenced by an 

ongo in g evalu ation of the design a nd 

potential utility of the program by a 

committee of the ational Acad my of 

ciences. 

T he program will focus on wat rquali ty condition that are preval nt or 

large in scale and per i tent in time. 

Regional degradation o f water quality, 

uch as occur from nonpoint sources of 

pollution or from a high d ensity o f point 

source , will be empha ized . 

As presen tly envisioned , the national 

program will be accomplished through 

in vestigation of about 120 stud y unitsaquifer systems and rive r basins-that ar 

distributed th roughout the Nation and 

that incorporate about 80 pe rcent of the 

ation' wate r u e. By using th e e discret tud y units, the cie ntists will be 

able to examine the cau es of ob e rved 

water-qu ality conditions, which is vital if 

the program is to be usefu l to manage rs 

and policy mak rs at Federal, State, and 

local levels. 

The collection of d ata and the inte rpretation a nd communication of findin gs 

will be conducted by small teams of individuals who a re familiar with the tud y 

a rea . Having the same team of indi viduals responsible for the collection a nd 

interpretation of data will help ensure 

that the data a re of high quality a nd that 

they lead to relevant and mean ingfu l 

interpretations. The 120 study un its will 
be linked together thro ugh a p re cribed 

set of stud y a pproaches and protocols fo r 

sample collectio n , sampl handling, labora tory analy is, and quality assurance. 

Data for the stud y un its will be coll ected 

and inte rpre ted on a natio nally con istent 

set of water-qu ali ty constitue nts. Con i -

te nt record wi ll be recorded on streamflow and basin characte ristics, well a nd 

aqu ifer characte risti s, a nd land use a nd 

othe r measures of huma n activit . In 

add itio n, writte n re ports will conta in similar in fo rmation fo r ach stud y un it; a nd 

fin all y, data will be stored in natio nal 

data fi les, whe re th y will be ava il able to 

the use r community upon request. 

As essme nt activities in each of the 

study un it will be do ne on a rotatio nal 

rathe r than continuo us ba is, a nd o nly a 

portio n of the stud y un its will be tudied 

in detail at a gi en time. Fo r each tud y 

un it, 3- to 5- ear periods o f inten ive 

data coll ectio n and analy i will be alte rnated with lo nge r, le in tensiv period 

of tud y. 

Even a ve ry effective atio nal 

Wate r-Qu ality A me nt Program wi ll 

not and hould not eli minate the need 

fo r other wate r-quali t data-colt ction 

activities. Fo r orn e i ues a nd que tio ns, 

the sampling requirem nts and proced ures may be d iffe rent from tho e whi h 

thi p rogram i d esig ned to add res . B 

providin g a stro ng, h ig h-quality atio nal 

Wate r-Qualit As essmem Program, the 

USC wi ll help und erpin a nd unify the 

atio n's water-qualit a tivities. uch an 

a se sment program sho uld atisfy a ignificant sha re f the wate r-quality in fo rmation needs of the cou mry. 

Water Resources Investigations 39 

Geologic Investigations 

Mission 

T he basic mission of the Geologic Divi ion is to 

evaluate the . ation's geologic tructure and the 

geologic proce se that have shaped it, to a e 

the Nation' mine ral a nd ene rgy resources, an d to iden -

tify and in vestigate geologic hazard . 

• In vesti gations of geologic haza rds provide in formation for predicting and delin ea ting hazard from arthquakes and volcanoe and for identify in g engineering 

problem related to ground fai lure hazard . 

• Regional geologic stud ie pro,·id geologic map and 

regional ynthe e of deta iled geologic data e sential to 

mineral, energy, and hazard a se sm nt . 

• Offshore geologic tudies identif and describe the 

mineral and petroleum r ource of th offs hore areas 

of the United States, including the Excl u ive Economic 

Zon , an area on -th ird larger than the land area of the 

nited tate . 

• Mineral res urce investigation a se s the di tribution, quantity, and quality of the ation's mineral 

resource with pa rticular empha is on trategic and 

criti al mineral . 

• urvey of energ re our e provide a e ment of 

the ation' coal, petroleum, uranium , and geothermal 

resources a nd en hance capabilitie to expl re for and 

develop new sou r e of energ . 

(Facing pa e) Redwa/1 Lime tone in 

the Grand Canyon, seen fi"om the 

olomdo River. (Photograph by 

j ane Eggleston.) (Above) Cathedral 

Rock at the John Day Fossil Beds, 

ea tem Oregon. (PhotograjJh by 

j o eph } one .) 

Geologic Investigations 41 
Figure I. Locatio11 of the Isle 

miere~ barrier isla11ds. 

Highlights 

Erosion of Louisiana's 

Coastal Barriers 

By Asbury H. Sallenger, Jr. , 

Bruce E. Jaffe, and 

S. J effress Williams 

early three-quarters of the .S. 

population li ves within an hour of the 

ation's oa t . Coastal ero ion and wetland lo , therefore, are seriou problems 

with long-term economic and social conequence . Developed areas face billions 

of dollars in property damage an d potential los of life a a result of long-term 

ero ion and torm impact , and valuable 

wetland a re being alte red at rapid rate . 

Of the 30 tates bordering the oceans, 

the Gu lf of Mexico, or the Great Lake , 

all are undergoing ome ero ion and 26 

are pre en tly experiencing an overall net 

erosion of their shorelines. The ational 

Academy of S iences ha forecast increasing rates of sea-level ri e, which means 

that ero ion i likely to accelerate in the 

future. 

Because of natural and manmade 

causes, Louisiana has the hi ghest rates of 

coastal erosion and wetland loss of any 

region in the United States. In the Mi sissippi Ri ver delta plain , rates of wetland 

0 50 100 MILES I I I I 0 50 100 KILOMETERS 

42 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

loss exceed 80 quare miles per year. 

Louisiana' barrier i lands, which rve to 

protect wetland , are eroding, in ome 

plates a mu h as 65 feet per year. The 

i lands are decreasing in area as they 

migrat landward. For example, between 

1890 and 1979, Loui iana barrier islands 

decreased in area by 37 percent. If thi 

rate of land loss continues, the barrier 

islands will disappear, which in turn will 

accelerate the d truction of valuable 

wetlands. Louisiana contains 4 1 per ent 

of the ation's wetland , which upport a 

1 billion annual fishery indu try. 

Many of the proce es contributing 

to barrier island er ion are poor! 

understood and are not quantifiable with 

any degree of confidence . The e proce e must be better under tood in order 

to predict the future horeline re ponse 

and, thus, allow better management of 

our coastal resources. In 1986, the U. 

Geological Survey and th Louisiana 

Geologi a! Survey began a planned 5-

year stud y focu ed on the proce se causin g barrier i land erosion. 

VaLuabLe wetLands are 

being aLtered at rapid rate . 

Long-term erosion of Louisiana's 

barrier i land is due both to sea-level 

rise, relative to the land, and to diminishing sand supply. T he primary objective 

of the study are to better quantify processes related to sea-level ri e and sand 

supply and to pre ent the resu lts in a 

form that ca n be applied to such practical 

problem as predicting future changes. 

The study is divided into three main 

parts: 

• Investigating the geologic framework 

within which the barrier have formed 

and migrated landward. This work uses 

cores and geophysical information to provide a broad regional unde rstand ing of 

the historical development of the barrier 

islands and a conceptual understanding 

of the processes of barrier i land erosion. 

• Developin g a better quantitative 

understanding of the various processes 

responsible for erosion. We have focused 

on only a few of the many processes, 

including relative sea-level ri e, overwash, 
Figure 2. .omfmter-gt'llrrati•d 

bathymetric map< of the l. le.1 Drnueres region from I 90-1906 (top), 

I 930: (muldlr), and 19 6 

(bottom). Depth.; are shown l1y color.,; enrh color repre ell/< a di•fJ/h of 

3 feet. Purple refJre.letiiJ subaenal 

land and black dep1c/,, area.:. of no 

data. The length of the rectangular 

display iJ 3 I """'·'· 

Geologic Investigations 43 
Aerial oblique photografJh of the 

ea tern end of the Isles Demiere 

bonier island chain a of june 

19 6. (Photograph by . j effre s 

Williams.) 

net off hor sed iment transport, and grad i nts of sed iment tran port along the 

len gth of the h01·eline. A seri e of 

expe riments and modeli ng e ffort a re 

being u nd erta ken ; for example, d irect 

measurement of the waves that wa h 

over a ba rrier i la nd during torm . 

• As embli ng the re ear h results in a 

form that ca n be u ed by coa ta l pla nner 

and e ngineer . ppli cations of the tud y 

re ults include developing better techniques for determinin g th e rate at wh ich 

artifi ciall y nourished beache hould be 

re nouri hed and pr d ieting future shorelin e e ro ion o that coastal pla nn ers an 

properly locate new construction at a safe 

d i ta nc landwa rd from th e erodin g 

horeli ne. 

T he barrie r i la nds known as Isles 

De rn ieres (fi g. 1) we re stud ied in three 

surveys, done in 1890-1906, the 1930's, 

and 19 6. Resu lt of these urveys show 

con id erable changes in the island and 

nea rby sea fl oor. 

Prope-r management and 

pTotection of ouT Nation's 

coastal Te ou.nes u quiTe 

knowledge of the patterns 

and mtes of sediment 

movement. 

44 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Bath ymetr ontour from each surve are hown in fi gure 2. At the turn of 

the entury the lsi De rn ie re was a 

near! continu ous i land . By the 1930's, 

the i lands had become narrow rand 

more in lets had been incised , di vid in g 

the i land into four egments. By 19 6, 

the i lands had be ome fa irly narrow, les 

than 0.6 mile at mo t loca tions, a nd the 

pr viousl ope n d in let had wide ned 

signifi camly. Histori all y, places along the 

Gulf of Mex ico ma rgin of th i la nd 

have erod d more tha n 65 feet per year. 

Fi ur 3 how cha nge in bath ymetry ve r time . For the ma p compa ring 

the 1 90's to 1930's bath metry (fi g. 

3, top), the elonga ted blu paue rn repreents e rosion on th e Gu lf ma rgin of the 

barrie rs as th e barrie rs migrate la nd ward . 

Some of the ro ion i in exce s of feet. 

T he blue patt rn , adj acent to the purple/red patte rn and in th vicini ty of the 

maj or in lets, repre e nt longs hore migration of the in let of everal mile . 

Be tween the I 930's a nd 1986, there 

i a similar pa tte rn of cro ion on the ulf 

fa e of the barrier, a sociated wi th 

horeface retreat, a nd furth e r e iden e 

for the continu ed longshore migration of 

inlet . n unex pected as pe t of thi ompa rison i th e de elo pment of a broad 

elonga te (6.5 feet thick, 12 mi l s long) 

accretional body, compo d mo tJ y of 

sa nd , seawa rd of the mouth o f the inlets 

forming the entrance to Te rrebonne Bay 

(betwee n 1 le De rn iere to the we t and 

Timbalier Island to the ea t). T hi sand 

bod y ha bu ilt from ea t to west over a 

50-yea r pe riod in wa te r de pth o f 16 feet 

and d i tances offshore of a li u le ove r 2 

miles. T he sa nd bod y is the re u lt of 

sand bypassin g the inlet, and , as it westwa rd growth continue , it could eve ntuall y prov ide a ource of new and to the 

severely e rod ing Isles De rn iere . T his 

unex pected result sugge t that th e s d iment budge t for these islands cannot 

simply be viewed in the classic twodimensional sense of shoreli ne and 

shore face res ponse to rising sea level but 

must also includ e the e ffects o f change 

in th e longshore moveme nt o f and along 

th e coast. 

Prope r manageme nt and protection 

o f our ation's coastal resour es requ ire 

know! d ge of th e patte rns a nd rates of 

sed iment moveme nt, like that shown in 
fi gure 2 and 3. For example, in order to 

determin e the cost e ffective ness of a 

beach nouri hment proj ect on n ed to 

know how o ften to return and r no urish 

the beach. Kn owledge of th e rat and 

patterns of movement of ediment will 

help determine the con traints of beach 

nouri hme nt a nd other type of proj ects. 

The result discussed here repre ent 

only one pa n of the overall tud y e ffo rt. 

By better unde rstanding the geologic 

framewo rk within which e rosion occurs 

and improvin g our und erstandin g of the 

processes of erosion, we hope to be abl 

to improve our ability to forecast fu ture 

ero ion not only in Louisia na bu t also in 

other threa te ned coastal a rea . 

Figure 3. Amoun/J of vertical 

change between historical bathymetric surveys- / 90· - 193-1 (top) and 

1934-19 6 (bottom). Individual 

color> repment a 1.6-foot (0. --

meter) interval of vertical change 111 

bathymetry. The sign indicate> eraion(- ) or accretion (+). For example, green il7dicates ero ion between 2.5 feet (0. 75 meter) and 4. 1 

feet ( 1.25 meter>), wherea red llldlcate accretion behoeen 2.5 feet and 

4. 1 feet. 

Geologic Investigations 45 
Hawaiian Submarine 

Lava Flows 

By Robin T. Holcomb 

A onograph mosa i (facin g page) of 

about 4,700 quare nautical miles (16,000 

km2

) of the ocean floor 80 nautica l mile 

(150 km) north of Oahu, Hawa ii , how a 

part of th new! recognized orth 

Hawa iian Arch Volcan ic Field. T he 

image wa produced from data gathered 

b the GLORIA lo ng-range sidescan 

25 

24 

23 

22 

21 

20 

19 

162 

46 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

0 50 

G!. O KAUAI 

NIIHAU 

50 100 MILES 

100 KILOMETERS 

EXPlANATION 

D Hawaiian Islands 

• Youngest lava flows 

D Older lava flows 

~ Cretaceous volcanic ridges 

161 160 159 

onar st m in the pring of 1988 

aboard the RJV Famella as a part of the 

.S. Geological urvey program to map 

the Excl usive Economic Zone (EEZ) 

around th Hawa ii a n I lan ds. Thi i pan 

of a comprehen ive effort to map the 

d ep ea floor of the . . EEZ-an a rea 

of orne 3 million quare nautical miles. 

T he hi gh contra t of thi r produced 

mosaic em pha izes the differen e betwe n Ce nozoic lava flows (dark) a nd 

older, thick ed iment (lig ht). imilar 

youn g lava flows o cupy 8,700 square 

nautical mile (30,000 km2 ) of a volcan ic 

field having a total area of 44,000 sq uare 

(. 

158 157 156 155 
nautical mile (150,000 km2

) , much 

larger than the Hawa iian Isla nd . T he 

thin tongues of lava have flowed southwest down the inner fl an k of the Hawa iian Arch toward th Hawaiian Trou h, a 

d pre ion created by down bowing of th 

ru t under the 1 e ig ht of the Hawa ii an 

volcanoe . La a flow of th vol anic field 

are int rbedded with deposit of la ndslid from the islands, indi ating that 

the field has been imermitte ntly active 

during the Ia t few million year . o rne 

flow that have very litLle ediment cover 

may b as young as a few thousand year . 

These a nd oth r large submarine 

lava fl ows discovered recen Ll y ea t and 

o uth of Hawa ii and elsewhere at low latitud es, for example, a re thou ght by 

SGS scie nti t to rapid ly deli ver large 

amounts of heat into the ocean, po sibly 

affecting weather patterns on a global 

scale. The w ather phenomenon ailed El 

ino occurs where the normal pattern 

of ea terly drive n wind and ocean circulation is altered to a west rl y pattern. 

The ca u e of this switch i not clea rly 

understood. The heating effect of the 

submarine lava flow , howeve r, may be 

sufficient to warm the ocean curre nt , 

upsetting the balance between temperature and atmo phere a nd activatin g the 

reversal in the direction of motio n, 

thereby triggering El ifio. 

Probabilities of Large 

Earthquakes 1n 

California 

By Wayne Thatcher 

In the 175- ear period from 1812 to 

1987, Ca lifornia experienced at I a t II 

large earthquake of about magnitude 7 

or great r. T 1 o of the e event 1 ere th 

great earthqua kes of I 7 and 1906, in 

which the an Andrea fault ruptured 

affectin g the area of Lo ngel s and 

an Franci co, re pectivel . imi lar earthquakes will certainl y o cur in the futur 

and can be ·pected to have sign ificant 

impact on Ca li fornia and th ation . 

T he F deral Emergency Manag ment 

Agency ha e timat d that propert lo e 

re ultin from a repeat of the I 57 

earthqu ake wo uld b 17 billion, with 

timated death of 3,000 to 14,000, 

depending upon the time of day f the 

earthquake. The 1 -7 earthquake (estimated magnitude greater than 8.0) 

occurred on the an ndrea fault, the 

neare t point of which i about 31 mile 

(50 km) northeast of the den ely populated area of Lo ngeles; a ma iler 

earthqua ke, in the magnitude range of 7 

to 7.5, occurrin g within an urban area 

ma be ex pected to ca use losses comparabl to or greater than tho e for a repeat 

of the great I 57 earthquake. 

Because of the increa ed public 

imerest in and concern about expected 

los es from future ea rthqua ke in aliforn ia, the J ational Earthquake Pr dictio n o uncil , a body of academic and 

gove rnments ie ntist advi or to the 

Director of the .. Geologi a l Survey, 

recommended a n va luation of th probabili ty of occurrence of large (mag nitude 

7 or gr ater) earthqua kes in Cali fornia . 

In response to this recommendation, the 

GS formed a working group on California ea rthqua ke probabilities, which 

met several times in 1987-8 to review 

and a s the state f knowledge that 

would allow alculation of earthqua ke 

probabilitie o n sp cific egments of the 

a n Andreas fau lt (fig. 4). 

The probabilitie were based on a 

model for time-dependent increase of 

earthquake probabi li ty. The model has its 

Geologic Investigations 47 
Figure 4. Pr·obabilitie of major 

earthquake along segments of the 

an Andreas, Haywa·rd, San Jacir1to, and lrnfJerial faults for the 30 

years 19 - 2018. 

San And reas fault 

< 10% 

San Francisco 

Peninsula 

20% 

Hayw ard 

fault 

S. Santa 

Cruz Mountains 

30% 

Central Creeping segment < 10% 

San Bernardino Valley 20% 

0 

I 

0 I 

100 MILES 

I 

100 KILOMETERS 

origin in the cycle of stress accumulation 

and re lease that characterizes the earthqua ke cycle. The workin g group assumed 

that, following an ea rthquake large 

enough to rupture an entire segment of 

a fau lt (termed a characte ri tic earthquake), the potentir!l for a future large 

ea rthqu ake along that fault segment is 

initiall y small and increases as a function 

of time as the moti on of the earth's crust 

again bu ild the stre s on the fault 

toward the limit for fai lure. T he e propertie of recurring earthquakes are qualitatively expressed in the seismic ga p 

hypothe i , whi h states that the potential 

for a future earthquake is greater along 

tho e active fault segment having had 

long period of time ince the last characl---._ 

San Jacinto Valley I 0% 

" Anza 30% 

\ 

Borrego Mountain y '>... 

) 10% . ; · \__Superstition ~~~~ 

Mountains 

< 10% 

teristic earthquake. To determine timedependent probabilitie , the faults were 

divided into their recognizable segments; 

the potential for a future large earthquake on each segment was calculated on 

the basi of the time that has elapsed 

since the most recent large earthq uake 

and fau lt parameter such a slip rate 

and amount of displacement. The time 

in terval chosen for the probability calculations was 30 yea rs- 1988 to 20 18; similar calculations usin g the same models 

were performed for 5-yea r, 10-yea r, and 

20-year in tervals, as well. 

• T he 30-year probability of la rge 

earthquakes is highest in southern Californ ia. The 62-mile-long ( 1 00-km-long) 

Coachella Valley segment has the high est 

48 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 
probability (0.4 or 4 in 10) of producing 

an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 in the 

next 30 yea rs. A major earthquake has 

not occurred there since about A.D. 

1680. The Mojave egment, part of the 

ource region of the great 1857 earthquake, has a 30-year probability of 0.3. 

• Evaluation of the eanhquak probabili ty for the southern San Andreas fault 

depends on the future behavior of the 

San Bernardino Mountains segment of 

the fau lt. If the an Bernardino Mountains segment sli ps ind epend ent of the 

adjacent segment , the expected magnitude of earthquakes on the outhern San 

ndreas fault wou ld be about 7.5, with a 

0.7 probabili t of at least one such event 

in the next 30 yea r . If the an Berna rdino Mountains egment sli ps along with 

either the Mojave segment to the north 

or the Coachella Valley segment to the 

south, then the resulting earthquake 

would approach the size of the 1857 

earthquake and wou ld have a 30-year 

probabili ty of 0.6. 

• The probability of large earthquak 

within th next 30 yea rs along fau lt gmem in the an Francisco Ba area is 

also sign ificant. The total probability for 

all fau lt segment evalu ated i 0.5. The 

Haywa rd fau lt ha produ ed two earthquakes in historical time, in 1836 and 

1868; both had estimated magnitude 

approach ing 7. he orthern Ea t Ba 

egment of the Hayward fau lt, the outhern Ea t Bay egment of th Hayward 

fault, and the San Francis o Penin ula 

egment of the an Andreas fault each 

have a probability of 0.2 of an earthquake of magnitude 7 in the next 30 

yea rs. Th 30-year probability of a great 

arthquake along the onh Coast segment, extend ing north from the an 

Fran isco Pen insula, i I s than 0.1. 

• F wer data are ava il able about the 

recurrence of large earthqu akes along 

five eparate egments of the an J a in to 

fau lt. During the cour e of the probability tud y, the late ovem ber 19 7, magnitude 6.6 Superstition Hill earthquake 

more than 100 miles south of Whittier, 

Calif. , occurred on one of these segments. The SGS estimated a probability 

of 0.5 for the four remaining segment 

combined, for the occurrence of earthquakes of about magnitude 7 with in the 

nex t 30 yea rs. The segment of the an 

Jacinto having the highest probabili ty 

i the Anza egment (0.3). The oth rs ar 

an Bernardino Valle egment, 0.2; San 

J acin to all ey egment, 0.1 ; and the Borrego Mountain segment, le than 0. 1. 

• The Imperial fault, spann ing the 

M xico- .S. border, ha produc d tw 

magnitude 6.6 or greater earthqua k s in 

the pa t ha lf century. A 50-percent probabili t of a 6.5 or greater earthquake in 

the next 30 yea r i estimated. 

The 30-year probability of 

large earthqualws is highest 

in southern California. 

Re ent mod rate earthquake in 

Whitti rand Coalinga, ali f. , erve a a 

reminder that not all a tive fau lt hav 

been re ognized everywhere in alifornia . Although almost all well- tudi d alifornia earthquakes of magnitud 7 and 

larger have, in fact, occurred on fau lts 

having clear urface expres ion , orne 

fault capable of vent of thi size have 

not b en identified. This is particular! 

true in the Tran verse Ran ges of southern California, where shallowly dipping 

thrust fa ult and major folds dominate 

the tectonic environment and where the 

configuration of fa ults at depth is known 

to be exceedingly complicated. Thu , not 

all potential our es of large California 

earthquake have been identified in these 

probabilistic analy e . 

The a e mem of long-term seismic 

haza rd on Californ ia's major fault is an 

active and rapidly developing field. ew 

data and improvements in the model on 

wh ich the a sessments are ba ed will 

probably lead to revi ion and refinement 

in the probabilities assigned here to segment of the an Andreas sy tem. The 

total regional value , however, support 

the main concl usion that the probabili ty 

of a major arthquake on the an 

Andreas in south rn California with in 

the next 30 yea rs is high, about 0.6, and 

that the probability approaches 0.5 for 

both the San Fran isco Bay area in 

northern California and the an Jacinto 

fa ul t in so uthern California. 

Geologic Investigations 49 
Developing a Climate 

Record for the Past 

3 Million Years 

By David P. Adam 

Global climatic change ha attracted 

increa ing atten tion in recent yea r a 

human activitie have grown to a cale 

that could affect the climate. T he carbon 

diox ide ontent of the atmo phere has 

increased by about 20 percen t sin e the 

Indu trial Revolu tion; consumption of 

fo sil fuel and deforestation have contributed , possibly substantiall y, to this increase. ln addi tion, defore tation threatens tropical ra in for t and ca n alte r 

local and regional weathe r patte rns. Man -

mad e chloroflu orocarb n gase have 

mad e the ir way into the upper atmo -

phere and are affecting the ozone laye r. 

.. Geological Survey cientists are 

stud ying thee an d other effect of 

human acti itie by studying computer 

mod els of cl imate. he e mod el ca n 

offer p redictions of the behavior of 

fu tu re climates under various cond itions. 

In order to verify the accurac of thee 

models, however, scientists must test 

them to ee how well they can re produce 

the climates of the past. 

Histo rical record provid e on ty pe 

of climatic data again t which to j udge 

the resul ts of models but have the di advantage that they pan at most only a few 

hund red yea rs. In order to evaluate 

model resul ts fo r ondi tions outsid e the 

range documented in the hi torical instrumen tal reco rd s, it i necessa ry to tud y 

the evid nee of past cl imatic conditions 

preserved in th e exten ive geologic 

record. 

Man y lake, bog, and all uvial sed iment have yielded records of past event 

and environmental cond itions th rough 

the ir ph ysical properties and th e bi logical rema ins pre e rved in them. However, 

most of the e records pan no more than 

the pa t few ten of thousands of year . 

tudie of these records have provided a 

relati ely good understa nding of the 

d ynamics of climate change during the 

pre ent interglacial pe riod and du ring 

the tran ition from the last glacial pe riod 

to the pre ent intergla ial. By contrast, 

50 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

much I is known about how limate 

changes when the world passe from an 

in te rglacial climate into a glacial limate, 

or from a climate like the pre ent interglacial into an e en wa rme r mod e. 

T herefore the G ha ought to locate 

I nge r record of pa t climate . 

Studies by the SG Climate hange 

Program in northeaste rn Californi a and 

south- entral O r gon since 19 3 ha e 

produced a deta iled record of regional 

climati c change that span the past 3 

million year . T he most important record 

is from a 334-mete r (1 ,095-foot) ediment core from an ancient lake at the 

town of T ulelake, Si ki you C unty, Calif. 

Paleontologic tudie have de cribed 

changes in the frequ encies o f pollen 

grains, diatom and other algae, fish 

remains, and ostracod at va rious depths 

wi thin the core; example of these 

change are hown in fig ure 5. T he e 

hanges ca n be in te rpreted in te rms of 

regional event , incl udin g not onl y climate change bu t also volcanic, tecto nic, 

and geomorphic changes. uch change 

a real o observed in the geochemi al 

record extracted from the core. 

In addition to the fossils fo und in 

the core, numerou volca nic ash layer 

(teph ra) are well pre erved . Beca use each 

a h laye r identifies the arne time horizon, whereve r it occurs, studie of the 

maj or- and trace-element compo ition of 

volcanic glas , usin g electron microprobe 

technique , provide a means by which to 

correlate the ulelake record with records at othe r locali ties where the arne 

ash laye rs have bee n found . T he ages of 

many of the tephra laye rs are alread y 

known from prior age analy e done at 

other localities, and d ates determined 

elsewhere ca n thus be reliably correlated 

with pa rticular hori zons in the T ulelake 

core. For example, the Rockl and ash bed 

(fi g. 5) was e rupted from Mt. Las en 

about 0.4 million yea rs ago, is found in 

ma ny locations in California, and ha 

bee n u ed to inte rpret changes in the 

dra in age history of central California. 

T he DSDP-173-3/4 ash bed, also hown 

on fi gure 5, has been found both at 

T ulelake and in a sediment core from 

the north eastern Pacifi c Ocean off the 

coast of Oregon. T hat ash laye r thus provides a firm link between the continenta l 

climate record at T ulelake and the more 

thoroughly studied ma rine climatic 

. reco rd . 
0 

100 

200 

300 

03060900 50 0 50 0 50 0 25 0 

Figure 5. Selected variable fJlotted against depth for a 1 ,095-foot 

core from Tulelake, Siskiyou County, alif. Age increase with depth; 

the oldest defJosits hown m·e about 3 million year old. Pollen type 

are expre ed as percent of totalfJollen; diatoms are expre sed as pe?·-

cent of total diatoms. Paleomagnetic time cctle is h.own at ?-ight (ka = 1,000 yem·s; Ma = 1 million year). The black boxe indicate inte?·-

vals dw·ing which the EaTth' magnetic field was oriented as it i 

today, and the un haded boxe indicate intervals dw-ing which the 

Earth's magnetic field was reversed. olid a1'1·ows indicate positions 

of volcanic ash layer (tephm) used to correlate the co1·e with other 

areas; hollow an·ows indicate ages of paleomagnetic boundmies as 

determined by other studies. The pollen curves Teflect variation in 

the regional vegetation in resfJonse to climate. High frequencie of 

fJine pollen indicate times of 1·elatively m.oi t conditions. High frequencies of juniper fJollen at the expense of fJine reflect more open, le s 

heavily fore ted conditiom, and hence le s available moi tw·e. High 

10000 

50 0 50 0 15 0 10000 

Paleomagnetic units Time Control 

= MonoLake=l 

--Blake(?)-

Brunhes 

= Kamikatsurn (?) = 

c:=Jaramillo ~~~ 

= obb Mtn. <?l=lI Olduvai 

Matuyama 

I Reunion 2 

= Reunion ~ 

Gauss 

I 

Kaena (?) 

+-

+- 23.4 ka 

::: D DP- 173-3/4 ash bed 

+-

t:: Rockland ash bed (400 ka) ~ 620 ka 

~ 730ka 

-800 ka 

898~~ ~ - 1.1 2 Ma 

+-

+-

1.67 Ma 

1.87 Ma 

+- Bear Gulch ash bed 

~ 2.48 Ma 

+-

+-

t: 2.92 Ma 

~ 3.0 1 Ma 

frequencies of sagebrush pollen refJre ent cold, dry condition that 

were mo t common during glacial times. The lightly haded boxe 

shown on the pollen cw-ues indicate pm·ts of the section where no pollen was 1·ecovered. A major change in the behavior of the 1·egional 

vegetation that tool< fJlace about 1.6 million year ago (about the top 

of the Olduvai Even/) correspond to the onset of continental glaciation in the OTihem HemisjJhe1·e. The frequencies of the vmious diatoms Teflecl changing conditions within the lake and also evolutionmy 

change in the diatoms. FoT example, the diatom Anomoeonei cotata fJrefer aline waten, and the pea/1 in its frequency jl"om 50-90 

meter depth reflects the relatively high salinity of the lake about 

500 000 yeaTS ago. The fJeaks in frequenc)' of "other algae" (note the 

vel)' compre sed scale for the cw-ue) reflect a well-developed lake; 

when "other algae" aTe scarce, the lake was probably hallower or 

seasonal in natuTe. 

Geologic Investigations 51 
A ttlacoseira (Melosira) so/ida 

tephanodiscus ca1·co•u n is 

The T ulelake core a! o preserve a 

record of change in the Earth's magnetic 

field, which i known tO rever e it elf at 

irregu lar interval . T he ages of th va rious rever a! have been carefully studied , 

and they provide another way tO date the 

Tulela k ection and tO refine ag estimate for volcan ic ashes that li e between 

rever a! . For example, the Bear Gu lch 

a h bed (fig. 5) i estimated tO be about 

1.94 million yea r old , because of it position between the base of the Oldu ai 

Event (age 1. 7 million years) and the 

Gauss-Matuyama boundary (age 2.48 million years). Th tephra and paleomagnetic record tOgether provide a means 

of dating the fo il record that is independent of the fossil record itself; uch 

independent corroboration is an essential 

part of the cientific method. 

Although long climatic records like 

the Tulelake core are till on ly rare! 

accessible tO researchers, there are many 

ui table deposits in other areas. Recent 

drilling b the GS tO the northeast of 

Tulelake ha yielded a core from Summer Lake, Oreg. , estimated to span the 

past 1 million years, and a core from the 

pper Chewaucan Marsh that extends 

back at least 750,000 years. These cores 

await detailed study. 

Much Les is known about 

how climate changes when 

the world passe from ... a 

climate Like the pTesent 

inte1·glacial into an even 

wanner mode. 

Future studies of thee and other 

long, continuou sed iment records will 

provide better understanding of how the 

Earth's climate has behaved in the past, 

better constra int aga inst which to evalu -

ate climate models, and thus a better 

understanding of how human activities 

may affect climate and what the lon grange impact of climate change on the 

environment may be. 

52 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Using Geology to Map 

and Understand 

Radon Hazards 1n the 

United States 

By James K. Otton 

Indoor radon continu es to be a 

major concern for public health officials 

in the nited tate . 198 r view of 

the ava ilable health data by the ational 

Academy of cien e u pport the Environmental Protection gency' 19 6 estimates that 5,000 to 20,000 lung cancer 

deaths annually may be attributed to 

long-term expo ure tO radon and it 

decay product . Radon is derived from 

the radioactive decay of uranium and 

radium. 

The principal sources of indoor 

radon are the rocks and soils that surround building foundations. How much 

of the radon in rocks and oil is available tO enter building i controlled by 

the uranium (or radium) content and the 

soil permeability. House con truction 

practices, the structural integrity of the 

foundation, regional and local climatic 

factor , and the use pattern of the 

homeowner control how much of the 

radon available in the soils and rock 

actually enter the home. 

USC scienti ts are in vestigating 

radon generation and migration in the 

ground and developing assessment technique for estimating the radon potential 

of rocks and soils across the United 

States. SGS expertise in the geology of 

radon comes from decades-long in vestigation of uranium and its radioactive 

decay product in ore deposits and other 

natural and manmade ettings. 

Current concerns began with the di -

covery of high radon levels in a home 

near Boyertown, Pa. USGS geologists 

mapped the rocks and measured the soil 

gas radon concentrations in the neighborhood near the house and found three 

distinct rock types: a biotite-hornblende 

gneiss, a quartz-feldspar gneiss, and a 

uranium-rich quartz-feldspar gneiss; the 

uran ium enrichment was caused by 

shearin g of the gneiss. All the very high 

readings of indoor radon in the neigh-
borhood (200 picocu rie per lite r or 

more) were associated with the uraniumri ch sheared gneis . Studies of such 

radon "hotspots" can permit the SGS to 

determine wh ere rad on "hotspots" may 

occur elsewhere, thereby providing Sta te 

and local agencies with much-n eed ed 

information in dealing with radon hazards. T he association of rado n with 

sheared rocks has led the USGS to in vestigate other areas with sheared rocks in 

the Eastern and We tern nited Sta te . 

A basic tool fo r mapping the geologic rad on potential of an area is th e 

aeroradiometric data gathered by the 

De partment of Energy in the late 1970' 

T he data have been used to map the 

apparent (or equi valent) uranium or 

radium content of the soils and rock 

near the Earth's surface across the 

Uni ted States. Such maps describe the 

probable strength of radon sources in the 

ground and will provid e a guide to area 

\vhere elevated indoor radon levels are 

most likely to occur. Map of Ohio, ew 

Mex ico, and evada have been publish d 

(as SGS Geophysical In vestigations 

Map GP-968, GP-979, and GP-9 2, 

respectively). An equiva lent-radium ma p 

of the entire nited States will be completed in 1989. 

T he SGS combined severa l approaches to produce two ma p in May 

1988 that how th radon potential of 

rocks and soil in Montgomer Coun ty, 

Md. , and Fairfax Coun ty, Va. T hese 

maps show the correlation betwee n geology and indoor rad on and show how 

existing geologic and soil in fo rmation 

ould be used alone or with ra pidly ga th -

ered fie ld data to assess radon potential. 

T he Montgomery Coun ty map, based 

principall y on geology and fie ld measurements of rad on in soil ga and of surfa e 

radioactivity, subdi vided th e coun ty in tO 

three categories of radon pote ntial (low, 

Figure 6. MafJ showing the radon 

potential of part. of Moutgoml!1y 

County, Md., northwest of Washington, D.C. The mapped areas are 

m nked 1 to 3 with " 1 •· having lowest mdon f>otential and "J ., having 

high radon potential; the letters refer to the rock tyf>e underlying the 

sutface. Fo1· example, 2m indicates 

mafic 01· lllt,·amafic rocks having a 

moderate potential for elevated 

radon levels; 2s indicate chist luzving moderate radon potential. l ndoo,· radon concentration , in picocuries per liter of air, are shown by 

triangles: open triangle, less tha n or 

equa l to 4; half-filled triangle, 

gJ·eate1· than 4 but le s tluzn 20; 

solid triangle, greate·r than 20. 

Geologic Investigations 53 
moderate, and high). T he Fairfax ounty 

map, based primarily on geology, aeroradioacti vity, and oil pe rmeability ma ppin g, subdi vided the count in to fi ve 

radon potential categories. A part of the 

radon potenti al map for Montgome ry 

County is shown in fi gure 6. 

eologic inve tiga tion may al o contribute to und erstanding seasonal va ri ation in indoor radon . Long-term study 

of radon in soils at the Denve r Fed eral 

Ceme r by CS scientist has hown that 

the radon on tent of soil ga at a depth 

of 3 feet decrease by an order of magnitude from late winter to late summer, as 

soil moi ture and related factor 

decrea e. The apparent pe riodic vari ations in the geologic potential of radon 

may ex plain , in pa rt, wh y there a re easonal va ri ations in indoor radon. 

Ongoin g investiga tions by th e 

SC are focusin g on how ga migrates 

throu gh soil and rocks, the relation 

between surface radioacti vity and radon 

in soil ga , method to evaluate the rad on 

pote ntial o f undeveloped ground , and 

the correlation of large ind oor radon 

data sets wi th the regional geology. 

Update on Estimates 

of Undiscovered Oil 

and Gas Resources 1n 

the United States 

By D.L. Gautier, R.F. Mast, 

and G.L. Dolton 

As pa rt of the continuin g e ffort to 

provid e up-to-date estimates of the 

re ources of oil and gas potentiall y ava ilable to the ation, the .S. eologica l 

Survey, in coope ratio n with its siste r In terior De pa rtment bureau, the Mine rals 

Management Service, developed new 

methodology and completed a new 

a ses ment o f undi covered recoverable 

p troleum and natural gas re ources fo r 

the nited States a of J anua ry l , 1987. 

uch estimates are an essential pa rt of 

the foundation on which the ation ca n 

develop a sound energy policy and can 

54 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

make critical de i ions on publi land use 

and re ou rce management. 

In e timatin g the amo unts o f oil and 

gas a ail able for immediat and futu re 

development and u , cientists u e two 

broad categori es: r erve and resource . 

Re erve includ the amount of oil and 

gas that have be n measured or d o ely 

estimated through ngin eerin g and geoph ysical te hniques; ·re ounes include th e 

more peculati ve and long-rang e timate of wh at volumes of oil or ga an 

be xpected to b found ba ed upo n e timate of geologic pa ramete r uch as the 

likelihood of oil-trapping tructure that 

hav not actually been te ted by drillin g 

or other hard , measurin g m thod . 

T he commodi ties includ d in the 

assessment we re crude oil , natural ga , 

and natural gas liquids. T hi a sessment 

wa divided in to "undi covered recoverable re ource ,"tho e resource that ex i t 

in con entional geologic res rvoirs and 

that ould be extracted u ing current 

technology, and "undisco e red e onomicall y recoverable t"esource ," those that 

could be d eveloped and produced under 

the price-cost relatio n hip , excluding 

ex ploration co t , prevailin g at the time 

of the assessment. Specificall y not 

addres ed in the a sessment were 

r our es from e ry heavy oil and tar 

depo its, oil hales, ga from lowpermeability "tight" andstone reservoirs, 

gas from fractured shale reser voirs, 

coalbed methane, gas in geopressured 

shale and brines, and gas h ydrate . 

For this most recent as essment, 

which follO\vs a lon g history of petroleum 

resource as essments dating back to the 

ea rly pa rt of this century, the CS was 

responsible for e timating undi covered 

resources onshore and in Sta te offshor 

area . MM was responsible for e timatin g undiscove red resource beneath Fed -

e ral offshore waters. 

Thi assessment consid ered new geologic, te hnologic, and economic information and used more de finitive methods of 

reso ur e appra isal than previous a sessments. As pa rt of an e ffort to ensure the 

widest po sible evaluation of the newl y 

d eveloped meth odology, the geologic 

ba is of this current as essment ha 

unde rgone review by the A sociation of 

Ame ri ca n State Geologists and the ove rall 

method ology and general assumptions 
nited tales oil and gas 1·esen;e and resom·ces 

Estimates fo r oil a rc given as billion barrels of oil : estimates fo r gas a rc given as trillio n ubic feeL. Re ervcs in lude cxpcrtcd additio ns to known re•cn'C> by cxpa•Hion 

of field s. The low and high c timatcs a rc given as probability levels. F9, and F,. There is a 95 percent probabilit • of finding more than th e low estimate, and onl) a 5 

percent probabilit of finding more than the high estimate. The Total nited tatcs probabilit fi gures arc derived by a stat i>t i al proce> , not bv implc add itio n of the 

individual probability figures. Totals of individual means may differ slightl)' due tO independent roundin g of individual mean>. 

Reserve 

Oil Ga 

Onshor·e and Stat · waters 45.3 250. 1 

Federa l off horc 5.9 55.3 

Tota l Un ited Sta t s 5 1.2 305.4 

are undergoin g review by the ational 

Academy of Science . 

Low 

19.6 

9.2 

33.2 

T he cie nLists u ed an oil and ga 

"play analysis' approach for the new assessment. For this approach the nited 

tates was di vid ed imo 13 regions (9 

onshore and 4 offs hore). T he 13 region 

we re further di vided in to 11 5 pro inces. 

Within each onshore province, some f 

which extended out in to the State offshore a reas, the sci ntists ide ntified 

"plays" as a group of geologicall y related 

known accumulations or undiscovered 

accum ulations, a nd (or) p ro peelS havin g 

similar hyd roca rbon sou rces, re e rvoirs, 

and traps. Re ource e timat fo r th ose 

undi covered accumulations greater tha n 

1 millio n barrels of oil or 6 billion cubic 

fee t of natural ga were made by analy i 

of th petroleum g ology a nd exploration hi tory of oil and ga play in each 

province. T hi incl uded a naly is of large 

ompu ter data bases conta ining ex ploratory d rilling data and fi ld-size data for 

known fie ld . A statistical ex trapolation 

techniqu e was used to determine recove rable and e onomicall y recove rable 

re our e e timate for on hore and tate 

offshore undiscove red accumulations 

containin g le s tha n 1 million barre ls of 

oil or 6 billion cubic feet o f gas. Becau e 

thi new methodology incorporated 

ex pected fi eld size and de pth ranges, 

economically recov rable re ources could , 

for the first time, be calculated based on 

specific economic a sumptions that 

excluded exploration o t . 

T he undiscovered recove rable conventional resource fo r the e ntire ni ted 

States are e timated to range from 33 to 

70 billion ba rrels o f oil a nd from 307 to 

507 trillion cubic feet o f natural gas. Corresponding e timates for natural gas liquids in this category range from 6 to 12 

billion barrels. 

Recoverable resou rcc Economica ll)' r coverablc resources 

Oil Oil 

High 1ean Low Mean Low High 

5 1.9 33.3 178.7 346.7 254 .0 13.9 45.0 

25.6 16. 1 97. 204. 145. 1 4.0 14.3 

69.9 49.4 306.8 507.2 399. 1 20.7 53.8 

For the category of eco nomical! 

recoverable resou rces, e timate range 

from 2 1 to 54 billion ba rr Is of il and 

from 20 lO 326 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. orrespondin g estimat s for 

natural gas liquid ra nge from 5 to 8 billion ba rrel . 

Lookin g at the re e rve pi tu re, meaur d re rves at the time of the as es -

ment we re 29.5 billion ba rrel foil and 

206.6 trillion cubic feet of ga . It wa further estimat d tha t an ad d itional 2 1.7 

billion barrels of oil a nd 9 .8 trillion 

cubic fee t of natu ra l ga will b added lO 

reser es through expa n ion of known 

fi eld . 

I 5 6-138 6 

• •.• '<l>. • , 

(;, , 

. 1can Low Me;~n 

26.6 145.6 239. I 188.7 

8.2 4.:l 11 3.8 74.0 

34.8 208.2 325.5 262.7 

The I J regton\ of the 1111Pd tate 

used for the new estinwtr; estinwtr:. 

of llndi.,rovurd rProvemble otl mtd 

gas resources are hown f or each 

region. 

TOTAL UNITED STATES 

Undt scovered recoverable conventiOnal oil b ~ b1llton barrel s 

Und1scovered recoverable conventional gas 306.8- 507 .2 tnlllon cubtc feet 

Geologic Investigations 55 
Figure 7. A comfJarison of cnul.e oil 

,.e erve and resot11-ces fnovides a 

Inking contrast behueen the 

amounts of cnule oil that have already bem discovered (cu mulative 

production and reserves) and the 

smaller amounts of undiscovered 

recoverable resources that remain to 

be found and jJroduced. Amounts 

shown m·e billions of ba·rrel of oil. 

The re ult from the current a es -

ment differ from tho e of previou 

assessm nt . Although certain regions, 

such a the offshore Gulf Coa t, how 

in rea ed undi covered re ource in the 

current asse sment, the overall numbers 

are reduced from the 19 0 e timate. Thi 

change i due to such factor as the 

inc rporation of five add itiona l yea rs of 

drilling information and new source of 

field data, as well as the use of the more 

specifi play analysi approach. The play 

approa h allowed for m re pecific u e 

of ex isting geologic data and more dire 

appli cation of computerized data from 

1.8 million oil and ga exploration and 

development well than was previou ly 

40 .-----------------------------------------------------. 

ONSHORE AND STATE OFFSHORE FEDERAL OFFSHORE 

(/) 

w 

u 

a: 

:::J 

0 

(/) 

w 

a: 

0 

w 

a: 

w 

> 

0 

u 

(/) 

0 

z 

:::J 

z 

0 

i= 

u 

:::J 

0 

30 

20 

10 

0 

~ 20 c... 

w 

> 

i= 

:5 

:::J 30 

::;E 

:::J 

u 

0 

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<l: 

(/) 40 w 

> 

a: 

w 

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w 

a: 50 

(II 

c 

Q) "' "' 0: c ;;; a: "' ~ '0 (.!) c 

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<( "' "' "' :J E ;;; "' Q) :J 

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EXPLANATION 

§ Undiscovered recoverable resource 

(mean estimate) 

Known reserves 

Cumulat1ve production 

6Q L-------------------------------------------------~ 

56 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

pos ibl . In add ition, new source of data 

on oil and ga fie ld size 1 er used in thi 

as e ment. 

The hange in the r ou r e timate 

also result from di cov ri of oil and 

ga since 19 0, whi h shifted om of the 

undi covered r source from previou 

a essments into reserve categori . While 

a sumption about future price of ommoditie and technology changes a lso 

influenced there ults, the overa ll de line 

in e timate of undis over d re ource is 

primarily du to reevaluation that reflect 

n w geological data from xploration 

drilling in several major region that 

were xpect d to hav sign ifi ant petroleum potential. The new data do not ubstantiate that expectation. For example, 

major disco erie that had b en expe ted 

in frontier exploration of off hore area 

off Ala ka and the tlantic and on hore 

in the overthru t b It of the Western 

nited State did not occur. M reover, 

most other onshore region did not meet 

the re ur eo currence expe tation po -

tulated in earlier a e sment , alth ough 

e timates increased in a few area , u h 

as Alaska. The massive exploration 

effort of the indu try in the late 1970' 

and early 19 O's simply did not confirm 

orne of the geological expectations for 

large new accumulation of oil and gas 

that were included in earli er e timate . 

Furthermore, most on hore plays showed 

a decline in size of fields discove red over 

the history of the play. 

From the re ults of this asses ment, 

it is clear that the most pro pective areas 

remaining in the nited States for undi 

covered oil and ga resource are onhore northern Alaska and the onshore 

and offshore Gulf Coast (fi g. 7). Oth r 

important potential reso urce areas 

include the Rocky Mountain region, the 

ons hore and off hore Pacific Coast, the 

mid-continent region , and offshore 

Alaska. 

Becau e of the ritical importance of 

timely and reliable estimates of oil and 

gas re ou rces, such assessments will be an 

ongoin g effort of the GS and other 

agencies and will be produced on a regular basis, in order to ensure the ava il ability of this information in planning for 

the ation ' future energy ecurity. 
Research Advances in 

the Identification of 

Disseminated Gold 

Deposits 

By Michael P. Foose 

Much of the recent increase in domestic metallic minerals exploration ha 

in volved the search for di emin ated gold 

depo its in the Western nit d tates. 

The e depo it con ist of extreme! finegrained gold dispersed in ed imentary or 

volcanic rock. Althou gh deposit grade 

are genera ll y very low (typically between 

0.05 and 0.3 ounces of gold per ton of 

ore), bulk mining and in expensive oretreatment technique make them very 

attractive exploration target . 

Work by th U .. Geological urvey 

in the early 1960's was instrumental in 

identifying and defining the e previou ly 

unrecognized d p its. ub equent G 

res arch ha continued to add critica l 

geological, geochemical, and geop h sica! 

information needed to und r tand and 

explore forth se deposits. Important 

advance in the last ear in lud e d velopment of new geologic model , explorati n criteria, and geophy ical detection 

technique . 

The development of an ore-d posit 

model that can be u c full y u ed in 

mineral exploration req uir an understand ing of the proces es by which the 

deposit forms. A r ce ntly completed 

cooperative sLUd y by the SGS and Freeport Gold Co. on the di eminated gold 

depo it at j erritt Canyon, ev., integrated the results of several different 

pecialized tudies to show the following 

concl usion : 

• Gold is associated with the introdu -

tion of silica into the ho t sed imentary 

rocks. 

• The gold-bearing fluid trapped in 

the rock indicate that gold was transported in compositio nally di ve rse, moderately saline fluid s; gold was deposited 

when these fluid s mixed with oxygenrich, less saline water , and the temperature of de position wa between 200 and 

250 oc (390 and 480 °F). 

• I otopes of h drogen , ox gen, and 

ulfur ca n be u ed a ch mi al fing rprints t further do ument the rol of 

fluid mixing in gold pr ipitation. 

• The organic material fo und in the 

rock that ho t the e depo it , ' hich ha 

long been an enigma, wa. not in troduced 

with the gold but may have acted a an 

agent t precipitate gold. 

Th conclu ion that gold wa dep -

ited when campo itionall di erse fluid 

mixed in fault- ontrolled aq uifer pr -

vide an important model for und rtanding the formation f such gold 

depo it . 

The actual ta k of finding a deposit, 

however, requir s pecific exploration 

guide . Important guide have recent! 

been developed as a result of G 

research on the Pin on and Prebl deposit in Nevada. The water th at transported the gold at these depo it flow d 

along high-angle fau lts. Where gold wa 

depo ited, . ilica in the e wat r both 

locall y replaced parts of th en lo in g 

sediment and al o formed cro cutting 

vein . Geologic map hO\ that the mo t 

silica-rich vein occur doe to the main 

fault and the center of the depo it, 

wherea ca rbonate-rich ve in are more 

common at the edge of the deposit (fig. 

). Subtl changes in host-rock mineralog and campo ition al o accompan the 

change in vein omposition. The a ociation of vein composition and zon ing with 

gold provide an important new tool to 

p cifi a lly locate disseminated gold 

deposit . 

With few exceptions the disseminated gold deposits in the We tern 

nited tates have been found in mountainous a reas wh re bedrock is expo ed. 

Many other depo its mu t be pre ent in 

the intervening lower areas but are 

ob cured b a thick cover of youn ger 

ediment. The GS is actively d veloping technique to identify area beneath 

cover that may b target for exploration 

by the mining indu try. Because the margins of granitic pluton a re commonly 

as ociated with gold depo it , one of the 

recent efforts has integrated aeromagnetic technique with other geophysical 

and geological mapping method to 

delineate buried gran itic bodies. 

Further work is now being done to 

identify geophysical properties to di tingu ish those graniti bodies that are most 

Geologic Investigations 57 
Figure 8. Cross section showing the 

cha nges in vein comfJosition around 

some sediment-hosted dis eminated 

gold deposits. ilica-rich (jasperoid) 

veillS occur near the center of the 

gold deposit, while cm·bonate-rich 

(calcite) vei11S occur fJeripheral to 

the main mineralized area. 

likely to be associated with dis eminated 

gold. The re ults will help pro ide a 

unique look at the re ource potential of 

covered part of much of the Western 

United tate and outline exciting new 

areas for further mineral exploration and 

research . 

Digital Geologic Data 

Sets: The Example of 

the Quebec-MaineGulf of Maine Global 

Geoscience Transect 

By David B. Stewart 

Although many kinds of geologic 

data currently ex ist in digital form , and 

numerou techniques have been used to 

digitize and display them, there is no 

tandard format and attribute-cod ing 

scheme. Generall y, digital data have been 

generated to fulfill the requirements of a 

pe ific research effort, without being 

de igned for othe r applications. T hus, 

58 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

th e digital data may be difficult for others to acce and to apply to different 

problem or re earch effort . A generic 

digital format for geologic data that can 

be upported widely by geological organizations such as the SGS and by oftware 

vendor would enable digitized data to be 

readily di tributed and used throughout 

the geological community. 

The Quebec-Maine-Gulf of Maine 

Global Geo cience Transect (fig. 9) i 

one of a number of exten ive regional 

transect being conducted under procedures established by the International 

Litho ph ere Program of the 1 nter- nion 

Commis ion on the Lithosphere, established by the In ternational Council of 

Scientific Un ion . Geographic information ystems technology is being u ed by 

a team of GS, Geological urvey of 

Canada, Maine Geological Survey, and 

university re earchers to digitize and display numerous geographic, geologic, and 

geophysical data sets and their derivatives 

for a tran ect 547 miles long, 6 1 miles 

wide, and 20 to 28 miles deep to the base 

of the Earth's crust in the region. 

This transect run from the stable 

interior platform of the continent near 

Quebec City, Quebec, aero the complex 

Paleozoic Appalachian orogen, which was 
split by continental rifting in the Me ozoic (165 million year ago) to form the 

Atlantic Ocean, and reaches the ocean 

ba in south of George Bank. The data 

set for thi large area con i ts of samples 

of data for the nited States and Canada 

that have different reference bases and 

projection . It in ludes parts of everal 

different geologic maps and combines 

terre trial and marine data of numerou 

type . Therefore, the data pre ent the 

opportunity to develop and apply a 

generic digital format to di play and 

analyze a complex regional problem. 

Because this transect has been o u ces -

fu l, it will be a u eful prototype for other 

large regional geologic synthe es underway within the SGS, in other governmental agencies, and around the world 

in the Global Geo cience Tran ect 

project. 

The Digital Line Graph (DLG) format developed by the SG for planimetric data was extended to be a prototype for a standard DLG to describe the 

geologic data for thi transect. The prototype standard DLG coding cheme 

that wa developed can be readily edited 

or extended, can be u ed to prepare 

colored geologi map , cro ection , 

and three-dimen ional model for publiation , and rna be widely applicable to 

other regional geologi problem or 

tran ect . 

More than 300 formations 

and hundreds of plutonic 

rock masses have been 

successfully repre ented 

and can be readily 

displayed at any cale. 

The cod ing ch me provides a mechanism for describing geological data such 

as age, composition , rock type, tectonic 

etting, the formal or informal name of 

the ro ks, and map color and pattern, by 

attaching numeric attributes to th digital 

data. The three-digit major code and 

four-digit minor codes u ed are compatible with the USGS planimetric DLG and 

are based on widely u ed conventions for 

naming rock unit . 

This data set ... will 

stimulate novel 

inte-rpretations of the 

proces e that affected the 

crust of this region. 

To create the digital data, geologic 

maps of Maine and Quebec on stable 

base materials were machine- canned tO 

capture geographic boundaries, bedrock 

geology, and major hydrograph ic feature uch as large lake and treams, 

horelines, and offshore i land . A draft 

map of the Gulf of Maine was digitized 

by hand. The tandard plan imetric DLG 

codes were applied to the h drographic 

and geographic data. 

Because the standard scale for Global Geo cience Transects is 1: I ,000,000, 

only linear geologic feature uch a ontacts and faults were shown in addition to 

the area (polygon ) of mapped units. 

major and minor attribute code was 

assigned tO each linear feature; different 

kind of faults were assigned different 

code on the ba i of the node-to-node 

direction of the line (arc) o that ymbol 

identifying the type of fau lt are hown 

on! on the appropriate ide of each fault 

line. 

72' 70' 68' 66' 

I 

100 KILOMETERS 

Figure 9. Index map howing the 

location of the Quebec-Maine-Gulf 

of Maine tran eel and the pilot 

study area . 

Geologic Investigations 59 
After being digitized, the variou 

geologic ma p were merged, which 

required sub tantial amount of editing 

to match up the geologic contacts. onethele , more tha n 300 formations and 

hundreds of plutoni rock mas es have 

been successfully repre ented and can be 

readily displayed at an y scale. T hey can 

also be selective! orted and edited by 

using wide! ava il able oftware and hardware. Becau e th is data set ex i ts in a 

ge neric DLG format, it can be sam pled, 

subdivided , and tran ferred electron icall 

to networked computers that combine 

geologic, geographic, and geophysical 

data in new ways to show unprecedented 

detail about the Earth' cru t, which will 

stimulate novel interpretations of the 

processes that affected the crust of th i 

reg1on. 

An example of a computergenerated three-dimensional model of 

the Earth' crust i hown in figure 10. It 

was created from digital data et . The 

digital geological data were generali zed 

and are shown draped on a digital ~va

tion model of the topography of the 

region . T he shapes of gran itic and gabbro plutons (mas ive bodie of intruded 

rock), as determined by gravity model 

for the regional gravity data and measured densities of field sample , are 

shown in the model a cavitie with depth 

contours at 0.6-mile (!-kilometer) intervals. The modelled shape of individual 

plutons uch a the Lex ington batholith 

( een in the center of fig. 10) can be displayed in con iderable detail, a hown in 

the top part of figure 10. T his figure 

shows the shape of the Lexington batholith as it wou ld appear if seen from the 

southwe t and from below the Earth' 

surface. T he model in figure 10 also 

hows the trace of a seismic reflection 

profile in which the conspicuou addle 

in the middle of the pluton can be seen 

a weak reflectors. Another combination 

of fi ltered gravity and magnetic data with 

60 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

intermediate wa el ngth was used to 

model th hape of thi pluton, and the 

res ult were consi te nt with the model 

shown in figure 10. he ava il abili t of all 

these digitized data on a common ba 

and in compatible formats enables ready 

compari ons to b made between diver e 

kind of geological and geoph ical data. 

Figu re 10 also hows the approx imate 

shape of the Kearsarge-Central Maine 

(Merrima k) syn linorium, the ba of 

ambrian to Ordovi ian (approximately 

540 to 485 million year old) op hioli te 

and melange assemblage and the underlying Chain Lake rna if of Precambrian 

age (mor than 570 million year old), 

the southea tern edge of r nville-type 

crust (more than 0 million year old), 

and the base of the Earth' cru t (Moho), 

all inferred from, and on trained by, 

digital ei mic reflection and refraction 

data. Because the urface hown in thi 

model are all digitized, a geological cross 

ection through the model an be drawn 

quickly in an dir ction. 

Work on the Quebec-Maine-Gulf of 

Maine transect has demon trated the 

abili ty to make ompatible and tran ferable many large geographic, geologic, 

and geophy ical data sets. A key component of th i effort was the de e lopment 

of a widely applicable DLG code for geologic maps to describe rock name , ages, 

lithologie , compo ition , tructure , tectonic setting of depo ition , and linear 

map features, uch a fau lts and contact . 

T he DLG codes, which are compatible 

with the standard planimetric DLG in use 

by the SGS, can be con idered for use 

a a prototype for a geologic tandard. 

nquestionably, further development of 

thi code for geologic point data ( uch as 

strike and dip mea urement ) and for 

surficial deposit is required , but that is 

believed to be readily ach ievable. T hu , 

progress toward the development of a 

tandard digital code that could result in 

mapping uniformity and compatibility in 

geo cience mapping has begu n. 

Figure 10. Three-dimensionaL ~ 

model of region llef11' Lexington 

batholith (bottom) and of Lexington batholith een from beLow. 

Route of seismic 1·ejlection profile shown by heavy black line 

crossing batholith in top part of 

figure. 
CambrianOrdovician 

ophiolites 

and melange 

- 5 

Chain Lakes 

Massif 

Moho 

Geologic Investigations 61 

International Activities 

Mission 

The .S. Geological urvey continued to be 

acti ve in in te rnatio nal tudies in science and 

techn ology as an adjunct to its dome ti c program durin g fiscal year 19 . Autho ri zatio n fo r the fo reign in vestigatio ns is provided b the Orga ni c Act, a 

revi ed , and the Foreig n As i ta n e Act a nd related legi lation. Activiti are condu ted unde r bilate ral o r multilateral agreeme nts that requ ire approva l by the U.S. 

Departme nts of the In te rio r a nd of State. T he following facto rs largely influe nce decisio n as to whether the 

tudies are in the interest of th · . . Gove rnment: 

• Dome ti c re ea rch objecti ve will be ex panded in 

scope and achi ved thro ug h th e compa rati ve tudi e of 

cientific phenome na natio nall y and in te rnationall y. 

• In fo rmatio n abo ut exi ting and potential fo reign 

reso urces o f in te rest to the United State will be 

obtained and in o rpo rated in worldwide data base . 

• cientifi knowl ed ge, u nde r ta nding, xpertise, a nd 

repu tatio n [ the GS a nd of the nited State in th e 

earth cien will be broad en d a nd a p propriately re -

ogni zed int rnatio nall . 

• Relatio n with fore ig n o un terpart in titu tio ns will 

be develo ped a nd ma inta in ed a nd the program ' ill 

facilitate scie ntifi oope ration , technology transfer and 

data excha nge. 

• Inte rnational program of o th r Federal agencies, 

a ademia, a nd the pri va te se tor will b u pported ; in 

parti ul ar the D pa rtmen t o f tate will rece ive adequate 

ientific info rmatio n required to fo rmulate fo reig n 

poli y objecti e a nd d ecisio n . 

Fund fo r U GS techni al assi ta nce to fo reig n 

countries, incl udin g all tra inin g program either within 

or out ide the n ited States, a r upplied by other Federal age ncie , inte rnati o nal o rga ni za ti ons, o r fo reign 

gove rnme nts. s i ta nce program provide fo r tran fe r 

of techn ology to fo reig n na tio nals b ad vic , training, 

and demonstratio n . mall amount o f the funds 

annually appro priated to th GS fo r re earch is 

used in coope rative ve ntures with fo reign co unterpart 

organi za tio ns that also upply fundin g and/or ser icesin-kind . Coope rative proj ect range from indi vidual 

scientist-to- cie ntist di cussio n , corres po nde n e, a nd 

exchange isits o n topi cs of mutual intere t to j ointl y 

staffed , form ally o rganized , bil ate ral scientific re ea rch 

and mu ltilat rally coordinated investiga tio ns focusing 

on a va riety o f scientific phenome na. 

(Facing page) North face of Mount 

Everest. (Photograph by judy Fiertein.) (Above) AJers Rock, Aus· 

tralia. (Photograph b)• j ea n 

Weaver.) 

Inte rnational Activities 63 
Man staff scienti ts represem the 

SG or the .S. Government while they 

er e as officers, committee members, or 

participants in in ternational organ ization , commission , and asso iations. One 

example of such representation is evident 

in the many hours of effort provided by 

the SGS, in cooperation with hundreds 

of other .. earth scientists, in the preparation and pre entation of the 28th 

In ternational Geological Co ngress in 

Was hington , D.C. , during july 19 9. 

Highlights 

International Decade 

for Natural Disaster 

Reduction 

By Walter W. Hays 

Background 

hroughout history, humanity has 

found it elf in conflict with naturall y 

occurring eve nts of geologic, hydrologic, 

and atmospheric origin. This conflict has 

been demonstrated repeatedl y when people build urban centers at the water's 

edge, in or near active fau lt ystem capable of generatin g earthquakes, on steep 

slopes, near active volcanoes, or at the 

urban-wildernes interface prone to wildfires. aturally occurring, recurrent 

events ·uch as floods, windstorms, tsunamis, earthqu akes, landslides, volcanic 

eruptions, and wildfires have tested 

human-engineered works man y times 

and have often found them unable to 

withstand the fo rces generated by the 

event. l n the past 20 yea rs, for example, 

event like these throughout the world 

have claimed more than 2.8 million li ves 

and adver ely affected 820 million people; ingle disasters have caused economic lo ses of billions of doll ars. l ndu trialized countries like the United States and 

J apan have been able to absorb the socioeconomic losses of pa t natural disaster , 

64 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

but thee onomies of many dev lopin g 

countries have been devastated by losse 

equal to a larg perce ntage of the ir gros 

nation al product (G P). Furthermore, 

the magnitude of the losses is increasing 

at a ra pid rate as the bu ilding wealth of 

nation is ex pand d to meet the need s 

of rapid ly increasing population, often 

without adequate con ide ration of the 

potential threat posed by the recurrent 

natural hazard , and without implementin g effective lo s-reduction measures 

beca use of lack of knowledge or lack of 

technical capability. 

A Decade for Disaster Redu ction 

l n July 1984, at the Eighth World 

onference on Earthquake Engineering 

in San Francisco, Dr. Fran k Press, Pre ident of the U. . ationa l Academy of 

Sciences, propo ed the concept of a 

decad e devoted to the reductio n of los es 

throughout the world from natural hazards that are characte rized by their rapid 

on et and the potential for cau in g great 

udd en loss. Later, the slowl y d evelopin g 

hazards of drought and desertification 

were added. In early 19 7, a panel of 

ex perts was convened by the ational 

Academy of Sciences to develop a co nceptual framework for the decade 

( 1990-2000). On December 1, 1987, the 

nited ations passed a re olution by 

unanimous consent, supporting thee tabli hment of the International Decade for 

atura1 Disaste r Red uction (JON DR) and 

encouraging all nations to coope rate in 

achieving the decade's primary goal-to 

devise trategies to reduce loss of life, 

property damage, and social and economic d isruption from natural hazards. 

Since then, the Un ited ations organized, with in the framework of IDNDR, a 

committee of 25 international expert 

drawn from all ove r the world to advise 

them in their strategic planning for 

JO N DR. T his com mittee met on July 5-6, 

1988, in Geneva , Switzerland , and again 

on October 3-6, 1988, in ew York City. 

Meetings in Morocco Uanuary 1989) and 

J apan (April 1989) will complete the 

committee's activities to plan strategies 

for cooperative worldwid e endeavors in 

coll ection, d issemination, and application 

of existin g knowledge in loss reduction 

measures; identification of gap in 
(Clockwise from lower left) Wrecked house and other debris including a mobile home lodged on a 

damaged bridge 0.5 mile downstream from Drake, Colo., following a flash flood of the Big ThomfJ -

son River in August 1976. luling of unstable earth matenals undermined this canyon rim on a 

coastal terrace in the Pacific Palisades area of southem Califomia; cwnual lo es from landslides 

Teach 2 bilhon per ;•ear. Yellowstone, Wyoming, 0 11 August 2 , 19 8. The North Fork wildfire is 

in the background. The co nvection column reached 50,000 feel. (Photograph by Bob Gayle, .S. 

Forest eroice.) Lava shoot I ,000 feet into the atr dw-ing a highjowztailllng epi ode of the 198}-

to-pre en/ Pu"u ·o·o emf;! ion of Kilauea Volcano. (Photograph by J.D. Cnggs.) A lahar (mud flow 

triggered by the melting of SllOW and ice) 111 the Ma)• 18, 1980, emptwtl of Mount St. 1/elen.l 

reached the Toutle River, 25 miles west-northwest of the crater, de fraying home . 

International Activities 65 
66 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

(Clockwise from lO/J left) Two wing; of th e Nueva Leon apartment complex containmg 400 apartments overlumed during the i\lex1c0 C1ty earthquake of September 19, 19 5. An e;timated 10,000 

to 20,000 people were killed 111 the earthquake, and economic loses reached 6 billion. Tlu~ 9->IOt)' 

aJmrtment howe 111 l..eninakan wa.1 damaged beyond repair b)' the December 7, I 9 8, earthquake in 

the Sovtel ReJmblic of rlm1enia. \'u•w of \ladt.son anyon landslide in ;outhwe tem t\lonta1W. 

Rock.1 Ji-om the molmloitlloJ; droJ;ped about 1,)00 feet and reached a SfJeed of about 100 miles per 

hour followlllg the 1959 l-lebgn1 Lllkr• earthquake. Twenty-;ix people ul('re buned by the land.! lide. 

Th i.1 furnilun' fac!Ot)' 111 Leninakan u•a1 extenMvely damaged b)' the Annen ian earthquake. AI lea I 

I 50 people were ktlled 111 tlw bwldmg alone; the death toll for this earthquake i.; estimated to be 

25,000. 
knowledge and initiation of new research 

to fill them; accele ration of continuing 

research th at can 1 ield addi tional in ight 

into the ph sica! processes o f natural 

disa ter ; a nd tra n fe r of technology. 

Role of the .S. Geological Sur ey 

T he SGS \viii ha e a n opportunity 

to contribu te substa ntiall y to the goals of 

ID DR through the participation of th e 

nited State in the Decad fo r Natural 

Disaster Reduction. a tional resea r h 

program of the SGS a re designed to 

improve ph y i a l unde rsta nding of the 

mechanisms, to ma p the spatial a nd temporal di tri bution of the ex pected ph ysical effect , and to fo te r th e creation a nd 

implementation of loss-reduction measures to mi tigate the ph sica! effects of 

earthquakes, la nd !ide , vol a nic eruptions, fl oods, a nd , to a le ser exte nt, 

t unamis. T he SGS has considerable 

expe rie nce in mobilizin g people a nd 

equi pment following earthqu ake , v lcanic erupti on , a nd land !ide . T he G 

ha organ ized , convened , and contributed to hundreds of workshops, co nference , a nd training activitie on geologi 

and hyd ro! i hazard in the nited 

tate a nd throughout the world ; it ha 

al o ontributed ub ta ntiall th roughout 

the world to model building ode , 

mi rozon ation trategie , and prepa rednes pla nnin . 

Man y type of hazard map ar produced through p rogram . In the 

nit d taLes, fl ood -haza rd ma p ar 

on tructed to qua ntif th threat from 

the app rox imately 6 million mil s of riverin e watershed a nd more than 6 million 

dw !lings and nonreside ntial buildin gs 

locat d in flood plain . ll ta te a re at 

risk from fl oodin g, precipitation, snow 

m It, thunde rsto rms, tornadoes, and th 

storm urge gen rated in hu rri ane . 

Ground-sha kin g a nd ground -failur hazard maps a re co n tru ted to de pict the 

primary haza rds expected from ea rthqua ke occurring in the approx imately 

150 z nes ca pable of gene rating earthqua kes throughout the ation. o ta te 

is free from the e two earthqua ke hazard , alth ough the freque nc of damagin g ea rthqu akes is much greate r in 

Alas ka a nd Ca li fo rni a than in the 

remainde r o f the ation . La nd !ides 

occur in all the Sta te and Te rri torie 

Ca liforni a, Ala ka, ta h, Kentu k , We t 

irginia, Tenne ee, Puerto Rico, Ohio, 

Wa hington, and Ameri can Samoa have 

the mo t extensive land !ide probl ms. 

Pan of Ala ka, Hawaii , Wa hin gton 

Orego n, Ida ho, Californi a, evada, 

Uta h, Arizona, and ew M xico are at 

risk fro m the effects of potential volca nic 

eruptions. Damagin g L un ami in th e past 

have truck Hawaii , Ala ka, v\ a. hin gton, 

Oregon, Cali fornia, Pue rto Ri o, and the 

Virgin I land . 

Haza rd ma ps are an integral part of 

los -reduction trategies implement d b 

State and lo al govern me nts. T hey ontribute to a wid e range of ri k management trategies, uch as 

• Prevention -Controlling the source o f 

th event in a way that change th ph y -

ical characte ri ti c of the ph si al phenome na generated in the event. 

• Prot ction - Building tructure to 

with ta nd the ph ysical phenome na ge ne rated in the event. 

• Land -u e control- Identifyin g a nd 

avoiding site where an event i expected 

to have th greate t seve rity. 

• Site modification - Modi[ in g th 

ph y ical characteristi at the site of 

man' works in order to increase th e likelih ood of ur iva i in an event. 

• len and wa rning- Providing adva nce notic to the affect d population 

on the location, everit , and time of a n 

impending event. 

• hort-te rm protection - In respon e to 

an alert or warnin g, pe rfo rmi ng action 

to trengthen ex i ting tructure a nd li feline ystem o that th ey will be able to 

wi thstand an impending event. 

• Em rgen preparedn -Maki ng 

comprehe nsive pla n to dea l with the 

entire pectrum of ex pect d req uireme nts from an event. 

• Ind emnification -Spreadin g the 

potential economic lo e from a n ev nt 

over a large population through insuranc and other fin a ncial trategie . 

• Recovery planning-Ma kin g pla ns to 

ac le rate th e recovery proces afte r a 

di aste r-gene rating event. 

People throughout the world tand 

to receive considerable bene fi t from the 

I ON DR. A we cooperatively learn more 

and har that kn owledge th r ugh the 

ID DR, we ca n be more effective in 

redu cing losses from natural haza rds 

world wide. 

International Activities 67 
The China Digital 

Seismograph Network 

By jon R. Peter on 

Introduction 

Long earthqu ake hi tori in both 

ountries prompted the nited State 

and China to develop the mea ns b 

which to coope rati vely stud y earthquake 

and see k way tO miti ga te their e ffect . In 

I980 th tate ismologica l Bur au 

(S B) of th e People' Republic of China, 

the .S. Geological Survey, and the 

ational Science Foundation igned the 

Earthquake Studie Protocol that initiat d 

resea rch programs to bene fit th earthquake haza rds reduction program in 

both nations. In Octobe r 19 7, a panel o f 

expe rts was c nvened in the People' 

Republic of China (PRC) to review the 

proj ect, a poli cy required by the PRC 

Gove rnm nt to insure that design goal 

have been met. The panel, which incl uded sei mologi t from France , orway and West Ge rmany as well a the 

nited tates and hina, visited fac ilities 

in Beijin g, Lanzhou, and hanghai. 

During China' long history, ea rthquake have re peatedly de troyed maj or 

urban area . According to the SSB, in the 

20th century, 104 earthquake of magnitude 7 or la rg r have tricken 21 of the 

30 hin ese admini trati ve province , 

autonomous regions, and municipalities. 

In the pa t 37 yea r , earthquakes in 

China have killed 237,000 people and 

inju red 763,000 oth ers. In comparison, 

the re have been 20 ea rthquakes of magnitud e 7 or greate r in the nited State 

in this entury, ca usin g I ,380 death and 

more th an 5 billion in property damage. 

Hi gh-quality ob e rva ti onal d ata a re 

es entia! to earthqu ake tu di es. T hus, a 

high prio ri ty in pl annin g coope rati ve 

a tivities was th e mode rni zation of data 

acquisition systems in China. The ir purpo e is two fold: to provid e hi gh-qu ality 

digital d ata fo r inve ti gatio n of ea rthquakes in Chin a and to supplement the 

data collected from the global sei mogra ph network for the use of re ear h 

scienti t throughout the world. he global eismograph network ope rated by the 

68 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

. . Geological u rve com pri station 

in more than 60 countries and i lands 

and i th e major source o f free ly exchang d sei mological d ata . Exte ndin g 

the loba l netwo rk int Chin a ha long 

been an important goal of the scientific 

ommunit . 

Dis us ions b twee n th e U G and 

the B led to an agreement-in-principle, 

igned in Ma 1983, to cooperati vely 

e tabli h the hina Digital ei mograph 

etwork (C D ). Funding for the netwo rk was provided by the B and , in 

thi country, by the SGS and the 

De fense d va n ed Re ea rch Proj ects 

gency. he tas k of implem nting th 

coope rative agreement wa a signed in 

Chin a to the B Institute of Geo ph y ic 

and in th e nited States to the U G 

ei mological Laborato r in Albuqu rque, . Mex. Work on the CD b ga n 

soon a fter the agreement wa sign d and 

wa ompl t d three and one- half yea rs 

late r. The netwo rk was ope rated for a 

one-year trial pe riod then offi ially 

acce pted and inaugurated in October 

I987. T he CD is an important co perative effort that wa highlighted as a 

"success story" b the U . . - PR J oint 

Commi ion on S ience and Technolog 

It is one of many proj t in recent yea r 

that have brought American and Chine e 

cientists and enginee r togethe r for the 

bene fi t of both nations. 

etwork Plan 

T he CD wa plann ed as a national 

network consisting of nin e digita l sei mograph station , a data management cente r, and a network maintenance center. 

The USC agreed to design and d evelo p 

the seismograph ystems and to provide 

equipment for four o f the stations, oftwa re for the data management system, 

parts and equipment for the netwo rk 

maintenance cente r, and training for 

Chinese engineers and technicians. The 

SB agreed to provide equipment for 

fi ve of the stations and ha rdwa re for the 

data management cente r, prepa re all of 

the sites, and ope rate the network. Responsibility for assembl y and installation 

of th e equipment was sha red. 

T he four U .S.-su pplied seismograph 

systems were installed at Baijatuan (near 

Beijing), Kunming, Mudanjiang, and 
Lanzhou ; the five PRC-s uppli ed sei mograph system we re install ed at En hi, 

Hail ar, heshan , Q io ngzhong, a nd 

rumq i. T he data manag m nt and network main te na nce ce nte rs w re both 

in tail ed in Be ijing . 

All of th new statio n qu ipm nt was 

in tail ed at obse rvato rie that ha e been 

operated as pa rt of the Chi na natio nal 

networ k. Thus, ex pe rie nced per o nne l 

were ava il able to as i t with the in tallation and o pe ra tio n of the in trume nt . 

Data are r cord ed a t the statio ns o n 

high-de nsity ta pe cartrid ges that are 

replaced at two-wee k in t rvals. The station ta pes a nd o pe rator log are then 

sent by mail o r o th r mean to the d ata 

manageme nt cente r loca ted in Beij ing. 

The functio ns o f the d ata management cente r a re to coll ect th network 

tapes, examine the q uali ty of th d ata, 

assemble net\ o rk-d ay ta pes, a nd archi v 

the data. A network-ci a tape contains 

the data from a ll sta tio n in th e network 

fo r a specific Julia n day (the julia n alendar i a numerica l cale ndar y te rn that 

operates from day I thro ug h day 365 

beginn ing o n J a nua ry I), which i a 

much more co nven ient form than ta tion 

tape for data user . T h ci a tap a r 

the mo t importa nt prod ucts of th center and are el i tributed to research Jenti l and oth r orga ni za tio n . 

two rk In trumenta tio n 

T he t p of di gita l sei mogra ph sysl m in ta ll cl in China onsi t of seismomet rs that p rocluc e lectri a l ig nals 

in pro po rtion to Earth motio n, di gital 

en ode rs th at amp le a nd conve rt the 

ignals to a tream of digita l wo rd · and 

tape ca rtrid ges r o th r med ia u eel for 

record ing the data. Oth r riti al compon nts include a clock o that t.h ea rthqu ake sig nal ca n be a curately timed , a 

rad io to syn hro nize the lock to tra nsmitted tim ing igna l , a calibrato r used to 

ch ck th sensitivity of the e i momete rs, 

vi ual drum reco rde r to el i pla signal 

at the sta tio n, a t rm in al fo r the o perator, a microcompute r to control the data 

processing, a nd a backup power sy tern 

th at ke ps the eq ui pme nt o p rating if 

li ne pow r fa ils. 

eismogra ph ystems have improved 

dramaticall y during the pa t decade . ew 

broadband fo rce-balance sei mometer 

produce u able ignal over a frequenc ' 

bandwidth from 0.00002 Hz to 10 Hz, a 

ran e uffi cie nt fo r record ing d iurnal 

solid Ea rth tide , free o cillatio n of th 

anh , lo ng-p riod urface wave , and 

sho rt-period bod y wa es, all in a ingle 

chann 1 of data. T he d namic r o rcling 

range of a sei mo ra ph ha be n 

exte nd ed a ~ ell. 0 namic r orclin g 

ra nge i th ratio of th largest ignal 

that a n be recorded to th e malle t ignal th at ca n be d teet d. T he typical 

d rum typ r corde r u eel fo r man y a r 

to reco rd ea rthqua ke ha a width of 

about 300 milli m te r and a re olution of 

about 0.5 mill imeter, o it d ynamic 

range i 600 to 1 (a umin tha t the pen 

o r light. beam ca n trave l the full width of 

th e re o rd er). In contra l, the d nam ic 

ra nge achi e eel in d igital rec rdin 

now a pp roachin g 10,000,000 to I. To 

match th is, a drum record r wo uld ha ve 

to be ve ra! kilometer wide. he much 

greater bandwidth and d namic range of 

mode rn seismo raph permi t i mologists to u mo re powe rful analyti a l 

techniqu , e pecially in the w d y of 

a nhqua ke o ur e m chan i m a nd Ea rth 

trucwre. 

T he e ism gra ph sy tern ha 

ix ei mom t rs: three of the e are 

broadband ei mometer , configu red a 

one v nica l and two ho ri zonta l compon nt to ense Ea rth m tio n in all d irecti ons, and the oth er three ar bo nperiod sei mom te r , also o pe rated in a 

tri axia l configuratio n. T he e i momete r 

are usuall in stall ed in unde rg rou nd 

va ults, altho ugh in th CDS a few ar 

in ta il ed in 1 00-mete r bo reholes to avoid 

Per;onnel proceBlllg :.tat10 11 tape.\ at 

the Chllla Dtgztal 'etSIIIIC etwork . 

(Photograph fry j oiw P. Hoff 11um.) 

Inte rnational Activities 69 
urface noise. The eismomete r signal 

a re fil te red , di gitized , and fo rma tted , 

then reco rded on high-d en ity ta p cartridge toge ther wi th a time code a nd 

other information needed tO proces the 

data. Long-period an d ve r -long-period 

signals de ri ved from the broadba nd ignals ar record ed ontinuously; broadband and short-pe riod ignal are 

recorded in a trigge red mode, that i , 

onl y whe n an ea rthqua ke ignal is 

dete ted b an automati c signal detector 

in th e microcomputer. 

The data management center i 

equipped \Vith a minicompu te r, eve ral 

tape dri ve and disk d ri e , a nd a va ri et 

of terminals a nd plotte rs used to display 

and moni tor the ta tion data a the ta pe 

are being proces ed. Much of the time 

and effort expended on the assembl of 

the data man agement sy tern we nt in to 

the development of the high! peciali zed 

a pplication oftware needed for it ope ration. The design of the data management 

cente r wa modeled on the data collection center at the SGS Albuquerque 

Seismological LaboratOry, which is u ed 

to proce s d ata from the global sei mogra ph network . 

he netwo rk mainte na nce cente r, 

which is located next to the data ma nagement center, i equipped with a complete 

seismograph sy tem used for testing a nd 

trainin g, a wide range of test equipment 

need ed to diagnose and repair electronic 

board , and a la rge tock of pare part 

and boa rds. One program objective has 

bee n to ma ke the CDS a elf-susta inin g 

a nd elf- uffi ient as possible. This objecti ve has bee n uccessfull y met; onl y a few 

electronic boa rd and compone nts have 

bee n returned to th e nited States for 

re patr. 

Ne twork Deployment 

Beca use of the desire of the Chine e 

tO participate in design and assembly of 

the D systems, the decision was 

made to develop and a sembl e the CDS 

systems at the Albuqu erque Seismologica l 

Laboratory. Mo t o f the equipment for 

the stations wa pur ha ed during 19 4 

and 1985. Eleven d ata system were 

a embled : nine for the network stations, 

one for the network mainten ance center, 

and one to remain at the Albuque rque 

70 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Laboratory to e r e a a te t bed fo r 

future ha rd wa r and oftwa r cha nge 

Development of data ma nagement y tem 

hard\ are and oftware wa complet d in 

late 19 5, and th a mbl a nd te ting 

of th d ata s t m were completed in 

ea rl 19 6. 

equipme nt wa b in g a mbled 

in the ni ted States, th e tation we re 

bein g pre pared in Chin a unde r th 

upervi ion ofth In ti tute ofCeoph -

ics. Modification were need d at mo t of 

th ta tions t uppo rt the new equipment. At me ta ti n it wa necessa ry to 

constru t road a nd n \ pow r fa ili tie ; 

most n ed ed backup ge ne rator a nd air 

onditionin g. Bore hole w re d rilled a nd 

a ed at t\· o o f the station to accommodate special bore hole ei mom te r . New 

fac ilitie wer al o need ed to hou e the 

data ma nag ment a nd network maint -

na nce cente rs. 

Extending the global 

netwo rk into China ha 

long been an imfJortant 

goal of the scientific 

community. 

Beca use training i the key to su -

ce sful , self-s u ta ined operation of the 

network, hin es engin eer a nd technician have pen t a total of 4 months at 

Albuquerque in two training programs, 

and in China there have been trainin g 

programs for the station operatOrs. T he 

tra ining has bee n especiall y effecti ve 

beca use of th e intense inte rest a nd 

dedi cation bown by the Chin ese in this 

program. 

The first stati on equipment was 

in tailed at Baij atuan in February 19 6 to 

be used as a demonstration a nd training 

ystem. In May 1986, CS a nd Chinese 

personn el b gan deployin g equipment at 

the remainin g eight sites. During a n -

wee k period , the install ation team made a 

complete circuit o f China installing the 

station equipment. 

l nstallation of the d ata management 

system too k place in Februa ry with additional work in June 1986. The first 

network-d ay tapes we re assembled on 
October 1, 1986; thi is considered to be 

the date when the network became operational a nd at which the one- ear trial 

period began. 

Re ults and Conclusions 

The pa n I of ex pen tha t met in 

hina in 0 tober 1987 to revi ew the 

CD xpres ed their evalu ation 

u cess as follows: 

The DSN repre em a unique omribution 

w se i mology. It wi ll provide new d ata of fundam mal impo rta nce to the stud y of ea rthquake acti vity in China. T he d ata will enable 

scientists to obtain fund amen tal new insight in 

the tructure of th e cnast and upper ma ntl e. 

Furth rmore, th e 0 will be a key comribution from China to th imernati onal network of digita l ei mi c stations a nd will thu 

be insu·umemal in a wide va riety of tudi e 

makin g u. e of global se ismic d ata . 

ince it in auguration , the C DS ha 

consistently produced reliable , hi ghquality ea rthquake data that a re bein g 

used for a va riety of re ea rch appli cation in China, th Unit d States, a nd 

man oth er oumrie that hare the data. 

l n formati on from th e network i providin g a new lo k at th e tru ture a nd composition o f the cru L of ea tern sia. lt 

al o ' ill be u eful in deL rmining th e 

geologi al evolu tion o f the Tibetan platea u a nd in stud ing the colli ion boundar of the India n and ian crustal 

plate . Yet the stablishment f th e 

CD i a mile to n , not a fin al obje -

tive. Plan a re air ad y b ing made t 

expand th e network into outhwe L 

China. Expe rim nts a re being pla nn ed 

for te lemete rin g data from th station to 

Beijin g by atellit , a nd there a re plan t 

continue updatin g the technolog to 

insure th at the C D remain a ta teof-th e-a n scie ntific facili ty. 

The de ployme nt of the CDS has 

been a particul a rly rewarding xperi e nce 

for tho e who were fortunate enou gh to 

take part in the proj ct. The Chine e, 

American , and one ew Zealander 

worked together to solve a myri ad of 

techn ical and logi tical problem while 

strivin g to lea rn and appreciate each other' customs and cultures- they we re uccessfu l in both endeavors. 

U.S.-Canada Border 

Mapping Using Digital 

Cartographic 

Techniques 

B) H edy ]. Ro smeis l 

n offi cial seri e o f . . - anada 

bord er map was published for the lnt rnational Bounda ry ommi ion (IBC) 

between 1900 and 1930. The ma p wer 

prepared at va riou cal , dep ndin g on 

the deta il and complex ity of the information along the bord r. Beca u e of the a e 

and info rmation onte nL o f thi original 

e ri es of maps, th lBC expre ed an 

imeresL in obta inin g a n ' , upd ated 

e ri e o f ma ps. 

The . . Commi ion o f the I B 

provided fundin g to th ologica l 

urv y for a co t- hare borde r di gital 

demon tration project. Official o f th e 

SG and Ca nada' Departm nt of 

Energy, Mines and Re ource agr ed to 

produce a prot type bord er map a a 

d eri aLive product from th eir e tablished 

digita l quadrangle mapping and data 

ba e program . The IBC pecified that 

graphic products hould be produced fo r 

the erie , that the imern ati nal boundary lin hould be th focus of each ma p 

in th e e ries, that each bound a r ' monu -

menL and it de ignation hould b 

hown, that the conte nt of the new map 

hould be at least as detail ed as th e ori ginal bounda r map , and th at the ne\ 

ma ps hould use ta ndard topogra phic 

mbol. 

Both countrie u e digital techniqu e , 

but they follow diffe rent pr edure to 

c ll ect ca rtographi information. Ca rtographers from ach co umry addre s d the 

te hnica l chall enge o f e tablishing compatible tand ard , fil e format , and coding s heme for the digital data and 

incorporating map design, ymbology, 

and gra phic specifi cations in o rd e r to 

gene rate a graphi product. 

Each ma pping agenc coll ected th 

di gita l information for the pilot project 

from their ta nda rd topogra phi ma pping eri e . For th e nited tat s, a 

1 :24,000-scale topogra phi ma p wa 

us d ; for Ca nad a, a 1 :50,000-sca le map 

Inte rnat ional Activities 71 
was u eel. The test area chosen for the 

project cover d a part of the border 

between ew York, Ontario, and Quebec 

near Cornwall , Canada. Becaus each 

age ncy u different data coll ection procedures, cod ing cheme , and data tandards one ex i ·ring coding scheme was 

adopted to limit the translation pro e s to 

onl y one agency's data et. Th Canadian 

coding cheme was cho en becau e it 

accommodated the requirement of IB 

to produce a graphic product. 

The G developed computer program and translation table to convert its 

digital data to the Canadian format. 

After the translation wa complete, the 

Canadian data et wa integrated with the 

.. data et, and the map edg were 

checked for alignment accuracy between 

the two et . The data were th n prepared fo r graphic production and 

shipped to Canada, where I :25,000- and 

1:50,000- cale prototype maps were produced. The prototype maps were forwarded to the International Boundary 

Commission in April 1988 and are presntl y und ergoin g review. 

The project provided the opportunity for both mapping ag ncie to use 

data oll ected from standard digital 

method to produce derivative graphic 

products. Working together, the agencie 

ucces full overcame several tech nical 

cha llenge uch a olvin g data compatibility i ue , tran latin g data codes from 

one cheme to anothe r, and presenting 

graphi data digitally. 

Saudi Arabian Gold 

Investigations 

By Arthur A. Bookstrom 

The continu ed high price of gold on 

th international ma rket, in co ntra t to 

depressed prices for man y other min e ral 

commodities, has prompted the Government of aud i rabia to put a high priority on gold ex ploration and development. Con equently, the U G audi 

rabian Mi ··ion, which provides support 

for ooperative .S.- audi rabian stud -

ie , is focusing its current gold inve tigation on exploration and evaluation of 

72 U .. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

gold prospe t thought to ha e economic 

potential, mapping and sampling of mineral belt known to contain gold oc urrence , and r co nnaissance to identif 

new pro pects and ga the r prelimina ry 

information 1 eeded toe tabli h prioritie 

for further work. 

The gold depo it of audi Arabia 

are ho ted by late Pr cambrian (more 

than 570 million ears old ) rocks of the 

Arabian hi lei in the we tern part of the 

Arabian Peninsula (fi g. l ). The Arabian 

and Nubian hield are la rge area along 

the ide of the Red ea, where Pre ambrian rocks are ex posed in the eroded 

core of a broad uplift a round the you nger Red Sea rift. edimen tary over rocks, 

which host oil fie ld in the ea tern part 

of the Arabian Peninsu la and ontain 

pho phate deposits in northern aud i 

Arabia, have been uplifted , tilted back 

away from the Red ea rift, and tripped 

b ero ion from the Precambrian ba ement rocks of the rabian hield. 

Regiona l geologica l work by SG 

geologi ts haws that the Arabian hield 

consi t of at lea t five geologically eli -

tinct terranes, or microplate , that me t 

along four suwre zones. old and co pper depo it ( ome of the copper depo its 

al o conta in gold) tend to be co ncentrated in mineral belts, man y of which 

are within or near the e suture zones. 

Mo t known gold occurrences in the 

Arabian sh ield how evid ences of ancient 

mining activitie (pit , trenche , stope , 

dump , grind tones, slag pile , and 

former vi ll age site ). T he large t anci nt 

mine kn own to date i at Mahd ad h Dhahab in th entral part of the shield . 

Gold is present in gold and sil ver te llurides and as native gold in thi mine. 

In cription on rock and carbon-1 4 datin g of charcoa l in slag indicate mining at 

about 00 .0. Older tailings are of 

unknown age but may date to about 

l ,000 B.C. Waste dumps indicate that 

miner of ancient time extracted about 

700,000 ounces of gold. From 1939 to 

1954, another 700,000 ounc of gold 

was extracted by the aud i Arabian 

Mining Synd icate. 

In 1972, a USGS geo logist recognized the potential for a hidden orebod y 

so uth of the existing working at Mahd 

ad h Dhahab. Four core holes were 

drilled to test geochemical anomali es in 

the geologica ll favorable area. The first 
three holes reveal d no significant mine raliza tion, bu t the fo urth hole hi t highgrade ore, onta ini ng a much as 60 

grams of gold pe r ton o f ore. After additional drillin g, SGS geologists e timated 

a possible resource of 1.1 million ton , 

with an ave rage grad e o f 27 grams of 

gold and 73 gram o f silver pe r ton of 

ore. V\ he n ubseque nr drilling confirmed 

the SG result , the o rebod y was put 

in to production . 

Afte r the success at ahd adh Dhahab, during the late 1970's, empha i 

hifted towa rd complete geological ma pping of th e Arabi an Shield , as a basis for 

future mine ral ex ploration a nd d evelopment. In ad d itio n to ma pping, the GS 

ex plored fo r co ppe r, zin , gold , sil ve r, 

tin , tung ten, and nickel a nd ca rried out 

topica l tudi e on the geochronology a nd 

36' 39' 42' 

/~/ 

petrology o f the felsic plutonic rock f 

Saudi Arabia. The pre iou tudies 

provide the background fo r curr nt 

SG e ffort in gold exploration. 

old pro peel now bein g xplor d 

a nd evaluated are in the j abal Ishma -

Wadi T athlith gold belt, a regional concentration of gold o urrenc that li es 

within a uture zone in the outhea tern 

part of the rabian hield. Current 

proj e l a re at th Fa rah Ga ran an i nt 

mine and in the Farah Gara n- Ku tam 

and Halahila mineral belt , in the southeaste rn corner of the rabian hield , and 

at Ishmas Kabir and B'ir J arbu ah ab ut 

200 miles north of Halahila. 

At Farah aran, the host rock contain fin I lamin ated to ma ive ulfides 

of iron, co pper, and zinc, along with 

minor amount of ar nic, gold , and ildS' 51 ' 54' 

IRAN 

~/ 

~ SAUDI ARABIA 

%////,:// 

SUDAN 

ISO 

ETHIOPIA 

ASIAN Sl-llELD 0/ ~ . '//// 

-' / Mahd adh 

/ ~ Dhabab JABAL ISHMAS 

C('WAD'i TATHLITH 

I j \ BELT 

sh~s l<a r • j 

a·· \ ~rb:~ah \ \ 

I I 

I ~Al Masane 

Farah\ •~ Garan\ \Halahila 

DEMOCRATIC 

YEMEN 

0 

100 

I I I 

200 MILES 

I 

100 200 KILOMETERS 

Figure 1. LocatiOn of ancient gold 

mine discu ed in text that are now 

bemg ,·eexammed. 

International Activities 73 
ver. he gold -bea ring deposit of Farah 

Garan a re similar to tho e of I Ma ane 

to the nonh where min able re erve of 

copper-zinc-gold- il ver ore a re awaiting 

produ tion. T h current w rk at Farah 

a ra n fo llow the discover of ignificant 

amount of gold ( .7 gram per ton over 

. 6 mete rs) encountered during previou 

G drill ing. D ta iled geologi al, geochemical, and electromagnetotelluric 

geoph y i al urvey have been done a 

the basis for a five-hole co re drilling program that i in progre . In adcliti n, 

tream-s dime nt g ochemical samplin g 

and geological mapping are bein g clone 

to explore a large area a round Fa rah 

Garan for the pre ence of other clep sit 

like Fara h Garan a nd AI Ma a ne. 

T he lshmas Kabir ancient gold min e 

i located at th inter ection of a uwr 

zone with a )'Ounge r trike- lip fa ult 

zone . The ancient min i marked b 

sand-filled trenche urround ecl by a row 

of mine dumps. Dump am pies from the 

ancient ' orking how moderat grades 

(3 to 7 grams per ton). Four core holes, 

drilled to in ter eel the teepl y clippin g 

orebod y at depth, showed th at it pinches 

out and g ld grade de t·ea with d pth. 

Although drillin g re ul t at I hma 

Kabir ere negative, geological work in 

the a rea ha revealed another, p rhap 

more promi in g, pro pect at B'ir J a rbu -

ah. he a ncie nt mine of B'ir J a rbuah 

are in a nd along quanz veins a nd ve in-

! ts. Mapping, tre nching, a nd samplin g 

have revea led potl , high-grade con entration of vi ible native gold in some of 

th quanz ve ins and veinlet . The highe l 

as ay r ported was 163 grams per ton of 

gold o e r 7. I meters. Furth r geological 

an d geochemica l work i planned to te t 

the ontinu ity and exte nt of the gold 

de po its of B'ir J arbuah and the vicinity. 

Reco nnaissance to ide ntify new prospect is bein g initiated with a review of 

known mineral belts and gold occurr nc s. T he GS library in J edda h and 

the omputerized Mineral Occurrence 

Docume ntation S tern (MODS), e tabli heel durin g geologic ma pping of the 

Arabia n hielcl, a re the sta rting point 

fo r thi work. ln addition , sa tellite imagry wi ll be used to he lp ide ntify hydroth ermall y alte r d area , a nd wadidim nt geochemical surveys will be 

us d to ide ntify new pro pects in promisin g a reas. Empha i wi ll be placed on the 

74 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

ea rch for nea r- urface, bulk-mineable, 

and hea p-! achable gold deposit , \ hi h 

can now be econ micall y min ed to ve ry 

low grad s and wh i h may ha e been 

miss d b the ancie nt . One clepo it of 

that type has re ntly b e n d i overed in 

aucli rabia, a nd the ha n e are g od 

that other · r main to be fo und . 

Mineral Resource 

Investigations In 

Venezuela 

By Norman Page, j eff Wynn, 

and Gary Sidder 

In late 19 7, a technical as istance 

project, supported fin a nci all by Corporacion V nezolana d uayana , ' a tn tttatecl between the . . Geo lo ical urvey 

G ) and Tecn ica Minera (TECM 1! ), 

which is part of the Corporacion, to 

in ve tigate the min eral re ources of the 

Guayana hi ld, in Venezu Ia. 

The hield con ist of Ja r ely unexplored areas of Precambria n (more than 

570 million yea rs old) olca nic, gra nitic, 

and ed imentary rock that a re po ible 

hosts of uncli covered mineral cl epo it 

contain in g one or more of the fo ll owin g 

ommoditie : gold , diamonds, bauxite, 

iron , manganese, chromium , titan ium, 

copper, lead , zinc, tin, rare-eanh 

eleme nts, nickel, a nd platinum-group element . In ge neral, th shield in eastern 

Ve nezue la i compo eel of th ick eque nce o f low-grad e metavolcan ic and 

metasedimentary rocks, basa lt, tuff, a nd 

other pyroclastic rock , which a re intrud ed locall y by ultrama fi c a nd gabbroic 

rocks. To the we t a nd south, fl ows, 

tuffs, breccias, and subvolca nic and plut nic granite are notabl y unmetamorphosed but do contain local areas of contact metamo rphi m and hydrothermal 

alte ration . 

TECM 1 N is charged with ex ploring 

the shield area a nd identifyin g undiscove red and undeveloped redeposits; two 

groups of pe rsonnel, each using different 

techniqu es, are employed . T he In ventory 

Group examines the e ntire area of the 
hield by geoscie nce ma pping and also 

de cribe the fl ora , fa una, a nd mi rocl imate; the Ex ploration Group examine 

malle r areas of Gove rnme nt mineral 

conce ion in d eta il. T he GS pre -

ently ha two resid ent geoscienti t , one 

a sociated with each group; a ma ny a 

ten oth er GS geoscienti t ' or k ~ ith 

the group on temporary a ignment of 

l to 3 months. 

T he visiting SG scienti t carri ed 

out fie ld studi e with their counterpart 

68 

12 

from the Exploration Group of T E M I ' 

in ten con ession during fisca l yea r 

1988. The maj or fo u of th e e in ·estigation wa to explore for und i covered 

gold depo it . Mo t of th conce ion 

area · a re unde rlain b pa rts of greentone belt conta inin g vol anic and dimenta r ' rock at low grade of metamorphism. Such condition are pe rmi iv 

for gold d po its of the low sulfid e-goldquartz ve in type and the ex halati ve (gaseous volca nic emission ) type, a nd po si60 

D 

Orchilla 

0 

VENEZUELA 

8 

COLOMBIA 

0 

100 

'I II I 

tt7 

1\T/ ANTI( 

()(fAA 

100 200 KILOMETERS 

La Gran abona , Vnuwl'ia, near 

the Broz.tlian border. (Photograph 

by j eff Wynn .) 

Location of the part of the Cuay01w 

Shield (in red) that is 111 \lenezuela . 

International Activities 75 
bly also for massive ulfide depo its. One 

area contain gold-quartz-ca rbonate vein 

and po sible chromite de posits. Othe r 

areas were eva luated for potential min eraliza tion a ociated with intrusive dike , 

fel i volcanic rocks including ash-flow 

tuffs, and place r d iamond-gold de po its. 

At lea t two new pro pective area containin g gold-quartz- arbonate ins were 

id entified . Recommendation also we re 

mad e to discontinue exploration efforts 

in two area . 

To improve the technology for mineral resource as e sment and ex ploration 

in Venezu Ia, the facili ties for prepa ring 

and analyz ing samples a re being upgraded. At th same time, train ing in 

handling, preparing, and anal zing samples has begun. T he Explora tion Group 

of TECM It also as e se the ava ilable 

geoph ysical in fo rmation, both airborne 

and ground data . Ae romagnetic data fo r 

several once sion area we re examined , 

and preliminary interpretations were 

mad e, to be ve rified during fi eld work. 

Th Inventory Group examined 

areas drained by the Ca ura and Pa ragua 

Ri ve r in the south-central part of the 

hield . Be ides a rious t pe of andtone , much of the a rea appears to be 

unde rl ain b fe l ic volcani rock in luding welded a h-flow tu ffs. Gabbroic, diaba i , and gran itic in tru ive rock also 

appear to be major components. 

Evid ence fo r mine rali zation, incl udi ng 

copper and tin mine rals, alte ration products, and vi ible gold, was ob e rved at 

seve ral locali ties. The geologic fi eld 

ob e rvation a re integrated with the 

in te rpr tations of th e geology made from 

photogra phic and ide-looking airborne 

rada r ( L R) images in an attempt to 

locate area whe re mineral deposit may 

be present. 

T raining acti vitie by the SG , both 

in the fi eld and laborator and through 

teaching of hort course , fo rm an 

impo rtan t pan of the proj ect. hort 

co ur es on min ra l deposit modeli ng, 

min ral r ource assessmen t techniques, 

and digital geologic ma p preparation systems we re pre nt d to co unte rpa rt geoscientist . Th co ur e have contribu ted 

tO in rea ing the numbe r of Ve nezuelan 

geologi t who ca n recogni ze th e types of 

rock and geologic environment that 

may ho t a broad range f diffe rent 

typ of mine rali za tion. 

76 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Antarctic MappingThirty Years Since the 

International 

Geophysical Year 

By Frederick S. Brownworth 

The .S. Geological Survey fir t participated in Anta rctic sur ey ing and mapping acti ities in 1957-58, when William 

H . Chapman, a G can graph r, trav1 d to Anta r ti a to take pa rt in the 

Inte rnational G oph ysical Yea r program 

e ffort in the Ronne I e Sh lf-Fil chn e r 

Ice Shelf ar a. T he following yea r, in 

195 -59, Chapman winte red ove r 

at Byrd tation and ubsequently 

established geodeti c control for th e urvey' fi r t three nta rcti c mapping 

proj ect : the Horlick Moun ta in s, the 

Whitmore Moun tains, and the Executive 

Committee Range. Since then, 30 

mployees have wintered over, pri ncipall y at the outh Pole Station , and 9 1 

mployees have participated in 136 summe r a signment , e ithe r conducting geodetic fi eld su r ey operations or acquirin g 

ae rial photograph y for future mapping 

p rogram . 

Early Reconnaissance Mapping 

In 1959-60, the GS bega n a 

maj or program to prepare topogra phi 

reconn aissa nce ma p cove rage a t 

1:250,000 scale for the unmapped and 

largel y unex plored coasta l regions and 

rock outcrop a reas o f weste rn Anta rctica. 

T he plan was to provide base maps to 

support scientific research program , 

ae ri al reconnaissance activities, geologic 

fi eld in vesti gation , and themati ma ppin g. T oday, 30 yea r late r, 9 1 topogra ph ic ma ps have bee n published that 

provide coverage for the Tran anta rctic 

Mounta ins from Ca pe Ad are to th e 

Shackleton Range, Mari e Byrd Land , the 

Ellsworth Mountains, the Pensacola 

Mounta ins, and th e Executive Committee 

Range. T h SG has rece ntl y res umed 

the compilation of nineteen 1:250,000-

scale ma ps in the southern Antarctic 
Peninsula a reas and along th e coa t westwa rd to Thur ton Isla nd . T wenty-three 

published heets a re being revised to 

how rece nt! tabli hed geodetic c ntrol 

tation , .. Board on Geographic 

Name place- name addi tion , new ntar tic Treaty nation ' resea rch ta tion , 

and th bound ari e of peciall y Protected 

Areas and ites of pecia l Sci ntific 

Inte rest. 

Larg -Scale Topographic Mapping 

In D cembe r 1970, th e CS began 

15-minute to pogra phi quad rangle ma pping at 1: 50,000 scale. The fir t proj ct 

con isted o f e ig ht quadra ngle coverin g 

the T aylor a nd Wright Vall eys in the Dry 

Vall ey a rea of north e rn Vi ctoria La nd . 

More rece ntly, in tfa rch 198 , a ma ppin g requirem nts meetin g wa held to 

identify future needs. The e new 

requirements includ e I :50,000- cale 

topogra phi ma pping for selected a r as 

with in the Fre be rg Mountains, Queen 

Alexandra Ra nge, Ellswo rth Mountain , 

and Pe nsacola Mounta ins, to support 

geologic tudie , and portion of the Dry 

Valleys area, to upport detailed glaciological investiga tions. 

Geodesy 

SC ca n ograph r first wint r d 

ove r at th old South Pole ta tion in Februa r 1973 in uppon f tw proj ect, 

1 hich are till acti e t day. Th fi r t 

proj ct, Dopple r atelli te Trackin g, was 

to coll ect data from U.S. 1 avy navigati onal atelli te for geodetic and mapping 

purpo . The data a r al used annuall y to re et the tru e geographic outh 

Pole marker on the ba i of Doppler icemovement data . The econd proj ect was 

the Antarcti ei mic Proj t, a pa rt of 

the v\ orldwide Standa rdi zed eismogra ph etwork. T he data from thi 

proj ect a r tra nsmitted dail y to the uses 

ational Ea rthqua ke In formation e rvice 

to help locate a rthqua ke hypocente r 

and pinpoint origin times. 

Th urvey's fir t practical fi eld 

experience 1 ith Doppl r satellite surveyin g technolog was du ring the au tral 

summer of 1971 -72. T his technol ogy 

provided a mean to upgrade a nd to add 

to the existing geodeti c co ntrol network 

and to recompute the data on the 1972 

earth -cente red coord inate system. Plans 

fo r th e future a re to u e th mo r 

ad van ed lobal Po itionin g S tem a nd 

the 1984 coordin ate system. 

Two L' GS cartogmjJher., conduct 

>lln•ey; 111 .,ujJporl of tce-mot•rmr.tl 

llulte.l. / 11 tlte /Jackgroulld, \lotllt/ 

En•brM , 011 aclille volca 11 o, nse; 

12,·-14 7 feet abotte m•arby Mri\lurdo 

0 !11/d. 

International Activities 77 
The USC fir t obta ined gravity data 

concurrent with the Doppler satellite 

observations with a La Coste-Romberg 

gravimeter in 1985-86 in the Bea rdmore 

Glacier area. During 1986-87, gravity 

data were coll ected in the Dry \ alleys 

area; thee data will b extended during 

1988- 9. 

This image1y wilL be 

1./Sed . . . to as e any 

changes in the margin of 

Antarctic coastal f eature , 

which might reflect 

climatic change . .. 

Aerial Photography 

In 1960-6 1, the SGS bega n providing a photographic ad vi or to the .S. 

avy to assist in procuring mapping photograph y. During the fo llowing yea rs, 

, SOUTH ORKNEY 

ISLANDS 

· 

oq f)[)fl I .SI:A 

0 

more than 1 million qu a re kilomete r of 

bl ack- and-white coverage we re acquired. 

Futu re ae ri al photogra phic requirement 

will mo t likely include la rger scale 

( 1: 30,000) natural- olo r and colorinfra r d cov rage to meet field in vestigators' need a well a black-and-whi te 

panchromati cove rage to suppo rt la rgeca le topogra phic mapping. 

Land at Satellite Da ta 

T he G re ogni zed in the ea rl y 

1970' that Ea rth Reso urce T chn olog 

Satellite (now Land at) imager could 

make a uniqu e co ntribu tion to Antarcti 

mapping and began a systematic effo rt to 

coll ect the image d ata. T he data were 

used in the first image proc ing systems 

to prepare multi pectral ca nne r image 

map of la rge geogra phical area , and 

fi ve small-scale Landsat image ma ps of 

Anta r tica we re published . T he U GS i 

now preparing digita lly mosa icked and 

enhanced Land sat 1 :250,000-scale, multicolored image ma p fo r the Dry Valley 

area and plans to pre pare imilar LandIW>I~N OCfAN 

PENSACOLA MTNS 

Location of .selected statiom and 

physical f eatm·e in Alllm·ctica . 

90" 

w 

0 

0 

78 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

500 

500 1000 

1000 MILES 

1500 KILOMETERS 

180' 

South Pole 

QUEEN ALEXANDRA 

RANGE 

VICTORIA LAND 

INmAN OCEAN 

90" 

E 
sat I :250,000- and 1: 100,000- cale image 

maps of the Siple Coast and experimen -

ta l ysteme Probatoire d'Observation de 

Ia Terre (a Fren h atellite) 1 :50,000-

cale image ma p of sele ted areas. 

In 19 -89, the SGS pla ns to 

acqu ire 150 Landsat T hematic Mapper 

scenes fo r the e ntire coa tal area of the 

Antarctic ontinent. T hi imagery will be 

u ed for comparison with the La ndsat 

mu ltispectral ca nn er d ata of the early 

1970's to a es an changes in the margin of Antarcti coastal featur s, which 

might reflect climatic change, a nd for 

other cientific appli arion . 

Cooperative Program 

The SGS ha cooperative program 

with (I) the Nationa l En ironmental atell ite, Data, and Information ervic of 

the ationa l Oceanic and tmo pheric 

Admini tration and the ational R m te 

ensing Centre of the nited Kingdom 

Royal Aircraft Establi hmem, to pr pare 

an Advanced Very High Re olution Rad iometer d igita l data ba e and image map 

of Anta rcti a, (2) the ational Aeronauti sand Space Administration, to pr pare 

Landsat image ma p of the iple C a t, 

and (3) the ew Zealand Depanmem of 

Atlas of Antarctic Glaciers 

The fir t publi hed chapter in a n inventor of the world' gla ier being coordinated 

b th G fo u e on ntarctica and provides scienti ts with a mea n to monitor 

changes in the margin of thi ic ' continent 

that may be linked to climatic cha nge . 

T he satellite-image atla of marctica i 

the first cha pter in a n 11 -part erie , " atellite 

I mage Atla of Glaciers of the W rid ," being 

produced by the G as Profe ional Paper 

13 6. Each chapter or subchapt r i auth o1·ed 

by one or more of the 50 sciemi ts from 30 

counu·ies who have coll aborated on the atlas 

pr 0ect. 

T he enormous area of ice concentrated 

in the glaciers of Antarctica-a! out 5.3 million quare mile , including about 9 1 percent 

of th total volume of glacier ice on Earth -

influences the temperature, wind, and 

weather patte rn over the entire Earth. 

Change in the volume and d namics of the 

ice heet, there fo1·e, may cause global climate 

change. I n turn , changes in the temperature 

of the planet can a ffect the volume and 

dynamics of the Anta rctic ice sheet. 

Certain glacier feature are unique to the 

Anta rcti c. For example, nea rl y half of the 

coastline of Antarctica i fringed by "ice 

helve ," floatin g i e h et that rise and fall 

with the tide. They are nouri hed pan! by 

the seaward exten ion of land glacier , partly 

b the accumulation of now on their upper 

surface, and partl y b bottom freezing . They 

are dis ipated main! b)' the ca lving of iceb rgs from their seaward edge . 

Byrd Gla ier in the T1·ansamar tic Mountain i one of the largest va lley glacier in the 

world and pos ibly the mo t active glacier 

draining any pan of the East Antarctic plateau. Byrd Glacier drains an area of 393,000 

quare miles, greater than a ny other glacie r in 

the world. Flow feature on it urface can be 

traced over a di ta nce of 1 I 2 mi le . 

The accompanying fi gu re bows two 

Landsat images acquired before ( ovember 

I 1, 1973) and after (October I , 1986) a 

major calving event on the Filchne1· Ice helf. 

The size of the newly crea ted icebergs totalled 

more than 4,000 quare miles, or li ght! less 

than the tate of Con necticut. 

(Far/eft) ID 1-176-0 591 

(1 ear left) ID 096 1-09 1-5 

Inte rnational Activities 79 
Survey and Land Information, to prepare I " -minute, 1 :50,000-scale topographic quadrangle maps. 

Scientific Committee on Antarctic 

Research (SCAR) Library 

The USGS hou e and maintains the 

SCA R Library for the ationa l Science 

Foundation at the USGS ational Center 

in Reston , Va. T he library erves a the 

repositor)' and distribution point fo r all 

Antarctic photographic and cartographic 

material produced by the nited States 

and materials distributed by other SCA R 

nations. Pl ans in the near futu re are to 

reinventory the library' holdin g of geodetic control records, satelli te images, 

aerial photographs, map , chart , and 

publi cations and to encode the in fo rmation in to a seri es of digital data ba e 

to better serve the Antarctic cientific 

community. 

Antarctic Lakes: 

Biogeochemistry of 

Dissolved Organic 

Material in Lakes In 

the Dry Valleys 

By Diane M. McKnight 

In temperate la kes an d stream , dissolved organ ic material is derived both 

from the plants and soils of the urround ing watersheds and from the microscop ic algae in the water and larger 

plants along the shores. T his dissolved 

organ ic material i a heterogeneous mixture of organ ic compounds consistin g 

largely of two clas e of organ ic acids, 

ful vic acid and hydrophilic ac id. T hese 

two organic acid fractions are geochemically a nd biologicall y reactive, and they 

significantly influ ence the chemistry and 

tran port of many organ ic pollu tants and 

trace-metal contaminants; they also hinder the proliferation of algae by absorbing the wavelength of light required for 

growth. A long-te rm goal of the SGS 

80 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

organ ic-geochemistry researcher ha 

been to under Land the r lations hip 

b tween the sources of the e acid cla es 

and the ir chemi al tructure and reactivity. Dissolv d organ ic material from 

man y diver e aquati e nvironment ha 

been i olated, characte ri zed, and compared . A parti ularl y importa nt question 

is whether th e dis olved o rgan i material 

in the world's ocean , which is a ignificant globa l ca rbon re ervo ir, i deriv d 

chiefly from land-surface runoff or from 

marine plant li fe. 

T he permanent! ice-covered lake 

in the McMurdo dry va ll e s of outhern 

Victoria Land in Antarctica provide an 

excellent opportuni ty to tudy this problem because their water hed are 

extremely barren and have onl y a few 

isolated patche of mo s as their vegetation . In contrast, abund ant algal population develop in the water olumn of the 

la ke during th au tra l ( outhern) summer, and algal mat cover the b ttom 

sed iment . During the 1987- au tral 

ummer, G research scientists conducted a field study of dissolved organ ic 

material and microbial populations in 

Lake Fryxell and Lake Hoare in the Taylor Valley. Logistical support in Antarctica was provided by the Division f Polar 

Programs of the 1 ational Science Foundation under the Biology a nd Medical 

Science Program. To obtain ufficient 

quantities of organ ic material, large volume of la ke and stream water (a much 

as 480 gallon ) were filtered to remove 

particulate matter; the fi ltrate was collected in stainless steel milk cans and 

proce ed at a fie ld laboratory on the 

la keshores. In add ition, chemical constitue nts, dissolved ga es, a nd rates of 

microbial processes were measured both 

onsite, by methods such a gas chromatography, and in the research laboratory 

at McMurdo Station. 

Initial interpretation of the field 

data indicates that the main source of 

d is olved organic material in these la ke 

is degraded algal material in the anoxic 

(oxyge n-less) la ke sediments. In Lake 

Fryxell, for example, the conce ntration 

of d issolved organ ic carbon increased 

with depth, from valu es of 3 milligrams 

of ca rbon per li ter just below the ice 

cover to values of 25 milligrams of carbon per liter above the la ke sediments. 

T he acid sam ples a re being characte rized 
b many different analyti al method , 

including elemental analysis a nd nuclea r 

magnetic reso nance pectro copy. Resul t 

from the e analy e will be u ed to test 

hypothe e about the fo rmation path\ a 

of fu lvic and hyd rophilic a id from algal 

material and will allow compari on f 

the e mi robial ample with am p! 

from other aq uati c enviro nme nt . 

Modern Analogs of 

Coal Formation 

By C. Blaine Cecil 

T he . . Geologi al u rvey, in cooperation with the Directorate of Mineral 

Resource o f th e Re public of I nd one ia, 

recentl y began a three- pha e program to 

stud y pea t de posits, which a re mode rn 

analogs of coal-formin g e nvir nme nt . 

T h se sLUdi es ar conducted in a va ri ety 

of geologi settin gs in va ri ous pa rts of 

Indonesia (fi g. 2). Ph ase one wa completed in I 987, phase two was conducted 

during the summer o f 198 , and pha e 

three will begin in july of 1989. These 

studie not only provide signifi ant in te rnational benefit in assi tin g anoth er 

nation but also provide mu h-needed 

compara tive in ~ rmation fo r resea r h on 

dome tic coal. 

nde r the proper geologi condition of burial pre ur , t mp rature, 

and time (u uall y million of yea r ), peat 

i tran fo rmed in to oal. herefo re, studie of area where peat i now forming, 

uch a the current program, provide 

ba ic scientific data for determining the 

geologic fac tor th at control the occurrence, quantity, and qualit of coal beds. 

T he data d ri ved from thi tud y may 

contribute to (1) more effi cient and costeffective method in coal ex plo ration an d 

resource and re erve a sse sme n t ; (2) 

improv d method in min pla nning 

ba ed on new in fo rmation on geologic 

controls on coal-bed thickn e a nd geometr ; and (3) new technologie in coal 

pre pa ration and use based on new information on the geologic facto r that control the chemical and ph sica! prope rtie 

o f coal. 

Previous work by the SG ha 

shown that much of the coal r our e of 

the 4 co ntermin us State formed in 

tropical or subtropical en ironm nts. T he 

Republic of Indonesia is an id eal location 

for a modern analog sLUd y beca u e of the 

appa rent similaritie betw e n coalbea rin g tra ta in the orth American 

and Indonesian rock record a nd condiProre sing large-volume water sample from Lake Hoare: the filtrattott 

tmit ~~ in the .1/ed on the left, the 

I 0-gallon milk ran are uwlto collert the watn· from t/11• filtratiOn 

unit, and the emi l'S are 11-1ed to 

transport the f 1111 rans by hehropter 

to the rr.1earch laboratOI)' M JllrJIIurdo tattott. (PhotogmfJh b)' 

E. D. Andrew . . ) 

International Activities 81 
Figure 2. Study areas jo1· the 1987 

and 1988 field seasons and the area 

proposed for 1989. 

o· 

110° 

OL fH CHI 

fA 

INDIA 

0 f.AN 

INDONESIA 

<:). 

EXPLANATION ~ 

• Lowland peat 

0 Study areas 

0 100 200 300 400 MILES I I I I I 

I I I I 0 100 200 300 400 KILOMETERS 

L-------------~--------------------------~------------------------~ 

tions of peat formation there today. In 

Indonesia, vast peat wamps over thousand of quare miles of lowland environments. Thick deposits of peat (as thick as 

40 feet) of excellent quality (le s than 0.3 

percent ulfur, le than 3.0 percent a h, 

and about 10,000 BTU dry ba is) are 

present over vast coa tal areas. In this 

tropical, equatorial setting, rainfall i 

high and evenly di tributed throughout 

the year. As a result of these condition , 

weathering i inten e and nutrients are 

depleted from upland soils. Because of 

the intense weathering, most of the rivers 

that traverse the peat swamps contain 

very little ediment (ten of parts per 

million). Peat can form becau e of the 

high rainfall and extremely low input of 

sediment into the depositional basin . 

Approximately 18,000 years ago, 

during a lower tand of sea level, the 

continental shelf of the region was 

exposed a a large land mass (fig. 3). At 

present, the ea covers the continental 

shelf, which results in an exten ive shallow sea and the drowning of the mouths 

of rivers, thereby creating estuaries. The 

extensive coastal plain environment is 

partly the result of these sea-level 

changes and partly the result of colliding 

plates of the Earth' crust. This plate 

m vement ha created for land ba ins 

that allow for peat formation , along with 

accumulation of other ediment derived 

from rising mountains and volcanoe . 

The ediments are modified and redi -

tributed because of sea-level changes that 

are cau ed by fluctuating continental glaciation. In a few million yea rs, this etting 

may allow the peat to be incorporated 

into the rock record as high-quality coal. 

Coastal Sumatra 

Phase one of the study, covering 

approximately 18,000 quare miles, wa 

conducted in Riau Province, in the central Sumatra ba in. The area is bounded 

on the southwest by soils that are at the 

inland margin of the coastal peat depo -

its, on the northwe t and southeast by 

estuaries, and on the northeast by the 

Straits of Malacca. 

Sedimentation in the region is controlled by ba in ubsidence, the tropical 

ever-wet climate, and fluctuations in sea 

level. The central Sumatra basin is subsiding becau e of faulting and ubduction 

along the southwestern margin of Sumatra in the Sunda trench. The wet tropical 

82 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 
climate of the region is the result of the 

permanent equatorial low-pres ure zone 

(tropical convergence). Changes in sea 

level are known to have occurred during 

the Ia t 30,000 years. 

Laterally extensive domed peat 

deposits are forming on the coastal plain 

and on offshore i land . These deposits 

form because organic matter is accumulating faster than it can decay. High rainfa ll and dissolved organic acid inhibit 

decay and cause leaching of mineral matter, leading to the low concentration of 

a h (les than 3 percent) and ulfur (less 

than 0.5 percent) in the peat. Sand and 

clay are generally being removed from 

the vicinity of the peat swamps by tidal 

currents; ediments are being deposited 

only in a few places in the estuaries and 

in the traits of Malacca. Most ediment 

i being transported northwe t through 

the Straits to the Andaman Sea. 

West Kalimantan 

Pha e two was conducted in a coastal 

setting in West Kalimantan (fig. 2). This 

stud covered an area of approximately 

9,300 square mile bounded on the ea t 

by the estuar of the Samba River and 

on the we t by the open water of the 

South hina ea. Thi e ond area wa 

cho en for tud becau e edimentation i 

occurring on an open hallow helf, seaward of a significant peat depo it. u h 

environment appear to be common in 

the rock record, but the modern counterpart has not been tudied exten ively. 

edimentation is controlled by tidal 

current in the ambas e tuary and by 

tidal and long hore current along the 

coa t. Like the Sumatra e tuarie , the 

Sambas is erosional except near the 

mouth where a mouth bar or tidal delta 

appears to be developing. In contrast to 

the coastline of Sumatra, the coast in the 

tudy area of West Kalimantan may be 

slowly building eaward, a the resul t of 

clay being deposited in the intertidal and 

near-shore environments and sand forming small beaches and tidal flats. The offbore area is similar to the area offshore 

of Sumatra; the bottom surface appears 

to be ero ional and highly irregular. 

T he seafloor is covered by a thin veneer 

of coarse-grained sand and gravel, composed of fragment of shells and the oxidized tract of burrowing marine organism , which have been eroded from the 

underlying ilty clay. The oxidized burrows record three probable changes in 

sea level. First, during an earlier period 

of high ea level (approximately 30,000 

year ago), burrowing marine organi m 

left track and trail in the ilty clay bottom sediment. These burrows were mineralized with an iron carbonate mineral 

known as siderite. Approximately 18,000 

year ago, during a lower tand of ea 

level, thi bottom surface wa expo ed to 

the atmosphere, which oxidized the iron 

carbonate to iron oxide. Finally, about 

5,000 year ago, ea le el rose to it 

present po ition. Bottom current are 

pre ently eroding and redepositing the 

burrows and shell fragments. The e ealevel change combined ' ith the wet 

tropical climate of the region have 

EXPLANATION 

Present land 

Figure 3. Land area of the continental shelf that wa expo ed approximately 18,000 years ago during a time of lower sea level. 

120 

1::; :1 Additional land 18.000 years ago --..:::::===:t::::::::::.:~::--.;-'--::_-.;::,~,....._ -,.v',,·j~"''--v'' 

D Openocean 

121 Ancient rivers (dashed where Inferred) 

0 100 200 300 400 MILES I I I I I I I I I 0 100 200 300 400 KILOMETERS 

International Activities 83 
The joint CS-DMR research 

team in a pea 1 swa m.p i11 1 he co a tal 

fllahl of cmlral uma/ra . (Phologmph by james C. Cobb, Kentucky 

Geological Survey.) 

resulted in the formation of a thick 

(more than 26 feet) , laterally exten ive 

(approximately 62 quare mil ) domed 

peat deposit. 

Future Studies 

The field area for pha e three of the 

research i expected to be in Ea t Kalimantan (fig. 2). This area ha been t ntatively selected for study because of the 

phy ical contrast with the other two stud 

areas. The area include an inland basin 

surrounded by upland area . One major 

drainage, the Mahakam River, pa e 

through this ba in. In further contra t, 

the peat in the basin i expected to have 

a planar rather than a domed upper urface. T herefore, ground and surface 

water may be the primary ource of 

water, rather than the rainwater source 

for the other two areas. Thi area i 

expected to have marked difference 

in peat thickne and quality when compared to domed peat depo its. 

Many condition of the three tudy 

a reas appear to be similar to tho e that 

controlled sed imentation, including peat 

formation, in a number of coal ba ins in 

the nited States, Indonesia, and other 

parts of the world. These condition 

include a tectonicall y active ba in , a wet 

tropical climate, and worldwide change 

84 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

tn ea level. The intera tions of the e 

proces es have re ulted in ed imentary 

tern that have littJ ediment input o 

that thick, high-quality, laterally ontinuou peat depo its can form. uch cond ition appear to be re ponsible for the 

formation f coal deposits of known r 

inferred tropi al or ubtropical origin . 

Th e tudie in Indonesia ar exp ted 

to h lp answer remaining que tion about 

the geologic proce se that control the 

occurrence and quality of coal in the rock 

record. Th an wers wi ll lead to mor 

efficient and co t-effective methods in 

coal-re our e a e sment, exploration, 

and dev lopment. 

Other International 

Program Activities 

The trengthening of earth- cience 

in titutions in fore ign countri , training 

of foreign nation als, and exchang of 

scienti t are a tivities integra l to all international program . During fiscal year 

19 , 54 nationa l from 22 countrie 

received training in the nited State ; 4 1 

visiting scienti t from 17 countrie conducted re earch at the SG or at other 

fa ilitie arranged by the G . Survey 

per onnel train ed more than 121 
foreign-national cientists and technicians 

either indi vidually in-country or collectively in groups at sched uled regional 

training ession . Examples include the 

marine geolog course in Chil e (15 participants), the hazards course in Ita ly 

(20), the cartography course in Bangladesh (22), and the deformation monitoring volcano hazard evaluation in 

Colombia (30), Peru (6), and Guatemala 

(5). Eighteen countrie benefited from 

the e SG oversea training effort . 

Activities with the countri listed 

below were conducted by the SG in 

fiscal ear 19 under bilateral agreements sa nctioned by the Department of 

State and of the Interior: 

Argenli1w 

Mapping with sa telli te imager 

Banglade h 

trengthening the Geologica l ur ey of 

Banglade h. 

Bolivia 

Eva luation of POT/La ndsat images and 

map revi ion at 1:50,000 scale ; mine ral 

depo its modeling work hop on gold a nd 

sil ve r. 

Canada 

Marine geology; geoph ysics; ore-deposit 

model ; wate r re o urce ; platinum-group 

elements; Gr at La ke sei micit ; r tic 

re earch ; mapping data ex ha ng ; bo rd er 

d igita l mapping; atmo pheri depo ition . 

hile 

ei mic zo ning ; improved eanhqua kere i tan t d ig n ; marine-geology training 

cour e. 

China 

urve ing a nd mapping-cartogra phi c 

appli ation o f remote en ing a nd development of g gra phi info rmatio n y t ms. 

Ea rth s iences- pyroph llite de posits; compat·ati ve geo hemi al anomalie in Xinji ang 

and . o uthwestern nited ta te ; mod ling 

fo r Bayan Ob iro n-niobium-rare ea rth 

depo it in inner ongoli a ; comparative 

geology of o uthe rn hina and western 

. . urface wate r- ediment tra n port; 

hydrologic equipme nt and meas ur -m nts; 

hydrologi extremes; analyti al techniques; 

cold-t·egion hydrology; hydrologi data 

excha ng . Earthquakes- deep ru tal trueLures in fault zo ne ; premonitory phenomena ; cru tal tre ; sei mic network ; rock 

m cha nics; intraplate acti ve fa ults. 

Dominican Republic 

Study of biochemi ca l o rrosion of gates of 

the abama Yequa Rese rvoir. 

El SalvadorGeologic hazards as essment; evaluation of 

sei mi c hazat·ds and compi lation of seismi c 

risk map. 

Fmnce 

Oceanogra ph y; geophy ic ; t·adioacti e 

wa tes; mineral a e mem; borehole geophysics application to water ,-esource ; eaice monitot·ing; remote en ing in Polar 

,-egion. 

Cennany 

1arine ei mology; radioa ti ve wa tes; 

petroleum re ource assessment; Anta r ti 

re earch ; ea-ice monitoring ; marine mineral a e ment. 

Hung en)' 

Petroleum re ource potential of the Pannonian Basin ; geoph ' ics. 

Iceland 

eophy ic ; geology; h)'drology. 

hulia 

~lultidi s iplina ry workshops; identification 

of mutua II bene fi ial joint project . 

lndone ia 

Volcano monitoring; marine geology ; peat 

swamps a oal field anal g . 

Italy 

Installation of digital seismographs; eanhquake r con tru tion ; training ourse on 

h drological and landslide hazard ; 

improvement of capabilit for ea rl y warning of volcani c eruptions. 

j apan 

Deeply buri ed mineral depo it ; gold deposits; debri n \\1 ; ediment tran ·po rt on continental helves and in estuari es. 

j or-da n 

i mic netwo rk ; remote en ing. 

Kor-ea 

Sedimenta ry basin analysis. 

Mexico 

Border mapping ooperation ; color image 

maps. 

A f~; g village 0 11 a stream draining 0 11e of the peat wamps in the 

coastal plain of central 11 matm . 

(Photograph by a11dm euzil.) 

International Activities 85 
ew Zealand 

1 :50,000-scale mapping in McMurdo Sound 

of Antarctica. 

orway 

Digital sonar images data processing; soil 

genesis and hydrochemical weathering 

as e sment. 

Pakistan 

Coal resources exploration and a se ment; 

in titutional modernization of Geological 

Survey of Paki ta n. 

Panama 

Earthquake hazards mitigation. 

Papua ew Guinea 

Mineral re ource a e ment. 

Portugal 

Ma ive su lfide depo its in the Iberian 

pyrite belt. 

audi Arabia 

Minera l resources as e me nt a nd data base; 

geographic and geologic ca rtography; 

geochemistry and geophy ics; Land at 

image maps; ei mi c network ; strengthening 

of the earth iences community. 

fJain 

Ground-water geochemi try and flow ystem ; remote sen ing for mine r-al deposits; 

earthquake re earch; marine geology of 

ontinental margin ; water-re ources management and poll ution reduction; goldalunite deposits; hydmchemi try in anary 

I lands. 

United Arab Emirates 

Ground-water resources assessment of Abu 

Dhabi. 

United Kingdom 

GLORJ A ea floor sonar imaging surveys; 

Amarctica remote sensing image mapping. 

U SR 

Earthquake prediction; estimation of eismi risk and ei mi ources; ma rine mineral resources; climate change ; cooperative 

project di cussions. 

Venezuela 

Geologic mapping and minera l resources 

86 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

a es ment of the Guayana hield ; ero ion 

rate and sed iment composition of the Orinoco Ri ver. 

Yugo lavia 

grogeology; soil urvey ; geochemica l 

ex ploration method ; ei mol gy and ea rthquake hazard ; granite metamorphic compl exes; remote en ing; oal qualit ; water 

and oil ampling. 

Program in wh ich acti rtres were 

conducted under mu ltilateral agreements 

in fisca l yea r 198 included 

• Executi e briefing on trategic planning to reduce economic impa t of 

earthqua ke hazard worldwide in preparation for a forthcom ing cooperative 

program. 

• I nternational Strategic Minerals 

Inventory, cooperative studie by the 

USC and the .S. Bureau of Mine with 

Australia, Canada, West Germany, outh 

Africa, and the nited Kingdom to 

develop a global a se sment of trategic 

commoditie incl ud ing cobalt, nickel, 

plati num, and titan iu m. 

• Global Seismic etwork, the generation of a comprehensive, un restricted 

seismic data ba e for fundamental earthquake mon itoring and re earch (150 stations in 54 countries). 

• Famine Ea rly Warn ing System 

(FEW ), the appli cation of geographic 

information ystem to target populations 

at risk of fam ine in e ight u b-Sa hara n 

and Horn of Africa coun trie : Ma uritania, Mali , Burkin a, iger, Chad , ud an, 

Eth iopia, and Mozambique. 

• AGRYMET, identification of remote 

sensing data requirements to make agricultural, hydrological, and meteorological 

a se sment in nin e west African cou n-
tries: Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, 

Gu inea-Bissa u, Cape Verde, Mali , iger, 

Burkina, and Chad. 

• Gra hopper and locu t habitat identification and mon itoring by remote ensing in Chad, Mali, Mauritania iger 

and udan. 

• Antarctic research including acqu i I -

tion of geodetic data , aerial photography, 

and satelli te imagery to produce base 

maps and to asse change in the glaciers and ice sheets compo ing the margin of ntarcti a due to global change; 

operation of the ientifi ommitte on 

ntarcti Re earch ( CAR) Librar for 

Ca rt graphy an d ode y; ei molog 

and data tele ommunication at the 

outh Pol ; ice cap moti n , sea-i e monitoring, and low-frequen '-radar ice 

experiment ; lake in dr valle 

related to the global ca rbon c cle. 

• lnteragenc Volcano Early Warning 

Di aster i tance, which pro id for 

emergen y re pon to cri es related to 

volcan i eruption . 

• Adv i ory consu ltations, panicu larl 1 in 

re our e a sessm nt methodologie , to 

intergovernmental geoscienc organizations in eastern Asia; preparation of 

regiona l ba e map at I :2,000,000 cale 

covering approximately 12 million quare 

miles. 

• Mineral deposit eva lu ation for the 

Pacific Tru t T rritorie · a e ment 

work on uam and aipan . 

• Circum-Pacifi Mapping Project, program coordination and the cartographic 

preparation of about 60 themati maps. 

• Comparative earthqua ke and t unami 

potential for zones in the ircum-Pacific. 

• outhwestern Pa ific off hore exploration for petrole um re ources. 

• Advi ory coord ination and training in 

coa tal geologic hazards and re ources 

a se ment in the we tern/ outhwe tern 

Pacific. 

• Technical expertise provided to agen -

cie of the nited ations as requ ted: 

spectrographic analy e ( uyana); geothermal f asibility (Hondura ); mineral 

resources (Mozambique); marine geoph ic (China); ei molog (Peru); water 

re ource (India); mineral deposit modeling workshop (Ch il e). 

28th International 

Geological Congress 

For the fir t time ince 1933, the United 

tate played ho t to the International Geologica l Congre s. The ational Academy of 

ciences and the G we1·e the official ho ts 

for the 28t.h ession of the ngres , held 

in Wa hington, D. ., J ul 9-19, 1989. 

The goal of the Congre i to encourage 

the advan ement of fundamenta l and applied 

re ea1·ch in the earth ience worldwide. To 

achieve thi goa l, an international cong,·e i 

01·ganiz d about every 4 yea r by scienti t in 

member countrie of the International Union 

of Geological Science . The ongre s brings 

together a broad repre entation of the world's 

earth s ientists for a unique opportunity to 

exchange ciemific information and oncepts. 

The ongre s provide a special forum 

for new and su tain d international exchange 

of geological knowledge. It is an event with 

long-term va lue in the continuing effort to 

ad van e worldwide under tanding of the 

Earth and the,·eby improve our capability to 

manage its resources wise! . 

Member of the 16th l11temational 

Geological Congress held 111 Wa hillgton, D.C., i11 1933. 

International Activities 87 
0 l{) 0 l{) 0 l{) 0 

l{) .q- .q- 10 10 N N 

S!XD-_A 

240~-------------------------------r240 

220 220 

200~------------------------------~ 

'80~----------------------------~ 

88 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

240 

220 

200 

180 

ABOVE 200 

190- 200 

180 - 190 

170 - 180 

160- 170 

150 - 160 

140 - 150 

130 - 140 

120- 130 

110 - 120 

100 - 110 

BELOW 100 

ABOVE 200 

190- 200 

180 - 190 

170 - 180 

160- 170 

150 - 160 

140 - 150 

130 - 140 

120- 130 

110 - 120 

100 - 110 

BELOW 100 
Information Systems Activities 

Mission 

The Info rmatio n ystem Di visio n provide uppo rt a nd se rvices to the Director o f the .. Geological Survey, tO maj o r program in ea h 

di visio n of the SGS, to the Depa rtme nt of the I nterior, and to o the r go e rnment agencie on in formatio n 

technology a nd automated data proce ing (ADP). The 

Divi io n o pe rate th e Surve ' mainframe compute r 

located in Re to n , Va . a nd Techn ology Info rmation 

enters and minicompu te r in fo ur A DP Service Ce nters natio nwide. The Di visio n a i ts u ers in a quirin g 

ADP a nd telecommunication hardwar , o ftwar , and 

se rvice ; coordin ates a nd improve info rmatio n tem 

throug h sy tem analysis a nd d e ign ; provi les u e r educa tion and assista nce; a nd conduct re ea rch in to bett r 

way to use compu te r technolog to solve mis io nrelated problems. T he Di i io n coordinate , manages, 

and o perate oice, data, a nd radio communication for 

the SG , includin g GEONET, the data communication n two rk of th De partme nt of the lnte ri r, from 

whi h gateway p rovid ac e to other natio nal network a nd u percompute r )' t ms. 

(Facing page) One of the fwWIOIIS of the l!lformatlon )~I em.:. Dnn.:.1011 1.:. to 

as ess computer technology for the other U C divisions. The e per pee live image were produced for geographic infomWIIOn S)' /em trai11ing and wae later 

used to a se vendor oftware before purchase. The image are two view of elevation data overlai11 by contoured gravil_v data for the 1 abe na, Ala ka , area. 

TheJ were produced on a per onal compntn· and plolled on an in-howe i11kjet 

jJ!otter. (Abo11e) Thi Thematic MapjJer Landsat image is the re ult of an asse; -

men/ jJroject performed by the Geologic and lnfomwtion Sy !ems Dl viSiOII.:.. It 

hows the aTid region around Delta. l...'tah, where mi11eraliud alteration Wil e.:. 

may be detected through spectral signature a11aly IS. 

Information Systems Activities 89 
Highlights 

Supercomputing 

Activities in the USGS 

By Rick MacDonald 

A number of ign ificant event during fiscal yea r 19 marked the U.S. 

Geological Survey's first teps toward the 

u e of upercomputers for processing 

earth- cience data. For some time , thi 

special class of computational re ource 

had been u ed primaril y b the ph y ical 

science and engineerin g discipline . The 

benefit offered by hi gh-speed computing to the e field are equall y appli cable 

to the solid earth sciences. evera l conferences and workshops recently concluded that much cou ld be gained by 

applyin g supercomputers to common 

problems in the eanh sciences, uch as 

urface- and gro und-water modeling 

problems, numerica l simulation of geologic proce e (e peciall y tho e involvin g 

solid three-dimensional visuali zation of 

te tonic movement, volcani phenomena, 

and seismological processes), and the 

integration of ra ter and vecto r data et . 

As a participant in th i ongoing dia log in 

the earth-science community, the SG 

initiated two activities, a supercomputer 

te hnology study and a urvey of upercomputer centers, to determine how the 

U GS cou ld a ppl y thi technology to it 

best advantage. Some background about 

supercomputers will provide a basis for 

understanding the importance of those 

activitie . 

Supercomputer Characteri tics 

Supercomputers elud an exact definition beca use their capabilities change so 

rapidly with the continuous infusion of 

technological innovation. One characteri ti c seem definite. Supercomputers can 

olve in minutes numericall y inten ive 

computing problems or answe r other 

kinds of que tions that would take nonupercomputers days or weeks to solve. 

By some mea ures, the larger and more 

90 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

expen i e supercomputer an solv 

ome problem hund r d of time fa ter 

than popular general-p urpose comput rs. 

Table 1 i an extraction from a seri of 

tables publi h d b the rgonn ational 

Laboratorie that attempt to measure 

the performanc of omputers pro essing 

a standard uite of numericall y in t n ive 

problems. orne of the computer u ed in 

the GS are included in thi tab! . Caution should be u ed wh n in t rpr ting 

such re ult , a the m r ly portra a 

crude reference to r lative p rformance. 

Benchmark of actua l a ppli ation 

are much more de irabl e for refined 

compa ri on . 

How do upercomputer a hieve 

their performance ga in over gen ralpurpo c mputer ? Three ba i t hniques a re usuall y employed. First, the 

u e of high-performan e component an 

accelerate the witching time , or proce -

in g peed , a ociated with numeric computation . an example, th CRA Y- 2 

upercomputer has a ce ntral pro e 1n g 

unit clock speed of 4.2 nano ond 

or 4.2 billionth of a second. Highp rformance components a re extr m ly 

difficult to manufacture and are very 

ex pen ive. Thi technique ha obvious 

limitation , becau e compon nt ca nnot 

witch faster than the speed of light. 

Technology advances provided by exploitation of superconductivity may allow 

further performance gain with witch ing 

circu it . 

Table 1. Comparison of elected comfnller ·computational 

speeds in solving a system of linear equations using 

FORTRAN Jnogramming /anFJlUige 

omputer 

ETA 10-E 

CRAY X- MP-4 

RAY-2 

IBM 3090- 200/VF 

Alliant FX/8 

Amdahl 5860 HSFPF 

ONVEX C-1/XP 

Amdahl 470 V/8 

Prime P6350 

Prime P9955 11 

DE VAX 8650 

VAX 1117 5 FPA 

Sun-3/260, 20 MHZ 68881 

Apple Mac/ Levco Prodigy 4 

IBM AT 

Million of Floating-Poim 

52 

39 

18 

12 

7.6 

3.9 

3 

1.5 

1.2 

.72 

.7 

.2 

.II 

076 

.0 12 

econd 
eco nd , special circuits called vector 

proce sor e nable the supe rcomputers to 

proce s with one instruction a n entire 

sequence of da ta that would need everal 

hundred o r thousand of in truction in 

a gene ral-purpose compute r. Data of this 

t pe are freque ntly u ed in mathemati cal 

models f ea rth- cie nce p roces es. One 

possible a pplication in the SG wo uld 

be the three-dim nsional lectromagneti c 

modelin g of a rbi tra ry ea rth structure . 

Finall y, the use of multiple processors ope rating concurre ntl y can speed up 

the solutio n of problems that can be partitioned into re lati vely independ ent ste ps. 

T his proce is call ed parall el proce ing, 

as oppo ed to eque ntial proce ing. 

Supercom pute rs will ofte n u e all 

three techniques to achieve dramatic performance ga in . Some specia l-purpose 

compute rs rely exclu sively on th e use of 

many processors th at ca n be linked in 

paralle l a nd hence are call d massively 

parall el pr cesso r . 

Supercomput r T echnology Stud 

T he G formed a l chnolog 

tud team to examine se era! i u a nd 

to provide a n in fo rmation ba e from 

which the bu r a u could ma ke futu re 

deci ions with re pe t to a qui ition of 

upercomputing re ource . mong the 

mo t important i ue were the operating 

s tem used by u pe rcom puter , the 

ability of supe rcompu t r to inte rfa e 

with communication n l\\/O rks a nd other 

equipme nt, the vi ua li zation or gra phical 

apabilities offe red by upercompute rs, 

th oftwar avail able fo r upe rcompu ters a nd its ease of use, and the ost of 

acquirin g supe rcomputing re ource . 

T he stud y team di co ered that 

much progre ha bee n mad in imp roving the u ability o f supercomputer , es peciall y in inte rfacin g with th e operatin g 

systems a nd in a utomating the proc ss of 

writin g programs that ta ke advantage of 

the vector proces ors for increased peed . 

A di tinct tr nd towa rd u of nix , a 

popula r ope rating sy tem used by many 

scientist , was noted. The re ults of the 

stud y group were re ported to th Survey's Information System Council and 

provided to a second group that wa urveying supercomputer center . 

Survey of Supercomputer Center 

T hi group a es d the re ou rce 

ava ilable at the 12 upe rcomputin g fac iliti es th roughout the nited State . Th 

i sue con id ered b thi group' ere imila r to tho e con ide r d b the te hn olog 

tud y team bu t were ori ented to the 

ca pabilitie of facili ties that might be used 

by SG scienti ts, rath r than to th 

inhe rent haracte ri ti of up rcomputers being off red in the marketplace. 

Re ult 

ing the in fo rmation ga in ed 

from the technology tud y and the survey of upercomputer center , the G 

developed agre ment wi th th e De pa rtment of Ene rgy' Lo lam ational 

Laborator (LA1 L), the an Di go 

Sup rcompute r Cente r ( D ), wher 

CRA Y supe rcompu te r a re u ed , and th e 

Florida State ni ve rsity Compute r Ce nte r, where C ntrol Data yber 205 and 

ETA-10 upe rcomputer a re u ed. T hee 

cente r will provid e upe rcompu ter upport to SG cienti t and will al o ollaborate with SG ciemi t on joint 

proj ect in computational geoscience. 

pecial fund to encourage use of the 

LA L uper ompu te r wa stabli hed 

by the Director and i bein g admini tered 

b the Information y tem Di vi ion. 

The In fo rmation System Di vi ion al o 

arranged high- peed communications 

link tO all 3 location via GEONET a nd 

the ational cie nce Foundation network 

and arranged for initial trainin g on 

supercomputer at D C, whe re 23 ea rth 

and compu te r cientist recei ed introductory training. 

T he lnformati n y tern Di vi ion 

has e tablished a d ata base of information about uper omputing re ource that 

include technica l cha racteristic of current hardware and oftware product , 

supe rcomputing centers, a nd networking 

resourc s. Trainin g and education in th 

techniques of supe rcomputer use i 

underway so that G scienti t will be 

able to employ upercompute r a a tool 

in th eir research eff cti vely. he team 

stud ying up rcompu ting technology is 

continuing its effort to k e p the GS 

up-to-date in und erstandin g cu rrent and 

future supercompu te r ca pabili ties. 

Information Systems Activities 91 
GEONET configuration completrd in 

December I 987. 

EXPLANATION 

._ GEO ET swit ching nodes 

ba ckbone 

e G O N T non-swit ching nodes spurs 

GEONET non-swit ching user dedicat ed nodes 

ser hosr sites 

4.8 9.6 use r termina l circuits 

, o 

Wide-Area Data 

Communications 

Networks Used 

Within the USGS 

By jim Hott and Pete Cadenas 

During fiscal yea r 19 , the SG 

u eel several data ommunication network . The e networks includ ed 

C E01 E , managed and operated by the 

SG lO provid e natiom ide data communications for the Departme nt of the 

Inte rior; P , the ational Aeronautic 

and Space Administration' ( SA) 

pace Ph ysics nalysi etwork which 

allows information exchange with the 

. A A ie ntific community; FN ET, 

the ational Scie nce Foundation et1· ork, which enable GS scientist to 

access supe rcomputers; BIT ET, which 

conn ects hundreds of universitie a nd 

resea rch ce nte rs; and the Fed ral Telecommunication y tem (FTS), which 

provides di al-access communication . 

CEO ET conn e t u er lO 150 computer s tem and enable G scienti t lO hare data ea il y and quick! . T he 

net\ ork provid a path fo r te rminal 

92 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

use r and remote j ob-entry latio ns to 

reach GS computers in ludin g the 

formed dministra tiv e rvi ce 

Cent r in Re ton , Va. During 1988, 

EO E was reconfi gured from a r lativel mall ha r d-backbone, la rge 

dedi cated- ta r netwo rk (Decembe r 19 7 

ma p) to a more exte nsive ba redbackbone, maile r ta r network (Decembe r 19 8 map). Thi cha ng in EON ET 

1 as moti ated b the increa ing ne d lO 

share fac ilitie and lower ov rail G 

data communi ati ons expenditures. In 

Dec mber 1987, CEO ET cost components re pre ented abo ut 40 pe rcent 

sha red fac iliti and 60 percent d eli ated 

facilities; by D cembe r 19 8, CEOt\ ET 

cost compone nt we re ex pe ted lO 

cha nge to 65 percent sha red a nd 35 

pe r nt d edicated . ha red fac ilitie -

quipment, oftware, a nd circui t -are 

those u eel b mo re than on G cli viion or DOl burea u. Wi th the reconfi gurati on, ove rall co t of end -to-end 

EONET will dro p, while n two rk perfo rmance will rema in at prior I ve l . 

While th e numb r of netwo rk nod e location increa eel 50 pe rcent in 198 , th 

ove1·all end-LO-e nd circuit mileage actuall y 

d ecreased. Additionall y, du ring 1988, 

Ala ka service wa added to CEONET as 

a shared se rvice fo r DO I bur a u . 
, o 

GEONET's new connection to SPA 

permits data communication amo ng 

SGS, A , a nd atio nal Ocean ic and 

Atmo pheric Admin i tration scientists. 

T hi facili tat w rid wide tudie of the 

earth' hanging environment, such a 

globa l climate cha nge , b giving ci mist 

from ma n di cipline a ce to earthie n e informatio n. All PA host ca n 

be acce sed fro m CEON "T, and all GEOET host an b aces d from PAN . 

Re pe nding to a g rowin g n ed to 

provide U G ie ntists with a e to 

stat -of-the-art upe r omputing faci li ties, 

the U in tail ed hi gh-s peed circuit 

from thr e G locati o n to N F1 ET. 

N FNET provides communicatio ns acce 

to sev raJ upe rcom puter ce nter in the 

nited tat s includin g the an Diego 

upercompute r Ce nte r, Flo rid a State 

ni ve r ity, and Los Alamos atio nal 

Laboratory. Supercomputers wi ll enable 

better pro essin g of complex ea rthscience models and a re xpected to help 

the G ma ke continu ed progre s in 

under ta nding earth- ie nc proces es. 

lnte rnetworkin g with N F JET is essential 

to suppo rt the d ata tra nsfers to a nd from 

supercompute r sites. 

Member hip in BIT 1ET provides 

acce to compute r at more tha n 1,500 

universitie and research centers in the 

nited States a nd abroad. It provid es 

USGS scientists more opponunitie to 

XPLANATION 

..__ GEO ET wit ching nodes backbone 

..__ GEONET non-switching nodes spurs 

• User host sites 

•-- 4.8 9.6 user terminal circuits 

exchange in formati n with oll eague in 

the univer iLy community. 

Th G has dozen of offices in 

locatio n where on-sit n twork r o urces 

are not cost effecti ve. se r at the e site 

who require data-communications support u e FTS, provided by the General 

e rvice Administratio n, or commercial 

lo ng-di tance toll se rvi ce to connect with 

de ired computing ervices. 

By providin g everal options fo r 

communicatin g data ae ro s the county, 

the l nfo rmation y tems Divi ion continue to serv the changi ng needs of the 

SG scientific ommun ity. 

Data Management for 

Global Change 

By Doug Passon 

Dramati c increa es in concentratio n 

of ce rtain atmosphe ric gases, such as carbon dioxide , methane, and various nitrogen ox id e , have ca used worldwide concern about the rel atio nship between 

these increa e and globa l temperaLUr 

hanges. To what extent are the activitie 

of man contributin g to this gree nho u e 

eff ct? How do current o ncentratio ns of 

.EONET configuration completed 111 

Drcemba 19 8. 

Information Systems Activities 93 
these ga e differ from concentratio n in 

earlier geologic times? The w rid ' id 

cientific ommunity has begun interd i -

ciplinar program to an wer the e and 

other que tions. 

T he International Council of cie ntific nion is spon orin g the International Ceo phere-Biosphere Programme 

(IGB P). I BP is coordin atin g r search 

in to the interactio n of ocea n , land surface , the atmosphere, and mankind. 

IGBP has recognized that, to succeed , th e 

cie ntist from the different d i ciplines 

must know where data re leva nt to th ir 

studies are stored and how the data can 

be acce ed . T he Information System 

Di ision i participating in the data management program of the IGBP to help 

ensure that the izable earth- cience data 

hold ings of the G are readily ava ilable to global-change research scienti ts 

throughout the world. 

To he lp in this effort, a n Interagency Working Group o n Data Management for Global Change (IWG) was 

charged with providing the scie ntific 

community with easy access to th e data 

needed to stud y global change. T he principal member agencies of IWG a re the 

ational erona uti cs and pace Administration ( AS ), th e ationa l Ocean ic 

and Atmospheric Administration 

( OA ), the ationa l Science Fou ndation ( F), the SGS, the Department of 

Energy, and the nited tate avy. In 

add ition, the Department of Agricu lture 

and Department of tate participate as 

obs rving member age ncies. 

Linking The Data 

T he IWG developed the concept of a 

Virtual ational Data System, to be ava ilable in 1995 for u e by scienti ts in tere ted in accessing global-change data, o 

that the scienti t using the system need 

not be concerned abo ut wh ich agencies 

have the data. The sy te rn wi ll not be a 

large, centrali zed data fac ili ty. Rather, 

the data ystem will use ex istin g data 

re o urces to the max imum practicable 

extent t make acce to global-change 

data a ea y and inexpensive as possible 

for the re earch community. For example, d ata centers that already ex ist with in 

the n ited rates, such as the SG 

EROS Data Center in ioux Fall , . 

94 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Dak., will be acce ibl ia th s stem so 

that their data are readily ava il abl not 

on ly to th cienti t affi li ated with the 

U G but to re earch r affili ated with 

all participating agencie . 

At an ugu t 19 ' rkshop in 

10SCO\ ' SR, rwc member pr sent d 

key con pt of the propo ed \ inua l 

ationa l Data tem to more than 130 

sci ntists from 27 nation and internationa l organ ization . a r su it, th philosophy gu iding the IV\ G d ign i 

reflected in the recommendati n of the 

work hop to th IGB P governing bod y, 

and the thought of the international 

commun ity are be ing incorporated in to 

IWG plan. 

Within the Federal commun ity, there 

are al o ex i ting network for data telecommun ication . etworkin g provid 

th li nkag between the data faciliti 

and the data u e rs of the participatin g 

agencies. EON ET, the G n twork, i 

now linked to the network of 

AA, and the F to provide online 

acce to the data dire tori and datastorage fac il iti of each of th agenCJe . 

Find in g T he Data 

ci ntists stud ying global change are 

faced with a problem: It i diffi cult to 

find which agency ha data for a given 

geographical coverage, time period , or 

pecific et of parameter . Th is is be ause 

the data directorie of va rious agencie 

were developed independently of ne 

a nother and a re not compatible. Also, 

not all the d ata et that have potential 

for u e in global-change studies are referenced in ex isting data directories. 

The IWG agreed to bu ild a d irectory 

that would allow the various agen ies to 

search for needed data. Th is "in teroperable" directory was develo ped by A A. 

Thi directory wi ll , in effect, link all 

global-change d ata reference in the data 

directorie of each agency to the data 

directories of the other agencies. ESDD, 

the Earth cience Data Directory, is the 

SGS data directory that is being used 

for th is interagency process. ESDD i 

managed by the Information System 

Di vi ion and co ntains more than 1, 700 

references to earth- cien e data et . A 

few dozen of the most heavil y used 

SGS data set have been referenced. 

The rema ini ng data sets in ESDD are 
from I or more agencies in 47 State and 

other Federal agencies, the private sector, 

and acad emia. As a n example, re ear hers querying E DD for data set relevant 

to coa tal erosion will find references not 

only to data sets coll ect d a nd managed 

b)' the USC but al o to tho e in the 

A A Ma ter Data Direcwry, TO A's 

ra tional Envi ronmental Data Referral 

Service, a nd 1SF's earth-science data 

directori es such a tho e at the ational 

Center for Atmo pheric Research . 

The IWG members have developed 

a Directo ry In terchange Format (OJ F) 

that makes it easier to excha nge data 

director reference between age ncie ' 

directorie . At the arn e time, each 

agency is working LO develop a more 

complete set of d ata references in it 

directory that will be u eful for globa lchange re earch. For example, man y 

earth-science proce es in the Ar tic, such 

as the impact of atmospheric temperature on glacial melting, may be ign ificant in the rud y of global change. The 

task i to identify uch data et and refere nce th em in the interoperable dire -

tory. The G Polar tudies Coordinator under the pon or hip of the 

lnt ragenc Arctic R ear h Policy Committ e i working 1 ith urve cienti t 

intere ted in rctic re arch to load more 

than 80 G refer nc s to Arctic data 

set into ESDD. Throu h the m chanism of the 01 F a nd the inter perable 

directory, the e data reference will be 

acce ible to both rcti and globalchange researcher who u e the data 

directories f th other participating 

agencre . 

Problems To Be Solved 

The IWG is working to identify critial areas where obstacles exist to a hieving the goals de fin ed by th memb r 

agencie . Critical problems facing u er 

of the Virtual ational Data Sy tem are 

being addressed. One deals with the realitie of pricing and co t accounting for 

computer and telecommun ications services. While costs a re kept as low a po sible, the data ystem mu t have a mean 

of billing for the d ata, computer time, 

and telecommunications re ource used 

by each researcher. It must be able to 

"balan e the book " o that the agency 

that provide the ervi e r ceive the 

appropriate pa m nt for tho e servi s. 

T he In formation y tem Divi ion chairs 

the ubgroup working on th se is u 

Another et of i sues deal with tandard . The IW i not att mptin g to 

de elop data exchange tandard , but it i 

1 orkin g with the memb r agencie and 

the ational In titute of tandard and 

Technology to encourage th u e of 

exi ting tandard a much a po sible. 

he Future 

The global-change re earch ommunity i worldwide. Determining ho1 the 

IWG will in teract with scienti ts and data 

organ izations in other countrie i th 

purpose of an international ubgroup 

who e goal i id entical to the goal of the 

IWG: to mak it a easy a po ible for 

cienti t to access globa l-change data. 

When foreign cienti ts seek data from 

the nited tate ' data y tem, they will 

b nefit from the w rk of the IWG (1 hi h 

i to coordin ate the data holdin gs within 

thi ou ntry) and hare in the co l . 

imilarl , th IW will ooperate with 

international organ ization to fac ili tate 

acce b . . cientists to data gathered 

and managed by in titution in other 

cou ntrie . 

Excellence of Service 

Award 

h Department of the Interior Excellence of Service ward wa given as a unit 

a\\·ard to the Information y tern Division 

tas k force for the Offi e of urface Mining 

Reclama tion and Enforcement (0 MRE). T he 

ta k force worked with 0 MRE and contractors to in tall and implement the Applicant 

Violator y tem. T he S)' tern allows authoritie 

to determine if applicant for mining permits 

are violator of the requirements f th urface Mining Control and R clamation ct of 

1977. Theta k force provided technica l guidance, user as i tan e, computer ope rations 

and production scheduling, and pecial service arrangement and handled all service 

complain t. 24 hour a day, 7 days a week, 

from January to October 19 7. 

Information Systems Activities 95 
I 

,. 
Administrative and Facilities 

Support 

Mission 

T he Admin istrative Divi ion p ro ides admi nistrative directio n a nd coord in ation in upport of the scie ntific a nd technical program of the U. 

Geological Survey. T hi upport in lud es poli guidance and program direction and provides lead rs hi p 

and a uthority fo r va rio us administrati ve management 

and technical support functions, including per onn el, 

manpower utili za tion, fin ance, administrati ve management systems, management a na lysis, record s management, procurement a nd contract negoti ation, property 

and fac ili ties ma nagement, motor vehicle management, 

security, a nd afety. T he Di vision also manag the 

development, main tena nce, a nd operation of the fin ancial management system fo r the entire De partment of 

the In te rior. T hese function are carried out at the 

Na tional C nte r in Reston, Ya., a nd th rough Regional 

Manageme nt O ffi ces in De nve r, Colo ., a nd M nlo Park, 

Cali f. 

(Faring page) Comjmler Aided De lgt1 (CAD) sy;Jems, ,/wwn here 111 u;r Wlliun 

the Office of Facilities and J\lanageme111 ervice , . atio11al Center, produce 

plan and other gt·aphic displays of building features, by captw·ing and manipulating data on U CS faciltties. (Photograph b)• William Diz.e.) (Above) Buildmg 

-.at the U C campus i11 Me11lo Park, Calif. (Photograph b)' Michael Moore.) 

Administrative and Facilities Support 97 
Highlights 

State-of-the-Art 

Federal Financial 

System 

By ELiot ]. Christian and Mary 

L. Grile 

During 19 , the G provided 

admini trative and system -management 

leadershi p to in tall the Federal Financial 

ystem (FFS), a n off-the- helf tanda rdized fin ancial ma nageme nt y tern , 

th roughout the Departme nt o f the I nterior. T he USGS a nd the Burea u o f Reclamation were the first two burea u 

schedu led for FFS implem ntation in 

0 tober 19 

The FF wi ll re place a nd consolid ate 

a variety of incompatible fin ancial management tem througho ut the ten 

burea u of the De partme nt of th Interior (DO l) into on mode rn te rn . Four 

additional burea u , the Bu rea u o f Land 

Ma nageme nt, Bureau of Min es, Burea u 

of Ind ian ffa irs, and Fi h a nd Wild life 

ervice, a re cheduled for imp lememation in ctobe r I 9 9. Th rema ining 

bureau a nd o ffi ce , which include the 

ational Pa rk ervice, Minerals Ma nageme nt rvice Office of urface Minin g, 

and Office of the Secreta ry, a re schedul ed for implementation the followin g 

Octobe r. It i estimated th at ignifi ca nt 

savin g wi ll accrue from this install ation 

over th 10-yea r life o f the system. 

The FF y te rn ope rate on the 

n wl in tail ed Amda hl 5890 ma in frame 

com put r locat d at the GS a tiona! 

eme r in Re ton. Remote terminal conn cted to a front- nd processo r allow 

d irect data e ntry to th e main frame. The 

DO l's d ata comm unica tion netwo rk , 

CEO rET, provid e the tele ommun ications ca pabili ty to li nk fi eld operations 

with th main compute r. 

T he FFS is a completely menudriven system ; it provides tate-of-the-an 

capabili ty that in lu de data-base de ign 

and ex t n ive ref' ren e table , which 

98 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

r duce the ne d for exten ive ha rdcoded 

programs. Highli ght o f the FF apabilitie include the following: 

• On-li ne ma im nance- F FS i a tabledriven y tern , mea ni ng that nea r! all 

ed it and update comrols r id in ta ble , 

rather th an in ha rd comp uter cod e, and 

thes table a re ma in ta in d on-li n . 

• On-lin e proces ing- II FF d iting 

and updating ca n be don o n-li n . FF 

feature exten iv , table-d e fin ed tran acti n ed iting; for exampl , it ca n ch ck 

the vali d ity o f a n account n umb rand 

verify fund avail abili ty. 

• ingl o urce o f data e ntr - 1 n fo rmation i ent red on time, a nd a ll ed it and 

update an be done at th at time. 

• Reportin g ca pabili ti - As a r 

it on-li ne nature and da ta ba e d 

FF uppon s exten i,· on-li ne qu 

reporting ca pabili tie . 

• Prompt payme nt uppon - FF upport prompt payme nt r quirements such 

a sy tem-cal ula ted du e dat , di ounL 

dete rm ination, and automated im rest 

and p na lty alcu lation. 

• Remote data entry- FF uppon 

ntr of d ata such as commitme nts, 

rece i ing re port , a nd e rror co rrection 

• ecurit - FF allow sy tern acce to 

be controll ed at nume rou level by function, orga niza tio n, a nd docume nt type. 

For example, ecu rity could be t up o 

that offi ce could only e the da ta that 

a ffect their accounts bu t hi he r lev Is of 

management could review any data 

withi n the di vision. 

. . . significant savings will 

accrue frorn this 

installation over the 

1 0-yeaT life of the system. 

T o adm ini te r thi proj ect, the SGS 

e tablished a FIRM (Fi na ncial In formation R ource Management) support 

team, includ ing taff from throughout 

the bureau, whi h receives manageme nt 

support from th SG Admin istrative 

Division and gu idan e from management 

office a t the Department of the l nteri or. 

T he fin a nce offi ce of each of the burea us 

implementing FFS e tablished it own 
FIRM team. Technical support ervic s 

were purchased from the Ame ri can Management ystem, Inc. (AMS), to enhance 

the software and provid e techni al support to meet ide ntifi ed special requirement . AM wa awa rded the contra t 

for software and technical support. 

T he efforts of the people working 

on this project throughout fi cal year 

1988 focused on accepta nce testin g, 

training, and preparing for the hangeover to the new y tem. 

Acceptance Testing 

During fisca l year 1988, the FF 

oftware was install ed an d tested to 

determine how well the new ystem performed basic accounting fun ctions and to 

id entify changes to th oftware that 

might be needed. The FIRM teams 

tested the software by en te rin g on-lin e 

and batch transactions, testing production or volume performance, making online inquiries, and performing imulation of nightly, monthly an d an nual 

proce sin operations. G accountant , 

manag r , and ystem u er spent man 

hour defin in g valu e for the many u ermaintain d referen e table found in 

FF . The table-driv n proce ing of FFS 

allow the u er to pro es tran action 

with a minimum numb r of keystrokes. 

The ru les that FF u e when proc ssin g 

transaction ~ ere cho n b ach bureau 

tor fle t the accountin g polic of it own 

agency. 

Training 

pecific bureau train ing requir -

ments were identified , along with target 

aud ienc , tra inin g locations, and faci lities, and a trainin g sched ul e wa e tablished. The tra ining cu rriculum and 

materials were modified and e nh anced to 

reflect speci fie need s of th burea u 

in volved. T he tra ining included instru -

tion on ystem functions, tran action proces ing, data et1 try, a nd inquiry, as we ll as 

the more techni al a pect of sy tem 

ope rations and ystem main tenance. 

Training essions were held in Re ton, 

Va., Denve r, olo., and Menl o Park, 

Calif. 

Changing to the New Sy tern 

Ta k required to change over to th 

new y tern included conv rting exi ting 

procedure , program , and file to th 

new ystem; performing manual and 

automated conversion of program and 

fi le ; and verifying the conve r ion r ults. 

y tem currently in u eat the burea us, 

uch as the payroll stem, that mu t be 

linked with FFS were id entified. Exi ting 

progra m that linked ystem were modifi ed , and new program were written a nd 

tested to verify that the two sy tems 

could still share information. he FF 

data ba e and reference table were 

loaded and reviewed to verify that table 

data were correct. R portin g req uirement were compared with available FF 

report , needs fo r ad ditional reports 

were identified , and new repo rt were 

created . y tern operation related to 

da il , weekly, and annual job c cle wer 

proposed and routine to back up and 

restore the data ba e were deve loped a nd 

te ted. Security for the ystem was d eloped to pra te t data from una uth rized 

use. 

In addition to implementing the y -

te rn in the next group of bureaus, the 

FIRM team in each bureau will hare the 

re pon ibility for maintainin g the production ystem. These duties will include 

operating a hotline for assistance, resolvin g hardware and oftwa re problem , 

onducti ng ongoing training, coOI·dinating y tern changes, and moni to ring new 

ystem-development activitie . 

Administrative and Facilities Support 99 
With the sta rt-up of FFS, the De partment of the Int ri or ha taken an importa nt ste p toward its goal of improving 

the effi ci ncy of fin ancial management 

ope ration , red u ing the number of 

acco untin g ystem standa rdi zing the 

proce sing of accounti ng data and payment , and reducin g the cost o f fin an ial 

management operations within the 

De partment. In orde r to ta ke the e goals 

one tep fu rthe r, the G wa also designated by the Department of the Interior as an dministrati ve Service Ce nter 

(A C) to provide automated data proce sing se rvices to all bureaus of the DOl 

and , as negotiated , to ther Federal 

agencies. A second A C was e tabli hed 

at the Burea u o f Reclamation in Denve r, 

which will handle the new payroll and 

pe rsonnel sy te rn and FFS processing fo r 

Den ver-ba ed In te rior bu rea u . Effo rts 

are also underway to encompa budge tin g, procurement, and prope rty management wi thin the FFS. 

T he SGS ASC will foc us on centrali zed systems and d ata-ba e de ign services fo r administrative a pplications, ta ilored to e rve a community of u ers with 

local admini trative taff. T he In forma -

tion y te rns Di vision in Reston will provide the main frame compu te r and telecommunicatio ns services necessa ry to 

process the supported admi ni trative 

y tern . 

The SGS comes to the tas k of hosting an ASC with a p roven track record of 

success in the data- processing arena and 

in large- ale IB M-compatible data processing. T he SGS has provided e rvice 

nationwide fo r a wide va riety of program 

fun tion , both within the SGS and in 

othe r Fede ral and tate agencies. In 

addition to the FFS e ffo rt , the SGS 

ini tiated and continues to manage the 

hi ghl y successful De partment-wide telecommunications netwo rk known as 

CEO ET. T he SGS also developed a 

very succe sful "paper! " system fo r 

processin g personnel actio ns that is now 

being recogni zed gove rnmem wide. Ba ed 

on the e experience , the G is poised 

to provide improved administrative ADP 

ervice to the De pa rtment of th e In terior, and potentially to other Fed eral 

agencie as well. 

100 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Facilities Management 

By Laver a Hamidi 

The .S. Geological ur ey has 

as umed more respon ibility fo r facilitie 

management by acce ptin g del ga ted General e rvice Admini tration (G A) buildin g operations and lea manag ment 

fun tion . Ove r the yea rs, the U G ha 

worked ucce sfull with G to acquire 

offi ce and pecia l-purpose pace to support our scientific program na ti nwide; 

more than 90 p rc nt o f the pa e currently occupied by SGS is G Aprovided . T he natu re of USG earth 

scien e programs requires laboratory, 

compute r, and othe r spe iali zed facili ties 

that bene fit from the clo e r burea u management and supe rvi ion allowed by the 

G A delegations of re ponsibility. 

Background 

In 198 I, GSA initiated a pilot program to test the fea ibili ty of delegating 

build ing ope rations authori ty to it tenant 

agencies. A wa in tere ted in testin g it 

premise that tenant agencie could ope rate their buildings more respon ively 

than and a economically as GSA. Several 

major agencies agreed to pa rticipate, and 

by 19 5 th e program had ex panded to a 

total of 10 agencies and 24 buildings in 

the Washington, D.C., a rea. Ea h d elegation was lightly diffe rent, d epending on 

the individual circumstances and the 

negoti ation that took place. On the ba is 

of the program' succes , the O ffi ce of 

Management and Budge t in 1985 

directed GSA to expand and accele rate 

the program to encompa s all Fed eral 

agencies in single-tenant buildings 

nationwide, ettin g a ta rget date o f Se ptembe r 30, 1986, for accomplishment. 

T he SGS too k an active role in the new 

program to delegate buildings operations 

and maintenance. 

Operations and Maintenance 

In August 1987, GSA delegated 

building ope rations and maintenance 

re ponsibilities for Reston , Va., where the 
SGS is the sole tenant in Gove rnmentowned space. T he e responsibilities 

include d ay-to-day fac ility upport necesary for ph y ical main tenance of the 

buildings, uch as cleaning, mechanical 

operation, preventive ma intenance, 

energy management, re pair and alterations, moni torin g of concessions, contracting, space assignment and lease management, and guard e rvice. T he SG 

was required to establish a cleanin g and 

grounds maintenance program, a preve nti ve ma intenance program for all building ope rating equipment, and an ene rgy 

managemen t and conservation plan. G A 

tran fe rred funds, manpowe r, and upport contracts fo r these fac ili tie , in addition to respon ibility for payment of all 

utilities and fu el bills. 

Currently, the SGS manages the 

operation and maintenance of the J o hn 

We ley Powell Fede ral Building in Reston, with a budget of about $5 million ; 

th is h adqua rte rs facility has ove r 1 million gro s qua re fee t and houses some 

2,400 employees. T he SG al o accepted limited responsibili ty for operations and main te nance of maller, lea ed 

fac ili tie 111 olden, olo. , and Flag taff, 

nz. 

Lease Management 

Ea rly in fisca l year 1988, the SGS 

completed implementation of GSAdelegated lea e management autho ri ty 

fo r more than 120 leased ite nationwid e 

encompassin g more than 2.2 million 

qua r feet of space. Lease management 

require that the designated agency perform periodic inspections to en u re compliance with lease te rm , e tablish a regi -

ter to record all compla in ts and their 

resolution , and provide wri tten notification to the lessor of non-pe rformance 

with te rm of the 1 ase. T hese documen t 

must be main ta ined in an on- ite lease 

enfor ement fil e. In addition, respon ibilitie now perfo rmed by SGS employees, 

formally d esignated as GSA contracting 

officer representative , include managing 

the lease, ve rifyin g utility bill , orde ring 

se rvices beyond tho e provided during 

normal working hours, and contracting 

for low-doll ar re pa ir and alteration . 

Benefits 

T he SGS has reali zed a number of 

bene fi ts ince assumi ng th e delegations: 

• Improvement in buildin g- rvice 

quality and re ponsivenes th rough 

treamlinin g of service pro edu re and 

orga ni za tion. 

• Improved performance of ervice 

contracts th rough bett r moni torin g and 

ability to make contract pecifica tions 

more responsive lO pecific buildings and 

to GS cientific program need . 

• Savin g from energy conservation at 

the J ohn Wesle Powell Building in 

Reston, due primarily to direct control of 

building heating air-conditioning, ventila tion, and electrical system and the 

incentive to apply avings to meet 

deferred maintenance need s. 

• More fl ex ibility and greater control to 

direct fu nds and taff time to meet the 

program requiremen ts deemed mo t critical and to respond more quickl y to shifting p rogram needs during the yea r. 

• Im proved ability to integrate planni ng, requirements development, and 

implementation for alteration projects to 

meet program need withi n required 

timeframes. 

Future of the Program 

In concert with GSA, the USGS is 

continuing to review furthe r op portunities for delegation. An operation and 

maintenance delegation for everal SG 

buildings in Menlo Park Cali f. , is be in g 

con ide red . 

The j ohn Wesll)• Powell Federal 

Building, Rt•ston, I a. (Photograph 

try Kathleen K. Cohn .) 

Administrative and Facilities Support 101 

People and Programs of the 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Mission 

0 ur atio n is faced with ome se rious qu e tions 

co nce rnin g the ava il ability a nd use of land , 

wat r, e n rgy, a nd min eral resource of the 

Earth. Ho w can we e n ure an adequate suppl of critical re ource in th future? In what ways a re we irreve rsibly alte rin g our na tural environment when we u e 

these resource ? How ca n we predi ct, prevent, or mitigate th e effect of natural haza rd s? Re ponse to these 

and imila r qu tions d epe nd on ontinuall y increa ing 

the kn owled ge about the structure, re our e , and 

d namics of the Ea rth. Collectin g, a na lyzin g, and diseminating the cientifi information nece ary to 

an we r the e qu tion is the prima ry mi ion of the 

.. Geological urvey. 

T he .S. Geological Survey wa establi hed by an 

Act of ongres on Ma rch 3, 1879, to prov id e a pennanent Fede ral agency to conduct th e sy temati c a nd scientific "cia sifi ation of the publi c la nd , a nd examination of the geologi a l tru tur , mine ral re ource , and 

prod u ts of the nationa l domain ." 

ince 1879, the resea r h and fa tfinding role of the 

G ha grown an d ha b n modifi ed to meet th e 

cha ngin g need of th e Na tion it erve . T he G , 

howeve r, ha r ma ined principally a iemific and technical agen y rathe r tha n a develo pme ntal or regulatory 

one. Today' program e rve a di ve rsit ' of needs a nd 

u ers. T he u rrent mi sion o f the SG i to provid e 

geologic, to po ra phic, an d hyd rologic in fo rmation that 

ontribute to th e 1 is ma nageme nt of the ation's natural resource a nd th at promotes the a fet a nd wellbeil g of the public. T hi information co n ists of map , 

da ta bases, a nd d e ription and analy e of the wate r, 

energy, a nd min eral resour es, th land surfa e, the 

und rl yin g geologic structure, and th e d ynami proces e of the Earth . 

s the ation' largest ea rth- cie nce research 

ag ncy, th e G ma imain a long tradition of prov id -

in g accurate a nd impartial information to all , which 

unde rs o res its co ntinued d edi ation to "Earth cien e 

in the Public e rvice." 

(Facing page) Elk Creek Lake Pm·k, 

Lakewood, Colo. (Photograph by 

Bill Pnce.) (Above) !I/o/ten lava 

reache the ocean at Kalapana, 1-/awaii. (Photograph b)· J.D. Cnggs.) 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 103 
'-

Percentage of Total 

Funds by Activity 

2 _ 

3 

34 

19 

42 

-

Facilities 

General 

Administration 

Geologic and 

Mineral Resource 

Surveys and 

Mapping 

National Mapping, 

Geography and 

Surveys 

Water Resources 

Investigations 

Organization and 

Budget 

T he GS is headqu artered in 

Reston, Va. , near Wa hi ngton, D.C. It 

scientific program are administered 

through the Geologic, Wate r Re ource , 

and ational Ma ppin g Di vi ion , upported by the Administrative and In fo rmation Sy te rn Di vi ion . T he urvey 

conduct its resea rch and in vestigation 

through an exten ive orga nization of 

regional and fie ld offi ce lo ated 

throughout the 50 tates, Puerto Ri co, 

and the T rust Territories. 

In fiscal yea r 1988, the SGS had 

obligational authority for . 662. 1 million 

448.2 million of which came from direct 

appropriation ; $7.4 million came from 

estimated receipts from map sale , and 

$206.5 million came from reimbur ement . T he urvey wa reimbursed fo r 

work performed fo r other Federal, State, 

and local agencies whose needs for earth -

science experti e complement U GS program objectives. Work for State, coun ty, 

and municipal agencie is most often conducted on a co t- hari ng basi . 

Most of the app ro priations and re imbursement received by the G in fiscal yea r 1988 we re di tri buted to geologic, hydrologic, mapping, and 

ad mi ni trative a rea of responsibili ty. 

Budget tables appea r at the back of this 

ection. 

Program 

Descriptions 

Geologic Division 

Organization 

T he headqua rte rs offi ce of the Geologic Division i located in Re to n, Va. , 

and consist of the Offi ce of the Chief 

Geologist and six subordinate offi ces: 

Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Engineering; Regional Geology; Mineral Reources; Energy and Ma rin e Geology; 

104 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

International Geology; and cientific 

Publi ations. A i tam Chi f Geologist 

in the Ea tern , Central, and V\ e te rn 

Regions act fo r the hief Geologist 

in carr in g out gene ral obj e tive , polii s, and pr edu res fo r th Di vision. 

Project operation a re conducted by peronnel located prin ipally in regional ente r at Reston, Va .; D nve r, Colo. ; and 

Menlo Pa rk, Cali f.; and at fi eld cemer 

in Flagstaff, Ariz. ; An borage, Alas ka; 

Wood Hole, Mas .; T ucson, Ari z.; Reno, 

ev.; and pokane, Wash. 

Geologic Haza rd Surv y 

T he Earthquake Haza rd R d uction 

Program cond uct a national re earch 

effort to reduce haza rd and ri k · from 

future earthqu ak in the United tate . 

Specific task includ evaluation of earthquake potemial for eismically active 

a rea of the ni ted tates and operati n 

of global eismic networks. 

T he Volca no Hazards Program conducts research on volcanic processe to 

help red uce the los of li fe, property, and 

natu ral re ou rces that can re ul t from 

volca nic e ruption and relat d hyd rologic 

events. T he Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the Cascade Volcano Ob ervato ry, in Vancouve r, Wash., are the pri ncipal fi ld research cente rs fo r thi 

program. 

T he Landslide Hazards Program 

emphasize fi eld and laboratory r earch 

in to the active earth processe that result 

in ground fa ilu re such as landslide , 

mudflows, and debris fl ows. 

Geologic Framework and 

Processes 

T he ational Geologic Mapping Program conducts basic geologic resea rch to 

acquire fundamental data on the ation's 

geologic tructure and the environmental 

and d ynamic proces es that have shaped 

it. Geologic mapping, geoph y ical research on the prope rties of Earth mate rials, age determin ations of rocks, and moderni zation of mapping technique are the 

main components of the program. 

T he Deep Contin ental tudies Program conducts research to obtain information on the omposition, structure, 

formation, and evolution of the midd le 
and lower cru t and upper mantle of 

the Ea rth. 

The Geomagnetism Program measures and inte rpre ts hange in the 

trength and direction o f the Ea rth 's 

magneti c fi eld . Eleve n geomagneti c 

obse rvatories provide d ata fo r continuall y upd ating global naviga tional cha rt 

and ma p produced by va rious Federal 

agenoe . 

The Climate Change Program onducts re earch on the natural va ri ability 

of past climate, on the extent of human 

influen e on natural patte rn of change, 

and on the magnitude of climate change 

demon trated in th e geologi record . 

T he Coastal Erosion Program provides geologic information on the nature, 

extent, and ca u e o f coa tal ero io n, 

which is used by variou Federal and 

State agencies to miti ga te coa tal retreat 

and land loss. 

Offshore Geologic Sur eys 

T he Offshore Geologic Framework 

Program onduct cientific in ve tiga tion 

to acquire an unde r tandin g of ba ic geologi and geoph i al ha racte ri ti of 

the co ntin ental ma rgins, adja ent slope 

and d e p-ocea n area , and th 

Exclu ive Eco nomic Zone. R ult of 

these studie and ana ly i of new in forma tion a re e entia! fo r ne rgy and mineral resource e aluation of th e area . 

Min raJ Re our e Surv ys 

The atio nal Mine ral Re our e 

As e sment Program provide comprehensive sci ntifi urveys to id entify significa nt new ta rget for indu try explo ration in th e conte rminou United tate 

and Alas ka and also provid min eral 

resource information for planning the 

us of publi c land . 

The tra tegic and Critica l Minerals 

Program provides comprehen ive information on d omestic and world re ources 

of nonfuel mine rals that are e entia! to 

a stron g national e onomy and de fense . 

The Development of A essment 

T echniques Program carries out basi 

and a pplied re ea rch on the origin and 

the geologi , geochemical, and geo ph ysical cha racteri tics of min eral depo it 

te rn in order to develop oncept and 

technique to improve the apabilit to 

identif and evaluate mineral re ourc s. 

Energy Geologic Sur e s 

T he Evolu tion of Sedim nta r Ba in 

Program tudies the te toni frame1 ork 

and de positional, thermal, and diage neti 

processe of edimentary ba ins in th 

nited Sta tes to devel p data es ntial to 

the succe sful ex ploration fo r and evalu ation of mineral and energy re ource . 

T he Coal Inve tiga tion Program 

onduct geologic geophy ical, and ge -

chemical re ea rch to develop cientificall y 

ba ed asses ments of the quality, qu antity, and ava il ability of the Na ti on' coal 

resource . 

T he Oil and Gas I nve Li ga tions Program supports ba ic and applied re arch 

on the g neration, migration, and ntra pme nt of petroleum and natura l gas. 

The Oil hale I nve tigation Program conduct re a rch to a e s the 

ation' oil hale re ources, including 

in e ti gation of the structure and chemi -

tr of oil hale depo it and identification 

of oil shal depo it ui table for exploitation under current environmental and 

technologica l onstraint . 

The ranium!Thorium In ve tigation Program conduct basic re earch to 

d termine the nature and di tribution of 

uranium and thorium re ources, includin g newly forming uranium depo it and 

daughter product , su h as radon, th at 

may be health haza rd . 

The Geothermal I nve tigation Program condu t basi re earch to dete rmine the nature, distribution, and magnitude of the ation' g othe rmal 

re ources. The e tudie de fin e the geologic and hydrothermal regimes o f the 

va rious cia es of geothermal re ource 

and identify the crustal, geochemica l, and 

hydrothermal proce es that p roduce 

geothe rmal sy tem . 

The World Ene rgy Reso urce A se sment Program provid e in fo rmation on 

worldwid energy re ources for use by 

other agencies in the devel pm nt of 

national-energ , in te rnational-trade, and 

foreign poli cie . 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 105 
Water Resources 

Division 

Organization 

T he headquarte r office of the 

Water Re ource Divi ion is lo ated in 

Reston, Ya. T he Chief Hydrologi t, the 

As ociate hief Hydrologist, and five 

A istant Chief Hydrologi t are re ponsible for the overall dire tion of the Diviion. ational water-re earch programs 

are developed at Di vi ion headquarte rs 

under the direction of the A istant Chief 

H drologist for Research and External 

Coordination. 

General direction of the Di vision' 

fi eld program i conduct d through 

four Regional Hydrologi t , located in 

Reston, Ya. ; Atlanta, Ga.; Denver, Colo.; 

and Menlo Park, Ca li f. Forty-two District 

Office carry out the water-resources 

in vestigations and data-collection programs of the Di vision in all 50 States, 

Puerto Rico, the Virgin I land , and the 

T rust Territorie . 

National Water Summary 

Program 

T he ational Water ummary Program provides water information on a 

tate-by-State and national ba i to aid 

poli cyma ke r in the analy is and development of water policies, legislation, and 

management action . Changing pattern 

in ava il ability, quantity, quality, and use 

of water resources are summa rized for 

u e by Gove rnment offi cials, natural 

resource manager , and the gene ra l 

public. 

T he principal products of the program a re J ational Water ummary 

report that de cribe hydrologic events 

and wate r onditions for a wate r yea r and 

provid e a tate-by-Sta te overv iew of speific wa ter-related is ue . 

National Water-Quality Assessment Program 

The ational Water-Quality A ses -

ment Program eeks to provide nationally 

consistent description of the quality of 

106 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

the ation's water re o ur es over a large, 

di ver e, and geogra phical! di tributed 

portion of the oun tr ; provide a baseline for evaluatin g futu r tr nd in water 

quality an d , where po ible, define trend 

in wate r quality over recent d ecad s; and 

provide an und erstanding of the factors 

influencing water quality and thereby 

provide the basis to foreca t hange and 

eva luate the likely effe t on water quality 

of ariou propo ed remedial actions. 

Initial effort in olv four surface-water 

and th r e ground -water pilot studie . 

Hazardous Wa te Hydrology 

Programs 

T he SGS cond ucts r search and 

in vestigation in to the di posal of hazarda u chemical and rad ioactive wastes to 

provide information that will help in all eviating their effect on the ation' water 

re ource . T he ur ey eva luates the ex i ting and potential effects on water 

resou r es of the earth- cience a pects 

in haza rdous-waste di posal an d provides 

ba eline data on the chemi al ontamination of urface and ground water to assist 

the Depa rtment of Energy in d eveloping 

procedure and gu idelines for id entify ing 

uitable waste-di po a! ite . Rad ioactivewa te tudies a re conducted in the 

Nuclea r Waste Hydrology Program, the 

principal emphasis of which i a better 

understanding of radionuclid e tran port 

in ground-wate r ystems. Nonradioactive 

wastes are the focus of the Toxic Subtances Hydrology Program, which provide d ata to mitiga te exi ting and potential contamination problem . 

Regional Aquifer Systems Analy IS 

Program 

The Regional Aqu ifer Systems Analysis Program i a systematic stud y of a 

number of regional ground-water systems that represe nt a significant part of 

the Nation's water supply. The program 

includes assessment of discha rgerecharge d ynamics, hydrogeologic and 

chemical control governing response of 

aquifer systems to stress, and development of computer imulation models. 
Acid Rain Program 

The G provides information 

needed to improve the scientific understand in g of the o currence and effect of 

acid rain , so tha t judgment can be made 

about effecti e mea ures for ontrolling 

or aile iatin g the problem. Component 

of the acid rain re ear h and monitoring 

program in Jude d termination of the 

effect of acid depo ition n lake , 

streams, and aqu ifer ; operation of the 

ational Trend etwork; and re earch 

in to more preci e method of measurement. T he program i coord in ated 

through the In teragency Ta k Force on 

Acid Precipitation . 

Hydrologic Data Collection 

Program 

T he Hydrologic Data Coll ection Program provide in formation on the quantity, quality, location, and u e of the 

ation's surface and ground water to 

support the ne d of Federal, tate, and 

loca l go ernm nt . Data coll ection tation are maintained at el cted location 

to provide record on stream flow , reservoir and lake storage, ground-water 

levels, and the 1uality of urfa e and 

ground water. The e data form an in formation ba e that u pport national and 

regional asse ment of water re our 

Federal-State Cooperative 

Program 

The Federa l-State oopera ti ve Program, whi h comprise more than 40 

perce nt of overa ll Di i ion act1v1ty is a 

partne r hip for water-resource in vestigation in volvin g 50-50 co t sharing 

between the SGS and more than 900 

cooperatin g tate or lo a l government 

age ncie . One of the program' unique 

characte risti s i that the SG perform 

most of the work n beha lf of the cooperators. A variety of hydrologic data collection acti vitie and water-re ources 

inve tigations are included in th e program. 

National Research Program 

Ba ic re earch in the Water 

Resources Divi ion focuse on increa ing 

under tanding of the fund amental 

hydrologic proce es of the ation' 

ground- and urface-water sy terns. 

Knowledge and technique derived from 

the e effort are directed at ol ing current problem and anticipating future 

problems. Re arch studies are con entrated in urface-\ ater hydrology, 

geochemi try, ground-wat r h drology, 

ediment tran port and geomorphology, 

water chemi tr , and ology. 

State Water Resource R earch 

In titutes Program 

The tate Water Re ources Re earch 

Institute Program, the costs of which are 

hared by Federal and tate governments, upport 54 Water Re earch In titute at land -grant coli ge or uni versities 

in the 50 State , the Di tri t of Columbia, 

Puerto Ri o, th Virgin I land , and 

Guam. Re earch project at the in titutes 

a re arried out in all water-related fields 

including engineering and the phy ical, 

biologica l, and social ciences. 

Water Re ource Resea rch Grant 

Program 

The Water Re ources Research 

Grant program supp rt re earch as 

defined in the Water R ources Re ea rch 

A t of 1964. Competiti ve grant are 

awarded on a dollar-for-dollar matching 

ba i to qualified educational institutions, 

foundation , private firms, individuals, or 

agencie of loca l or State governments. 

Re ear h i upported on waterresource -related problems of nati nal 

int rest. 

Today' programs erve 

a diversity of needs 

and users. 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 107 
National Mapping 

Division 

Organization 

The headquarter of the ational 

Ma pping Di vi ion i loca ted in Reston, 

Va., and i composed of three primar 

organizational units: Plans and Operation , Research, and Information and 

Data Services. Four mapping ce nters 

(Re ton , Va. ; Roll a, Mo. ; Denver, Colo.; 

and Men lo Park , Cali f.) and the Earth 

Resources Ob e rvation S stems Data 

Cente r ( ioux Falls, S. Oak.) perform the 

ope ration al ma pping, remote sensin g, 

printing, product distribution, and d ata 

dissemination activities. 

To accomplish its mission, the 

Di vision conce ntrate it activiti e in 

four major program areas. T he e program areas an d specific acti vities are a 

follows: 

MafJping CooTdination 

• Coordinates requirement for map 

and di gital ca rtographic data of Federa l 

agencie (und er authority of Office of 

Management and Budget Circu lar A-16). 

• Coordinate requirements of State and 

local agencie and provide required map 

products. 

• Chair the Interior Digital artograph y Coordinating Committee and the 

Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee on Digital Cartography. 

• Provides leader hip in the u e of digital patial data and the development of 

digital cartographic data exchange standards. 

• Provide taff upport to the interdepartmental .S. Board on Geographic 

ames. 

108 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Primmy topographic 

rnaps . .. aTe especialLy 

useful wheTe detailed 

information is needed 

fo-r alL type of 

land and -resouTce 

management. 

\1/ap and Digital Cartographic Data 

Production 

• oll ects, ompile , and analyze information about nawral and man mad e feature of the Earth' urface and documents changes in tho e features. 

• Produce and maintains a series of 

accurate, u p-ta-d ate gene ral-purpose 

base and thematic map at primary, 

int rmediate, and mall scale . 

• Provid es image prod u t derived 

from satelli te imagery and ae rial ph tograph y in re ponse to pe ific requ ir -

ments of F d ra l and tate ag ncie . 

• Add tO an d maintains th e ational 

Di ita! Ca rtographic Data Base to meet 

the requ irement fa ll user for digital 

cartographi product and rv1ces. 

Information \llanagement and Dissemination 

• rchi ve , manages, and make a a ilable cartographic, remotely sen ed, and 

oth r earth- ci nc data in digital and 

graphi fo rms. 

• Distribu te more than million ma p 

a year. 

• Coll e t , analyze , and di emin ate 

in formation about cartographi and geogra phi data holding ofF d ra l and 

tate agen ie and private-sector organ izations. 

Re earch and Technology 

• Conduct research to upport cartographic production and related activitie . 

• Provid es technical as i tance and technology to other Federa l and tate agencie in the coordination, development, 

and a pplication of variou spatial data 

and cartographic, geographic, remotel y 

sensed, and image data . 

• Conduct re earch to develop geographic in fo rmation ystem a pplication , 

with emphasis on cooperative projects 

that d emon trate the in tegration of patially related earth-science data. 

National Map and Digital Data 

Production 

T he SGS prepa res va rious base 

ma ps, image map produ cts, digital cartogra phic data, and selected themati c maps 

of the ation that are used extensively 

for land planning, land and resource 

management, and recreation purposes. 

These maps and data are made available 

in convention al prin ted form in variou 
a l , in d igita l fo rm, and a reprodu -

tion of ae ri al photogra ph and at lli te 

image . Digita l d ata are ava ilable from 

the ational Digita l Cartographic Data 

Base a el i ita! lin gra ph or digita l el -

vation models. 

Primary topographic ma p , includin g 

7.5-min ute map most! at 1: 24,000 al 

for almost all ar a of th lowe r 49 

and l --minute ma p of Alaska at 

I :63 ,360 cale, ar e peciall u ful 

whe re detail d in fo rmation is n ded fo r 

all type o f la nd a nd re ource manag -

ment. T he program in volve the periodi c 

in spection for data currentness and 

appropriate revisi n of these detailed 

ma ps. Other eri s of to pogra phic ma ps 

at malle r ale a re also ava ilabl , u h 

as the interm di ate- cale map prepared 

at I: 100,000 scale and the 1:250,000-

ca le map e ries, which provide ompl Le 

topogra phic overage of the United 

States. These map seri es a re widely used 

by Federal and tale agen ie and th 

private sector for preparing th ir own 

special-purpo e ma p a nd d epicting their 

unique data. Other bas map are a ailable, in lud ing 1: -oo,OOO- cale tate ba e 

ma p and small er cale .. ba ma p . 

T he land use a nd land cove r ma p , 

primaril at I :250,000 seal and at 

I: 100,000 cale in selected a reas, provide 

temati nationwid e in ventory 

and land cover data. he 

SG also prepa res va rious pecialpu rpo e map products, such a orthophoto qu adrangle ma p , image ma p , 

ational Park map , a nd a va ri ety of 

themati ma p . 

National Mapping Research and 

Technology 

T he SGS ha pioneered in vestigations that have Jed to maj or developments a nd significa nt changes in surveying and mapping. Ma pping resea rch 

a tivities, which a re cente red primarily 

on the geogra phic and cartographic 

disciplines, urrently emphasize patial 

data analy i , applications of remote sen -

in g and geogra phi information systems, 

• • • 

• 

L we. t den ity 

• Greatest density 

Populalion d~ ui y map from llu• 

Geogmphic ame Info rmation y -

tem, developed f or the Primary 

Mapping Economic Analysis (disens ed in an earlier article). MafJ 

developed from 4,000 di crete points 

repre enting population center of 

5,000 and above. 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 109 
Personnel, by Division 

,-=: ::::>-

499 

f- -

2318 

1- 142-

1686 

3841 

Director's Office 

and 

Administrative 

Division 

Geologic Division 

Information 

Systems Division 

National Mapping 

Division 

Water Resources 

Division 

and ad vanced technique for producing 

digital cartogra phic data. 

T he Di vision has mba rked on a 

major research and development plan 

(known as Mark I I) to move from manual to digita l production and revision of 

map products. T he goal of Mark I I are 

to implement the ad vanced ca rtogra phic 

y terns and procedures req uired to automate ma p prod uction and to provide 

data for the National Digital Ca rtogra phic Data Base. 

The USC has pioneered 

investigations that have led 

to major developments and 

significant changes in 

surveying and mapfJing. 

Information Ser ices 

T he SG di eminate mu h of the 

1ation' earth-science in formation 

through its Public Inquirie Offices, 

ational Cartographic In formation enter ( CIC), 49 CIC/ tate affili ated 

office , and the Earth Resou rces Ob e rvation Systems Data Center. The information come in man y forms, from maps 

a nd books to computer-readable magnetic tapes a nd compact di ks. About 

130,000 different map and books and 

about 8.9 million aerial and pace image 

are ava il able for purcha e. SG ma ps 

are al o currently ava ilable from more 

than 3,600 a uthorized com mer ial ma p 

deale r nationwide. 

International Activities 

T he .S. Geological Survey has been 

in volved with earth-science stud ies in foreign cou ntries for nea rl y 50 year . 

uthorization is provided unde r the 

Organ ic Act, a revi ed , and the Fore ign 

Assista nce Act and related legi lation 

when such studies are d eemed by the 

110 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Departm nt of the Inte rior a nd f 

tate to be in the interest of the 

Government. 

Current inte rnational program 

efforts fo u on techn ica l a si tanc program in developing countrie and cientific ooperation and research through 

agreements with othe r co untries as an 

ext n ion and e nhancement of th urve ' dome ti program . ooperati e 

resea rch activities range from in formal 

communication between s ie ntist , 

through formal, jointly taffed proj ct , 

to multi-nationally taffed oordin ated 

program focused on pa rticul ar problem 

or topic . 

Related activitie that a re integral to 

the international program includ in titutional de elopm nt, exchange of cientist , training of foreign natio na ls, and 

repre entation of the G or the 

Gove rn men t in inte rna tional organ ization and at in terna tional onf renee 

and meetings. 

Administrative 

Division 

Organization 

The headquarter offi ce of the 

dministrative Di ision i located in 

Re ton, Ya. The Di vi ion i compo ed of 

five headquarter office . Fina ncial Management and Systems Management are 

centrali zed headqua rte rs functions; Facilities and Management ervices, Personnel, a nd Procurement and Contracts provide operational support at headq uarter 

an d at SGS fi eld units through 

Regional Management O ffi ces in De nver, 

Colo., an d Menlo Pa rk, alif. 

The Assista nt Director for Administration i the Di vision Chief. Under hi 

leadership, the Di vision provides administrative direction an d coordination to 

support the scie ntific and technica l programs of the SGS. The Divi ion also 

manages the development, maintena nce, 

a nd ope ration of the fin an ial management system for the e ntire De partment 

of the Interio r. 
Information Systems 

Division 

Organization 

The Informa tion Systems Di vision's 

headqua rte rs offi ce is in Re ton , Va. The 

Division is composed o f fi ve Offices: 

Assi tant Director, Computer an d Communications Se rvices, Customer Services, 

Field e rvices, and Ma nagement Services. 

Servi e ce nters in Re ton, Men lo Park, 

Calif., Denver, Colo., an d Flag taff, Ariz., 

provide a complete ra nge of se rvice to 

users. 

The A sista nt Director for In formation Systems i the Divi ion Chief. H 

cha irs th e In formation System ouncil , 

which i campo ed of the top ADP ma nager in each Division and in the Central 

and We tern Regions. The council recomme nd technology-related poli cie to 

th e Director, coordinate computer cience resea rch and technology, and proide guidelines for the sharing, acqui ition, and u e o f maj or compute r sy tern 

and information ma nageme nt programs 

for the USGS. 

Personnel 

At the end of fi ca l ear 198 , th e 

had 8,4 9 permanent full-tim 

employ e . he urv y's div r ified 

anh-science research program a nd ervice a re re fl cted in it workforce, more 

than half of whi h po se sa bachelor's 

or highe r level degre . lmo l half o f the 

C employees are profe ional cientist . 

Pe rmanent employee are supported 

by oth r-than-full-time p rmanent 

employees, including many university 

tudent and faculty membe r . Th i relationship with the acad emi community 

has made the ex pertise of ma ny emin ent 

sci mists ava il able to the SG . tudents 

have al o proved valuable during time 

of increased workload, especiall y during 

the field easo n. Academic institution 

have. also provided a means of recruitin g 

qualified young prot ssionals for p rmanent full-time po ition upon ompletion 

of their stud ie . 

Awards and Honors 

Each ear, SG employee rece ive 

awa rds that range from ce rtifi ate of 

excel! nee and monetary awa rd to re -

ogni tion of th ir achievement b election 

to member hip or office in profe i nal 

societies. T he large numb r of th e 

awa rd atte ts to the high cali ber of the 

Surve pe r onnel. Of the many who 

rece ived award , th e S is plea ed lO 

ackno\ ledge here tho e individuals who 

became members or offi cer in profe -

ional societies or who re ived awards 

from tho e organi zations. l o a knO\ !-

edged are those who received the 

D partment of the l nterior' high t 

honor, th e Distingui hed e rvi c Award, 

th Pre id enti al Ra nk \ ard and two 

GS awards. 

ervic in profe sional so ietie i 

one of the mo t important contributio n 

a cienti l can ma ke. ocieties pia a fundamental role in di emin ating knowled ge a well a pro\·ide a forum in wh ich 

new id ea a re tested. The active participation of ur ey cienti t in profes ional 

ocieti atte t to the cientific vita lit of 

the bureau. The bureau i particularly 

proud of those individual who ha e 

be n e lected to ociet pr ide ncie or 

chairman hip of oci ty ommittees by 

th eir profes ional peer . 

PatS. Chavez, Jr., Re earch Ph y i a l I -

enti t, 'ational Ma pping Di vision, wa 

awarded th Alan Gordon Memorial 

Award by the American Society for Photogrammetry a nd Remote en ing for his 

d v lopm nt of alg rithms for processing 

both atellite image ry for cartographic 

application a nd onar data fo r the 

ma rine sciences. 

Alden P. Colvocoresses, R search Carl graph r, ational Ma pping Divi ion, 

wa elected Pre id ent of the Ame rica n 

o iety for Ph otogrammetry a nd R mote 

e n ing for the period 19 8- 9. 

G. Brent Dalrymple, eologi l , G logi 

Divi ion, wa named pr sident-elect of 

r<= 

1--

r1--

'---

Personnel, 

by Occupation 

:> 

1610 

517 

215 

942 

268 

1549 

-

394 

2840 

154 

Adm inistrative 

and Clerical 

Cartog raphers 

Chemists 

Geologists 

Geophysicists 

Hydrologists 

Other Scientists 

and Engineers 

Technical 

Wage Board 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 111 
The large number of the e 

awards attests to the high 

caliber of urvey 

personnel. 

the American Geophysical nion for the 

period Jul 1, 1988-J un e 30, 1990. 

Wallace deWitt, Jr. Geologist, Geologic 

Divi ion, recei ed the Di tingui hed ervice Awa rd of the Ame ri ca n soo atton 

of Petroleum Geologists in recognition f 

44 yea r of exempla ry geologic work and 

many years of varied services to AA PG. 

George Gryc , Geologi t, received an 

Hon ora ry Life Membe rshi p ward from 

the Alaska Geological o iety, in recognition of hi continuing service and ontributions to the Society an d to Ala kan 

geology. 

Janet L. Gwen, Geologist, Geologic Division, was selected a the 19 7 recipi m of 

the Steven Champli Memorial Awa rd at 

the Rocky Moun tain Section, American 

Association of Petrole um eologistsSociety of Economic Paleomologi ts and 

Mine ralogi ts mee ting. 

Kathleen M. Johnson, Geologist, Geologic Di vision, was awarded the Distingui hed Se rvice Award of the A ociation 

fo r m n Geo cientist for out ta nding 

erv1ce . 

Michael P. McDermott, Marketin g Program Manage r, ational Mapping Division, was elected President of the Wa hington, D.C., Chapter of th e Ame rican 

Mar ketin g Association fo r the period 

1987-

Aian Mikuni, Cartographer, ational 

Ma pping Divi ion, was elected President 

of the 1 onhern Cali fornia Region of the 

Ame ri can Society fo r Photogrammetry 

and Remote Se nsing fo r the pe riod 

19 - 9. 

Marshall E. Moss, Assi tant Chief 

Hyd rologist for Resea rch and Ex te rnal 

Coord ination, Wate r Reso urces Divi ion ' 

was elected General ecretaryrrreasure r 

of the Ame rican Geo ph y i al nion for 

the pe riod 19 8-92. 

Waverly J. Person, Geo physi ist, eologic Divi ion, received a spe ial achievement award from the ational As ocia11 2 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

tion of Gove rnmem ommun icator fo r 

two decade of e rvice a the go e rnment' chi f ciemific spoke man to 

the public and n w med ia on oc urren e of arthquak worldwide. 

Verne R. Schneider , Chief [ th Offi e 

of urfac V\ ate r, Wate r Resour· s 

Divi ion, was named En gineer o f the 

Yea r fo r the U. ological Survey 

by the ational ociety of Pro fessional 

Enginee rs. 

David B. Stewart, ologist, Geologi 

Divi ion wa ele ted Pre idem of th 

Mineralogical So i t of a fo r the 

pe ri d vembe r 19 7-

Department of the Interior 

Di tingu i hed S rvice Awa rd 

T he hi he t honor given b th 

Depa rtment of the Inte rior to its emplo -

ees i the Di tinguished e rvice Award . 

mboli z d by a g ld med al, thi award 

fo r out ta ndin g achievement was presented by ecretar of the Interior D nald Pau l H od el to ten SGS employe 

or their repre entative : 

Michael H. Carr, Geologist, eologic 

Division, fo r ex ptional con tributions to 

g ologi exploration of the plan v. 

Dan A. Davis, ssociate District Chief 

of the Hawa ii Di tri t Office , Wa ter 

Resour· Di i ion, in recogni tion of hi 

out tandin g caree r as a wa te r-re ou rces 

scienti t and administrator, and exce ptional achievements in island hydrology 

throughout th e Pacifi c Ocea n. 

Frank C. Frischknecht (po thumo u ly), 

Geologist, Geologic Divi ion, fo r outstand ing leade rship in pioneering in th 

fi eld of airborne geoph y ic , and for hi 

influ ential ad vocacy and d evelopment of 

a wide a ri ty of electrical geoph y ical 

method . 

Paul E. Needham, Scientifi c Ad vis r fo r 

Geod e y and Ad vanced Systems, ational 

Ma pping Division, fo r out tand ing technical guid ance and leade rshi p and invaluable com ribu tion to the .S. Geological 

Survey' urvey ing and d igital mapping 

program . 

M.ary C. Rabbitt, Geologist, Geologic 

D•v•s•on, for her maj or contribution to 

the earth science history of the United 

Sta tes through historical re ea rch and 

tud ies of the USGS. 
Vernon B. Sauer, H ydrologi t, Water 

Resources Division , in recognition of his 

o utstand in g contributions to the development of theory and pro edures for applications of hydra ulic principl es to problems related to the surface-water 

programs of th .S. Geologi a! Survey. 

David W. Scholl, Geologist, eologic 

Divisio n, for hi d ynamic leadership of 

the ma rine geology program and for hi 

productive scientific research in to the 

geology of active contin e nta l ma rgins. 

Mitsunobu Tatsumoto, Research Chemi t, Geologi Di vision, for his outstanding 

con tributio ns to the development of 

mu lti-isotopic geochemi try as a ne' 

resea rch tool to in vestiga te fundamenta l 

problems of crust-mantle e olutio n of 

mafic a nd silici rocks, the understa ndin g o f luna r history, and the origin of 

meteorites. 

Gene A. Thorley, Digital Cartogra ph y 

Program Manage r, atio nal Mapping 

Di visio n , for outsta ndin g contribution to 

ientific re earch in the fi eld o f remote 

en ing and for notable ma nagement of 

scientifi programs in digita l ca rtogra ph y 

and geographi c information ystem . 

Edwin P. Weeks, Research Hydrologi t, 

Water Resources Di vi ion , in recognitio n 

f hi ex eptio nal contribu tio ns to the 

under tand ing of ground-water flow and 

tran p n of di solved ga and ch mica! 

con tiLUents in the un aturat d zon . 

Pre id nti al Ra nk ward 

Pr idential Ran k ward are 

granted b the Office of Per onnel Management in r co nition of prolo nged , 

hig h- 1uali ty ac ompli hm nts by a r er 

member of th en ior Executi ve rvice. 

The awa rd ar pr s nted each year by 

th e Pr ide nt a nd are g ran t d a t the distinguished (the hig he t l v l) and th e 

m ritorio u rank . In 19 , award we re 

given to the fo llowin g G empl oy 

Philip Cohen, hief H drologi L, Water 

Re o urce Di isio n, was given the di tinguish d rank award for su ta in d 

extrao rdinary accom plishme nt in management of the SG Wate r Resource 

Division a nd for dir ctin g th Division's 

techni cal suppo rt to othe r F d ral, ta te, 

and local gove rnment age ncies in wa te r 

a nd othe r earth-scienc re ea rch a nd 

in vestigations. 

James E. Biesecker, s i tant Directo r 

for 1 nforma tion S tem , wa given the 

merito rious rank award for exc ptional 

guidance in the planning and managemem of in formation re ources in the 

G , whi ch have had a major impact 

on the u e of computing resource in the 

G , the Departme nt of th Int rio r, 

a nd other Fede ral agen ie and on the 

effecti ve u e of information techn logy 

in the earth cie nce . 

Lawrence A. Borgerding Chi e f f the 

SG Mid- ontin ent Mapping ente r, 

wa given the meritoriou rank a' ard for 

his innovati ve approache to SG mapping program activities, for hi o tsavin g and future-o rie nted plan and 

program managem nt, an d for his 

aggre ive pursuit of equal emplo ment 

o pportunit and affirmative action program fo r the rec ruitment and profe -

sio nal developmem o f e thni min orit 

membe r. 

Edgar A. Imhoff, Manager of th e San 

J oaquin Valley Drainage Program, wa 

given the me ri torio u rank awa rd for fo -

tering coop rative relatio n hip with 

hi gh-ranking offi ial at all level f go -

e rnment and for develo pin g a management stra tegy for th e an J oaquin Va ll ey 

Dra in age Program, a coopera ti e, in terdi ciplinar ffo n of five Federal and 

tate agencie to addre the agri cultural 

drainage problem of the an J oaquin 

Va ll ey. 

Lowell E. Starr, Chief of the U 

ational Mapping Di visio n, wa given the 

meritoriou ra nk award fo r hi leade rship, managerial competenc , and scie ntifi kn owled ge . nd r hi directio n, the 

1 a tional Mappin g Program of the GS 

ha led the way to inn ovative automa ted 

pi-ocedure in ma pmaking a nd to the u e 

of ad va nced compute r techno logy in 

map pin g and the design and application 

f sophi ticated geographic informa tio n 

sy tems. 

J ohn V\ esl y Pow II Awa rd s 

Each year the .. Geological urvey 

prese nt the J o hn W sley Powe ll Award 

to pe rsons or groups o ut ide the Federal 

Government for volunta ry actio n that 

res ult in sig nifi ca nt gain · r improveme nts in the effort of the G to provid e earth sci nee in the public ervi e . 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 113 
T he Powell a' a rd is named in honor of 

the ond director of the G . ward 

in 19 were given to the following people: 

John McPhee, a journalist from Princeton, 1 .J ., who wa elect d in the privatecitizen category for hi writing abo ut 

geology and geologists. Hi book and 

arti le describe man fund amental idea 

underl ying modern geology and have 

contributed ign ificantl tO the mis ion of 

the G by com municating the re ult 

of ientific in vestigation to the public 

and by increa ·in g public awa renes of the 

U G. 

Hugo F. Thomas, tate Geologist, Hartford , Conn . who wa selected in th 

State and local governmen t categor fo r 

his long-stand in g participation a a cooperator and hi outstandin g ontribu tions 

to the earth scien es and to the program 

and mi sions of the SG . Hi c ntributions have advan ed many program and have had a positive effect on 

cooperati v ffons with oth r tares. 

Harold Moellering, Profe or, Depa rtment of Geograp hy, The Oh io State 

niversity, olumbus, Ohio, who wa 

selected in the acad mic ategory for his 

role a cha irman of the National Committee for Digital artographic Data 

tandards from 19 2 to 19 7 and for his 

out tand ing contribution to the effort of 

the G to develop and promulgate 

ta ndard for d igita l patial data . Under 

his leader hip the 'CD D received 

acclaim from mapping profe ional 

throughout the world. 

Handicapped Employee of the 

Year 

Ed ith Becker Cha e, a senior editor, 

Water Resources Division , Re ton, Va. , 

was named the .. Geological urvey 

Handicapped Employe of the Year. he 

was ited for her d i tingui h d 35-year 

ca reer as a cien tific writer an d ed itor, 

having overcome a profound hea ring 

impairment. he is widely recogn ized for 

her co ntributions to the cientific publi ations of the . T he award is made 

annually to a G employee a pan of 

th ob ervan e of ational Employ the 

Handicapped Week. 

114 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Experience with the 

Visually Handicapped 

By Kathryn Gunderson 

In eptembe r 1987, the U G 

enter d into an agre ment with the Virginia Department forth Vi uall y Handicapp d to pro ide a training program for 

my W. M ade. Amy, who had b en a 

G tudent employ e, had r c ntly 

b ome blind aft r gradu atin g from colleg . T he 3-month tra inin g program, 

conducted b the In formation stem 

Di vision, was aimed at helping Am 

be ome ompu t r-lit rate, thu a qu irin g 

the kill to be ome productive! employed . Another goal of th program 

wa to determine wheth r p rmanent 

emplo m nt at the SG wa de irable 

and pra ti ca l fo r both Am and the 

Survey. 

The U G ha had an 

active p1·ogram to rec ruit 

and hire emjJloyee who are 

handicapped. 

trainin g pl an was d v lop d with 

two major objective : ( 1) to have the 

employee acqu ire a ba ic under tand ing 

of omputin g concept and p cific ha rdware and oftware and (2) to a ppl y th i 

knowledge to ex i ting U G application . 

T he fir t part of the plan in cl uded trainin g in the use of various hardwa re and 

software incl uding the IBM PC/XT, rtic 

Vision Speech ynthe ize r, Word Pe rfect 

word pro e ing package, dB A E I I I 

Plus data base management package, and 

WYLB R mainfram software. Good 

tim ing helped with the second part of the 

plan . On October l , I 987, the In formation Systems Di visio n began a new customerassista nce se rvice referred to as the Help 

Desk. Having lea rned these computer 

sk ills, Amy a isted in mon itoring calls to 

th Help De k, while she also worked on 

evera l othe r project . At the end of the 

3-month train ing period , the U GS hired 

Amy as a Compute r Assistant. Her newly 
acqu ired skill and the benefits they 

provided to the GS make her a 

valued em ployee and an a set to the 

organ ization. 

Th training program undertaken by 

the In formation System Division is ju t 

one example of a ontinuing effort by 

the .S. Geological Sur ey to upport 

employee with special need . The SG 

historicall y has had an acti ve program to 

recrui t and hire employee who are 

handicapped. There are a number of 

employee in the ational Mapping Division, for example, who have profound 

hearin g disabili ties and who are acti el 

employed a profe sional cartographer 

and cartographic technician . Th G 

i strong! committed to continuin g to 

identif emplo ment pponuniti for 

those who might be con icl ered o cupationall y limited and to eek out new p ition and ne' pos ibi li tie for th se 

employee , uch a the ucce fu l exp rience with Amy Meade. 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 115 
The Spirit of 

V olunteerism in the 

USGS 

By Maxine C. j efferson 

T he spirit of volun tee rism i a p -

cial one in th e .S. Geologi al ur ey. 

Mo re th an 5 0 volunteers ontribu ted 

more than 100,000 hours of the ir time to 

th e U G during fisca l ear 1988. T hese 

olun teer a re retired G employees, 

teache rs, coll ege tudent , high s hool 

sLUd ents, and othe r community member 

who volun tee r their time and talent 

becau e of their inte re t in public se rvice 

and in the earth ci nee mis ion of the 

SG . The Volunteer for Science Program is a companion program to the 

national Ta ke Pride in Am rica public 

awareness campaign, which encourages 

itizens to help ta ke care of the public 

resource through voluntee r e ffort . 

From its modest beginning in 1986 

with onl y 55 volun teer , the program 

has grown remarkably, and now mo re 

than 780 voluntee rs have donated the ir 

ser ices. 

T he p rogram is o f bene fit both to 

the G and to the volun tee rs. orn e 

volun teers welcome access to sophisticated scientific equipment and technology and the opportunity fo r fi eld work. 

Student have been able to d evelop 

G work proj ect in coope ration with 

acad mic in titutions tha t have provided 

college credit in the ir pur uit of a 

d egree. SGS retirees and othe r retired 

citi ze ns have a chance to continu e to 

ma ke contributions to their life-long fi eld 

of resea rch or maybe to try their hand at 

a new a rea in which they have always 

had an in terest but never had the time to 

116 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

The pTogram has grown 

TemaTkably, and now moTe 

than 7 80 volunteeTS have 

donated theiT eTvices. 

pur ue. orne voluntee rs have degrees in 

cience bu t earn th ir li vin g in oth r profe sions; by olun tee ring, they f el that 

the a re "keepin g a hand in sci nee. " 

T he ben fits de rived b the G are 

ven mor obvious. The volunt e rs hav 

b en involved in planning fo r the 2 th 

Inte rnational Geological Co ngres and in 

uch maj or G proj e ts a the Radon 

Proj ect, the ontin enta l Margin Ma pping 

Program, th Min ra l Re ources 

ppraisal Proj t, the Glacier 1 ational 

Park Proj ect, and the Arcti c Ala ka 

Proj ect. hey ha a l o p rformed 

proj ect upport assignments in volvin g 

such du tie a r c rdin g rain fa ll measurements, fi eld mapping, constru ting 

streamflow gagin g ta tion , and pre paring ciemific re po rt . 

In July I 988, the G was honored 

b creta ry o f the In te rio r Dona ld Paul 

Hodel for the u cess of the Volunteer 

fo r cience Program and was included in 

a White Hou e ce remony in which the 

Pre id ent re ogni zed contribu tions mad 

to the Ta ke Pride in Ame rica ampaign. 

In further recogni tion of the Volunteer 

for ci nee Program, the second annual 

olunteer Re ognition Ceremony wa 

held at the ational ente r in August 

1988. T he Dire tor pre ented special 

Ce nificates of ppreciaLion to 65 volun-
teer who wo rked o n proj ect a ignme nts 

at the natio nal h adqu arter of th e 

SG . In thi ce remony, h thanked 

them fo r "taking pride, b ta king part. " 

imila r ceremo nies of recognitio n were 

held in maj o r G fi eld location . 

Pleased with the results of the program o fa r, the USC plans to continue 

community o utreach , increa e the number of volunteer , a nd broade n th e sco pe 

of a ti ities wherever pos ibl . T he U . . 

Geologica l urve is o nvinced that a 

quali t o rp of volu nte r will contin ue 

to ma ke ignifi a nt c ntributio n to the 

earth i n e a nd will continue to su tain 

the spirit of the me ri ca n tradi tio n of 

volun tee ri m. 

Outreach 

Information 

Dissemination 

Alo ng with it continuing commitment to meet the ea rth -scie nce needs of 

the atio n , th e SG remain dedi cated 

to it o riginal mi sion to coll ect, analyze, 

inte rpret, publish , a nd disseminate info rmati on about the natural resources of the 

ation . The re ult of SGS in ve Li gatio n a re published in it scientific repo rts 

a nd in its topographic, geologic, a nd 

About 130,000 different 

mafJ and book are 

available for jJUrcha e. 

hydrologi map . About 130,000 diffe rent map and book are ava il abl fo r 

purchase . A se ri es of gene ral-inte re t 

publication is ava ilable to in fo rm th 

public about U G a ti itie . R arch 

results a nd in ve tiga tion are al o publi hed in j o urnals of technical and cientific orga ni zation and in publications of 

cooperating Federal and State age nci . 

ews release , real-time informatio n o n 

ea rthqua kes in th nited State and 

aro und the wo rld , and n ws con fe rence 

on reports and vents o f current inte rest 

are other impo rtant mea ns b which the 

GS provides eanh-scienc in fo rmati n 

to the pu blic th rough the new medi a. 

Durin g fi al year 1988, the GS 

produced 5 30 new and revi ed tO pog raphic, geologic, and hyd rologic map 

print d 11 , 147,000 copie of diffe re nt 

map ; di tribu ted 7,569,9 9 copi of 

ma ps; and sold 5 2 17,699 copie for 

7,879,698. The numbe r of report 

approved fo r publicatio n by the In 

fiscal yea r 19 wa 5,073, with 70 percent de ig nated fo r publi ation in professional journals a nd monogra ph out ide 

th G and th e remainder cheduled 

fo r publicatio n by the Survey. ln additi n 170,578 copies of te hnica l report 

of va rious classificatio n we re distributed . 

T he e incl uded 11 ,429 different boo k 

title , with a distributio n of 165,006 copie a nd a revenue of 310,464. AI o, 

1 ,06 new report we re released to the 

ope n fil to ma ke a tota l of mo re than 

27,000 o pen-file repo rts ava il able . Of 

these, ales of 30,644 copie generated a n 

in come of 265,609. Of the 124 titles in 

the USC ge neral-inte re t publicatio n 

eries, 5 1 533 copies were distributed to 

meet inquiries from the gene ral publi . 

Additionall y, o f th e approximately 8.9 

million diffe rent ae ri al and space image 

available fo r sale, about 1 0,000 copie 

are old annually. U G ma ps areal o 

currentl y ava ilable from more tha n 3.600 

autho ri zed commercial ma p dealers 

nationwide. 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 117 
Minerals Information 

Office 

By Susan M. Marcus 

The .S. Geological Survey recogni zed a need to serve the public better by 

creatin g public access to th vast SG 

re ources of minerals informa tion. Mineral products touch each of u in our 

d ail y live and represent, in the words o f 

the American Mining Congre s, the 

buildi ng blocks of societ . The future 

availability of minerals needed for the 

ation' economic well-being and de fen e 

security depends on timely acce s to current min eral in fo rmation. The G 

and the U.S. Bureau of Min es ( SBM) 

have a combined mine rals ex pe rti e that 

spans such diverse field s a the origin of 

mineral de posit and the d velopment of 

new metallurgical technique . The e two 

agencie created the Min e ral I nformation Office a a coo perati ve approach to 

improve public ervice. 

The offi ce is designed a a "one- top 

shopping place" fo r mineral resource 

inquirie . T he offi ce i located in room 

2647 of th e In terior Building at 1 th and 

C Street W in Wa hington, D.C. Mine ral expe rts in the offi ce provid e in formation and access to G and SBM 

databases, commodi ty specialists, and 

publication for the benefi t of the public, 

industry, and Sta te and Federal offi cial . 

T he offi ce al o seeks to improve the 

exchange of information among Fede ral 

agencie and othe r generators and use rs 

of mineral information. 

T he opening ceremony for the Minerals In formation Office was held on 

June 2 1, 1988, and was attended by represemati ves of indu try, media, State and 

Fed eral govern ments, and the general 

public. nd er ecreta ry of th e De partment of th Interior Ea rl Gj eld e and 

Assista nt ecreta ry J ames W. Ziglar 

j oined G Directo r Dall as L. Peck and 

BM Director T S Ary in cuttin g a platinum ribbon. 

Mine ral commodities have been and 

will continue to be featured in a eries of 

118 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

a tlVIUe ponsored by the Mine ral 

Information Offi e. Platinum and gold 

we re the featured commodities durin g 

fisca l ea r 1988. Exhibit howed r gion 

of the nited State thought to have 

potential for undi cov red onventional 

and unco nventional platinum resour es. 

Sample of platinum o re from Stillwater, 

Mont. , we re given away lO m mb r of 

the public who isited the MIO. Goldrelated activitie included a e ri es of wellreceived public le lure and demon tration in the D pa rtment of th Inte rior 

Mu eum, exhibition of examples of gold 

ore from dome tic and fo reign mines, 

free distribu tion o f gold-ore sampl 

from th e Home take Min e in South 

Dakota, and di seminati n of fact sheet 

and bro hures about gold . 

Compute r data ba at the o ffi ce 

ca n provide in tant r sponse lO inquirie 

for in fo rmation. T he G Re ource 

Oriented Computer y tern (ROC ) permi t retrieval of gra phic and tabula r data 

on mineral re ources thro ughout the 

world ; pape r copie of the scr en di -

play a re ava il able on site. Data base also 

include political and administrative 

bounda ri e , owne rship , and in formation 

about G min eral-re ou r e programs 

and research that an be ea r hed in 

ways de ign d to meet each u er' pecific need . 

al o se rve a a colle tor of data that can 

be u ed by G cienti ts. Data a re 

compiled and digital fil es are acquired to 

enhance the breadth and d epth of in fo rmation available to government resea rche rs. Source of data include othe r government agencie , both Federal and 

State, as well a pri vate indu try. 

Re ponse to the new offi ce ha been 

positi ve. The offi ce has re plied to both 

ge neral and technica l inquirie and is a 

favorite stop of visitors to the Interior 

Building. Additional Minera ls Information Offices a re being established in conj unction with SG Field Centers in 

T uc on, Ariz. , Reno, ev., and Spo kane, 

Wash., to serve the needs o f information 

use rs and USGS researchers in tho e 

regions. T he weste rn Mine rals Information O ffi ces will become operational during 1989. 
Guide to U.S. 

Geological Survey 

Information and 

Publications 

To bu y maps of a ll areas of the United States and 

to request USGS catalogs, pamphlets, and lea fl ets 

(limited quantities free), write or visit : 

.. Geol gica l urvey 

Distributio n Branch 

Bui ldin g 10 

Denve r Federal enter, Box 252 6 

De nve r, 0 80225 

To buy Alaska ma ps, residents of Alaska may 

write or visit : 

U .. Geologica l u rver 

Alas ka Distribution ectio n 

10 1 12th Ave nue, Box 12 

Fairba n ks, A K 9970 I 

To bu y USGS book publica6ons, to request USGS 

c ircula_rs, or to obta in information on the ava ilab il· 

ity of microfiche or paper-duplicate copies of 

open -fil e reports, write: 

U. eologi a l un·ey 

Books and Open- File Reports ectio n 

Federal Center. Bo x 25-125 

Denver, CO 0225 

To get on the mailing list fo r the monthl y list of 

New Publi cations o f the .S. Geologica l Survey 

(free), write: 

C.S. Geologica l un•ey 

Distribution SupportS ction 

:; 2 1\ati nal Center 

1220 I unrise alley Drive 

Reston. \.'A 22092 

To sub cribe to Eart hquakes and Volcanoes, write : 

uperimendent of Docum nt 

overnment Printing ffice 

\\'ashington. D 20402 

To obta in information on programs, publi cations, 

a_nd servi ces or to obtai n copies of reports and maps, 

visit the U.S. Geologica l Survey Publi c Inquiries 

Offi ces at the followin g addresses: 

Ala~ a: 

Room 101 

4230 ' nivcrsit)' Dr. 

Anc horage. AK 9950 --4664 

E- 146 Federa l Bldg. 

70 1 l. 

nchorage. K 995 13 

aliforn ia : 

7638 Fede ra l Bldg. 

300 N. Los Angeles t. 

Lo< Ange les. A !lOO 12 

Rm. 3 12 

Bldg. 3. to p - 33 

345 Middle fi eld Rd . 

Menlo Park, A 94025 

504 ustom Hou e 

555 Banery St. 

a n Fra nci co, A 94 I I I 

Colorado: 

169 Fede ra l Bldg. 

196 1 l OUl l. 

De nve r. 0 0294 

Di trict of Columbia: 

2650 Mai n Interior Bldg. 

I th and E ts., Nil' 

Washin gton. DC 20240 

Uta h : 

8 105 Federa l Bldg. 

125 tate t. 

a lt La ke ity, 'T 41 3 

Virgi nia: 

I 402 Na tiona l Cen ter 

1220 I unrise Va ll ey Dr. 

Reston. VA 22092 

\\Tashin gton: 

67 C. . oun hou e 

II'. 920 Ri verside Ave. 

pokane. WA 9920 1 

To obtai n information on cartographi c data , write 

or visit the U.S. Geological Survey Nationa l Cartographic Information Centers ( CJC) in the following States: 

Alaska: 

U. . eologica l urvcy 

National anographic Information Ce nter 

4230 Cnivcrsity Dr. 

An horagc. K 9950 --4664 

Ca lifomia: 

U. eological un •ey 

\\'este rn app ng Ccmer 

National artographic In fo rma tion enter 

345 ~l idd efield Rd. 

Menlo Par k. Cr\ 94025 

Colorado: 

U. . eological u rvcy 

Rock · oun n ~l in g enter 

ational anographic Informat ion Center 

B x 2'046. top 504 

Bid'· 25. Denver Federal Cente r 

Den ver. CO 0225 

~t issis ippi: 

U. . Geological u rvey 

Na tional artograp hic Informa tion Cen ter 

Bldg. 3 10 1 

tennis pace enter. ~I 39 ' 29 

~li sou l'i : 

li .. Geologica l Survey 

1-tid- o ntin ent in g enter 

i"\ational artogra phic Information Cen ter 

1-100 Indepe ndence Rd . 

Rolla. M 65-10 1 

Virginia: 

U .. Geologi a l urvc v 

atio nal Canographi In forma tion entc t 

I 402 c a tio na l Center, top 50i 

1220 I unri c \ 'a lle v Dr. 

Re> ton. \':\ 22092 

To obtain information on ae rial photographs and 

satellite and space images, wr-it e or visit : 

lJ. . e logica l urv 

EROS Data ente r 

i ux Falls, D 5 7 19 

To obtai n assista_nce in locating sources of water 

data, identifying sites at whi ch data have been collected , and obtaining s pecific data, write: 

.. Geologica l Sun •ev 

Nationa l \Vater Data Exc hange 

National ente r. top 4 21 

1220 I un ri c Va ll ey Dr. 

Re to n, VA 22092 

To obta in information on ongoing and planned 

water-data acq uisilion acti viti es of all Federal 

agencies and man y non-Fede ral o rga nizati ons, 

write: 

C. cologica l urvcy 

Office of Water Da ta Coord in, tion 

Na tiona l emer. t p 4 17 

1220 I unri,e Valkv Dt. 

Rc ton. \ ' r\ 22092 

To obtain information on wate r resources in general and abou t the water resources of s pec ific 

areas of the nited States, write: 

li. eol gical urvcy 

H d rologic ln fom1ation Un it 

1 ationa l Center, to p 4 19 

1220 I unrise \'a ll ey Dr. 

Reston. V 22092 

To obta in information on geologic topics s uch as 

earthqua_kes and volcanoes, ene rgy a nd mineral 

resources, the geology of spec ifi c areas, and geologic maps and mapping, write: 

li. . Geological u rver 

cologie I nqu irie Gro up 

Na tional enter. to p 907 

1220 I unrise Valley Dr. 

Re to n. VA 22092 

To obtain information on mine ral resources, write 

or visit: 

~1i ncrals In formatio n Offi c 

264 i Main I ntcrior Bldg. 

I ' th and t ., NW 

\l'a h ington. D 20240 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 119 
Budget Information 

U . . Geological Survey budge/ authonty for f~Jca l year 19 8, ~Y approjn·iation for urvey, lm•rstigation>, and Re earch 

[Dollars in thou and ] 

Activity/Subactivity/Program Element 

Fiscal Year 

19881 

enacted 

National Mapping, Geography, and Surveys ....... .... ..... $ 90,541 

Primary Mapping and Revision ................... .. ...... . 

Digital Cartography ...... .. . ...................... ... ........ . 

Small , Intermediate, and Special Mapping ............. .. 

I mcrmediate- calc Mapping .. ... .. ................. .. ... . 

mall-Sca le and Other pe ial ~l ap pin g . .. .. . .. . . 

Geogra phic Information Systems Resea rch and 

Application .. .. .. . ......... ... . 

Land Gse a nd Land over pping ............. .. .... . 

Image ppin g ............ ... .. ... .. . ... ... .. ... ......... . . 

Ad vanced Cartographic Systems ......... ................ .. 

Earth Resources Observation Systems ......... . ... ....... . 

Data Produ tion and Di semination .. ....... ... ... . ..... . 

Appli ca tions a nd Rc ea t· h . .. .. ... .... ...... . .. . .. .. .. . .. . . 

Cartographic and Geographic Information .............. . 

Side-Looking Airborne Radar ............................. .. 

Geologic and Mineral Resource Surveys and Mapping .. . 

Geologic Hazards Surveys ...... . ....... .. .. ... . .. . .. .. .. .. . . 

Eanhquakc Hazat·ds Reduction ........ ....... .. .... . .. .. . 

Volcano Haza rds ..... ... . ...... .............. .. .... . 

Landslid Haza rd ... .. .... .. . . .. ............. . .. ... . .. .... . 

Geologic Framework and Processes .. . .... .. .. .. ....... .. . 

!':at ion a! Geologic Mapping .. .. .. .. . . . .. .. . . ... .. . 

Dee p Continenta l tudies . . . 

. comagnctism . ...... ............... .. ... . ..... . . 

limate hange .. .. ... . ......... .. ... ...... .. ............. .. . 

Coastal Ero ion ......... .. .. ..... ........................ . .. . 

Mineral Re ource Surveys .. .................. ...... ........ . 

!':ational ~1in era l Re ource As es mem Pmgram ..... . 

Strategic and Critical i\linet·als ............... ..... .... .. . . 

Development o f A se smcm Techniques .. .. .......... .. 

Energy Geologic Surveys ...... .... ......................... . 

Evolution o f edimema r Basins ....... ................. . 

Coa l Investigatio ns..... .. .. .. .... .. .... ....... .. .. ... .... . 

Oil and Ga Investigations ................ . ........ .... ... . 

Oil hale I n1· stiga tio ns ..... . 

Geotherma l Invest iga tions ... .. .......... ................. . 

Ura nium-Thorium I n1·e Ligations ... . ...... ... .. ........ . 

World En ·rgy Resource A sse smem ................... .. 

35,732 

14,063 

13,442 

4,426 

1,734 

2, 11 3 

1,543 

3,626 

13,217 

8,797 

4,254 

4,543 

3,790 

1,500 

177,161 

48,828 

35,0 13 

11 ,593 

2,222 

27,200 

17, 04 

3,0 8 

1.760 

1,046 

3,502 

47,040 

23,737 

9, 6 1 

13,442 

28,911 

5,3 ' 0 

7,424 

5,674 

592 

5,967 

3,3 8 

5 16 

Activity/Subactivity/Program Element 

Geologic and Mineral Resource Surveys and 

Mapping-Continued 

Offshore Geologic Surveys ................................. . 

Offshore Geologi Framework .. ... ...................... . 

Water Resources Investigations ... .. .. ............. .. ........ . 

ational Water Resou rces Resea rch and Information 

System-Federal Program .......................... ... . 

Data Collection and naly is ............ ........... ... ... . 

National v atet· Data & Informatio n Access Progt·am. 

oordination of National \1\'atet· Data Activities .. . .... . 

Regiona l Aquife r ystcm Anal si ..... ... ... .. 

ore Program H •clrologic Re carch ..... . . ...... .. .. ... . 

Improved In trumemation ... .... .......... .. ........... .. 

\>Vate r Re ources As e mem ..... .. ............. ......... . 

Toxic Substance Hyclt·ology ............... .. ... ..... . .. .. 

Nuclear Wa ·te Hydrology ...... ...... .. . ................. . 

Acid Rain .................... . 

ciemifi and Technical Publica tion .... ... ...... .. .. .. . . 

:\Ia tiona! Water-Qualit)' Assessment Program ......... . 

ational Water Resources Research and Information 

System-Federal-State Cooperative Program ....... 

Data Coll ection and Analy is, Area l Appraisal , and 

Special H)•drologi a! Studies .......... .... .... .. .... .. . . 

Wate t· t; e . ..... ... ......... .. ..... .......................... . 

oal I I yd .-olog ......... .. .. ................ . ......... . .... . . 

ationa1 Water Resources Research and Information 

System-State Research Institute and Research 

Grants Program ......... ........ ... ..... ................ . 

tate Water Resout·ces Research I nstiwte ............. . 

National Water Resour es Re ea rch Grants Program . 

Program Administration . . . . . . . . . . ......... .. .. .. .... .. . 

General Administration .................. ...... .......... . ..... . 

Executiv Direction ..... ...... . . . 

Administrative Operation ....... .. .......... .. .... .... .... . . 

Reimbursement to the Depa rtment o f Labor ........... . 

Facilities ........... .. .. ........................................... . 

. a tiona ! ente r- ta ndat·d Level User's barge ........ . 

Nationa l ente r- Fa ilitie Management .. .... ..... .. . .. . . 

Total. ... . .... . ............ .... ..... .. ..... ............ . 

Fiscal Year 

1988 1 

enacted 

25,182 

25, 1 2 

149, 147 

78,662 

22,234 

1,97 

1,039 

11 .537 

9,254 

1,707 

1,404 

12,697 

4,2 8 

2,993 

2,316 

7.2 15 

59,644 

50,670 

3,979 

4 ,995 

10,84 1 

5,677 

4,3 I 

7 3 

14,684 

4,65' 

,39 1 

1,63 

16,214 

13,335 

2,879 

$447,747 

1 Funding ; hown rcprcseniS <~ppropriated dollars and does not in Jude reimbursable funding from Federa l, late, and other non-Federal ources. 

120 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 
U.S. Geological Suroey budget f o1· fisca l years 19 5 to 1988, by activit)' and source of funds 1 

(Dolla rs in thousands: tOtal may not add becau e of round ing] 

Total . ... . . .. . . . 

Direct program. 

Reimbur a ble program . 

Sta tes. cou nties. a nd municipalities 

Misce lla neo us no n-Federal sources 

ther Federal agencies 

Natio nal Mapping, Geogra phy, and Surveys 

Direct program. 

Reimbur a ble progra m . 

tatcs. coumie . and municipalities 

Miscellaneous no n-Federal source · 

Othe r Federal age ncies 

Budget activity 

Geologic and Mineral Resource Surveys and Mapping. 

Direct program 

Rc imbur able program. 

States, counties, and municipalities 

Mi cella neo us non-Federal sources 

Other Federal agencie 

Water Resources Investi gations . 

Direct program .. 

Re imbursable program. 

tatcs. counti es, and municipalitic 

Mi cell aneous non-Federal source 

Other Fed eral agencie 

Gene ral Administration . . . . . . 

Di rect program . 

Rei mbursa ble program (Federa l). 

Miscella neo u no n-Federal source 

Othe r Fed e ra l agencies 

Fac ilities ... .. ... . 

Direct program. 

Re imbursable program .. 

Miscellaneous services to other accounts . 

Reimbursable program .. 

Misce ll a neous non- Fede ral sources . 

Other Fede ral agencies 

Operation and Maintenance o f Quarte rs 

Direct program ... 

1 Direct program includes 447.747 for curre nt year, 

of Quarters. 0 1nclude 7,4 10 for map receip previou ly shown under direct program column . 

1985 

$604,664 

~ 17.()2 1 

I 7.64:3 

59.454 

26.075 

102. 11-l 

11 5, 155 

5.469 

29,6 6 

1.93 

9.450 

I ,299 

2 16,92 1 

169, 5 1 

47.070 

1.0 16 

13,26 1 

32,793 

238, 13 1 

133.40 

104.723 

56,500 

3.327 

44, 96 

15,354 

15.244 

11 0 

11 0 

13,089 

13.049 

40 

6,014 

6.0 14 

37 

5.977 

,ll 5 

59,9•15 

12. 111 

11 6, 129 

112,562 

84. 11 7 

21'.445 

I .975 

9 .568 

16.902 

206,463 

165.5 5 

~0. 7, 

1.320 

348 

39,2 10 

248,598 

135, 152 

11 3 . .J.J 6 

56.650 

2. 16 1 

54.635 

14,5 15 

1·1.246 

269 

26 

13,61 5 

13.S67 

·I 

5,099 

5,099 

3~ 

5.066 

111 .716 

11 8,462 

88.542 

29.92 1 

I. 41 

10.276 

17,80-l 

209,553 

169 ,2:~9 

40.3 14 

I ,:165 

9:1!! 

38.0 11 

254 ,288 

142.UO 

11 2. 158 

59. !!2 

2.437 

49.839 

18,285 

17,0 4 

1.20 1 

I 

1.-00 

15,109 

15.067 

42 

4,835 

4 , 35 

15 

4. 20 

52 

52 

6 .609 

12.775 

1:12 .4 •I 

120,845 

90,5·11 

30.:104 

1.579 2 10.02 1 

I .705 

224.708 

177.27' 

-16,750 

1. 1:1, 

%H 

·15.:Z·I·I 

27 ,380 

14 9,47 1 

12 .!1 10 

6:;.H9:l 

2.:1:;4 

60.662 

17,746 

1·1.6H·I 

:1.062 

3 

3,060 

16 252 

16,2 14 

3 

4,804 

·I.HO·I 

2( 

•1.775 

45 

45 

unobligated balance. and 45 for Operation and Maintenance 

eological UI"Vl')' reimbu r able fu nds f rom other Federal agencies for fi cal yem· 19 5 to 1988, by agency 

[D liars in thousands] 

De pa rtment o Agricu lture. 

Department of ommercc 

Budget activ ity 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . 

De partment o f Defense. 

Department o f Energy . 

Bonneville Power Administration 

Department o f the Inte rior. 

Bureau of Indi a n Affair 

Bu reau of La nd Ma nagement . 

Burea u o f Mine;. 

Bu rea u of Reclamation 

Minerals Management en•icc. 

Na ti nal Pa rk en•ice 

ffi cc of the ecretary . 

Offi e of urface Mining 

Fish a nd Wildlife ervice 

Depa rtme nt of tate 

Departmen t of Trans po rta tion . 

Environmenta l Protection Agency 

Nati nal Aeronautics and pa c Ad mini tration. 

National Scie nce Foundation . 1uclea r Reg ul atory Commission 

Ten nessee all ey Authority 

Mis ell aneo us Federal age ncies . 

Misccll ancou crviccs to other accounLS . 

Total. 

1985 

3.066 

617 

6, 76 

3 1, 83 

15, 93 

132 

19. 59 

5.530 

2.900 

54 

8,510 

744 

1,122 

17 

90 

892 

6 19 

458 

1.476 

3, 79 

242 

1.236 

247 

9.554 

5.977 

$ 102, 11 4 

1986 

2.756 

104 

.675 

27.343 

24 .34 1 

170 

18.852 

-.033 

2.447 

122 

.734 

342 

1.043 

70 1 

129 

30 1 

8,625 

133 

I. 7 

4,343 

162 

1. 154 

264 

12.264 

5.066 

$ 11 6,129 

1987 

1.247 

100 

7.993 

30,55 1 

24.36 1 

274 

14,7 7 

4,2 0 

1,748 

14 

6.647 

125 

977 

538 

260 

198 

4.740 

300 

2.726 

4.380 

472 

1.834 

10 1 

13.030 

4,820 

$ 111 ,716 

1988 

3.392 

50 

6, 13 

39.462 

26. 00 

25 

17.1 66 

4.664 

1,773 

29 

6 .7 15 

29 1 

1.069 

1,983 

352 

290 

9. 96 

794 

3,59 1 

4. 77 

535 

1.589 

269 

13,37 1 

4.775 

132,963 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 121 
"' "' 

c 

0 

C'\ 

"' 0 

0 

(IQ 

;;· 

2!.. 

"' !:; 

< 

-< "' 

-( 

"' ... 

a0 

0 

"'" 

"' <X> 

<X> I WATER RESOURCES DIVISION 

Chiel Hydroklglst 

Associate Ch1el HydrologiSt 

Asslstenl Chief r-H Au lotant Chlel Hydrologist for Hydrologist to r 

Oper.tlons Scientific Informa tion 

Management 

Assi stant Ch._,f 

Hyd rologist lor Reteach Assistant Ch._,l 

1nd External Hydrologist lo r Program 

Coordination "'- Coordln1tlon and 

Ollices Technical Suooort 

Hydroklgic Research ~ Olfices 

External Research Atmospheric Oeposrlion 

Analysis 

Ground Wa ter 

Surface Water 

Water Oual•ty 

Assistant Chie f 

Hydrolog ist tor Water 

Assessmen t and Data 

OM tee 

Water Data Coordination 

Regional Ofl lcea 

Northeastern-Reston. VA 

Southeastern-Atlanta. GA 

ConUai·Oenvor. CO 

Western-Menlo Park, CA 

District Offices 

ORGANIZATION OF THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Department of the Interior 

I DIRECTOR I 

I I Assoc•ate Director I I ASSISTANT DIRECTORS STAFF OFFICES 

Engmeering Geology Washington Liaison 

Programs Equal Employmont 

Adminlstralion Oppor1uni!y 

Research Congressional Liaison 

lntormatlon Systems Public Affairs 

Intergovernmental Affairs 

I I l I NATIONAL MAPPING DIVISION GEOLOGIC DIVISION INFORMATION SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION DIVISION 

ChtOI Chiol GeologiSt Chlel n Chiel Associate Chtel Geologist Associate Ch~el Assistant Chief Geologist tor Associate Chlel 

Program 

A11la tent Otv lakm Chle l ~tlat nt Division Chief Office of Sclenlltlc H Ofllc e of International Policy. Plan· Olficos for ReJearch lor Plana and PubllcaUona Geology nlng and Financial Management 

Oll!ces Opera lions Branches CoordrnaHon Factli!les and Managemenl 

Geographk: and Carlo- Ollices Eastern Technical Reports Staff Sorvk:es 1-1- Systems Management graphic Research Program Management Cenual Technical Reports ~ OHice of Regional Geology Personnel Systems Development Plans and Coordination Western Technical Reports 

Technical Development lnternalional Activities Library and lnformatron ~ Procurement and Contracts 

Servrces Eastern Rugional Geology 

ViSual Services Central Aegronal Geology 

Assis tant Division Chief t- Wes tern Regional Geology 

l or Information 1nd Isotope Geology Olhces 

Oat• Services Office of Mineral Resources Paleontology and Slralig· Management Services 

0111ces Branches raphy Customer Services 

Product Distubution Alaskan Geology 

Astrogeology ~ Computer and 

Policy "" Eastern Mrneral Resources CommuniCaUons 

Pubh<:atlons Liaison and Central Mineral Resources ~ OHice ol Eerthquakes, Servk:es 

Review Western Mrnetal Resources Volc1nou 1nd Engineering National Cnr1ographic Geochemistry Branches Information Center Geophysics Pubhc Inquiries Resource Analys is Tectonophysk:s 

Engineering Sorsmology and 

~ Geologv 

Olllce of Energy and M1rln e Seismology 

Geology Geologrc Risk Assessment 

Branches Global Seismology and 

Geomagnetism Coal Geologv ~ Igneous and Geothermal Pettoleum Geology Processes Sodimentary Processes 

Pacific Marine Geology 

Atlantic Marine Geology 

Region• ! Offices Assistant Ch• l Geologists OHice of Field Serv k: es I Management Offices I 

Eastern Mapping-Reston, VA Eastern Reg10n Centers Central-Denver, CO I Mid-Continent Mapping-Rolla, MO Central Region Oenvor.CO Western-Menlo Park. CA 

Rocky Mountain Mapping-Denver. CO Western RegiOn Menlo Park. CA 

Westorn Mapping-Menlo Park. CA Flagstaff. AZ 

EROS Data Centor-Siouw: Fans. SO 
U.S. Geological Survey Offices 

Headquarters Offices Central Region Western Region 

National Center 

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive 

Reston, VA 22092 

Denver Federal Center 

Box 25046 

345 Middlefi eld Rd. 

Menlo Park, CA 94025 

Denver, CO 80225 

Office 

Office of the Director 

Direcwr 

Associate DirectOr 

pecial Assi ta ll! (Washin gton Liai on) and Deputy 

Eth ics Counselor 

Assistalll DirectOr for Re ea rch 

As istalll Direcwr for Engi neering Geology 

Assista lll DirectOr for Adminisu·ation 

A i tam DirectOr for Progr ams 

A sistalll DirectOr for Inte rgovernmental Affai•· 

As ista nt DirectOr for Information Sy tems 

DirectOr's Representative-Cenu·al Region 

Directot·'s Repre entative- este rn Region 

ong•·e ional Liaison Offi e r 

Chief, Public Affair Office 

pecial Assistant to the Dire LO r for Alaska 

Administrative Division 

Chief 

Professional Service pecialist 

Administrative Program pecia list 

Administrative Operations Officer 

Office of Per onnel, Chief 

Office f Procureme nt and nu·acts. hief 

Office of Finan ial Management, hief 

Offi e of Fa ilities and Management en·ice , 

Office of tems Ma nagement, hief 

en u·al Regional Managem nt Offi er 

Western Regional i\!anagement Officer 

Information Systems Di vision 

hief 

As o iate Ch ief 

Office o f Customer en •ices, hief 

hief 

Office, omputer and ommunicatio ns en •ices, 

hicf 

Office of Management Scrvi es, Chief 

Office f Field ervices, hief 

National Mapping Division 

hief 

As ciate Chief 

Assista nt Divi ion Chief for Research 

Assistant Di vision Chief for Plan and Operati ns 

A istanr Di vision Chief for Information and Data 

ervice 

Easte rn Mapping ente r, Chief 

Mici-Contin nt Mapping Cem r, hief 

Ro ky Mountain Mappin g ente r, hief 

We tern Mapping Ce ntet·, hief 

Ea rth R sources Obs n •ation )' tem Data Center, 

Chie f 

Name 

Dalla L Peck 

Do le G. Fredet·ick 

J ane H. Wallace 

Bru e R. Doe 

J ames F. Devine 

J ack J. tassi 

Pet · r F. Bermel 

J ohn J . Dragonetti 

J ame E. Bi seeke r 

Harry Tounelot 

George Gr c 

Talmadge '"'· Reed 

Donovan B. Kelly 

Philip A. Emet· 

j ack j . ta si 

William A. chmiclt 

H.T. Davi 

Timothy E. a! kin 

Max ine . Millard 

Paul A. Den tt 

Roy J . Hcinbu h 

William F. Go sman, J r. 

Phillip L McKinne 

George A. Honold 

corge F. Ha rg•·ove, J r. 

J ame E. Biesecker 

Doug R. Po son 

Virginia L Ro s 

a Je F. Gordon 

Wend A. Budd 

Freel B. ower 

Lowell E. ta rr 

Roy R. Mullen 

J oel L Morrison 

Ri hard E. Witmer 

a•·y W. orth 

K. Eric And rson 

La"•ren e H. Borge rding 

Merl e E. outhern 

j ohn R. Swinnenon 

All en H. Watkin 

Telephone 

Number 

(703) 64 -74 11 

(703) 64 -74 12 

(202) 34 3-3 8 

(703) 648-4450 

(703) 64 -4423 

(703) 64 -7200 

(703) 64 -4430 

(703) 64 -4427 

(703) 64 -7 10 

(303) 236-543 

(4 15) 329-4002 

(703) 64 -4457 

(703) 64 -4460 

(907) 271-4 13 

(703) 648-7200 

(703) 648-722 1 

(703) 648-7203 

(703) 64 - 7204 

(703) 64 -7442 

(703) 648-7373 

(703) 64 -7604 

(703) 64 -7338 

(703) 64 -7256 

(303) 236-5900 

(415) 329-4 150 

(703) 64 - 710 

(703) 648-7 106 

(703) 64 -7 17 

(703) 648-7 157 

(703) 648-7 I 03 

(303) 236-4944 

(703) 648-574 

(703) 648-5745 

(703) 64 -4640 

(703) 648-46 11 

(703) 648-57 0 

(703) 648-60 2 

(3 14) 341 -0 80 

(303) 236-5825 

(4 15) 329-425 1 

(605) 594-651 I 

Address 

ationa l ent r, top I 0 1 

a tiona! en ter, 10p 102 

Rm. 2648, In terior Bid . 

National nte r, 

Nati na l 

ational enter, 

Denver Federal 

20240 

top 

top 109 

lOp 01 

ent r, LOp 406 

We te rn Region !-! adqua rte rs, 

top 144 

enter, LOp 1 12 

enter, LOp 1 19 

4230 niversit Dri v , uit 20 1 

Anchorage, A K 9950 

National ent r, lOp 20 1 

arional ent e r, lOp 11 8 

Na tional Cent r, top 20 1 

1 at ional Center, Swp 203 

ational Center, top 2 15 

National enter, lOp 205 

ational ente r, LOp 270 

Nationa l eme r, lOp 207 

National Cemer, top 206 

Den e r Fede ral Center, Stop 20 1 

We tern Region Headquarters, 

LOp 2 11 

ational emer, lOp 80 1 

1 ational ente r, top 01 

ational enter, Stop 05 

'ational emer, Swp 07 

1 ational eme r, top 802 

Denver Federal Center 

National ente r, wp 5 16 

ational ente r, Stop 5 16 

1 ational Cemer, top 5 19 

National Cente r, top 5 14 

National enter, Swp 50 

National ente r, LOp "67 

1400 lnd penden e Rd., 

Rolla, MO 6540 I 

Denver Fecle•·al Center, top 5 10 

Weste rn Region Headquarters 

EROS Data Center, 

ioux Fall , D 57 19 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 123 
Office 

Geologic Division 

Chief Geologist 

A ociate hief Ceologi t 

As i tam Chief eologi L for Pro ram 

Manpowe r Officer for Sciemific Per onncl 

Policy and Budget Office r 

Office o f cientific Pu bli cations, hief 

Office o f Regional Geology, Chi f, cting 

ffice of Earthquakes, Volcanoes, a nd Engineering, 

Chief 

ffi ce o f Energ)' a nd \•Iarine Geology. Chie f 

ffi ce o f lin eral Re ources, hief 

Office of lmernational Geology. hi f 

A istam Chief eolo •i t, Eastern Region 

Assi tam ' hief Geologist, Cemral R gion 

A istam hief eologi t, Western Region 

Water Resources Division 

hief Hyd rologist 

As ociate Chi f H •drologi t 

Assistant hicf Hydrologist for Scientific Information 

~l age mem 

A sista nt hief Hydrologist for Operation 

As ista nt hief Hydrologist for Re ea rch and Externa l 

Coordination, Lin g 

Office o Hyd rologic Re ea rch, hi f 

Office of Extern al Re ea rch, Ch ief, Acting 

Assi tam Chief Hydrologist for Program Coordin ation 

a nd T echnica l uppon 

Office of Atmo ph eri c Deposition Anal sts, hief 

Office o f Ground v\'ater, Chief 

Office o f urface Viate t·, Chie f, Acting 

Office o f Wate t· Qualit •, Ch ief 

Assi tam Chief Hydrologi L for Water Assessment and 

Data oordination 

Office o f Wat r Data oordinatio n, hicf 

1 onhea tern Region, Chief 

o uth eastern Region, hief 

en tral Region . Chief 

We tent Region, hi ef 

District Offices 

Alaba ma 

Al a ka 

rizona 

rkan a 

alifomia 

olorado 

124 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

arne 

Benjamin A. ~! rg , II I 

v\ illiam R. •·ee nwood 

David P. Ru 

j ohn D. t- 1 Curk 

Norman E. Gunder on 

j ohn 1-!. Aamn 

~lit ll W. Reynolds 

Robert L. Wesson 

Cary W. Hill 

Cl nn H. Allcou 

. Thomas o,·e nshin e 

J ack H. l\ 1 dlin 

Harr)' A. Tounelot 

v illiam R. Normat·k 

Philip Cohen 

J ohn 1 • Fi chet· 

J ames F. Daniel 

William B. t. lann I 

Roben M. Hir ch 

Roger C. Wolff 

Frank T. Ca rlson 

Ve rne R. S hneider 

Ranard J . Pick ring 

Eugene P. Patten, Jr. 

Ernest F. Hubba rd 

David A. Ri eken 

Da,·id w. \l oody 

. an )' . Lo pez 

tanlcy P. auer 

J ame L. Cook 

Jame F. Blakey 

T. j ohn onomos 

D. Bt·iane Adams 

Philip A. Emery 

Robe rt D. Mac Nish 

Ector E. Cann 

j ohn 1. Kl ein 

had es A. Pas ale 

Telephone 

Number 

(703) 648-6600 

(703) 64 -660 I 

(703) 64 -6640 

(703) 64 -6628 

(7 03) 648-6650 

(703) 64 -6077 

(703) 648-6959 

(703) 648-67 14 

(703) 648- 6470 

(703) 64 -6 100 

(703) 64 -6047 

(703) 64 -6660 

(303) 236-5438 

(4 15) 329-5 101 

(703) 648- 52 15 

(703) 64 -52 16 

(703) 64 - "699 

(703) 648-503 1 

(703) 648-504 1 

(703) 648-5043 

(703) 64 -6 07 

(703) 64 -5229 

(703) 648-6874 

(703) 64 -500 I 

(703) 648-530 I 

(703) 648-6 62 

(703) 64 -6856 

(703) 64 -50 19 

(703) 64 -5 17 

(404 ) 33 1-5 174 

(303) 236-5920 

(4 15) 329-4403 

(205) 752-8 104 

(907) 27 1-4 138 

(602) 629-667 1 

(50 1) 37 -639 1 

(9 16) 978-4633 

(303) 236-4882 

Address 

National Ce nte r, to p 9 1 I 

ational Center, top 9 1 I 

Nationa l C mer, Stop 9 1 I 

National enter, top 9 1 I 

Na tional enter, to p 9 10 

National Center, to p 904 

1\'a tional C mer, l p 90 

ational enter, top 905 

at ional Center, top 9 15 

1ational mer, Stop 9 13 

National enter, Stop 9 17 

National Center, top 953 

Denve r Federal emer, top 9 1 I 

Western Region Headquart e r , 

top 19 

1\'a tional C nt r, Stop 409· 

1 ational enter, to p 408 

:"-l ational C mer, top 440 

National Cemer, to p 441 

:"Jationa l Centet·, top 436 

National Cemer, Stop 436 

Na tional Cen ter, top 424 

:\'a tiona! · nter, Stop 4 14 

. ational enter, LO p 4 16 

t\ationa l Center, top 4 1 I 

, ationa l emer, top 415 

National eme•·, top 4 12 

Na tional Cemer, LOp 407 

1 ational emer, top 417 

1 ational Center, top 433 

Ri hard B. Ru sell Federal Bldg. 

75 Spring L , Sv , uite 772 

ALiama, CA 30303 

Denver Federal Cemer, 

top 406 

We tern Region Headquarters, 

Stop 470 

520 19th Ave . 

Tuscaloosa, A L 3540 I 

4230 Uni ve rsity Dr. , Su ite 20 I 

Anchorag , AK 9950 

Fed eral Bldg., FB-44 

300 W. Congres St. 

T ucson, AZ 8570 I 

230 I Fed eral Office Bldg. 

700 W. a pitol Ave . 

Little Rock, A R 7220 I 

Room W-2234 Federal Bldg. 

2800 ottage Way 

Sacramento, CA 95825 

Box 25046, top 4 15 

Denve•· Federa l Cemer 

Denver, 0 80225 
Office 

Connecti cut (See Ma achusen ) 

Delawa re (See Mat·yland) 

Distri t o f Columbia (See Ma ryland) 

Florida 

Georgia 

Hawaii 

Id aho 

lllinoi 

Ind iana 

Iowa 

Kan as 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine (See Massachusetts) 

Ma ryland 

Massacl1 usett 

Michigan 

1 innesota 

Mi sissippi 

Misso uri 

Monta na 

ebras ka 

evada 

ew Hampshire ( ee Massachu en ) 

ew J e rsey 

ew Mexico 

ew York 

arne 

I n "in H. Kamrowit z 

J effrey T. rmbruster 

\Nill iam 1eyer 

j etT)' L. Hughes 

Richa rd P. 'ovitzki 

Dennis K. tewan 

Ri ha rd A. Engberg 

T homa L. Huntzinge r 

Alfred L. Knight 

Da rwi n D. Knochenmus 

He rb n J . Freibe rge r 

Ivan . J ames II 

T. Ra • ummings 

v illiam J . Herb 

Michael W. Gaydo 

Daniel P. Baue r 

j oe A. Moreland 

Michael V. hulters 

William J. Ca rswell , Jr. 

Donald E. Vaupel 

Robe rt L. Knutilla 

L. Grad y Moore 

Telephone 

umber 

(904) 68 1- 7620 

(404) 986--6 60 

( 0 ) 54 1-2653 

(20 ) 334-- 1 7 50 

(2 1 7) 398-5353 

(3 I 7) 290-3333 

(3 19) 337--4 19 1 

(9 13) 4 2-9909 

(502) 5 2-524 1 

(504) 3 9-02 I 

(30 I) 828- 1535 

(6 1 7) 565-6 60 

(5 17) 377-1608 

(6 12) 229-2600 

(60 I) 965--4600 

(3 14) 34 1-0824 

(4 06) 449-5263 

(4 02) 43 7-5082 

(702) 882- 13 8 

(609) 77 1-3900 

(505) 262--6630 

(5 18) 4 72-3 107 

Address 

227 1 onh Bt·onough t. 

uite 30 15 

Tall aha. s . FL 3230 I 

64 1- B P achtree lnd ustt·ial Bl vd . 

Doraville , CA 30360 

677 Ala oa a Blvd.. uit 4 15 

Honolulu , HI 968 13 

230 ollins Rd. 

Boise, 10 3702 

hampaign ou nt Bank Plaza 

102 E. Main t. , 4th Floor 

rbana, IL 6 1 0 1 

5957 La kesid Blvd . 

I ndi anapoli , 11 46278 

P .. Box 1230 

Room 269, Fede ral Bldg. 

400 . ' linton t. 

101 a it , lA 52244 

482 1 Quai l 

La'"rence, K 66049 

230 I Bradlc )' ve. 

Lo uisvill , K Y 402 17 

P.O. Box 66492 

6554 Flo rida Blvd . 

BatOn Rouge, LA 70896 

208 a rroll Bldg. 

600 La ail e Rd . 

T owson, MD 2 1204 

I 0 Cau eway t. , Room 926 

Boston, MA 02222 

6520 1et·ca ntile Way, uit 5 

Lansing, Ml 4 9 11 

702 Post Office Bldg. I 0 

E. Kellogg Blvd. 

L Paul, M 1 55 101 

Su ite 710 Fed e ral Bldg. 

I 00 West apitOI St. 

J ackson, M 39269 

1400 Independence Rd ., Mail top 200 

Rolla, MO 6540 I 

Rm. 428 Federal Bldg. 

301 outh Pa rk Ave. 

Helena, MT 59626 

Rm. 406 Federal Bldg. 

I 00 Centenn ial Mall, onh 

Lincoln , NE 68508 

Rm . 224 Federal Bldg. 

705 onh Plaza t. 

Ca rson City, V 8970 I 

uite 206, Mountain View O ffi e Pa rk 

I 0 Bear Tave rn Rd. 

West Trenton, J 08628 

Pinetree Office Pa rk , uite 200 

4501 Indian hool Rd ., '- E. 

Albuque rque, M 87 1 I 0 

P.O . Box 1669 

343 .. Post Office and Courthouse 

Albany, 1 Y 1220 1 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 125 
Office 

onh aroli na 

. onh Da kota 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon ( e Wa hingLO n) 

P nnsylvania 

Pu en o Ri co 

Rhode Island (See Massachusens) 

outh Ca t·olina 

ou th Dakota 

Ten nessee 

Texas 

Utah 

Vermom (See Mas achusens) 

Virgin ia (See Mat·yland) 

Washingwn 

West Virginia 

Wi consin 

\o omin g 

126 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

arne 

J ames F. T urner 

vV il li am F. Hora k 

Leven M. Hindall 

had es R. Bur hen 

Da,·id E. Click 

All en L. Zack 

Rodney N. Che!T)' 

Ri chard E. Fid ler 

Ferdinand QuinonesMa rquez 

Chad es W. Boning 

Harvey L. Ca e 

Carald C. Parker, Jr. 

David H. Appel 

Vernon W. Norma n 

J ames E. Kircher 

Telephone 

Number 

(9 19) 856-45 10 

(70 1) 250-460 1 

(6 14) 469-5553 

(405) 23 1-4256 

(7 17) 782-45 14 

( 09) i83-4660 

( 03) 765-5966 

(605) 353-7 176 

(6 15) 736-5424 

(5 12) 32-579 1 

(80 I) 524-5663 

(206) 593-65 I 0 

(304) 347-5 130 

(60 ) 274-3535 

(307) 772-2 153 

Address 

P.O. Box 2857, Rm. 436 

Cemury Posta l Station 

300 Fayen eville treet l'vlall 

Raleigh, C 27602 

82 1 E. !mer tale Ave . 

Bisma rck, N D 5850 I 

975 \~ hird Ave. 

Columbus, O H 432 12 

Rm. 62 1,2 15 Dea n A. McGee Av. 

Oklah ma City, OK 73 102 

P.O. Box 11 07. 4th Floor 

Federal Bldg., 228 Walnut L. 

Harrisburg, P 17 10 

C PO Box 4424 

Bldg. 652 C A emer 

Hw)' 2 , Km . 7.2, Pueblo Viejo 

San Juan , PR 00936 

uite 677 A, 1835 A sembly St. 

olu mbia , C 2920 I 

Rm. 3 17 Federa l Bldg. 

200 4th St., W 

Huron, D 57350 

A-4 13 Fed ral Bldg. and 

ounhou e 

Nashville, TN 37203 

80 11 Came ro n Rd ., Bldg. I 

Austin , TX 78753 

Rm . 10 16 Administration Bld g. 

1745 W. 1700 outh 

Salt Lake City, T 4 104 

120 1 PacificAve., uite 600 

Tacoma, WA 9 402 

603 Morri St. 

Cha rleston, ~ V 2530 1 

64 17 onnandy Ln . 

Madi on, WI 537 19 

P.O. Box I 125 

2 120 Ca pitOl Ave., Rm . 4006 

heyenne, WY 82003 
Cooperators and 

Other Financial 

Contributors 

Cooperators listed are those with whom the · .. 

Geological urvcy had a written agreement cosigned 

by G offi cials and officials of the coo perating 

agency fo r financial cooperation in fisca l year 19 

Parent age ncies arc listed separately from their subdivision \\'hencver the re are separate cooperative 

agreement for different projects with a parent 

agency and with a ·ubdivi ion o it. Agencies arc 

listed in alphabetical order under the ta te or terrilOf)' where they have cooperati\·c agreements with 

the uSGS. Agencies with whom the CSG has 

re carch contract and to whom it supplied research 

funds a rc not listed . 

Cooperating office of the U.S. Geologi cal Survey 

g-Gcologic Divi ion 

n-Nati nal Mapping Division 

w-\Vater Resources Division 

Alabama 

Alabama Department ofEnvironmental M anagement (w). 

Highways (w): 

Alabama urface Mining Commission (w): 

Alaba tcr. ity of (w): 

Annisto n. ity of (w): 

Ashvill e, T own o f (11•): 

Birmingham. it y of (w): 

a lhou n Count • Commissio n (w); 

Co fcc County Commis ion (11•); 

Dauphin Island Wa ter Authorit • (11·): 

Geologica l urvcy of Al aba ma (g. n.11•): 

Heflin . Cit of (w): 

Huntsville. Cit · of (w): 

J ackson ville. ity of (11·): 

.J cffer on Count y ommis io n (w): 

Mobile. it)' of (w): 

Mo ntgomery. ity o (w): 

Pra ttville. ity of (11•): 

Reece it y. Town of (w): 

o uth11·ide \\'at ·r Work (w): 

umte r. ou nt y of (11·): 

Tuscaloosa. it)' of (11·) 

Alaska 

Alaska Depa rtment ofFish and Ga me (w). 

Militaq' and Veteran Affairs. Division of 

Emergency en ·iccs (11·). 

Natura l Re ourcc. Divi ion ofGeologica l and Geoph rsica l urvc •s (g.11·). 

Technica l Services (w). 

Transp rtation and Public Facilities (w): 

Alaska Power Authority (g.w): 

An horag . Municipalit)' ofDepartment of Hea lth and Hu man en•ices (w), 

Department of olid 1\'a·tc ervi es (1v). 

\ VaLCr and \- astcwatcr Uli lit (w): 

Dillingham, City of (w): 

Fairbanks. Cit)' of (w): 

Fa irbanks North tar Borough (w): 

J uneau . ,it)' and Bo rough of (w): 

Kenai Pcnin ula Borough (w): 

Matanuska usitna Borough (w): 

Pe tersburg. it of (w): 

itka. City and Borough of {w): 

' niver it)' of Ala ka, Fairbanks (w): 

Wasilla, it)' of (w) 

Ameri can Samoa 

Amcri an Samoa, Government of {w) 

Arizona 

Arizona Bureau of Geology and ~lin l Technologv 

(g): 

Arizona Department ofEnvironrnental Rc ources (w), 

Water Resources (w): 

Arizona Geologica l urvcy (g): 

Arizo na tate L~nd Dcpanmc nt (11·): 

Arizona Sta te Universit)' {g): 

.olorado Department of High11·ays (w); 

Franklin Irrigation District {w): 

ila \'alley Irrigation District (w): 

Maricopa ountyFlood 0111 rol Di ·trict (w). 

Municipal \\'atcr onsc rvati n District No. I (\\'); 

~lctropolitan \\'ater Di triCl of Southern Californ ia 

(w); 

Pima Cou nty Tran portation and Flood ontrol Di . 

triCL (\\'): 

afford. it)' of (w): 

alt River \'a lley Water U crs Associatio n (w): 

an a rlos Irrigation and Drainage District (w): 

cott dale. ity of (w): 

how Low Irrigation Company {w): 

The .'lavaj o Nation (w): 

Tucson. it)' o (w) 

Arkansas 

Arkansas Depa rtment f Pollution ontrol and Ecology {w): 

Arkansas Game Jnd Fish Commission, Fisherie Division (11·); 

Arkansa eologica l Commis ion (g.n.w): 

Arkansas oil and \Vater onser\'ation Comm i~ -;io n 

(w): 

Arkansas tate High11•ay and Transportation Department (w): 

Arkan a -Oklahoma: Arkansas River ompart Commi sion (w): 

Independence, Count)' of (w) 

California 

lameda Cou mrFiood ontrol and \Vater onscrvation Di tri t 

(Hayward) (11·). 

Water District (11·): 

Antelope \'aller-East Ke rn Water Agency (w): 

alifornia Department ofBoating and \Vatcrways (w). 

Conse rvation (g), 

Health cn·ices (w). 

Parks and Re TCatio n (g.w). 

\\'atcr Rcsourcesemral District ( a ramento) (n.w), 

Northern District (Red Bluff) (11·). 

an J oaqu in Di trict (Fre no) (11•): 

alifornia 0 fi ce of Emcrgcncr en·ices (n): 

Californ ia Water omrol Boa rd. olorado Region 

(w): 

arpintcria oun ty \·Vater District (w); 

asitas !unicipal Wat er District (w): 

oachclla Valier Water District (w): 

ontra osta CountyDepartment of Health en•ices (w). 

Flood o ntrol and Wat ·r Conservation District 

(w): 

r stlinc·Lakc Arrowhc:w \\ ,nc.• . n"-11"-' ''' J· 

Desert \\'atcr Agency (11 ): 

East Bay Municipal ' tility District (w): 

East Vallc1' \\'ater Di~tri t (11•): 

Fresno ~!ctropolitan Flo d o ntrol Distriu (w): 

Georgetown Divide Publi< ' tilitv Di,trin (11 ): 

.olet. Watet Dist ri< t (11 ): 

Humboldt Ha1 ~luni ip l \\'a tcr Distt in (11 ): 

I mpcrial Co un11· Department of Public \\'orks (11 ): 

lmpetial lnigation n, trin (w): 

Indi an Wells ~llcy 1\'atct Di"rict (w): 

lnvo Count\' \ \'ater Dcpanmcnt ('''); 

Lompoc. itv of (w): 

L ~ ,\ ngelcs Dcpa ttmcnt of \\',ucr and Po11er (11·): 

~lad era lt rigation Di ·u·iu (11•): 

rin Countv Department of Publit \\'ot k~ (w): 

~Ia' in ~1uni ip l 1\'ate r Di>triu (11·): 

~!creed. City of (11 ): 

Merced l r rigation Qj,, riCI (\\'): 

~l ojave \\'atcr .-\ gem y (w): 

~l nte it o \\'at ·r Oi;tri t (w): 

~J omerey ounty Flood Control and ll'ater Con,crvation Di trict (w): 

Ylontctt.: \ Pen in::,ula \\'ater ~lttn it: ip l i~tr-i( t (,,·). 

akd alc-Sou th an .J oaquin In iga tion Oi;trict (11•): 

Orange Count\ -

Environm('ntal ~f:lnagcm nt Agcn<..v (w). 

\\'a t 'r Di, trirt (w): 

1 ovillc-\\' yandottc It rigation DiSII iu (w): 

Ran ho California \\'at e t Disu itt (11 ); 

Ri1•crsidc Count Flood Control and ll'atct Cotl>e t-

,.,uion Di ict (w); 

aC'ramcnto Department of ll•.:alth Scrvic '('''): 

acramcnto 1\lunicipal 'tilit) Di t1 in (w): 

acramcnto Rcgi nal Countv anit:uion Di,tr ill, 

Department of Public \\'ork; (w): 

an Benito oun t)' \Vru cr onset \';uion and Floort 

ontrol District (11•): 

an Bernat dino Cou nt y l·lood Con u ol Oi,u i<t (11•): 

an 13ct nardino \ 'a lley Munici pal \\'itt<'' Oi\tt itt (11·): 

San Diego. Citv of (11•). 1\'atcr tilit y (w): 

an Dt 'go. ount) of. Dcpanmcn1 ofPlanning and Land C~c (11 ). 

Public Works (w): 

an Franci·co. ity and ount1• of. Public 'tilitie 

ommi sio n (w): 

San Francisco \\'atcr Department (w): 

San Luis Obispo ount y Government enter (w): 

an ~! ateo C unty Department of Public \\'ork (w): 

anta Barbara. ity of. Depa rtment of Public Work 

(w): 

an ta Barbara ountrFlood ontrol and Water Con·cnatio n District 

(w). 

Water Agcncr (w): 

anta Clara ValiC)' \Vater District (w): 

anta ruz. it)' of. \\'atcr Department-Cit)' Hall (11•); 

ama ruz ounty Flood ontrol and Water Conse rvation District (w): 

Santa Maria alley Water Conscn·ation District (w): 

Santa Yncz River \Vater Con cn'atio n District (w): 

cotts Valley Water District (w): 

Siskiyou ounty Flood Control and Wa te r on cn·ation Distri ct (w): 

o noma ounty -

Pianning Department (w). 

\\'ate r Agcncr (w): 

Tahoe Regio nal Plannin g (w); 

T e rra Be lla Irrigation District (1,·): 

Tulare o unty Flood C mro l District (11·): 

Turlock Irrigation District (w): 

United Water Conset·vat ion District (11·): 

·niversity of Ca li ornia. Berkclcr (g): 

Ventura Count)' Public Wo rks Agency (w): 

Water Resources ontrol Uoard (w): 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 127 
Western Muni ipal Water District (w); 

Woodbridge Irrigation District (w); 

Yolo ount Flood Control and Water on ervation 

Di trict (•,•); 

Yuba County Water Agency (w) 

Colorado 

Arkan as Ri ver ompact Administration (w); 

Arvada , ity of (w); 

A pen . ity of (w): 

Aurora, City of (w); 

Bent, ounty of (w); 

Boulder. City of (w); 

Boulder, ounty of. De partme nt of Publi Work ("·): 

Breckenridge, T own of ("·); 

astle Pines Metropolitan District (w); 

astle Pines North Metropolitan Di trict (w): 

astlc Rock, T o•m o f (w); 

haffee, County of (w); 

herokee Water and anit ation Di trict (w); 

olorado Department of Hea lth (w); 

olorado Division ofMined Land Reclamation (w). 

Water Resource , Office of the tate Engineer 

(w); 

olorado Geologica l un·ey (g); 

olorado River \Vater onscrvalion DisLri ct (\\'}; 

olorad prings. it • ofDepartment of Public utilitie ("·), 

Office of th e ity Manage r ("·); 

olorado \ ater onsen ·ation Boa rd (w); 

Delta ount y Board of Count y Commi sioner (w); 

Denver. Cit ' and ount y, Boa rd of Water Commis· 

ionc rs (w): 

Denver Regional ouncil of Govern mentS (w); 

Eagle ounty Boa rd of ommissioner (w): 

Englewood, ity of. Wastewater Treatment Plant ("•): 

E,·e rgreen Metropolitan Di trict (w); 

Fon oil in , City of (w); 

Fou nt ain Valley Authorit (w); 

Fruita. City of (w); 

Garfield. ou nt • of (•,•): 

Gle ndale, ity o f (w); 

Glenwood pring , it · of (w); 

Grand County Board of ommis ion r (•,·); 

Longmont . City of (w); 

Loveland. "i1v of (w); 

Lower Fountain Water-Qua lity Management A sociation ("'); 

Metropolitan DCtl\'Cr cwage Disposa l District No. 

(w); 

Moffat. ount of (w); 

ort hern olorado Watet· Con en·an y District (w): 

onh KiO\\'a- BUou round \Vater M ana cment District (w): 

1orth Laj unta Water onservancy District (w): 

Pike< P ak Area oun il of overnm ·n t (w); 

Pitkin Count y Boa rd o ommissi ncrs (w); 

Pueblo Board of Water \\'orks (w); 

l'ucbl ivil Defen c Agency (w): 

Pueblo ounty ommis ioner (w): 

Pueblo We t Metropolit a n Di<triCL (w); 

Ri o Blanco, ounty of (w): 

Ri o ·,·andc \Vater onsc rvation District (w): 

1. harle Mesa Water A ociation ("•): 

outhca te rn Colorado Wate r Conservancy Di trict 

(" •); 

outhcrn te Indian Tribe (g,w); 

Southwestern olorado \o\1ater onsen·anc ' Distri t 

(w); 

Steamboat p•·ings. ity of (w); 

Thornton, ity of ("'); 

Trinchera on ·crvancy District (w); 

ncompahgre aile)' Wat er ers As ociation (w): 

128 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Uppe r Arkansa River Wate r Conservancy District 

(w); 

Upper Black Squirrel Ground Water Management 

District (w); 

Upper Eagle Valley Water and San itation Di tri tS 

(w); 

Upper Yampa Wate r onse rva nC)' District (w): 

· rban Drai nage and Fl od omrol Distri t (w): 

Water Use r No. I (Rangely) (w); 

Westminster, Cit ' of (w): 

Yellow J acket Water onse rvancy Distri t (w) 

Connecticut 

onnccti cut Depart ment of Environmental Protection (g, n."'): 

Fairfield , Town of. Conservation Commis ion ("'); 

Ne"' Britain , it of. Boa rd of Water Commi sioners 

(w); 

outh entra l onnecticut Regiona l Water Aut horit y 

("·); 

T orrington. it y of (w) 

Delawar e 

Dclm\•are Department o f Nall.aral Rcsour e and 

Environmenta l Control (w): 

Geologica l urvey (w) 

District of Columbia 

Department of Public Works (w); 

~l tr lit an Washington ouncil of G vernment 

(w) 

Florida 

Boca Raton. Cit · of("·): 

Bradenton, ity of (w); 

Brevard Count)', Board o f Count Commissioners 

(w); 

BrO\\'ard ountyEnvironmental Quality ontrol Boa rd (w). 

\·Vater Resources M anagement Division (w); 

ape 01·al. City of (w); 

oilier. ounty of (w): 

ocoa. ity of (w): 

Cottondale. ity of("'); 

Edge"·ater. ity of (w); 

Englewood Water District (w): 

Es ambia ou nt)' Boa rd of ounty Commissioner 

(w); 

Florid a Department ofEtwironmental Regulation. Bureau of Laboratories and pecial Programs (w). 

Na tural Re ourceDivision ofMarine Resources (w), 

Recreation and Parks (Hope ound) 

(" '). 

Recrea tion and Parks (T allahassee) (w), 

Transponati n (n.w): 

Florida Institute of Phos phate Research (w); 

Florida Keys Aqued uct Authority (w); 

Fort Lauderdale. City of (•,•): 

Fort \\'alton Beach. Cit)' o (w); 

Game and Fresh"·ater Fish Commission (w); 

Hallanda le, ity of (w): 

Highland Beach. Town of (w); 

Hillsborough. ou nt y of (w); 

Holl ywood. ity of (w); 

J a ksonvill e, City ofDepartment of Hea lth and Environmental er· 

vices (w), 

Deparu11ent o f Planning (w), 

Wate r Services Division (w); 

j ac ksonvi lle Electric Authority. Re earch and Environmemal Affairs (w); 

J ac ksonville Beach, it y of (w); 

Lake ounty Board of Count om missioner (w); 

Lake ounty Water Amhorit (w); 

Lake Mary, ity of (w): 

Lee ou nt y Boa rd of OUill)' Commissioner (w); 

Leon Countyourthouse (w), 

Department of Public Work (w); 

Mad ison. it of (w); 

Manatee CountyBoa rd of OUill)' mmissioners (w), 

Publi Hea lth nit (w): 

Mari n County Boa rd of ommission (w); 

Mctrop lit an Dade ou nt)' Department of Environ· 

ment Resources Management (w); 

Miami-Dade Water and ewer Authorit y (w); 

North"·est Flori Ia Water Management Di trict ("'); 

ca la. City o f (w); 

Palm Bea h Count -

Board of OUill)' ommissione rs (w). 

olid Wa te Authority (w): 

Pen·r. it • o (w); 

Pi ne llas. ount)' of (" '): 

Polk ounty Boa rd of ount • Commis ioners (w); 

Pompano Beach, Cit y of, Water and ewer Depart· 

ment (w); 

Quincy. ity f ("'); 

Reedy Creek Improvement District (w); 

ara ota. it)' of (w): 

arasota. ounty of("'); 

South Dade oil and Water Con e rvation Di tri t (w); 

outh Florid a Water Management Distri ct ("·): 

outhwest Florid a Regional Planning ouncil (w); 

outhwest Florid a Water Management Di trict ("·): 

t. j oh ns. County of ("·): 

t. J ohn River Water Manageme nt District (w); 

1. Pet ersburg, ity of (w); 

tuart, Cit y of (w); 

u"'an nee Ri ver Authority (Live Oak) (w); 

uwannee River . uthorit y (Trenton) ("·): 

uwannec Ri ver \ \'ater vl agc nt District (w); 

Tall aha see. it • ofElectric Department("·), 

treets and Drainage (w). 

Unde rground Utilities (w), 

Wate r Quality Labora tory (w); 

Tampa, ity of (w): 

Tampa Port uthority (w): 

univer it y of Florida, enter for Wetlands (w): 

Volusia . ounty of (w); 

Walton. oumy of (w); 

oa t Regional Water uppl)' Au thority (w): 

Winter Park. ity of (w) 

Georgia 

Alabama Economic and ommu nity Affairs (w); 

Albany. it)' of("'); 

Albany Water. Gas. and Light ommission (w): 

Bibb County Boa rd of ounty Commissioners (w): 

Blairsville, it)' f (w); 

Brunswi ck. Cit)' of (w): 

alifornia Air Resources Board (w); 

Clayton ounty Water Authority (" '); 

Cobb, County of (w); 

ovington, ity of (w); 

eorgia Department ofNa tural Resources (g)-

En\'ironmcrual Protection Division -

Water Management Branch (w). 

Water Quality upport Program (w), 

Geologic Survey (n.w). 

Transportation (w)-

Materials and Resea rch (w); 

Georgia State University (w); 
Gwinnett, Coumy of (w); 

Helena, City of (w); 

Macon-Bibb ou m y Water and e11•age Amhorit)' 

(w); 

Mou ltrie. 

Summerville. 

T homaston, 

T homa ville. 

Va ld o ta , Cit 

Guam 

Guam. Government of (11·) 

Hawaii 

Hawa ii , o ulll)' of. Department of Water upply (w); 

Hawa ii Departme nt ofLand a nd atura l Re o urces, Divi io n of Wa ter 

and La nd Development (w), 

Transportation (11•); 

Honolulu , ity and ounty ofBoa rd of Wa ter uppl y (w). 

Department of Public Work (11·); 

Kaua i, Count)' of. Department of \· a ter Suppl (11•); 

Maui. o unty of (w) 

Idaho 

Boise. ity of (w); 

College o f Southern Idaho (w); 

Idaho Depa rtment ofFish a nd Came (w), 

Hea lth and We lfare (w). 

Tran ponation (n), 

Water Rc ources (w); 

Ida ho Geologica l Survey (g): 

Shosho ne. Coumy of (w); 

hoshone-Bannock Tribes, Fo rt Ha ll Busine s Council (w); 

South we t Irrigation District (w); 

un Valle y Wa ter and Sewe r Di trict (w); 

Teton oum y Boa rd of ommissione rs (11·); 

Wate r Di tri ct No. 01 (Ida ho Fa lls) (w): 

Water District o. 3 1 (Duboise) (11·) 

Illinois 

Bloomington and 1onnal anitar ' Di trict (w): 

o k ou m y Forest Pre en·e Distl'i t (w); 

Deca tur. ity of (11•): 

DcKalb. City of (w): 

Du l>age Count y Fo rest Preserl'e. Planning and De,·clo pment cction (11·); 

Du Page ounty Departmem of Em·ironmcn ta l 

Affairs (w): 

Illinois Department ofEnergy and Natural Rc ource , tate Wa te r urvey Dil'ision (w), 

TransportationDivision of Highwars (n). 

Division of Water Re ourccs (n.w): 

Illinois Environrncntal Protection Agency. Di vi ion of 

Wa ter Pollu tio n Control (w); 

Illinois ta te col g i a l urve)' (g.n ): 

Metro politan anitaq• District of reater Chicago 

(w) ; 

pringficld. it y of (w): 

errnilion ou nty onsc rvation District (w) 

Indiana 

Ca rmel. T own of (w): 

Elkh a rt , City o , Wa ter Wo rks (11•): 

Indiana Depa rtment fEnvironmenta l ivlanagemcn t (w), 

Highways (w), 

atural Resources (g, n)-

Di vi ion of Water (w), 

Division of Park (11·): 

lndianap lis, it ' of, Departmen t of Public Work 

(w) 

Iowa 

Carroll Count y Hea lth Depa rt ment (w); 

edar Rapids. it y of (w): 

Charle it y. it of (w); 

Des Moines, it )' of (w), \1 atcr Works (w); 

Fort Dodge. it)' of (11·): 

Guthrie County Health Department (w); 

Iowa Department ofTransportation, Highwa Division (w), 

1 atural Resources (w); 

Iowa eologica l Survey (n,w); 

Iowa tate Univcr it y (w); 

Mar halltown , it)' of (11•); 

LJnivcrsit of lowalnstitllte of Hj•draulic Resea rch (w). 

Hr gienic Laborator (11·). 

Ph j•sica l Plant (11•). 

Sewage Disposa l Pl ant (w); 

Sioux it )', it )' of (11•); 

IJnio n Ele tric Compan)' (w); 

Waterloo. it y of (w) 

Kansas 

Arkansas River Compact Admini tratio n (\\'}: 

Ba rt on, ou nt o f (w); 

lay, Count)' of (11•); 

Emporia. it of (w); 

Equu Bed Groundwater age ment District No.2 

(w); 

cary. Coum ·of (w); 

Hay . it)' of (w); 

Kan as Depa rtmen t ofHealth and Environment (w). 

Transpo rtation (w); 

Kansas Corporation ommi sion (\\'): 

Kansas Geologica l urve ' (g.n,w); 

Kansa tate Boa rd of Agriculture. Dil'i ion o Water 

Re ource (w): 

Kan as tate nivcrsit · ('\'): 

Kansas Water Office (w); 

Linn. o unt)' of (w): 

Olathe. City of (w): 

Pa" •nce Waters h cl (w): 

Sedg"·ick. ount)' of (w); 

outhwest Kansas roundwatcr Management District 

No.3 (w): 

Trego. Count y of (11·): 

\Vestcrn Kansas round,\·atcr ivlanagemcnt Distri t 

No. I (11·): 

Wichita, ity of (w); 

Wya ndotte. ount ' of (w) 

Kentu c ky 

Elizabethtown, it of (w); 

Hardin County Water Di trict (11•): 

J efferson. Count)' of, Department of Public W rks 

and T ransportation (w); 

Kentucky Department of 1atura l Resources and 

Environmental Protection abinet (w): 

Lincoln Trail Hea lt h Depa rtment (w): 

Lo uisville Metropolitan ewer District (w); 

ni1·e r ity of Kentucky. Kentucky eologica l u,·ve)' 

(11,11'); 

Un iversit y of Louisville (w) 

Louisiana 

Barou LaFourche Fre h11·ater District (w): 

apitai-A rca Crounrlwatcr onscrvation ommission (w); 

East Baton Rouge Pari h (w); 

J e fferson Parish Department of Publi Utilities (11•); 

Louisiana Department ofEnl'ironm ' ntal Qualitv (w), 

Transp n ation and Dc,•clopmcnt -

Materials La b (11•). 

Office of Public Wo rks (n.w), 

Wildlife and Fi hcrics (w); 

L uisiana Sta te Un ivcr it )' and i\&~ 1 liege (w); 

abinc Ri ver ompact Administration (w): 

lide ll. Cit · of (w) 

Maine 

And rosc ggin Valley Cou ncil o Governmcnh (11·); 

obbossee Waters hed District (w); 

M aine Department ofonsen·a tio n. eological Surver (g. n.w). 

Environmental Prate tion (w). 

1 nland Fisheries and Wildlife (w). 

Transportation ("'): 

1onh Kennebec Regional Planning Commission (w): 

nivcrsit y of Ma ine (w) 

Maryland 

nne Arundel ounty Planning and Zoning )ffice 

(w); 

Baltimore Count -

D partment of Pe rmitS and Li cnscs (w), 

Department of Publi Work (11'). 

f T<' C of Planni ng and Zo nin g (w); 

Ca lve rt oun ty ourthome. Planning and Zoning 

(w): 

aroline Count y ourthousc (w): 

arr II ou my .o mmi~ ion (w); 

Ho1vard Coum Depa rtment of Publi< Wo k, (11•); 

Marybnd Department of the Environment (h'); 

Maryland Ceo! gi a l urvcy (11 ,11'); 

ary and Sta te Hi n~ a dministrat ion (11 ); 

~hq land Wate r Kcs urces Ad minim at ion (11•); 

Mo ntgomerr CoumrDepanment of En"ironrncntal Pr otection. Division of Environmental Planning and Monitoring (11'). 

torm \Vater anagement (\\'): 

Poolesl'ille. Town of (w): 

t. Ma rys County ommissioner (w): 

Uppe r PotOmac Ri ve r Com missio n (w); 

Was hington uburban anitary ommi sion (w) 

Massachusetts 

Barn table o unty ommi ioner (w): 

Brewster. To11'1l of (w); 

an , Town of (w); 

MassachusettS Department ofE1n·ironmental Management. Division of \ Vater 

Resources (g,w). 

Environmental Qua lit y EngineeringDi vision of Water Pollution Control (w). 

Division of Water uppl y (w). 

Fishe ries. Wil dlife. and Environmenta l La1c 

Enforcement, Divisio n of Fisheries and Wildlife (11·). 

Hazardous Waste Facility. itc a fety ouncil 

(w), 

Public Wo rks (11·); 

Mas achusett Water Resources Authority (w); 

Metro poli tan District CommissionParks. Engineering and onstru ·ti n Division 

(w ), 

Wate rshed Management Divisio n (w); 

1

cw England Interstate Wa ter P llutio n ontro l 

ommissio n (w): 

Woods Ho le Oceanogra phic Institute (g) 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 129 
ity of (w); 

reek. ity of (w); 

ity of. Wa tcwater Treatmem Plant ("'); 

lare , it of (w); 

old water. ity of, Boa rd of Publi tilities (w); 

Elsie, Village of (w); 

Flint, ity of. Department of Public \• arks and tilitie (w); 

Gene ee ou nty Drain ommis ion. Divi ion of 

Water and Waste Services ("•); 

Grand Traverse ounty Board of ommissioners 

(\•): 

Huron-ClintOn Metropolitan Authorit (w); 

Imla . ity of (w); 

Kalamazoo, Cit y of, Department of Public Utilitie 

(w); 

Kalamazoo ounty Board of ommissioncr (w); 

Lansing, ity of, Board of Water and Light , Water 

and tream Division ~); 

Ma omb. oun ty of("'); 

Maso n. it y of (w); 

Michiga n Department ofAgri ·ulture (w), 

Natural Resources (w), 

Tran portation (w); 

Oakland ounty Drainage Commission (w); 

Otsego oumy Road Commis ion (w); 

Portage. it)' o (w); 

Wayne. Coumy of, Di vision of En vironmental Hea lth 

(w); 

Yp ilanti , ity of (w) 

Minne so ta 

Beltrami County WCD (w); 

Elm reck on e•·vation ommission (w); 

Fond Du Lac Reservation Bu ines Committee (w); 

Leech L~kc Resen•ation Bu iness ommiucc (w); 

Lower Red Ri ver Wate rshed Management Di tri t 

(w); 

Metropolitan \\ astc omrol Commission (w); 

Mille L~cs Reservation Busines ommiuee (w); 

Minneap li Water Works (w); 

Minnesota Dcpartmcm ofatural Resources. Di vision of Water (w). 

Transportation (w); 

Minne ota Geological urvey (g); 

Red La ke Tribal Resen•ation Bu in s ommiu c 

(w); 

Rochester Publi 'tilitie (w); 

t. Paul. ity of( ~). Water Utility (w); 

University of Minne ota, Departmcm of Soil S ience 

(w); 

\·Vcstcrn Minnnesota Resou rce, nservation and 

Dcvcl pment A sociation (\\·): 

White Earth Reservation Bu inc s ommis ion (w) 

Missis ·ippi 

Harri on, oumr ofBoard of upervisors ("·), 

Devcl pmem ornmi sia n (w); 

.J acks n, Cit)' of (w); 

J ackson, oum y ofBoard of upervi or (w). 

Port Aut h rit y (w); 

Missi sippi Department ofHighways (w). 

atural Resource -

Bureau of Geology (w). 

Bureau of Land and Water Re our es (w). 

Bu reau of I' oll ution Control (w); 

Pat Harrison \Vatcrwa)' District (w); 

Pearl Ri ver 13a in Devclopmem Disu·i t (w); 

Pea rl River alley Water upply Distri t ~) 

130 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Missouri 

Branson, City of (w); 

ape irardeau, City of (w); 

Liule Ri ver Drainage District (w); 

Mis ouri Departmem ofConservatio n (\''), 

Health (w), 

mural Resou rcesDivi ion f Environmemal Quality (w). 

Division of eology and Land urvey 

(g. n.w). 

Land Reclamation omrn i sia n (w); 

Mi souri High'''3)' and Transportatio n o mmi sio n 

(n,w); 

pringficld , City of. ity tilities, Engineering 

D partment (w) 

Monlana 

Fort Peck Tribes (w); 

Helena, City of ("'); 

Lewis and lark, Coum of (w); 

Lower ss clshell onserva tion District (w); 

Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology (g,w); 

Montana Depanmcm ofFi h. Wildlife. and Park ("'). 

Hea lth and Em iron mental Sciences (w). 

Highwa s (w). 

'atural Resource and onservation (w), 

ta te La nds (w); 

Montana State ni ver it y (w); 

Office of the Governor (w); 

alish and Kootenai Tribes of Flathead Reservation 

(w); 

University of Momana ("'); 

\· yoming State Engineer (w) 

ebraska 

Central Pl aue . awral Res urces District (w); 

Kansa -Nebraska 13ig Blue Ri ver ompact Administration ('''); 

Lincoln . ity of ("'); 

Litllc Blue Natural Resources District (w): 

Lo'''cr Loup 1atu ral Re o urccs Di Lrict (w); 

LO" 'er Plauc South Natural Re ource District (w); 

Lower Republican Natural Resou rces Distri t (w); 

,\<Iiddle Niobrara 1 atural Resources District (w); 

Nebras ka Depanmem ofEnvironmental Comrol (w), 

Water Resource (w); 

1 onh Platte 1 awral Resources Di trict (w); 

outh Plane Na tural Resources District (w); 

T wi n Plaue 1 awral Resource Di trict ("·); 

Universit y of 1cbraska. Conservation and urvey 

Divi ion ("'): 

' pper Elkhom 'atural Resources Di trict (w); 

Upper Loup 1 atural Resource Di trict (w); 

' pper Niobrara White ' atu ral Resources District 

(" '); 

pper Republican Natural Resource Distri t (w) 

Nevada 

Ca rson ity Department of Pu blic Work (w); 

Clark ounty Depanmem of Public Works (w); 

lark oumy Regional Flood ontrol Distri t ~); 

lark oumy anitation District (w); 

Douglas, ounty of (w); 

Elko, County of (w); 

Las Vegas, ity of (w); 

L~s Vegas Vallc·y Water Distri t (g,w); 

Mackay chool of Mines (w); 

1 evada Bureau of Mines and Geology (g.n."•); 

1evada Department ofonscrvation and atural Resource -

Division of Environmental Protection (w), 

Di vision of Water Resource (w), 

Human Resource , Divi ion of Health, Consumer Health Protection ervices ("'), 

Transportation (w); 

evada Senate lmerim Finance ommittee (w); 

Regional \ ater Planning-Advisory Hoard (w); 

Reno, it f (w); 

outh La ke T ahoe (Ca lifo rnia). Cit y of (w); 

South Lake T ahoe Public tility District (w); 

Summit Lake Paiute Tribe (" •); 

T ahoe Regional Planning Agency (w); 

nivcrsity o f evada-Rcno. De pa rtme nt o f ivil 

Engineering (w) 

ew Hampshire 

e"· Hamp hire Depart ment ofEnvironmental ervicc (w), 

Re ources and Economic Developmem (g). 

Transportation (w) 

New J ersey 

13ergen ounty Depa rtment of Pu blic Works (w); 

Brick T ownship Municipal tilities Authority('''); 

Camden aunt Board of Chosen Freeholders (w); 

a pe Ma . ity of (w); 

Gloucester ou ntyHea lth Depa rtment (w). 

Planning Commi sia n (w); 

Greenwich, T ownship of (w); 

Lower. Township of. Municipal tilities Authority 

(w); 

New J erse Department ofAgriculture (w). 

Em·ironmental Protection, Division of Water 

Resources (g, ~); 

Nort h J ersey District Water upply Commission (w); 

J>a saic Vall ey Wate r Commi ion (w); 

omcrse t County 13oa rd of hoscn Freeholders (w); 

West Windsor, T own hip of (w); 

Wild wo d. ity of (w) 

New Mexico 

Alamogordo. it y of(,,·); 

Albuquerque, City of ("•); 

Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood ontrol 

Authority (" '); 

anadian River Municipal Water Authority (w); 

Costilla Creek Compact Commi sia n (w); 

El Paso Water tility ("'); 

Gallup. ity of (w); 

Highland ni ve rsity (w); 

La ruces. ity of (w); 

La Vega . City of (w); 

Los Alamos, ounty of (w); 

avaj o Indian Natio n ('''); 

New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resource 

(g,w); 

Nc''' Mexico Environmcnt.al I mprovcmcnt Divisi n 

(w); 

ew Mexi co Department of Highways (w); 

e""' Mexico Interstate tream ommi sion ('''): 

1ew Mexico tate University Agricultu ral Experiment Sta tion (w); 

Office of the State Engineer (w); 

Peco Ri ver Commis ion (w); 

Pueblo of Acoma (w); 

Pueblo of Laguna ("'); 

Pueblo of Zun i (w); 

Raton , City of (w); 

Rio Grande Compact Commission (w); 

Ruid oso, Village of (w); 

anta Fe Metropoli ta n Water Boa rd (w); 

Santa Rosa, ity of (w) 

New York 

Amherst, Town of. Engi neering Departmem (w); 
Auburn. Cit y of (w); 

Brookhaven. Town of (w); 

Chautauqua, ounty of, Department of Planning and 

Development (w); 

heektowaga. Town of (w); 

Cornell Uni"ersityDepartment of Natural Re ource (w). 

Deparunent of Uti lities (w); 

Dutchess. Count of. Environmental Management 

(w); 

Hudson-Black River Regulating Di trict (w); 

Kir as J oel. Vill age of (w); 

Long Island Regional Pl an ning Board (w); 

Monroe. oumy of. Department of Health (w); 

assau, ounty ofDepartment of Healt h (" '). 

Department of Public Work (w); 

'ew York City Department of Environmental Protection , Air and Water Resource -Energy (w); 

ew York State Department ofEnvironmental Conservation (w), Division of 

Water (w), 

Transportation, Bridge and Construction 

Bureau (w); 

New York tate Power Authority (w); 

' yack. Villa e of. Board of Water ommis ioners 

(w); 

Onondaga. ounty ofDepartment of Drai nage (w). 

Water Authority (w); 

Orange, ounl)' of, Department of Publi Works (w); 

Oswego. ounty of. Hea lLh Department (w); 

Saratoga , ounty of (w); 

Schuyler, ounty of (w); 

uffolk. ounty ofDepanmcnt of HealLh en•ices ("'). 

Wa ter Authority (w); 

Tug Hill ommi sion (w); 

Tompkin , County of, Department o Planning ("·); 

Ulster, County of, County Legi lators (w); 

Westchester. ounty ofDepa rtment of Health ("·), 

D partment of Public Wo rk (w) 

orth Carolina 

A hevillc , ity o (w); 

Bethel. Town of (w); 

Brevard. Cit y of (w); 

hapcl Hill, Town of (w); 

harlouc, ity of (w); 

Durham. it • of. Departmem of Water Resource 

(w); 

Forsyth, ounty of (w); 

Green boro, ity of("'); 

Guilford OUill)' S. \\'.C.D. (w); 

Jacksonville. City of (w); 

orth arolina tate Depart mem ofHuman Resources('''). 

atural Resources and ommunity Devclo pm nl (n,w). 

Tran ponation , Divi ion of Highwa ys (w); 

Orange Water and ewer Authorit (w); 

Raleigh. City of (w); 

Rock)' Moum, ity of (w); 

University of orth arolina. Charlotte (w) 

North Dakota 

Dickinson, Cit y of (w); 

Lower Hean River Water Resources District (w); 

orth Dakota cologica l un·ey (g.w); 

orth Dakota State nivcrsity (w); 

Oliver Coumy Board of ommissioners (w); 

Pu blic Service ommission (w); 

tate Water ommi sion (w); 

Three Affiliated Tribes Natural Resource Depanmcm (w) 

Ohio 

Akron, ity of (w); 

anton, it • of. \l'ater Depanment ('''); 

Columbus, City of (w); 

Ea tgate Development and Transportation Agency 

(w); 

Fremont. City of (w); 

Geauga ounty Planning ommission (w); 

Lima, ity of (w); 

Lucas, County of (w); 

Miami onservancy District (w); 

Ohio Air Quality Development Authorit y (w); 

Ohio Department of-

'atural Resources ("'), 

Transportation (n ,w); 

Ohio Environmental Prote tion Agency (w); 

Ohio State Uni\'ersity ("·); 

Ohio \l'a ter Development Authority ("'); 

Ro eville, City of (w); 

Ros , Coumy of (w); 

Sandusky, County of (w); 

eneca oil and Water Di trict (w); 

Toledo Metropolitan Area ouncil of Govc rnmcms 

(w); 

Univer~ity of Toledo (w); 

Wood. County of (w) 

Oklahoma 

Ada. ity of (w); 

Altu . City of (w); 

Central Oklahoma Master Con crvancy Distri t 

(w); 

Edmond. ity of (w); 

Fort obb Resen •oir Master Consen•ancy District (w); 

Fo Reservoir Master onservancy District ("·); 

Lawton. ity of (w); 

Lugcrt-Alws Irrigation Di trict ("•); 

Moumain Park Master on e•-vancy Di trict (w); 

onnan , City of (w); 

Oklahoma ity. ity of (w). Depanmem of Water 

R source (w); 

Oklahoma Dcpartmem of Transponation (n); 

Oklahoma eological urvey. nivcrsity of OkJahoma (g,w); 

Oklahoma tate Health Department (w); 

Oklahoma Water Resour es Board (w); 

Tulsa, ity of (w)-

Watcr and C\\'Cr Department (" ·), 

Department of Storm Water anagement (w) 

Oregon 

lark County Intergovernmental Resource enter 

(\\•); 

Confederated Tribes ofmatilla Indian Reservation (w}. 

Warm pring Indian Reservation (w); 

Coos Bay-North Bend Water Boa rd (w); 

Douglas, County of. Department of Publi Wo rk (w); 

Eugene. City of, Water and Electric Board (w); 

McMinnville. ity of, Water and Ligh t Department 

(w); 

Oregon Department ofFish and Wildlife (w). 

Forestry (n). 

eology and Mineral Industries (g. n). 

Human Resou rces. regon Health Division. 

Drinking Water Program (w). 

atural Resource . Analysis and Planning Managemen t Se•-vice Division (w), 

Transponation. Highway Division (w). 

Water Resources (w); 

Portland. it • of. Bureau of Environmental ervi e 

(w) 

Pennsylvania 

Academy of 1 at ural cicnces of Philadelphia (w); 

Allcmown. it • of("·); 

Berks. ounty of (w); 

Beth lehem. it · of (w); 

hester, Ol1111v of. Water Resour es Authority (w) ; 

Dela,,·arc River 13asin ommission (\\'): 

Erie. County of. Department of Health (w); 

Harrisburg. Citv of, Department of Public ll'o1 k< (w) ; 

Indiana , ount • of (w); 

Lancaster ount)' J>Janning ommi 'iion (w): 

Lctort Regional Autho1i1 • ("'); 

Media Borough Water Departmcm (w); 

Neshaminy \\'ater Resource· Authority (w); 

. tc,,· York t:tlc Departmcm of Environrn 111 al .onscrvation (w): 

Philadelphia, Cit · of. Water Department (w); 

Pennsylvania Ocpanme111 o -

Agriculture ("'). 

Environmental ResourcesBureau of Mining and R'damation (\, ), 

Bureau of Topographi and Geologic ur-

''ey (g,n.w). 

Bureau of Water Qualit · Managcmem ("'). 

ffi ce of Water Re. ources ~lanagcm m (w); 

usquchanntt Ri,·cr Basin ommi sion (w); 

t.:nivcr ity Area Joint i\uthorit • (w); 

l.ini,·ersit of Delaware . • eological urvev (w); 

Williamspon. ity of (w) 

Puerlo Ri co 

Puerto Rico Aqueduct and ewer Authority (w); 

Puerto Rico Dcpanment of 1 atura l esource~ (g."·); 

Puerto Rico E1wironmcmal Quality Boa rd (w); 

Puerto Ri o lndu>trial Development Company("'); 

Pucno Rico l\lincral Resources Developm nt Co1 poration (g); 

Puerto Ri o Planning Board (w); 

University of Puerto Riw (w) 

Rhode Island 

Narragan eu Bay Water Quality Commi«ion (''); 

New horeham. To"·n of (w); 

Rhode I land tate Department of En"ironmemal 

Management, Division of Water Resource (w); 

tate Water Rc ource Board (w) 

South Carolina 

Beaufort-J asper Coumy Water Authoril)' (w) ; 

Charleston Commi io n of Publi Work (w); 

oopcr River \\'ater U ers A so iation (w); 

Georgeto"'n County Wa ter and ewer District ("·); 

Grand trand Water and ewer Authority (w); 

I rmo. Town of("'); 

Lexington, Count)' of (w); 

Myrtle Beach, it)' of (w); 

Richland . ounty of(,,·); 

outh arolina tateDepartment of Health and Environmental ontrol (w). 

Department of Highway and Public Tran portation (w). 

Geological urvey (w). 

Public en·ice Authority (w). 

\Vater Re ou rce omm ission (w): 

South arolina ea Grant Con onium (w); 

outh Carolina \ Vater Resources c~;earth I nstitutc 

(w); 

South arolina \\'ildlifc and Ma inc Resources 

Depanmc111 (w); 

partanburg anit ary cwc1 Disu ict {w): 

pananburg Water stem (" ·); 

University of outh arolina (g); 

\Vaccamaw Regional Planning and Development 

Commission (w); 

\\'estern Carolina Regio nal ewer Authority (w) 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 131 
South Dakota 

East Dako ta Wate r Devclopmem District (w); 

La wre n e, ounty of (w); 

Ogl ala Sio ux Tribe ("'); 

Rapid ity. ity of (w); 

ioux Falls, ity of (w); 

is e ton-WahpeLO n Sioux Tribe (w); 

So uth Dako ta Depa rtment ofGame . Fish and Pa rks (w). 

ranspo rtatio n (w), 

Wa ter and Natural ResourcesGeological urvey cicnce ent ' r (g,w). 

\Vate r Development Divisio n (w). 

Wa te r Qua lity Di vi io n (w), 

Wa ter Rig hts Divi io n (w); 

omh Dakota chool of Mines an I T echnology (w): 

Watertown . it of ("•): 

We l Dakota Wa te r Develo pment District (w) 

Tennessee 

Alcoa, ity of (" '); 

Bell Buckle. Cit of ("'); 

Dick o n. ity o f (w): 

Ea l ide Utility District (w): 

Franklin . it y o f (w); 

Hamilto n, o umy o f (w): 

Hixson Utilit y Di trict (w): 

Humphreys. oumy of (w); 

Hyson Utility District (w); 

J ac kson. ity of (w); 

l.a\\'rcnccburg, it)' of (w); 

Lincoln . Cou nt y of. Boa rd of Public tiliti e (w); 

Memphis. City of. Li ght, Ga . and Wate r Di vi io n (w): 

Memphis tate 1niver ity (\\'); 

Metro politan Governments, Nashvill e, ity of. and 

David o n. o umy of (w): 

Mu rfreesbo ro, it y of (w); 

Roge rsville. T o" ·n of (w); 

evic rvillc. it y of (w): 

he lby, ounty of (w): 

T ennes ee Depanmem ofH eallh and En vironment (w)-

Constru tio n Grant and Loans (w), 

Di vi ion of uperfun d (w). 

En viro nment al Poli )' Gro up (w), 

Divisi n of roun dwatc r Protection (w). 

Di vi. ion of olid Waste Management (1,·). 

Tramponation. Division of Research (w); 

T ennessee ta te Plann ing Office (w); 

Ten nessee Wil d li fe Resou r es Agency (w): 

lJ nion it)'· t~' of (w) 

Texas 

Abilene. ' ity of(" '): 

Arli ngtOn. it)' o (w): 

Austin, it y of (w): 

Hexar- M cdina-Atasco a Countic . \Va ter I mprovcmem District No. I (w); 

Br<11 0s Rive r Authorit y( "'): 

arrolho n, Cit y of (w); 

oa tal lndu;,tria l Water Au thority (w); 

olo rado River Municipa l Water District ("'): 

Co rpus ' h risti . Cit)' of (w): 

Da llas. it)' ofPlanning and Engineering (\\r), 

Public Wo rk Depanmem ("'): 

Edwa rds Un krgrou nd ll'ate r District (w): 

El Paso. it y of, Public ·n·ice Board (" ·): 

Fo n wckto n, Cit • of (w): 

Franklin. ounty of, Wa te r District ("'): 

Ga inesville. it • of (w): 

Galveston. o unt y of (w); 

Gal'l and . it y of (w): 

Geo rgetown, 'it)' of (w): 

Graham. Cit\' of (w): 

132 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Greenbelt Municipal and Industrial Water Authority 

(w); 

Guada lupe-Blanco River Authority (w); 

Harri , o unty o f. Flood omrol District ("•): 

Ha rris-Ga lvesto n oa ta l Subsidence District (w): 

Ho u to n, it • of (1,•): 

Lavaca-1 avidad Rive r Authority (w); 

Lowe r olorado River Authority (w): 

Lowe r eches Valley Autho rit ' ("·): 

Lubbock. Cit y of (w); 

Nacogd oches, it y of (w); 

N rth emra l Texas uni ip l Wa ter Autho rity (w); 

No nhea l T exas Muni ipa l Wa te r District (w); 

Ora nge. County of (w): 

Pecos River ommi ion (w): 

Red Bluff\ ate r Powe r o ntro l District (w); 

Runawa Bay. Cit y o f (w); 

abine Ri ver Authority of T exa ("'): 

Sabine Ri\·cr Compact Administrmion (w); 

San An gelo. ity of (w): 

San Antonio, ity ofDepa rtment of Enviro nmemal Management (w). 

Public Service Boa rd (w). 

\ a tc r Boa rd ("·): 

San AntOnio Rive r Autho rit y (w): 

an J acinto Rive r Au tho rity (w): 

T a rrant , Coum of. Water omrol and Improvement District 1 o. I (w); 

T exas Burea u of Economic Geo logy (g): 

T exas tate Departmem of Highway and Public 

Transpo rta tion (w): 

T cxa \Vater ommiss ion (\\'): 

T exas Wate r Develo pmem Boa rd (n."·): 

Tillt -. oumy of. Fresh WaJer Supply District No. 

(1,·); 

T ri nity Rive r AuthoJ-ity (" ·): 

Upper uadalupe River Authority(" ·): 

Upper Neche Ri ver Municipal Wate1· Autho rity (w): 

Uppe r Trinity Basin Water Qua lit y om pact (w): 

We t entra l Tcxa Muni ipal Water District (w); 

Wichita, Coumy of. Wa te r I mpro vcmem Di trict 1 o. 

2 (w): 

Wichita Fa lls. it)' of("') 

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands 

Fede ra ted Sta te of Micronesia (w)-

ta tc of Kosrae (w ). 

Sta te of Ponape (w). 

ta te of Yap (w): 

1 o rthe rn Ma riana I land . Gove rnmem of (w): 

Republic of Palau (w) 

Utah 

Bea r Ri ver Commissi n (" '): 

alt La ke it y/Coumy Depa rtment of Hea lth (w): 

Sa lt La ke, o umy of. Di visio n o f Flood Co ntro l (w): 

T ooele. City of ("•): 

T ooele. oumy of (w); 

'tah Depa rtmem ofatural Rc ourccsGeologica l and Mine ra l urvcy (g. n,w). 

O il, Ga and Mi ning Di visio n (w). 

\Vater Rc ourcc Divi ion (w). 

Water Righ ts Di visi n (w), 

ll'ild life Resources Di vi io n ("·). 

T ranspon a tio n (w): 

Uta h Hea lth De panmem. Di visio n of En viron menta l 

Hea lth ("·); 

Weber Ba in Wate r Conser\'ancy Di trict (" ') 

Vermont 

Department of Natural Reso urces (n): 

Office of th · ta te Geologist (g) 

Virginia 

Accomack, ounty of (w); 

Al exandria. Cit)' of (w); 

Cla rke . Coumy of (w); 

Henrico , oumy of ("'): 

J ames it y, o umy of (w): 

J ames Cit y Se rvice Authority (w): 

Lo udo un . OUnl)' of (g); 

Mounl Roge r PlanniJig Di trict Commissio n (w): 

1 cwpo n ews. ity of (w): 

No rth ampto n. Coumy of (w ): 

No rthe rn Virginia Pl anning District Commissi n (w): 

Prince William H a lth District (" ·): 

Roano ke, it of (w): 

outheastcrn Public crvicc Authorit ' of irginia 

(w ); 

outheastcrn Virginia Planning District ommi ion 

(" '): 

U niver it 1 of Virginia. Department of En\'ironmcntal 

cienccs (w): 

Vi rginia Depa rtment ofMines. Minera l . and Ene rgyDivisio n of Mined L1 nd Reclamation (w). 

Di visio n of Mineral Reso urces (g, n). 

Tran po rtatio n (" ·): 

Virginia Beach, it o f (w): 

irginia ta te Wa te r Comro l Board (w): 

Williamsbu rg, it • of (w): 

Yo rk. oum of (w) 

Washington 

Bcllei'UC, ity of, Public Wo rks De pa rtment ("·): 

Cemra li a. it)' of, Lights Depa rtment ("·): 

Chelan, o unt • of. Publi tilit)' District No. I (w); 

Do uglas, o umy of. Public tility District 1o. I (w); 

1-l oh Indian Tribe (w): 

Kin g. County of (w)-

Depan mem of Public Work (w), 

South Regio nal Wa te r Associati on (w): 

Ki tsa p, Count)' of. Public tility Di trict No. I (w); 

Lewi , oumy o f, Boa rd of omm issioners ("'); 

Pend O t c illc. ou nl)' of (w): 

Pie rce. o unty of ("·): 

Po nland , City of. Bu reau of Wa ter Works (1"): 

Qui nau lt Business Commiuee (w): 

an Juan o unty Boud o om missione r (w): 

cattle. ity of. Depan mem of Li ghting ("'); 

kagit. oumy o f (w), Depa runem of Public Works 

(w): 

Sno homish. o umy of (w): 

po kane Age ncy (w): 

Tacoma, ity of, Depanmem ofPublic tilitie (w). 

Pu blic Wo rk (w): 

Thursto n. o unty o f. Depanmem ofHealth (w), 

Public Wo rks ("·): 

Wa hingLOn Depa rtment ofEcology (g,w). 

Eme rgency Managemem (w). 

Fisheries (w). 

Nalltral Re ources (g,w). 

T ransportation (w); 

' nive rsity of Was hingto n (g): 

Wa ll a Wall a. ity of (w): 

Whatcom, o umy of, Depanmem of Publi · Works 

(w): 

Yakima Triba l o un cil (w) 

West Virginia 

.J e ffe r o n o umy Commission (w); 

MorgantOwn. City of. Utility Boa rd (w); 

Was hingtOn Public ervice District (w); 
West irginia De pa rtment o fEne rgy (w), 

H iglways (w), 

a tu ral Reso urces. Di visio n of Wate r Resources 

(w); 

We t Virginia Geologica l a nd Economic u rvey (n ,w) 

Wisconsin 

Bad Rive r T ri ba l ou ncil (w); 

Ba lsam La ke Protection a nd Re ha bilit a tion District 

(w): 

Bea ver Dam, City of (w); 

Big Muskego L'l ke Disu·ict (w): 

hi p pe "•a , County o f, La nd o nse rvatio n Department (w): 

Da ne , Co unt • o fDe pa rtment o f Pu bli W rks (" '). 

Regional Planning ommissio n (w): 

De lavan. To wn of (w): 

Delava n La ke an itary District ("·): 

Fo nd Du La , ity o f (w): 

Fowle r La ke Ma nageme nt District ("·): 

ree n Ba y Me tropoli ta n e" •c rage District (w); 

reen Lake an ita ry Distri t (w}: 

Hillsbo ro , City o f (" '): 

Lac ounc Orcillcs ove rning Boa rd (" ·); 

Li ttle Muskego L'l ke District (w): 

Mad iso n Metro po lita n Se"•erage District (w): 

Menominee India n Tribe of Wisconsin (" ·); 

~1 iddle10n , City o f (" ·); 

Morris L'l kc Ma nagement District (w): 

oqucbay La ke District (w); 

No rway. T own o f (w): 

Oconomo wo La ke, Vill age of (w): 

Oka uchee Lake Ma nagement District (,,·): 

One id a Tribe o f India ns (w): 

Pes htigo , it o f ('"): 

Powe r L'l ke , Disu·ict o f (" ·); 

Ro k. Count y o f (w): 

a nd Lake, T own o f (w); 

o uthcaste rn \\'is o n in Regiona l Pla n nin g Commi -

io n (w}; 

toc kbrid ge-Mun ce T t·iba l unci! (w): 

T horp. Cit v of(" }: 

ive ~ill' of \l'i consin. Exte nsion . ' e logica l a nd 

1 mura l Histor · Sun'C)' (g. n .w): 

Wa ukesha Water u tility (" '): 

Wa upu n. ity o f (w}: 

Wind La ke Manageme nt Dis11 iu (w): 

Wi o n sin De pa rtmen t ofNa tura l Rc o urccs (w). 

Tra nspo rt a tion. Di vision o f Highways (w) 

Wyoming 

Auo rnc Ge n ral (w): 

heyenne. it y o f (" '): 

Eva nsto n . ity o f (w): 

Eva nsville . T own o f (w); 

Laramie . o unt y o f ('''); 

1 o nhern Ara pa hoe Tribe (w): 

Shoshone Tribe. h sho ne Bu ine s ouncil ("·): 

ublcttc . Count)' o f (w): 

Uinta . o unt)' o f (" '}; 

\· ater Dc vclo1 mcn t Commission ("•); 

Western Wyomin g ommunit y ollcge (" '): 

Wyomin g De pa rtment o fgriculwre (w). 

Economi Development and tabiliz.a tion l\oard 

(w), 

Enviro nmental Qualit y (w). 

High ways (w): 

Wyomi ng eologica l Surve (g): 

Wyomi ng ta te Engineer (n ,w): 

Wyoming Water Resea rch Ce nter (" ·) 

Federal Cooperators 

Central Intelligence Agency (g.n} 

Departme nt of Agri culture 

Agricultural Re ca rch en•ice (w): 

Agricultural utbiliza tion and on cn·ation en•icc 

(n): 

Forest en•ice (n.w): 

1

atio na l Agricultura l tatisti s e n ·ice (n}: 

oil Conserva tio n Se rvice (g, n.w) 

De partment of the Air Force (w) 

Ai r Fo rce Academy (w): 

Boll in g Air Fo rce Base (g): 

Ha n com Air Fo rce Base (g); 

Headqua n e rs, AFTAC/.-\ (g); 

ccupational and Environmental Healt h Laboratory 

(" '): 

Va ndenberg Air Force Ba e (w) 

Departme nt of th e Army (n.w) 

Aberdeen Provin g Gro und (w); 

Army Signals Wa rfa re La boratOry (n); 

Avio ni s R a nd D Activity (g): 

oasta l Engineering Resea rch Cente r (g): 

o rps o f En inee rs ( .n ," '): 

Fo rt a rson Milit a ry Rescn•atio n (w): 

Mobility Equipment Resea rch a nd Dc ,·elo pme nt 

Command (g): 

Pica ti nn y Ar e nal (" ·); 

Resea rch Office. T riangle Pa rk. 'C (g): 

Wa te n,·ay Experime nt ta tio n. Vicksburg (g."'): 

White a nd ss ilc Ra nge (w) 

Depa rtme nt of Commerce 

Burea u o f the Censu (n); 

oastal Pl ains Regio na l Action Pla nning Commi sion 

(g): 

Natio nal Ocean unrey (n): 

ational Ocean ic and Atmosphc1·i dministration 

(g. n .w): 

National Wea ther e rvi e (g. n.w) 

Department of Defense Agencies 

Defense Adva nced Resea r h Proj ects Age ncy (g): 

Defense Logistic Agency ("'): 

De fe n c Ma pping Age ncy (g.n}: 

De fense Nuclea r ge ncy (g): 

Defe nse I ntclligc nce Age ncy (g, n} 

Depa rtme nt of Ene rgy (n.w) 

Al buquerque Operatio n 0 fi cc (g.w): 

B nnc,·illc Power Adm inistra tion (w): 

Chicago Opera tions ffi ce (g.w): 

Ida ho Operations ffice (g.w): 

La,,•rcnce Li,·e n nore L1bora to ry {g): 

Lo Alamos National La bo ratory (g): 

Nevad a Ope rations Office (g."·): 

Oa k Ridge Opera tio n Office (g.w): 

Office o f Energy Resea rch (g); 

Procuremen t Opera tio ns Office (g): 

Richla nd pe rations Office (g.w): 

a n Fra nci co peration> (g); 

andia National L'lbo rato ries (g. "·); 

avannah Ri ver Operations Office (n,w): 

nitcd t:ltcs Arms C mro l and Disarmament 

Agency (g); 

\Vcstcrn Area Power Administratio11 (g.n.w) 

Department of the Inte rior 

Burea u o f India n Affairs (g.n. " '): 

Bu rea u o La nd Manageme nt (g. n."'): 

Bureau o f Mine (g.n ." '): 

Bu reau o f Recl amation (g. n. "'}: 

~l inera s ~l gcm nt cn·ice (g,w); 

Nati nal Park e n •ice (g.n.w}; 

ffice of the ecre tary (g."·); 

Office o f urfacc inin g Rcclam31ion and Enfo rcement (g,w): 

Smithsonian tiuui n (' ''): 

C .. Fi>h and \\'ildlifc ervi e (g ." ') 

Department of Justice (w} 

Departme nt of the avy (w) 

Nava l Exp o~ c rdna nre Di po,al Test Cen tc1 {g): 

1\aval Ocea nogra phic Offi c (g): 

Naval Wea pons Center. China Lake (g. w); 

Offi e o f a ,•al R~ ca rr h (g): 

u .. tin e Co tp (" } 

Department o f tate 

r\ gcncv fo r I ntc rna t io n a I Ocvc lo pment (g. n." ): 

Int e rn ational BouncL ,-y and \ \'a te • Commi"ion , C.S. 

a nd xi ro (w): 

lnt cm ationalj oilll mmi ~s n. C .. . ami .an.tda (" ) 

Deparunent of Transportati on 

Federa l High"•ay . dm inisn a tion (g. "·): 

C. . oast Gua rd (g. "·) 

Department of T reas ury 

U'\ ~ en ice (n) 

Envi ronme ntal Protection Age ncy (n." ) 

Con •alli; Em·iro nmen ra l Research La bota tn •) (" ): 

Environmental nit rin g \ sten" Ltho tat o ry (g): 

Office o f Etl\'ironmc nt a l EnginCCI ing " '" ' r ec h nology (g); 

ffi ce of Pc>ticides Progtam' (" '}: 

Office o f Waste Program' Enfo t t t·mellt (w} 

Fede ra l Emergency Management Agency (g, ,,} 

Federal Energy Regulating Commi sion Li censees 

(w) 

ational Aeronautics and Space Administration 

(g. n.w) 

ational Sc ience Foundation (g. n .w} 

avaj o and Hopi Indian Re locati on Commission 

(g) 

N ucl ear Regulatory Commission (g) 

Tennessee Va lley Authorit y (n.w) 

Ve terans Administration (g.w) 

Other Cooperators and 

Contributors 

Gove rnme nt of Saudi Arabi a (g.w) 

Peopl e's Re publi c of Ch ina (g.w) 

nit ed ati ons 

Un ited :'\atiom Development Program (g.w}: 

' :-IE CO ("·): 

ll'orld coro og ca l Organitation ('c) 

People and Programs of the U.S. Geological Survey 133 
As the ation's principal con rvation agency th Depa rtment of the Interior has re pon ibility for mo t of our nationally owned public lands and natural re ource . This includ fo tering the wise t u e of our land and water 

re ource , protecting our fish and wildlife, pre erving the nvironmental and 

cultural value of our national parks and hi torica l plac s, and providing for 

the enjoyment of life throu<Th outdoor recreation. Th Depa rtment a es e 

our energy and mineral r our e and ' orks to as ure that the ir development 

i in the be t int re t of all our people. Th D partm nt al o has a maj or 

respon ibilit for American Indian re ervation communiti ·and for peo ple 

who li ve in I land Territori under .S. admini tratio n. 

Year book Staff 

Eloi e B •rei 

Bonnie D'AgosLin o 

and ye Holme 

and y J e ffer on 

Mani Quigley 

j eff Die tte rl e 

KaLh leen Kra fft Cohn 

Ca rol n McQuaig 

Gail Wendt 

134 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook 1988 

Na tiona l Ma pping Division oordina tor 

Geologic Di,·i ion CoordinaLot· 

WaLe r Resource Division Co01·dina tor 

Admini trative Division oot·dinaLot· 

Information Sy Lems Di visio n Coord ina tor 

Cr·aphic Designer 

Editor 

T ypogra ph y 

Managing Ed iw r 
~~~~~~~~~~ II I~ ~ 

3 1818 00115400 2