Location map of cover

 jy - 

.Sheridan

"T

Sun

orth >> r^ rk

dance*

Front and back covers: A portion of the newly published 

Geologic Map of Wyoming (see index map). The wall-size 

map is at a scale of 1:500,000 (1 inch equals 8 miles) and 

shows 215 rock units in 128 colors and patterns. It depicts 

the history of the Earth's crust in Wyoming by showing the 

location and types of rocks and the geologic structures, such 

as faults and folds, that dynamically brought the rocks to 

their present positions. The history begins, for example, with 

the ancient rocks shown in mottled blue on the left side of 

the front cover (Wind River Range), which are over 3 billion 

years old. Other examples include the slightly younger, but 

still ancient, rocks in the Teton Range west of Jackson Lake 

(back cover), and the faults, shown as heavy black dotted 

and solid lines, that have uplifted them and placed them 

against much younger volcanic and sedimentary rocks (2 to 

100 million years old) east of the lake. Some of these 

younger rocks, along with others even younger, are part of 

the dormant volcanic province in Yellowstone National Park 

just north of the Teton area, which is also shown on the new 

State map. South of the Teton Range, the map shows numerous thrust faults (heavy barbed lines) that are part of 

the Cordilleran thrust belt. These thrust faults are huge, 

nearly horizontal faults that have moved thousands of 

square miles of rock for tens of miles along individual faults 

and for more than 100 miles along the combined group of 

faults. These faults also created oil and gas traps, and their 

location and shape are used as critical information to guide 

oil and gas exploration. In addition to the faults, the distribution of the rocks that have potential to contain oil and gas 

is shown. The Geologic Map of Wyoming provides the foundation for regional evaluation of, and exploration for, mineral resources, oil and gas, coal, phosphate, sand and 

gravel, and almost every other natural resource found in the 

State. It also provides a regional foundation for seismic, volcanic, and landslide studies, evaluation of water resources, 

and specialized scientific studies. The map was compiled by 

J. D. Love and A. C. Christiansen and prepared in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Wyoming.

Laramie. CHEYENNE

50 100 KILOMETERS
United States

Geological Survey Yearbook, 

Fiscal Year 1985


DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

DONALD PAUL HODEL, Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Dallas L. Peck, Director

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1986

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, 

U.S. Government Printing Office, 

Washington, DC 20402

Any use of trade names and trademarks in this publication is for descriptive purposes only 

and does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Contents

1 The Year in Review 

5 Perspectives

5 Environmental Influence of Selenium in 

Waters of the Western United States 

9 Geographic Information Systems: An

Important Tool for Spatial Analysis 

17 Looking Deep into the Earth's Crust with

Seismic Reflection Profiling 

25 Significant Accomplishments of Reserach

Programs: 1985

37 Missions, Organization, and Budget 

41 Water.Resources Investigations 

63 National Mapping Program 

79 Geologic Investigations 

107 International Activities 

117 Administrative Division 

121 Information Systems Division 

126 Organizational Data

128 U.S. Geological Survey Offices

133 Guide to Information and Publications

134 Cooperators and Other Financial

Contributors 

142 Budgetary Data

The Year in Review

The 106th year of the U.S. Geological Survey produced significant advances in 

our continuing efforts to provide useful earth-science information to serve the 

public. In this yearbook, we have taken the opportunity to describe special contributions our people are making toward solving earth-science problems facing the 

Nation. As Director, I am pleased to introduce our annual report by highlighting 

some of these achievements.

One of the earth-science issues that has been the focus of much public concern 

in California is selenium contamination of waters and soils from irrigation 

drainage water in the western San Joaquin Valley. The problem of water-quality 

deterioration as a result of irrigation drainage is a potential concern in other 

areas of the country as well. The solution to this problem will require much better understanding of the complicated interactions between surface water, ground 

water, and soils. The USGS is actively involved in cooperative efforts at national, 

regional, and local levels defining the distribution in soil and water of selenium 

and other naturally occurring chemicals that may be harmful. Because this local 

issue has potential impacts beyond California, we have featured the problem and 

results of our work on selenium contamination as the first essay in this year's 

annual report.

On an even larger scale, there is increasing concern in all parts of the United 

States about the quality of our water resources. Existing water-quality issues 

such as ground-water contamination, acid rain, and the effects of toxic wastes, as 

well as other related problems, are regional and national in scope and require a 

coordinated effort to address. To move toward solutions for some of these problems, the USGS recently began seven pilot studies for a National Water Quality 

Assessment Program. The pilot studies, four for ground water and three for surface water, will develop the necessary technology and build the cooperative 

framework required to implement a complete national water-quality assessment 

in future years. In planning this major new research program, we are working 

closely with other water-related Federal agencies and a large number of State 

and local agencies through cooperative committees designated for each pilot 

study area. We expect the results to benefit a wide audience that needs critical 

information to make decisions concerning water-quality issues. Our preparation 

for these studies demonstrates our strong belief that our science can best serve 

the public when it is an integral part of Federal, State, and local efforts to improve the quality of the Nation's water.

Modern technology makes it relatively easy for earth scientists to accumulate 

massive and sometimes unwieldy amounts of data. Unfortunately, there have 

been stumbling blocks to applying much of this data because our methods of 

analysis have not always kept pace with our ability to collect data. Traditional

Vernal Falls, Yosemite Park, 

California. Photograph by 

Dawn Reed.
methods of analyzing data have become too inflexible and costly to meet demands 

for new products quickly. USGS scientists are making exciting advances toward 

new solutions for these data-handling problems by using computerized geographic information systems (GIS). With the emerging technology of GIS, we are 

entering a new age in presenting traditional spatial information in an almost unlimited array of visual products. The special value of these new systems is the 

relative ease with which they can be used to select, combine, and arrange various 

sets of data to fit the needs of many different users. Because GIS technology allows scientists to process and interrelate many more types of data than previously, the new systems show great promise in increasing scientific understanding 

of complex issues ranging from water quality to mineral-resource assessments to 

the study of risks from natural hazards. At a time when those of us in the Federal Government are being asked to do our share in reducing the budget deficit, 

the development of such advanced computer systems will help us meet the need 

to "do more with less."

In these times of budgetary restraint, it is especially important for us to maintain a careful balance between basic and applied research in the total USGS program of investigations. Each type of research has its own value, and each must 

be assessed on its own terms. It is the special nature and the special benefit of 

basic research that its undiscovered use yesterday often becomes the longawaited answer needed tomorrow. The work our geologists are doing to decipher 

the intricacies of the continental crust is a good example of how basic research 

provides earth-science information for current as well as future needs. From the 

study of the deep crust in California, our geologists were able to identify the 

source of the 1983 Coalinga earthquake, a practical benefit of a long-term basic 

research effort that might have taken additional years to discover if we had not 

already had this research underway.

The recent, growing demand for information on radon gas and its effects on 

human health also underscores the benefits of ongoing basic research. Through 

our basic mineral research programs, which are an integral part of our overall 

mission to classify and define the national domain, the USGS has available a 

large amount of data on radioactive minerals and their distribution in rocks 

across the country. These data, which were acquired largely by the National 

Uranium Resources Evaluation program of the Department of Energy, have 

proven invaluable in helping other government agencies and private groups 

make critical judgments about radon distribution.

When an environmental concern such as radon becomes a national issue, the 

problems often develop too suddenly to allow for basic studies on the complex 

questions being asked. Long-term, basic earth-science research ensures that 

when anticipated problems arise, we will have developed the information needed 

to provide answers and solutions.
The growth and increasing complexity of our technological society have led to 

an ever-expanding need for new and more effective earth-science information. In 

recent years, we have come to depend more and more on technology to produce 

information and to solve problems. But we must not lose sight of the fact that it 

is ultimately with human resources and human ingenuity that we gather the 

needed information, analyze it, and derive the answers to those needs. The USGS 

recognizes that, despite all of our technological advances, much of the physical 

world around us remains an unsolved puzzle. The creativity and dedication of all 

our Survey people are now much more vital than ever before in finding the answers to the Nation's problems of water quality, mineral supply, and land use.

Dallas L. Peck 

Director

Perspectives

Environmental Influence of Selenium in 

Waters of the Western United States

By Gerald L. Feder

There are approximately 30 chemical elements 

known to be required by plants and animals, including humans, for optimal health. Deficient intakes of 

any one of these chemical elements can result in poor 

health or death. These same chemical elements, and 

for that matter all chemical elements, can also cause 

poor health or death if they are taken in excessive 

quantities. The admonition of Paracelsus (1493 

1541) is very pertinent in this context: "All substances are poison; there is none which is not a 

poison. The right dose differentiates a poison and a 

remedy."

Different natural geochemical environments have 

very large variations in the concentrations of chemical elements present in their underlying rocks. These 

chemical differences are reflected in the soils derived 

from the rocks and in the waters flowing through 

and over the rocks and soils. Since plants and animals ultimately derive most of their chemical elements from the local soil and water, these large 

variations in chemical elements among natural environments are reflected in intakes by plants and animals. In living organisms, there is generally a large 

difference between the concentration range at which 

a chemical element is toxic and the concentration 

range at which it may result in poor health due to a 

deficiency (fig. 1). This "optimal" range not only 

varies between elements, it also varies among different living organisms. Some chemical elements (magnesium, for example) rarely if ever occur in natural 

geochemical environments in high enough concentrations to be toxic to humans, but, in some areas, they 

may cause health problems due to a deficiency. Other 

chemical elements, such as mercury, cadmium, and 

lead, are known to occur naturally in sufficient conIrrigated fields, central 

California.

Figure 1. Idealized graph 

showing the relationship 

between variations in intake 

of chemical constituents and 

plant and animal health.

centrations to be toxic to plants and animals, but 

they are not known to occur in low enough concentrations to cause deficiency diseases.

Between the two extremes described above are a 

group of chemical elements that individually may 

cause either a positive or negative effect on plant 

and animal health according to their availability at a 

particular site. A good example of such an element is 

selenium. Under various natural conditions that are 

mainly controlled by geochemical environment and 

climate, there are large areas of the world where 

selenium is known to cause health problems in farm 

animals, either due to natural deficiency or to toxicity. For example, large areas of New Zealand have 

soils and water that are very low in selenium, and 

unless sheep and cattle are given selenium additives 

in their feed, they suffer degenerative diseases and 

may die from this deficiency. On the other hand, in 

some other areas of the world, including parts of the 

Western United States, selenium may occur in high 

enough concentrations to be toxic to livestock. 

Selenium toxicity in livestock is especially prevalent 

in areas of the West where selenium-concentrating 

plants, such as the Astragalus, or loco weed, grow in 

soils containing high concentrations of selenium.

Even though rocks with high concentrations of 

selenium are found in many parts of the United 

States, almost all of the toxicity problems associated

RANGE OF TOXICITY DISEASES & DEATH

RANGE OF OPTIMAL HEALTH

GE OF DEFICIENCY DISEASES & DEATH

INCREASING INTAKE OF CHEMICAL ELEMENT
with selenium in the natural environment occur in 

the West. The reason for this is the prevalent arid 

climate that has such an important control on the 

hydrologic cycle and, ultimately, the solubility of selenium in this region. The relationship between the 

solubility of selenium in water and different climatic 

and geochemical environments is shown diagrammatically in figure 2. This diagram shows that 

selenium is very insoluble under poorly aerated 

acidic conditions. This type of geochemical condition 

is common to many waters in the humid Eastern 

United States. In such areas, even if the rocks contain high concentrations of selenium, the element 

will not occur in high concentrations in the natural 

waters of the area. The same general principle holds 

for other trace elements that are geochemically similar to selenium, such as uranium, vanadium, and 

molybdenum.

In the semiarid alkaline environments common to 

much of the Western United States, these elements 

are quite soluble, and they are readily dissolved and 

transported by surface and ground waters. Even in 

the arid West, however, where ground waters contact 

a localized geochemical environment without oxygen, 

as shown in the lower right-hand corner of figure 2, 

these elements will precipitate out of solution. The 

oxygen-deficient environment usually occurs where 

organic matter, such as coal, oil, natural gas, or even 

buried wood, is locally present. This process has been 

the source of most of the major uranium deposits in 

the Western United States, which often have large 

amounts of selenium, molybdenum, and vanadium

associated with them. As long as these areas of deposition are in their natural state, the elements generally remain insoluble and do not occur in local surface and ground waters. Pumping the ground water 

from these areas to mine uranium, however, introduces oxygen to these deposits that causes all of 

these chemical elements to go back into solution, increasing the probability of pollution.

In some areas of the Western United States, it is 

difficult to distinguish between toxicity problems 

attributable to selenium or to highly saline alkaline 

waters. For example, the recent practice of deepripping fields combined with fallowing has created a 

costly saline-seep problem in large areas of Montana, 

North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The 

saline-seep problem manifests itself as seepage areas 

in fields and along streams in these areas; besides 

ruining cropland, the highly saline waters kill livestock, wildlife, and fish. During the summer and fall 

dry seasons, the increased evaporation of these seeps 

greatly increases the salt content of the water, including the levels of selenium. At present, it is difficult to determine whether the damage to animals in 

the saline-seep areas is caused by saline alkaline 

water or selenium toxicity.

Parts of the San Joaquin Valley of California have 

high salinity levels in waters accompanied by high 

selenium values. In this area, however, there is more 

evidence that selenium might be the culprit rather 

than high salinity. Wildlife experts cite the presence 

of selenium-tolerant fish as the only remaining fish 

in drainage canals containing waters high in seleFigure 2. Diagrammatic 

representation of 

hydrogeochemical 

environments related to 

oxygen content and acidity 

of natural waters. The blue 

area represents conditions 

where selenium and 

associated chemical elements 

are insoluble, and the yellow 

area represents conditions 

where they are soluble.

' 1 ' 1

RAIN 

WATER

ACID 

MINE 

DRAINAGE

MO**""*

PEAT 

BOG

1 '

1 ' 1 ' 1 ' 1 '

ALKALINE 

STREAM DESERT 

WA TER ENVIRONMENT

OCEAN 

WATER

!jfa«iuTn ARID REGION 

GROUND 

ya»fl<lilltrl WATERS 

ASSOCIATED 

WITH COAL, 

OIL. OR GAS

1 i 1 i 1 I 1 >

4 5 

ACIDIC

6 7

Neutral

PH

8 9 10 

ALKALINE
Aerial view (looking north) 

of Kesterson Reservoir in the 

Kesterson National Wildlife 

Refuge near Gustine, San 

Joaquin Valley, Calif. The 

San Luis Drain is to the 

right. (Photograph by David 

Gilmer, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service.)

nium and distinctive damage to waterfowl hatchlings 

in Kesterson Reservoir as causes for concern. Even 

though man's activities in the San Joaquin Valley 

have exacerbated the selenium problem, the ultimate 

cause can be traced to the natural geochemical environment in the mountains west of the valley. Understanding the geochemical control on the occurrence of 

selenium in this region may lead to the anticipation 

of possible problems in other areas and to actions 

that could prevent those problems.

The climate in and around the San Joaquin Valley 

is conducive to the solution and mobilization of selenium, but the rocks on the east side of the valley,

West

granites of the Sierra Nevada, do not contain a significant source of selenium, and this situation produces selenium-deficiency problems rather than 

selenium-toxicity problems. In fact, the sediments 

derived from these mountains are so low in selenium 

that cattle feeding in this area do not get sufficient 

selenium from plants grown on the soils or from local 

water supplies, and their diets must be supplemented 

with selenium. As shown in the diagrammatic cross 

section of the San Joaquin Valley and the surrounding mountains (fig. 3), the rocks in the Coast Ranges 

on the west side of the valley are the ultimate source 

of selenium in the soils and waters of the valley.

East s^

< >

-^ -1000 fe

Z

< 

W

S 

z"-

1000

> K

w o

h- ]

20 MILES

EXPLANATION 

Sierra Nevada granite 

Coast Ranges consolidated sediments 

Valley sediments derived from the Sierra Nevada

jfil Sediments derived from the Coast Range

*J Selenium-bearing rocks

lf. Sulfide mineral veins

Figure 3. Idealized cross 

section across the San 

Joaquin Valley of California 

showing different 

compositions of source rocks 

in mountains on both sides 

of the valley.
Figure 4. Map of part of 

the San Joaquin Basin 

showing the location of the 

San Luis Drain and 

Kesterson Reservoir. Area 

in orange shows where 

underground tile drains 

have been constructed.

Solution of selenium from the many diffuse sources 

in these rocks has led to the present problems in the 

valley. The rocks are primarily sediments of marine 

origin and contain scattered metal-sulfide deposits. 

Iron, lead, zinc, mercury, molybdenum, and other 

metals are found in this area, combined with sulfur 

as sulfide minerals. Selenium, which is chemically 

similar to sulfur, is mostly found in these sulfurcontaining minerals substituting for some of the sulfur. For example, pyrite, a chemical compound consisting of iron and sulfur, may have up to 1,000 parts 

per million of selenium substituting for the sulfur. 

Selenium can also substitute for sulfur in gypsum, in 

organic compounds such as proteins, and in many 

other minerals.

As a result of weathering processes, the seleniumcontaining minerals within rocks of the Coast 

Ranges are slowly dissolved and the now-soluble 

form of selenium, called selenate, is slowly removed 

by flowing surface and ground waters. Under natural 

conditions that prevailed before intensive farming in 

the valley and water diversion projects, the soluble 

salts were transported in solution during wet periods 

down to the valley where they were either precipitated out in the valley sediments due to evaporation 

or occasionally carried by streams into San Francisco 

Bay. Runoff from large storms transported both fresh 

and weathered rock containing selenium minerals to 

the valley floor, which created the large fans of sediment, such as the Panoche Fan, along the western 

edge of the San Joaquin Valley. Because of the arid 

climate within the valley, the selenium in the water 

and sediments transported to the fans is concentrated 

by evaporation. The selenium occurs in the fans as 

unweathered selenium-containing minerals, precipitated soluble-selenate-containing salts, and coatings 

adhering to clays, iron oxides, and fine sediments. 

Before the advent of water control projects and 

farming in the valley, soluble selenium and other 

salts built up gradually in the valley soils and shallow sediments. The recent intensively irrigated 

agriculture and water control projects in the valley 

attempted to flush salt from the soils, but a nearsurface clay caused waterlogging and salt buildup at 

the land surface that eventually damaged crops. This 

buildup of salts is still going on in much of the San 

Joaquin Valley. As shown in figure 4, in this area, 

underground tile drains have been constructed in

part of the Panoche Fan to remove the saline waters 

that build up in the soils. Even with the relatively 

small amount of tile drainage in the Panoche Fan, 

there is a large amount of saline drainage water 

being moved from the area into Kesterson Reservoir. 

The highly saline water moving into Kesterson 

Reservoir contains large amounts of selenium. Besides selenium, other chemical elements are present 

at high concentrations and may be harmful to plants 

and animals. Before the water in Kesterson Reservoir reaches levels toxic to organisms living in it, 

certain plants and animals in this environment concentrate some chemical elements sufficiently to be 

toxic to other organisms that use them as a food 

source. The selenium toxicity noted in waterfowl is 

believed to result from the bioaccumulation of selenium in the food chain; for example, the accumulation occurs from algae to insects to fish to birds.

Summary

Large areas in the Western United States, with its 

climate that often promotes the solubilization of selenium, are underlain by geologic formations containing high concentrations of selenium. Understanding 

the geochemical controls on the occurrence and 

movement of selenium in Kesterson Reservoir will 

help make possible the recognition of potential selenium problems in other areas so that mitigation 

measures can be taken. This knowledge will serve to 

alert persons in similar areas to the probability of 

selenium toxicity, both in the natural environment 

and in the environment altered by man's activities.

8
Geographic Information Systems:

An Important Tool for Spatial Analysis

By Stephen C. Guptill and David A. Nystrom

Introduction

Today, Federal and State agencies must quickly respond to complicated problems involving natural resources data for a variety of geographic areas. Administrative and regulatory responsibilities assigned 

to governmental agencies have placed tremendous 

pressure on existing information delivery systems. 

The traditional methods of acquiring, storing, and 

analyzing natural resources data are proving to be 

too costly and inflexible in meeting these growing 

needs. Computerized geographic information systems 

(GIS) are emerging as the spatial data handling tools 

for solving complex geographical problems.

A geographic information system is a computer 

system designed to allow users to collect, manage, 

and analyze large volumes of spatially referenced 

data. The use of GIS technology has revolutionary 

implications for the way the Geological Survey conducts research and presents the results. As the Nation's primary producer of cartographic, geographic, 

hydrologic, and geologic data, the Geological Survey 

is using advanced GIS technologies to greatly improve its ability to perform traditional missions of 

earth science data collection, research, and information delivery.

The Geological Survey and other bureaus and offices of the Department of the Interior have created a 

number of digital spatial data bases that are being 

used in geographic information systems. Among 

these are the National Digital Cartographic Data 

Base, the Federal Mineral Land Information System, 

the Land Use and Land Cover Mapping Program, the 

National Coal Resources Data System, the National 

Uranium Resources Evaluation System, the Rock 

Analysis Storage System, and the National Water 

Data System. The Geological Survey is increasingly 

being required to serve as a central repository as 

well as the Federal authority on information regarding such critical issues as the Nation's energy and 

mineral potential, the assessment of risks from natural hazards, and questions of the quantity and quality of water supplies. Because GIS technology allows 

scientists to process and interrelate many more kinds 

of data than were previously feasible, GIS applications research can provide new scientific understanding of these issues.

Characteristics of Spatial Data

A GIS cannot function without digital spatial data. 

Spatial data consist of the various features that are 

associated with a geographic location. These features 

can be points, lines, or areal characteristics that are 

visually discernible, such as wells, roads, or lakes, or 

invisible boundaries, such as county lines or school 

districts. A GIS must be capable of storing and manipulating these types of point, line, and areal data. 

The association of a given spatial feature with a data 

type depends on the scale of the map or image. For 

example, a river can be shown as an area at large 

scale but only as a line at a smaller scale.

Two major methods, or data structures, are used to 

organize spatial data within a computer for use by a 

GIS: the raster data structure and the vector data 

structure. Each of these structures has distinct advantages and disadvantages that affect cost and 

efficiency.

A raster data structure is formed by partitioning 

the study area into a set of grid cells that are usually 

square. Each cell is assigned a code describing the 

feature contained within the cell, as in type of land 

use, elevation, or county name. The size of cell is selected on the basis of the resolution needed, or available, in the case of remote sensing satellites such as 

Landsat, and the capacity of the system.

Explicit x j coordinates are not given to each cell 

because the cell location is implicit in its row and 

column in the grid. Separate thematic data sets over 

the same area, such as land use and counties, can be 

easily merged (overlaid) by combining the attribute 

codes, cell by cell, of each data set. The raster data 

structure is popular in large part because of the ease 

of programming the overlaying and other analytical 

operations. However, the cell-by-cell nature of the 

raster structure makes it difficult to retrieve information about specific areal or linear features (for example, the length of the shoreline of Great Salt 

Lake) or to traverse a network of linear features (for 

example, routing a train from Atlanta to Denver).

Vector data structures use a series of xy coordinates to describe the point, line, and area (or 

polygon) features. In addition, information about the 

connections and relationships among the features 

portrayed on a map (the topology of the map) is
calculated and stored with the coordinates. Thus, system users can derive relationships such as adjacency 

and connectedness easily. This data structure is computationally more demanding than a raster 

structure but is being used increasingly in GIS's because of the decreasing cost of computers and the 

greater information inherent in such data. The digital line graph structure used in the National Digital 

Cartographic Data Base is an example of this type of 

data organization.

Functional Characteristics of a GIS

The principal functions commonly found in geographic information systems are given in table 1. 

Each functional component has counterparts that 

work on vector or raster data types. No known system contains all the possible functions given in the 

table, and it may be argued that no one system 

should. The functional components present in any 

particular GIS vary considerably according to its application. For example, one system might emphasize 

the creation of publication-quality map products, 

while another might stress statistical generation.

Data Requirements

Although GIS technology has been in use for more 

than a decade, the level of acceptance and use has, 

until recently, remained relatively low. Since data 

collection is perhaps the most expensive phase of GIS 

operations, it is likely that the lack of detailed base 

map and thematic information in digital form has 

hampered GIS growth. Efforts by the Geological Survey to link its various spatial data bases and to provide rapid, convenient, and cost effective access to 

the data will help alleviate this problem. In particular, the national data base of transportation and hydrologic features digitized from l:100,000-scale base 

maps will serve not only as a fundamental data base 

for GIS studies but also as a catalyst for the addition 

of thematic data.

Application of a GIS

In 1984, the Geological Survey and the Natural 

Resources Center, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, agreed to test jointly the use of 

a GIS as a means to improve the traditional methods 

of obtaining, storing, updating, analyzing, and displaying mapped natural resources data. This effort 

was a logical outgrowth of the extensive cooperative 

studies that the State and the Geological Survey 

have conducted in Connecticut over the last 50 years. 

The results of this test were presented at the Association of American State Geologists Annual Meeting 

held in Mystic, Conn., in June 1985.

A project area covering the Broad Brook and 

Ellington 7.5-minute quadrangles in north-central 

Connecticut was selected (fig. I). 1 The area had been 

used in earlier studies on the application of mapped 

natural resources data in environmental planning 

and management. From 1968 to 1972 the Ellington 

quadrangle was the focus of the Connecticut Geology 

and Soil Task Force in demonstrating resource map 

overlay techniques for selecting potential landfill 

sites, and in the early 1970's both quadrangles had 

been included in the Geological Survey/State cooperative Connecticut Valley Urban Area Project. This 

project produced numerous interpretive and basic resource maps for use in local and regional planning. 

More recently, the Broad Brook subregional drainage 

basin, of which approximately half lies in each quadrangle, was selected by the University of Connecticut 

as a major hydrologic and meteorologic research 

area.

The ARC/INFO geographic information system developed by Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, Calif., was the primary GIS used for 

the project. ARC/INFO consists of two major programs: ARC maintains the topologically structured 

vector data base in which points, lines, or areas are 

used to represent mapped features, and INFO stores 

and processes attribute information (land use, surficial materials, etc.) about the geographic features 

maintained by ARC. The State of Connecticut was 

already using INFO as its data base management 

system.

Data entered into the GIS came from existing digital data bases and from digitizing information from 

hard-copy maps. Digitizing was done at the Geological Survey's Eastern Mapping Center and Earth Resources Observation Systems Data Center. Source 

materials used in the digitizing process were 

l:24,000-scale mylar overlays supplied by the Eastern Mapping Center and Connecticut's Natural Resources Center.

Approximately one-third of the data base was developed from existing digital data. These data included l:24,000-scale digital line graphs for 1980

figures 1 through 7 were produced by an ink jet plotter and are 

copies of images shown on a color display terminal. As such, they 

represent the types of graphic output an analyst would see while 

using a GIS on an applications project.

10
Table 1. Functional components of a GIS

Component Definition Example

Data capture 

Structuring 

Editing .....

Structure conversion 

Geometric correction

Projection conversion 

Spatial definition ....

Generalization

Enhancement 

Classification

Statistical generation

Retrieval

Assembling analog source data into 

some digital form.

Processing data from initial digital 

form into a structured form.

Inserting, deleting, and changing attribute and coordinate data.

Moving between data structures.

Fixing data to ground or image 

space in some referencing system.

Transforming coordinates between 

alternative referencing systems.

Paneling or clipping of the data to 

change the area covered.

Reducing detail in the data.

Modification of detail in the data. 

Receding of the data to form classes.

Deriving descriptive statistics and 

(or) measurements from the data.

Selective extraction of data by attribute codes and (or) spatial 

searches, or neighborhood analyLine digitizing.

The topological structuring of vector 

data.

Moving a line segment.

Raster to/from vector.

Adjustment of map or image to latitude and longitude control points.

Geographic to/from Universal 

Transverse Mercator.

Limiting data to within a county 

boundary.

Changing a raster grid to a larger 

spacing, or reduction of points in 

a line.

Edge definition.

Classification by spectral response, 

by attribute codes, and choropleth 

mapping.

Polygon area measurements.

Selection of certain features within 

a circle of a given radius from a 

point.

Overlaying

Display

Analytical technique support

Data management

Relating two data sets in a logical 

and (or) arithmetic manner.

Generating a graphic image from 

the model.

Using analytical manipulations and 

computations on the data.

Managing access and archiving of 

data models.

Creating composite maps.

Color cathode-ray tube displays, or 

symbolized line maps.

Finding the shortest route through 

a road network.

Security protection, data base control of storage, retrieval, and update.

land use and land cover, political boundaries, hydrography, transportation, and State and Federal lands 

that were available through the Geological Survey. 

The Geological Survey also supplied an automated 

geographic names file and digital elevation model 

data. The basic data sets that were developed for the

project are given in table 2. The list includes the 

source of the data, its original scale, its data type 

(raster, point, line, or area), and an indication of its 

relative density (complexity). The table provides an 

indication of the large amount of information that a 

GIS must contain to perform various analyses.

11
Table 2. Basic data sets for U.S. Geological Survey/Connecticut GIS Project

Data set Resolution/scale Source Data type Density

Aeromagnetic survey ................ 1:24,000

Bedrock elevations .................. 1:24,000

Bedrock geology ..................... 1:24,000

Biophysical land classification ....... 1:50,000

Census boundaries .................. 1:24,000

Digital elevation models ............. 30-meter grid

Drainage basin boundaries ........... 1:24,000

Endangered species .................. 1:24,000

Geographic name file ................ 1:24,000

Hydrography........................ 1:24,000

Land use/land cover ................. 1:24,000

Landsat multispectral scanner

scenes ............................ 80-meter grids

Mining inventory ................... 1:24,000

Municipal zoning .................... 1:24,000

National wetlands inventory ......... 1:24,000

Political boundaries ................. 1:24,000

Pollution sources .................... 1:24,000

Public water supply service areas .... 1:24,000

Public water supply wells ............ 1:24,000

Sewered area ....................... 1:24,000

Soils ............................... 1:15,840

State and Federal lands ............. 1:24,000

Surficial materials .................. 1:24,000

Transportation network .............. 1:24,000

Water quality classification .......... 1:24,000

Water table elevations ............... 1:24,000

Waterutility lands .................. 1:24,000

100-year flood zone .................. 1:24,000

USGS1

USGS/NRC2

USGS/NRC

NRC

USGS

USGS

USGS

NRC

USGS

USGS

USGS

USGS

NRC

NRC

NRC

USGS

NRC

NRC

NRC

NRC

SCS3/NRC

USGS

USGS/NRC

USGS

NRC

NRC 

NRC 

NRC/FEMA4

Lines

Lines

Areas

Areas

Lines

Raster

Lines

Areas, points

Points

Areas, lines

Areas

Raster

Areas, points 

Areas

Areas, lines 

Lines

Points, areas 

Areas, lines 

Points 

Areas, lines 

Areas 

Lines 

Areas 

Lines 

Points, lines, areas

Lines 

Areas 

Areas

Low

Low

Low

Low

Low

High

Medium

Low

Low

High

High

High

Low

Low

High

Low

Low

Medium

Low

Low

Very high

Low

High

Medium high

Medium

Medium high 

Low 

Medium low

iUSGS, U.S. Geological Survey.

2NRC, Natural Resources Center.

3SCS, Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

4FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency.

12
USGS /CONNECTICUT G I S PROJECT

Figure 1. Location of 

Broad Brook and Ellington, 

Conn., quadrangles.

Base Map: USGS Digital Line Graphs from 1 :2,000,000 Data

Four application models were developed to test the 

utility of this GIS in actual governmental agency 

programs. The four application models were industrial site selection, ground-water flow, streams 

lowflow, and public water supply ground-water exploration. The models were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of GIS technology in integrating data 

from a variety of sources for use in research, planning, management, and regulatory programs.

The public water supply ground-water exploration 

model is a particulary useful example for demonstrating the application of a GIS in State water supply planning. Under the Connecticut water quality 

classification program, sites that are used or are proposed for public water supply are assigned a classification that precludes the issuance of wastewater discharge permits in the area.

A single water utility was selected for the analysis 

on the basis of a projected need for increased water 

supply. In the computer model a 0.5-mile buffer zone 

was created around the water utility's service area 

(fig. 2). This buffered zone served as the geographic 

window through which other spatial data sets were 

analyzed. Areas that were incompatible with groundwater development were eliminated as potential 

sites. These included all land uses and land covers 

other than forest and forested wetlands, areas of poor

water quality classifications, areas within 500 meters 

of pollution sources, areas within 100 meters of 

waste-receiving streams, areas within 100 meters of 

existing water supply wells, and areas that were 

zoned for incompatible land uses (figs. 3 and 4). Then 

geologic and hydrologic data were evaluated to identify the remaining areas of coarse-grained materials 

having more than 40 feet of saturated zone thickness 

(figs. 5 and 6). The final product was a map depicting 

suitable sites of new water supply within the 0.5- 

mile buffer zone surrounding the water utility's service area (fig. 7).

Conclusions

As the lead Federal agency in digital cartography 

and other earth science topics, the Geological Survey 

is developing advanced techniques in all aspects of 

data processing that relate to a geographic information system. Sufficiently advanced software and 

hardware capabilities must continue to be available 

to earth scientists so that GIS technologies can be 

used for accomplishing the data collection and research missions of the Geological Survey and for cooperative GIS projects with State and other Federal

13
Figure 2. Location of the 

Somers water service area. 

The service area boundaries 

have been extended with a 

0.5-mile buffer zone.

PUBLIC WATER SERVICE AREAS

M Rockville

pf] Hazardville

 jj MDC

 | Ellington Acres

i Ellington

1 ' Ellsworth Estates i ^|

 | Tolland Aquaduct

| ] Heritage Woods

IT"! Broad Brook

 Somers

r~j West

M Somersville 

^* Manufacturing

RESELECT LAND USE AND LAND COVER

[.^ JEastern Brushland 

j i Deciduous Forest

 Evergreen Forest 

jHMixed Forest

 Deciduous Forested Wetland

 Mixed Forested Wetland

1 MILE

Figure 3. Land use and 

land cover classes within the 

project area. Areas of 

eastern brushland, 

deciduous forest, evergreen 

forest, mixed forest, and 

forested wetlands are 

acceptable for well locations.

14
POTENTIAL SITES AND BUFFERED POLLUTION SOURCES

Figure 4. Potential well 

sites (in purple). Areas 

within a 100-meter buffer 

zone surrounding streams 

with an existing or future 

water classification of B or 

below (waste discharges 

allowed in stream), as well 

as areas within a 500-meter 

buffer zone surrounding five 

point sources of pollution (in 

red), have been removed 

from consideration for well 

sites.

1 MILE

SURFICIAL MATERIALS GROUPED BY TEXTURE

Figure 5. Surficial 

materials within project 

areas. The surficial material 

for the well location must be 

coarse grained.

Coarse

Fine

Water

1 MILE

1 KILOMETER

15
SATURATED THICKNESS

POTENTIAL SITES FOR PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY WELLS (SITES IN GREEN)

£ 0 FEET 

^1-20 FEET 

H 21-40 FEET 

'"~j 41-60 FEET 

r~"j 61-80 FEET 

 81-100 FEET

Figure 6. Saturated zone 

thickness within the project 

area. The well location area 

must have a saturated 

thickness of at least 41 feet.

Figure 7. Potential sites for 

public water supply wells 

are shown in green. The 

existing Somers water 

service area is shown in 

yellow. Selected 

transportation, hydrography, 

and names information from 

the National Digital 

Cartographic Data Base are 

also shown.

1 KILOMETER

agencies. Geological Survey scientists are also actively pursuing additional projects to facilitate exchange of data, knowledge, and capabilities with 

other scientists and managers. The Geological Survey is in a unique position, as a result of existing

programs, to continue its major Federal role in developing techniques for applying advanced GIS technology to local, State, national, and global earth science 

problems.

16
Looking Deep into the Earth's Crust with Seismic 

Reflection Profiling

By Carl Wentworth

An improved understanding of the structure and 

composition of the Earth's continental crust (down to 

depths of 30 miles) is now viewed as a key to solutions for many of the earth-science issues that affect 

our society. These issues range from determining the 

origin of mineral and energy deposits to more direct 

interpretations of the causes of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The importance of studies to obtain 

greater understanding of crustal processes was recently emphasized by the National Academy of Sciences, which reported that investigation of the 

deeper continental crust is a research area that will 

yield significant scientific advances in the near 

future.

The U.S. Geological Survey recently established a 

new program, Deep Continental Studies, to address 

this topic. The program will exploit the successful development of plate tectonic theory over the past 25 

years, which provides a sound framework for analysis, and will take advantage of improved technology, 

which allows geological and geophysical delineation 

of the entire crust in useful detail (fig. 1). The program promotes multidisciplinary research that focuses on the deep crustal environments and processes 

that ultimately control near-surface geology and our 

own environment. Objectives of this program are to 

make geologic and geophysical investigations of the 

composition, structure, and deformational history of 

major continental features; to establish, jointly with 

the Department of Energy and the National 

Academy of Sciences, a program to directly sample 

the upper crust by drilling to depths as great as 10 

miles; and to conduct laboratory research on the 

physics and chemistry of continental materials at the 

high temperatures and pressures characteristic of the 

deep crust.

Although the objectives in scientific drilling and 

studies of physical properties are new efforts within 

the Geological Survey, studies of the crust along 

transects across representative sections of the North 

American continent are already underway. Major

transects are being studied across central California, 

across central Maine, along the oil pipeline that 

crosses Alaska, and in southern California and Arizona. These studies combine information on surface 

geology with data from various geophysical methods, 

including advanced seismologic techniques.

Most of our geologic understanding of the Earth is 

based on direct observation of rocks exposed at the 

ground surface and is largely the result of geologists 

making geologic maps of these rocks, the structures 

affecting the rocks, and the interrelations of the 

rocks. In the past several decades this understanding 

has been greatly improved by new information from 

geophysical studies, such as seismic reflection and refraction methods, gravity measurements, and investigation of the Earth's magnetic field.

Seismic reflection profiling uses the reflection of 

downward-traveling seismic waves to produce a detailed vertical picture of rock structures along a profile line to depths of 5 to 30 miles in the Earth. Seismic refraction profiling, in contrast, uses the time 

that seismic waves take to travel laterally through 

rock to calculate the velocity of the seismic waves 

and the shape and depth of boundaries between layers of different velocity (fig. 2).

Seismic reflection profiling has been used for half a 

century and owes most of its development and refinement to the petroleum industry, which has very successfully used it to explore for oil and gas. The application of high-speed computers to process and 

enhance very weak seismic signals has now made reflection profiling extremely valuable not only in oil 

and gas exploration but in scientific investigation of 

the deep crust as well.

The seismic reflection technique involves generation of seismic waves at the ground surface that 

move downward and are reflected back from the 

boundaries between different types of rocks within 

the crust. The returning waves are detected at the 

surface by an array of seismometers that convert the 

waves to electrical signals, which are then recorded

17
Granitic 

plutons

Forearc basin 

Melange wedge

LITHOSPHERE

ASTHENOSPHERE

Figure 1. The continental crust, which has a history beginning as early as about 3 billion years ago, contains features 

representing such processes as accumulation of sediment, 

melting and movement of molten rock, and, on a larger 

scale, the growth, collision, and splitting of continental 

masses. Modern technology now permits geophysical exploration of the whole crust in useful detail and direct observation through drilling to depths as great as 6 to 10 miles in 

order to learn more about these crustal processes and their 

influence on man.

on magnetic tape. Explosives are a common source of 

seismic energy, but another technique uses huge vibrators, mounted on 20-ton trucks, to shake the 

ground. The seismometers are placed at regular intervals along a survey line to receive the returning 

signals from the vibrators, which move progressively 

along the line of receivers.

The seismometers collect a complex mass of data 

that represent the signals received at each of the

seismometers after each shot or set of vibrations. 

These field recordings are then processed in computers to create a single composite image of the subsurface structure along the profile line.

In central California (fig. 3), a project of reflection 

seismic profiling was designed to explore inferred 

crustal relations that for 25 years have served as a 

worldwide example of continental accretion. Reflection and refraction surveys were conducted from the

18
Figure 2. Seismic reflection 

and refraction profiling both 

introduce a seismic signal 

into the ground and record 

the returning signal through 

an array of seismometers. In 

reflection profiling, the signal travels nearly vertically 

and is reflected from various 

boundaries in the crust. In 

refraction profiling, the signal travels down, is refracted along layer 

boundaries, and then returns to the surface. In both 

cases the returning signal 

shakes the seismometers, 

and the varying amplitude 

of this shaking through time 

is recorded. The resulting 

records are then analyzed by 

computer to determine the 

structure and seismic properties of the rocks encountered in the crust.

800 seismometers spaced at 30-meter intervals 

(400 on each side of trucks)

100 KILOMETERS

4 vibrator trucks (source) _

CRUSTAL LAYER #2

REFLECTION MANTLE

/Drill hole and explosive

 120 seismometers, spaced at ~ 1-kilometer intervals

REFRACTION

Coast Ranges eastward to the foothills of the Sierra 

Nevada. Joint interpretation of these and associated 

gravity and magnetic data has indicated that the 

crustal relations are quite different from what was 

expected.

Much of the Coast Ranges consists of rocks, called 

the Franciscan assemblage, that were added, or accreted, to the North American continent beginning 

about 100 million years ago. The concept that large 

masses of marine sediments and oceanic land masses 

have been moved long distances and then attached to 

the edges of continents has only recently been developed. Sediment and small land masses carried along

MANTLE

by an oceanic tectonic plate can be scraped off against 

the margin of a continent as the oceanic plate moves 

toward and is subducted beneath the continent. The 

material scraped from the subducting plate is added 

to the edge of the continent as a distinct accreted terrane. If the accreted terrane is itself partly subducted 

before joining the continent, as has been inferred for 

the Franciscan assemblage, the junction, or suture, 

should extend back beneath the continental margin 

above the accreted terrane.

The central California deep-crustal experiment was 

designed to explore the subsurface extent and configuration of the suture that separates the western

19
accreted Franciscan terrane from the eastern continental crust. The key structural relations between the 

exposed Franciscan terrane in the Coast Ranges and 

the exposed continental crust in the Sierra Nevada, 

50 miles to the east, are buried beneath the Great 

Valley of California and a thick pile of sediments.

The Franciscan assemblage consists of a great volume of sandstone and shale containing small scattered masses of volcanic rocks, red chert, and limestone. All these rocks formed in the Pacific Ocean; 

some, according to inference from magnetic inclinations recorded in the rocks, formed near the equator, 

2,500 to 3,000 miles south of their present location. 

The ages of the few fossils found in the shales and 

microscopic fossils (called radiolaria) from the red 

cherts indicate that most of the rocks originally 

formed 100 to 150 million years ago. Subsequently, 

about 90 to 140 million years ago, the rocks that 

were to become the Franciscan assemblage were 

buried to depths of 6 to 18 miles in the crust, probably in a subduction zone, where they were extremely 

deformed and recrystallized (metamorphosed). Then 

they ascended to shallow depth by a poorly understood process of uplift.

The continental crust exposed in the Sierra Nevada consists of metamorphosed sedimentary and 

volcanic rocks of Paleozoic and Mesozoic age. These 

have been highly deformed and recrystallized, but 

largely at depths shallower than those experienced 

by the Franciscan assemblage. From about the middle to the end of the Mesozoic era (115 to 80 million 

years ago), these rocks were repeatedly invaded by 

great masses of molten rock that crystallized to form 

the granitic rocks of the Sierra Nevada batholith.

The sediments that appear to conceal the suture 

between the Franciscan assemblage and the western 

limit of the Mesozoic continent consist of sandstones 

and shales, called the Great Valley sequence, which 

were deposited at the same time that the Franciscan 

assemblage was formed. Unlike the Franciscan, however, they have never been deeply buried and recrystallized, and they are relatively undeformed. After 

deposition, the rocks were tilted eastward during deformation at the continental margin. Beneath the 

Great Valley, the strata overlie crystalline rocks that 

are physically continuous with the exposed rocks of 

the Sierra Nevada.

These geologic relations led to a theory in the 

early 1960's that the Franciscan assemblage had 

been thrust eastward beneath the Great Valley sequence along a low-angle fault. Emerging ideas 

about plate tectonics, the great unifying theme of geology, supported this model. For the past 25 years, 

geologists have confidently accepted the view that 

the oceanic Franciscan assemblage was carried eastward beneath the overriding continental margin by a 

subducting oceanic plate. The east boundary of the 

Franciscan assemblage thus was the suture between 

the continent and the accreted Franciscan assemblage. This suture was thought to extend eastward in 

the subsurface down through the crust between the 

accreted oceanic mass and the continent.

In the light of new seismic reflection information, 

this theory must now be revised. The high-pressure 

metamorphism of the Franciscan assemblage did not 

occur in its present juxtaposition with the Great Valley sequence across the Coast Range thrust. The absence of such metamorphism in the adjacent Great 

Valley sequence has always been an obstacle to so 

simple a history, and the structural anatomy revealed by the new seismic studies requires that a different sequence of events took place. The Franciscan 

mass seems to have been pushed eastward up onto 

the continental margin at the west side of the Great 

Valley, rather than down beneath it (compare figs. 

4A and 4B). This newly discovered relationship may 

provide important information on the mechanism by 

which some accreted terranes become attached to 

continents.

The reflection and refraction profiling and magnetic modeling together show that the Coast Range 

thrust does not penetrate through the crust, as was 

previously thought. Instead, it terminates beneath 

the west side of the Great Valley at the west-dipping 

top of crystalline rocks that are physically continuous with rocks of the Sierra Nevada. To the east, beneath the Great Valley, the upper part of the Great 

Valley sequence was deposited directly on this crystalline basement. To the west, however, a thick 

wedge of rock, inferred from its structural position 

and seismic velocity to be Franciscan, separates the 

Great Valley sequence from its basement. The 

boundary between the Franciscan wedge and the 

overlying strata must be a fault. The Great Valley 

sequence cannot simply have been deposited on Franciscan rock, because it is the same age as the Franciscan. This structural configuration requires that 

the mass of Franciscan rock was driven eastward 

onto the continental margin where it concurrently 

peeled up the Great Valley sequence.

The time of thrusting and wedge emplacement is 

limited by the age of the rocks involved. Initial 

wedging may have occurred during the Cretaceous 

period, before all the Franciscan rocks had formed. 

Accretion of the Franciscan must have been largely 

complete by 50 million years ago in Eocene time, for 

by then Franciscan rocks had been uplifted and unroofed by erosion and were shedding sediment to 

younger deposits in the Great Valley sedimentary 

basin. More recently, continued eastward thrusting

20
122° 120°

40°

38°

36°

Figure 3. Geologic map of 

central California.

EXPLANATION

Upper Cenozoic 

nonmarine sediments

Upper Cenozoic 

volcanic rocks

cn

Cenozoic 

marine strata

Mesozoic Great 

Valley sequence

EH

Mesozoic Franciscan 

assemblage

Ultramafic rocks 

Metamorphic rocks:

EH

Granitic and 

associated

Mesozoic

Paleozoic

at the east margin of the Coast Ranges has been involved in forming the present topography and in generating modern earthquakes.

Finding the source of the 1983 Coalinga, California, earthquake, which occurred at the west edge of 

the Great Valley beneath a young fold, turned out to

be an immediate practical benefit of the study (fig. 

5). The results also illustrate tectonic inheritance, an 

important process in which faults, once formed, can 

serve as the locus of continuing failure in a rock 

mass even under changing tectonic conditions. At 

Coalinga, interaction between the San Andreas fault

21
A.

Southwest

Coast Range thrust

KILOMETERS MILES \ Great Valley 

0

10 - 

20 - 

30 - 

40

50 '

Northeast

Sierra Nevada

 20

 30 IV^VI Franciscan assemblage Great Valley sequence

B.

Southwest

KILOMETERS MILES Coast Ranges 

0

10 - 

20 - 

30 -

Northeast

Great Valley Sierra Nevada

40 

50 -

\- 10 «

 20

- 30

I I 

10 20 30 KILOMETERS

Figure 4. Views of the California continental margin in 

vertical cross section. A, The clear explanation for geologic 

relations in central California has, for the past 25 years, 

been that the Franciscan assemblage was accreted to the 

continental margin along the Coast Range thrust at a subduction zone. B, New geophysical study indicates that, instead, the Franciscan mass has been thrust onto the continental margin, an interpretation that is also consistent with 

the observed surface geologic relations.

system and the vast, west-tilted Sierran block is applying stress to the Franciscan wedge. The result is 

eastward thrusting that has folded the overlying 

strata and the ground surface. Such thrusting produced the 1983 earthquake and increased the height 

of the fold by 1V2 feet. Prior to the earthquake these 

thrusts were unknown, but they are clearly evident 

in the reflection record. A later series of earthquakes 

in the summer of 1985 indicates similar, deeper 

thrust movement at the basement surface. Interplay 

between this thrusting near Coalinga and the behavior of the San Andreas fault just to the west may

bear on the timing and location of earthquakes near 

Parkfield, which is the site of an active earthquake 

indicator experiment by the Geological Survey.

This study of crustal structure in central California has led to new ideas about major events in the 

geologic history of the western margin of our continent. These ideas are important both in understanding the geology of central California and in using the 

geologic relations and history there as an analog in 

interpreting geology in other parts of the world. 

Comparison of surface and subsurface geology shows 

that the same surface geology is consistent with

22
WEST EAST

' ... '"^' .

Source of May 2, 1983, 

Coalinga earthquake at a 

depth of 10 kilometers

Figure 5. A seismic reflection record across Coalinga 

anticline contains reflections 

(the black lines) that record 

layering in the rocks and 

folding of those layers. Eastward thrusting has folded 

the strata above the faults 

near the eastern tip of the 

Franciscan wedge. The latest increment of thrusting, 

in 1983, produced the 

Coalinga earthquake.

quite different subsurface relations and illustrates 

the value of detailed geophysical study of crustal 

anatomy.

In addition to purely scientific information, the 

central California study has yielded new understanding of earthquake events and information about 

major geologic structures that may influence oil and 

gas exploration. The presence of continental basement beneath at least part of the Franciscan terrane 

may shed new light on the search for deep gas and 

on the presence of undiscovered mercury and gold deposits in the Coast Ranges. Ultimately, information 

from the seismic profiling and related studies improves our understanding of the tectonic evolution of 

the Pacific continental margin. This improved understanding bears on all geologic issues in the region as 

well as on use of the California Coast Ranges as a 

worldwide model of continental accretion. The success of the central California study demonstrates the 

results that can be achieved in this new national program to apply recent technological advances in the 

study of the continental crust.

23
24
Significant Accomplishments of 

Research Programs: 1985

Satellite Microwave Study of the Upper Colorado River Basin 

Snowpack

The 1983 record snowpack in the upper Colorado River basin and subsequent 

rapid melting that resulted in unprecedented flooding demonstrated the urgent 

need by local and regional forecasters for better synoptic (at one moment in time) 

descriptions of both the snow distribution and the melt progression through the 

basin. To develop a new technique to help provide this information, the Geological Survey began joint research with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The purpose of this project was to map the snowpack in the 

upper Colorado River basin using satellite-borne instruments that measure the 

natural electromagnetic emission from the snow in the microwave region of the 

spectrum. Such measurements can provide a synoptic map every 3 days regardless of the weather or darkness because clouds are transparent to microwave radiation and the radiative process is independent of daylight. The instrument used 

is the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) aboard the 

Nimbus-7 satellite (launched in 1979), which has collected microwave radiation 

data worldwide as well as from the Colorado basin. The Nimbus-7 satellite orbital path and period, combined with the instrument footprint, require 3 days to 

collect the spatial data for a complete map. These constraints, coupled with the 

present cycle of the satellite, allow a microwave mapping of the entire basin 

every 6 days.

This experiment consists of two parts. First is a statistical analysis of the 

6-year satellite data set with the corresponding snow data from the Soil Conservation Service and the National Weather Service to determine how the water 

content and the depth of the snowpack correlate with the satellite microwave 

measurements. Second, data on the internal characteristics of the snowpack, collected by Geological Survey mobile field teams, is incorporated into the analysis 

to improve the correlation of the satellite measurements to the snow water equivalent.

Although extensive data on the snow depth and liquid water equivalent exists 

throughout the Colorado basin, several key snow characteristics that strongly 

influence the microwave emissions of the snowpack are not routinely measured. 

These characteristics include the vertical distribution of snow density, snow grain 

size, temperature, and the presence of crust and ice layers within the snowpack. 

To provide this information, the Geological Survey has conducted field studies at 

the time of maximum snowpack, the end of March, for 1984 and 1985. Five field 

teams dug pits in the snow at key snow measurement sites as well as in other

Melting ice.

25
A typical excavation of 

4 meters in depth in the 

snowpack near Steamboat 

Springs, Colo., dug to 

provide information for the 

joint Geological Survey/ 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

satellite microwave snow 

study. Measurements of 

density, grain size, and 

temperature of the snowpack 

are taken every 10 

centimeters vertically. 

(Photograph by Edward G. 

Josberger, Water Resources 

Division, U.S. Geological 

Survey.)

\

areas of interest as determined by USGS and NASA 

scientists after analyzing satellite maps obtained during the previous evening. This combination of realtime satellite map analysis and data obtained from 

the field allowed the mobile teams to determine, for 

example, that the extremely negative gradient ratios 

(an index of liquid equivalent or snow depth that becomes more negative with increasing snowpack) observed in southwestern Wyoming were the result of 

the presence of snow grains as large as 5 millimeters. 

Not only is the amount of snow important in runoff 

forecasts, but also the beginning of snowmelt and the 

progression of the melt patterns are essential information. No synoptic data are presently available to

forecasters as to when the snowpack warms to near 

the freezing point to signal the onset of melting. Microwave techniques, however, can provide a means 

for charting the melt as it occurs in the basin because the presence of even very small amounts of liquid water within the snowpack causes the gradient 

ratio to quickly approach zero. Snowpacks that are 

about to begin melting show sudden large increases 

in the gradient ratio. These changes are easily seen 

on the sequential microwave maps, thus permitting 

the onset and progression of the snowmelt to be 

mapped. This information will greatly aid forecasters 

and water managers in their efforts to alert the public about conditions that may cause flooding.

26
Metal-Rich Oil-Field Waters from the 

Central Mississippi Salt Dome Basin

Many scientists have hypothesized that waters 

present in sedimentary basins associated with 

petroleum are the modern analogs for the fluids that 

deposited lead, zinc, and other metals in many economically important ore deposits. This analogy is 

made because the concentrations of the major dissolved salts in oil-field waters from many basins are 

similar to those reported in the ore-forming fluids for 

the so-called Mississippi Valley-type ore deposits. 

The temperature and pressure environments for the 

formation of these ores are similar also to those of 

oil-field waters.

The concentrations of lead and zinc in oil-field 

waters, however, are almost always very low,

measuring less than 0.1 milligram per liter (mg/L). 

There are only five known areas worldwide where 

the reported concentrations of these metals are 

higher than 10 mg/L, the minimum value required 

for the formation of ore deposits. The central 

Mississippi Salt Dome basin, covering an area of over 

1,930 square miles, was identified in 1974 by A.C. 

Carpenter and his students from the University of 

Missouri as one of these five areas. Scientists from 

the Geological Survey received permission and assistance from several oil companies to study six carefully selected oil fields in this basin. The purpose of 

this research was to understand the geochemical 

processes responsible for the high concentrations of

Thomas F. Kraemer (Water 

Resources Division), 

accompanied by an oil 

company operator, collects a 

water sample from an oil 

well. The samples are 

collected from a point as 

close to the well head as 

possible, and nitrogen gas is 

used to exclude oxygen from 

the sample in order to 

minimize contamination and 

loss of metals by 

precipitation. (Photograph 

by YousifK. Kharaka, 

Water Resources Division, 

U.S. Geological Survey.)

27
these metals and thus increase our knowledge of the 

conditions favorable for the formation of ore deposits.

Water, oil, and gas samples were collected from the 

oil fields for detailed chemical and isotope analyses. 

The samples were obtained from petroleum production zones that ranged in depth from 6,234 to 13,124 

feet (158°F to 248°F) and in age from Late Cretaceous to Late Jurassic. These zones consist of sandstones interbedded with shales; the Smackover Formation (Jurassic) is mainly limestone. The Louann 

Salt (Jurassic), consisting of halite, is responsible for 

the numerous salt domes that contain the oil in this 

basin.

Results from this study show that the waters are 

brines with extremely high salt contents that range 

from 160,000 to 320,000 mg/L total dissolved solids. 

The salt content of the most concentrated brine is 

abput 10 times that of seawater. Results further 

show that the concentrations of metals in many 

water samples are very high, reaching values of 70 

mg/L for lead, 245 mg/L for zinc, 465 mg/L for iron, 

and 210 mg/L for manganese. These samples with 

high metal contents have extremely low concentrations (less than 0.02 mg/L) of hydrogen sulfide. Samples obtained from the Smackover Formation have 

low metal contents that are more typical of oil-field 

waters but have very high concentrations (up to 

85 mg/L) of hydrogen sulfide.

Computer models developed by Geological Survey 

scientists were used to investigate the large number 

of possible reactions between these brines and the 

enclosing sediments. Analysis of data from these 

models leads to the following conclusions: (1) both 

lead and zinc are present in high concentrations because they form strong complexes (associations) with 

the abundant chloride ions; (2) metal complexes with 

organic anions, bisulfides, and borate are minor; 

(3) the solubilities of the minerals galena and sphalerite control the concentrations of lead and zinc in 

these waters; (4) the metals were probably leached 

from the enclosing rocks, as they could not have been 

derived from the associated oils with their low metal 

content; and (5) mixing of metal-rich brines deficient 

in hydrogen sulfide with hydrogen sulfide-rich brines 

low in metals is the most likely mechanism for the 

formation of ore deposits from these oil-field waters.

Floods from Dam Failures

Dams can be classed as constructed or natural. 

Constructed dams are usually concrete arch, 

buttress, or gravity dams, and earth- or rock-fill 

dams. Natural dams include ice dams, morainal 

dams, lava or volcanic debris dams, and landslide

dams. Floodflows resulting from dam failures are a 

major geologic hazard and often are much larger 

than those originating from snowmelt or rainfall.

In the last 100 years, there have been about 200 

significant failures of constructed dams worldwide in 

which more than 11,100 people died. Over 60 percent 

of this loss of life occurred in three failures alone: 

Vaiont, Italy, in 1963, killing 2,600; South Fork 

(Johnstown), Pennsylvania, in 1889, killing 2,200; 

and Machu II, India, in 1974, killing more than 

2,000. Major causes of constructed dam failures are 

overtopping from inadequate spillway (34 percent), 

foundation defects (30 percent), and piping and 

seepage (28 percent). In the United States, for the 

last two decades, loss of life from dam failures has 

been about 14 deaths annually. The average number 

of fatalities per dam failure is 19 times greater when 

there is little or no warning.

Ice-dammed lakes can be released by natural 

raising of the ice barrier from hydrostatic flotation 

(increased buoyancy from water pressure) or by the 

draining and enlarging of cracks and tunnels in the 

ice dam. Flood peaks from failure of glacial dams are 

most strongly correlated with volume of impounded 

water, and floods are generally smaller than peaks 

from constructed and landslide dams impounding the 

same volume. The "Spokane Flood" in eastern 

Washington State, however, the largest documented 

flood in recent geologic history, originated from the 

sudden release of an estimated 500 cubic miles of 

water from glacial Lake Missoula when an ice dam 

failed between 18,000 and 12,000 years ago. (See 

page 35.)

Landslide dams are a worldwide phenomenon. 

They typically are much thicker and involve larger 

volumes of sediment than constructed dams of the 

same height and width. Consequently, when a 

landslide dam fails, there is commonly much more 

sediment and debris to erode before a full breach is 

developed. Thus, landslide dams generally have 

smaller flood peaks than constructed dams with the 

same dam height and reservoir volume. Natural 

dams of pyroclastic (volcanic) sediments seem to be 

the most susceptible to rapid failure.

Following large floods from dam failures, one or 

more of the following effects can be expected: aggradation of the valley upstream by trapped sediment; 

triggering of landslides by the rapid draw-down of 

reservoir water levels; large amounts of local scour 

and deposition downstream; erosion of bedrock along 

valley walls; and the formation of wide, shallow, 

highly braided channels downstream.

For reconstructing past flood peaks from dam failures in paleohydrological or sedimentological investigations, regression equations with dam height and

28
volume as independent variables provide adequate 

estimates. For rapid prediction purposes when loss of 

life or property is threatened, however, a conservative peak-discharge estimate based on envelope 

curves developed from historic dam failures, an important tool that aids authorities in alerting the public to the possibilities of dam failures and subsequent 

floods, can be made from knowledge of dam height 

and reservoir volume.

Chemistry of Plutonium in Ground 

Waters

Of all the transuranium elements (those beyond 

plutonium in the periodic table of the elements) 

present in spent nuclear reactor fuel or reactor reprocessing waste, plutonium is the most important because of its relative abundance and its high toxicity. 

It is also the most complex chemically. To ensure 

that this plutonium does not reach the biosphere 

from a mined repository for radioactive waste by 

means of ground-water transport, a thorough knowledge of its chemical behavior in ground water that 

might come in contact with the repository is essential. Geological Survey research indicates that the 

chemical behavior of plutonium, and hence its mobility in ground waters, is greatly dependent on the 

chemical composition of the ground water.

The solubility of plutonium in ground water depends on the valence of the plutonium (the electrical 

charge on its atoms that can vary from three to six) 

and on its ability to react with components in the 

water to form soluble or insoluble substances known 

as complexes. Plutonium with a valence of four has 

the lowest solubility, but it also has the greatest tendency to react with certain components in ground 

waters to form complexes. As a result of these two 

often-contradictory factors, solubility of this element 

varies widely among different ground waters having 

different chemical compositions.

Twelve different ground waters were used in this 

study of plutonium solubility and valence. The 

waters were selected on the basis of their relevance 

to the proposed repository sites (waters from tuff at 

the Nevada Test Site, basalt at the Hanford site in 

Washington, bedded salt from the Permian Basin in 

Texas, and the vicinity of the Louisiana salt domes) 

or on their potential long-range relevance (water 

from the Pierre Shale, the Waste Isolation Pilot 

Plant in New Mexico, and the Tularosa Basin, also 

in New Mexico). In addition, two surface waters, one 

from the ocean and the other from Mono Lake in 

California, were studied because of their chemical

compositions. Laboratory studies consisted of introducing plutonium into samples of all these waters 

and determining its solubility and valence after different, measured periods of time.

The experimental results provide the first comprehensive information on the influence of ground-water 

components on plutonium solubility, and hence mobility. Plutonium is most soluble in waters capable of 

oxidizing it (converting it to its highest valences, five 

and six), such as ocean water and the Tularosa Basin 

water, and in waters containing relatively large concentrations of components capable of reacting with it 

to form complexes, such as fluoride (Hanford water) 

and carbonate ions (Mono Lake water). In contrast, 

plutonium solubility is generally low in moderately 

reducing waters, those which convert it to a valence 

of four, particularly when the water, such as that 

from the Pierre Shale, contains a high concentration 

of sulfate ions.

It is obviously preferable that the inherent solubility be low in ground waters in the vicinity of a 

mined geologic repository. On the basis of this consideration, the ideal ground water is one that is moderately reducing, has a low concentration of complexforming ions such as fluoride and carbonate, and has 

a relatively high concentration of sulfate ions. Moreover, the great differences in plutonium solubility in 

the various ground waters suggest that composition 

of ground water should be included with other criteria for selection of repository sites.

The Aerial Profiling of Terrain System

The development of the Aerial Profiling of Terrain 

System (APTS) by the Geological Survey began in 

1974 with an engineering study by the Charles Stark 

Draper Laboratory of Cambridge, Mass., that concluded that a system capable of surveying the terrain 

with very high accuracy from a low-flying aircraft 

could be built. The design was based on a laser 

tracker that locks onto and tracks reflectors positioned on the ground as the aircraft passes overhead. 

The APTS now has been designed, fabricated, installed, and flight tested. The system consists of an 

inertial measuring unit, a laser profiler, a laser 

tracker, a computer, a video imaging system, and 

supporting electronics, all mounted in a Twin Otter 

aircraft. After successfully undergoing performance 

evaluation tests, the APTS is now undergoing a 

series of application tests.

The application testing program began with a project along the Charles River near Needham, Mass., to 

survey several well sites marked by reflectors along

29
Airborne surveying with the 

Aerial Profiling of Terrain 

System (APTS).

the river and to determine river surface elevations 

near these sites. Data collection flights were completed in 1984. Data collection flights for additional 

projects located near Plymouth, Mass., have also 

been completed. The Kettle Pond study determined 

how effectively APTS could measure the water surface elevation of more than 100 ponds to provide data 

for modeling the aquifer. On another project, profiles 

were measured and compared to four topographic 

maps to determine the APTS' capability to test the 

accuracy of older maps. The point positioning capability of APTS was tested further in the Plymouth 

area with impressive results. New positions can be 

located to an accuracy of 15 cm vertically and 50 cm 

horizontally when the APTS is updated on reflectors 

of known location at 5-minute intervals.

In its first major operational project, the APTS is 

being used to help Utah State officials design a proposed water drainage system to control the water 

level of the Great Salt Lake by diverting the water 

to form a large, shallow lake in the desert 30 miles 

west. Accurate elevation profiles are needed to determine the shoreline, depth, and volume the new lake 

will assume and to determine where dikes would be 

required. The APTS will be used to conduct other 

similar surveys for earth science projects of the Geological Survey.

Implementation of North American 

Datum 1983

Investigations are continuing on the economic and 

technical aspects of implementing the North American Datum 1983 (NAD 83). The NAD 83 is a readjustment of the horizontal datum incorporating extensive precise measurement of the Earth's surface 

obtained through the use of new techniques, especially satellites, to relate the surface to the Earth's 

center of mass. The horizontal datum is the reference 

upon which all coordinates of features such as roads, 

dams, navigation facilities, wells, and boundaries are 

based. The NAD 83 is compatible with other modern 

geodetic systems, and conversion to such a system 

from the current North American Datum of 1927 has 

been recommended by the National Academy of Sciences and supported by the Federal mapping agencies. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been responsible for the geodetic 

computations.

A new ellipsoid, referred to as GRS 80 (Geodetic 

Reference System), that represents an improved definition of the Earth's shape is a part of the definition 

of NAD 83. State Plane Coordinate Systems and the 

Universal Transverse Mercator projection will be redefined in accordance with the GRS-80 ellipsoid.

The Geological Survey currently has over 60,000 

different map products. The 7.5-minute mapping program is nearly complete and the planimetric editions 

of the intermediate-scale map of the conterminous 

United States are scheduled for completion by 1986. 

Implementation of NAD 83 will profoundly affect 

these and all other map products, as well as the National Digital Cartographic Data Base and other data 

bases that include positioning information. The use 

of NAD 83 coordinates will provide more uniform 

and accurate reference coordinates for geodetic and 

geophysical measurements on a global basis. The 

change to NAD 83 will not occur instantaneously, 

and interim steps will be taken to help map users 

cope with the transition.

Sonar Image Mapping

Over the past 5 years, the Geological Survey and 

the British Institute of Oceanographic Sciences have 

had a cooperative program to collect, process, and analyze sonar images of the ocean bottom. The sidescan sonar images have been collected by the 

GLORIA (Geological Long-Range Inclined Asdic) system, designed, built, and operated by the Institute.

30
Sonar image of area off 

southern California coast 

after preprocessing to 

correct for radiometric and 

geometric distortions. 

Improved detail at near and 

far range is shown by the 

circular shape of the 

volcanoes. The scale is 

approximately 1:493,000. 

(Ship's track is through 

center of image.)

From April to June 1984, GLORIA was used to collect sonar image data off the west coast covering part 

of the newly declared Exclusive Economic Zone 

(EEZ). Here the EEZ extends from the United 

States-Mexico border to the United States-Canada 

border and 200 miles out to sea from the U.S. coastline. Because of the very large volume of data collected and the high interest in the EEZ, the computer software to process the GLORIA data was 

refined and expanded on the Mini Image Processing 

System. Some of the software was redesigned and 

made into an operational production package. Once 

the specific GLORIA preprocessing procedures are 

applied, any of the general Mini Image Processing 

System capabilities can be used for further information extraction, image enhancement, or analysis, including spatial filtering for low or high frequency enhancement, interactive color coding or contrast 

stretching, or further numerical evaluation.

The figure shows a small area about 100 miles off 

the southern California coast at about 1:493,000 

scale. Various preprocessing steps have been applied; 

shading correction has improved the amount of detail 

visible in the near- and far-range areas, and geometric corrections have improved the cartographic aspects of the various features. In particular, the large 

volcanoes shown on the left side of the image have 

geometric shapes that are closer to the expected 

shape than those on the original image.

Data have been collected and are being processed 

to generate 2° x 2° sheet mosaics of the west coast 

data. During the summer of 1985, new data were collected for most of the Gulf of Mexico and the extreme 

southern portion of the Atlantic coast. Developments 

continue in order to overlay the bathymetry and 

magnetic data recorded on the ship navigation tapes 

upon the images of the digital sonar data.

Satellite Image Map of Great Salt Lake 

and Vicinity

On July 2, 1984, the Great Salt Lake, Utah, 

crested at a peak elevation of 4,209 feet above mean 

sea level, the highest lake elevation since July 1, 

1878. This level was recorded successfully on Landsat imagery acquired on June 25 and July 2, and the 

Great Salt Lake and Vicinity Satellite Image Map 

was prepared during the latter part of 1984 at a 

scale of 1:125,000. Production of the map involved 

several innovations in the art of image mapping.

Four Landsat images spanning an 8-day period 

were used to produce the mosaic image and required 

precise geometric and radiometric adjustment to a 

common base. Because the lake dominates the map, 

different band combinations and processing procedures were used for the open-water area and for the 

land area. This resulted in the display of more detail

31
Reduced version of the 

image used for the Great 

Salt Lake and Vicinity 

Satellite Image Map, shown 

here at approximately 

1:846,000.

in both the water and land area than would have 

been possible with one selection of bands and one 

procedure, the standard practice for all previous 

satellite image maps.

In another innovation, three bathymetric contours 

and one topographic contour from conventional line 

maps were added to the image map. Extreme care 

was required in adding the contours, as even small

errors on contour position became obvious when superimposed on the exact shoreline displayed by the 

image.

The map took 7 months to produce after image acquisition, a far shorter period than that required for 

conventional map production. The map documents a 

very important transitory phenomenon, the highest 

level of the Great Salt Lake in over 100 years.

32
Nuclear Borehole Logging Tool 

for Measuring Low Manganese 

C oncentr ations

Because there are no known surface economic 

manganese deposits in the U.S., exploration for this 

important strategic metal must be directed toward 

potential moderately deep to deep deposits. Such exploration requires a method capable of making realtime measurements of manganese at low concentrations with instrumentation that is small enough to 

be used in the confines of a borehole. Neutron activation coupled with gamma-ray spectroscopy is one of 

the few methods that meets these requirements and 

that can be used in the environment of a water-filled 

borehole.

To fill the need for a geophysical manganese exploration tool, the Geological Survey developed a miniaturized neutron activation gamma-ray spectrometer 

probe. The device measures the intensity of the characteristic gamma rays emitted by manganese after 

irradiation with neutrons. The emission of these 

gamma rays is short-lived (half-life of 2.78 hours), so 

that no radioactivity remains in the borehole after 

the measurement is made. This probe continuously 

measures the manganese concentration of the rock 

surrounding the borehole as the probe is lowered 

underground. Manganese concentrations as low as 

0.1 percent can be measured. With appropriate calibration, a depth profile of the manganese in the rock 

can be obtained that gives the actual percentage concentration of manganese. This information can then 

be used by a geologist to locate zones of high manganese concentration in the formation.

Measurements were made in a shallow borehole in 

the Arundel clay formation in northern Prince 

Georges County, Md. (manganese is associated with 

siderite nodules that are scattered throughout the 

clay). The results of the nuclear measurements have 

been compared with conventional chemical measurements made on a core taken from the borehole. The 

nuclear logs compare favorably with the chemical 

core analysis. Similar logs made in dry and waterfilled boreholes in the same formation showed that 

the accuracy of the measurements is not significantly 

affected by the presence of water.

Research On Asteroid Impacts 

and Mass Extinctions

Geologists have recognized for nearly a century 

that a remarkable mass extinction event occurred at 

the end of the Cretaceous period, about 66 million 

years ago. During the immediately following Tertiary period, thousands of species of plants and animals that lived in the Cretaceous no longer existed. 

In 1980, researchers from the University of California advanced the startling hypothesis that a large 

asteroid, about 6 miles in diameter, struck the earth 

about 66 million years ago and caused a worldwide 

biosphere catastrophe that culminated in the mass 

extinctions.

The university team found anomalously large concentrations of iridium and other noble elements in a 

peculiar claystone layer that marks the CretaceousTertiary (K/T) boundary in certain marine rocks in 

Italy, Denmark, and New Zealand. Iridium, a chemical element of the platinum group, is extremely rare 

in the Earth's crust relative to its abundance in certain type of meteorites. Because of this terrestrial 

iridium deficiency, the team concluded that the 

source of the iridium was extraterrestrially derived 

and that the claystone layer formed from fallout of 

ejecta after the impact occurred. Since this original 

proposal, more than 50 sites scattered around the 

globe have been reported where abundant anomalies 

of iridium occur in marine rocks at the K/T 

boundary, as defined by pronounced changes in the 

marine fossils.

In 1980, a team consisting of geologists from the 

Geological Survey and chemists from Los Alamos 

National Laboratory discovered an iridium-rich claystone layer at the K/T boundary, defined by the pollen record, in nonmarine rocks in the Raton Basin, 

N. Mex. Prior to this, almost all work on the K/T 

boundary had been done on marine rocks. Some geologists had suggested that the anomalous amounts of 

iridium in marine rocks may be normal because sedimentation in these rocks is slow and the amount of 

meteoritic dust that accumulated in sediments on the 

ocean floor would be relatively large therefore, the 

iridium need not have come from a large asteriod impact. The discovery of an iridium abundance anomaly 

by USGS scientists in terrestrial nonmarine rocks in 

the Raton Basin removed this objection and provided 

important supporting evidence to the university 

team's hypothesis.

The iridium in the Raton Basin occurs at the top of 

a sedimentary layer less than an inch thick in the 

Raton Formation; this occurrence is informally called 

the K/T boundary claystone. This iridium-bearing

33
Photomicrograph of a grain of shock-metamorphosed quartz (.001 inch long) from a 1-inchthick claystone bed that marks the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary a few miles west of 

Trinidad, Colo., in the Raton Basin. The black lines that form the grid pattern are intersecting sets of fractures that run through the grain and were formed when the asteroid 

struck. Quartz grains containing such multiple intersecting sets of fractures have only been 

found in rocks at meteor impact and nuclear explosion sites. Such "shocked quartz" grains 

comprise about 30 percent of grains in the topmost laminae of the CretaceousTertiary boundary claystone. The colors are caused by the grain being photographed in 

crossed-polarized light.

layer stratigraphically coincides with the disappearance of several kinds of fossil pollen called, collectively, the Proteacidites assemblage. Fossil pollen 

and spores had to be used to locate the K/T boundary 

in the Raton Basin because vertebrate remains, such 

as those from dinosaurs, have not been found there.

The iridium anomaly also marks an abrupt change 

in the ratio of fern spores to angiosperm (flowering 

plant) pollen. The proportion of fern spores to angiosperm pollen changes at the top of the K/T 

boundary claystone layer from the 15 to 30 percent 

fern spores commonly observed to as much as 100 

percent. The proportion then returns to 15 to 30 percent fern spores normally within 4 to 6 inches above 

the boundary. This marked increase, termed the fern 

spore spike, implies a significant, though geologically 

brief, period of stress on the ecological system caused 

by the event or events responsible for deposition of 

the boundary claystone layer.

A nearly identical iridium-rich claystone layer was 

found in 1984 by USGS scientists at Brownie Butte 

and other nearby localities in the Hell Creek, Mont., 

area, nearly 800 miles north of the Raton Basin localities. The K/T iridium anomaly also has been 

found at Deer Valley, Alberta, Canada, by scientists 

of the Canadian Geological Survey. The disappearance of .dinosaurs and other vertebrate fossils defines 

the K/T boundary at these northern localities, and 

the claystone layer marks the disappearance of another important pollen group. A fern spore spike is 

also present at all the northern K/T boundary sites 

examined to date.

A very unusual type of quartz (see fig.) was also 

found in 1984 by USGS scientists in the K/T 

boundary claystone bed in the Hell Creek Brownie 

Butte area and in the Raton Basin. The grains of 

quartz are unusual because they contain multiple 

sets of closely spaced planar microfractures, clearly 

indicative of a shock-metamorphic origin. This discovery by Geological Survey scientists provides compelling evidence that a large asteroid struck an area 

of quartz-rich continental rocks, not an ocean basin 

as some have speculated, and furnishes direct physical evidence supporting the University of California 

hypothesis.

34
New Geologic Map of Wyoming

Continuing advances in knowledge of the geology 

of any particular State lead to successive geologic 

maps of that State. The most recent example of this 

process in the U.S. is the Geologic Map of Wyoming, 

prepared by the Geological Survey in cooperation 

with the Geological Survey of Wyoming, that was 

published in early 1985.

The first map of Wyoming, published by the USGS 

in 1925 at 1:500,000 scale, showed the main geologic 

features of the State but was very generalized. Geologic formations were portrayed separately where detailed studies had been made for minerals and fuels 

of economic interest, primarily oil, gas, and coal. Few 

faults were shown almost none in the IdahoWyoming Thrust Belt.

Between 1925 and 1955, continued search for oil 

and gas and the new intensive search for uranium 

prompted detailed geologic studies. Results of these 

studies were incorporated in 1955 into the second 

State map, also published by the USGS.

The 1985 map reflects the great advances made 

possible by radiometric and fission-track dating, by 

the extensive detailed mapping that has been done 

since 1955, and by regional stratigraphic, paleontologic, and geophysical studies and interpretations. It 

also reflects the results of technological advances, 

such as aerial photography and remote sensing. 

About 90 percent of the map area was compiled from 

post-1955 geologic mapping. Maps, reports, and other 

data prepared by the USGS and the Wyoming Geological Survey, by other Federal and State agencies, 

by universities, and by private industry from more 

than 450 references were used in compiling the new 

map.

The distribution of 215 rock units as shown in 128 

colors or patterns is depicted. In parts of the State 

where extensive areas of bedrock are covered, the unconsolidated deposits that concealed them are shown. 

The subsurface thrust faults near the basin margins 

or bounding many of the mountain ranges and the 

Thrust Belt are also shown for the first time on the 

State map; the approximate positions of these thrust 

features were based on new seismic and drillhole 

data. The map shows the surface distribution of rocks 

that, at some places, are known to contain oil and 

gas, uranium deposits, and coal; it also shows the 

recharge areas for the Madison and Tensleep 

aquifers, the sources of fresh ground water for much 

of Wyoming. The map, therefore, will be a valuable 

aid to government and private industry in exploration for minerals, oil and gas, coal, and underground water; it also will be helpful in land-use planning, especially in deciding where to locate highways

and county roads and in avoiding the building of facilities on areas' threatened by geologic hazards such 

as landslides, ground subsidence, and recently active 

faults.

The geologic data are overprinted on a base map 

that shows major highways in red, streams and other 

water features in blue, topographic contours in 

brown, and cities, counties, and other features in 

black. The explanation, printed on a second sheet, 

consists of a correlation and list of map units and individual descriptions of 232 stratigraphic units, of 

which 55 units have been dated isotopically and 

range in age from 12,000 years to more than 3.5 billion years. More than 450 references to sources of geologic data used in the compilation of the map are 

listed on a third sheet.

Ice-age Floods in the 

Pacific Northwest

Floods as voluminous as 300 times the San Francisco Bay swept across much of the Pacific Northwest 

during Pleistocene ice ages (1.7 to 2.2 million years 

ago). Disputed decades ago in regard to their great 

size, these floods are once again controversial this 

time because of their large number and their possible 

effects on a proposed radioactive-waste repository.

During the 1920's and 1930's, Chicago geologist 

J Harlan Bretz argued that a single great flood had 

cut the hundreds of scabland channels that lace the 

wheat fields of eastern Washington. This hypothesis 

outraged many prominent geologists. Not only did it 

depict geologic change as catastrophic at a time 

when gradualism reigned, but it mentioned no logical source for the water and thus seemed to flout explanation of geologic features by processes observable 

today. Eventually Bretz prevailed by presenting 

overwhelming proof of the enormity of the flood and 

by specifying an ice-age lake in western Montana 

(glacial Lake Missoula) as the flood's source. By the 

1960's his catastrophism had become widely accepted, and in the 1970's it became an earthly basis 

for interpreting channels on Mars.

Controversy about great Pacific Northwest flooding 

flared anew in 1980, when the Geological Survey 

proposed that Lake Missoula had released some 40 

colossal floods during the last ice age alone. This hypothesis found few supporters at first, largely because it seemed to challenge Bretz's catastrophism. 

But the multiflood hypothesis has gained converts 

because it explains the rhythmic bedding that was 

produced in certain flooded areas and because the 

many floods can be likened to those issued today

35
Rhythmic bedding in Ferry 

County, Wash., produced by 

periodic floods from glacial 

Lake Missoula, Mont., about 

15,000 years ago. The flood- 

% > ' \ \ laid beds (F) alternate with 

F\v ' sets of thinly laminated 

, l varves (V) that record 

decades between floods. 

Shovel handle is 11/2 feet 

long.

from glacial dams that partly float each time water 

rises high behind them. Now even 40 floods seem far 

too few, because the Geological Survey has recently 

found evidence that the Lake Missoula floods of the 

last ice age totaled about 100.

Predicted effects of floods from future Lake Missoulas may influence prospects for disposing of radioactive waste at Hanford, the federal nuclear facility in 

southern Washington. The proposed repository at 

Hanford would lie beneath the path of floods from 

past Lake Missoulas. Though more than 1/2 mile

deep, and therefore probably immune to scour by 

floods of the next 1 million years, the proposed repository would be in contact with ground water whose 

flow might change if floods eroded or pressurized surficial recharge aquifers. Because of this possibility, 

Missoula flood history may play an important role in 

the selection of a national radioactive-waste repository. Knowledge gained through esoteric controversy 

about ice-age catastrophe has thus found unexpected 

application to a major problem of health and safety.

36
Missions, Organization, and Budget

Missions Organization

The U.S. Geological Survey was established by an 

Act of Congress on March 3, 1879, to answer the need 

for a permanent agency at the Federal level to conduct, on a continuing, systematic, and scientific basis, 

investigations of the "geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain." Although a number of laws and executive orders have 

expanded and modified the scope of the Survey's responsibilities over its 106-year history, the Survey 

has remained principally a scientific and technical investigation agency as contrasted with an administrative or regulatory one. Today, the Survey is mandated 

to assess onshore and offshore energy and mineral 

resources; to provide information for society to mitigate the impact of floods, earthquakes, landslides, 

volcanoes, and droughts; to monitor and assess the 

quality of the Nation's ground- and surface-water 

supplies; to study the impact of man on the Nation's 

water resources; and to provide mapped information 

on the Nation's landscape and land use. Numerous 

technological advances and initiatives are contributing to a variety of program activities, including the 

compilation and production of cartographic data, investigations about the mineral and petroleum resources of the Exclusive Economic Zone, and real-time 

hydrologic data collection. The Survey is the principal 

source of scientific and technical expertise in the 

earth sciences within the Department of the Interior 

and the Federal Government. The Yearbook provides 

highlights of the wide range of earth science research 

and services in the fields of geology, hydrology, and 

cartography.

The U.S. Geological Survey is headquartered in 

Reston, Va. Its activities are administered through 

the major program divisions of National Mapping, 

Geologic, and Water Resources. These program operations are supported by the Administrative and the 

Information Systems Divisions. The Survey conducts 

its functions through an extensive field organization 

of some 200 offices located throughout the 50 States 

and Puerto Rico. At the national level, the functions 

of the Survey are coordinated through assistant directors for administration, program analysis, research, 

information systems, intergovernmental affairs, and 

engineering geology.

Budget

In fiscal year 1985, the U.S. Geological Survey had 

obligational authority for $604.7 million. Of this 

total, $416.4 million came from direct appropriations, 

$0.6 million in unobligated balances transferred from 

the Bureau of Reclamation's water resources research grants activities, $0.1 million from contributed funds, and $187.6 million from reimbursements. The Survey received funds for reimbursable 

work performed under agreements with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, international organizations, and foreign governments. The

Percentage allocation of 

funds, by Division.

», E74455199B

WASHINGTON.D.C.

37
U.S. Geological Survey budget authority for fiscal year 1985, by appropriation 

[Dollars in thousands]

Activity/Subactivity/Program Element

Fiscal

year

19851

enacted

Surveys, Investigations, and Research: 

National Mapping, Geography, and

Surveys -----------------------------

Primary Mapping and Revision -------

Digital Cartography -------------------

Small, Intermediate, and Special

Mapping --------------------------

Intermediate-Scale Mapping -----------

Small-Scale and Other Special Mapping 

Federal Mineral Land Information -----

Land Use and Land Cover Mapping 

Image Mapping -----------------------

Modernization of Map Technology 

Earth Resources Observation Systems 

Data Production and Dissemination 

Applications and Research-------------

Cartographic and Geographic Information ----------------------------

Side-Looking Airborne Radar ---------

Geologic and Mineral Resource Surveys and 

Mapping --------------------------------

Geologic Hazards Surveys-----------------

Earthquake Hazards Reduction ------------

Volcano Hazards --------------------------

Ground Failure and Construction Hazards - -

Land Resource Surveys -------------------

Geologic Framework ----------------------

Geomagnetism----------------------------

Climate Change --------------------------

Mineral Resource Surveys ----------------

Alaska -----------------------------------

Conterminous States ----------------------

Wilderness Mineral Surveys ---------------

Strategic and Critical Minerals ------------

Development of Assessment Techniques

Energy Geologic Surveys------------------

Evolution of Sedimentary Basins-----------

Coal Investigations -----------------------

Onshore Oil and Gas Investigations --------

Oil Shale Investigations -------------------

Geothermal Investigations-----------------

Uranium-Thorium Investigations ----------

Offshore Geologic Surveys ----------------

Offshore Geologic Framework--------------

85,469

38,070

11,242

16,323

5,538

2,136

984

3,368

4,297

4,701

9,594

4,670

4,924

3,579

1,960

169,762

51,206

36,696

11,425

3,085

20,450

17,260

2,184

1,006

45,740

9,401

5,873

8,391

9,349

12,726

30,221

5,106

8,334

4,690

565

7,314

4,212

22,145

22,145

Activity/Subactivity/Program Element

Water Resources Investigations ---------

National Water Data System Federal 

Program --------------------------

Data Collection and Analysis ----------

National Water Data Exchange --------

Regional Aquifer Systems Analyses 

Coordination of National Water Data 

Activities---------------------------

Core Program Hydrologic ResearchImproved Instrumentation -------------

Water Resources Assessment ----------

Supporting Services -------------------

Toxic Substances Hydrology -----------

Acid Rain ----------------------------

Environmental Affairs ----------------

Water Resources Scientific Information 

Center -----------------------------

Federal-State Cooperative Program - - - 

Data Collection and Analysis, Areal 

Appraisals, and Special Studies ------

Water Use (Cooperative) --------------

Coal Hydrology (Cooperative) ----------

Water Resources Research Institutes-- 

Energy Hydrology---------------------

Coal Hydrology -----------------------

Nuclear Energy Hydrology ------------

Oil Shale Hydrology ------------------

General Administration --------------------

Executive Direction ------------------------

Administrative Operations -----------------

Reimbursements to the Department of Labor

Facilities -----------------------------------

National Center Standard Level User's 

Charge----------------------------------

National Center Facilities Management- - - -

TOTAL, Surveys, Investigations, and 

Research ---------------------------------

Fiscal

year

19851

enacted

132,844

63,565

16,899

1,318

14,401

962

7,432

2,023

1,377

3,358

10,956

3,151

768

920

51,679

43,379

3,915

4,385

8,797

8,803

977

7,494

332

15,244

4,951

8,655

1,638

13,049

11,329

1,720

416,368

1Funding shown represents appropriated dollars and does not include reimbursable funding from Federal, State, and other nonFederal sources.

Survey performs services under these agreements 

when earth science expertise is required by other 

agencies and their needs complement Survey program objectives. Work done for State, county, and 

municipal agencies is almost always done on a costsharing basis.

The appropriations and reimbursements received 

by the Survey in fiscal year 1985 are distributed 

through budget activities that roughly correspond to

its mapping, geologic, hydrologic, and administrative 

areas of responsibility.

Awards and Honors

Each year, employees of the U.S. Geological Survey receive awards that range from modest monetary 

awards to recognition of their achievements by large 

professional societies. The large number of these

38
awards attests to the quality of the individuals who 

are the U.S. Geological Survey. This year, the Survey wishes to acknowledge those individuals who 

either received high honors from or were elected to 

high office in professional societies and those who received the highest award of the Department of the 

Interior.

Honors

Robert A. Baker, Regional Research Hydrologist, received the 

Research Award from the American Water Works Association for 

his research in potable water treatment processes and laboratory 

procedures for testing of water quality.

William A. Cobban, Geologist, was awarded the Paleontological 

Society Medal for his outstanding contributions to the stratigraphy 

of Cretaceous rocks of the High Plains.

Frederick J. Doyle, Research Cartographer, received the Alan 

Gordon Memorial Award from the American Society of 

Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing for significant achievements 

in remote sensing and photographic interpretation.

Mark F. Meier, Research Geologist, received the Seligman Crystal, 

the highest award of the International Glaciological Society, for 

his pioneering work on the flow of Saskatchewan Glacier and on 

the understanding of heat, ice, and water balances of glaciers.

Ferdinand Quifiones-Marquez, Chief of the Water Resources 

Division's District Office in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was named 

Engineer of the Year for the U.S. Geological Survey, Department 

of the Interior, by the National Society of Professional Engineers.

Edwin W. Roedder, Geologist, was awarded the Werner Medal of 

the Deutsche Mineralogische Gesellschaft for his outstanding 

original research on fluid inclusions in minerals.

Gordon Wood, Geologist, received the Cady Award of Geological 

Society of America for contributions to coal science.

Professional Societies

Service in professional societies is one of the most 

important professional contributions a scientist can 

make. Societies play a fundamental role in distributing knowledge, as well as providing a forum in which 

new ideas are tested. The active participation of Survey scientists in professional societies attests to the 

scientific vitality of the Bureau. The Bureau is particularly proud of those individuals who have been 

elected to society presidencies, or chairmanships of 

major sections of societies, by their professional 

peers.

Keith L. Kvenvolden

Edwin R. Landis

Joel L. Morrison

Marshall M. Moss

A. Anthony Novotny, Jr.

Chairman of U.S. National Committee for Geochemistry, National Academy of Sciences

President, Coal Section, Geological 

Society of America

President, International Cartographic Association

President, the Hydrology Section of 

the American Geophysical Union

President, American Cartographic 

Association

Lucy Birdsall Chairwoman, Pacific Section, 

American Association of 

Petroleum Geologists

Department of the Interior 

Distinguished Service Awards

The highest honor given by the Department of the 

Interior to its employees is the Distinguished Service 

Award. Commemorated by a gold medal, this award 

for outstanding achievement was presented by Secretary Donald Hodel to eight Geological Survey employees. These individuals and the bases for their 

awards are:

Carl E. Diesen, Deputy Assistant Director for Information Systems, for leadership in information resources activities and centralized data processing support services.

George E. Ericksen, Geologist, for exceptional achievements in the 

Geological Survey's mineral resource programs, especially in the 

area of foreign technical assistance to the governments of Chile 

and Peru.

Thor H. Kiilsgaard, Geologist, for his significant contributions to 

the field of economic geology and for his successful administration 

and management of major scientific programs.

Harold Masursky, Geologist, for his imaginative leadership in the 

field of astrogeology which has influenced almost every facet of 

lunar and planetary exploration since the beginning of the 

Nation's space program.

Steven S. Oriel, Geologist, in recognition of his scientific contributions to the study of tectonic history of the Idaho-Wyoming overthrust belt and his expert guidance in the development of the new 

North American Code of Stratigraphic Nomenclature.

Sam H. Patterson, Geologist, in recognition of his many achievements in the investigations of mineral deposits and world resources of aluminum.

John R. Swinnerton, Chief, Western Mapping Center, in recognition of his outstanding service as a cartographer and administrator in the development and execution of the National Mapping 

Program.

Alien H. Watkins, Chief, EROS Data Center, for his exceptional 

contributions to the field of remote sensing and spatial data analysis and his achievements as administrator of the Earth Resources 

Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center.

39
40
Water Resources Investigations

Mission

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey's Water Resources Division is to provide the hydrologic information and understanding needed for the best use and 

management of the Nation's water resources for the benefit of the people of the 

United States. To accomplish this mission, the Division, in cooperation with 

State and local governments and other Federal agencies:

 Systematically collects data needed to continually determine and evaluate the 

quantity, quality, and use of the Nation's water resources;

 Conducts analytical and interpretive water-resources appraisals to describe the 

occurrence and availability of, and the physical, chemical, and biological 

characteristics of, surface and ground water;

 Conducts supportive basic and problem-oriented research into hydraulics, hydrology, and related fields of science and engineering to improve the basis for 

field investigations and measurement techniques and to understand hydrologic systems in order to predict quantitatively their response to natural or 

manmade stress;

 Provides to the public the water-resources data and the results of waterresources investigations and research through reports, maps, computerized 

information services, and other forms of public releases;

 Coordinates the activities of Federal agencies in the acquisition of waterresources data for streams, lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, and ground water; 

and

 Provides scientific and technical assistance in hydrology to other Federal,

State, and local agencies, to licensees of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and, on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, to international 

agencies.

Programs

The four Water Resources Division programs are the Federal Program, the 

Federal-State Cooperative Program, the Assistance to Other Federal Agencies, 

and the Non-Federal Reimbursable Program.

Federal Program. This program is specifically identified in annual congressional appropriations and provides for the collection of water-resources data, investigations of resources, and research activities in areas where the Federal interest is paramount. These interests include water resources in the public

Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colorado. 

Photograph by Dawn Reed.

41
WRD 

HEADQUARTERS

<*)

SOUTHEASTERN 

REGION

PUERTO RICO 

 San Juan

Atlantic Time 

Zone

L National Water-Quality Laboratory 55- Regionol Boundary

Location of principal offices 

of the U.S. Geological 

Survey's Water Resources 

Division in the conterminous 

United States. Cities named 

are those where Regional 

and District Offices are 

located. Puerto Rico is 

included in the Southeastern 

Region, and Alaska and 

Hawaii are included in the 

Western Region.

domain, river basins and aquifers that cross State 

boundaries, and other areas of international or interstate concern.

Federal-State Cooperative Program. The Cooperative Program is based on the concept that Federal, 

State, and local governments have a mutual interest 

in evaluating, planning, developing, and managing 

the Nation's- water resources. The Water Resources 

Division represents national interests, and the cooperating agencies represent State and local interests; 

the costs are shared 50/50 with the Federal share 

coming from direct congressional appropriations. The 

Geological Survey has cooperative agreements with 

all 50 States. Projects generally respond to recognized problems or define a potential one. In emergency situations, such as drought or flood, events are 

monitored, and the data accumulated under the Cooperative Program are made available for use by the 

public.

Assistance to Other Federal Agencies. The 

Geological Survey performs a wide variety of 

water-resources investigations to meet the specific 

needs of each agency. Investigations are funded by 

reimbursements to the Geological Survey from the 

agencies requesting the work. 

Non-Federal Reimbursable Program. This 

Program covers situations where there is both 

Federal and State interest in the investigation of 

water resources but where matching Federal funds 

are either unavailable or are not otherwise 

applicable to cost sharing. Unmatched funds are 

provided to the Geological Survey by State and 

local agencies for these studies.

Highlights

The articles in this section of the Yearbook 

describe some of the significant accomplishments 

from the Water Resources Division's major 

programs during fiscal year 1985.

National Water Summary 1984

By David W. Moody

In May 1985, the U.S. Geological Survey published 

the second in an annual series of reports that describe the condition and trends of water resources in 

the United States. National Water Summary 1984 

Hydrologic Events, Selected Water-Quality Trends, 

and Ground-Water Resources, Water-Supply Paper 

2275, presents a synopsis of hydrologic conditions 

and water-related events that occurred during water 

year 1984, analyses of the occurrence and distribution of five water-quality constituents in major 

rivers, nitrate in ground water, and a description of 

the principal aquifers in each State.

"Hydrologic Conditions and Water-Related Events, 

Water Year 1984," the first part of National Water 

Summary 1984, provides an annual and seasonal 

summary of hydrologic conditions. Streamflow variations are compared with precipitation, temperature, 

and upper-air atmospheric pressure to relate surface 

water flows to climatic conditions. Water year 1984

42
was a year of extreme 

hydrologic conditions, 

with precipitation and 

runoff averaging well 

above normal in most of 

the Nation and by as 

much as 400 percent 

above average in parts of 

the Southwest. In contrast, west Texas and 

Hawaii experienced persistent drought.

Of 100 water-related 

events that are documented in the report, a 

number were selected for

further discussion. Great Salt Lake, which has been 

on the rise for the past few years, reached its highest 

level since 1873 as a result of persistent wetter-thannormal conditions. Other lakes in the closed basins of 

the Western United States also reached unusually 

high levels that caused local flooding.

During eight consecutive days of rain in late May, 

parts of New England suffered the worst floods since 

Hurricane Diane in August 1955. Heavy rains in 

South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa during a 3-week 

period in June caused extensive flooding in those 

States. Runoff in the Colorado River basin between 

April and July was much higher than normal for the 

second year in a row, surpassing by 5 to 10 percent 

the peak flows in spring 1983. The sequence of operations of the Colorado River Storage Project enabled

the reservoirs to accommodate the largest annual 

volume of runoff since 1917. Only minor flooding resulted, except in the upstream parts of the basin. 

Flood damage nationwide amounted to an estimated 

$3.5 to $4 billion in 1984.

"Hydrologic Perspectives on Water Issues," the second part of the report, includes an overview of the occurrence, distribution, and trends of sediment, dissolved solids, phosphorus, nitrate, and pesticides in 

the country's major rivers. All of these constituents 

are associated with runoff from sources of pollution 

in urban and agricultural areas.

Sediment is supplied to rivers as a natural consequence of geologic processes, but the rate at which it 

is supplied may be greatly accelerated by erosion associated with human activities, such as farming and 

construction. Once in a stream, sediment deposits 

lead to increased flooding, obstruct navigation channels, and decrease the storage capacity of reservoirs. 

Furthermore, contaminants, such as pesticides and 

toxic metals, adsorb on sediment particles and are 

transported, deposited, and stored with the sediment. 

The resolution of many water-quality issues will depend upon a better understanding of sediment 

transport.

Over the past 35 years, the construction of dams 

and reservoirs on the Missouri River and in other 

parts of its basin has reduced the sediment load 

carried by the Mississippi River by 50 percent. Even 

so, the Mississippi River still carries more sediment 

than any other U.S. river and ranks sixth or seventh 

in sediment transport in the world. Seaward transr~\

Stream/low in water year 

1984 as a percentage of 

normal in the United States 

and Puerto Rico for the 

period of record 1951-80. 

Line shows points of equal 

percentage; number shows 

percentage of normal annual 

streamflow. (Source: 

Compiled by Krishnaveni V. 

Sarma from U.S. Geological 

Survey data.)

43
port of sediment in the Colorado River and the Rio 

Grande has all but been halted by the construction of 

dams.

Dissolved solids have increased significantly in a 

large number of the Nation's rivers. The increases 

are thought to be related to the increasing use of

The "Muddy Mississippi" River flows past the Gateway 

Arch at St. Louis, Mo., carrying with its waters more 

sediment than any other U.S. river. In fact, the Mississippi 

River ranks sixth or seventh in sediment transport in the 

world. View is from the Illinois side of the river. 

(Photograph by James H. Barks, Water Resources Division, 

U.S. Geological Survey.)

road salts for snow and ice control and the contribution of salts leaching from the soil of irrigated farmlands, especially in semiarid lands in the West and 

Southwest, by irrigation return flows. Phosphorus 

concentrations declined in the Great Lakes and 

Upper Mississippi regions, possibly due to major

44
phosphorus-control efforts during the late 1970's. Increases in phosphorus concentrations that occurred in 

Florida, along the Gulf Coast, and in the Arkansas 

and Red River basins may be related to increased 

agricultural activities and use of fertilizer in these 

areas. Inorganic nitrogen (nitrate plus nitrite) concentrations increased at a large number of stream 

sampling sites nationwide, especially at sites in the 

eastern one-half of the country and in the Pacific 

coast basins of the Northwest. The relatively large 

number of increases are a result, at least in part, of 

widespread increases in atmospheric deposition of nitrate. A second factor contributing to increased inorganic nitrogen concentrations at stations on streams 

draining agricultural regions is the increased use of 

nitrogen fertilizers. During the period of record examined (water years 1975 81), the total quantity of 

nitrogen fertilizer applied nationwide increased by 

about 38 percent.

The Geological Survey and the Environmental Protection Agency monitored 22 common pesticides in 

water and bed materials at 150 river sites between 

1975 and 1980. Detectable levels were found in fewer 

than 10 percent of the surface-water samples and 

fewer than 20 percent of the bottom-sediment samples. Concentrations of chlorinated hydrocarbons 

(dieldrin, chlordane, and DDT) have decreased in 

both the water and the bed materials of major rivers 

since the mid-1970's when the use of these pesticides 

was greatly curtailed. No clear trends were detected 

for the other pesticides that were monitored.

The use of ground water has increased nearly 190 

percent nationwide since 1955. Ground water is 

looked upon as a clean, relatively inexpensive, generally drought-resistant source of water. Many State 

and water utility planners and managers are counting on ground water to meet future water demands. 

Increasing awareness that ground water cannot be 

assumed to be free of harmful chemicals and the discovery of many actual and potential sources of aquifer contamination have made protection of ground 

water from contamination a major topic of public 

interest.

To provide some insight into the degree to which 

human activities affect the quality of ground water, 

an analysis was undertaken of the maximum nitrate 

concentrations observed in water from 124,000 wells 

throughout the United States. Nitrate concentrations 

greater than 3 milligrams per liter (mg/L) were 

found in 20 percent of the wells and 6 percent had 

concentrations greater than 10 mg/L, the Environmental Protection Agency's established criterion for

drinking water. Nitrate concentrations greater than 

3 mg/L are considered by the author to be elevated 

above natural levels. Because most of the wells with 

elevated nitrate concentrations are less than 100 feet 

deep, it appears that the probable sources of the nitrates include nitrogen fertilizers, seepage from feed 

lots and other agricultural activities, septic systems, 

and various waste disposal activities. The observed 

patterns of elevated nitrate concentrations correlate 

well with the known distribution of these activities.

Another issue examined in the section "Hydrologic 

Perpectives on Water Issues" is the significance of 

ground-water-level declines in various parts of the 

country that were identified in the National Water 

Summary 1983 Hydrologic Events and Issues, 

Water-Supply Paper 2250, as a growing concern in 

35 States. Ground-water-level declines can lead to 

streamflow depletion, land subsidence, saltwater 

intrusion, and increased pumping costs for water 

producers and users. A number of areas have 

experienced ground-water-level declines of 40 feet or 

more in at least one aquifer since development began. The report describes the historical behavior of 

water levels in five important areas of ground-water 

use in which declines have occurred. These areas in 

California, Illinois, Louisiana, South Dakota, and 

Virginia illustrate the range of hydrologic conditions 

and water use practices that cause changes in water 

levels and the significance of these changes.

The final section of the report, "State Summaries 

of Ground-Water Resources," describes the principal 

aquifers in each State as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the 

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Saipan, Guam, 

and American Samoa. The location of the aquifers is 

shown on multicolored maps and cross sections. A 

second illustration portrays the areas of major 

ground-water withdrawals and hydrographs of selected wells to indicate the long-term water-level 

trends. Tables depict statistics of ground-water use 

for 1980 in each State, and aquifer and well characteristics, including reference to water-quality constituents that limit use of the water. A section on 

ground-water management and selected references 

completes each State summary.

With the completion of this second National Water 

Summary, a foundation has been laid for a set of 

references that collectively will provide a comprehensive description of the Nation's water resources 

and make available to a wide audience the findings 

of the U.S. Geological Survey's water resources 

investigations.

45
Summary of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program

By Robert M. Hirsch

Protecting the quality of the Nation's ground-water 

and surface-water resources is a high-priority concern, for the quality of these resources directly affects public health, the economics of agriculture, industry, fish and shellfish harvesting, and recreation. 

Although the States have major responsibilities for 

the protection of water quality, a clear need exists 

for coordination at the Federal level because of the 

interstate nature of many of the problems, the pertinent body of Federal laws and regulations, and the 

substantial Federal expenditures associated, particularly for sewage treatment plants and for cleanup of 

toxic-waste sites. Presently there is no unified and 

consistent program of national water-quality assessment. Without such a program, policy decisions must 

be made on the basis of very limited data.

The Geological Survey has, for many years, played 

a major role in advancing the scientific understanding of water quality and has collected and interpreted water-quality data in many localities as part

of its Federal-State Cooperative Program, as a service to other Federal agencies, or as a part of special 

programs such as the river-quality assessments. 

These programs provide valuable information on 

water quality to local officials concerned with managing the water resource, but, because they are local

The clear water of Lake Michigan contrasts sharply with the 

sediment-laden water in the outer harbor (between the 

breakwater and the bridge near the smokestack at the 

mouth of the Milwaukee River) and the inner harbor at 

Milwaukee, Wis., the day after a minor summer thunderstorm. Runoff from severe thunderstorms can push a plume 

of sediment-laden water through the main harbor entrance 

(lighthouse at left-center in photograph) several thousand 

feet into the lake. (Photograph courtesy of the State of 

Wisconsin, Department of Natural Resources.)

46
in scope, they cannot be aggregated to constitute an 

integrated assessment of the status and trends in the 

Nation's water quality. The Geological Survey does 

operate the only national water-quality data acquisition networks the Benchmark network (55 stations 

in pristine small basins) and the National Stream 

Quality Accounting Network (501 stations at the 

downstream ends of the Nation's major river basins). 

These two networks have provided insight on the 

movement of major chemical components through the 

Nation's rivers and the relation of these components 

to geologic features, climate, deposition of materials 

from the atmosphere (including acid rain), and the 

human population of the river basin. For ground 

water, there is no national sampling or quality assessment program.

The Geological Survey is starting a national longterm program of water-quality data acquisition, interpretation, and assessment. This proposed program 

builds on all the information from existing programs 

(National Stream Quality Accounting Network, 

Benchmark, Regional Aquifer-Systems Analysis, 

Toxic Substances Hydrology) and the experience of 

Geological Survey scientists in field offices in all the 

States.

Problems of organizing such an assessment program are formidable, with difficulties arising from 

the size of the area to be investigated, the multiplicity of water-quality variables to be measured, and 

the high cost of field work and laboratory analysis, 

especially for trace organic chemicals. To make the 

overall problem manageable, program planners must 

make several strategic choices. Some of the key features of the proposed program follow.

1. Efforts will be confined primarily to those freshwater resources that are of adequate natural 

quality to be used for ordinary purposes, such as 

domestic supply or irrigation of crops, that have 

been mapped, and for which an understanding 

of the flow system already exists;

2. Each activity will be clustered into study units 

that are widely scattered around the Nation 

and will in aggregate account for a large percentage of the Nation's water use. This clustering greatly enhances the potential for obtaining 

useful information from the data collected;

3. The program will identify a nationally consistent 

set of water-quality variables for study. These 

water-quality variables are related to one or 

more water-quality issues: chemical contamination, nutrient enrichment, acidification, sedimentation, and acceptability of water for general use;

4. The program will measure or determine hydrological and biological characteristics of water in relation to land use, geology, and population to 

aid in the interpretations of water-quality data;

5. The work, and the reporting of results, will have 

three scales: National, regional study units 

(equivalent to river basins or aquifer systems), 

and locally studied areas (a few tens of river 

miles for surface water and a few tens of square 

miles for ground water);

6. Surface-water studies will be rotational. Within 

each study unit, the data-acquisition and interpretation will be stressed in a period of 3 years. 

Then, after a 6-year period of very limited activity, there will be a return to very active study 

for another 3 years. This 9-year cycle (3 years 

active, 6 years relatively inactive) will continue 

indefinitely. Each active phase will provide a 

"snapshot" of conditions to compare with all of 

the previous "snapshots." Different units will be 

studied at different times, so the national program will be maintained at a constant level of 

effort and be geographically diverse at all times;

7. Ground-water studies will be monitored by a

computer-based procedure that relies on specific 

land use, hydrogeology, and contamination intended to classify segments of each study unit 

into three categories: those that are probably 

substantially contaminated, those probably not 

substantially contaminated but vulnerable to 

contamination, and those that are neither contaminated nor vulnerable;

8. Special attention will be given to sampling and 

summarizing the quality of drinking-water 

sources nationally; and

9. Existing quality-of-precipitation studies will be 

improved with special attention being given to 

the problem of trace metals deposited in rainfall 

and released from soils and rocks.

The proposed National Water-Quality Assessment 

Program will provide essential information on the effectiveness of many water-quality protection programs and help those responsible for the program's 

design and direction (the Congress and Federal regulatory agencies) to achieve their goals cost effectively. In addition, the program will contribute to the 

effective management of water resources by the State 

and local agencies that have management responsibilities by providing special information on contaminant sources, movement, and transformation. This 

information is the key to predicting the consequences 

of various pollution-control strategies being 

considered.

47
Investigations of the Regional Aquifer Systems in the 

United States, 1978-1984

By Ren Jen Sun

Increased use of ground water for irrigation, urban 

expansion, and industrial and energy development is 

expected during the next decade. In addition, ground 

water is widely recognized as an especially important 

component of the Nation's water supply during periods of drought. The projected increase in the use of 

ground water will have widespread impact on the 

Nation's aquifer systems.

Water pumped from wells initially removes water 

from storage in the aquifer, with an associated lowering of water levels. As water levels in the pumped 

aquifer decline, new hydraulic gradients are developed that either reduce natural ground-water discharge or induce recharge to the aquifer to balance 

the amount pumped. When pumpage is greater than 

the amount of water that can be obtained by increased recharge or reduced natural discharge, the 

result is sustained withdrawal of water from aquifer 

storage and continued lowering of water levels. In 

turn, water-level declines increase the cost of water 

to irrigators because pumping from increased depths 

results in higher energy costs. In water-table 

aquifers, the lowering of water levels can cause the 

progressive decrease of the saturated thickness of the 

aquifer, and the result is reduced well yields and 

eventually depletion of the ground-water resource. In 

areas where aquifers are covered with thick, easily 

compressed, fine-grained sediments of low permeability, such as silt and clay, land subsidence may occur 

because the sustained withdrawal of water from storage out of these fine-grained sediments allows the 

pressure from the weight of the overburden to compact the fine-grained sediments.

In irrigated areas where return flow from irrigation water recharges the shallow aquifer, constituents such as salts leached from soil or applied pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers may move into the 

shallow aquifer and flow downward into deep and 

confined aquifers to degrade the ground-water quality. Recharge of irrigation water may also cause 

ground-water levels to rise, which may create conditions of water-logged soil. Water-quality degradation 

from waste disposal may also develop in industrial or 

urban areas.

Prompted by the 1977 drought, the 95th Congress 

provided funds to the Department of Interior to begin 

a Geological Survey program to identify the water 

resources of the major aquifer systems within the

United States. The purposes of this program, as 

stated in the appropriations report, were to establish 

the aquifer boundaries, to estimate the quantity and 

the quality of the water within the aquifer systems, 

and to characterize the recharge of the aquifer systems. As a result of these specifications, and in response to the need for regional information to support better investigations and management of the 

ground-water resources within the United States, the 

Geological Survey instituted the Regional AquiferSystem Analysis (RASA) Program in 1978.

On the basis of a series of Geological Survey reports presenting summary appraisals of the Nation's 

ground-water resources (fig. 1), and using economic 

and hydrologic considerations, 28 regional aquifer 

systems were identified for study under the RASA 

Program (fig. 2). As of September 1985, nine RASA 

studies have been completed and reports are being 

written. The studies cover the Central Valley aquifer 

system in California, the Floridan aquifer system, 

the Great Basin regional aquifer system in Nevada 

and Utah, the High Plains aquifer system, the 

Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system, the 

Northern Great Plains regional aquifer system, the 

Northern Midwest regional aquifer system, the 

Snake River Plain aquifer system in Idaho, and the 

Southwest Alluvial Basins regional aquifer system. 

Another 11 RASA projects are being studied.

If major technical problems, issues, or deficiencies 

in data are identified that cannot be addressed adequately within the context of the initial investigations, follow-up studies, called RASA Phase II, are 

then undertaken at the conclusion of the initial 

studies. As of September-1985, six RASA Phase II 

studies are being undertaken. The geographic locations and status of all RASA studies are shown in 

figure 3.

The delineation and continuity of aquifers and confining units are dependent on the scale of the problem under study. Regional aquifer-system studies 

normally lump many discontinuous local aquifers together into a relatively small number of regional 

aquifers or confining units on the basis of the hydraulic characteristics of formations, rather than on 

the geologic ages, which are common for stratigraphic correlations. An aquifer delineated in a 

RASA study may contain many different geologic formations. A regional aquifer system, as defined in the

48
M '1

Hawaii piU - 

Caribbean Islands

EXPLANATION

Ground-Water 

Resources Regions

M

Letters indicate chapter 

designations in U SG S 

Professional Paper 813 

series.

Figure 1. Map showing 

location of reports of 

Summary Appraisals of the 

Nation's Ground-Water 

Resources, U.S. Geological 

Survey Professional Papers 

813-A through 813-U.

RASA Program, may be of two general types. It 

may be an extensive set of aquifers and confining 

units that locally may be discontinuous but act hydrologically as a single system on a regional scale 

(examples include aquifer systems underlying the 

Great Plains, High Plains, Gulf Coastal Plain, and 

Atlantic Coastal Plain), or it may represent a set 

of essentially independent aquifers that share so 

many common characteristics that investigation of 

a few of these independent aquifers can establish 

common principles and hydrologic factors controlling the occurrence, movement, and quality of 

the ground water throughout the aquifer systems.

Examples of this second type of the regional 

aquifer-system studies include the alluvial basins 

in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada, and 

the glacial aquifers in the Northeastern United 

States.

Computer-based numerical ground-water-flow 

models are used in all RASA studies to provide 

quantitative understanding of the delineated aquifer systems. The ground-water-flow simulation 

models developed during regional studies, however, may not always be appropriate for the evaluation of the effects of ground-water development at 

a local level. Subregional ground-water-flow

Figure 2. Map showing the 

location of the regional 

aquifer systems identified 

for study under the Regional 

Aquifer-System Analysis 

Program of the U.S. 

Geological Survey.

, .

 « I Colorado i MidOahu

Caribbean Islands Aquifer

49
Figure 3. Map showing the 

locations of areas being 

investigated daring 1978-84 

and areas to be investigated 

in fiscal years 1985 86 

under the Regional AquiferSystem Analysis Program.

Phase I studies completed before FY 19H5 (7)

Phase II studies underway. FY 1985 «i) HAW'

Pha.se i studies underway. FY 1985 112)

Phase I studies initiated. FY 1985 (1)

Phase I studies planned. FY 19HH (2)

models are then constructed for better resolution 

of the simulation results and for addressing 

specific areas of interest. For example, the use of 

regional flow models to supply correct information 

along the boundaries of the subregional models 

eliminates the incorrect boundaries assigned without the regional simulations.

The RASA studies rely primarily on interpretation of existing data; however, some new data are 

also collected in each investigation, and some exploratory drilling has been carried out. Examples 

include seven deep exploratory wells drilled in the 

Sacramento Valley in California and seven deep 

wells drilled in the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer 

system during the Northern Midwest regional 

aquifer-system study. In 1979, an offshore oil test 

well drilled by Tenneco 55 miles east of Fernandina Beach, Fla., was used for hydrologic testing before the well was closed. Pressures measured in 

the test well indicate an equivalent freshwater 

head of 24 to 29 feet above sea level. A drill-stem 

test at an interval of 1,050 to 1,070 feet below sea 

level recovered water samples containing about 

7,000 milligrams per liter of chloride. The head 

and salinity data suggest that the tested interval, 

1,050 to 1,070 feet below sea level, lies in a transition zone between fresh ground water and seawater.

Caribbean Islands Aquifer

As of September 1985, about 300 reports have been 

published under the RASA Program. The following 

are some significant findings resulting from the 

RASA studies.

Central Valley, California. Digital simulation of 

ground-water flow indicates that during 1961-78, 

ground-water discharge was about 11.8 million 

acre-feet per year, of which 94 percent was for irrigation and 3 percent discharged to topographic depressions such as streams and lakes. The simulation also indicates that the ground-water recharge 

was about 11 million acre-feet per year, of which 

81 percent was from irrigation return flow, 14 percent was infiltrated from precipitation, and 5 percent was induced from streams and lakes. The difference between the annual ground-water 

discharge and recharge was 0.8 million acre-feet 

per year. About half of this difference was water 

stored in the aquifer. Its removal caused waterlevel declines. The remaining half was derived 

from fine-grained sediments that compacted and 

resulted in subsidence of the land surface.

Subsidence in the Central Valley began in the 

mid-1920's as ground water was pumped for 

irrigation. By 1970, the maximum subsidence 

exceeded 29 feet at one location in the San Joaquin 

Valley, and over 5,000 square miles of land surface 

in the Central Valley had subsided more than

50
I foot. The rate of subsidence in the most severely 

pumped areas in the San Joaquin Valley has been 

decreasing since delivery of surface water in 1968; 

it may recur if pumping reduces water levels below 

the previous maximum lows. For example, during 

the 1976-77 drought, water levels declined a 

maximum of nearly 200 feet in 8 months; the 

subsidence, which had nearly ceased after 1972, 

was as much as 0.5 foot in 1977.

The discovery of an easily compressed clay, over 

50 feet thick, in the Sacramento Valley will be 

important to water managers when plans to 

develop ground-water resources in that area are 

considered. Land subsidence may occur when that 

clay is being compacted as a result of the lowering 

of hydraulic heads in the aquifers. Before irrigation pumping, heads in the deep aquifer were 

normally higher than those in the shallow aquifer, 

which contains water of poor quality in the 

western part of the San Joaquin Valley. This poorquality water may flow downward to degrade the 

water in the deep aquifer. This potential for waterquality degradation in the deep aquifer was not investigated during the initial study of the regional 

aquifer system in the Central Valley, and a Phase

II study was initiated in 1984 to study this possibility as well as the impact of irrigation return 

flow on the aquifer system in the San Joaquin 

Valley.

High Plains RASA Study. Areas of water-level declines caused by pumping for irrigation resulted in 

the reduction of the saturated thickness of the 

aquifer materials in all States in the High Plains, 

except South Dakota where irrigation development 

is sparse. The largest area of water-level decline, 

exceeding 100 feet, occurred south of the Canadian 

River in parts of New Mexico and Texas and in 

some localized areas north of the Canadian River 

in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The 

maximum water-level decline of nearly 200 feet occurred in Floyd County, Tex. Water levels have 

risen, however, in several places in the High 

Plains. In Gosper, Howard, Lincoln, Phelps, and 

Sherman Counties of Nebraska, water levels have 

risen more than 50 feet because of excessive 

recharge from surface-water irrigation. In Dawson 

and Lynn Counties of Texas, water levels have 

risen more than 25 feet after clearing sandy soil of 

native vegetation for cultivation resulted in an increase of water locally recharged to the aquifer. 

These findings indicate that land use can clearly 

affect the aquifer system, especially the watertable or shallow aquifers.

Northern Great Plains RASA Study. A body of 

brine located at the eastern flank of the Williston

basin was studied to learn whether it was static or 

whether it was a very slow-moving segment of the 

regional ground-water flow system. Computer simulations of the ground-water regional flow system 

indicate that consistent low-velocity ground-water 

flow moves eastward and northeastward through 

the brine body. This suggests that a small component of the ground-water flow actually moves directly across the Williston basin from west to east, 

through the areas containing the brine, and that 

the brine probably is a slow-moving segment of the 

flow system.

Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain RASA Study. The 

relation of concentrations of calcium, magnesium, 

sodium, potassium, and sulfate to concentrations of 

chloride indicates that a saltwater-freshwater 

transition zone in North Carolina is primarily a 

mixture of seawater and fresh ground water 

containing sodium bicarbonate. In areas from 

Virginia to New Jersey, however, the transition 

zone appears to be largely a mixture of a sodium 

calcium chloride brine and fresh ground water 

containing sodium bicarbonate.

For more information on the RASA Program, the 

reader should refer to U.S. Geological Survey 

Circular 1002, Regional Aquifer-System Analysis 

Program of the U.S. Geological Survey Summary of 

Projects, 1978-84.

Ground Water Contamination

By Stephen E. Ragone

Public concern about ground water contamination, 

one of the most widely publicized environmental issues of the 1980's, has been aroused by the social and 

economic disruptions from ground water contamination at places like Love Canal in New York and 

Stringfellow Acid Pits in California. Estimates that 

billions of gallons of hazardous waste leak to ground 

water each year and that incidents of ground water 

contamination occur just about everywhere in the 

Nation further exacerbate the issue. Presently there 

is no understanding of the areal extent and the 

degree to which ground water has been degraded 

today or of the future risks to this resource. To gain 

clearer understanding of these issues, we must assess 

the complexity of the subsurface environment, the 

processes that may alter ground water quality, and 

the variability of the nature and amount of 

contamination.

51
O t

P - 

< t*

Z "2

O U

U j

I

* Z 0.1 0.2 0.5 1.0 2 5 10 

RECLAIMED WATER RECHARGED, IN MILLION GALLONS

20 50

Figure 4. Change in iron 

concentration of water from 

an observation well 20 feet 

from the recharge well on 

Long Island, N. Y.

The complexity of the subsurface environment is illustrated by results from a study on changes in iron 

concentration in ground water. The changes occurred 

because of the injection of sewage into the Magothy 

aquifer on Long Island, N.Y. (fig. 4). Although the 

tertiary-treated sewage and the native water into 

which it was recharged contained iron in concentrations less than 0.5 milligrams per liter (mg/L), the 

iron in ground water at a well 20 feet from the point 

of injection reached nearly 3 mg/L during the early 

part of the recharge period. The iron was mobilized 

by reaction between the oxygen in the recharge 

water and the pyrite, a mineral, in the aquifer. Reactions such as this, along with the many other geochemical processes that can occur, may drastically 

alter the quality of ground water, resulting, as in the 

example, in a degradation in water quality or in its 

improvement. The variable effects of chemical constituents in the subsurface may be large (fig. 5). 

Fluctuation in the concentrations of chloride, for example, can vary by several orders of magnitude as a 

result of natural and human activities. Chloride is a 

stable constituent, so changes in chloride concentration in ground water reflect either increases or decreases in the amount of chloride entering the 

ground water, and, possibly, changes in the hydrologic condition in the vicinity of the well. Concentrations of trace metals and organic substances, however, may show even greater variability over time 

because of their reactivity.

Complexity in the hydrology and geochemistry of 

the subsurface, along with variability in the contaminant effects, may make it difficult to predict or explain regional patterns of ground water contamination. The distribution of nitrate in a water-table 

aquifer recharged by water from a suburban area 

presumably could be attributed to its introduction 

from homeowners' septic systems. A comparison of 

concentrations of nitrate from a sewered area with 

that of an unsewered area on Long Island, N.Y.,

however, showed the relation to be much more complicated. No significant difference was found between 

the concentration of nitrogen for sewered and unsewered areas over the entire 25-year period of record. A

Figure 5. Monthly 

fluctuations of chloride 

concentrations in water from 

wells in sewered, unsewered, 

and rural areas on Long 

Island, N.Y.

60

t 40

5 20 2 60

O

1 40 

Z

z"

O 20

± 0

U

z 

O 

U 100

D

8 80

a

u 60

9 40

O

X

U 20

N 8235 

(Sewered area)

N 1201 

(Unsewered area)

S 46914 

(Rural area^

i_300

JFMAMJ JASONDJ FMAM] JASOND

1975 1976 

TIME, IN YEARS

52
combination of factors may play a role in the distribution of nitrate in ground water. These include 

changes in hydrologic conditions resulting from periods of drought and the corresponding response of the 

ground water system, along with a variety in the 

sources of nitrogen recharged to the ground water. 

Thus, while much ground water contamination is attributable to the activity of humans, one would be ill 

advised to generalize about the impact of specific 

manmade activities on ground water quality.

In a program of studies on toxic waste, USGS scientists are currently studying the factors affecting 

the fate of contaminants in the subsurface, notably 

trace metals and manmade organic substances, and 

appraising their distribution in selected regions of 

the United States. Only by applying sound scientific 

principles can we gain a clear understanding of the 

extent of the degradation of ground water.

The Federal-State Cooperative 

Program Focuses on Priority 

Issues

By Bruce K. Gilbert

The Geological Survey's Federal-State Cooperative 

Program in fiscal year 1985 marks its 90th year of 

contributions to the development of knowledge about 

the Nation's water resources. The program was 

carried out in working partnership with more than 

800 State, regional, and local agencies during the 

past year. Joint funding in this 50/50 matching 

activity totaled about $107 million and comprised 

almost one-half of the overall program of the Water 

Resources Division.

The Cooperative Program, begun in Kansas in 

1895, has grown and changed with time so that by 

1985, hydrologic data collection and interpretive 

investigations were underway in every State, Puerto 

Rico, and several territories. Perhaps the most 

important characteristic of the program throughout 

its 90-year history is that it is, and has always been, 

responsive to recognized or potential problems. Most 

investigations provide hydrologic information and 

analyses needed for making decisions or for solving 

problems. The program continues to contribute to the 

advancement of hydrologic science and provides a 

major part of the Geological Survey's waterinformation data base.

Practically all of the Geological Survey's streamflow data-collection stations, funded in large part by

this Cooperative Program, serve several purposes. In 

addition to responding to State or local needs, the 

stations provide information to satisfy the requirements of many Federal agencies, such as for flood 

prediction, land-use planning, streamflow regulation, 

production of hydroelectric power, establishment of 

waste-disposal standards, pollution regulation, 

mined-land reclamation, and energy development. In 

fiscal year 1985, the Federal-State Cooperative Program provided sole support for nearly one-half of the 

7,000 continuous-streamflow stations in the total Geological Survey network, and, in combination with 

other funding sources, provided partial support for 

another 20 percent of the total network.

The operation of data-collection stations is a continuing activity. Many are operated on a long-term 

basis as components of national networks; some are 

discontinued each year when their purpose has been 

served. New stations are installed as demanded by 

changing needs and priorities. The Geological Survey's entire stream gaging program is being systematically analyzed to improve its cost effectiveness.

In addition to the data-collection activities, approximately 530 hydrologic investigations and waterresources research projects funded by the FederalState Cooperative Program were underway in fiscal 

year 1985. These included areal appraisals and special studies conducted throughout the Nation. Areal 

water-resources appraisals, which range from small 

basin or county to statewide or regional studies, define, characterize, and evaluate the extent, quality, 

and availability of the water resource.

Special studies addressing existing and foreseeable 

hydrologic conditions and concerns are somewhat 

more specific in nature and smaller in size than 

areal appraisals and often involve applied research. 

They may require from a few months to 2 to 3 years 

to complete, and they result in analytical, interpretive, and predictive reports, data, and information 

leading to the solution of water-resource problems or 

to the more complete utilization and protection of the 

Nation's water resources.

The Geological Survey and its cooperating agencies 

work together in a continuing process that leads to 

adjustments in each year's program. Key hydrologic 

concerns and issues requiring priority consideration 

in the selection of new activities, or the retention of 

ongoing activities, are determined through discussions with State and local cooperators, with Federal 

agency officials, by guidance from Congress and the 

Department of Interior, and through awareness of 

the concerns of the general public. For 1985, five categories of water issues were identified as major national concerns and were considered of highest priority in developing the program: water quality,

53
The Potomac River cascades over the rocks near Great Falls, 

Va. The Potomac River investigation, one of seven riverquality assessments and the only one to concentrate on the 

estuarine environment, began in October 1977. (Photograph 

by William A. Dize, Jr., U.S. Geological Survey.)

toxic-waste hydrology, erosion and sedimentation, 

water supply and demand, and hydrologic hazards. 

The National Water Summary 1983 reports that 

contamination from hazardous wastes, point and nonpoint sources of pollution, saltwater intrusion, eutrophication, acid precipitation, and other waterquality issues are of concern throughout the United 

States. The Nation's rivers have historically been 

used for water supplies, dilution of waste, recreation, 

commerce, and for production of fish and aquatic 

crops. These uses are not all compatible, and many 

problems that can affect human health and the economy have surfaced, such as the deterioration in the 

quality of water supplies from domestic, municipal, 

industrial, and agricultural uses. In spite of considerable progress in solving complex water problems, 

stresses on the quality of surface and ground waters 

are multiplying. Ground water supplies drinking 

water for at least one-half of the Nation's population. 

Disposal of toxic wastes has made some ground water

unsafe for use, especially in densely populated and 

industrialized areas. For an isolated source of contamination, such as an industrial disposal drain, the 

consequences may be severe in magnitude but only 

local in extent; in some places, however, many separate industries located over a large area and some 

agricultural practices are contributing to widespread 

contamination.

Water-quality issues, heading the 1985 list of priorities for the Cooperative Program, continue the 

trend whereby the emphasis given to ground- and 

surface-water quality has increased significantly during the past several years. At present, nearly threefourths of the investigations undertaken in the Cooperative Program in part address water-quality 

concerns. Of these, one in four focuses principally on 

surface water or ground water that has been contaminated with hazardous substances. A few of the highlights of the 1985 program are described below.

54
Saltwater Contamination, Central 

Oklahoma

An investigation of the impact of saltwater in the 

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer of central Oklahoma has been 

underway since 1979 in cooperation with the Oklahoma Geological Survey. More than 80 stream and 

well sites have been identified as contaminated by 

brine in the 1,700-square-mile area of study. Geophysical measurements indicate a possible increase 

in saltwater encroachment into the freshwater layer 

in the Vamoosa-Ada aquifer. Indices developed to 

identify brine contamination in surface- and groundwater resources in this area will have application in 

other parts of the country.

Identification of Ground-Water 

Problems in Arkansas

The Geological Survey, in support of Arkansas' 

ground-water protection strategy, has prepared a report that identifies existing and potential groundwater problems in the State. Existing problems that 

were documented include poor natural-water quality, 

saltwater intrusion, contamination, low yields from 

fractured-rock aquifers, and water-level declines in 

principal aquifers. Areas of the State were categorized as high-, medium-, or low-recharge zones, and 

the areas having the greatest potential for aquifer 

contamination are waste-disposal sites located in the 

medium- or high-recharge zones.

Evaluation of Ground-Water Resources, 

Los Osos Basin, San Luis Obispo 

County, California

In the coastal areas of California, the principal 

limit on future development typically is the availability of water supplies. Many of the aquifers in 

these areas are subject to contamination from landuse practices and from saltwater intrusion caused by 

declining ground-water levels. San Luis Obispo 

County requested an investigation of the Los Osos 

basin to evaluate the ground-water resources to assist officials in developing plans for improved waterresources management in the area. Initial results of 

this project have provided a considerable amount of 

encouraging information. Clearer definition of the 

characteristics and areal extent of the confining 

layer indicates that contamination of the watersupply aquifer from the upper aquifer is not an immediate concern. In addition, a previously unmapped 

Pliocene-age formation, presenting potential for the 

development of additional water supplies, has been 

identified.

Water-Quality Characteristics of the 

Proposed Swatara Creek Reservoir, 

Pennsylvania

Quality of the water to be impounded by a dam on 

Swatara Creek in Schuylkill County, Pa., may not be 

acceptable for maintaining a warm-water fishery or 

for water-contact recreation. Acid mine drainage has 

been identified as the principal contributor to the 

poor water quality, and releases from the reservoir 

may degrade the water quality downstream in 

Swatara Creek. Construction of this $40 million dam 

project has been halted pending resolution of the 

water-quality issues.

Modeling of Suspended-Sediment 

Discharges, Warrior Coal Field, 

Alabama

The amount of sediment entering Alabama 

streams and transported as suspended sediment because of surface coal mining activities in the State 

continues to be of major concern to regulatory agencies. The Geological Survey, in cooperation with the 

Alabama Surface Mining Commission, is studying 

the application of a surface-water model, based on 

local geohydrology, to selected streams in the Warrior Coal Field area. The model, being calibrated to 

simulate suspended-sediment yield characteristics in 

areas with ungaged streams, will provide significant 

information on sediment-related impacts of surface 

mining that will be applicable to similar situations 

nationwide.

55
Preliminary Evaluation of Buried Crystalline Rock in the 

Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain for the Disposal of 

High-Level Radioactive Waste

By Orville B. Lloyd, Jr.

Introduction

The Geological Survey is conducting hydrologic 

and geologic studies that will assist the U.S. Department of Energy in the identification of geohydrologic 

environments that are suited for the construction of 

a required repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes. One of the environments that has 

received much attention and study is that found in 

crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks that are 

exposed at the land surface. The crystalline rocks 

have been studied as potential sites for waste repositories because they are abundant on the continents, 

provide stable mined openings, have thermal properties that give them the capacity to withstand and 

dissipate heat from the wastes, and have low interstitial permeability.

Most crystalline rocks are fractured, however, and 

these fractures constitute a major disadvantage of 

the exposed crystalline-rock waste-storage environment. It is very difficult to predict, with any reasonable certainty, the direction and rate of ground-water 

movement through a system of fractures because the 

geometry and hydraulic properties of the fractures 

are difficult to measure, characterize, and model. 

Prediction of ground-water flow is important because 

ground-water transport is the major vehicle for the 

migration of radionuclides from a respository.

In contrast, ground water in sedimentary rocks 

generally occurs in and moves through closely spaced 

intergranular openings, and the rate and direction of 

movement can be predicted with greater confidence. 

In sedimentary rocks, favorable geohydrologic conditions may be found where flow paths are long and 

flow rates are slow in the clay subsurface. These conditions enhance the chances for the long term isolation of wastes from the biosphere.

The attributes of both sedimentary and crystalline 

rocks might be combined if repositories for high-level 

radioactive waste can be developed in crystalline 

rock that is buried beneath a thick blanket of lowpermeability sedimentary rock. With this approach, 

the minability, thermal conductivity, and other favorable properties of the crystalline rock could be 

combined with the predictability of ground-water 

movement in the overlying sedimentary rocks. This 

buried-crystalline-rock concept, as proposed in 1981

by J. D. Bredehoeft and Tidu Maini, was endorsed by 

the National Academy of Sciences in 1983 as worthy 

of further consideration, and the Geological Survey 

conducted a study to determine regions in the eastern part of the United States where application of 

the concept might be feasible.

The following criteria were used to identify areas 

where geohydrologic conditions are considered potentially suitable:

The top of crystalline rock lies between 1,000 and 

4,000 feet below land surface;

Crystalline rock is overlain by sedimentary rock 

whose lowermost part, at least, contains saline 

water (water with a dissolved-solids concentration 

of 10,000 milligrams per liter or more);

Shale or clay confining beds overlie at least the lowermost aquifer that contains the saline water; and

The flow system in the saline-water aquifers is 

known or determinable from presently available 

data.

Application of these preliminary guidelines revealed that parts of the Atlantic Coastal Plain and 

parts of the Cincinnati arch area (the Cincinnati 

arch covers parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and 

Indiana) meet most of the criteria. The Northern 

Atlantic Coastal Plain has been studied in further 

detail, by use of published and unpublished data 

compiled by the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Regional Aquifer-System Analysis Group, most of it 

from the relatively freshwater-bearing aquifers in 

the upper part of the sediment mass. The lack of 

data on the saline-water-bearing section makes it difficult to appraise the hydrology of the deeper part of 

the system. Nevertheless, some useful preliminary 

observations can be made.

Evaluation Factors for the Atlantic 

Coastal Plain

The following four factors were used to make a 

preliminary evaluation of the geohydrology of the 

Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain sediments where the

56
top of the crystalline rocks lies between 1,000 and 

4,000 feet below the land surface in the area:

The estimated thickness of sediments containing saline water;

The estimated thickness and continuity of the deepest confining beds;

The estimated permeability of the deepest aquifers; 

and

The inferred direction of lateral ground-water flow 

in the deepest aquifers.

Thickness of Sediments Containing Saline Water. In 

general, saline water will serve as a buffer between any buried-crystalline-rock disposal site and 

the system of freshwater circulation. Thus, it is assumed that the chance for contamination of fresh 

ground water and the biosphere decreases with an 

increase in the thickness of the saline-waterbearing sediments. The sediments that overlie the 

basement rocks contain saline water in about twothirds of the area that meets the depth criterion 

(fig. 6). The thickness of the saline-water-bearing 

sediments exceeds 3,000 feet in North Carolina 

and Virginia and 2,000 feet in Delaware and New 

Jersey (fig. 1).

Thickness of Confining Beds. The confining beds 

impede vertical ground-water flow that might 

carry radionuclides upward from a repository. In 

addition, the confining beds have chemical properties that make them able to sorb radionuclides. 

The effectiveness of the confining beds in preventing the migration of radionuclides is assumed to be 

directly proportional to their estimated thickness. 

Confining beds composed of clay and silty clay 

occur between the basement rocks and the freshwater circulation system in the area where both 

the depth and the saline-water criteria are met 

(fig. 7). Because of the discontinuous and lenticular 

nature of the confining beds, it is possible that radionuclides might migrate upward across at least 

the lowermost confining bed. To allow for this pos-

*****

Note: Basement rock composed 

of Precambrian and Paleozoic 

Piedmont-type igneous and 

metamorphic rocks, and Early 

Mesozoic intrusive and 

extrusive igneous rocks and 

 sedimentary red beds. Waterquality data from U.S. 

Geological Survey Open-File 

Report 81-71.

100 MILES 

I

100 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION

Approximate area where top of 

basement rock occurs between 

about 1000 feet (west 

boundary) and 4000 feet (east 

boundary) below land surface.

"3000 Line of equal thickness of

sediments containing water 

with 10,000 (or more) 

milligrams per liter dissolved 

solids. Interval is 1000 feet.

Figure 6. Approximate 

thickness of sediments 

containing saline water in 

the Northern Atlantic 

Coastal Plain.

57
sibility, the combined estimated thickness of the 

two lowermost confining beds was used as an indicator of relative confining potential. The thickness 

ranges from more than 900 feet in parts of New 

Jersey and Delaware to less than 100 feet in parts 

of Virginia and North Carolina. The average is 

about 100 feet in the southern part of the area and 

about 500 feet in the north (fig. 7). 

Permeability of Aquifers. Because of the inferred 

discontinuous and lenticular nature of the confining beds, ground-water movement in the two lowermost aquifers likely could be involved in the migration of radionuclides. Ground-water movement 

also is directly proportional to hydraulic conductivity of and the hydraulic gradient within the 

aquifers, but, because these data are insufficient 

for the lowermost aquifers in the downdip salinewater-bearing parts of the section, the potential 

migration rate is assumed to be directly proportional to the estimated relative permeability of the 

aquifer material. In general, the sedimentary material comprising the lowermost aquifers becomes 

finer grained and less permeable to the east, away 

from the source of the material. Thus, the potential 

migration rate through the aquifer material is estimated to be lowest in the eastern parts of the area 

where both the depth and the saline-water criteria 

are met. In addition to association with low flow 

rates, low permeability values may be associated 

with large clay content and sorptive properties. 

Direction of Lateral Ground-Water Flow. Cones of 

depression that have developed around centers of 

fresh ground-water withdrawal from the lower 

aquifers of the Coastal Plain have spread to areas 

where these aquifers are saturated with saline 

water. Water is estimated to have moved and may 

still be moving very slowly from parts of the 

saline-water zone westward toward centers of

Figure 7. Approximate 

combined thickness of the 

two lowermost confining 

beds in the Northern 

Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Note: Data from preliminary 

maps by the Northern Atlantic 

Coastal Plain Regional AquiferSystem Analysis Group, U.S. 

Geological Survey.

'300-

100 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION

Approximate area where

sediments contain saline water 

and the top of basement rock 

occurs between about 1000 

feet and 4000 feet below land 

surface.

, Line of equal estimated

combined thickness of two 

lowermost confining beds. 

Interval is 200 feet.

58
pumping. This movement is most likely where the 

large and increasing withdrawals have caused 

pressure levels in the two lowermost aquifers to 

decline significantly and continually, at or near 

the saline-water front. Published and unpublished 

water-level and water-use data, compiled by the 

Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Regional AquiferSystem Analysis Group, suggest that these 

pressure conditions may exist along 50 percent or 

more of the saline-water front in the area (fig. 8). 

At present, the largest areas that are estimated to 

be relatively unaffected by ground-water withdrawals are located in the west-central part of the 

Delmarva Peninsula and in southeastern North 

Carolina (fig. 8). This pattern could change if the 

amount or distribution of the withdrawals changes. 

The lateral ground-water flow conditions are assumed to be least favorable to the application of 

the buried-crystalline-rock concept in the areas 

where movement is toward major centers of 

ground-water withdrawal.

Summary

A preliminary evaluation of available data suggests that parts of the Northern Atlantic Coastal 

Plain might be technically worthy of further investigation for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste 

in crystalline rock buried beneath the Coastal Plain 

sediments. The areas of major interest occur where 

the top of the basement rock lies between about 

1,000 and 4,000 feet below land surface, the lowermost aquifers above the basement rocks contain saline water and have low permeability, confining material overlies the saline-water aquifers, and where 

centers of ground-water withdrawal have little or no 

effect on ground-water flow in the lowermost salinewater aquifers. When viewed collectively, the data 

suggest that eastern parts of the area of interest 

meet most of the proposed criteria. Further investigation will be needed to better define the geology 

and hydrology of the area and to test these preliminary findings.

NORTH CAR!

Note: Data from preliminary 

maps and reports of the 

Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain 

Aquifer-System Analysis 

Group, U.S. Geological 

Survey. 100 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION

Approximate area where

sediments contain saline water 

and the top of basement rocks 

occurs between about 1000 

feet and 4000 feet below land 

surface.

t Approximate area along the

saline-water front where lateral 

movement of saline-ground 

water may be affected by 

ground-water withdrawals 

from the lower aquifers.

Center of ground-water 

withdrawal from the lower 

aquifers.

Arrow indicates possible 

direction of lateral 

movement of ground water at 

saline water front.

Figure 8. Approximate 

direction of lateral 

ground-water flow at the 

saline-water front induced 

by withdrawals from the 

lower aquifers of the 

Northern Atlantic Coastal 

Plain.

59
Water Research Institutes and 

Project Grants Programs

By Frank T. Carlson and Francis H. Coley

The Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (Public 

Law 98-242) directs the Secretary of the Interior to 

administer programs of grants and contracts for research, technology development, and information 

transfer that will aid the Nation and the States in 

solving important water resources and related landuse problems. Responsibility of the administration of 

these programs has been delegated to the Director, 

U.S. Geological Survey.

State Water Institute Program

Equal grants to each of 54 Institutes at colleges 

and universities in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands provide partial funding for research, information transfer, training, and management of programs 

that aid in the solution of critical State water problems. The Institutes are organized in eight regional 

associations for identification of common problems 

and coordination of research.

Institutes have the responsibility to set priorities, 

to solicit and select proposals from colleges and universities in the State, to manage programs accepted 

by the Survey, and to inform the public about the results of research funded by the Institutes. Training is 

accomplished principally by involving students in the 

projects.

Research into the deterioration of water quality focuses on sources, transport mechanisms, transformation and fate of contaminants, methods to improve 

quality or prevent further degradation, and effects of 

contaminants on the environment. Eighty-eight percent of the Institute research funds spent in the 

Northeastern United States, 59 percent in the Southeastern States, and 36 percent for the remainder of 

the country are for studies of water-quality 

deterioration.

Basic research on water resources in projects dispersed throughout the country consists principally of 

understanding the mechanics of water movement and 

of the relation of rainfall to runoff.

Land-use and water-management research is on 

methods of increasing efficiency in irrigation technology, artificial recharge, and conjunctive use of surface and ground water as a means of saving or augmenting existing supplies.

There are 261 individual projects in the total program, including in-situ biological treatment of 

ground water (Alabama), behavior of salts in irrigated clay soils (Arkansas), integration of qualityand quantity-control techniques in stormwater 

management (Florida), methods of rapid detection for 

the presence of human intestinal disease-producing 

viruses in Hawaii's water resources, transport of 

chlorinated hydrocarbons in cohesive deposits 

(Louisiana), dose-to-response relation for acidsensitive lakes (Minnesota), modeling of the movement of manmade radionuclides (South Carolina), 

immobilization of hazardous heavy metals in ground 

water (Utah), and refined simulation of the movement of water and pollutants in the partially saturated zone (Washington).

Water-information transfer in Institute programs 

is accomplished through newsletters, articles in professional journals, technical bulletins, popular articles, specialized training courses, and public forums 

on principal State water issues. For example, the 

Nebraska Institute convenes annual conferences for 

farmers on the latest developments in irrigation 

technology. In Michigan, the Institute regularly convenes conferences on lake and pond management. 

The Pennsylvania Institute is one of a few to employ 

a full-time water-information-transfer specialist. 

Water News, published by the Virginia Water Resources Center, provides monthly coverage of the 

principal water issues in the Commonwealth.

Water Research Grants Program

Under Section 105 of the act, the Secretary is authorized to make grants, on a dollar-for-dollar matching basis, to qualified educational institutions, foundations, private firms, individuals, or agencies of 

local or State governments for research on any aspect 

of a water-resources-related issue deemed to be in 

the national interest. The broad scope of the activity 

provides for the continuation of the research programs administered previously by the former Offices 

of Saline Water, Water Resources Research, and 

Water Research and Technology.

Proposals for the 1985 grant program were solicited by Announcement Number 105, dated January 

15, 1985. In the announcement, the research priorities listed were:

1. Aspects of the hydrologic cycle;

2. Supply and demand for water;

3. Demineralization of saline and other impaired 

waters;

4. Conservation and best use of available supplies of 

water and methods of increasing such supplies;

60
5. Water reuse;

6. Depletion and degradation of ground-water 

supplies;

7. Improvements in the productivity of water when 

used for agricultural, municipal, or commercial 

purposes; and

8. The economic, legal, engineering, social, recreational, biological, geographic, ecological, and 

other aspects of water problems.

In addition, the following particular areas of interest were named and described:

1. Better utilization of existing water supplies; 

2 Management techniques for future water demand 

and supply;

3. Contamination of ground-water and surface-water 

supplies; and

4. Geologic controls on the hydrologic cycle.

When the announcement was issued, over 5,000 

copies were mailed to State Water Research Institutes, universities, subdivisions of State and local 

governments, private institutions and companies, 

and individuals known to have an interest in waterresources research. By the closing date of April 15, 

1985, 368 proposals had been received. These applications requested over $33 million in Federal funds 

compared with the $2.3 million actually available.

A process of peer review was used for the initial 

screening of the proposals. Through a contractual 

arrangement with the Universities Council on Water 

Resources, each proposal was reviewed by at least 

three recognized specialists in that field of 

investigation.

At the same time, the proposals also were submitted for review by experts in Federal agencies having 

active interests in the appropriate discipline. The 

combined reviews from these sources were then used 

to select the 45 proposals with the highest ratings.

The final step in the review procedure combined 

Federal and non-Federal experts into panels for the 

purpose of ranking the final 45 applications in order 

of merit. From this number, the highest-ranking proposals were then submitted to procurement personnel 

for negotiation of appropriate grant agreements to 

obligate appropriated funds.

Institute and national project grants together provide for supplementary research within the Federal 

Government on the important water resources issues 

of the Nation. In administering these two programs, 

the Geological Survey works closely with other Federal agencies, the States, and the private sector to reduce unnecessary duplication of research and to ensure that information produced from these programs 

is provided to all who are interested in the water resources of the Nation.

V

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FORT COLLJNS

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MANHATTAN

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V Missouri River

VI Southern Plains

VII Pacific Northwest 

VLII Pacific Southwest

Locations and regional 

associations of State Water 

Research Institutes.

61
O3 to
National Mapping Program

Mission

The Geological Survey, through the National Mapping Division's National 

Mapping Program, provides graphic and digital cartographic and geographic 

products and information for the United States, territories, and U.S. possessions. 

The products include several series of topographic maps in both graphic and digital form, photoimage maps, land use and land cover maps and associated data, 

geographic names information, geodetic control data, and remotely sensed data.

The products originate from four regional mapping centers and the Earth Resources Observation Systems Data Center. The Division's Printing and Distribution Center prints, stores, and distributes all Geological Survey maps and related 

texts. The Division also operates Public Inquiries Offices and National Cartographic Information Centers that, along with the Earth Resources Observation 

Systems Data Center, provide information about and fill orders for cartographic, 

geographic, earth science, and remotely sensed data.

Major Programs and Activities

In support of the National Mapping Program, Division efforts are concentrated 

on the following major activities:

 Primary mapping and revision, which include the production and revision of 

7.5-minute, l:24,000-scale topographic maps in the conterminous United 

States and Hawaii and 15-minute, l:63,360-scale topographic maps in 

Alaska. A few maps are prepared at 1:25,000 scale. During fiscal year 1985, 

about 1,350 revised and 1,500 new primary quadrangle maps were published, mostly in the 7.5-minute series. Published topographic maps are 

available for about 86 percent of Alaska and for 90 percent of the other 49- 

State area (figs. 1 and 2). Twenty-four States have complete 7.5-minute 

series map coverage.

 Intermediate-scale, small-scale, and special mapping, which include the preparation of maps and map products from the intermediate-scale (1:50,000 and 

1:100,000) series to the small-scale (1:250,000) series and other smaller 

scale U.S. base maps. Complete topographic coverage of the United States is 

available at 1:250,000 scale. More than 85 percent of the conterminous 

United States is mapped in one or more of the intermediate-scale series, 

which include l:50,000-scale topographic quadrangle maps, 1:50,000- or 

l:100,000-scale topographic or planimetric county maps, and l:100,000-scale 

topographic or planimetric maps (fig. 3). More than 170 topographicNational Mapping Division 

cartographer reads data off 

leveling staff and records it 

into calculator during precise 

leveling operation.

63
bathymetric maps have been published for 

coastal area planning. Land use and land cover 

maps are complete for 2.7 million square miles 

and are available in the 1:250,000-scale or, in 

selected areas, in the l:100,000-scale quadrangle 

format.

Digital cartography, which includes the production 

of base categories of cartographic data at standard scales, accuracies, and formats suitable for 

computer-based analysis. The categories include 

the Public Land Survey System, boundary, hydrography, transportation, and elevation data at

1:24,000 scale; hydrography and transportation 

data at 1:100,000 scale; boundary, Census tract, 

hydrologic unit, Federal land ownership, land 

use and land cover, and elevation data at 

1:250,000 scale; and boundary, transportation, 

and hydrography data at 1:2,000,000 scale. The 

Geological Survey chairs the Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee on Digital Cartography and the Interior Digital Cartography 

Coordinating Committee.

Information and data services, which include the 

acquisition and dissemination of information

Figure 1. Status of primary quadrangle mapping program. 

All States are completely mapped with primary (7.5-minute) 

maps or a combination of 7.5- and 15-minute maps except 

Montana, Nevada, and Oregon. In Alaska, primary mapping 

is done at 1:63,360 in 15-minute quadrangles.

Primary Maps

L_ I 40-59% 

60-89% 

90-99%

15-Min Maps 

2^2 1-19% 

a;« 20-39% 

40-59%

64
Figure 2. Map showing 

estimated completion dates 

of primary quadrangle 

mapping.

about U.S. maps, charts, aerial and space photographs and images, geodetic control, cartographic and geographic digital data, and other 

related information; distribution of earth science information to the public; and sale of maps 

and map-related products directly and through 

over 2,900 commercial dealers.

Cartographic and geographic research and development to improve the quality of standard products, to provide new products that make maps 

and map-related information more useful to 

users, to reduce costs and increase productivity 

of mapping activities, to acquire innovative and 

more useful equipment, and to design and develop techniques and systems to advance the 

mapping of high-priority areas of the country.

International activities, which include the coordination of Division participation in international 

cartographic, geographic, surveying, remote 

sensing, and other map-related activities.

Budget and Personnel

For fiscal year 1985, funding for the National Mapping Division totaled approximately $115 million. 

Funding sources included direct congressional appropriations, funds transferred from other Federal agencies, joint funding agreements through the FederalState Cooperative Program, and funds received from 

the sale of published maps and other cartographic 

products to non-Federal customers.

The permanent full-time personnel strength of the 

Division at the end of fiscal year 1985 was 1,875, 

representing a workforce skilled in cartography, geography, computer science, engineering, physical science, photographic and remote sensing technology, 

and information dissemination.
EXPLANATION

 I

In work

Published

Wr.

Figure 3. Status of 

intermediate-scale mapping 

program.

66
Highlights

In the following sections, highlights of some of the 

major activities are described.

Primary Mapping Transition

The Geological Survey, through the National Mapping Program, is responsible for meeting mapping 

needs of government organizations, industry, and the 

public. The Geological Survey must produce and 

maintain both graphic and digital cartographic data 

that are highly accurate, complete, and current to 

meet these nationwide requirements. As total map 

coverage of the United States nears completion in 

the 7.5-minute, or primary, map series (15-minute in 

Alaska), major emphasis of the primary mapping activity will shift from initial, first-time mapping to revision mapping. In addition to revision, the mapping 

activity will also support the further development of 

the National Digital Cartographic Data Base to respond to those users who are now relying on digital 

cartographic and thematic data, automated data handling techniques, and geographic information systems for land resource applications.

User needs for accurate, current map and digital 

cartographic data, coupled with the development of 

automated cartographic capabilities, are major considerations to be addressed during the transition. 

The Geological Survey incorporates National Map 

Accuracy Standards into graphic map products and 

has, in accordance with responsibilities mandated by 

the Office of Management and Budget, developed 

standards of accuracy for digital cartographic data 

that mirror the accuracy of the graphic maps. The 

Geological Survey is also incorporating geodetic adjustments to the primary map series associated with 

the 1983 adjustment of the North American Datum. 

Map and digital cartographic data users depend on 

adherence to such standards as a measure of the accuracy and acceptability of these products.

High-Altitude Photography

The National High-Altitude Photography (NHAP) 

Program was established in fiscal year 1980 by Federal bureaus and offices to acquire l:80,000-scale 

black-and-white and l:58,000-scale color-infrared 

photographs of the conterminous United States during the dormant (leaf-off) season for vegetation. The 

initial effort (NHAP-I) is approximately 86 percent 

complete, with photographs available for about 

2,600,000 square miles.

The second major effort (NHAP-II), begun in fiscal 

year 1985 by participating Federal bureaus and offices, has two principal changes: acquisition of photographs during the growing (leaf-on) season rather 

than the dormant season and contracting of entire 

State areas in a specific year instead of contracting 

by 1° x 1° areas. Camera and photograph specifications remain the same as NHAP-I. In fiscal year 

1985, contracts were awarded for photographs over 

the States of Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The primary goal of the NHAP Program is to 

provide photographic source material for multiple 

uses at the least cost to the Federal government. 

NHAP-I (leaf-off, dormant season) photographs are 

primarily for cartographic, hydrographic, geologic, 

soils, and other earth science applications. NHAP-II 

(leaf-on, growing season) photographs are primarily 

for forest, crop, and other vegetative resourcemanagement applications.

Digital Cartography

Map data in digital form are being applied to diverse and complex problems in the earth sciences. An 

important catalyst to the growth of digital cartographic data applications is the development of geographic information systems. These systems can sort 

rapidly through large amounts of digital data on 

multiple land and resource topics. Maps depicting the 

results of the analysis can be prepared quickly and 

more accurately than conventional methods by using 

automated procedures.

To meet the demand for standardized digital cartographic data, the Geological Survey is digitizing base 

categories of information from its topographic maps 

and making these data available from the National 

Digital Cartographic Data Base in two forms: digital 

line graphs and digital elevation models (fig. 4). Digital line graphs are digital files consisting of planimetric (line map) information. Currently, the following categories of digital line graphs are being 

collected from l:24,000-scale maps: the Public Land 

Survey System, boundaries, hydrography, transportation, and a limited amount of topographic relief. Digital elevation models are digitized elevations horizontally spaced at 30-meter intervals throughout a 

7.5-minute quadrangle. The Public Land Survey System, hydrography, boundaries, and transportation 

features also are being digitized from l:100,000-scale 

maps. Boundary, hydrography, and transportation 

features from the l:2,000,000-scale sectional maps of 

the National Atlas of the United States of America 

are available in digital form for the entire United

67
EXPLANATION 

^^B Available

EXPLANATION 

^^B Available

B.

Figure 4. Digital cartography. A, Status of digital line graph production. B, Status of 

digital elevation model production. Limited digital cartographic data are available or are 

authorized for production in the Anchorage area, Alaska, and on the islands of Hawaii and 

Oahu, Hawaii.

68
States. The data base also includes elevation data 

from the l:250,000-scale map series and land use, 

land cover, and geographic names information.

In a related area of activity, the Geological Survey 

has been delegated the lead role in implementing the 

Office of Management and Budget objective of fostering better coordination of all Federal digital cartography programs. In that role, the Geological Survey 

chairs the Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee on Digital Cartography. The Geological Survey also coordinates digital cartographic data programs and activities within the Department of the 

Interior by chairing the Interior Digital Cartography 

Coordinating Committee. The Geological Survey continues to identify and respond to Federal digital cartography data requirements, to provide a means for 

development of data standards, to serve as a forum 

for exchange of information on digital technology and 

methods, and to facilitate private sector use of the 

data.

Image Mapping

The term image map describes a number of specialized map products derived from special sources, 

such as satellite sensors, radar, sonar, or advanced 

photographic systems. The Geological Survey is developing these various products in response to a recognized need for special map supplements, alternatives to standard maps, or coverage of unmapped 

areas. The two most common types of image maps 

are those prepared from Landsat imagery and the orthophotoquad series prepared from aerial photographs.

Image mapping in the form of orthophotoquads 

provides relatively low-cost products prepared with 

considerable cost and time savings as compared to 

line maps. For areas of the conterminous United 

States not mapped at 1:24,000 scale, black-and-white 

orthophotoquads serve as interim maps. For areas 

having 7.5-minute coverage, orthophotoquads serve 

as map supplements and may show recent cultural 

changes and land use and land cover information not 

shown on topographic maps. These products have 

also proven to be a valuable tool in field mapping of 

thematic data such as soils information. During fiscal year 1985, the Geological Survey prepared about 

1,500 7.5-minute black-and-white orthophotoquads. 

Orthophotoquads are now available for about 66 percent of the conterminous United States. In addition, 

12 experimental 7.5-minute color-infrared orthophotoquads at 1:24,000 scale are being prepared for two 

areas of the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.

In Alaska, 15-minute black-and-white orthophotoquads are being prepared at 1:63,360 scale in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management and 

the State of Alaska. In fiscal year 1985, about 250 

quadrangles were produced. Orthophotoquads are 

now available for about 21 percent of Alaska. Coverage of the remaining portions of the State is anticipated over the next decade.

In cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and the 

California Office of Emergency Services, the Geological Survey has been producing a standard set of 

maps and orthophotoquads to meet emergency response needs and a computer data base to support 

planning for potential fires. This effort is part of the 

FIRESCOPE (Firefighting Resources of Southern 

California Organized for Potential Emergencies) project, which assists in responding to wildfires in nine 

southern California counties. The Geological Survey 

has produced orthophotoquads, line map separates, 

and digital elevation model data for this project. The 

FIRESCOPE products have also been used for search 

and rescue efforts.

The Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Customs 

Service and the International Boundary and Water 

Commission, is preparing image maps of the international boundary between the United States and Mexico. Currently, 48 of the projected 203 photoimage 

maps in simulated natural color at 1:25,000 scale 

have been published.

One of the key challenges in producing maps from 

Landsat multispectral data is to select band combinations and processing techniques that provide the 

most information. In studying this issue, the Geological Survey used enhancement procedures to improve 

the detectability of terrain features and patterns and 

statistical analysis procedures to determine the 

amount and distribution of information contained in 

multispectral data. The Survey now plans to prepare 

about 25 Landsat image maps annually in fiscal 

years 1985 and 1986 to meet the emerging needs for 

this product. New Landsat multispectral scanner image maps are in progress for areas of Alaska, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Virginia, and thematic 

mapper image maps for areas of Kansas and Nevada. 

Additional image maps are being considered for 

areas of New Mexico and Utah.

The Survey continues to acquire side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) imagery for use in geoscience 

mapping. Since 1980, the Survey has acquired SLAR 

data for approximately 700,000 square miles of selected portions of the conterminous United States 

and Alaska. Radar is a sensor, and consequently provides its own source of illumination. Thus SLAR is 

particularly valuable for obtaining imagery in poor 

weather or in low light conditions, and it has permit69
ted the preparation of image base maps of normally 

cloud-covered areas where conventional aerial photographs are very difficult to acquire. Clear imagery of 

the Aleutian Island arc in Alaska was obtained 

through the use of SLAR, and this imagery was used 

to prepare twelve l:250,000-scale radar image mosaics of the Aleutian Islands. The image mosaics were 

printed by screenless lithographic methods and are 

available with or without updated topographic maps 

on the reverse side. Other data available include 

thirty-eight l:250,000-scale 1° x 2° radar image mosaics of the Appalachian region from Alabama to 

Maine, as well as other selected areas.

During fiscal year 1984, sonar image data were 

collected for the west coast offshore area including 

the Exclusive Economic Zone of California, Oregon, 

and Washington. The Exclusive Economic Zone is a 

region that extends seaward 200 nautical miles from 

the coast and brings within the national domain over 

3 million square nautical miles of submarine lands. 

In fiscal year 1985, sonar coverage was acquired for 

most of the Gulf of Mexico and the extreme southern 

portion of the U.S. Atlantic coast. The data will be 

used to generate 2° x 2° sheet mosaics at 1:500,000 

scale.

The Large Format Camera on Space 

Shuttle Mission STS-41G

On October 5, 1984, the Large Format Camera was 

launched on Space Shuttle Mission STS-41G. The 

camera was designed to provide coverage suitable for 

topographic mapping at 1:50,000 scale and for geologic and other types of earth science interpretation. 

Camera operations were started on the second revolution after the Shuttle had attained an orbit of 57° 

inclination. Performing flawlessly, the camera acquired reasonably good coverage over the United 

States and Canada. Coverage over western Europe 

was considerably less than had been planned, and 

much of it had heavy cloud cover. Several useful 

passes were obtained over Latin America, Africa, and 

India, and some spectacular photographs were acquired over the Himalayas, China, and Nepal. Good 

coverage was obtained over Australia and some of 

the Pacific islands.

From the lowest altitude of 225 km, a single frame 

covers a ground area of 170 by 340 km. Such an area 

covers the equivalent of about 12 standard topographic quadrangles at 1:100,000 scale, about 100 

standard quadrangles at 1:50,000 scale, and about 

400 standard quadrangles at 1:25,000 scale. The best 

ground resolution is about 6 meters per line pair on

the black-and-white film. That is, the smallest object 

that can be distinguished from its surroundings 

would measure about 6 meters on the ground. For 

the color-infrared film, the smallest object that can 

be distinguished is about 20 meters on the ground.

After the National Aeronautics and Space Administration evaluated the film, they transferred it to 

the Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation 

Systems Data Center in Sioux Falls, S. Dak. About 

50 investigators from different countries have 

ordered Large Format Camera photographs from the 

Data Center. Some of the investigations currently 

underway include the following:

 Determination of ground resolution of the various 

film types on the original, the master copy, and 

the copy delivered to users;

 Analytical block triangulation to establish supplementary control points;

 Preparation of image base maps at scales of 

1:100,000, 1:50,000, and possibly 1:25,000;

 Topographic and planimetric map compilation at 

the same scales;

 Preparation of annotated orthophotomaps at the 

same scales; and

 Digitization of sections of the high-resolution 

black-and-white photographs for combination 

with Landsat thematic mapper data to produce 

high-resolution color-infrared image products.

The Large Format Camera represents the highest 

ground resolution sensor yet operated by the 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

This feature, plus the high geometric integrity and 

excellent stereoscopic overlap of the photography 

(figs. 5 and 6), makes the camera particularly suitable for standard cartographic purposes. The investigations currently underway by the Geological Survey 

and other organizations will determine the best applications of Large Format Camera photographs for 

solving earth science problems. Several potential 

uses of the photographs are (1) preparation of orthophoto and planimetric base maps for management 

of natural resources, (2) revision of shorelines, ports, 

and harbors on nautical charts, (3) measurement of 

stream widths and floodplain delineations, and 

(4) monitoring environmental reconstruction.

The l:100,000-Scale Data Base

In late 1981, the Geological Survey and the Bureau of the Census formed an interagency task force 

to review current and projected requirements of both 

agencies for cartographic and geographic products.

70
Figure 5. A portion of a 

full-frame Large Format 

Camera photograph over 

central Spain. The area 

outlined is the city of 

Madrid.

Figure 6. An 8 x

enlargement of the outlined 

area in figure 5 (Madrid), 

which shows the exceptional 

ground detail in the 

photograph.

t '

71
This review consisted of a series of research projects 

that addressed (1) the application of modern technology to the production of new and updated maps and 

related graphics and (2) the digital products needed 

to support both the National Mapping Program and 

the 1990 Decennial Census of Population and Housing. As a result, the need for an intermediate-scale 

(1:100,000) digital cartographic data base was 

identified.

In early 1983, a cooperative pilot project was begun to collect and process the transportation data 

(roads, railroads, powerlines, pipelines) and hydrographic data (streams, rivers, water bodies) shown on 

the forty-eight l:100,000-scale maps that cover the 

State of Florida. This project enabled the Geological 

Survey to develop and test new production procedures and to incorporate the Scitex scanning and 

editing equipment into a production system.

The success of this project led to the commitment 

of both agencies to the completion of a national 

l:100,000-scale digital cartographic data base by 

mid-fiscal year 1987. To meet the deadline, both 

agencies have begun complementary high-volume 

l:100,000-scale digital production systems. The Geological Survey has the responsibility for digitizing all 

transportation and hydrographic features and assigning feature classification codes to all data except 

roads; the Bureau of the Census has the responsibility for assigning feature classification codes to the 

road data.

Concurrent with these digital efforts, the Geological Survey is expediting the production of the 

l:100,000-scale quadrangle base maps in order to 

have map materials available for digitizing. This 

series of maps has comprised primarily topographic 

(contour) editions since it began in fiscal year 1976. 

However, to ensure that base maps are available, 

emphasis has shifted primarily from the topographic 

editions to the production of planimetric bases (without contours).

A digital cartographic data base containing transportation and hydrographic features from Geological 

Survey l:100,000-scale maps will exist before the end 

of the decade. The data base will not only enable the 

widespread use of geographic information systems for 

a host of resource-management, area-analysis, and 

planning activities, but it may serve as the catalyst 

for the widespread use of geographic information systems technology in the United States.

Information Services

Efforts in distributing Geological Survey information during fiscal year 1985 were concentrated on establishing a comprehensive public outreach program 

that included the addition of new information services, facility equipment and services upgrades, 

preparation of a new index to high-altitude aerial 

photographs, and sponsorship of an exhibit and special map in commemoration of the 75th anniversary 

of the Boy Scouts of America and their National 

Jamboree. In addition, a special program to encourage earth science education for students attending 

colleges in the Association of Historically Black Colleges and Universities was begun, educational workshops for training secondary school mathematics and 

science teachers took place, and a series of workshops 

for State and Federal highway planning departments 

was continued.

The National Cartographic Information Center 

continued to serve Federal, State, and local agencies 

and the general public by providing information on 

aerial photographs, map-related products, and digitized cartographic and earth science data on tapes 

through a network of 7 regional offices and 40 Federal and State affiliated offices. This past year, a special effort was made to catalog cartographic data in 

computer format and applications software held by 

other organizations. To this end, inquiries were sent 

to numerous potential Federal sources and State 

agencies. The National Cartographic Information 

Center also supported the development of a new 

browse file located at the Library of Congress that 

contains a full set of aerial and space image microfilm indexes.

The network of 11 Public Inquiries Offices continued to upgrade and expand office facilities in order to 

provide better information service and to make available at each location a greater variety of earth science products. The Offices in Anchorage, Alaska, 

Denver, Colo., Reston, Va., and San Francisco, Calif., 

completed major improvements.

The Public Inquiries Offices also improved their 

services by using the Earth Science Information Network to access new and expanded bibliographic and 

geographic data bases and by automating office procedures. New procedures were initiated for distributing custom software and for accepting orders for 

open-file reports of the Geological Survey, State publications, aerial photographs, imagery, and special 

products. During fiscal year 1985, the network responded to approximately 354,000 inquiries.

The Geological Survey produced a new two-sided 

multicolor index to national high-altitude photography that shows the year photography was flown (between 1980 and 1985) for both color-infrared and 

black-and-white aerial photography. The index will 

be published quarterly. In addition, eignt other indexes were updated and printed. The indexes are

72
Status and Progress of Topographic Mapping, Land 

Use and Land Cover Mapping, Land Use and Land 

Cover Digital Data, Geological Survey/Defense Mapping Agency l:50,000-Scale Mapping, IntermediateScale Mapping, County Formatted Mapping, Digital 

Data, and Orthophotoquad Mapping.

In cooperation with the Boy Scouts of America, the 

Geological Survey sponsored a major exhibit at the 

Scouts' 1985 National Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, 

Va. Eight Earth Science Trail Stations were set up to 

demonstrate activities such as tree-ring interpretation, streamflow measurement, map reading, aerial 

photograph interpretation, and rock and mineral 

identification. The Survey also prepared a special 

jamboree-site commemorative map of the Fort A.P. 

Hill area. A multicolored reproduction of an oil 

painting depicting various Scout activities was 

printed on the reverse side of the map.

The Applications Assistance Facility, located at the 

National Space Technology Laboratories in Bay St. 

Louis, Miss., continued its education operations for 

geographic, cartographic, and remote sensing training. A new program was initiated to assist the Association of Historically Black Colleges and Universities to develop a strong earth science curriculum. 

Faculty from 11 universities participated in workshops teaching microcomputer use in modern cartography and remote sensing.

As part of the same educational activity, personnel 

from the Applications Assistance Facility and the 

Mid-Continent Mapping Center conducted lectures at 

Jackson State University Center for Urban Affairs. 

The 2-week graduate-level workshop was titled 

"Geography for Teachers." Two laboratory sessions 

demonstrated microcomputer use in remote sensing 

techniques suitable for the secondary education level.

Personnel at the Applications Assistance Facility, 

working with a special education team from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, provided instruction on digital image processing and 

digital cartography to teachers from seven States. 

The teachers were selected by the National Science 

Foundation, the National Council for Teachers of 

Mathematics, and the National Science Teachers Association to participate in the National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration Education Workshop for 

Math and Science Teachers, one of the purposes of 

which is to improve knowledge of current Federal 

technology.

The Applications Assistance Facility continued a 

series of workshops begun in fiscal year 1984 on 

modern mapping methods. Sponsored by the Federal 

Highway Administration, the workshops introduced 

attendees to digital cartography and Federal digital 

cartography data standards. Participants included

representatives from 7 Federal Highway Administration field regions, 36 State highway departments, 

and 10 major regional and urban planning commissions.

The National Gazetteer of the United 

States

The National Gazetteer series is being published in 

cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic 

Names as U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 

1200. A separate volume is being prepared for each 

State and Territory. Each volume is published after 

two phases of compilation. Phase I, which is now 

complete for all States and Territories, includes the 

compilation of most of the 2 million named features 

(except roads and highways) found on the large-scale 

topographic maps of the Geological Survey. Phase II 

includes research and compilation from other Federal 

and State sources and historical materials.

Each gazetteer contains official, unofficial, and historical geographic names listed in alphabetical order. 

Variant names are cross-referenced to official or primary name listings. Each entry includes information 

on the type of feature, official status of the name, 

county in which it is located, geographic coordinates 

(including sources of linear features), elevation of 

place of feature, and the name of the topographic 

map on which the feature is found.

New Jersey was the first volume published in the 

Gazetteer series in 1982. Volumes for Delaware and 

Kansas have been published, and Arizona and Indiana are scheduled for publication in the near future. 

An abridged, concise volume containing the major 

populated places, physical features, and other key entries for all States is also being prepared. Currently, 

research and compilation of volumes for Oregon, 

South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Florida, Idaho, 

Alabama, and Mississippi are underway.

Land Cover Mapping in Alaska

Geological Survey scientists are currently conducting several land cover mapping projects in Alaska. 

Conventional land use and land cover mapping has 

been scheduled for most of the 48 contiguous States, 

but only one quadrangle in Alaska has been mapped 

and no additional quadrangles have been proposed. 

Two special problems have led to this situation: few 

suitable high-altitude photographs of Alaska were 

available until recently, and existing classification 

systems were limited when used to describe Alaska's 

predominantly wildland environment.

73
However, in response to the need for land cover 

maps, the Geological Survey has been assisting the 

State of Alaska and other Federal agencies in producing digitally processed land cover classifications 

from Landsat multispectral scanner data for specific 

regional areas of interest. Land cover mapping for 

National Wildlife Refuges and other Federal lands in 

Alaska has received special attention. Over the past 

5 years, cooperative projects with several Federal 

and State resource management agencies have produced land cover classifications for approximately 

150 million acres of Alaska.

°The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 

Act of 1980 required each land management agency 

in Alaska to provide comprehensive resource management plans. Each agency adopted its own approach, but all of the agencies based their land cover 

classifications on the "Revision of the Preliminary 

Classification System for Vegetation of Alaska," prepared by L. A. Viereck, C. T. Dyrness, and R. A. Batten for the U.S. Forest Service. Recognizing the need 

for an immediate statewide program of land cover 

mapping using a single classification system, and 

using the experience gained from regional land cover 

mapping projects, the Geological Survey proposed an 

interim program to coordinate individual agency efforts based on the l:250,000-scale quadrangle series.

The classification system for the interim mapping 

program was derived from the ground-based Viereck 

classification system and the level II Geological Survey classification system for use with remotely 

sensed data and has been approved for use in Alaska 

by a subcommittee of the Committee on Natural Resource Information Management. The interpretation 

of the vegetation and land cover classes is to be 

derived from digitally processed multispectral scanner and digital elevation model data and other ancillary data.

The proposed program provides a complete interim 

land use and land cover classification system, including maps, registered Landsat digital data, and area 

summaries by land cover class. Six l:250,000-scale 

maps are in preparation: Dillingham, Arctic, Fairbanks, Valdez, Mount Michaelson, and Meade River.

Soil Landscape Analysis Project

Soil surveys provide valuable information for the 

management of land for a variety of uses. Although 

National Cooperative Soil Surveys are available for 

nearly 1.3 billion acres, over one-third of the United 

States lacks a modern soil survey. A cooperative effort of the Geological Survey, the Soil Conservation

Service, and the Bureau of Land Management concerns ways in which computers and other information sources can be used to assist in making and 

using soil surveys (fig. 7).

Some interpretation of aerial photographs is usually required to generate a soil pre-map prior to 

fieldwork. During photographic interpretation, several aids, such as geologic maps and general soil 

maps, are used to determine the distribution of the 

soils. Often the pre-map lines are drawn directly on 

aerial photographs; at other times they; are drawn on 

or transferred to 7.5-minute orthophotoquads. The 

7.5-minute quadrangle is the base map until later 

stages of the survey, when all quadrangles are edgematched and mosaicked into a single map of the survey area. This method is time consuming and provides no specific information about slope, aspect, or 

elevation.

The cooperative Soil Landscape Analysis project

was designed to determine the utility of computergenerated slope and aspect data, and to determine 

how the data can best be used to increase the accuracy of soil surveys and to reduce the field time of 

soil scientists. In addition, a tabular data base was to 

be developed and evaluated for use by soil scientists 

in describing the smallest identifiable soil unit and 

in making interpretations for various uses.

The areas selected to develop and test the methods 

included various types of landforms on slopes ranging from level to very steep. Barren lands having little or no vegetation and 5 to 9 inches of precipitation 

annually were evaluated, as well as areas of dense 

pasture and forest cover and 25 or more inches of 

precipitation annually. The project was conducted 

over a period of 3 years in areas of Wyoming, Idaho, 

and Nevada. The soil maps produced with the aid of 

these methods conform to the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey.

Field evaluations showed a general accuracy of 88 

to 98 percent for slope- and aspect-class maps and for 

the maps made with the aid of these products.

Map Projections

The first comprehensive map projection manual 

published by the Geological Survey, Map Projections 

Used by the Geological Survey (U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1532), was first printed in 1982. It has 

now entered a third printing to meet requirements 

for 2 or 3 years while a revised and expanded edition 

is being prepared. The manual was deliberately limited to projections used by the Geological Survey. 

However, in response to user requests for a broader

74
m. >$'*&'.#.

Aspect Classes

North 

HI East

 I South

*§H West

Aspect masked out 

where slope < 15%

Slope Classes

O 0 - 5 % 

:* 6-15% 

life 16-30 %

 I 31 - 50 %

 51 + %

Slope calculation 

by RMS method

Figure 7. Aspect and s/ope 

maps swc/i as these are 

currently being tested for 

use in soil surveys and for 

the management of Federal 

lands. (Tumey Hills, Calif., 

7'.5-minute quadrangle.)

range of projections, the Geological Survey will incorporate additional projections in the next edition.

Computer-Assisted Map Projection Research (U.S. 

Geological Survey Bulletin 1629), the latest Geological Survey publication on map projections, describes 

the derivations and computer programs involved in 

(1) calculating polynomial coefficients for general 

data transfer between maps, (2) determining projection parameters for a map that has insufficient labeling, and (3) using least-squares analysis to determine 

optimum parameters for minimum-error maps of 

given regions (fig. 8). The latter program is used for 

several new maps currently being produced.

A new publication, tentatively titled An Album of 

Map Projections, will include computer-generated 

outline maps based on several dozen different map 

projections and brief descriptions and categorizations.

This forthcoming work will assist in selecting and 

understanding the range of available projections. A 

minimum of mathematical information will be included, and distortions will be displayed with specially prepared computer-generated maps.

EROS after Landsat Commercialization

Landsat commercialization has significantly affected the Earth Resources Observation Systems 

(EROS) Data Center in two respects. First, satellite 

land remote sensing legislation calls for continued 

involvement of the Data Center with Landsat and 

other satellite remote sensing systems. Second, the 

Data Center's longstanding commitment to remote

75
Figure 8. An outline map 

of the United States showing 

a special conformal 

projection in which the 

country is enclosed within a 

near-rectangle of constant 

scale. The enclosed region is 

shown with less overall 

error than with any other 

conformal map projection. 

The numbers represent the 

ratios of local scale to 

nominal map scale.

sensing research, development, and training will not 

only continue but may broaden, since the commercialization legislation calls for significant land remote sensing research, development, and technology 

transfer by the Department of the Interior.

The Land Remote-Sensing Commercialization Act 

of 1984 provides the framework for establishing a 

commercial U.S. land remote sensing industry. The 

commercialization process will take place in three 

phases:

 In the first phase, the Secretary of Commerce contracts with a private firm to market raw data 

generated by the existing Landsat systems 

(Landsats 1-5). The Government retains ownership of the systems, but commits to a plan of

rapid market expansion through an aggressive 

private marketing effort.

The second phase provides for data continuity 

after Landsat 5 and consists of a 6-year transition from Government to commercial land remote sensing during which the Secretary contracts out for the private operation and 

ownership of a follow-on system. A private firm 

will bid for Federal support to develop this new 

system.

The final phase completes the process by providing 

a framework for licensing of commercial land 

remote sensing systems. Land remote sensing 

will be an independent, but regulated, industry. 

The legislation further provides for continuation 

of a strong Federal research and development

76
program and for a Federal satellite land remote 

sensing data archive.

The Earth Observation Satellite (EOSAT) Company, a joint venture of RCA Astroelectronics and 

Hughes Aircraft Companies, signed a contract in 

1985 with the Department of Commerce to carry out 

the first two phases of commercialization.

For the Data Center, changes will be gradual. It 

will be 1987 or 1988 before construction is completed 

on EOSAT facilities, including new Landsat datahandling headquarters in Maryland. Until EOSAT 

launches Landsat 6 in 1988 or 1989 or until the failure of Landsat 5, the Data Center will continue to 

receive, store, and process Landsats 1-5 data for the 

Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, much the same as the 

Data Center has done since October 1982. As the 

commercial operator, EOSAT will market Landsat 

data, operate Landsats 4 and 5, and retain all Landsat revenue.

Planning began in 1985 for a Federal satellite land 

remote sensing archive at the Data Center. Data will 

be obtained from EOSAT and from operators of future Earth observation satellites, including systems 

to be launched by France, Japan, India, the European Space Agency, and Canada. An increasing 

number of non-Landsat earth science data bases are 

also being housed in Data Center facilities. Among 

them are the National High-Altitude Photography 

Program of coast-to-coast, conterminous U.S. photographic coverage in black-and-white and color infrared. In all, over 6 million aerial photographs of 

U.S. sites reside at the Data Center. Another photoimage data base comes from the Geological Survey's Side-Looking Airborne Radar Program. The 

Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research Photo 

Base is another recent addition. Large collections of 

digital data are also housed at the Data Center, such 

as results of the National Uranium Resources Evaluation Program originally compiled by the Department of Energy.

77
9L
Geologic Investigations

Mission and Outlook

During fiscal year 1985, the Geologic Division continued its programs to assess 

energy and mineral resources onshore and offshore, to identify and investigate 

geologic hazards, and to determine the Nation's geologic framework, the geologic 

processes that shaped it, and their relation to long-term climatic changes.

The articles in this chapter of the Yearbook describe some of the most significant accomplishments in the Geologic Division during fiscal year 1985. We believe that these articles, while representing only a select few of the activities of 

the Division, show how basic geological research simultaneously spurs new developments in the geosciences as well as provides basic information needed to conduct missions that are central to the needs of the Nation.

Major Programs

The Geologic Division program is presented to Congress under five major program headings. A discussion of accomplishments under these subactivities during 

this last fiscal year follows.

Geologic Hazards Surveys

The Geological Survey, working with the Oklahoma Geological Survey and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, confirmed that the Meers fault in southwestern 

Oklahoma has been recently active. Geologists of the three agencies have found 

stratigraphic evidence that movement has occurred on the fault within the last 

several thousand years. The fault (with the possible exception of surface disturbances in the New Madrid area) is the first geologically youthful surface break to 

be recognized in the Eastern or Central United States.

In California, USGS analysis of the Kettleman Hills magnitude 5.5 earthquake 

that occurred on August 4, 1985, 11 miles east of Coalinga, indicates that the 

Kettleman and Coalinga earthquake mechanisms are similar but that the fault 

system in the region is more complex than originally thought. Apparently, the 

earthquakes occurred on low-angle detachment faults (decollements) that underlie the eastern Diablo Mountains of coastal California.

More than a dozen large to great earthquakes in the Circum-Pacific region 

have been successfully forecast worldwide since 1965 as seismic gaps. On March 3, 

1985, central Chile was shaken by a major earthquake located about 20 miles offshore, southwest of Valparaiso, Chile. This event confirmed the earthquake forecast that was made at a 1978 USGS conference by researchers at Lamont-Doherty

White House Ruins, Canyon 

de Chelly, Arizona. Photograph by Dawn Reed

79
Geological Observatory (supported jointly by the 

USGS, the National Science Foundation, and the 

Department of Energy).

On April 5, 1985, the Survey announced that studies forecasting a moderate-size earthquake near 

Parkfield, Calif., had been officially endorsed by a 

State and Federal evaluation panel. Both the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council and 

the California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation 

Council reviewed and accepted the forecast that an 

earthquake of magnitude 6 is likely to occur in the 

Parkfield area within the next several years (1985 

1993). Observations and accounts of past Parkfield 

earthquakes are being used to guide construction of 

the earthquake prediction experiment.

Director Dallas L. Peck joined Dr. George Keyworth, Presidential Science Advisor, in opening the 

fourth annual meeting of the United States-People's 

Republic of China Science and Technology Commission. The meeting was held in Washington, D.C., to 

summarize the progress made in more than 15 cooperatively sponsored projects that have resulted in important findings about the fundamental characteristics of earthquakes and new insights in the 

mitigation of earthquake hazards.

An analysis of landslide hazards in the Cincinnati, 

Ohio, area was also completed in which landslide 

susceptibility information was integrated with economics in an innovative technique for defining landslide risk. Articles regarding the geologic hazards 

programs in this Yearbook include a discussion of 

5 years of activity at Mount St. Helens, an article explaining the Cincinnati landslide analysis, and a discussion of prehistoric earthquakes near Charleston, 

S.C.

Land Resource Surveys

The Survey completed its first year in the implemention of the Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, COGEOMAP, and accepted proposals for new 

State/USGS cooperatives in fiscal year 1986; a total 

of 28 States are now involved. Among the first products to be completed under COGEOMAP are geologic 

maps of 7 1/2-minute quadrangles in the southern Illinois basin, two surficial geologic maps in southeastern New Hampshire, a digital geophysical folio of 

Ohio, and digital aeroradioactivity maps of New 

Mexico. Further discussion of the Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, COGEOMAP, is included in 

this Yearbook. This new program with the States is a 

particularly important element in our efforts to plan 

for systematic national geologic mapping.

In the Deep Continental Studies Program, the Survey is actively preparing for drilling at Cajon Pass in 

southern California and in the Creede, Colo., mineral 

district. Further information on this program is included in the "Perspectives" section of this volume.

Mineral Resource Surveys

Work continued toward meeting the 1990 deadline 

for completion of mineral resource assessments of 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land being considered for wilderness status. During 1985, a total of 

4.9 million acres of BLM land was under study. 

Under the Alaska Mineral Resource Assessment Program, detailed and comprehensive studies began of 

large, high-grade zinc-lead deposits in the western 

Brooks Range, including the Red Dog and Lik deposits, and continued in the Ambler district, where 

the copper-base metal deposits are unusually rich in 

cobalt, a strategic commodity. In addition, a public 

meeting was held to describe the results of multidisciplinary studies on the Seward Peninsula, a region 

of Alaska that is rich in precious and base metals 

and tin. Under the Conterminous United States Mineral Assessment Program, the following geologic, 

mineral resource, and associated geochemical and 

geophysical maps were published: the Charlotte 

quadrangle, North Carolina and South Carolina; Iron 

River quadrangle, Michigan; Medford quadrangle, 

Oregon; Silver City quadrangle, New Mexico and Arizona; Richfield quadrangle, Utah; Walker Lake 

quadrangle, California and Nevada; and Wallace 

quadrangle, Montana and Idaho.

In mineral resource research, high emphasis continued on the development of exploration and assessment techniques for concealed mineral deposits. 

Studies of two base-metal deposits in Colorado have 

demonstrated that the presence and magnitude of paleothermal anomalies associated with the deposits 

act as vectors that indicate their locations. At Rico, a 

major molybdenum-porphyry deposit is located 3,700 

feet beneath the surface. This deposit can be detected 

2 miles away by observing thermal changes in the 

minerals of rocks that are not obviously altered. The 

deposits of Colorado's largest zinc-silver mine at 

Gilman can be detected from more than 1 mile away. 

Geobotanical and remote-sensing techniques are being developed that recognize alteration in mineralized areas associated with deposits covered by dense 

vegetation. Plants change their reflectance slightly 

when they absorb metals through their roots. These 

effects are notable in the thermal and infrared part 

of the spectrum and can be detected quickly and 

efficiently and will help to evaluate the resource po80
tential of areas covered by dense vegetation. Preliminary products are being published for the multidisciplinary study of the mineral potential of parts of 

14 States that comprise the midcontinent region. The 

reports cover the nature and configuration of the 

buried Precambrian basement, which is the host for 

many strategic and critical commodities to the north, 

where exposed in Canada; thickness and lithofacies 

of the overlying Phanerozoic rocks that are hosts for 

the Mississippi Valley-type mineral deposits; and regional hydrologic conditions, including paleodrainage 

systems and concentrations of dissolved metals that 

may control the location of mineral deposits. Additionally, articles in this Yearbook address the use of 

geologic history as a guide to manganese exploration 

and geophysical detection of toxic waste.

Energy Resource Surveys

The Survey completed a summary report on coal 

resources in New Mexico, the first of a series of State 

coal reports. The overall goal is to survey important 

aspects of all energy commodities in each State and, 

ultimately, to compile a national energy summary.

Survey geologists completed studies on uranium in 

the San Juan Basin and developed a geologic model 

to explain the origin of these uranium deposits, 

which constitute the largest district in the United 

States. The extensive data bases of the uranium program have also become a major source of the information required to deal with the rapidly unfolding 

radon hazard issue. Much of the data will be derived 

from the data base that was transferred from the Department of Energy to the Geological Survey.

Further, under the Evolution of Sedimentary 

Basins program, a data base consisting of USGS and 

Oklahoma and Kansas Geological Surveys field data 

and wire-log data for the Anadarko Basin has been 

organized. Under the Oil and Gas Investigations program, an analysis of approximately 300 plays has 

been completed in the first phase of the Federal Land 

Assessment program. Geologic characterization of 

these plays is underway and will result in a quantitative estimate of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources on federal lands. This effort is the precursor 

to a new national oil and gas assessment; the offshore portion will be conducted in cooperation with 

the Minerals Management Service (MMS), as mandated by Congress. Additionally, an article in this 

Yearbook includes highlights of the Survey's oil and 

gas assessment of the Arctic National Wildlife 

Refuge.

In the Geothermal Investigations program, work 

was conducted with the National Park Service and 

the Department of Justice to evaluate the hydrologic 

connection between geothermal areas outside of 

Lassen Volcanic National Park, Calif., and the major 

geothermal system centered in fumarole areas under 

the park.

Offshore Geologic Surveys

The USGS conducted a survey of the Gorda Ridge 

off the coast of Oregon and Washington that resulted 

in the first discovery of a polymetallic sulfide occurrence in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In cooperation with the British Institute of Oceanographic 

Sciences, the Survey also completed GLORIA sonar 

imaging of the Pacific coast EEZ and published an 

interpretive atlas of the sonographs. GLORIA sonar 

surveys have also been concluded in the EEZ of the 

Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 

The digital data base of the first map of the continental margin map series (Baltimore Canyon) was 

completed as the first of a series of folios that will ultimately cover the entire EEZ. New studies in shallow environments offshore from Georgia, Virginia, 

and New Jersey discovered the presence of large 

quantities of titanium-bearing sands in Pleistocene 

beach and barrier-island complexes now submerged 

under waters of the EEZ. Recent coring indicated 

that some of these heavy-mineral concentrations are 

as much as 20 feet thick and are richer than currently producing deposits onshore. Geophysical instruments that can be towed from ships in shallow 

water are being developed to assess these new resources. Articles describing the accomplishments of 

the Offshore Geologic Framework program, including 

the GLORIA mapping program and the results of 

dives using the submersible, ALVIN, are a part of 

this chapter.

Earthquake-Induced Sand Blows Near 

Charleston, South Carolina

By Stephen F. Obermeier

The strongest historic earthquake in the Southeastern United States occurred in 1886 near 

Charleston, S.C. The magnitude of the earthquake is 

estimated to have been between 6.6 and 7.1. 

Throughout much of the epicentral region the shaking intensity ranged from MM (Modified Mercalli) IX 

to X. The potential for recurrence of an 1886-sized 

earthquake, considering the area's 300-year history

81
of continuing weak seismic activity, is of major concern in estimating earthquake hazards in the Southeastern United States.

The causative mechanism of earthquakes in the 

Charleston area is unknown, and hypotheses concerning the fault that generated the earthquake are 

widely disparate, despite much geologic, geophysical, 

and seismic research during the past decade. Because 

of this uncertainty, and because the short historic 

record is wholly inadequate for estimating the frequency of moderate to strong earthquakes, the Geological Survey undertook a search for pre-1886 

earthquake-induced liquefaction-flowage features 

called sand blows.

Sand blows result from the liquefaction of watersaturated sediment at shallow depth (9-45 feet) during earthquake shaking, followed by venting of the 

sediment and water to the surface. Figures 1 and 2 

are photographs of two typical moderate- to largesized sand blows from the 1886 earthquake.

Many pre-1886 sand blows, similar in original 

form to those in figures 1 and 2, were first discovered 

near the town of Hollywood, about 15 miles west of 

Charleston, by Survey scientists in 1984. That discovery prompted a further search for sand blows 

throughout the area near Charleston. The objective 

was to define epicentral regions and estimate the 

strengths of the pre-1886 earthquakes; the premise 

was that the areal extent of the sand blows caused 

by an earthquake is a function of the earthquake 

strength for a fixed liquefaction susceptibility (i.e., 

geologic and ground water) setting. Many widely 

scattered moderate- to large-sized sand blows have 

been discovered recently. Their locations and approximate ages (1886 or pre-1886) are shown in figure 3, 

which indicates that pre-1886 sand blows are more 

widely distributed than 1886 sand blows. All the 

sites in figure 3 contain several sand blows; at least 

three or four are exposed within a distance of several 

hundred feet in most places.

Figure 1. Sand-volcano 

crater generated by the 1886 

Charleston, S.C., earthquake. (Photograph from the 

Charleston Museum.)

82
Figure 2. Typical 1886 

sand-blow crater photographed near Charleston. 

(Photograph from the 

Charleston Museum.)

80°30' 80°15' 80°00' 79°45' 79°30' 79°15'

33°15

33°00

32°45'

Figure 3. Location and approximate age of 1886 and

 Approximate boundary of strongest shaking during 1886 earthquake (MMI-X) pre-1886 sand blows in the

 Western limit of 1886 craters Charleston region. Shading

 Pre-1886 sand blow indicates boundary of study 

» 1886 sand blow area.

83
Multiple generations of prehistoric Holocene (about 

10,000 years ago) and possibly very late Pleistocene 

(about 2 million years ago) earthquake-induced sand 

blows are present at many of the newly found sites. 

These sand blows occur far beyond the limits of 1886 

earthquake-induced sand blows, in sediments of approximately the same liquefaction suceptibility 

(based on geologic age and mode of deposition). The 

location of the seismic source zone for these prehistoric sand blows is unknown. The different distributions of prehistoric Holocene and 1886 sand blows indicate that either (1) moderate to strong earthquakes 

in the area had seismic source zones that varied in 

location through time or (2) at least one earthquake 

much stronger than the 1886 event has also originated from the 1886 seismic source zone. Studies in 

the Charleston area are continuing to provide additional information on the earthquake history of the 

Southeastern United States and, thus, to explain 

events that might occur in the future.

Five Years of Activity at Mount St. Helens

By Norman S. MacLeod

Twenty eruptions have occurred in the 5 years 

since the May 18th, 1980, catastrophic eruption of 

Mount St. Helens. The first five eruptions, in the 

spring to fall of 1980, were explosive and produced 

flows and ash falls. Eruptions from December 1980 to 

1985 have been dominantly nonexplosive and have 

resulted in the periodic addition of lava into or onto 

the surface of a large dome in the crater produced by 

the May 18th eruption (compare figs. 4 and 5).

The reawakening of Mount St. Helens in 1980 was 

marked by a magnitude 4.0 earthquake on March 20 

and numerous earthquakes for the following 2 

months. Steam-blast eruptions at and near the summit of the volcano started on March 27 and continued into May. Survey geologists monitoring the volcano with electronic distance measuring (EDM) 

equipment noted that the north flank was bulging.

Figure 4. A view of Mount 

St. Helens and Harry's 

Ridge in September 1980, 

about 5 miles north of the 

volcano. The eruption of 

May 18, 1980, removed 

much of the north flank of 

the mountain, forming an 

amphitheater and a gigantic 

debris avalanche. Note the 

flat bottom of the amphitheater, the small fume cloud 

rising from the crater vent, 

and the relatively smooth 

surface of the avalanche debris plain between the volcano and Harry's Ridge. 

Compare with figure 5.

84
Measurements indicated outward movement of as 

much as 4 1/2 feet per day, with a total movement of 

about 300 feet by mid-May. This deformation, the 

seismic activity, and the steam-blast eruptions were 

interpreted to be the result of injection of viscous 

magma into the volcano.

On May 18 at 8:32 a.m., a magnitude 5.1 earthquake caused the bulging north flank to fail as a 

catastrophic avalanche the largest ever observed in 

historic times. The debris avalanche slid northward 

into the valley of the North Fork Toutle River and 

Spirit Lake. Parts of the avalanche crossed a 1,500- 

foot-high ridge north of the river, but the bulk of it 

went westward down the North Fork Toutle River as 

much as 14 miles from the volcano. The avalanche 

exposed the hot interior of the volcano, releasing 

pressure on the hydrothermal and magmatic system 

within the volcano, triggering an enormous northdirected blast. This blast of steam and rock fragments, which had velocities of many hundreds of

miles per hour, overtook the debris avalanche and 

devastated an area of about 360 square miles (fig. 6). 

Mudflows sped down the flanks of the volcano on all 

sides to fill many of the nearby streams and rivers. 

Surface water incorporated in the debris avalanche 

and water from melting glacial ice in the avalanche 

produced mudflows and floods that swept down the 

North Fork Toutle River, into the Cowlitz River, and 

eventually into the Columbia River. An eruption 

column rose more than 15 miles above the newly 

formed crater. Ash from this eruption column, blown 

eastward by high-altitude winds, was deposited 

across eastern Washington and as far eastward as 

the Great Plains. Lightning caused numerous small 

forest fires, and the sky became dark as night for 120 

miles east of the volcano. From shortly after noon 

until early evening hot pumiceous pyroclastic flows 

sped from the crater down the north flank to Spirit 

Lake. A massive search and rescue effort resulted in 

saving many lives, but 57 people were killed on May

Figure 5. Mount St. Helens 

in July 1985, 5 years after 

the catastrophic eruption. A 

series of nonexplosive pasty 

lava flows have built a lava 

dome in the crater. Erosion 

by flowing water has incised 

the flanks of the volcano and 

the debris plain, modifying 

the original blast topography. Compare with figure 4.

85
m&&#^&:-..

Figure 6. Tree stumps and 

logs in the blow-down area 

near Coldwater Peak, 7 

miles north of Mount St. 

Helens. The force of the 

tremendous blast on May 

18th stripped vegetation and 

soil from the underlying 

bedrock. Five years later, 

wild flowers and other vegetation have begun to reclaim 

the desolate landscape.

18th. Among those who died was David A. Johnston 

of the Geological Survey, who was making measurements of the bulging north flank from a site just 

north of the volcano.

Eruptions on May 25, June 12, July 22, August 7, 

and October 16-18, 1980, produced pyroclastic flows 

that swept down the north flank of the volcano as far 

as Spirit Lake. Eruption columns reached heights of 

3 to 9 miles, and ash was spread by prevailing winds 

in various directions from the volcano. A small lava 

dome was emplaced in the vent crater at the end of 

the June eruption only to be blown out during the 

initial phase of the July eruption. A similar dome 

produced in August was blasted apart in October.

The dome that grew at the end of the October 

eruption was the first to survive. It now forms the 

core of a composite dome 3,000 feet across and 750 

feet high. The dome has been built during dominantly nonexplosive eruptions by pasty lava flows or 

by lava injected into the dome that has caused it to

swell internally. The rate of growth of the dome has 

been relatively constant since 1982, averaging about 

30,000,000 cubic feet per month; the volume of individual eruptions is approximately proportional to the 

length of time that has elapsed since the preceding 

eruption. Explosive activity has accompanied several 

of the dominantly dome-growth eruptions. The 

largest event was on March 19, 1982, when an explosion from the south side of the dome blasted pumice 

against and beyond the crater walls and generated 

snow and rock avalanches and large mudflows that 

swept down the north flank into Spirit Lake and into 

the North Fork Toutle River.

As a consequence of the renewed activity at Mount 

St. Helens, the Survey established the David A. 

Johnston Cascade Volcano Observatory (CVO) in 

Vancouver, Wash. Geologists and geophysicists at 

CVO are responsible for monitoring activity at 

Mount St. Helens and for studies of other Cascade 

volcanoes. Seismic monitoring of Mount St. Helens is

86
Figure 7. Scientists from 

the Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory 

using electronic distance 

measurement equipment to 

measure deformation of the 

lava dome from a station 

within the crater. Measurements of this type document 

the growth of the dome and 

allow scientists to predict 

the times of future eruptions.

carried out mostly by the University of Washington 

(UW) Geophysics Program under contract to the 

USGS.

CVO and UW scientists have successfully predicted 

most eruptions since the catastrophic eruption of 

May 18, 1980. Injection of new magma into the upper 

part of the conduit beneath the dome and into the 

dome causes small earthquakes and deforms the 

crater floor and dome. Measurements indicate that 

the deformation accelerates as the time of eruption 

approaches (figs. 7 and 8). During a typical period, 

prediction notices are issued to the public 2 weeks 

before an expected eruption, and as the time of the 

eruption approaches, more time-specific predictions 

are issued. These successful predictions have allowed 

much greater use of the area around Mount St. 

Helens.

Many valuable lessons have been learned at Mount 

St. Helens. Prior to 1980, only three volcanoes were 

known to have had large debris avalanches, and one

of those was a century ago. Catastrophic avalanches 

were not considered to be a common major volcanic 

hazard. Studies around the world since 1980 have resulted in recognition of more than 100 volcanoes that 

have had major debris avalanches. Indeed, a newly 

recognized debris avalanche at Mount Shasta, Calif, 

is about 10 times larger than the 1980 deposit at 

Mount St. Helens. Thus, evaluations of hazards at 

volcanoes now routinely consider the possibility of 

major avalanches. Studies of deposits from the lateral blast, pyroclastic flows, tephra falls, and mudflows have application to studies of similar deposits 

elsewhere. The investigations of deformation and 

seismic activity at Mount St. Helens have led to successful predictions of the time, place, and type of 

eruptions, more so than at any other volcano in the 

world. As a consequence, numerous foreign scientists 

have visited CVO and Mount St. Helens to learn new 

monitoring techniques.

87
Figure 8. Scientists use 

electronic distance measurement equipment to measure 

deformation at the summit 

of the lava dome.

A Quantitative Approach to 

Mapping Landslide Risk and its 

Economic Implications

By Richard L. Bernknopf, Russell H. Campbell, and 

Carl D. Shapiro

Economic losses from landslides in the United 

States now exceed $1 billion annually. Although 

some public officials and land developers have 

demonstrated that mitigation can be effective in reducing losses, little attention was devoted to evaluating the economic efficiency of different levels of loss 

reduction. At one extreme, for example, the cost of 

mitigation applied to a property where the probability of loss is low might be greater than the expected 

loss. The recent application of economic techniques 

by the U.S Geological Survey to the modeling of 

landslide risk provides a means to evaluate the cost

effectiveness of different levels and types of mitigation strategies.

The new procedure integrates geologic, topographic, and residential property value data in a 

model that estimates the economic benefits of various 

loss-reduction methods. The approach was applied to 

residential property for a part of Hamilton County 

(Cincinnati), Ohio. The net economic benefits are 

measured as the difference between the total savings 

effected by mitigation and the cost of the lossreduction activity within the area studied. The cost 

of mitigation is estimated to be the cost of grading 

activities that maintain or improve hillside slope stability under foundations for new residential construction. The procedure does not address the benefits or 

costs associated with zoning restrictions or the modification of existing structures. Although the model 

proceeds from an idealized set of situations, its utility lies in providing a systematic method for comparing the economic benefits of various levels of mitiga88
tion for new construction and urban redevelopment.

To demonstrate the procedure, the Cincinnati, 

Ohio, study area was divided into 14,255 square parcels of land, 300 feet on each side, referred to as 

cells. For each cell, the probability of a landslide occurring (fig. 9) was estimated on the basis of statistical relationships among attributes of the cell, such as 

mean and maximum ground slope, strength of the 

natural earth materials, and the presence or absence 

of potential triggering activities (e.g., new road construction). The statistical relationships were established using the 1970 79 historical record of landslides in the study area. The distribution of 

residential property values in each cell was obtained 

from the 1980 census (fig. 10). Discounting the property value over a 10-year period and multiplying by

the landslide probability yields an annualized expectation of loss. If these "expected losses" are avoided 

as a result of mitigation, they are, by definition, the 

"net benefits" of mitigation. Summing the net benefits for all the cells where the same loss-reduction 

measures are applied yields the net benefits to an 

idealized jurisdiction where alternative mitigation 

plans are considered.

Table 1 lists a few examples from among numerous 

possible mitigation alternatives using a broad range 

of slope and strength criteria for selecting cells for 

mitigation, also listing the number of cells affected 

and the net benefits. If the same kind of lossreduction measures are applied in all cells, all 

$4.9 million in annualized expected losses will be 

avoided, but the estimated cost of grading to assure

Figure 9. Estimated probability of at least one landslide per cell in the Cincinnati, Ohio, study area.

26.5

EXPLANATION

(100-meter cells, UTM coordinates) 

Range of estimated probabilities

0.13 and greater 

007-012

| 0.04-0 06 

I 0015-0.06

0.000-0.015

89
stable slope conditions will exceed the expected benefits by $0.1 million, an annual net loss.

If cells are selected for mitigation solely on the 

basis of slope information i.e., standardized lossreduction measures are applied only to those cells 

having slopes steeper than a specified threshold the 

highest net benefits that can be achieved, $1.4 million, are yielded when the threshold is 8 degrees. If 

cells are selected for mitigation on the basis of both 

slope and strength information i.e., those cells having slopes steeper than a specified threshold or 

strength parameters lower than a specified 

threshold the highest net benefits that can be 

achieved, $1.7 million, are yielded when the slope 

threshold is 14 degrees and the strength threshold is 

0.49. Other combinations of slope and strength 

threshold criteria produce lower net benefits. The optimum selective plan would provide a cost-effective

Table 1. Annualized net benefits of alternative 

building code site preparation rules (in millions of 

dollars)

Site preparation rule

Number of

2.5-acre

parcels of land

selected for

mitigation

Annualized 

net benefits

Mitigate everywhere ----------------- 14,255 -0.1

Average slope steeper than3°---------ll,406 0.3

Average slope steeper than 8° ---------- 2,851 1.4

Average slope steeper than 6° or ------- 6,911 1.1

shear strength less than 0.65

Average slope steeper than 14° or ------ 2,569 1.7

shear strength less than 0.49

Figure 10. Residential property values from the 1980

26.5

EXPLANATION 

(100-meter cells, UTM coordinates)

Range of property values in dollars per cell 

(Industrial-commercial property valued at $0)

$250,000-$! ,000,000 

$100,000-$250,000

$50,000-$100,000 

$10,000-$50,000

$0-$ 10,000

90
potential for a 37-percent reduction in annual landslide losses. Thus, the application of this procedure 

indicates that selective mitigation using regional geologic and topographic information would improve 

this community's effectiveness in avoiding losses 

from landslides.

Figure 11 compares the areas affected by the two 

best plans for selective mitigation described above. 

Some cells would be selected under both of the optimum decision rules, some would not be selected 

under either. There is an incremental increase in net 

benefits where both slope and strength criteria can 

be applied. That is, an improvement in selectivity is 

achieved by not mitigating in cells with materials 

stronger than 0.49 and slopes between 8 and 14 degrees, and by including for mitigation those cells 

having materials weaker than 0.49. The net benefits 

are increased by $0.3 million annually.

Figure 11. Areas affected by two different mitigation criteria 

(see text): A, Cells with slopes greater than 14 degrees and 

strengths less than 0.49 (selected by topographic and geologic criteria). B, Cells with slopes less than 14 degrees and 

strengths less than 0.49 (selected by topographic and geologic 

criteria, but not by topographic criterion alone). C, Cells with 

slopes greater than 8 degrees and less than 14 degrees (selected by topographic criterion, but not by topographic and geologic criteria together). D, Cells with slopes less than 8 degrees and strengths greater than 0.49 (not selected under 

either set of criteria).

26.5

EXPLANATION

(100-meter cells, UTM coordinates)

Mitigation required under optimum 

rule for slope and geology, and under 

optimum rule for slope alone

Mitigation required under optimum 

rule for slope alone, but not under 

optimum rule for slope and geology

Mitigation required under optimum 

rule for slope and geology, but not 

under optimum rule for slope alone

Mitigation not required under optimum 

rule for slope and geology, nor under 

optimum rule for slope alone

91
The combination of economics and geologic techniques in modeling landslide risk provides a method 

for estimating the cost-effectiveness of different landslide mitigation activities. This approach uses available regional information about topographic and geologic factors that influence landslide susceptibility to 

discriminate among areas having different potentials 

for landslide hazard. The new approach may also 

have broader application. Not only can it identify the 

"economic best" among alternative plans, but, by 

comparing plans, it can provide a systematic way to 

estimate the value of different kinds of information 

to the reduction of landslide losses.

The Federal-State Cooperative Geologic 

Mapping Program (COGEOMAP)

By Juergen Reinhardt

The Geologic Division began a new program of cooperative geologic and geophysical mapping (COGEOMAP) with State geological surveys during fiscal 

year 1985. This program is a part of the Geologic 

Framework Program and was started because of an 

increasing concern that a fundamental mission of the 

USGS, geologic mapping, is not keeping pace with 

the needs of programs throughout the Geologic Division and the earth-science community that use geologic maps as their basic data source. The geologic 

map shows the spatial arrangement of rocks and surficial materials, predicts the three-dimensional arrangement of rock units at depth, and provides an interpretation of the geologic history of a region. In 

contrast, a geophysical map portrays the distribution 

of subsurface Earth properties (gravity, magnetics, or 

radioactivity) and is an important key to understanding the distribution of subsurface structures. Used together, these maps provide geologists, engineers, and 

planners with vast quantities of information about 

the crust of the Earth from the surface to the upper 

mantle. Practical uses of geologic maps include exploration for mineral and energy resources, delineation of potentially hazardous areas, delineation of 

potential underground water sources, and location of 

sources of construction materials.

The COGEOMAP program is mutually beneficial 

to the Federal Government and the States in that 

the States can provide local expertise and detailed 

geologic information, while the USGS can offer regional mapping expertise, laboratory facilities for 

dating rocks, and excellent facilities and cartographic 

capability for the preparation and printing of geologic maps. The program consists of 21 cooperative

projects, but, as a result of the strong response of the 

States and the initial success of the program, it is 

anticipated that the program will expand in the future.

The primary goals of the COGEOMAP program 

are to improve the quality and to increase the number of geologic and geophysical maps being produced 

throughout the United States in areas of mutual interest to Federal and State agencies. The objectives 

of the program are (1) to begin new large- and 

intermediate-scale geologic mapping projects in highpriority areas where only limited geologic data exists, (2) to focus geologic mapping activities in areas 

of suspected mineral or energy potential where limited mapping may have impeded resource exploration, (3) to aid in the conception and compilation of 

new State geologic maps, and (4) to compile and digitize geophysical data and prepare State digital 

geophysical maps. In general, the priorities for the 

geologic mapping within a specific State have been 

set by the State survey, but the organization of the 

project(s) and the work plan(s) have been established 

through joint planning between various groups and 

individuals within the Geologic Division and the 

State surveys.

Initiation of a COGEOMAP project involves the 

evaluation of the proposal from the State geological 

survey by a USGS selection panel following review 

by the scientific managers within the Geologic Division. The entire proposal procedure, including the 

criteria for selection, has been formalized and sent to 

the State geological surveys through the USGS Office of Procurement and Contracts. The proposals 

need (1) to meet at least one of the COGEOMAP program objectives listed above, (2) to represent a truly 

cooperative effort between the State survey and 

USGS, and (3) to complement any ongoing USGS 

projects in the same geographic region.

Although the geologic mapping part of the program was only started with the States during fiscal 

year 1985, the State digital geophysical folios project 

has already completed its prototype phase with a 

complete geophysical folio of Ohio and digital radioactivity maps of New Mexico. The States with digital geophysical maps underway are shown on figure 12. In many cases, the States are providing the 

USGS access to data that have been unavailable to 

the Federal Government in the past. In all cases, the 

geophysical maps are providing a valuable guide to 

future geologic mapping targets. Geophysical data 

are already being integrated with surface geology 

and subsurface drill hole information to develop a 

better understanding of the three-dimensional arrangement of rock units in the Ouachita Mountains 

COGEOMAP project in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

92
Figure 12. To improve the 

quality and quantity of geologic mapping throughout 

the Nation, the U.S. Geological Survey has begun 

COGEOMAP, a program of 

cooperative geologic mapping 

with State geological surveys. 

The new program expands 

the USGS cooperative work 

with the State surveysCOOPERATIVE

GEOLOGIC AND GEOPHYSICAL

MAPPING

Although space does not permit the description of 

all the projects included in the COGEOMAP program, the map shows the States participating in 

the 1985 program and the general location of the 

geologic and geophysical maps in preparation. Most 

of the geologic mapping supported by the program is 

large-scale, at 1:24,000 or 1:62,500; this includes 

mapping projects in Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Minnesota, Illinois, Tennessee, Maryland, Connecticut, New Hampshire, 

Vermont, and Maine. Mapping projects in other 

States, like Arizona, New Jersey, and Virginia, involve mapping at similar scales, but the primary 

map products will be at intermediate (1:100,000) or 

small scales (1:250,000).

The State geologic map projects are an especially 

important part of the COGEOMAP program because 

these projects involve outstanding opportunities for a 

joint assessment of the status of the quantity and 

quality of geologic mapping within a specific State. 

In the past, formal cooperative efforts between the 

USGS and States have led to the publication of new

State geologic maps in Kentucky (1982), Massachusetts (1983), Arkansas (1979), Colorado (1977), and, 

most recently, Wyoming and Connecticut (1985). The 

State geologic map project in Oregon has been 

funded by the Geologic Framework Program for a 

number of years, and, now that cooperative arrangements are underway through the COGEOMAP program, the completion of this map will be considerably expedited. The State map projects in Virginia 

and New Mexico involve varying amounts of new geologic mapping. The revision of the geologic map of 

New Jersey involved the most detailed mapping (to 

be compiled at 1:100,000) of any ongoing State map 

project.

In summary, the COGEOMAP program has established a valuable new area of cooperation and communication between the USGS and the State geological surveys. This program is a positive first step by 

the USGS to reverse the trend of declining geologic 

map production in the United States and to produce 

high-quality geologic maps at the appropriate scales 

for both national and local needs.

93
Detection of Hazardous Wastes by Using Geophysical Techniques

By Gary R. Olhoeft

Hazardous materials often do not look, smell, taste, 

or feel hazardous and may exist in extremely minute, 

yet highly toxic, amounts. Drilling to find and sample such materials may be hazardous in itself, because drilling may release the wastes through the 

drill holes to the uncontaminated environment. 

Geophysical studies provide techniques that may 

safely and noninvasively find, map, and identify distributions of such materials. After they are located, 

similar studies may also provide the necessary information to allow prediction of their fate in the hydrologic and geologic environment and to monitor this 

fate.

To be observable with geophysical tools, the hazardous materials must have at least one physical or 

chemical property that is different in some way from 

the surrounding uncontaminated ground. Drums containing hazardous materials may be detected by 

magnetometers if the drums are made of a magnetic 

metal such as iron. However, magnetometers cannot 

find metal drums in rock such as basalt, which is 

naturally magnetic, nor can they find glass containers, which are nonmagnetic. All geophysical techniques fail when there are no contrasts in physical 

properties to measure; thus, no one geophysical technique can solve all problems. However, not all 

geophysical techniques measure the same properties, 

so that where one fails another may succeed.

In Henderson, Nev., the city needed to locate the 

extent of a waste plume from leakage at an industrial park. High-clay-content soil prevented the use 

of ground-penetrating radar, but the inorganic portion of the plume provided an electrial conductivity 

contrast that allowed the plume to be mapped by 

electromagnetic-induction devices. The organic portion of the plume reacted chemically with the natural clay soils to provide a chemical contrast measured with the complex resistivity technique. The 

latter measurements also showed that the organic

portion of the plume was separated from the inorganic portion and that it had penetrated into an 

otherwise impermeable clay layer.

At an Environmental Protection Agency superfund 

site in Pensacola, Fla., the location of a plume from 

leakage of creosote needed to be identified, along 

with geologic factors that affected the fate and movement of the plume. The location of the site, in the 

middle of downtown Pensacola, resulted in interference with electromagnetic techniques from radio stations, telephone and power lines, and gas and water 

pipes. The proximity of the site to the highly conductive saltwater of Pensacola Bay also masked direct 

detection of the plume by electromagnetic-induction 

techniques. However, ground-penetrating radar 

clearly mapped discontinuous clay layers (fig. 13). Inconsistencies in the drilling data and hydrological 

models were explained by the holes in the clay layers 

that had been assumed to be continuous.

In Falmouth, Mass., a sewage plume needed to be 

outlined for the Otis Air Force Base. The high salt 

content of the plume provided an electrical conductivity contrast for mapping by the electromagneticinduction method. Ground-penetrating radar also 

mapped geologic stratigraphy and water-table levels 

for making predictive models.

Experience at these and other sites has shown that 

the most useful geophysical techniques are electromagentic induction, complex resistivity, and groundpenetrating radar. Electromagnetic induction quickly 

and inexpensively maps electrical conductivity enhancements from inorganic contaminants in the 

ground water. Complex resistivity detects clayorganic reactions and the attack of impermeable clay 

barriers by organics causing increased permeability. 

Ground-penetrating radar maps detailed geologic and 

hydrologic stratigraphy and sometimes directly detects organic pollutants.

94
East >- along Cypress Street

Pace Blvd. H Streets

 Surface

 Water 

table

 Clay

Discontinuous clay Continuous clay

Creosote plume

Figure 13. Ground-penetrating radar traverse along Cypress 

Street from Pace Boulevard to H Street in Pensacola, Fla. 

The upper record is the raw, digitized data. The lower 

record is after computer processing through an adaptive deconvolution filter. The surface to the bottom of the record is 

approximately 45 feet. The black lines across the bottom of 

the lower record are clay layers. On the right (east), they are 

continuous, but on the left (west), they are discontinuous. 

The area in the middle, where the texture of the record 

changes, is the creosote plume.

Geologic History as a Guide to Manganese Exploration

By William F. Cannon and Eric R. Force

Manganese is a metal critical to modern industrial 

society; it is an essential ingredient of steel and it 

also serves a variety of chemical uses. No minable 

concentrations are known in the United States and 

the Nation is dependent on imports for virtually all 

manganese supply, most of which now comes from 

central and southern Africa (fig. 14). Minable manganese deposits overseas are, for the most part, unusual manganese accumulations, some remarkably 

pure, that formed in vast sedimentary layers millions 

of years ago, interlayered with other sedimentary 

rocks that were deposited on ancient sea bottoms. 

Where these rocks today are exposed on land, they 

support an active manganese mining industry.

Because manganese is virtually absent from modern ocean water, these ancient deposits must have 

formed in response to some unusual conditions that 

existed in ancient oceans. Geologists at the U.S. Geological Survey are conducting research to understand 

what these conditions were and where and when

they occurred in the geologic past. Such understanding is being used to develop a predictive capability to 

guide exploration for such deposits in the United 

States. This research has shown that a great majority of the world's sedimentary manganese deposits 

share important geologic characteristics: (1) they 

formed on shallow ocean margins by chemical precipitation of manganese from sea water, (2) they 

formed synchronously with extensive stagnation of 

oceanic circulation, and (3) they formed most commonly during periods of Earth history when global 

sea level was high and when global climate was 

warm.

Recent results from the disciplines of paleogeography, paleoclimatology, paleooceanography, and geochemistry show that the three phenomena are interrelated (fig. 15). High global sea level, and the 

consequent higher percentage of the globe covered by 

water, tends to promote warm global climates by increasing the Earth's ability to absorb and retain so95
Figure 14. Manganese mine 

in the Kalahari district of 

South Africa, the world's 

largest. The horizon mined 

for manganese is 40 feet 

thick and forms the lowest 

three benches in the mine. 

Sedimentary manganese 

deposits including these and 

others in the U.S.S.R. and 

Mexico constitute the large 

majority of world reserves.

lar radiation. These warm climatic conditions in turn 

cause a decrease of circulation in the oceans that is 

driven largely by thermal contrasts between equatorial and polar regions. When circulation declines, the 

replenishment of oxygen from the atmosphere to 

deeper parts of the ocean likewise declines. In some 

areas, biological oxygen demand may totally consume all oxygen in deeper waters, resulting in a 

stratified ocean in which deep water is totally oxygen 

depleted. The deep water is overlain by only a thin 

layer of water that remains oxygen-bearing by direct

interchange with the atmosphere. This stratification 

and lack of oxygen in deep water is the key to formation of manganese deposits, for the solubility of manganese in sea water is strongly controlled by the 

water's oxygen content. In oxygen-bearing water, 

manganese is virtually insoluble, but in oxygen-free 

water its solubility increases markedly. Hence, during times when oceans were stratified, the amount of 

manganese dissolved in ocean water may have been 

several orders of magnitude more than in today's 

oceans and the potential to form manganese deposits

Figure 15. Different processes operating at different 

types of times in Earth history. In the state shown 

above, like today, slow seafloor spreading results in 

low sea level and well-mixed 

oceans. In the state below, 

fast spreading causes higher 

sea level, warmer climate, 

and stagnant stratified 

oceans. It is at such times 

that shallow-marine manganese deposits can form.

Polar areas

Equatorial areas

Expanded sea 

surface

Slow spreading,

many magnetic

reversals

Polar areas

Heat transport

Mn deposit

Black 

shale

^ r~^ Sea level high 

' Qxic zone. .......

' [Oxygen minimum Sulfide deposits V - zone .": . ./ - v -' :' 

,«- 

Fast spreading

Equatorial areas

No reversals

96
Gray shale

1 Black shale

Figure 16. Idealized setting 

for manganese deposition. 

Mixing processes such as 

upwelling between 

manganese-rich anoxic deep 

water and surficial oxic 

water precipitate manganese.

was likewise much greater. Manganese appears to 

have precipitated near the margins of stratified 

ocean basins where deep, manganese-rich anoxic 

water mixed with oxygenated surface waters (fig. 16).

Armed with these concepts of how manganese deposits formed, of what intervals of geologic time were 

most favorable for formation of deposits, and of the 

most favorable paleogeographic settings for formation of deposits, geologists can use their knowledge of 

the geologic evolution of a region to quickly and efficiently identify rock units that could contain undiscovered manganese deposits. Such regional analyses 

are currently being done by USGS researchers, and 

areas considered favorable to contain undiscovered 

manganese deposits are being identified. These areas 

are being examined in the field for more direct evidence of manganese accumulations.

This work is a good example of a way in which 

general principles of earth sciences can be applied to 

understanding the formation of ore deposits and how 

that understanding can be coupled with knowledge of 

the geologic history of a region to define targets for 

mineral exploration. This approach has the potential 

to simultaneously advance our knowledge of Earth 

history, ore-forming processes, and mineral resources.

Petroleum Assessment of the Coastal 

Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife 

Refuge, Alaska

By Cornelius M. Molenaar and Oswald W. Girard, Jr.

Alaska has been described as the last frontier of 

the United States. It is a huge State with tremendous living and nonliving resource value. The North 

Slope of Alaska contains the largest oil field ever discovered in North America, Prudhoe Bay. Since the 

discovery of this super-giant oil field in 1968, 

petroleum geologists have been eager to explore for

additional supplies of the valuable commodity. The 

coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 

(ANWR), which is 50 to 150 miles east of Prudhoe 

Bay, has long been regarded as the most promising 

area for future onshore oil and gas discoveries (fig. 17). 

However, until passage of the Alaska National 

Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980, 

ANWR was "off-limits" to exploration.

Section 1002 of ANILCA provides for a continuing 

inventory and assessment of the fish and wildlife resources of the coastal plain of ANWR and also authorizes seismic and surface geologic exploratory activity within the coastal plain in a manner that 

avoids significant adverse effects on the fish, wildlife, 

and other resources. The purpose of such exploration 

is to obtain data and information about the oil and 

gas potential of the coastal plain that will be used by 

the Department of the Interior in preparing a report 

to Congress, as required by Section 1002(h) of the 

Act. The report to Congress is required to contain:

 Identification, by means other than drilling of exploratory wells, of those areas within the 

coastal plain that have oil and gas resource potential and an estimate of the volume of the recoverable oil and gas.

 A description of the fish and wildlife, their habitats, and other resources that are within the 

areas having oil and gas potential.

 An evaluation of the adverse effects that further 

exploration, development, and production of oil 

and gas will have on fish, wildlife, and other resources.

 A description of how oil and gas, if produced in 

ANWR, would be transported to processing facilities.

 An evaluation of how the oil and gas potential of 

ANWR relates to the national need for additional domestic sources.

 The recommendations of the Secretary to Congress 

with respect to whether further exploration, development, and production of oil and gas within 

the coastal plain should be permitted, and, if so, 

what additional legal authority is necessary to 

ensure that the adverse effects of such activities 

on fish and wildlife, their habitats, and other 

resources are avoided or minimized. 

The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has the lead 

responsibility for preparing the Secretary's report to 

Congress, which is due by September 1986. The FWS 

has asked the Geological Survey and Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) for technical assistance in preparing the Secretary's report and the USGS has been 

given the responsibility for preparing the oil and gas 

assessment of ANWR.

97
147° 146° 145° 144° 143" 142° 141"

70°

69°30'

BEAUFORT

Camden

Figure 17. Northern part of 

the Arctic National Wildlife 

Refuge showing the part of 

the coastal plain (crosshatched area) currently being assessed for petroleum 

potential.

ARCT\C

I -

ROOK

w

Romanzof Mtns. 

c RAN GE

0 10 20 30 MILES

0 10 20 30 40 50 KILOMETERS

It was the intent of Congress to have the private 

sector fund and acquire the exploration data for the 

report. During the 1984 and 1985 field seasons, approximately 1,300 line miles of common-depth-point 

seismic data was acquired over the 1.4 million acres 

of the coastal plain of ANWR. This provides a 3-by-6- 

mile seismic grid over the area. Gravity measurements were also made at selected stations along the 

seismic lines, and samples for paleontologic and geochemical analysis were taken from many of the 75- 

to 100-foot-deep shot holes that penetrated bedrock.

In addition to the geophysical surveys, industry, 

USGS, and BLM field parties conducted surface geological studies in and adjacent to the coastal plain of 

ANWR. Scientists from the Branch of Oil and Gas 

will integrate the industry-acquired seismic and surface geological data with topical oil and gas investigations in the areas of geologic framework, 

geophysics, geochemistry, direct detection, and hydrocarbon resource assessment. This effort to understand the petroleum geology of ANWR will culminate in an assessment of the undiscovered oil and 

gas and the probable locations of future exploration 

activity. A modified "play analysis" approach will be 

used in assessing the oil and gas potential of ANWR. 

The play analysis method was used in the Department of the Interior's assessment of the National 

Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) and for the

USGS 1980 assessment of ANWR (then called the 

William O. Douglas National Wildlife Range). A 

"play" consists of a group of prospects having common geologic characteristics such as source rocks, 

trapping mechanisms, and structural history that 

may indicate oil and (or) gas occurrence. The play 

concept considers all significant aspects of structure, 

stratigraphy, geochemistry, and geologic history, 

even though knowledge of these may be uncertain.

ANILCA and the implementing regulations require that the data, analysis, and interpretations 

generated from the ANWR assessment be kept confidential until the Secretary submits his report to Congress in the fall of 1986. At that time, the ANILCA 

legislation requires that the "raw" data, which include the digital seismic tapes, be released to the 

public. The processed, analyzed, and interpreted data 

obtained as a result of exploratory activities and submitted by the private sector will not be released to 

the public until 10 years after the submittal of the 

data, or until 2 years after any lease sale, including 

the area within ANWR from which such data or information were obtained, whichever period is longer.

Section 1002 of ANILCA is a unique piece of legislation in that all competing interest groups will have 

the opportunity to acquire raw subsurface information and be able to influence Congress in their decision as to the future disposition of the coastal plain

98
of ANWR. Congress will truly be in a position to 

make an informed decision about oil and gas exploration and environmental trade-offs in one of the 

most controversial areas in Alaska. From a scientific 

standpoint, the USGS is afforded the unprecedented 

opportunity to analyze industry's state-of-the-art subsurface geophysical data and other exploration information in an unexplored area and openly discuss the 

results of the analysis. The information acquired on 

ANWR will greatly add to our understanding of the 

geologic evolution and petroleum geology of the 

North Slope of Alaska.

Submarine Massive Sulfide Deposits

By William R. Normark

The U.S. Geological Survey began a program to 

study the formation processes of submarine massive 

sulfide deposits and related hydrothermal systems in 

late 1979. The southern Juan de Fuca Ridge, which 

lies in international waters about 270 nautical miles 

west of the central Oregon coast, was selected as the 

study area, and the first cruise to explore for active 

hydrothermal vents was made the following year. 

The summer of 1985 marked the sixth consecutive 

year for the USGS's seagoing activities in the study 

area as well as an expansion of the submarine massive sulfide studies to include the Gorda Ridge, 

which lies within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone 

(EEZ) southeast of the Juan de Fuca study area.

The USGS program has been multidisciplinary 

from the outset, involving marine scientists as well 

as specialists in volcanism, geothermal systems, economic geology, and sulfide-mineral geochemistry. In 

addition, this program has actively involved scientists from five universities (University of Washington, Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University, Oregon State University, 

Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, and the University of Victoria, British Columbia), the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

and the Smithsonian Institution. Since 1982, a joint 

agreement between the USGS and the Geological 

Survey of Canada (GSC) has facilitated interchange 

of personnel and equipment in cooperative studies 

within both countries' study areas on the Juan de 

Fuca Ridge system.

In fiscal year 1985, an attempt to determine the 

depth, width, or even the existence of an axial 

magma chamber was conducted in cooperation with 

Oregon State University. Ocean-bottom seismometers 

recorded both natural seismic activity at the vent 

sites as well as large energy pulses from the air-gun 

system on the USGS Research Vessel Samuel P. Lee ;

the data from this study will provide improved structural and velocity models for the Juan de Fuca Ridge 

axis through both refraction and wide-angle reflection techniques.

The next phases of the USGS program include additional electric rock-core drilling in the summer of 

1986 and continued mapping of the vent sites using 

ALVIN, which is now scheduled to return to the 

northeast Pacific in 1987. The drilling program will 

be in cooperation with GSC, and the submersible program will be in cooperation with hydrochemical studies of NOAA.

Mineral Deposits of the Southern Juan de Fuca Ridge

Analyses of both the 1983 photographic and 1984 

ALVIN data sets are in progress with more than 20 

teams from the USGS, academic, and other government agency laboratories. Preliminary results provide the following general picture of the hydrothermal vent settings, deposit mineralogy, and fluid 

chemistry.

The study area encompasses the shallowest area 

along the longitudinal profile of the axial valley floor 

where the spreading axis is characterized by a lowrelief (300 feet deep) symmetrical central valley. The 

valley floor is a little over one-half mile wide and remarkably flat, except for a narrow cleft along the 

center of the valley. The cleft is not a single symmetrical notch but one that widens locally and exhibits 

apparently overlapping strands and small (less than 

50 feet) offsets.

The dominant lava morphology of the valley floor 

is lobate sheet flows. In general, the lobate lava surface of the valley floor is relatively unbroken away 

from the axial cleft; within 300 to 600 feet of the 

cleft, however, small collapse pits 3 to 6 feet deep 

and several feet wide are common. Within 30 to 90 

feet of the cleft rim, collapse pits are much more extensive and locally exceed 15 feet in depth and tens 

of feet in width. Photographic mosaics indicate that 

the areas of extensive collapse pits tend to be wider 

adjacent to the major hydrothermal vent extending 

as much as 300 to 450 feet from the cleft.

The floor of the axial cleft typically is underlain by 

very glassy lineated sheet flows or rubble with local 

collapse and subsidence especially near the cleft 

walls. Talus from lobate flow surfaces and locally 

lava drapes also are common along the base of the 

cleft walls. The hydrothermal vents are generally 

found at or near the base of the cleft walls in areas 

of talus.

99
HYDROTHERMAL VENTS AND MINERAL DEPOSITS

Except for one small, photographed vent site on 

the eastern inner valley wall, the known hydrothermal vents are located within the central cleft. Each 

vent zone is elongated along the strike of the cleft, 

with vent faunal communities and sulfide deposits 

occurring over a distance of as much as 1,500 feet. A 

thick blanket of yellow sediment generally surrounds 

the zones of mineralization.

Sulfide deposits occur as irregular mound fields 

(areas of 140 to 900 square feet) of chimney-like 

structures and as sulfide encrustations along the 

steep walls of the central cleft (fig. 18). Chimney 

structures typically are 8 to 16 inches in diameter 

and 3 to 6 feet high, with an asparagus-shaped profile widening near the top. In a typical vent, which 

would contain at best a few tons of sulfide, only a 

few chimneys show open central conduits and active 

venting of hydrothermal fluids. Diffuse leakage of

hydrothermal fluid from throughout the fields is 

more common and locally produces small mounds 

and spires of sulfide (fig. 19). The sulfide samples 

dredged in 1981 are similar to those recovered during our dives, and zinc-sulfide minerals predominate 

in nearly all of the samples.

The vent fluids from the southern Juan de Fuca 

are unique in comparison to that of other spreading 

ridge vent systems, which have total dissolved solids 

nearly double normal seawater. Thus, our samples 

have the highest chlorinity of any vent fluids yet 

studied, and they also have anomalously high silica 

values compared to other vent systems, perhaps resulting from enhanced solubility in the highersalinity fluid. In addition, the vent fluids have extremely low pH and high zinc and iron contents. The 

copper content is low, in agreement with the generally low copper levels in the sulfide samples.

Most discharge sites within each vent area are surrounded by extensive faunal communities that inFigure 18. Sulfide chimney 

photographed from the 

ALVIN submersible.

100
i

Figure 19. Small spires and 

mounds of sulfide mineral 

deposits in an area of diffuse venting.

elude tube worms, mollusks, and other vent-related 

species as well as numerous predators, especially spider crabs. Some sites, however, especially those surrounded by thick sediment accumulations, appear 

relatively devoid of at least the larger animals.

The discovery of hot springs presently depositing 

metallic sulfides on volcanically and tectonically active segments of the seafloor presents a unique opportunity to apply the uniformitarian principle of 

geology "the present is the key to the past." Continued research of the midoceanic ridge system will 

stimulate and improve our concepts in such diverse 

fields as volcanology, evolutionary biology, ore genesis, mineral exploration, and deep seabed mining.

101
Image Mapping the West Coast U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone

The Research Vessel Farnella steamed from San 

Diego Harbor into the open waters of the Pacific 

Ocean on April 26, 1984, to begin Project EEZ-Scan, 

a seafloor mapping effort of unprecedented scope. 

During the next 96 days at sea, the Farnella trailed 

a 24-foot, 2-ton towfish (a towed instrument containing transducers that send and receive acoustical signals to and from the seafloor) along a 12,000-mile 

stitchwork pattern of tracklines that extend between 

the Mexican and Canadian borders. The towfish is 

the heart of the Geological Long-Range Inclined 

ASDIC (GLORIA), a unique side-scanning sonar system developed and operated by the United Kingdom's 

Institute of Oceanographic Sciences (IOS). Teams of 

USGS and IOS scientists used the GLORIA during 

four consecutive cruises to compile a mosaic of acoustically sensed images, resembling an aerial photograph, of 328 square miles of the seafloor within 

the newly established U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone 

(EEZ) off the western conterminous States. Never before has a complete picture of such a vast expanse of 

seafloor been obtained or even attempted.

When the Farnella returned to San Diego on August 15, 1984, shipboard-constructed mosaics at 

1:375,000 scale and preliminary geologic interpretations covering the portion of the Western U.S. EEZ 

from the continental-shelf break to the seaward 

boundary 222 miles from shore were ready for public 

display.

The sonograph mosaic clearly shows the large-scale 

geomorphic and sedimentologic features of the seafloor (fig. 20). The extent and continuity of features 

such as submarine fans, seafloor channels, and 

crustal fracture zones are shown in a manner that 

confirms or often modifies the configurations inferred 

from previous investigations that used linearprofiling acoustic-reflecting methods. When properly 

interpreted within the constraints of the sonographic 

technique, the mosaic can be an invaluable base for 

deciphering geologic structures and processes at and 

beneath the seafloor, for planning marine scientific 

expeditions, and for making optimum decisions regarding use of the EEZ.

One of the most striking aspects of the compiled 

mosaic is the regional geologic diversity. The contrast between the transform tectonic regime south of 

Cape Mendocino and the convergent tectonic regime 

north of it are obvious at a glance. The canyons that 

incise the continental slope and the sediment fans

that extend from them across the abyssal plain have 

an immense range of size and form, whose accurate 

portrayal on the mosaic surely will lead to critical 

testing and evolution of existing sedimentary models. 

Some channels on the deep seafloor are straight, 

whereas others are highly sinuous, hinting that a variety of river-like processes occur on the seafloor.

The basins of the continental borderland off southern California show as dark-floored depressions encircled by intricately dissected steep slopes. Between 

the basins, the continutiy of the mosaic is interrupted by banks that are too shallow for safe operation of the GLORIA system. Comparison of the mosaic with existing marine geologic maps has added 

more than 120 previously uncharted submarine volcanoes to the known volcano population within the 

Baja Seamount Province west of the borderland. 

Many of the seamounts have large summit craters, 

attendant lava flows, and other distinctive morphologic features. The potential now exists for precisely 

choosing the location of bedrock and sediment samples critical to determining the age and origin of the 

seamounts. The patterns of volcanic ridges and 

seamounts as seen with GLORIA sonographs, when 

combined with the magnetic data, will now allow for 

interpretation of seafloor evolution in this complex 

area.

The massive Monterey and Delgada submarine 

fans off central California possess an intriguing pattern of channels, depositional lobes, and sediment 

waves that extend up to hundreds of miles from the 

source of sediment-laden, gravity-driven currents 

that built them. The scattered distribution of channels and depositional lobes attests to a dynamic history of sediment transported first to one area, then 

seemingly abandoned suddenly in favor of some other 

course. The records show clear examples of basement 

ridges that block sediment dispersal, and sediment 

slides and associated mass-flow deposits that alter 

sediment-transport pathways.

The mosaic is dominated in the northern region by 

the linear basment ridges that were generated at the 

Gorda and Juan de Fuca spreading centers and later 

moved apart in conveyor-belt fashion by seafloor 

spreading. The ridges are abruptly truncated by the 

Mendocino and Blanco Fracture Zones that accommodate horizontal slip between adjacent lithospheric 

plates (fig. 21). Sonographic display of subtle to distinct divergence, bending, and offset of the basement

102
ridges attests to past changes in spreading rate and 

propagation of spreading centers. Both oceanic and 

terrigenous sedimentation have tended to subdue the 

rugged linear basement topography, especially away 

from the spreading centers toward older and deeper 

oceanic crust.

The continental slope in the region of convergent 

tectonics is crumpled into numerous folds that manifest themselves as discontinuous ridges on the sonographs (fig. 22). Submarine canyons and blankets of

sediment modify the steep compressional-ridge topography, the former tending to dissect and complicate 

it and the latter tending to smooth and simplify it.

Since completion of the EEZ-Scan field operations, 

the digitized data have been subjected to image processing and enhancement procedures through the assistance of the USGS Astrogeology Branch and the 

National Mapping Division. A recently constructed 

second-generation mosaic is significantly more detailed and smoother than the preliminary version beFigure 20. Digitally processed GLORIA sonograph 

mosaic off southern California that demonstrates light 

areas of igneous rock (volcanoes and basement ridges) 

and dark areas of sediment 

cover. 123' 122°

ARGUELLO CHANNELS

100 KILOMETERS

103
44 00'

4340

,,_j?JUAN DE FUCA PLATE

* '

 tTUFFS - 

'ABYSSAL 

I PLAIN]»»«£

30 N. MILES

I 

50 KILOMETERS

Figure 21. Seafloor geologic 

features off Oregon. Major 

plate-tectonic features are 

evident: Blanco Fracture 

Zone and spreading ridges 

of the Juan de Fuca and 

Gorda lithospheric plates. 

Cascadia Channel is incised 

more than 900 feet into the 

sediment of Cascadia Basin 

at the abrupt westward turn 

into the Blanco Fracture 

Zone.

cause of removal of water-column pixels, correction of 

across-track shading gradients, and optimal stretching of the contrast range in all images. Further enhancement will be performed on an area- or featurespecific basis as scientific investigations proceed.

The mosaic and the interpretation are being compiled into 36 sheets, each covering 2 degrees of latitude and longitude at 1:500,000 scale, for publication 

as an atlas. Copies of the seismic-reflection and mag104
QUILLAYUTE 

CANYON

125°

47°30'-

20 N. MILES 

I___

40 KILOMETERS

netometer profiles also will be included in the atlas, 

as will overlays of bathymetric contours and designation of named physiographic features. Continuation 

of Project EEZ-Scan to cover the remaining Pacific 

Ocean EEZ will commence in the summer of 1986 

with a 3-month research cruise into Alaskan and 

Hawaiian waters. Upon completion and publication, 

"road maps" of the ocean floor will be available to 

the Nation for the first time.

Figure 22. A segment of the 

continental slope off Washington. The shelf break is at 

about 600 feet and the 

base of the slope is at about 

7,500 feet water depth. Tectonic, erosional, and sedimentary features determine 

the slope morphology.

105
, * * <IL J ,- ;/i i Sw.-^ 

;.. ->»* ^tfe

o

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International Activities

Mission

Under the Organic Act, as revised, and the Foreign Assistance Act and related 

legislation, the U.S. Geological Survey is authorized to conduct investigations in 

foreign countries when such studies are deemed by the Departments of the Interior and State to be in the interests of the U.S. Government. The international 

activities, a part of the Geological Survey's program for more than 40 years, are 

undertaken with these principal objectives:

 To expand the scope and help achieve domestic research objectives through the 

comparative study of scientific phenomena abroad and in the United States;

 To obtain information about existing and potential foreign resources of interest 

to the United States;

 To develop and maintain relations with counterpart institutions and programs 

that will facilitate scientific cooperation and exchange; and

 To provide support for the international programs of other Federal agencies, including those of the U.S. Department of State, that contribute to foreign policy objectives.

Major Programs and Activities

Two general types of activities comprise the major international programs of 

the Geological Survey. One type, technical assistance to foreign countries or international organizations, uses funds from other Federal agencies, international 

organizations, or foreign governments as authorized under the Foreign Assistance Act. Such programs involve technology transfer to foreign nationals 

through advice, training, and demonstration; some require that Geological Survey personnel alone accomplish all project tasks. The other type, bilateral or multilateral scientific cooperation with foreign counterpart organizations under U.S. 

Government-approved cooperative agreements to achieve common research objectives, uses both funds appropriated for Geological Survey research and funds 

made available by the cooperating countries or organizations. The majority of 

such cooperative research activities are supported on the basis that each participant pays its own expenses. Activities in this category range from informal discussions and correspondence, through formal, jointly staffed research projects, to 

multinational projects focused on particular problems or topics.

Many related activities that form integral parts of the programs commonly stem 

from international work, for example, institutional development, exchange of sciSacra Familia goldmine near Desmonte, Costa Rica. USGS 

geologists are working with Costa Rican counterparts to find 

new sources of gold and other valuable metals. Photograph 

by Sherman Marsh.

107
entists, training of foreign nationals, and representation of the Geological Survey or the U.S. Government 

in international organizations, commissions, or associations.

Formal training for foreign nationals was provided 

by the Geological Survey during fiscal year 1985 

through the following courses: "24th International 

Remote Sensing Workshop," held in Sioux Falls, 

S. Dak., with 30 participants and "Techniques of Hydrologic Investigations," held in Denver, Colo., with 

19 participants. In addition, the Survey provided or 

arranged on-the-job or academic training for 66 other

foreign nationals either at Geological Survey facilities or at other organizations on behalf of the Survey; 

the 115 trainees during 1985 came from 29 foreign 

countries. Also in 1985, the Geological Survey 

planned and administered programs for 47 visiting 

scientists from 22 countries who conducted cooperative research at the Survey or at Survey-selected institutions.

U.S. Geological Survey international activities in 

fiscal year 1985 are listed in the accompanying table. 

The following summaries describe various aspects of 

the programs.

International scientific activities conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in fiscal year 1985

Country or region Technical assistance activities

Bangladesh ---- 

Caribbean ----- 

Central America

Circum-Pacific 

Colombia -----

Costa Rica ---------

Dominican Republic 

East Asia ----------

Egypt

El Salvador 

Ethiopia --- 

Fiji --------

Guatemala - 

Haiti ------

Indonesia --

Latin America 

Liberia ------

Mauritania 

Mexico 

Morocco - -

Oman -- 

Pakistan 

Panama

Papua New Guinea 

Paraguay ---------

Peru -------------

Training of Geological Survey personnel.

Seismic hazards workshop in Puerto Rico.

Workshop on development of mineral, energy, and water

resources and mitigation of geologic hazards. 

Earthquake and tsunami potential. 

Stream-flow modeling related to dam operations; training in

earthquake risk assessment.

Coal-resources assessment; mineral resources assessment. 

Offshore geologic studies; phosphate resource assessment. 

Critique of multinational coal information system; consultancies

on remote-sensing program; U.S. Government representation

at United Nations regional meetings. 

Mapping of subsurface geologic features by remote sensing;

training in map preparation and publication. 

Earthquake hazards reduction. 

Training in mineral-resources study. 

Study of coastal sediment distribution. 

Earthquake hazards reduction. 

Coal-resources investigations. 

Volcanic research and hazards mitigation; negotiations for

consultancies in marine geoscience program. 

Seismic and volcanic monitoring program. 

Seismic systems; water resources. 

Regional remote-sensing facility; Landsat imagery; map

publication.

Earthquake disaster mitigation in Andean region. 

Analytical laboratory consultancy; mineral-resources project

development.

Mineral- and energy-resources project development. 

Surface-water resources. 

Landsat base-map compilation; mineral deposit assessments;

geophysical investigations. 

Mineral-resources studies.

Coal-resources assessment; water sediment transport. 

Earthquake hazards reduction; coal geology program

development.

Mineral-resources data systems and assessment. 

Hydrologic hazards related to floods. 

Mineral-resources assessment; flood hazards in Cuzco.

108
International scientific activities conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in fiscal year 1985 Continued

Country or region Technical assistance activities

Philippines ----------------------------------------- Volcanic hazards analyses and mitigation; coal-resources

assessment.

Qatar ---------------------------------------------- Water resources and artificial recharge of ground water.

Saudi Arabia --------------------------------------- Geologic mapping and mineral-resources assessment; hydrologic

studies; Landsat image base maps; seismic studies.

Southeast Asia -------------------------------------- Earthquake engineering and hazards mitigation; engineering

seismology.

South Pacific ---------------------------------------- Marine cruise for hydrocarbon resources studies; workshop on

coastal processes mapping; cobalt crust studies on Marshall 

Island seamounts; crater studies in Marshalls; mineral 

reconnaissance in Palau.

Sri Lanka ------------------------------------------ Ground-water-resources assessment.

Sudan ---------------------------------------------- Landsat base-map compilation; map publications.

Turkey --------------------------------------------- Karst geophysics consultancy.

Venezuela ------------------------------------------ Hydrology and water resources of Orinoco Basin.

Worldwide ------------------------------------------ Global seismic network; hydrologic training course; remotesensing training workshop.

Country or region Scientific Cooperative Activities

Antarctica ------------------------------------------ Topographic and satellite image mapping; marine geological and

geophysical surveys; mineral-resources studies. 

Australia ------------------------------------------- Antarctic mapping; tectonics and resources of South Pacific.

Bolivia --------------------------------------------- Subvolcanic intrusions related to ash-flow tuff terranes and tin

resources. 

Brazil ---------------------------------------------- Mineral-resources studies; river-sediment studies; technology

transfer in remote sensing. 

Canada --------------------------------------------- Strategic minerals inventory; sea-floor mineral exploration;

borehole geophysics; continental deep seismic reflection;

cartographic data exchange; techniques for hydrologic data

analysis. 

Chile ----------------------------------------------- Volcanic and seismic risk investigations; March 3, 1985,

earthquake studies. 

Costa Rica ------------------------------------------ Geothermal energy consultation; magnetic observatory

instrumentation; volcanic studies. 

East-Southeast Asia --------------------------------- Base-map preparation (l:2,000,000-scale); sedimentary basin

analysis; tin geology review. 

France --------------------------------------------- Marine hydrothermal mineralogy; mineral deposit modeling.

Germany ------------------------------------------- Strategic minerals inventory; marine seismic studies of

continental margins; radioactive waste; petroleum-resource

assessment; Antarctic research; multipurpose cadastral

information exchange. 

Greece ---------------------------------------------- Geochemistry of petroleum; structural geology studies.

Hungary -------------------------------------------- Seismic stratigraphy; seismic modeling, electromagnetic,

mineralogic, paleomagnetic, and paleoenvironmental studies. 

Iceland --------------------------------------------- Volcanic, geothermal, and glacial studies.

India ----------------------------------------------- Science and technology review for possible cooperative program

development. 

Italy ----------------------------------------------- Seismology and seismic-risk assessment; geochemistry;

volcanology; marine geology. 

Japan ---------------------------------------------- Joint panels on earthquake prediction, marine geology, and

marine mining; ore deposit research; landslide studies;

geodetic leveling.

109
International scientific activities conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in fiscal year 1985 Continued

Country or region Scientific cooperative activities

Mexico

New Zealand -------------

Pacific region ------------

People's Republic of China

South Africa 

South Korea

Spain

Sweden ---------

United Kingdom

U.S.S.R.--- 

Worldwide

Yugoslavia

Volcano studies; geochemical and geophysical exploration; 

mineral and metallogenic map analyses; regional structure 

and stratigraphic studies; tectonostratigraphic terrane studies; 

base-map compilation of U.S. border area.

Antarctic mapping.

Circum-Pacific mapping program; chromite resource studies.

Surveying, mapping, and geographic information systems; 

surface-water hydrologic studies; China digital seismic 

network; Beijing digital seismic network computer system; 

magnetic and deformation observations; crustal stress 

measurements; intraplate active faults and earthquakes; fault 

zone xenoliths; landslide and debris-flow studies; rock 

mechanics; petroleum geology of carbonate rocks; saline lakes 

and potash deposits; exploration geochemistry; coal-derived 

gas; isotope geology.

Strategic minerals inventory; seismic studies.

Offshore petroleum-resources and geothermal-resources 

assessments.

Ground-water resources; remote sensing for mineral deposits; 

earthquake research; marine geology of continental margins.

Nuclear waste disposal; subsurface water transport.

Marine geology; world coal resources; strategic minerals 

inventory.

Joint committee on earthquake prediction.

International Strategic Minerals Inventory; World Energy 

Resources Program; geologic and hydrologic hazards 

mitigation training.

Crustal structure research; seismology and earthquake hazards; 

subsidence research; geochemical surveys; remote sensing; 

engineering geology; geophysics.

Development of Mineral, Energy, and Water Resources and Geologic Hazards 

Mitigation in Central America

A workshop entitled "Development of Mineral, Energy, and Water Resources and the Mitigation of Geologic Hazards in Central America: A Workshop Concerning Opportunities for Resource Development" 

was presented in Antigua, Guatemala, April 21-27, 

1985, by the U.S. Geological Survey assisted by the 

Institute Centroamericano de Investigacion y Tecnologia Industrial (ICAITI), with funding provided by 

the U.S. Agency for International Development 

(USAID).

The workshop was conducted under the assumption 

that contributions to the economic self-sufficiency of 

the nations of Central America, and thus to the political stability of the region, to be effective must reduce the balance of payments problems in the region, 

substitute local for imported commodities, augment 

the availability of local jobs, increase the efficiency of 

agricultural production, and transfer technology, so

that local scientists will be able to conduct future 

surveys of the resource potential of the region without outside assistance.

Objectives of the workshop were to make an initial 

assessment of the nature, scope, and availability of 

earth and water resource data; to identify potential 

geologic hazards in the region; to identify opportunities for resource development and hazards mitigation; to identify those factors that might inhibit resource development; and to identify those programs 

needed to further appropriate development. Representation included Belizean, Guatemalan, Honduran, 

Salvadoran, Costa Rican, and Panamanian governmental agencies concerned with earth and water resources and geologic hazards, the Inter-American Development Bank, and geoscience and resource 

development specialists from the U.S. Department of 

the Interior.

110
The workshop met in plenary session for the first 2 

days, during which time Central American representatives presented assessments of the state and needs 

for mineral, energy, and water resource development 

and hazards mitigation in each of their countries and 

representatives of the Department of the Interior 

(Bureau of Mines, Bureau of Reclamation, and the 

Geological Survey) presented topical papers on a 

broad range of resource development subjects. Representatives subsequently participated in discussion 

groups, each chaired by a Central American representative, to determine regional and local needs for 

development. Although recommendations of the discussion groups ranged widely, all agreed upon the 

following:

 Need for training (both for professional growth 

and for basic academic instruction) conducted 

chiefly within the region and preferably at the 

Central American School of Geology, University 

of Costa Rica;

 Utilization of ICAITI as a unique Central American center for geoscience and related technology; and

 Centralization of all earth science activities within 

each of the participating Central American 

countries into one institution in each nation.

The most important recommendations presented by 

individual discussion groups on the final day of the 

conference were as follows.

Geologic Framework Studies

 Conduct geologic mapping within each country as 

a base for assessment, exploration, and development of mineral, energy, and water resources 

as well as mitigation of geologic hazards.

 Place in an archive context (ICAITI) all available 

geophysical and geochemical data.

 Produce derivative maps as appropriate for both 

nongeological and geological users.

Geologic Hazards

 Construct a seismic net where one does not now 

exist in Central America and establish a regional seismological association.

 Map all known faults and volcanoes and survey 

landslide/mudflow potential in the region as a 

preliminary step in geologic risk assessment.

 Convene meetings of directors of geologic hazards 

agencies to coordinate activities and consider 

requests for assistance from outside the region.

Water-Resource Management

 Undertake an assessment of the region for surface- and ground-water resources, including 

quality, and establish a regional information 

center and a hydrological association.

 Analyze extreme events to develop statistical tools 

for prediction of maximum and minimum flow 

in ungaged areas.

 Conduct assessments for rural water supply, small 

irrigation, and low-head hydropower projects.

Mineral-Resources Assessment

 Promote technology transfer in updated assessment methodologies.

 Assess development requirements in each country, 

encourage searches in unprospected areas, and 

create an information center accessible by both 

private and public sectors.

Regional Energy Resources Assessment

 Establish a regional energy resources laboratory 

with appropriate equipment.

 Conduct training for personnel involved in technology transfer and management of energy resource programs.

Future of Exploration in Central America

 Prepare a regional geologic map and a stratigraphic lexicon for each country.

 Designate energy resources, gold and silver, platinum family minerals, nickel, and heavy mineral placers as high priorities.

 Provide technical advice to executive governmental levels throughout the region to formulate 

mining codes.

Training, Technology Transfer, and Information 

Management

 Define national and regional goals in all earth science disciplines.

 Centralize library information on the geosciences 

at the chief university in each country or develop a shared regional library.

The Geological Survey's assistance in the geosciences to the countries of Central America is a continuation of long-established and enduring ties to the 

region. Some countries have a highly developed geoscience discipline, and basic geologic data have been

111
collected to assess mineral, energy, and water resources. Other countries have few trained personnel, 

and little information has been assembled for assessments. The role of the Geological Survey in these latter cases will be to cooperatively determine priorities 

for short-term geoscience projects and to assist the 

foreign governmental agencies in preparation of suitable proposals to support those priorities.

Global Resources

The Geological Survey conducts research on foreign energy and mineral resources in order to increase the number of analogs available for assessing 

domestic potential and to assess the foreign potential 

available to satisfy domestic and world needs for 

these resources. During 1985, using both appropriated and reimbursable funds, Geological Survey scientists continued their studies of foreign energy resources through the World Energy Resources 

Program; compiled and exchanged geologic and mineral economic information on the world's major mineral deposits in the International Strategic Mineral 

Inventory; and topically studied selected world-class 

mineral deposits. The Geological Survey also provided training and support for reporting of foreign 

mineral data in the State Department Regional Resource Officer Program.

World Energy Resources Program

Because the World Energy Resources Program was 

not funded in fiscal year 1985, studies were limited 

to areas of reimbursable contract and to completion 

of in-progress scientific publications. Activities included:

 Update study of Barents Sea and surrounding 

lands. New drilling reports from the Norwegians plus a field trip to Svalbard permitted 

significant new understanding.

 Basin studies of western China provided the first 

modern English-language synthesis of the general geology and petroleum geology of this vast 

area.

 Basin studies from Chinese, Russian, and English 

literature initiated in eastern China.

 Completion for publication of a report on studies 

of the petroleum geology of south Asia, including Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, 

and Burma.

 Completion for publication of a report on updated 

studies of Indonesia.

 Completion for publication of a report on studies 

of eastern Siberia that provided the first English language synthesis of the petroleum geology of that region.

International Strategic Mineral 

Inventory (ISMI)

This inventory, a cooperative undertaking of six 

industrialized countries, has as its goal the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information on 

major world deposits of selected strategic mineral 

commodities. By cooperating in this effort, earthscience and mineral-resource agencies from Australia, Canada, Germany, South Africa, the United 

Kingdom, and the United States are able to obtain 

reliable information on production, reserves, and 

identified resources of major mineral deposits in 

order to improve the basis for sound mineral-policy 

decisions. At the same time, participation in the 

ISMI allows countries to avoid a great deal of duplication of effort and to encourage scientific exchange 

between mineral-commodity specialists. The United 

States representation in the ISMI is by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines. Some 

recent activities include:

New Worldwide Directory

The U.S. Geological Survey has issued as Circular 934 a new edition of 

the Worldwide Directory of National Earth-Science Agencies and Related 

International Organizations. The publication lists national earth-science 

agencies for 160 countries and 87 international organizations that are concerned with one or more of the earth sciences. This 102-page directory provides the name, address, and, if available, the name of the chief administrator of more than 900 major governmental earth-science agencies that have 

functions similar to those of the U.S. Geological Survey; each agency is 

coded as to its major functions: geologic, hydrologic, cartographic, or regulatory.

112
 ISMI summary reports were published on manganese, chromium, and phosphate as Geological 

Survey Circulars 930-A, 930-B, and 930-C. 

These circulars contain summary tables of location, geologic, resources, and production data 

collected for all deposits in the inventory as 

well as maps, graphs, and text that summarize 

the data.

 The fifth meeting of the ISMI Working Group was 

held in September 1984, at Perth, Western Australia. Initial work on compilation and summary reports for cobalt, graphite, and vanadium was reviewed. Field visits to nickel, gold, 

aluminum, titanium sands, and tin/tantalum 

deposits were arranged as part of the meeting.

 Data records for manganese, chromium, and

nickel deposits from the ISMI were added to the 

Geological Survey Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS).

 The ISMI summary report for nickel was completed and scheduled for publication in late 

1985 or early 1986.

 Work was started on compilation of platinumgroup-element, titanium, and tungsten records.

 The sixth ISMI Working Group meeting was held 

in St. Ives, Cornwall, England, in October 1985.

Cooperative Energy Resource 

Investigations

During fiscal year 1985, the following energy resource investigations produced significant results:

 Geological Survey analyses of material from Saudi 

Arabia verified that the Kingdom has a subbituminous coal deposit similar to a coalified log 

from Utah. This discovery provides the impetus 

for expanding exploration in Saudi Arabia to locate ancient interchannel or deltaic swamps 

that might contain sizable coal beds.

 In the Philippines, the Geological Survey determined that Semirara Island, off the coast of the 

Island of Mindoro, contains adequately large 

minable reserves of coal of acceptable quality to 

support a conversion of the Sucat electric generating station near Manila on the Island of Luzon from imported fuel oil to coal-water-mix 

(CWM) fuel. The coal assessment was done as 

part of an AID-funded project to determine the 

feasibility of introducing CWM fuels to the 

Philippines.

 CWM fuel technology is considered commercial 

in the United States and other developed countries. The project results are highly positive: 

the coal supply is adequate, formulation of a

CWM fuel is feasible, and estimates of economic 

and financial benefits and return on investments are impressive. Coal in most of the developing countries of the world is low rank (lignite or subbituminous). The CWM fuel for 

electricity generation as developed for the 

Philippines may have widespread applications 

to other nations.

During the last 3 years, a program of technical assistance in coal-resources assessment has been 

carried on by the Geological Survey with Costa 

Rica in cooperation with the Gerencia de Exploracion de Refmadora Costarricense de Petroleo 

(RECOPE) and under the auspices of the 

Agency for International Development (AID). 

General reconnaissance was done in nine areas 

where coal had been reported. Six of these 

areas received surface geologic studies. Surface 

exploration, drilling, and bore hole geophysical 

logging are being done in two of the six areas. 

Because the coal exploration program received 

publicity in the national media, citizens reported two more areas of coal occurrence; one of 

these areas is now receiving geologic reconnaissance study. Technology transfer and on-the-job 

training of RECOPE counterparts were primary 

elements of the technical assistance program 

that terminated at the end of fiscal year 1985, 

and several Costa Rican counterparts can now 

carry on coal-resource assessments. More than 

20 drill holes have been completed, and core 

samples needed for quality determinations have 

been obtained. Approximately 15 to 17 million 

tons of coal have been estimated in four coal 

beds of primary interest in an intensely studied 

area. The estimate will be formally reported to 

AID along with results of laboratory analyses. 

The data will be used in determining mining 

feasibility for development of the coal resources 

in this area.

Mineral Deposit Investigations

World-class mineral deposits studied during fiscal 

year 1985 included:

 South African nickel and platinum deposits to 

serve as models for exploration of deposits in 

Mesozoic basins of the Eastern United States.

 Potentially major nickel deposits in the High 

Atlas Mountains of Mauritania as alternative 

foreign sources and as analogies for similar deposits in Mesozoic basins of the Eastern United 

States.

 Titanium-bearing sands along the southeast and

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west coasts of Africa as alternate sources of this 

strategic mineral.

 Poly metallic sulfide deposits of the Semail Nappe, 

Oman, as alternate source and as analogy to 

submarine deposits in the United States Exclusive Economic Zone of Gorda Ridge in the 

Pacific Ocean.

 Massive sulfide deposits of the Green Tuff Belt of 

Japan, classic localities for Kuroko-type ore deposits that occur in volcanic belts in the United 

States, especially in Alaska.

 Electrical conductivity studies in Saudi Arabia 

identified a potentially mineralized area that 

will be further investigated using geophysical 

techniques and drilling. Result of these studies 

may make it possible to develop and define conceptual ore-occurrence models that could be extrapolated to other areas.

 Epithermal gold and other mineral deposits of 

Papua New Guinea that are newly developing 

and potentially very large sources for precious 

and other metals.

Training Program

Under the State Department Regional Resource 

Officer Program, the Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines share responsibility for obtaining information and reporting on domestic and foreign 

mineral resources. The Survey focuses on resource 

potential and exploration, whereas the Bureau seeks 

to document identified reserves and exploitation. Foreign data is obtained largely through periodic reports 

from American Embassies in mineral-producing 

countries. Nine embassies, in key mineral countries, 

have Regional Resource Officers with primary responsibility for resource reporting. In other embassies, economic officers provide mineral data as an 

additional duty. The Departments of State and Interior agreed in 1983 to strengthen foreign mineral reporting through a cooperative program of training, 

review of candidates for resource officer positions, 

and review of resource officer posts. Since that time 

the Geological Survey and Bureau of Mines have arranged for and provided instruction in the geology, 

engineering, and economics of mineral resources for 

newly assigned resource officers. The Geological Survey's portion of this training includes participation 

by commodity geologists to explain needs for mineral 

intelligence and to conduct field trips for examination of mines and exploration areas in the Western 

United States. Geological Survey and Bureau of 

Mines mineral experts have also provided instruction 

to resource officers and economic officers at meetings 

held yearly on a rotational basis in one of the major

regions of the world. Recent meetings were held in 

1984 for the Asian region in Phuket, Thailand, and 

in 1985 for the African region in Harare, Zimbabwe. 

Additional efforts to strengthen the reporting program include plans to have Geological Survey mineral experts and State Department resource officers 

visit and jointly prepare reports on selected foreign 

mineral deposits and districts.

Under an agreement with the Ministry of 

Agriculture and Water, the Kingdom of Saudi 

Arabia, the Geological Survey's Water Resources Division continues to define the 

availability and quality of ground and surface 

waters of the Kingdom, stressing modern methods of data storage, retrieval, and analysis, 

while training Saudi nationals in these methods. A major effort in data synthesis has culminated in the publication of the bilingual "Water 

Atlas of Saudi Arabia."

Significance of Agricultural Minerals in 

Relief of Starvation

Geological Survey scientists cooperated with geoscientists from the United States' private and public 

sectors and from foreign countries in research on 

agricultural minerals (phosphate, zeolite, potash). 

Chief objectives of the work were to discover new and 

improved methods of identifying agricultural minerals essential to increased agricultural production and 

to teach these methods to geoscientists in the lesser 

developed countries. Significant results of this research included the following:

 Ability to rapidly map potential zeolite-bearing 

rocks, which are soil and feed amendments, by 

using Landsat Thematic Mapper spectral data;

 Identification, using remote-sensing methods, of 

spectral signatures that distinguish various zeolites;

 Initiation of studies in the development of spectral 

signatures that would allow mapping of phosphate rock, a basic raw material for fertilizer, 

in areas of light vegetation; and

 Initiation of studies in the development of remotesensing methods of mapping zeolite-bearing 

rocks in heavily vegetated terrane.

The Geological Survey sponsored three international phosphate-agricultural minerals symposia/ 

workshops to exchange results of research and to encourage exploration for agricultural minerals in 

developing countries. Two workshops were held

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under the auspices of the International Geological 

Correlation Project No. 156, Phosphates, in 

Greenville, N.C., under the joint sponsorship by the 

East Carolina University. During the first, July 

9-13, 1984, discussions by delegates from Colombia, 

Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, and the United States focused on the potential for phosphates in Central 

America and the Caribbean Basin. The second workshop, May 6-17, 1985, included a field trip along the 

Atlantic phosphate belt as far south as Florida. This 

workshop focused on newly developed theory in phosphate deposit models and included a week-long training session on techniques for phosphate exploration. 

Potential for phosphate, zeolite, and potash resources 

was also a major discussion topic during the Central 

American workshop in Guatemala, April 21-27, 

1985.

The Geological Survey continues to train geoscientists from developing countries in exploration for 

agricultural minerals in the belief that a most effective remedy for worldwide hunger is to increase agricultural productivity through the transfer of appropriate technology and the use of materials and skills 

indigenous to the developing countries.

Investigating the Hydrocarbon and 

Mineral Resources of the 

Southwest Pacific

By Florence L. Wong and H. Gary Greene

Under a Tripartite Agreement with Australia, 

New Zealand, and the United States in cooperation 

with the United Nations-sponsored Committee for 

Coordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral Resources in South Pacific Offshore Areas (CCOP/ 

SOPAC), the Geological Survey completed over 

10,800 miles of data collection from aboard the R/V 

Samuel P. Lee during 1984. The resulting data has 

contributed greatly to the volume of knowledge about 

the basic framework geology, the hydrocarbon and 

mineral resource potential, and the geologic hazards 

in a tectonically complex region. In this region, the 

Australia-India plate is being subducted beneath the 

Pacific plate along a sinuous boundary between 

Papua New Guinea and Tonga, which gives rise to a 

series of island arcs and associated trenches that are 

sites of major deposition and magmatic hydrothermal 

mineralization.

Approximate route of the Research Vessel Samuel P. Lee during 

the 1984 survey under a Tripartite Agreement with Australia 

and New Zealand, in cooperation with the Committee for Coordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral Resources in South 

Pacific Offshore Areas sponsored by the United Nations.

140° 145° 150° 155° 160° 165° 170° 175° 180° 175° 170°

10°

15°

20°

25°

30°

SOLOMON 

ISLANDS

!PAPUAN I NEW ' 

'GUINEA

SOUTH TOKELAU 

PACIFIC ISLANDS

TUVALU OCEAN

SAMOA 

ISLANDS

,' VANUATU 

V ISLANDS

LOYALTY 

° ISLANDS

^ FIJI

vj . ISLANDS

TONGA 

ISLANDS

AUSTRALIA

115
The 1984 survey of the Tonga Ridge found a southward continuation of the thick sedimentary wedge 

overlying the ridge platform that was delineated during a 1982 survey. The existence of an extensive 

(greater than 66 miles long) magma chamber beneath the Valu Fa Ridge, 264 miles west of the 

Tonga Ridge, was confirmed. Sampling over the Valu 

Fa Ridge produced anomalously warm water and 

warm sediment at the sea bottom, suggesting that 

this may be a site of base-metal mineralization. The 

geometry and chronology of the separation of Lau 

Ridge from Tonga Ridge and the boundary of the 

southern Lau Basin with the Hunter fracture zone 

also were addressed during this survey. All of the 

data gathered are contributing to our understanding 

of arc-island tectonics, to determining the age, evolution, and extent of the as-yet-unexplored marginal 

sedimentary basins, and to assessing the hydrocarbon and mineral potential of the Tonga Ridge.

In Vanuatu, new data were acquired on the geology of the shallow- and deep-water sedimentary 

basins that were defined in the previous surveys. The 

newly named Vanikolo basin, which straddles northern Vanuatu and the southeastern Solomon Islands, 

is a likely area for further hydrocarbon exploration.

Significant data were collected about hazards, deposition, and mineralization in a volcanically active 

area in the offshore area of eastern Epi Island. The 

contact of the D'Entrecasteaux fracture zone with the 

New Hebrides trench is characterized by basinal or

abyssal plain sediments in the west, an accretionary 

wedge in the central area, and volcanic units in the 

east.

Surveys in the Solomon Islands and Papua New 

Guinea refined our information on the limits of sedimentary basins and improved the correlation of onshore and offshore geology. Trench-fill sediments 

northeast of Bougainville and the tectonic relation of 

the oceanic basement of Ontong Java Plateau to the 

inner wall of the Kilinailau Trench were examined.

A repeat survey of Rabaul Harbour, Papua New 

Guinea, aided the Rabaul Volcanological Observatory 

in monitoring the current magma activity and deformation. In the past year, several emergency alerts 

for volcanic eruptions that threatened nearby communities were issued.

The combination of the 1982 and 1984 surveys will 

give us more information about hydrocarbon resources in geologically young volcanic regions that 

have received little attention, but which may be a 

major economic resource for the developing Pacific island nations. These surveys have been funded by the 

U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Australian Development Assistance Bureau, and the New Zealand Ministry of 

Foreign Affairs, External Aid Division. The surveys 

have been staffed by an international team of geologists, geophysicists, and technicians led by co-chief 

scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, CCOP/ 

SOP AC, and the funding nations.

116
Administrative Division

Mission

The Administrative Division provides continuing administrative direction and 

coordination to the support service aspects of the scientific, research, and technical programs of the U.S. Geological Survey. These administrative services include such essential functions as financial management, personnel services, procurement activities, property and space management, management analysis and 

improvement efforts, safety and occupational health, and administrative systems 

management.

Budget and Personnel

The cost of the central administrative services provided to the U.S. Geological 

Survey by the Administrative Division totaled about $25 million in fiscal year 

1985. Division staffing consisted of about 475 employees. These employees are located primarily at the Reston, Va., headquarters and two Regional Management 

Offices in Denver, Colo., and Menlo Park, Calif.

Program Highlights

Consistent with the objective of Reform '88 and other governmentwide initiatives, in 1985 the Administrative Division continued its strong emphasis on improving the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of Geological Survey administrative operations. Indicative of a "do more with less" approach, the Division 

streamlined its field structure with the abolition of its Eastern Region Management Office and the assumption of its functions by headquarters staff in the Administrative Division. Through automation and other improvement programs 

such as those highlighted below, the Division was able to maintain high quality 

and responsive administrative support services despite workload increases.

Automation of Services

Payroll/Personnel System

During fiscal year 1985, the Administrative Division coordinated the completion 

of the Geological Survey's conversion to the Department of the Interior's single integrated payroll/personnel system (PAY/PERS). Conversion to a single system 

effected a more efficient administrative system by eliminating costs incurred for

117
duplicate systems development, maintenance, and 

operation. The PAY/PERS system performs a full 

range of payroll and personnel functions, calculating 

and reporting, automated reporting, and query capabilities. An evaluation is now underway to improve 

operation of the system within the Geologial Survey 

to best meet the Bureau's specific needs. This effort is 

focusing on streamlining timekeeping, personnel, and 

payroll front-end processing systems and procedures, 

and on enhancing the PAY/PERS reporting and query 

capabilities.

productivity due to improved quality, accuracy, and 

timeliness of information.

Microcomputers receive summary budget data from 

the mainframe for further analysis through the use 

of spreadsheet technologies. New capabilities have 

been established to report planned obligations by 

program element against actual obligations and perform trend analysis, forecasting, and modeling. Results are reported in tabular and graphics form to 

provide a clearer picture of the budget to 

management.

Personnel Action Requests

The Geological Survey is serving as the Department of the Interior's principal architect in designing 

and developing an automated Personnel Action System (PAS). The Administrative Division, with the assistance of the Information Systems Division, is 

undertaking this task. The system will automate the 

Personnel Action Request process, from the initiation 

of a Request through its review and approval and its 

final transmission to the Department's PAY/PERS 

system. The net effects of this automated system will 

be to expedite the process and to acquire more accurate and complete personnel information. Important 

features of the PAS will include the capability of 

providing up-to-date information on Personnel Action 

Requests, producing management reports, and expanding to include other personnel applications. Systems analyses, design, and a majority of the programs providing for the electronic transmission of 

information to the servicing personnel offices were 

completed in fiscal year 1985. The complete system is 

scheduled to become fully operational within the Geological Survey in fiscal year 1986. The Department 

then will assess its application to other bureaus.

Budget Information Management System

The Budget Information Management System 

(BIMS) is an automated system providing bureau 

managers at all levels of the organization vital budget information in real time. This system was developed by the Administrative Division and became 

fully operational in fiscal year 1985. The BIMS takes 

advantage of the Geological Survey's mainframe data 

base management system for interactive data entry, 

updating, and querying, and it interfaces with the 

conventional files of the Financial Management System. BIMS users have experienced reduced error 

rates for data entry, increased capability to respond 

rapidly to funding fluctuations, and an increase in

Geological Survey Records Management 

Program Commended

The National Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA) has cited the Geological Survey's records 

disposition scheduling program as "outstanding" in 

its April 1985 Report to Congress. In commenting on 

key records management improvements in the report, officially titled Fiscal Year 1984 Report to Congress on the Records Disposition Activities of the Federal Government, NARA highlighted efforts 

authorizing disposition of nearly 20,000 cubic feet of 

Water Resources Division streamflow, water quality, 

and other records in the Federal Records Centers. 

This is just one example of the strides the Geological 

Survey has made over the last 3 years in managing 

its records in all of its divisions. The commendation 

is a direct reflection of the collaborative efforts between the Administrative Division and the program 

divisions.

Procurement

Whether in personnel, financial, records management, or any of its other programs, in fiscal year 

1985 the Administrative Division again demonstrated that it plays a key and essential role in direct 

support of the Geological Survey's earth science missions. Several significant contract awards in 1985 reflected, for example, the procurement and contracting 

contribution in this regard:

 Two contracts for development and production of 

digital mapping techniques, funded by the Defense Mapping Agency. These contracts provide 

for first-time-ever production of maps through 

digital technology.

 GEONET this contract provides a nationwide network for transmission of Geological Survey data 

through telecommunications systems. The estimated 5-year life cycle cost of this contract is

118
$20 million, representing a 30 percent savings 

over previous costs. Currently in use throughout 

the Geological Survey, the network is also available to other Department of the Interior bureaus 

and offices.

Award of a contract to provide and install earthquake monitoring equipment in the first seismic 

station in Antarctica. Installation is scheduled 

for the upcoming summer season in Antarctica. 

When operational, this station will become part 

of the U.S. Geological Survey Global Telemetered Seismic Network.

Colocation of U.S. Geological Survey 

Offices, Anchorage, Alaska

February 1985 marked the realization of a longstanding goal of the U.S. Geological Survey to colocate primary activities of the program divisions in 

Anchorage, Alaska. This was achieved by establishing a Geological Survey "earth science center" on the 

Alaska Pacific University campus.

The Branch of Alaskan Geology of the Geologic Division occupied Gould Hall on the Alaska Pacific 

University campus in November 1981. Relocation of 

activities of the National Mapping and Water Resources Divisions to a new facility adjacent to Gould 

Hall was completed in January 1985. Arrangements 

for construction and leasing of the new building, 

which was dedicated in February, involved cooperation between officials of the University, the General 

Services Administration, and the Geological Survey.

Housing our activities together sets the stage for a 

more cohesive approach in carrying out our mission 

in Alaska, including interdisciplinary research essential to solving a wide range of geotechnical problems 

found in the far north.

Colocation will be more convenient to visitors to 

Geological Survey offices and will result in cost savings from mutual use of supporting resources such as 

laboratories, data processing equipment, and technical files. The campus location also affords the added 

advantage of interaction with faculty and students of 

Alaska Pacific University and the adjacent Anchorage campus of the University of Alaska, as well as 

convenient access to the consortium library maintained by the schools.

119
120
Information Systems Division

Mission

The Information Systems Division provides support and advice to the Director 

of the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of the Interior, other government 

agencies, and the other Divisions of the Geological Survey on all matters relating 

to information technology and automated data processing. It provides these services, along with acquisition assistance, for users of large general-purpose computers, smaller special-purpose computers, and telecommunications. The Division 

provides for coordination and improvement of information systems through systems analysis and design and conducts research into better ways to use data 

processing technology to solve mission-related problems. It is responsible for 

guidelines for data standards, data administration, data-base management, 

telecommunications, and computer operations.

Information Systems Division 

Reorganization

During fiscal year 1985 the Information Systems Division completed a major 

reorganization. This reorganization was prompted by the need to provide better 

service and to respond to rapid technological changes that have had a direct and 

decided bearing on Geological Survey information systems applications. Over the 

last several years the Geological Survey has experienced a significant change 

from centralized mainframe computer operations toward end-user computing and 

distributed processing using mainframe computers, minicomputers, and microcomputers.

The color shaded relief map of the Southwestern United 

States was created from digital topographic data of 

1:250,000-scale quadrangles obtained from the National 

Cartographic Information Center. The four-State mosaic 

contains 42 quadrangles to cover Arizona, 59 for California, 

28 for Utah, and 33 for Nevada. After mosaicking, seams 

were removed on the edges between quadrangles to smooth 

over some bad data on the boundaries. Certain elevation 

ranges have been set to specific colors. The digital topographic model was used to produce a shaded relief image 

that has a given sun direction and elevation, which enhance 

the localized topography. Scale is approximately 

1:5,700,000.

121
Information Systems Division

Chief 

Associate Chief

Office of Customer Services

Branches

Applied Technology 

Acquisition Support 

Technology Assessment 

Technology Information

Office of Computer and 

Communications Services

Branches

Communication Services 

Computer Services

Office of Management 

Services

Branches

Management Information 

Budget and Adminstration

Policy Planning and 

Coordination

Office of Field Services

Denver, CO 

Menlo Park, CA 

Flagstaff, AZ

Specific goals of the reorganization are to better 

use recently acquired telecommunications resources, 

to strengthen support for field customers, to give 

greater attention to long-range automatic data processing and telecommunications planning, to disseminate current technical information, and to more efficiently deliver services to the U.S. Geological Survey 

and other customers.

Budget and Personnel

The Information Systems Division had a budget of 

$18.5 million for fiscal year 1985. This reimbursable 

program was funded by providing services to other 

U.S. Geological Survey Divisions and Department of 

the Interior and Federal agency customers. Division 

staffing consisted of 143 full-time employees, primarily computer specialists, computer analysts, mathematicians, computer scientists, systems programmers, and computer technicians. The staff was 

augmented by part-time and intermittent employees 

and contract computer operations personnel who assisted in fulfilling the mission of the Division. These 

employees served customers from four ADP service 

centers nationwide: Reston, Va., Denver, Colo., 

Menlo Park, Calif., and Flagstaff, Ariz.

Highlights

Telecommunications

By Jim Hott

Changes in the telecommunications industry significantly affected the Geological Survey in fiscal 

year 1985. Charges from telecommunications companies continued to rise, and maintenance of the antiquated voice equipment in Reston and Menlo Park 

was very costly and difficult to obtain. To counter 

these developments, the Geological Survey acquired 

new voice systems in Reston, Va., and Menlo Park, 

Calif., and a new nationwide data communications 

network (GEONET).

Voice Communications

A contract was awarded on September 6, 1984, to 

Rolm, Inc., for a series digital private automatic 

branch exchange that will be installed in Reston at 

4,000 voice and data stations and in Menlo Park at 

3,000 voice and data stations. Key features of the 

new systems are:

 digital technology (voice digitized at the handset);

 simultaneous transmission of voice and data over 

the same wiring;

 touchtone service;

 data transmission up to 56,000 bits per second;

 least-cost routing, which selects the least-cost link 

to the desired destination;

 single line concept so that each station is responsible for answering its phone;

 integrated voice store and forward system 

(PhoneMail);

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 data interface to GEONET; and

 local area network switching capabilities.

These systems will provide the Geological Survey 

with significant cost savings, better quality service, 

and easier maintained equipment with less energy 

consumption. Installation will be completed in early 

1986 at both locations.

Data Communications

A contract was awarded to Tymnet, Inc., on May 7, 

1985, for a nationwide data communications network 

capability called GEONET. The contract included a 

private subnetwork to initially link 73 host computers; public data network support to permit access 

from locations not served by the private subnetwork; 

a network control center owned and operated by a 

contractor; and many other services such as personnel support, electronic mail, data communicating 

equipment, training, and documentation. GEONET 

will replace most of the existing Geological Survey 

data communications network facilities and will support Survey needs for the next 5 years. This service 

has inherent flexibility for expansion and offers the 

major communications software used today. The private network permits fixed-cost communication between the terminals and computers attached to it.

GEONET will be expanded to support other Department of the Interior bureaus. The Geological 

Survey was designated as the lead bureau in the acquisition of data communications services for the Department of the Interior. Eventual use by other Departmental bureaus will provide significant savings 

on a nationwide basis. The Department will also test 

the feasibility of a single, departmentwide electronic 

message system, a service provided under the 

GEONET contract.

The computing resources of the Geological Survey 

are being made accessible to any authorized user no 

matter where that user or that resource is located, 

and any form of public domain information on any of 

the computers connected to GEONET will be readily 

available for retrieval.

Improved Computer Facilities

The Information Systems Division has provided automatic data processing facilities and services to the 

U.S. Geological Survey and other bureaus within the 

Department of the Interior since 1966. In fiscal year 

1985, the Division moved its computer and telecommunications equipment and services to a new location within the National Center. The improved

facility offers support for both scientific and administrative applications; fast, reliable service responsive 

to user needs; a telecommunications network linking 

Survey computers nationwide; a center-wide uninterruptible power supply that provides continuous service in the event of power fluctuations or failure; and 

improved physical security.

Equipment available in the new facility includes 

two large mainframe computers an Amdahl 470/V7 

and an Amdahl 470/V8 running the MVS/SP operating system with a UNIX operating system to be 

added, 40 billion bytes of online disk storage, 9-track 

tape drives with recording density up to 6,250 bits 

per inch, 2,250 and 3,000 line per minute printers, 

network and local communications support for both 

asynchronous and synchronous protocols, a Calcomp 

high speed drum plotter, and a VAX 11/780 minicomputer running VMS.

General purpose software available includes interactive processing, data-base management systems, 

statistical packages, programming languages, graphics software, and mainframe to microcomputer linkage.

Services provided by the new facility include a secured area for printouts; contracts for data preparation, microform processing, and offsite data storage; 

tape and disk management; operations support for 

several other user-maintained systems; and user assistance in computer graphics, telecommunications, 

and general purpose software.

Earth Science Data Dictionary

By Tom Ciciarelli

The Information Systems Division developed and 

maintains the Earth Science Data Directory, an online computer directory providing referral to, and 

information about, data sources related to earth science. The directory is currently in use at all Geological Survey Public Inquiries Offices and National Cartographic Information Centers.

When developed in 1981, the Earth Science Data 

Directory contained only references to Geological 

Survey data sources. In time, references to holdings 

from several other Department of the Interior bureaus were added. During the past year, the directory was improved to accommodate descriptions of 

data holdings from State agencies as well. The new 

directory, containing information from the Geological 

Survey, Bureau of Land Management, Minerals 

Management Service, and five States, was demonstrated at the annual meeting of the American Association of State Geologists in Mystic, Conn. The presentation of the directory was favorably received at

123
the meeting, and a number of States expressed an interest in providing information about their data 

sources for inclusion in the directory. Efforts are 

underway to arrange for their participation. In addition, plans to obtain participation by more Federal 

agencies are underway.

The objective of the Earth Science Data Directory 

is to identify, locate, and make available information 

about earth science data sets maintained by State 

and Federal agencies by developing a comprehensive 

directory to improve access to existing data within 

the earth science community, thus reducing data collection costs and providing opportunities for information sharing.

The directory resides on a mainframe computer in 

Reston, Va., and is accessible remotely by a variety 

of computer terminals. The data are thoroughly 

cross-referenced to permit keyword-embedded string 

and range searches, keyword browse, geographical 

area searches, and more. The computer directory is 

easy to access so that even first-time users can successfully retrieve data.

Some examples of how the directory can assist 

users are in determining locations of potential 

ground-water problems, securing information about 

geologic hazards such as landslides and fracture 

zones, conducting geomorphic studies of features such 

as glacial deposits, and ascertaining land use and 

land cover applications associated with wetland and 

vegetation types.

Image Processing Techniques Applied 

to Georges Bank Fishing Dispute

By Ellen Sanchez

In fiscal year 1985 the World Court in The Hague, 

with the help of the Geological Survey, settled a 

boundary dispute between the United States and 

Canada over fishing rights in the vicinity of Georges 

Bank. Georges Bank is an extremely rich fishing 

area of the Atlantic Ocean off the northeastern 

United States and southeastern Canada. The Canadian claim for rights was based on the visible coastline, while the United States' position was based on 

the bathymetry, or ocean floor topography, which is 

not directly visible. The United States needed a way 

to clearly show the topography. The Information Systems Division's Flagstaff ADP Service Center, with 

other Government agencies, used bathymetry data 

recorded on computer tape by latitude, longitude, and 

depth in tenths of meters to produce imagery showing the Continental Shelf from Cape Charles, Va., to 

the northeastern end of Nova Scotia. The image processing techniques used in this display of bathymetric 

data can be applied to any type of continuous data, 

such as topography, magnetics, or gravity. The techniques do not interpret data, but they do make it 

easier for the observer to do so. In ruling on the dispute, the Court gave the United States 61 percent of 

Georges Bank; however, Canada received a valuable 

spawning area and two lobster sections.

Image of Georges Bank produced by the Flagstaff Image 

Processing Group to clearly show the area's topography.

124
Technology Information Center in Denver

By Louise Nichols

The Information Systems Division operates four 

computer technology information centers, one at 

Reston, Va., headquarters, and the others at the field 

centers in Menlo Park, Calif., Flagstaff, Ariz., and 

Denver, Colo. The primary purpose of the technology 

information centers is to provide a place where employees can obtain information and help with the information management aspects of the Geological Survey programs.

The Geological Survey has always been a leader in 

the use of computers within the government. This began with large-scale computers in the mid-1960's and 

has continued over the years with minicomputers 

and now microcomputers. With the rapid evolution of 

microcomputers and their application to information 

management, there is a need to provide a new type 

of service to present and potential computer users. 

The technology information centers address this 

need.

The Denver center is based on the successful center in Reston but serves a larger audience, both geographically the States of the Central Region and 

organizationally all Department of the Interior 

agencies in the region. To ensure that the center will 

be a valuable resource to all those it serves, an interagency committee provides ideas, review, and publicity for center activities. In addition, center personnel 

actively solicit information from customers about 

areas in which the center can provide a service.

The center has microcomputers, printers, plotters, 

and a wide variety of programs for customers to use. 

Training is provided as required and includes workshops, short demonstrations, videotape programs, and 

computer-aided instruction. Experts are available to 

answer questions about new devices and methods, to 

provide comparisons between products, and to make 

recommendations. Technical and procedural help is 

offered in acquiring all types of automatic data processing equipment and services.

The following services are provided:

 Consultation on information management 

problems suggestions, alternatives, 

and recommendations on procedures, 

methods, hardware 

(machines or devices), software, and 

data communications.

 Hardware to use microcomputers; dot 

matrix, letter quality, and color printers; color plotter; 

desktop digitizer.

 Software packages and 

programs to use 

language compilers; 

spreadsheet, word 

processing, data base 

management, graphics, statistics, communications, and 

project management 

programs.

Programming assistance for large and 

small computers, in 

many computer languages such as FORTRAN, PL/1, BASIC, 

and Pascal.

Data communications setting up 

communications 

links (from several 

feet to many miles 

in distance) between 

computers of all 

sizes, transferring 

information between 

the same or different 

types of equipment.

Microcomputer and 

other equipment installation and failure diagnosis setting up a system, 

trouble-shooting, 

performing minor repairs.

Automatic data processing procurement technical advice; assistance in 

completing the 

paperwork; information on policy, rules, 

and regulations.

Training introduction 

to computers; comparison of programs 

for areas such as 

data base management, word processing, graphics, or 

statistics; workshops 

on a specific program; videotapes on 

general ADP topics.

Reference library 

technical journals, 

magazines, newspapers, handbooks, 

and books with 

hardware and software specifications 

and comparisons.

125
ORGANIZATION OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

U.S. Department of the Interior

ASSISTANT DIRECTORS

Engineering Geology

Programs

Administration

Research

Information Systems

Intergovernmental Affairs

DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

STAFF OFFICES

Washington Liaison 

Equal Employment Opportunity 

Congressional Liaison 

Public Affairs

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION

Chief 

Deputy Chief

Branches

Financial Management

Administrative Services

Systems Management

Personnel

Procurement and Contracts

GEOLOGIC DIVISION

Chief Geologist

Associate Chief Geologist

Associate Chief Geologist for Program

Management Offices

Central-Denver, CO 

Western-Menlo Park, CA

Office of Scientific Publications

Branches

Eastern Technical Reports 

Central Technical Reports 

Western Technical Reports 

Library and Information Services

Office of Mineral Resources

Branches

Alaskan Geology 

Western Mineral Resources 

Central Mineral Resources 

Eastern Mineral Resources 

Exploration Geochemistry 

Geophysics 

Analytical Chemistry 

Resource Analysis

Office of Energy and Marine Geology

Branches

Coal Resources 

Oil and Gas Resources 

Energy Minerals 

Pacific Marine 

Atlantic Marine

Assistant Chief Geologists

Eastern Region 

Central Region 

Western Region

Office of International Geology

Office of Regional Geology

Branches

Western Regional Geology 

Central Regional Geology 

Eastern Regional Geology 

Isotope Geology 

Paleontology and Stratigraphy 

Astrogeology

Office of Earthquakes 

Volcanoes and Engineering

Branches

Tectonophysics 

Engineering Seismology and

Geology 

Seismology 

Engineering Geology and

Tectonics 

Global Seismology and

Geomagnetism 

Igneous and Geothermal

Processes

126
INFORMATION SYSTEMS DIVISION

Chief 

Associate Chief

NATIONAL MAPPING DIVISION

Chief 

Associate Chief

Office of Management Services

Branches

Management Information 

Budget and Administration

Office of Customer Services

Branches

Applied Technology 

Acquisition Support 

Technology Assessment 

Technology Information

Office of 

Computer and Communication Services

Branches

Communication Services 

Computer Services

Office of Field Services

Denver Service Center 

Menlo Service Center 

Flagstaff Service Center

Assistant Division Chief 

for Research

Offices

Geographic and Cartographic

Research 

Systems and Techniques

Development

Assistant Division Chief 

for Plans and Operations

Offices

Program Management 

Plans and Coordination 

International Activities

Assistant Division Chief 

for Information and Data Services

Offices

Product Distribution Policy 

Publications Liaison and Review 

National Cartographic and

Geographic Information Service 

Public Inquiries

Field Centers

Eastern Mapping-Reston, VA 

Mid-Continent Mapping-Rolla, MO 

Printing and Distribution-Reston, VA 

Rocky Mountain Mapping-Denver, CO 

Western Mapping-Menlo Park, CA 

EROS Data -Sioux Falls. SD

WATER RESOURCES DIVISION

Chief Hydrologist 

Associate Chief Hydrologist

Assistant Chief Hydrologist for 

Scientific Information Management

Assistant Chief Hydrologist for 

Operations

Assistant Chief Hydrologist for 

Research and External Coordination

Offices

Hydrologic Research 

External Research 

Water Data Coordination

Assistant Chief Hydrologist for

Program Coordination and Technical

Support

Offices

Ground Water 

Water Quality 

Surface Water

Atmospheric Deposition Analysis 

National Water Summary and Long-Range 

Planning

Regional Offices

Northeastern-Reston, VA 

Southeastern-Atlanta, GA 

Central-Denver, CO 

Western-Menlo Park, CA

District Offices

127
U.S. Geological Survey Offices

Headquarters Offices 

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, 

National Center, Reston, VA 22092

Office Name Telephone Number Address

Office of the Director

Director ------------------------------- Dallas L. Peck (703)648-7411

Associate Director ---------------------- Doyle G. Frederick (703) 648-7412

Special Assistant (Washington Liaison) 

and Deputy Ethics Counselor --------- Jane H. Wallace (202) 343-3888

Assistant Director for Research --------- Bruce B. Hanshaw (703) 648-4450

Assistant Director for Engineering

Geology ----------------------------- James F. Devine (703)648-4423

Assistant Director for Administration - - - - Edmund J. Grant (703) 648-7200

Assistant Director for Programs --------- Peter F. Bermel (703) 648-4430

Assistant Director for Intergovernmental

Affairs ------------------------------ John J. Dragonetti (703)648-4427

Director's Representative Central

Region ------------------------------ Harry Tourtelot (303)236-5438

Director's Representative Western 

Region ------------------------------ George Gryc (415)323-8111

ext. 2711 

Congressional Liaison Officer ----------- Talmadge W. Reed (703) 648-4457

Chief, Public Affairs Office -------------- Donovan B. Kelly (703) 648-4460

Staff Assistant (Special Issues) ---------- Harold Mattraw (703) 648-7413

Special Assistant to the Director for 

Alaska ------------------------------ Philip A. Emery (907) 271-4398 or

(907) 263-7429

Assistant Director for Information 

Systems ----------------------------- James E. Biesecker (703)648-7108

National Mapping Division

Chief ---------------------------------- Lowell E. Starr (703) 648-5747

Associate Chief ------------------------ Roy R. Mullen (703) 648-5744

Assistant Division Chief for Research---- Vacant (703)648-4639

Assistant Division Chief for Plans

and Operations ----------------------- Richard E. Witmer (703) 648-4610

Assistant Division Chief for Information

and Data Services -------------------- Gary W. North (703) 648-4783

Geologic Division

Chief Geologist -------------------------- Robert M. Hamilton (703) 648-6600

Associate Chief Geologist --------------- William F. Cannon (703) 648-6601

Assistant Chief Geologist for Program - - - Benjamin A. Morgan (703) 648-6640 

Deputy Chief Geologist for Scientific

Personnel ---------------------------- Penelope M. Hanshaw (703) 648-6628

Policy and Budget Officer --------------- Norman E. Gunderson (703) 648-6650

Office of Scientific Publications, Chief --- John M. Aaron (703) 648-6077 

Office of Regional Geology, Chief -------- Eugene H. Roseboom, Jr. (703) 648-6959

Office of Earthquakes, Volcanoes,

and Engineering, Chief --------------- John R. Filson (703) 649-6714

Office of Energy and Marine Geology,

Chief-------------------------------- Terry W. Offield (703)648-6470

Office of Mineral Resources, Chief ------- Glenn H. Allcott (703) 648-6100

Office of International Geology, Chief - - - - A. Thomas Ovenshine (703) 648-6047

National Center, Stop 101 

National Center, Stop 102

Rm. 7343, Interior Bldg., 

Washington, DC 20240 

National Center, Stop 104

National Center, Stop 106 

National Center, Stop 201 

National Center, Stop 105

National Center, Stop 109

Box 25046, Stop 406, 

Denver Federal Center, 

Denver, CO 80225

345 Middlefield Rd., Stop 144,

Menlo Park, CA 94025 

National Center, Stop 112 

National Center, Stop 119 

National Center, Stop 121

Gould Hall APU Campus 

University Drive, 

Anchorage, AK 99504

National Center, Stop 801

National Center, Stop 516 

National Center, Stop 516 

National Center, Stop 519

National Center, Stop 514 

National Center, Stop 508

National Center, Stop 911 

National Center, Stop 911 

National Center, Stop 911

National Center, Stop 911 

National Center, Stop 910 

National Center, Stop 904 

National Center, Stop 908

National Center, Stop 905

National Center, Stop 915 

National Center, Stop 913 

National Center, Stop 917

128
Office Name Telephone Number Address

Water Resources Division

Chief Hydrologist ---------------------- Philip Cohen (703) 648-5215

Associate Chief Hydrologist ------------- R. Hal Langford (703) 648-5216

Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Scientific

Information Management ------------- James F. Daniel (703) 648-5699

Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Research

and External Coordination ------------ Marshall M. Moss (703) 648-5041

Office of Hydrologic Research, Chief ----- Roger G. Wolff (703) 648-5043

Office of Water Data Coordination,

Chief -------------------------------- Edgar A. Imhoff (703) 648-5014

Office of External Research, Chief,

Acting ------------------------------- Marshall M. Moss (703) 648-5042

Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Program

Coordination and Technical Support,

Acting------------------------------- Roger G. Wolff (703)648-5229

Office of Atmospheric Deposition

Analysis, Chief ----------------------- Ranard J. Pickering (703) 648-6874

Office of Ground Water, Chief ----------- Eugene P. Patten, Jr. (703) 648-5001

Office of Surface Water, Chief, Acting - - - Verne R. Schneider (703) 648-5301 

Office of Water Quality, Chief, Acting --- David A. Rickert (703)648-6864 

Office of National Water Summary and

Long-Range Planning, Chief ---------- David W. Moody (703) 648-6856

Assistant Chief Hydrologist for

Operations --------------------------- Thomas J. Buchanan (703) 648-5032

Information Systems Division

Chief ---------------------------------- James E. Biesecker (703) 648-7108

Associate Chief ------------------------ Carl E. Diesen (703) 648-7106

Office of Customer Services, Chief, Acting Virginia L. Thomas (703) 648-7178 

Office of Computer and Communications

Services ----------------------------- Doug R. Posson (703)648-7157

Office of Management Services ---------- Rollin F. Nelson (703) 648-7103

Office of Field Services ----------------- Fred B. Sower (303) 236-4944

Administrative Division

Chief---------------------------------- Edmund J. Grant (703)648-7200

Deputy Chief -------------------------- Jack J. Stassi (703)648-7202

Administrative Operations Officer ------- Timothy Calkins (703) 648-7204

Branch of Personnel, Chief -------------- Maxine C. Millard (703) 648-7442

Branch of Procurement and Contracts,

Chief -------------------------------- Paul A. Denett (703) 648-7373

Branch of Financial Management,

Chief-------------------------------- RoyHeinbuch (703)648-7604

Branch of Administrative Services,

Chief-------------------------------- William F. Gossman, Jr. (703)648-7338

Branch of Systems Management, Chief -- Phillip L. McKinney (703)648-7256

Selected Field Offices 

National Mapping Division

Regional Centers

Eastern -------------------------------- K. Eric Anderson

Mid-Continent ------------------------- Lawrence H. Borgerding

Rocky Mountain Merle E. Southern

Western ------------------------------- John R. Swinnerton

Printing and Distribution --------------- Vacant

(703) 648-6003 

(314) 341-0880

(303) 844-5825

(415) 323-8111,

ext. 2411 

(703) 648-5181

National Center, 

National Center,

Stop 409 

Stop 408

National Center, Stop 440

National Center, 

National Center,

National Center, 

National Center,

Stop 436 

Stop 436

Stop 417 

Stop 436

National Center, Stop 414

National Center, 

National Center, 

National Center, 

National Center,

National Center, 

National Center,

Stop 416 

Stop 411 

Stop 415 

Stop 412

Stop 407 

Stop 441

National Center, Stop 801 

National Center, Stop 801 

National Center, Stop 805

National Center, Stop 807 

National Center, Stop 802 

Denver Federal Center

National Center, Stop 201 

National Center, Stop 202 

National Center, Stop 203 

National Center, Stop 215

National Center, Stop 205 

National Center, Stop 270

National Center, Stop 207 

National Center, Stop 206

National Center, Stop 567 

1400 Independence Road,

Rolla, MO 65401 

Box 25046, Stop 510,

Federal Center,

Denver, CO 80225 

345 Middlefield Road,

Menlo Park, CA 94025 

National Center, Stop 580

129
Office

Public Inquiries Offices 

Alaska ----------------

Name

Elizabeth C. Behrendt

California: 

Los Angeles Lucy E. Birdsall

Menlo Park -------------------------- Bruce S. Beam

San Francisco ------------------------ Patricia A. Shiffer

Colorado ------------------------------- Irene V. Shy

District of Columbia -------------------- Bruce A. Hubbard

Texas --------------------------------- John P. Donnelly

Utah

Virginia

Washington

Wendy R. Hassibe

Margaret E. Counce

Jean E. Flechel

Distribution Branch Offices

Alaska -------------------------------- Natalie Cornforth

Colorado Dwight F. Canfield

Earth Resources Observation Systems

Data Center 

South Dakota -------------------------- Alien H. Watkins

Geologic Division

Regional Offices

Eastern -------------------------------- Bruce R. Doe

Central -------------------------------- Harry A. Tourtelot

Western Carroll A. Hodges

Water Resources Division

Regional Offices 

Northeastern -------------

Telephone Number Address

(907) 561-5555

(907)271-4307

(213) 894-2850

(415) 323-8111, 

ext. 2817

(415) 556-5627 

(303) 844-4169 

(202)343-8073 

(214)767-0198 

(801)524-5652 

(703) 648-6888

(509) 456-2524

(907) 456-0244 

(303) 236-7477

(605) 594-7123

Stanley P. Sauer

(703) 648-6660 

(303) 236-5438

(415) 323-8111, 

ext. 2214

(703) 648-5817

Room 101, 4230 University Dr. 

Anchorage, AK 99508

E-146 Federal Bldg., 

Box 53, 701 C Street 

Anchorage, AK 99513

7638 Fed. Bldg.,

300 N. Los Angeles St.,

Los Angeles, CA 90012 

345 Middlefield Rd.,

Stop 533, Bldg. 3,

Menlo Park, CA 94025 

504 Customhouse,

555 Battery St.,

San Francisco, CA 94111 

169 Fed. Bldg.,

1961 Stout St.,

Denver, CO 80294 

1028 GSA Bldg.,

18th and F Sts., NW.,

Washington, DC 20405 

1C45 Fed. Bldg.,

1100 Commerce St.,

Dallas, TX 75242 

8105 Fed. Bldg.,

125 S. State St.,

Salt Lake City, UT 84138 

1C402 National Center,

Stop 503,

12201 Sunrise Valley Dr.,

Reston, VA 22092 

678 U.S. Courthouse,

W. 920 Riverside Ave.,

Spokane, WA 99201

101 12th Ave., Box 12, 

Fairbanks, AK 99701

Box 25286, Stop 306, 

Denver Federal Center, 

Denver, CO 80225

EROS Data Center, 

Sioux Falls, SD 57198

National Center, Stop 953 

Box 25046, Stop 911,

Denver Federal Center,

Denver, CO 80225 

345 Middlefield Rd., Stop 19,

Menlo Park, CA 94025

National Center, Stop 433

130
Office

Southeastern

Name

James L. Cook

Central -------------------------------- -Alfred Clebsch, Jr.

Western ------------------------------- John T. Conomos

District Offices

Alabama ------------------------------ Charles A. Pascale

Alaska -------------------------------- Philip A. Emery

Arizona -------------------------------- Robert D. Mac Nish

Arkansas ------------------------------ Ector E. Gann

Telephone Number

(404) 221-5174

(303) 236-5920

(415) 323-8111, 

ext. 2337

(205) 752-8104 

(907) 271-4138 

(602) 629-6671

(501) 378-6391 

California ----------------------------- Gilbert L. Bertoldi (916)978-4633

Colorado------------------------------- James F. Blakey (303)236-4882

Connecticut (See Massachusetts) -

Delaware (See Maryland)

District of Columbia (See Maryland)

Florida -------------------------------- Irwin H. Kantrowitz (904)681-7620

Georgia -------------------------------- Jeffrey T. Armbruster (404) 221-4858

Hawaii -------------------------------- Stanley F. Kapustka (808)546-8331

Idaho ---------------------------------- Ernest F. Hubbard, Jr. (208) 334-1750

Illinois -------------------------------- LarryG. Toler (217)398-5353

Indiana -------------------------------- Dennis K. Stewart (317) 927-8640

Iowa ---------------------------------- John M. Klein (319)337-4191

Kansas -------------------------------- Joseph S. Rosenshein (913)864-4321

Kentucky ------------------------------ Alfred L. Knight (502) 582-5241

Louisiana ------------------------------ Darwin D. Knochenmus (504) 389-0281

Maine (See Massachusetts)

Maryland --------,--------------------- Herbert J. Freiberger (301)828-1535

Address

Richard B. Russell

Federal Bldg.,

75 Spring St., SW,

Suite 772,

Atlanta, GA 30303 

Box 25046, Stop 406,

Denver Federal Center,

Denver, CO 80225 

345 Middlefield Road, Stop 470,

Menlo Park, CA 94025

520 19th Ave.,

Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 

4230 University Dr., Suite 201,

Anchorage, AK 99508 

Federal Bldg.,

300 W. Congress St.,

Tucson, AZ 85701 

2301 Federal Office Bldg.,

700 W. Capital Ave.,

Little Rock, AR 72201 

Room W-2235, Federal Bldg.,

2800 Cottage Way,

Sacramento, CA 95825 

Box 25046, Stop 415,

Denver Federal Center,

Denver, CO 80225

227 North Bronough St.,

Suite 3015,

Tallahassee, FL 32301 

6481 Peachtree Industrial Blvd.,

Suite B,

Doraville, GA 30360 

P.O. Box 50166,

300 Ala Moana Blvd., Rm 6110,

Honolulu, HI 96850 

230 Collins Road,

Boise, ID 83702 

Champaign County Bank Plaza,

102 E. Main St., 4th Floor,

Urbana,IL 61801 

6023 Guion Road, Suite 201,

Indianapolis, IN 46254 

P.O. Box 1230,

Room 269, Federal Bldg.,

400 S. Clinton St.,

Iowa City, IA 52244 

1950 Constant Ave., Campus West,

University of Kansas,

Lawrence, KS 66044 

572 Federal Bldg.,

600 Federal PL,

Louisville, KY 40202 

P.O. Box 66492,

6554 Florida Blvd.,

Baton Rouge, LA 70806

208 Carroll Bldg., 

8600 La Salle Rd., 

Towson, MD 21204

131
Office Name 

Massachusetts ------------------------- Ivan C. James II

Michigan ------------------------------ T. Ray Cummings

Minnesota ----------------------------- Donald R. Albin

Mississippi ----------------------------- Garald G. Parker, Jr.

Missouri ------------------------------- Daniel P. Bauer

Montana ------------------------------- Joe A. Moreland, Acting

Nebraska ------------------------------ William M. Kastner

Nevada (See Idaho)

New Hampshire (See Massachusetts)

New Jersey ----------------------- Donald E. Vaupel

New Mexico --------------------------- Robert L. Knutilla

New York ----------------------------- Lawrence A. Martens

North Carolina ------------------------- James F. Turner

North Dakota -------------------------- L. Grady Moore

Ohio ---------------------------------- Steven M. Hindall

Oklahoma ----------------------------- James H. Irwin

Oregon (See Washington) 

Pennsylvania ----------- David E. Click

Puerto Rico ---------------------------- Ferdinand

Quinones-Marquez

Rhode Island (See Massachusetts)

South Carolina ------------------------- Rodney N. Cherry

South Dakota -------------------------- Richard E. Fidler

.Tennessee Larry R. Hayes

Texas --------------------------------- Charles W. Boning

Utah ---------------------------------- Theodore Arnow

Telephone Number

(617) 223-2822

(517) 377-1608 

(612) 725-7841 

(601) 960-4600

(314) 341-0824 

(406) 449-5302

(402) 471-5082

(609) 771-0065

(505) 766-2246 

(518) 472-3107 

(919) 856-4510

(701) 255-4011,

ext. 601 

(614) 469-5553

(405) 231-4256 

(717) 782-4514 

(809) 783-4660

(803) 765-5966

(605) 352-8651, 

ext. 268

(615) 251-5424 

(512) 482-5766 

(801) 524-5663

Address

150 Causeway St., Suite 1309,

Boston, MA 02114 

6520 Mercantile Way, Suite 5,

Lansing, MI 48910 

702 Post Office Bldg.,

St. Paul, MN 55101 

Suite 710 Federal Bldg.,

100 West Capitol St.,

Jackson, MS 39269 

1400 Independence Rd.,

Stop 200,

Rolla, MO 65401 

428 Federal Bldg.,

301 South Park Avenue,

Drawer 10076,

Helena, MT 59626 

406 Federal Bldg.

100 Centennial Mall, North,

Lincoln, NE 68508

Suite 206,

Mountain View Office Park,

810 Bear Tavern Road,

West Trenton, NJ 08628 

Western Bank Bldg., Rm. 720,

505 Marquette, NW.,

Albuquerque, NM 87102 

P.O. 1669, 343 U.S. Post Office

and Courthouse,

Albany, NY 12201 

P.O. Box 2857, Rm. 436,

Century Postal Station,

300 Fayetteville Street Mall

Raleigh, NC 27602 

821 East Interstate Ave.,

Bismarck, ND 58501 

975 West Third Ave.,

Columbus, OH 43212 

Rm. 621, 215 Dean A. McGee Ave.

Oklahoma City, OK 73102

P.O. Box 1107, 4th Floor,

Federal Bldg., 228 Walnut St.,

Harrisburg, PA 17108 

GPO Box 4424,

Bldg. 652 GSA Center,

San Juan, PR 00936

Suite 658, 1835 Assembly St.,

Columbia, SC 29201 

Rm. 317 Federal Bldg.,

200 4th St., SW,

Huron, SD 57350 

A-413 Federal Bldg.,

U.S. Courthouse,

Nashville, TN 37203 

649 Federal Bldg.,

300 E. 8th St.,

Austin, TX 78701 

1016 Administration Bldg.,

1745 W. 1700 South,

Salt Lake City, UT 84104

132
Office Name Telephone Number Address

Vermont (See Massachusetts)

Virginia (See Maryland)

Washington ---------------------------- Leslie B. Laird

West Virginia -------------------------- David H. Appel

Wisconsin ----------------------------- Vernon W. Norman

Wyoming ------------------------------ Richard M. Bloyd

Administrative Division

Regional Management Offices 

Central ----------------------

Western

George A. Honold

George F. Hargrove, Jr. 

Avery W. Rogers

(206) 593-6510 

(304) 347-5130 

(608) 262-2488 

(307) 772-2153

(303) 236-5900

(415) 323-8111, 

ext. 2211

1201 Pacific Ave., Suite 600,

Tacoma, WA 98402 

603 Morris St.

Charleston, WV 25301 

1815 University Ave.,

Madison, WI 53705 

P.O. Box 1125,

2120 Capital Ave., Rm. 4004,

Cheyenne, WY 82003

Box 25046, Stop 201, 

Denver Federal Center, 

Denver, CO 80225

345 Middlefield Rd., STOP 211, 

Menlo Park, CA 94025

Guide to Information and Publications

Throughout this report, reference has been made to information 

services and publications of the U.S. Geological Survey. During 

fiscal year 1985, the Survey produced over 6,797 new and revised 

topographic, hydrologic, and geologic maps; printed 16,834,005 

copies of 6,797 different maps; distributed 7,480,084 copies of 

maps; and sold 5,789,711 copies for $10,877,118. The number of reports approved for publication by the Geological Survey in fiscal 

year 1985 was 4,850, with 67 percent designated for publication in 

professional journals and monographs outside the Survey and the 

remainder scheduled for publication by the Survey. In addition, 

241,448 copies of technical reports were distributed of which 

41,046 copies were sold for $171,996 and 1,135 open-file reports 

were released of which 36,640 copies were sold for $313,414.

To buy maps of all areas of the United States and to request Survey catalogs, pamphlets, and leaflets (limited quantities free), write or visit: 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Map Distribution Section 

Federal Center, Box 25286 

Denver, CO 80225

To buy Alaskan maps, residents of Alaska may write or 

visit:

U.S. Geological Survey 

Alaska Distribution Section 

101 12th Avenue, Box 12 

Fairbanks, AK 99701

To buy Survey book publications, to request Survey circulars, or to obtain information on the availability of microfiche or paper-duplicate copies of open-file reports, write: 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Books and Open-File Reports Section 

Federal Center, Box 25425 

Denver, CO 80225

To get on the mailing list for the monthly list of New Publications of the Geological Survey (free), write: 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Computer Operations Office 

582 National Center 

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive 

Reston, VA 22092

To subscribe to the Earthquake Information Bulletin, write:

Superintendent of Documents 

Government Printing Office 

Washington, DC 20402

To obtain information on programs, publications, and services or to obtain copies of reports and maps, visit the U.S. 

Geological Survey Public Inquiries Offices at the following 

addresses:

1961 Stout St. 

Denver, CO 80294 

Texas:

1C45 Federal Bldg. 

1100 Commerce St., 

Dallas, TX 75242 

Utah:

8105 Federal Bldg. 

125 S. State St. 

Salt Lake City, UT 84138 

Virginia:

1C402 National Center 

12201 Sunrise Valley Dr. 

Reston, VA 22092 

Washington: 

678 U.S. Courthouse 

W. 920 Riverside Ave. 

Spokane, WA 99201 

Washington, DC:

1028 General Services Admin.

Bldg.

18th and F Sts., N W. 

Washington, DC 20405 

To obtain information on cartographic data, write or visit 

the U.S. Geological Survey National Cartographic Information Centers (NCIC) in the following States: 

Alaska: California: 

U.S. Geological Survey Western Mapping Center 

National Cartographic National Cartographic

Information Center Information Center 

4230 University Dr. 345 Middlefield Rd. 

Anchorage, AK 99508 Menlo Park, CA 94025

Alaska: 

Room 101

4230 University Dr. 

Anchorage, AK 99508

E-146 Federal Bldg. 

Box 53 

701 C St.

Anchorage, AK 99513 

California: 

7638 Federal Bldg. 

300 N. Los Angeles St. 

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Bldg. 3, Stop 533 

345 Middlefield Rd. 

Menlo Park, CA 94025

504 Customhouse 

555 Battery St. 

San Francisco, CA 94111 

Colorado: 

169 Federal Bldg.

133
National Cartographic 

 Information Center 

1400 Independence Rd. 

Rolla, MO 65401 

Virginia: 

National Cartographic

Information Center 

507 National Center 

12201 Sunrise Valley Dr. 

Reston, VA 22092

Eastern Mapping Center 

National Cartographic 

Information Center 

536 National Center 

12201 Sunrise Valley Dr. 

Reston, VA 22092

Colorado: 

Rocky Mountain Mapping

Center

National Cartographic 

Information Center, 

Box 25046, Stop 504 

Bldg. 25, Federal Center 

Denver, CO 80225 

Mississippi: 

National Space Technology

Laboratories 

National Cartographic 

Information Center 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Bldg. 3101

NSTL Station, MS 39529 

Missouri: 

Mid-Continent Mapping 

Center

To obtain information on aerial photographs and satellite 

and space imagery, write or visit:

U.S. Geological Survey 

EROS Data Center 

Sioux Falls, SD 57198

To obtain assistance in locating sources of water data, 

identifying sites at which data have been collected, and 

specific data, write: 

U.S. Geological Survey 

National Water Data Exchange 

421 National Center 

12201 Sunrise Valley Dr. 

Reston, VA 22092

To obtain information on ongoing and planned water-data 

acquisition activities of all Federal agencies and many nonFederal organizations, write: 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Office of Water Data Coordination 

417 National Center 

12201 Sunrise Valley Dr. 

Reston, VA 22092

To obtain information on water resources in general and 

about the water resources of specific areas of the United 

States, write: 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Hydrologic Information Unit 

419 National Center 

12201 Sunrise Valley Dr. 

Reston, VA 22092

To obtain information on geology topics such as earthquakes, energy and mineral resources, the geology of 

specific areas, and geologic maps and mapping, write: 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Geologic Inquiries Group 

907 National Center 

12201 Sunrise Valley Dr. 

Reston, VA 22092

Cooperators and Other Financial 

Contributors

Cooperators listed are those with whom the U.S. Geological 

Survey had a written agreement cosigned by Survey officials and 

the cooperating agency for financial cooperation in fiscal year 

1985. Parent agencies are listed separately from their subdivisions 

whenever there are separate cooperative agreements for different

projects with a parent agency and with a subdivision of it. 

Agencies with whom the Geological Survey has research contracts 

and to whom it supplied research funds are not listed.

Cooperating office of the Geological Survey

g Geologic Division

n National Mapping Division

w Water Resources Division

State, County, and Local Cooperators

Alabama:

Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources 

(w), Environmental Management (w), Highways (w); Alabama 

Surface Mining Commission (w); Birmingham, City of (w); 

Coffee County Commission (w); Dauphin Island (w); Geological 

Survey of Alabama (n,w); Huntsville, City of (w); Jefferson 

County Commission (w); Linden, City of (w); Montgomery, City 

of (w); Tuscaloosa, City of (w)

Alaska:

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (w), Fish 

and Game (w), Natural Resources (n); Division of Geological 

and Geophysical Surveys (g,w), Lands and Water Management 

(w), Technical Services (w), Transportation and Public Facilities 

(w); Alaska Power Authority (g,w); Anchorage, Municipality 

of Department of Health and Environmental Protection (w), 

Department of Planning (w), Department of Solid Waste 

Services (w), Water and Wastewater Utility (w); Fairbanks 

North Star Borough (w); Juneau, City and Borough of (w); 

Kenai Peninsula Borough (w); King Cove, City of (w); 

Matanuska Susitna Borough (w); Sitka, City and Borough of (w); 

Wasilla, City of (w)

American Samoa: (See Hawaii)

Arizona:

Department of Health Services, Bureau of Water Quality 

Control (w), Land, Parks and Tourism (w), Water Resources (w); 

Gila Valley Irrigation District (w); Maricopa County Flood 

Control District (w), Municipal Water Conservation District 

No. 1 (w); Metropolitan Water District of Southern California 

(w); Pima County, Board of Supervisors (w); Salt River Valley 

Water Users Association (w); San Carlos Irrigation and 

Drainage District (w); Show Low Irrigation Company (w); 

Tucson, City of (w); University of Arizona, Water Resources 

Research Center (w); Arizona Municipal Water Users 

Association (w)

Arkansas:

Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology (w); 

Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission (w); 

Arkansas Geological Commission (n,w); Arkansas State 

Highway and Transportation Department (w); Arkansas 

Department of Parks and Tourism (w)

California:

Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation 

District (Hayward) (w), Flood Control and Water Conservation 

District, Zone 7 (Livermore) (w), Water District (w); Antelope 

Valley-East Kern Water Agency (w); California Department 

of Boating and Waterways (g,w), Fish and Game (Sacramento) 

(w), Fish and Game, Region II (Rancho Cordova) (w), Health 

Services (w), Transportation, District 3 (Marysville) (w); Water 

Resources Central District (Sacramento) (w), Northern District

134
(Red Bluff) (w), San Joaquin District (Fresno) (w); California 

Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Coast Region 

(San Luis Obispo) (w), Colorado River Basin Region (Palm 

Desert) (w), North Coast Region (Santa Rosa) (w), San Francisco 

Bay Region (Oakland) (w), Santa Ana Region (Riverside) (w); 

California Water Resources Control Board (w); Carpointeria 

County, Water District (w); Casitas Municipal Water District 

(w); Coachella Valley, County Water District (w); Contra Costa 

County Department of Health Services (w), Flood Control and 

Water Conservation District (w); Crestline-Lake Arrowhead 

Water Agency (w); Desert Water Agency (w); East Bay 

Municipal Utility District (w); East San Bernardino County 

Water District (w); East Valley Water District (w); El Dorado 

County (w); Fresno County, Department of Resources and 

Development (w); Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District 

(w); Georgetown Divide Public Utility District (w); Goleta 

County Water District (w); Humboldt Bay, Municipal Water 

District (w); Imperial County, Department of Public Works (w); 

Imperial Irrigation District (w); Indian Wells Valley Water 

District (w); Inyo County Water Department (w); Kern County 

Water Agency (w); Kings River Conservation District (w); Lake 

County, Planning Department (w); Los Angeles County, Flood 

Control District (w); Los Angeles Department of Water and 

Power (w); Madera County, Flood Control and Water 

Conservation Agency (w); Madera Irrigation District (w); Marin 

County, Department of Public Works (w); Marin Municipal 

Water District (w); Merced, City of (w); Merced Irrigation 

District (w); Modesto, City of, Department of Public Works (w); 

Modoc County, Department of Public Works (w); Mojave Water 

Agency (w); Montecito County Water District (w); Monterey 

. County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (w); 

Monterey Peninsula, Water Management District (w); Napa 

County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (w); 

Newport Beach, City of (w); Orange County Environmental 

Management Agency (w), Water District (w); 

Oroville-Wyandotte Irrigation District (w); Pacheo Pass Water 

District (w); Paradise Irrigation District (w); Placer County 

Water Agency (Auburn) (w); Placer County Water Agency 

(Foresthill) (w); Rainbow Municipal Water District (w); Rancho 

California Water District (w); Riverside County Flood Control 

and Water Conservation District (w); Sacramento Municipal 

Utility District (w); Sacramento Regional County Sanitation 

District, Department of Public Works (w); San Benito County 

Water Conservation and Flood Control District (w); San 

Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District (w); San Diego, 

City of (w); San Diego County, Department of Planning and 

Land Use (w), Public Works (w); San Diego County Water 

Authority (w); San Francisco, City and County of, Hetch Hetchy 

Water and Power (w); San Francisco Water Department (w); San 

Joaquin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District 

(w); San Luis Obispo County, Engineering Department (w); San 

Mateo County Department of Planning (w), Department of 

Public Works (w); Santa Barbara, City of, Department of Public 

Works (w); Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water 

Conservation District (w), Water Agency (w); Santa Clara 

Valley, Water District (w); Santa Cruz County Flood Control 

and Water Conservation District (w), Planning Department (w); 

Santa Cruz, City of, Water Department (w); Santa Maria Valley 

Water Conservation District (w); Scotts Valley Water District 

(w); Siskiyou County Flood Control and Water Conservation 

District (w), Sonoma County Planning Department (w), Water 

Agency (w); Soquel Creek County Water District (w); Tahoe 

Regional Planning (w); Terra Bella Irrigation District (w); 

Thousand Oaks, City of (w); Tulare County, Flood Control 

District (w); Turlock Irrigation District (w); United Water 

Conservation District (w); University of California Berkeley

(g), Agricultural Experiment Station, Department of Forestry 

and Resource Management (w); Ventura County, Public Works 

Agency (w); Western Municipal Water District (w); Westlands 

Water District (w); Woodbridge Irrigation District (w); Yolo 

County, Flood Control and Water Conservation District (w)

Colorado:

Arkansas River Compact Administration (w); Arvada, City of 

(w); Aspen, City of (w); Aurora, City of (w); Boulder, County of, 

Department of Public Works (w); Breckenridge, Town of (w); 

Castle Rock, Town of (w); Central Yuma Ground Water 

Management District (w); Cherokee Water and Sanitation 

District (w); Colorado Department of Health (w); Colorado 

Division of Mined Land Reclamation (w); Colorado Division of 

Water Resources, Office of the State Engineer (w); Colorado 

Geological Survey (w); Colorado River Water Conservation 

District (w); Colorado Springs, City of Department of Public 

Utilities (w), Office of the City Manager (w); Custer, County of 

(w); Delta County, Board of County Commissioners (w); Denver, 

City and County, Board of Water Commissioners (w); Denver 

Regional Council of Governments (w); Douglas, County of (w); 

Eagle County, Board of Commissioners (w); El Paso County 

Water Users Association (w); Englewood, City of, Bi-City 

Wastewater Treatment Plant (w); Evergreen Metro District (w); 

Fountain Valley Authority (w); Frenchman Ground Water 

Management District (w); Fruita, City of (w); Garfield County 

(w); Glendale, City of (w); Glenwood Springs, City of (w); Grand 

County Board of Commissioners (w); Kiowa-Bijou Ground Water 

Management District (w); Larimer-Weld Regional Council of 

Governments (w); Longmont, City of (w); Marks Butte Ground 

Water Management District (w); Metropolitan Denver Sewage 

Disposal District No. 1 (w); Mineral, County of (w); Moffat 

County Commissioners (w); Northern Colorado Water 

Conservancy District (w); Northwest Colorado Council of Govt. 

(w); Pitkin County, Board of Commissioners (w); Pueblo Board of 

Water Works (w); Pueblo Civil Defense Agency (w); Pueblo West 

Metropolitan District (w); Purgatoire River Water Conservancy 

District (w); Rio Blanco County, Board of County Commissioners 

(w); Rio Grande Water Conservation District (w); Round 

Mountain Water & Sand District (w); St. Charles Mesa Water 

District (w); Sand Hills Ground Water Management District (w); 

Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District (w); 

Southern High Plains Ground Water Management District (w); 

Southwestern Colorado Water Conservancy District (w); 

Steamboat Springs, City of (w); Trinchera Conservancy District 

(w); Uncompahgre Valley Water Users' Association (w); Upper 

Arkansas River Water Conservancy District (w); Upper Black 

Squirrel Creek (w); Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District 

(w); Urban Drainage and Flood Control District (w); Water 

Users No. 1 (Rangely) (w); W-Y Ground Water Management 

District (w); Yellow Jacket Water Conservancy District (w)

Connecticut:

Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (g,n,w); 

Enfield, Town of (w); Fairfield, Town of, Conservation 

Commission (w); Meriden, Town of, Department of Public Works 

(w); New Britain, City of Board of Water Commissioners (w), 

Improvement Commission (w); Northeast Connecticut Regional 

Planning Agency (w); Norwalk, Town of (w); Ridgefield, Town of 

(w); Simsbury, Town of (w); South Central Connecticut Regional 

Water Authority (w); Stonington, Town of (w); Torrington, City 

of (w)

Delaware:

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

135
(w); Geological Survey (w); New Castle County, Public Works 

Department (w)

District of Columbia:

Department of Public Works (w)

Florida:

Big Cypress Basin Board (w); Boca Raton, City of (w); 

Bradenton, City of (w); Brevard County, Board of County 

Commissioners (w); Broward County Environmental Quality 

Control Board (w), Water Resources Management Division (w); 

Cape Coral, City of (w); Clearwater, City of (w); Collier, County 

of (w); Cocoa, City of (w); Coordinating Council on the 

Restoration of Kissimmee River Valley and Taylor 

Creek-Nubbins Slough Basin (w); Daytona Beach, City of (w); 

Department of Natural Resources (n); Englewood Water District, 

Board of Supervisors (w); Escambia County, Board of County 

Commissioners (w); Flagler County, Board of County 

Commissioners (w); Florida Department of Environmental 

Regulation, Bureau of Water Resources Management (w), 

Division of Recreation and Parks (w), Natural Resources, 

Division of Marine Resources (w); Transportation (n,w); Florida 

Institute of Phosphate Research (w); Florida Keys Aqueduct 

Authority (w); Fort Lauderdale, City of (w); Fort Walton Beach, 

City of (w); Gainesville, City of (w); Hallandale, City of (w); 

Highland Beach, Town of (w); Hillsborough County (w); 

Hollywood, City of (w); Indian River County (w); Jacksonville, 

Consolidated City of Department of Health and Environmental 

Services (w), Department of Public Works (w); Jacksonville 

Electric Authority (w); Jacksonville Plan Department (w); 

Joshua Water Control District (w); Juno Beach, Town of (w); 

Jupiter Inlet District (w); Lake County Board of County 

Commissioners (w), Pollution Control Department (w); Lee 

County, Board of County Commissioners (w); Leon County 

Courthouse (w), Department of Public Works (w); Manatee 

County, Board of County Commissioners (w); Marion County, 

Board of County Commissioners (w); Metropolitan Dade 

County Department of Environment Resources Management 

(w); Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Authority (w); Northwest 

Florida Water Management District (w); Old Plantation Water 

Control District (w); Orange County, Board of County 

Commissioners (w); Palm Beach County Board of County 

Commissioners (w), Solid Waste Authority (w); Pasco, County of 

(w); Perry, City of (w); Pinellas County (w); Pinellas Park Water 

Management District (w); Plant City (w); Polk County, Board of 

County Commissioners (w); Pompano Beach, City of, Water and 

Sewer Department (w); Quincy, City of (w); Reedy Creek 

Improvement District (w); Sarasota, City of (w); Sarasota, 

County of (w); South Dade Soil and Water Conservation District 

(w); South Florida Water Management District (w); Southwest 

Florida Regional Planning Council (w); Southwest Florida Water 

Management District (w); St. Johns, County of (w); St. Johns 

River Water Management District (w); St. Petersburg, City of 

(w); Stuart, City of (w); Sumter County, Recreation and Water 

Conservation and Control Authority (w); Suwannee River 

Authority (Live Oak) (w); Suwannee River Authority (Trenton) 

(w); Suwannee River Water Management District (w); 

Tallahassee, City of, Underground Utilities (w); Tampa, City of 

(w); University of Central Florida (w); University of South 

Florida (w); Volusia, County of (w); Walton, County of (w); West 

Coast Regional Waters Supply Authority (w); Winter Park, City 

of(w)

Georgia:

Albany, City of, Water, Gas, and Light Commission (w); Bibb 

County, Board of County Commissioners (w); Brunswick, City of

(w); Chatham County, Board of County Commissioners (w); 

Clayton County, Water Authority (w); Consolidated Government 

of Columbus (w); Covington, City of (w); Georgia Department 

of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division (w), 

Geological Survey (n,w); Transportation (,w); Macon-Bibb 

County, Water and Sewage Authority (w); Valdosta, City of (w)

Guam: (See Hawaii)

Hawaii:

American Samoa, Government of (g,n,w); Guam, Government of 

(w); Hawaii Department of Health (w), Land and Natural 

Resources, Division of Water and Land Development (w), 

Transportation (w); Honolulu, City and County Board of Water 

Supply (w), Department of Public Works (w); Trust Territory of 

the Pacific Islands (w) Commonwealth of the Northern 

Mariana Islands (w), Federated States of Micronesia (w) State 

of Kosrae (w), State of Ponape (w), State of Truk (w), State of 

Yap (w); Republic of Marshall Islands (w); Republic of Palau (w); 

University of Hawaii, Water Resources Research Center (w)

Idaho:

Idaho Department of Fish and Game (w), Health and Welfare, 

Lands (n), Water Resources (w); Sun Valley Water & Sewer 

District (w); Teton County, Board of Commissioners (w); The 

Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Fort Hall Indian Reservation (w); 

Twin Falls, City of (w); University of Idaho (w); Water District 

No. 01 Idaho Falls (w); West Cassia Soil & Water 

Conservation District (w)

Illinois:

Bloomington and Normal Sanitary District (w); Cook County, 

Forest Preserve District (w); Decatur, City of (w); Illinois 

Department of Energy and Natural Resources, State Water 

Survey Division (w), Nuclear Safety (w), Transportation, 

Division of Highways (n), Division of Water Resources (n,w); 

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (w); Illinois State 

Geological Survey (n); Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater 

Chicago (w); Springfield, City of (w)

Indiana:

Carmel, Town of (w); Elkhart, City of, Water Works (w); Indiana 

State Board of Health (w); Indiana Department of Highways 

(w), Natural Resources (n), Division of Water (w), Division of 

Reclamation (w); Indianapolis, City of, Department of Public 

Works (w)

Iowa:

Cedar Rapids, City of (w); Des Moines, City of (w); Fort Dodge, 

City of (w); Iowa Department of Transportation Highway 

Division (w); Water, Air, and Waste Management (w); Iowa 

Geological Survey (n,w); Iowa State University (w); University 

of Iowa, Institute of Hydraulic Research (w), Hygenic Laboratory 

(w)

Kansas:

Arkansas River Compact Administration (w); Hays, City of (w); 

Kansas Department of Health and Environment (w), 

Transportation (w); Kansas Corporation Commission (w); 

Kansas Geological Survey (n,w); Kansas State Board of 

Agriculture, Division of Water Resources (w); Kansas Water 

Office (w); Sedgwick, County (w); Southwest Kansas Ground 

Water Management District No. 3 (w); Western Kansas Ground 

Water Management District No. 1 (w); Wichita, City of (w)

136
Kentucky:

Elizabethtown, City of (w); Kentucky Department of Natural 

Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet (w), 

Transportation Cabinet, Division of Design (w); Louisville, City 

of (w); University of Kentucky, Kentucky Geological Survey 

(n,w); University of Louisville (w); Western Kentucky 

University (w)

Louisiana:

Baton Rouge City-Parish Government (w); Capital-Area 

Groundwater Conservation Commission (w); Jefferson Parish 

Department of Public Utilities (w); Louisiana Department 

of Natural Resources Geological Survey (g,w), Environmental 

Quality, Water Pollution Control Division (w); Transportation 

and Development Office of Highways (w), Office of Public 

Works (n,w), Office of Surface Mining (w); Louisiana State 

Planning Office (n); Sabine River Compact Administration (w)

Maine:

Androscoggin Valley Regional Planning Commission (w); 

Cobbossee Watershed District (w); Maine Department 

of Conservation, Geological Survey (n,w), Environmental 

Protection (w), Transportation (w), Human Services (w); 

Washington County Regional Planning Commission (w); Wilton, 

Town of (w)

Maryland:

Anne Arundel County, Planning and Zoning Office (w); 

Baltimore County Department of Permits and Licenses (w), 

Department of Public Works (w), Office of Planning and Zoning 

(w); Calvert County (w); Caroline County (w); Carroll County, 

Board of County Commissioners (w); Howard County, 

Department of Public Works (w); Interstate Commission on the 

Potomac River Basin (w); Maryland Department of Health and 

Mental Hygiene, Office of Environmental Programs (w), 

Transportation, State Highway Administration (w); Maryland 

Energy Administration (w); Maryland Geological Survey (n,w); 

Maryland Water Resources Administration (w); Montgomery 

County Department of Environmental Protection, Office of 

Environmental and Energy Planning (w), Division of Pollution 

Control (w); Poolesville, Town of (w); St. Marys County, County 

Commissioners (w); Upper Potomac River Commission (w); 

Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (w)

Massachusetts:

Barnstable County, County Commissioners (w); Cape Cod 

Planning and Economic Development Commission (w); 

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, 

Division of Water Resources (w); Massachusetts Department of 

Environmental Quality Engineering Division of Water Pollution 

Control (w); Massachusetts Department of Public Works 

Division of Research and Materials (w); Metropolitan District 

Commission, Water Division (w); New England Interstate Water 

Pollution Control Commission (w); Plymouth, Town of (w)

Michigan:

Ann Arbor, City of (w); Battle Creek, City of (w); Clare, City of 

(w); Coldwater, City of, Board of Public Utilities (w); Elsie, 

Village of (w); Flint, City of, Water Supply and Pollution 

Control, Department of Public Works and Utilities (w); Genesee 

County Drain Commission, Division of Water and Waste 

Services (w); Grand Traverse County (w); Huron-Clinton 

Metropolitan Authority (w); Imlay, City of (w); Kalamazoo, City 

of, Department of Public Utilities (w); Lansing, City of, Board of 

Water and Light, Water and Stream Division (w); Macomb 

County (w); Mason, City of (w); Michigan Department

of Agriculture, Soil and Water Conservation Division (w), 

Natural Resources Geological Survey Division (w), Office of 

Budget and Federal Aid (w); Transportation (w); Michigan Tech 

University (w); Oakland County, Drain Commission (w); Otsego 

County, Road Commission (w); Portage, City of (w); St. Johns, 

City of (w); Van Buren County, Board of Commissioners (w); 

Ypsilanti, City of (w)

Minnesota:

Bassett Creek Watershed Management Organization (w); 

Carnelian-Marine Watershed District (w); Coon Creek 

Watershed District (w); Eagan, City of (w); Elm Creek 

Conservation Commission (w); Fond Du Lac Reservation Bus. 

Comm. (w); Iron Range Resources Rehabilitation Board (w); 

Lower Red River Waste Management Board (w); Metropolitan 

Council of the Twin Cities Area (w); Metropolitan Waste Control 

Commission (w); Middle River-Snake River Watershed District 

(w); Minnesota Department of Energy, Planning and 

Development (w), Health (w), Natural Resources (w), 

Transportation (w); Minnesota Geological Survey (w); Minnesota 

Pollution Control Agency (w); Minnesota Waste Management 

Board (w); Morrison County, Soil and Water Conservation 

District (w); Red Lake Tribal Council (w); Red Lake Watershed 

District (w); St. Louis Park, City of (w); St. Paul, City of (w); 

University of Minnesota (w); Wesmin Resource, Conservation 

and Development Association (w); White Earth Reservation 

Business Community (w)

Mississippi:

Harrison County Board of Supervisors (w), Development 

Commission (w); Jackson, City of (w); Jackson County Board of 

Supervisors (w), Port Authority (w); Laurel, City of (w); 

Mississippi Department of Highways (w), Natural 

Resources Bureau of Geology (w), Bureau of Land and Water 

Resources (w), Bureau of Pollution Control (w); Pat Harrison 

Waterway District (w); Pearl River Basin Development District 

(w); Pearl River Valley Water Supply District (w)

Missouri:

Little River Drainage District (w); Missouri Department 

of Conservation (w), Natural Resources Division of 

Environmental Quality, Lab Services Program (w), Division of 

Geology and Land Survey (n,w), Land Reclamation Commission 

(w); Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission (w); 

Springfield, City of City Utilities, Engineering Department (w)

Montana:

Daniels, County of (w); Helena, City of (w); Montana Bureau of 

Mines and Geology (w); Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, 

and Parks (w), Health and Environmental Sciences (w), 

Highways (w), Natural Resources and Conservation (w), State 

Lands (w); Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact 

Commission (w); State of Montana, Governor's Office (w); Salish 

and Kootenai Tribes of Flathead Reservation (w); University of 

Montana (w); Wyoming State Engineer (w)

Nebraska:

Blue River Association of Ground Water Conservation District 

(w); Central Platte Natural Resources District (w); Grand Island, 

City of (w); Kansas-Nebraska Big Blue River Compact 

Administration (w); Lincoln, City of (w); Little Blue Natural 

Resources District (w); Nebraska Department 

of Environmental Control (w), Water Resources (w); Nebraska 

Natural Resources Commission (w); University of Nebraska, 

Conservation and Survey Division (w)

137
Nevada:

Carson City, Department of Public Works (w); Douglas County, 

Department of Planning (w); Elko, County of (w); Las Vegas 

Valley Water District (w); Mackey School of Mines (w); Nevada 

Bureau of Mines and Geology (g,n,w); Nevada Department 

of Conservation and Natural Resources Division of 

Environmental Protection (w), Division of Water Resources (w); 

Transportation (w); Nye, County of (w); Reno, City of (w); Tahoe 

Regional Planning Agency (w); University of Nevada Reno (w)

New Hampshire:

Conway, Town of (w); Nashua Regional Planning Commission 

(w); New Hampshire Water Resources Board (w); Water 

Pollution Control Commission (w)

New Jersey:

Bergen, County of (w); Bridgewater, Township of (w); Camden 

County, Board of Chosen Freeholders (w); Cranford, Township of 

(w); Delaware River Basin Commission (w); Greenwich, 

Township of (w); Logan, Township of (w); Morris County, 

Municipal Utilities Authority (w); New Jersey Department of 

Environmental Protection, Division of Water Resources (g,w); 

North Jersey District Water Supply Commission (w); Passaic 

Valley Water Commission (w); Somerset County, Board of 

Chosen Freeholders (w); West Windsor Township, 

Environmental Commission (w)

New Mexico:

Alamo Navajo Chapter (w); Alamogardo, City of (w); 

Albuquerque, City of (w); Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo 

Flood Control Authority (w); Bernalillo, County of (w); Costilla 

Creek Compact Commission (w); Jemez River Indian Water 

Authority (w); Las Cruces, City of (w); Navajo Indian Nation 

(w); New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources (w); 

New Mexico Environmental Improvement Division (w); New 

Mexico Department of Highways (w); New Mexico Oil 

Conversation Division, Energy and Minerals Department (w); 

Office of State Engineer (w); Pecos River Commission (w); 

Pueblo of Acoma (w); Pueblo of Laguna (w); Pueblo of Zuni (w); 

Raton, City of (w); Rio Grande Compact Commission (w); San 

Juan County (w); Santa Fe Metropolitan Water Board (w); 

Veremejo Conservancy District (w)

New York:

Albany, City of, Department of Water and Water Supply (w); 

Amherst, Town of, Engineering Department (w); Auburn, City of 

(w); Brookhaven, Town of (w); Chautauqua, County of, 

Department of Planning and Development (w); Cheektowaga, 

Town of (w); Clarence, Town of (w); Cornell UniversityDepartment of Natural Resources (w), Department of Utilities 

(w); Cortland, County of, Planning Department (w); Dutchess 

County, Environmental Management (w); Erie County, Division 

of Environmental Control, Department of Environment and 

Planning (w); Genessee-Fingerlakes Regional Planning Council 

(w); Hudson-Black River Regulating District (w); Irondequoit 

Bay Pure Waters (w); Kirkwood, Town of (w); 

Kiryas Joel, Village of (w); Long Island Regional Planning 

Board (w); Monroe, County of Engineering Department (w), 

Health Laboratory (w), Water Authority (w); Montgomery, 

County of, Planning Department (w); Nassau, County of, 

Department of Public Works (w); Newstead, Town of (w); New 

York City Department of Environmental Protection, Air 

Resources-Water Resources-Energy (w), Department of 

Sanitation, Office of Resource Recovery (w); New York State 

Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Air 

(w), Division of Water (w); Transportation, Bridge and .

Construction Bureau (w); New York State Energy Resources and 

Development Authority (w); New York State Power Authority 

(w); Nyack, Village of, Board of Water Commissioners (w); 

Oneida, County of, Planning Department (w); Onondaga, County 

of Department of Drainage (w), Environmental Management 

Council (w), Water Authority (w); Orange, County of, Planning 

Department (w); Oswego, County of, Planning Board (w); 

Putnam, County of, Planning Department (w); Rockland, County 

of, Planning Department (w), Drainage Agency (w); Seneca 

Nation of Indians (w); Shelter Island, Town of (w); Southern Tier 

West Regional Planning and Development Authority (w); 

Suffolk, County of Department of Health Sciences (w), 

Department of Public Works (w), Water Authority (w); Sullivan, 

County of, Planning Department (w); Susquehanna River Basin 

Commission (w); Temporary State Commission on Tug Hill (w); 

Ulster, County of, Planning Department (w), County Legislators 

(w); University of the State of New York, Regents Research Inc. 

(w); Westchester, County of Department of Health (w), 

Department of Public Works (w)

North Carolina:

Ayden, Town of (w); Charlotte, City of (w); Durham, City of, 

Department of Water Resources (w); Farmville, Town of (w); 

Greene County (w); Greensboro, City of (w); Greenville Utilities 

(w); Guilford County S.W.C.D. (w); Kinston, City of (w); 

LaGrange, Town of (w); New Bern, City of (w); North Carolina 

State Department of Human Resources (w), Natural Resources 

and Community Development (n,w), Transportation, Division of 

Highways (w); Pinetops, Town of (w); Rocky Mount, City of (w); 

Snow Hill, Town, of (w); Stantonsburg, Town of (w)

North Dakota:

Burleigh County, Water Resources District (w); Dickinson, City 

of (w); Lower Heart Water Resources District (w); North Dakota 

Geological Survey (w); North Dakota State University (w); 

Oliver County, Board of Commissioners (w); Public Service 

Commission (w); State Department of Health (w); State Water 

Commission (w)

Northern Mariana Islands: (See Hawaii)

Ohio:

Akron, City of (w); Canton, City of, Water Department (w); 

Columbus, City of, Department of Public Services (w); Freemont, 

City of (w); Miami Conservancy District (w); Northeast Ohio 

Areawide Coordinating Agency (w); Northwood, City of (w); 

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Geological 

Survey (w), Division of Oil (w), Division of Reclamation (w), 

Transportation (n,w); Ohio Environmental Protection Agency 

(w); Oregon, City of (w); Seneca Soil and Water District (w); 

Toledo, City of (w); Williams, County of (w)

Oklahoma:

Ada, City of (w); Altus, City of (w); Association of Central 

Oklahoma Governments (w); Central Oklahoma Master 

Conservancy District (w); Claremore, City of (w); Fort Cobb 

Reservoir Master Conservancy District (w); Foss Reservoir 

Master Conservancy District (w); Lawton, City of (w); 

Lugert-Altus Irrigation District (w); Mountain Park Master 

Conservancy District (w); Oklahoma City, City of (w); Oklahoma 

Department of Transportation (n,w); Oklahoma Geological 

Survey, University of Oklahoma (w); Oklahoma State Health 

Department (w); Oklahoma Water Resources Board (w); 

Sapulpa, City of (w); Tulsa, City of (w)

138
Oregon:

Benton County Board of Commissioners (w); Burnt River 

Irrigaton District (w); Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian 

Reservation (w), Warm Springs Indian Reservation (w); Coos 

Bay-North Bend Water Board (w); Douglas, County of, 

Department of Public Works (w); Eugene, City of, Water and 

Electric Board (w); Lane Council of Governments (w); Lane, 

County of, Office of the Chief Administrator (w); McMinnville, 

City of, Water and Light Department (w); North Wasco County 

People's Utility District (w); Oregon Department of Fish and 

Wildlife (w), Geology and Mineral Industries (n), Transportation, 

Highway Division (w); Water Resources (w); Oregon State 

University (w); Portland, City of, Bureau of Water Works (w); 

Rajneeshpuram, City of (w); Salem, City of (w)

Pennsylvania:

Altoona City Authority (w); Bethlehem, City of (w); Chester, 

County of, Water Resources Authority (w); Delaware River 

Basin Commission (w); Harrisburg, City of, Department of 

Public Works (w); Lancaster County Planning Commission (w); 

Letort Regional Authority (w); Millcreek, Township of (w); 

Neshaming Water Resources Authority (w); New York State 

Department of Environmental Conservation (w); Philadelphia, 

City of, Water Department (w); Pennsylvania Department 

of Environmental Resources Abandoned Mines Reclamation 

Bureau (w), Mining and Reclamation Bureau (w), Office of 

Resources Management (w), Oil and Gas Management (w), Solid 

Wastes and Management Bureau (w), State Parks Bureau (w), 

Topographic and Geologic Survey Bureau (g,n,w), Water Quality 

Management Bureau (w); Susquehanna River Basin Commission 

(w); University Area Joint Authority (w); Warren, County of (w); 

Washington County Conservation District (w), Planning 

Commission (w), Supervisors (w)

Puerto Rico:

Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (w); Puerto Rico 

Department of Agriculture (w), Health (w), Natural Resources 

(g,w); Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board (w); Puerto 

Rico Industrial Development Company (w); Puerto Rico Mineral 

Resources Development Corporation (g); Puerto Rico Rice 

Corporation (w); Puerto Rico Vegetable Corporation (w); 

University of Puerto Rico CEER (w); (See also Virgin Islands)

Rhode Island:

Narragansett Bay Water Quality Commission (w); Rhode Island 

State Department of Environmental Management, Division of 

Water Resources (w); State Water Resources Board (w)

South Carolina:

Charleston, Commission of Public Works (w); Cooper River 

Water Users Association (w); Grand Strand Water and Sewer 

Authority (w); Hilton Head Island, Public Service District No. 1 

(w); Jasper County Administration (w); Myrtle Beach, City of 

(w); North Myrtle Beach, City of (w); South Carolina State 

Department of Highways and Public Transportation (w), 

Geological Survey (w), Health and Environmental Control (w), 

Public Service Authority (w), Water Resources Commission (w); 

Spartanburg Water Works, Commissioners of Public Works (w)

South Dakota:

Black Hills Conservancy Subdistrict (w); East Dakota 

.Conservancy Subdistrict (w); James River Watershed (w); Lower 

James Conservancy Subdistrict (w); Rapid City, City of (w); 

Sioux Falls, City of (w); South Dakota Department of Water 

and Natural Resources Geological Survey Division (w), Water 

Rights Division (w); Watertown, City of (w)

Tennessee:

Lawrenceburg, City of (w); Memphis, City of Light, Gas, and 

Water Division (w), Public Works Division (w); Metropolitan 

Government of Nashville and Davidson County (w); Shelby, 

County of (w); Tennessee Department of Conservation, 

Division of Surface Mines (w), Division of Water Management 

(w), Geology Division (w), Health and Environment (w); 

Transportation, Bureau of Highways (w); Tennessee Wildlife 

Resources Agency (w); Tennessee Tech. University (w)

Texas:

Abilene, City of (w); Alice, City of (w); Arlington, City of (w); 

Athens Municipal Water Authority (w); Austin, City of (w); 

Bexar-Medina-Atascosa Counties, Water Improvement District 

No. 1 (w); Bistone Municipal Water Supply District (w); Brazos 

River Authority (w); Cleburne, City of (w); Clyde, City of (w); 

Coastal Industrial Water Authority (w); Colorado River 

Municipal Water District (w); Corpus Christi, City of (w); 

Dallas, City of, Public Utilities (w); Dallas, County of, Public 

Works Department (w); Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (w); Edwards 

Underground Water District (w); El Paso, City of, Public Service 

Board (w); Franklin, County of, Water District (w); Gainesville, 

City of (w); Galveston, County of (w); Garland, City of (w); 

Georgetown, City of (w); Greenbelt Municipal and Industrial 

Water Authority (w); Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (w); 

Harris, County of, Flood Control District (w); Harris-Galveston 

Coastal Subsidence District (w); Houston, City of (w); 

Lavaca-Navidad River Authority (w); Lower Colorado River 

Authority (w); Lower Neches Valley Authority (w); Lubbock, 

City of (w); Mackenzie Municipal Water Authority (w); 

Nacogdoches, City of (w); North Central Texas Municipal Water 

Authority (w); Northeast Texas Municipal Water District (w); 

Orange, County of (w); Pecos River Commission (w); Red Bluff 

Water Power Control District (w); Reeves, County of, Water 

Improvement District No. 1 (w); Runaway Bay, City of (w); 

Sabine River Authority of Texas (w); Sabine River Compact 

Administration (w); San Angelo, City of (w); San Antonio, City 

of Engineering Department (w), Water Board (w); San Antonio 

River Authority (w); San Jacinto River Authority (w); Tarrant, 

County of, Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 (w); 

Texas A&M Research Foundation (g); Texas Department of 

Water Resources (n,w); Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 

(w); Titus, County of, Fresh Water Supply District No. 1 (w); 

Trinity River Authority (w); Upper Guadalupe River Authority 

(w); Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority (w); Upper 

Trinity Basin Water Quality Compact (w); West Central Texas 

Municipal Water District (w); Wichita, County of, Water 

Improvement District No. 2 (w); Wichita Falls, City of (w); 

Wood, County of (w)

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands: (See Hawaii)

Utah:

Bear River Commission (w); Department of Transporation (w); 

Salt Lake, County of Board of County Commissioners (w), 

Division of Flood Control and Water Quality (w); Utah 

Department of Natural Resources Geological and Mineral 

Survey (g,w), Oil, Gas and Mining Division (w), State Lands and 

Forestry Division (n), Water Resources Division (w), Water 

Rights Division (w), Wildlife Resources Division (w); Utah 

Health Department, Division of Environmental Health (w)

Vermont:

Agency of Environmental Conservation (n); Vermont 

Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering

(w)

139
Virginia:

Alexandria, City of, Department of Transportation and 

Environmental Services (w); Charles City, County of (w); 

Hanover, County of (w); James City, County of, Department of 

Public Works (w); James City Service Authority (w); New Kent, 

County of (w); Newport News, City of, Department of Public 

Utilities (w); Northern Virginia Planning District Commission 

(w), Division of Mined Land Reclamation (w); Roanoke, City of, 

Utilities and Operations (w); Southeastern Public Service 

Authority of Virginia (w); University of Virginia, Department of 

Environmental Sciences (w); Virginia Department 

of Conservation and Economic Development, Division of 

Mineral Resources (n), Highways and Transportation (w); 

Virginia Polytechnic and State University (w); Virginia State 

Water Control Board (w); Williamsburg, City of (w); York, 

County of (w)

Virgin Islands:

Department of Public Works (w); Virgin Islands, College of (w)

Washington:

Bellevue, City of, Public Works Department (w); Chelan, County 

of, Public Utility District No. 1 (w); Hoh Indian Tribe (w); 

Ketsap County Board of Commissioners (w); King, County of, 

Department of Public Works (w); Lewis, County of, Board of 

Commissioners (w); Makah Tribal Council (w); Municipality of 

Metropolitan Seattle (w); Pullman, City of (w); Puyallup Indian 

Nation (w); Quinault Indian Business Committee (w); Seattle, 

City of, Department of Lighting (w); Skagit, County of (w); 

Snohomish County (w); Stillaguamish Indian Tribe (w); Tacoma, 

City of Public Utilities Department (w), Public Works 

Department (w); Yakima Tribal Council (w); Washington 

Department of Ecology (w), Emergency Management (w), 

Fisheries (w), Natural Resources (g,n,w), Transportation (w)

West Virginia:

Marshall County Commission (w); Morgantown, City of, Water 

Commission (w); Washington Public Service District (w); West 

Virginia Department of Highways (w), Natural 

Resources Division of Water Resources (w), Wildlife (w); West 

Virginia Geological and Economic Survey (w)

Wisconsin:

Bad River Tribal Council (w); Beaver Dam, City of (w); Dane, 

County of Department of Public Works (w), Regional Planning 

Commission (w); Delavan Lake Sanitary District (w); Fond Du 

Lac, City of (w); Forest County Potawatomi Community (w); 

Fowler Lake Management District (w); Green Bay Metropolitan 

Sewerage District (w); Green Lake Sanitary District (w); Hills 

Lake District Association (w); Lac du Flambeau Indian 

Reservation (w); Lac La Belle Management District (w); 

Madison Metropolitan Sewage District (w); Madison Water 

Utility (w); Medford, City of (w); Menominee Indian Tribe of 

Wisconsin (w); Middleton, City of (w); Morris Lake Management 

District (w); Okauchee Lake Management District (w); St. Croix 

Tribal Council (w); Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning 

Commission (w); University of Wisconsin, Extension, Geological 

and Natural History Survey (n,w); University of Wisconsin, 

Milwaukee (w); Waupun, City of (w); Wisconsin Department 

of Natural Resources (n,w), Transportation (n) Bridge Section 

(w), Division of Highways (w); Wolf Lake Management District 

(w); Wood, County of (w)

Wyoming:

Attorney General (w); Cheyenne, City of (w); Sullette, County of 

(w); Teton County Board of Commissioners (w); Uinta, County of

(w); Water Development Commission (w); Wyoming Department 

of Agriculture (w), Economic Planning and Development (w), 

Environmental Quality (w), Highways (w); Wyoming State 

Engineer (n,w)

Federal Cooperators 

Central Intelligence Agency (g)

Department of Agriculture:

Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (n); 

Economics, Statistics, and Cooperatives Service (w); Forest 

Service (n,w); Graduate School (w); Agricultural Research 

Service (w); Soil Conservation Service (g,n,w); Statistical 

Reporting Service (n)

Department of the Air Force:

Air Force Academy (w); Boiling Air Force Base (g); Hanscom Air 

Force Base (g); Headquarters, AFTAC/AC (g); Vandenberg Air 

Force Base (w); Wurtsmith Air Force Base (w)

Department of the Army:

Aberdeen Proving Ground (w); Armament Research and 

Development Command (w); Avionics R and D Activity (g); 

Coastal Engineering Research Center (g); Corps of Engineers 

(g,w); Fort Bliss (w); Fort Carson Military Reservation (w); 

Mobility Equipment Research and Development Command (g); 

Research Office, Triangle Park, N.C. (g); Signals Warfare 

Laboratory (n); Waterways Experiment Station (g); White Sands 

Missile Range (w)

Department of Commerce:

Census (n); Coastal Plains Regional Action Planning 

Commission (g); National Bureau of Standards (g); National 

Ocean Survey (n); National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (n); National Marine Fisheries Service (w); 

National Weather Service (g,n,w)

Department of Defense Agencies:

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (g); Defense 

Mapping Agency (g,n); Defense Nuclear Agency (g); Defense 

Intelligence Agency (g)

Department of Energy:

Albuquerque Operations Office (g,w); Bonneville Power 

Administration (w); Chicago Operations Office (w); Idaho 

Operations Office (w); Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (g); 

Nevada Operations Office (g,n,w); Oak Ridge Operations Office 

(n,w); Office of Energy Research (g); Procurement Operations 

Office (g); Richland Operations Office (g,w); San Francisco 

Operations (g); Sandia National Laboratories (g); United States 

Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (g); Western Area 

Power Administration (g)

Department of Health and Human Services (w)

Department of the Interior:

Bureau of Indian Affairs (g,n,w); Bureau of Land Management 

(g,n,w); Bureau of Mines (g,n,w); Bureau of Reclamation (g,n,w); 

Minerals Management Service (g,n,w); National Park Service 

(g,n,w); Office of the Secretary (g,w); Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement (g,n,w); U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (g,n,w); Water and Power Resources Service (g)

140
Department of the Navy:

Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Test Center (g); Naval 

Oceanographic Office (g); Naval Weapons Center, China Lake 

(g,w); Office of Naval Research (g); U.S. Marine Corps, Camp 

Pendleton (w)

Department of State:

Agency for International Development (g,w); International 

Boundary and Water Commission, U.S. and Mexico (w); 

International Joint Commission, U.S. and Canada (w)

Department of Transportation:

Federal Highway Administration (g,n,w); U.S. Coast Guard

(g,w)

Department of Treasury:

U.S. Customs Service (n)

Environmental Protection Agency (n): 

Corvallis Environmental Research Laboratory (w); 

Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory (g); Office of 

Administration and Resources Management (n) Office of 

Environmental Engineering and Technology (g); Office of 

Monitoring and Technical Support (w)

Federal Emergency Management Agency (g,w) 

Federal Energy Regulating Commission Licensees (w) 

General Services Administration (w)

International Boundary and Water Commission (n) 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (g,w) 

National Science Foundation (g,n,w)

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (g,w) 

Tennessee Valley Authority (n,w)

Veterans Administration (g,w)

Other Cooperators and Contributors 

Government of American Samoa (g) 

Government of Peru (g) 

Government of Saudi Arabia (g,n,w) 

Government of Venezuela (w)

People's Republic of China (g)

United Nations:

United Nations Development Program (g,w); UNESCO (w); World 

Meteorological Organization (w)

141
Budgetary Data

Table 1. Geological Survey budget for fiscal years 1980 to 1985, by activity and sources of funds 1

[Dollars in thousands; totals may not add because of rounding]

Budget activity

Total ---------------------------------------

Direct program ----------------------------------

Reimbursable program ---------------------------

States, counties, and municipalities -------------

Miscellaneous non-Federal sources --------------

Other Federal agencies -------------------------

National Mapping, Geography, and Surveys

Direct program ----------------------------------

Reimbursable program ---------------------------

States, counties, and municipalities -------------

Miscellaneous non-Federal sources --------------

Other Federal agencies -------------------------

Geologic and Mineral Resource Surveys and

Mapping -------------------------------------

Direct program ----------------------------------

Reimbursable program ---------------------------

States, counties, and municipalities -------------

Miscellaneous non-Federal sources --------------

Other Federal agencies- - -----------------------

Water Resources Investigations ------------------

Direct program ----------------------------------

Reimbursable program ---------------------------

States, counties, and municipalities -------------

Miscellaneous non-Federal sources --------------

Other Federal agencies- - -----------------------

Conservation of Lands and Minerals -------------

Direct program ----------------------------------

Reimbursable program ---------------------------

Other Federal agencies -------------------------

Office of Earth Sciences Applications ------------

Direct program ----------------------------------

Reimbursable program ---------------------------

Other Federal agencies -------------------------

National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska

Direct program ----------------------------------

A 1 1 A/'df'inTl i"¥*QT1 OTOT*

Reimbursable program (Federal) ------------------

General Administration --------------------------

Direct program ----------------------------------

Reimbursable program (Federal) ------------------

Facilities -----------------------------------------

Direct program ----------------------------------

Reimbursable program ---------------------------

Miscellaneous services to other accounts- --------

Reimbursable program ---------------------------

Miscellaneous non-Federal sources --------------

Other Federal agencies- - -----------------------

Barrow Area Gas Operations- --------------------

Direct program ----------------------------------

1980

--- $782,136

--- 639,143

--- 142,993

46,849

16,817

79,327

82,683

72,759

9,924

3,083

610

6,231

--- 193,652

--- 146,963

46,489

640

11,258

34,791

--- 184,871

--- 108,664

76,207

43,126

1,778

31,303

--- 106,395

--- 105,928

467

12

455

23,734

18,935

4,799

2 ens

1,991

--- 169,845

3,776

3,776

12,273

12,273

4,907

4,907

351

4,556

1981

$769,757

623,057

146,700

48,700

19,605

78,395

89,177

77,449

11,727

2,985

1,095

7,648

208,287

162,756

45,531

758

13,192

31,761

194,016

115,458

78,558

45,138

2,088

31,332

127,001

125,739

1,262

9Q

1,233

23,205

18,849

4,356

3 1 3Q

1,217

107,001

3,896

3,896

11,909

11,909

5,266

5,266

62

5,204

1982

$661,842

509,983

151,859

50,418

24,376

77,065

88,133

77,687

10,446

3,000

1,100

6,346

212,355

163,731

48,624

480

16,844

31,300

190,096

108,637

81,459

46,938

2,679

31,842

130,468

129,868

600

910

390

20,853

14,359

6,494

3

/4QO

3,012

2,196

3,407

3,407

10,093

10,093

4,236

4,236

61

4,175

1983

$556,054

396,909

159,145

51,972

21,215

85,958

91,611

81,138

10,473

2,700

1,204

6,569

206,517

159,190

47,327

490

14,293

32,544

199,697

115,096

84,601

48,782

3,914

31,905

18,452

11,132

7,320

1 79Q

5,592

16,313

14,931

1,382

9,167

9,022

145

7,917

7,917

96

7,821

6,400

6,400

1984

$596,177

423,885

172,292

55,801

21,142

95,349

112,447

90,985

21,462

2,700

2,362

16,400

217,584

164,354

53,230

988

15,030

37,212

220,390

129,441

90,949

52,113

3,600

35,236

15,962

15,642

320

10,608

10,463

145

6,186

6,186

150

6,036

13,000

13,000

1985

$604,664

417,0212

187,643

59,454

26,075

102,114

115,155

85,469

29,686

1,937

9,4503

18,299

216,921

169,851

47,070

1,016

13,261

32,793

238,131

133,408

104,723

56,500

3,327

44,896

15,354

15,244

110

13,089

13,049

40

6,014

6,014

37

5,977

Includes 1982 appropriation for Minerals Management Service.

2Direct program includes $416,365 for current year, $89 for indefinite appropriation, and $567 for unobligated balance transferred.

Includes $7,108 for map receipts previously shown under direct program column.

142
Table 2. Geological Survey reimbursable program funds from other Federal agencies for fiscal years 1980 to 

1985, by agency

[Dollars in thousands]

Budget activity

Total -------------- ----------------------------

Department of Agriculture ----------------------------

Department of Commerce- -----------------------------

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Ozarks Regional Commission ------------------------

Department of Defense --------------------------------

Department of Energy- --------------------------------

Bonneville Power Administration --------------------

Department of Housing and Urban Development --------

Department of the Interior ----------------------------

Bureau of Indian Affairs ----------------------------

Bureau of Land Management ------------------------

Bureau of Mines ------------------------------------

Bureau of Reclamation ------------------------------

Minerals Management Service -----------------------

National Park Service- ------------------------------

Office of the Secretary- ------------------------------

Office of Surface Mining- ----------------------------

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service -----------------------

Department of State ----------------------------------

Department of Transportation -------------------------

Environmental Protection Agency- ---------------------

National Aeronautics and Space Administration --------

National Science Foundation --------------------------

Nuclear Regulatory Commission -----------------------

Tennessee Valley Authority ---------------------------

Miscellaneous Federal agencies ------------------------

Miscellaneous services to other accounts ----------------

1980

$79,326

3,878

276

2,388

76

17,447

14,406

61

302

22,926

9,295

7,807

297

2,257

818

203

1,563

686

2,449

291

2,645

2,793

1,211

1,325

243

2,105

4,556

1981

$78,395

3,567

...-.

823

18,490

10,885

81

188

22,553

3,999

13,800

299

2,231

1,121

154

469

480

2,272

273

1,259

5,065

2,001

1,781

317

3,717

5,204

1982

$76,675

2,675

-----

1,781

21,459

10,529

75

20,328

5,001

10,551

275

1,800

1,015

100

1,176

410

3,445

500

675

3,885

1,958

1,544

290

3,431

4,175

1983

$85,958

2,774

111

5,750

25,429

5,858

103

23,955

4,796

7,150

200

3,411

5,284

1,957

223

606

328

573

483

883

3,716

1,300

2,272

151

4,882

7,821

1984

$95,349

2,770

910

6,139

33,707

13,828

120

16,167

4,299

3,446

56

3,524

2,347

1,037

244

95

1,119

700

600

1,012

3,999

774

2,003

250

6,334

6,036

1985

$102,114

3,066

617

6,876

31,883

15,893

132

19,859

5,530

2,900

54

8,510

744

1,122

17

90

892

619

458

1,476

3,979

242

1,236

247

9,554

5,977

Yearbook Staff

John Keith 

John Watson 

Sandy Nelson

Bonnie D'Agostino 

Sandy Holmes 

Eloise Byrd 

Marti Quigley 

John Cordyack

Editor 

Text Editor 

Graphic Designer

Division Coordinators

Geologic Division 

Water Resources Division 

National Mapping Division 

Information Systems Division 

Administrative Division

143
As the Nation's principal conservation agency the Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural resources. This includes 

fostering the wisest use of our land and water resources, 

protecting our fish and wildlife, preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical 

places, and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and 

mineral resources and works to assure that their development is in the best interest of all our people. The Department 

also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in Island Territories 

under U.S. Administration.

.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1986-491-407:40002
Tec'