USGS Submissions

The USGS, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, has developed a near-real-time method for determining provisional evapotranspiration (ET) in the Upper Klamath Basin of Oregon and California. Because evaporation uses heat energy, ground surfaces with large ET rates are left cooler than ground surfaces that have less ET. As a consequence, irrigated fields are distinguishable from nonirrigated fields on thermal imagery captured by Landsat satellite data.

The hydrogeologic framework and structural model of the Rialto-Colton Basin, San Bernardino County, California, was re-evaluated in light of recent studies and the availability of new data.  Structural, hydrogeologic framework and textural models of the water-bearing units in the basin were constructed. Gravity, aeromagnetic, and seismic studies were evaluated and IFSAR images were analyzed to confirm or revise previously mapped locations of the faults within and bordering the Rialto-Colton Basin.

Groundwater basins in California are being used as local reservoirs to supplement water supplies. Water managers need more information on the relationship between land subsidence and water extraction. Studies are being conducted in the San Joaquin and the Coachella Valleys to provide important information for various Federal, State, and local stakeholders to manage and minimize the impacts of land subsidence upon water-conveyance infrastructures (including the California Aqueduct) and water deliveries in the valleys.

Detailed land cover datasets were developed for several ecologically-important areas in Clark County, Nevada, by classifying DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird satellite high-resolution (3 m²) multispectral imagery using Visual Learning Systems’ Feature Analyst feature extraction software.  Over 1,000 vegetation field samples were collected at the stand level in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, and the Coyote Springs, Piute-Eldorado Valley, and Mormon Mesa Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.

For over 20 years, remote sensing data have been used to develop regional hydrological and geomechanical models that include the effects of land subsidence. These  studies use InSAR and lidar along with ground-based subsidence monitoring with the Plate Boundary Observatory Global Positioning System network and other geodetic data to quantify land subsidence caused by groundwater extraction. Water conflicts over consumptive use have been further exacerbated by the recent drought and expanded demand from growing agricultural uses and urban growth.

Seasonally, frozen ground covers approximately one‑third of the conterminous United States, causing increased winter runoff and reduced potential groundwater recharge. The temporal and spatial distribution of frozen ground is expected to change as the climate warms. The USGS Groundwater Resources Program combined satellite remote sensing and ground truth measurements to investigate seasonally frozen ground and recharge at local to regional scales in the Columbia Plateau, Washington and Oregon, and the Snake River Plain, Idaho.