News Release

Science picks-leads, feeds and story seeds (May 2003)

Peer-Reviewed Publication

U.S. Geological Survey

LEADS
Honoring Heroes and Their Enshrined Environment - USGS scientists and archaeologists from the National Park Service are developing ways to evaluate the effect of seawater on the structural integrity of the USS Arizona, sunk Dec. 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and rests today in about 40 feet of water. Visitors to the battleship notice the black fuel – about a quart a day – that leaks from the hull. More than a half a million gallons of fuel oil are still trapped in the damaged hull and, as it further degrades in the salty environment, the oil poses an environmental risk. The USGS is advising the National Park Service on placing oceanographic instruments on the Arizona to study the seawater environment around the ship. USGS scientists are using data from these instruments deployed last fall to study the ocean environment and predict the life expectancy of the hull and the fate of the fuel still trapped. Butch Kinerney,bkinerney@usgs.gov, 703-648-4732.

How wet were they? It's taken 'em 16,000 years to dry out! - Are deserts still drying out since the ice age? The answer appears to be yes. And this information could influence how we dispose of hazardous wastes. USGS scientists and university partners have found that sediments beneath the Nation's southwestern deserts have been drying out for 16,000 years, since the cold and wet conditions of the ice age began to change to the hot and dry conditions of today. What does this drying out mean for hazardous waste disposal? Check out http://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/drying_deserts.html (There's also a neat photo of desert vegetation at the Amargosa Desert Research Site where USGS scientists are studying methods for characterizing the mechanisms that control subsurface migration and fate of contaminants in arid environments.) Gail Wendt, gwendt@usgs.gov,703-648-5604.

FEEDS
Water, Water Everywhere - Maybe not this summer, but ten years ago, from May to September, the Mississippi River flooded and the damage was devastating – an estimated $20 billion in direct economic losses and the tragic loss of 38 lives.

The floods affected much of the upper Midwest and persisted through most of the summer of 1993. To learn more facts about significant floods in the United States during the 20th century and how the USGS monitors and maintains streamflow-gaging stations to keep a watchful eye on the health of the Nation's rivers, go to http://ks.water.usgs.gov/Kansas/pubs/fact-sheets/fs.024-00.html. A.B. Wade, abwade@usgs.gov, 703-648-4460.

Maps in Patriotic Memory - From Antietam to the Armistice and the Normandy Air Campaign, historical maps provide a unique perspective on landscapes that have witnessed wars. The USGS serves as the distributor for the National Imagery and Mapping Agency's (NIMA) Historical Map Posters, which include maps of Iwo Jima, D-Day and the Philippines. Other historical maps include the Lewis and Clark expedition. To see the maps and trace the roots and progress of geospatial intelligence, visit the NIMA Historical Map Series website at http://www.nima.mil/hms; to order limited copies of these special commemorative historical map posters, call the USGS Earth Science Information Center at 1-888-ASK-USGS (1-888-275-8747) or send an email to ask@usgs.gov. Kathleen Gohn, kgohn@usgs.gov, 703-648-4460.

STORY SEEDS
The Wow of Water - The USGS will celebrate "The Wonder of Water" during National Drinking Water Week, May 4-10, 2003. For more than 30 years, the Nation has observed National Drinking Water Week, which is sponsored by the American Water Works Association (http://www.awwa.org/). The USGS manages the Nation's water resources and offers a wealth of water information via the Web at http://water.usgs.gov/. Celebrate water by getting the current water conditions in your area (http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/), finding out if your state is in a drought (http://water.usgs.gov/cgi-bin/dailyMainW?state=us&map_type=dryw&web_type=map), or learning more about your local watershed (http://water.usgs.gov/wsc/). For a basic primer about water, check out "Water and the Environment," authored by the USGS and published by the American Geological Institute http://www.agiweb.org/pubs/.

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