This data release contains tabular data (comma-separated-value files) of natural radiogenic isotopes of strontium, uranium, and thorium for samples of modern water, speleothems, associated with Fitton Cave, north central Arkansas, as well as rock that host the cave deposits. In addition, U-series ages (230Th/U dates and model 234U/238U dates) are calculated from those data for subsamples of speleothems. Stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon are reported for a subset of the stalagmite samples. Sample locations and descriptions as well as specific sub-sample imagery and narrative explanations are included as information supporting the analyses. Selected results are depicted as data plots in an accompanying Excel spreadsheet for non-interpretive illustration.

This dataset includes tables of stratigraphic age-depth information for Paisley Caves 2 and 5, in Oregon U.S.A., along with tables of stable and strontium isotopic data for fish remains and geological samples from the study area surrounding the Paisley Caves.

Diatom taxonomy, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values, and algal pigment data from lake sediment layers dating back to 1600 Common Era (CE) for Sky Pond and The Loch in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Cave-limited species display patchy and restricted distributions, but are challenging to study in-situ because of the difficulty of sampling. It is often unclear whether the observed distribution is a sampling artifact or a true restriction in range. Further, the drivers of the distribution could be local environmental conditions, such as cave humidity, or they could be associated with surface features that are surrogates for cave conditions. If surface features can be used to predict the distribution of important cave taxa, then conservation management goals can be more easily obtained. These GIS data represent the input and results of a spatial statistical model used to examine the hypothesis that the presence of major faunal groups of cave obligate species could be predicted based on features of the earth surface. Georeferenced records of cave obligate amphipods, crayfish, fish, isopods, beetles, millipedes, pseudoscorpions, spiders, and springtails within the area of Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) in the eastern United States (Illinois to Virginia, and New York to Alabama) were assigned to 20 x 20 km grid cells. Habitat suitability for these faunal groups was modeled using logistic regression with twenty predictor variables within each grid cell, such as percent karst, soil features, temperature, precipitation, and elevation. The models successfully predicted the presence of a group greater than 65 percent of the time (mean=88 percent) for the presence of single grid cell endemics, and for all faunal groups except pseudoscorpions. The most common predictor variables were latitude, percent karst, and the standard deviation of the Topographic Position Index (TPI), a measure of landscape rugosity within each grid cell. The overall success of these models points to a number of important connections between the surface and cave environments, and some of these, especially soil features and topographic variability, suggest new research directions. These models should prove to be useful tools in predicting the presence of species in understudied areas.

The Upper Colorado River Basin has a drainage area of about 113,500 square miles in western Colorado, eastern Utah, southwestern Wyoming, northeastern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, the Upper Colorado River Basin was a study area under of the U.S. Geological Survey's Regional Aquifer-System Analysis (RASA) program (Sun and Johnston, 1994; Sun and Weeks, 1991). The objectives of the RASA program for the Upper Colorado River Basin were to provide regional assessments of major aquifer systems by providing quantitative assessments of the occurrence, movement, and availability of water stored in rock formations that underlie the basin/watershed. These assessments included: (1) the classification of stratigraphic sequences into those intervals that constitute aquifers and those that constitute confining beds; and (2) the generation of maps that portrayed the areal extent of aquifers, aquifer thickness, and overburden thickness. These studies generated a large body of subsurface geologic information as part of the regional aquifer analyses, some of which are captured in this digital data release. Aquifer systems in consolidated rocks in the Upper Colorado River Basin have been grouped into three major subdivisions of sedimentary rocks; in descending order: (1) Tertiary-rock aquifers, (2) Mesozoic-rock aquifers, and (3) Paleozoic-rock aquifers (Taylor and others, 1983; 1986). Within each aquifer group, rocks are further divided into aquifers and confining units on the basis of lithology, depositional environment, and hydrologic characteristics (Glover and others, 1998; Freethy and Cordy, 1991; Geldon, 2003). In a report describing consolidated-rock aquifers of Paleozoic age, 7 hydrostratigraphic units were defined, four aquifers and three confining units (Geldon, 2003). The hydrostratigraphic units of Paleozoic age are locally exposed around the margins of uplifts and in deeply-incised canyon; they occur widely in the subsurface of the Upper Colorado River Basin study area, except in parts of the Uinta, Wind River, and Uncompahgre uplifts where they have been removed by erosion. These hydrostratigraphic units are part of the stratigraphic sequence of Paleozoic rocks that has a total thickness of more than 5,000 ft. This digital dataset contains spatial datasets corresponding to the contoured subsurface maps of Paleozoic rock units produced by the U.S. Geological Survey's Regional Aquifer-System Analysis (RASA) of the Upper Colorado River Basin (Geldon, 2003). The data define the thickness, extent, nomenclature, and facies characteristics of principal hydrostratigraphic units of Paleozoic age in the basin. The digital data describe the following hydrostratigraphic units: the Flathead aquifer, the Gros Ventre confining unit, the Bighorn aquifer, the Elbert-Parting confining unit, the Madison aquifer (consisting of two zones, the Redwall-Leadville zone, and the Darwin-Humbug zone), the Four Corners confining unit (consisting of the Belden-Molas subunit and the Paradox-Eagle Valley subunit), and the Canyonlands aquifer (consisting of three zones, the Cutler-Maroon zone, the Weber-de Chelly zone, and the Park City-State Bridge zone). Contoured thickness and lithology data for each unit are contained in line features classes within a geodatabase; unit extents, facies extents, and formation nomenclatural extents are represented as polygon feature classes. Both types of data are also saved as individual shapefiles. Nonspatial tables define the data sources used, terminology, and the stacking hierarchy and component geologic formations of each the of hydrostratigraphic units

The Upper Colorado River Basin has a drainage area of about 113,500 square miles in western Colorado, eastern Utah, southwestern Wyoming, northeastern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, the Upper Colorado River Basin was a study area under of the U.S. Geological Survey's Regional Aquifer-System Analysis (RASA) program (Sun and Johnston, 1994; Sun and Weeks, 1991). The objectives of the RASA program for the Upper Colorado River Basin were to provide regional assessments of major aquifer systems by providing quantitative assessments of the occurrence, movement, and availability of water stored in rock formations that underlie the basin/watershed. These assessments included: (1) the classification of stratigraphic sequences into those intervals that constitute aquifers and those that constitute confining beds; and (2) the generation of maps that portrayed the areal extent of aquifers, aquifer thickness, and overburden thickness. These studies generated a large body of subsurface geologic information as part of the regional aquifer analyses, some of which are captured in this digital data release. Aquifer systems in consolidated rocks in the Upper Colorado River Basin have been grouped into three major subdivisions of sedimentary rocks; in descending order: (1) Tertiary-rock aquifers, (2) Mesozoic-rock aquifers, and (3) Paleozoic-rock aquifers (Taylor and others, 1983; 1986). Within each aquifer group, rocks are further divided into aquifers and confining units on the basis of lithology, depositional environment, and hydrologic characteristics (Glover and others, 1998; Freethy and Cordy, 1991; Geldon, 2003). In a report describing consolidated-rock aquifers of Paleozoic age, 7 hydrostratigraphic units were defined, four aquifers and three confining units (Geldon, 2003). The hydrostratigraphic units of Paleozoic age are locally exposed around the margins of uplifts and in deeply-incised canyon; they occur widely in the subsurface of the Upper Colorado River Basin study area, except in parts of the Uinta, Wind River, and Uncompahgre uplifts where they have been removed by erosion. These hydrostratigraphic units are part of the stratigraphic sequence of Paleozoic rocks that has a total thickness of more than 5,000 ft. This digital dataset contains spatial datasets corresponding to the contoured subsurface maps of Paleozoic rock units produced by the U.S. Geological Survey's Regional Aquifer-System Analysis (RASA) of the Upper Colorado River Basin (Geldon, 2003). The data define the thickness, extent, nomenclature, and facies characteristics of principal hydrostratigraphic units of Paleozoic age in the basin. The digital data describe the following hydrostratigraphic units: the Flathead aquifer, the Gros Ventre confining unit, the Bighorn aquifer, the Elbert-Parting confining unit, the Madison aquifer (consisting of two zones, the Redwall-Leadville zone, and the Darwin-Humbug zone), the Four Corners confining unit (consisting of the Belden-Molas subunit and the Paradox-Eagle Valley subunit), and the Canyonlands aquifer (consisting of three zones, the Cutler-Maroon zone, the Weber-de Chelly zone, and the Park City-State Bridge zone). Contoured thickness and lithology data for each unit are contained in line features classes within a geodatabase; unit extents, facies extents, and formation nomenclatural extents are represented as polygon feature classes. Both types of data are also saved as individual shapefiles. Nonspatial tables define the data sources used, terminology, and the stacking hierarchy and component geologic formations of each the of hydrostratigraphic units

This archived Paleoclimatology Study is available from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), under the World Data Service (WDS) for Paleoclimatology. The associated NCEI study type is Cave. The data include parameters of speleothems with a geographic location of West Virginia, United States Of America. The time period coverage is from 6895 to -13 in calendar years before present (BP). See metadata information for parameter and study location details. Please cite this study when using the data.

This archived Paleoclimatology Study is available from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), under the World Data Service (WDS) for Paleoclimatology. The associated NCEI study type is Cave. The data include parameters of speleothems with a geographic location of Turkey, Western Asia. The time period coverage is from 3941 to -55 in calendar years before present (BP). See metadata information for parameter and study location details. Please cite this study when using the data.

This archived Paleoclimatology Study is available from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), under the World Data Service (WDS) for Paleoclimatology. The associated NCEI study type is Cave. The data include parameters of speleothems with a geographic location of Peru. The time period coverage is from 10601 to -34 in calendar years before present (BP). See metadata information for parameter and study location details. Please cite this study when using the data.

This archived Paleoclimatology Study is available from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), under the World Data Service (WDS) for Paleoclimatology. The associated NCEI study type is Cave. The data include parameters of speleothems with a geographic location of New Mexico, United States Of America. The time period coverage is from 55845 to 11309 in calendar years before present (BP). See metadata information for parameter and study location details. Please cite this study when using the data.