Publications
The following list of California Water Science Center publications includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists.
Filter Total Items: 1738
Non-native Rhizophora mangle as sinks for coastal contamination on Moloka'i, Hawai'i
Coastal mangrove forests provide a suite of environmental services, including sequestration of anthropogenic contamination. Yet, research lags on the environmental fate and potential human health risks of mangrove-sequestered contaminants in the context of mangrove removal for development and range shifts due to climate change. To address this, we conducted a study on Moloka'i, Hawai'i, comparing
Authors
Geoffrey Szafranski, Elise F. Granek, Michelle Hladik, Mia Hackett
A simple approach to modeling light attenuation in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta using commonly available data
The diffuse attenuation coefficient of photosynthetically active radiation (KdPAR) is commonly used to predict light attenuation in aquatic productivity models, but obtaining measurements of PAR to compute KdPAR is difficult. In situ calculations of KdPAR require multiple measurements of PAR through the water column, and these measurements are infeasible for real-time recording. Instead, predictiv
Authors
Emily T. Richardson, Keith Bouma-Gregson, Katy O'Donnell, Brian A. Bergamaschi
Etiology of a fish kill, Including the endangered Tidewater Goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi), in a northeastern pacific coastal lagoon
Ecological disturbances such as fish kills can negatively impact ecosystem processes in coastal lagoons. To gain an understanding of factors causing fish kills, we examined conditions associated with a summertime fish kill in a northeastern Pacific coastal lagoon (Rodeo Lagoon, CA, USA). Examination of available data indicated the fish kill was likely caused by hypoxia involving the following etio
Authors
Frederick V. Feyrer, Matthew J. Young, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Elizabeth B. Stumpner, Darren Fong, Kurt D. Carpenter
Conserved grasslands support similar pollinator diversity as pollinator-specific practice regardless of proximal cropland and pesticide exposure
Pollinator diversity and abundance are declining globally. Cropland agriculture and the corresponding use of agricultural pesticides may contribute to these declines, while increased pollinator habitat (flowering plants) can help mitigate them. Here we tested whether the relative effect of wildflower plantings on pollinator diversity and counts were modified by proportion of nearby agricultural la
Authors
Johanna M. Kraus, Kelly Smalling, Mark W. Vandever, Carrie E Givens, Cassandra Smith, Dana W. Kolpin, Michelle Hladik
Recharge estimation approach in a data-scarce semi-arid region, Northern Ethiopian Rift Valley
Sustainable management of groundwater resources highly relies on the accurate estimation of recharge. However, accurate recharge estimation is a challenge, especially in data-scarce regions, as the existing models are data-intensive and require extensive parameterization. This study developed a process-based hydrologic model combining local and remotely sensed data for characterizing recharge in d
Authors
Sisay Simachew Mekonen, Scott E. Boyce, Abdella K. Mohammed, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L Flint, Markus Disse
A novel boat-based field application of a high-frequency conductometric ammonium analyzer to characterize spatial variation in aquatic ecosystems
Documenting dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentration and form at appropriate temporal and spatial scales is key to understanding aquatic ecosystem health, particularly as DIN fuels primary productivity. In addition to point and non-point source nutrient inputs, factors such as hydrology, geomorphology, temperature, light, and biogeochemical transformations influence nutrient dynamics in su
Authors
Emily T. Richardson, Angela Hansen, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Bryan D. Downing, Don Forsberg, John Stillian, Katy O'Donnell, Crystal Lee Sturgeon, Brian A. Bergamaschi
Multiple-well monitoring site adjacent to the Elk Hills Oil Field, Kern County, California
IntroductionThe Elk Hills Oil Field is one of the many fields selected for regional groundwater mapping and monitoring by the California State Water Resources Control Board as part of the Oil and Gas Regional Monitoring Program (California State Water Resources Control Board, 2015, 2022b; U.S. Geological Survey, 2022a). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the California State Wa
Authors
Rhett R. Everett, Janice M. Gillespie, Mackenzie M. Shepherd, Andrew Y. Morita, Maryanne Bobbitt, Christopher A. Kohel, John G. Warden
An agricultural package for MODFLOW 6 using the Application Programming Interface
An agricultural water use package has been developed for MODFLOW 6 using the MODFLOW Application Programming Interface (API). The MODFLOW API Agricultural Water Use Package (API-Ag) was based on the approach to simulate irrigation demand in the MODFLOW-NWT and GSFLOW Agricultural Water Use (AG) Package. The API-Ag Package differs from the previous approach by implementing new features and support
Authors
Joshua Larsen, Christian D. Langevin, Joseph D. Hughes, Richard G. Niswonger
Microhabitat use of native Santa Ana sucker and arroyo chub in an effluent-dominated southern California stream
A significant amount of the base flow of the Santa Ana River, located within California's arid Los Angeles metropolitan region, originates from two wastewater treatment facilities: the Rialto wastewater treatment facility and Rapid Infiltration and Extraction facility. The Santa Ana sucker (Pantosteus santaanae, syn. Catostomus santaanae) and arroyo chub (Gila orcuttii) are two native species list
Authors
Brock Huntsman, Larry R. Brown, Jason May, Kai Palenscar, Kerwin Russell, Heather Dyer, Marissa L. Wulff, Brett Mills, Chris Jones
Arsenic, chromium, uranium, and vanadium in rock, alluvium, and groundwater, Mojave River and Morongo Areas, western Mojave Desert, southern California
Trace elements within groundwater that originate from aquifer materials and pose potential public-health hazards if consumed are known as geogenic contaminants. The geogenic contaminants arsenic, chromium, and vanadium can form negatively charged ions with oxygen known as oxyanions. Uranium complexes with bicarbonate and carbonate to form negatively charged ions having aqueous chemistry similar to
Authors
John A. Izbicki, Krishangi D. Groover, Whitney A. Seymour
Mangrove habitat persistence and carbon vulnerability associated with increased nutrient loading and sea-level rise at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Sanibel Island, Florida, USA)
J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge (DDNWR) is located on Sanibel Island along the southwestern coast of Florida, USA. Sanibel Island is heavily developed, but DDNWR provides protection for a large mangrove area that supports biodiversity and recreational opportunity. However, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) eutrophication attributed to agriculture discharge along the Caloosahatchee River
Authors
Ken Krauss, Jeremy R. Conrad, Jamie A. Duberstein, Eric Ward, Judith Z. Drexler, Kevin Buffington, Karen M. Thorne, Brian W. Benscoter, Haley Miller, Natalie T. Faron, Sergio Merino, Andrew From, Elitsa I. Peneva-Reed, Zhiliang Zhu
Salinity trends in a groundwater system supplemented by 50 years of imported Colorado River water
The Indio subbasin of the Coachella Valley is a desert area of southern California where a growing population depends primarily on groundwater for drinking and agricultural uses. The aquifer system has been supplemented with Colorado River water through managed recharge and widespread irrigation since the mid-20th century. We use a combination of geochemical modeling and trend analysis to identify
Authors
Jennifer S. Harkness, Patrick Michael McCarthy, Bryant Jurgens, Zeno Levy