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
Spectral characterization of dissolved organic matter in groundwater to assess mixing with oil-field water near selected oil fields, southern California
Samples of oil-field water (oil wells, injectate, disposal ponds) and groundwater near selected oil and gas fields in southern California were analyzed for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and by optical spectroscopic techniques (i.e., absorbance and fluorescence) to assess whether these measurements can be used to distinguish between oil-field water (Oil Field), native groundwater (WG
Authors
Angela Hansen, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Matthew K. Landon, Peter B. McMahon
Karst groundwater vulnerability determined by modeled age and residence time tracers
Karst aquifers are a vital groundwater resource globally, but features such as rapid recharge and conduit flow make them highly vulnerable to land-surface contamination. We apply environmental age tracers to the south-central Texas Edwards aquifer, a karst resource in a rapidly urbanizing and drought-prone region, to assess vulnerability to land-surface contamination and risks unique to karst aqui
Authors
MaryLynn Musgrove, Bryant Jurgens, Stephen P. Opsahl
Carbon sequestration and subsidence reversal in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Bay: Management opportunities for climate mitigation and adaptation
The aquatic landscapes of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (hereafter, the Delta) and Suisun Bay represent both a significant past and future soil carbon stock. Historical alterations of hydrologic flows have led to depletion of soil carbon stocks via emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), and loss of elevation as a result of subsidence. Optimizing ecosystem hydrology in the Delta and Suisun Bay could
Authors
Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Patty Oikawa, Steve Deverel, Dylan Chapple, Judith Z. Drexler, Dylan Stern
Fluid migration pathways to groundwater in mature oil fields: Exploring the roles of water injection/production and oil-well integrity in California, USA
Mature oil fields potentially contain multiple fluid migration pathways toward protected groundwater (total dissolved solids, TDS, in nonexempted aquifer <10,000 mg/L) because of their extensive development histories. Time-series data for water use, fluid pressures, oil-well construction, and geochemistry from the South Belridge and Lost Hills mature oil fields in California are used to explore th
Authors
Peter B. McMahon, Matthew K. Landon, Michael J. Stephens, Kimberly A. Taylor, Janice M. Gillespie, Tracy Davis, David H. Shimabukuro
Evaluation of hydrodynamic mixing in an afterbay reservoir
This study focused on the mixing of a solute, assumed to be conservative, introduced to one arm of an afterbay reservoir, between Keswick and Shasta Dams on the Sacramento River near Redding, California. Rhodamine water tracer (WT) dye served as the solute in a field experiment, and was introduced over 4.5 h and monitored for 4 days by sondes moored in the reservoir. The scenario was modeled numer
Authors
Paul Work
Sacramento River nutrient change study
The Sacramento River Nutrient Change Study (SRiNCS) was developed with input from multiple stakeholders in the Delta Regional Monitoring Program, as well as the State Water Contractors. We tracked the effects of changes in nutrient loading resulting from a short-term wastewater hold at the Sacramento River Wastewater Treatment Plant (SRWTP). In the summer of 2019, scheduled wastewater effluent hol
Authors
Lisa Thompson, Timothy D. Mussen, Michael Cook, Justin Nordin, James Noss, Ursula Bigler, Srividhya Ramamoorthy, Gry Mine Berg, Sara Driscoll, Clifton Herrmann, Wim J. Kimmerer, Toni Ignoffo, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Joseph K. Fackrell, Brian Bergamaschi, Marianne Guerin, Richard Rachiele
Selenium hazards in the Salton Sea environment—Summary of current knowledge to inform future wetland management
Quaternary marine and continental shales in the western United States are sources of selenium that can be loaded into the aquatic environment through mining, agricultural, and energy production processes. The mobilization of selenium from shales through agricultural irrigation has been recognized since the 1930s; however, discovery of deformities in birds and other wildlife using agricultural habi
Authors
Michael R. Rosen, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Krishangi D. Groover, Isa Woo, Sarah A. Roberts, Melanie J. Davis, Cristiana Y. Antonino
Multiple-well monitoring site within the Poso Creek Oil Field, Kern County, California
IntroductionThe Poso Creek 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 (RMP; California State Water Resources Control Board, 2015, 2022b; U.S. Geological Survey, 2022a). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the California St
Authors
Rhett R. Everett, Peter B. McMahon, Michael J. Stephens, Janice M. Gillespie, Mackenzie M. Shepherd, Nicole C. Fenton
A prioritization protocol for coastal wetland restoration on Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi
Hawaiian coastal wetlands provide important habitat for federally endangered waterbirds and socio-cultural resources for Native Hawaiians. Currently, Hawaiian coastal wetlands are degraded by development, sedimentation, and invasive species and, thus, require restoration. Little is known about their original structure and function due to the large-scale alteration of the lowland landscape since Eu
Authors
Judith Z. Drexler, Helen Raine, James D. Jacobi, Sally House, Pūlama Lima, William Haase, Arleone Dibben-Young, Brett T. Wolfe
Bifenthrin, a ubiquitous contaminant, impairs the development and behavior of the threatened Longfin Smelt during early life stages
The Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) population in the San Franscisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Bay-Delta) has declined to ∼1% of its pre-1980s abundance and, as a result, is listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act. The reasons for this decline are multiple and complex, including the impacts of contaminants. Because the spawning and rearing seasons of Longfi
Authors
Florian Mauduit, Amelie Segarra, Julia Sherman, Michelle Hladik, Luann Wong, Thomas M Young, Levi Lewis, Tien-Chieh Hung, Nann A. Fangue, Richard E Connon
A large sediment accretion wave along a northern California littoral cell
The northern California littoral cell of the Klamath River, which is a mixed rocky and sandy system with significant shoreline curvature, was investigated by examining ∼40 yr of satellite-derived shoreline positions and historical records. We find that an accretion wave of sediment was initiated near the Klamath River mouth in the late 1980s and translated downcoast over the subsequent decades. Th
Authors
Jonathan Warrick, Kilian Vos, Daniel Buscombe, Andrew C. Ritchie, Jennifer Curtis
Neonicotinoid sunflower seed treatment, while not detected in pollen and nectar, still impacts wild bees and crop yield
Neonicotinoid seed treatments are commonly used in agricultural production even though their benefit to crop yield and their impact on pollinators, particularly wild bees, remains unclear. Using an on-farm matched pair design in which half of each field was sown with thiamethoxam treated seed and half without, we assessed honey bee and wild bee exposure to pesticides in sunflower fields by analyzi
Authors
Laura T. Ward, Michelle Hladik, Aidee Guzman, Ariana Bautista, Nicholas Mills