Publications
Below is a list of available Colorado Water Science Center publications and published products.
Filter Total Items: 762
Assessing specific-capacity data and short-term aquifer testing to estimate hydraulic properties in alluvial aquifers of the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA
Study Region: Rocky Mountains, United StatesStudy Focus: Groundwater-flow modeling requires estimates of hydraulic properties, namely hydraulic conductivity. Hydraulic conductivity values commonly vary over orders of magnitudes however and estimation may require extensive field campaigns applying slug or pumping tests. As an alternative, specific-capacity tests can be used to estimate hydraulic pr
Authors
Connor P. Newman, Zachary D. Kisfalusi, Michael J. Holmberg
Snow depth retrieval with an autonomous UAV-mounted software-defined radar
We present results from a field campaign to measure seasonal snow depth at Cameron Pass, Colorado, using a synthetic ultrawideband software-defined radar (SDRadar) implemented in commercially available Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) software-defined radio hardware and flown on a small hexacopter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). We coherently synthesize an ultrawideband signal from steppe
Authors
S. Prager, Graham A. Sexstone, Daniel J McGrath, John Fulton, Mahta Moghaddam
Effects of hydrologic variability and remedial actions on first flush and metal loading from streams draining the Silverton caldera, 1992–2014
This study examined water quality in the upper Animas River watershed, a mined watershed that gained notoriety following the 2015 Gold King mine release of acid mine drainage to downstream communities. Water-quality data were used to evaluate trends in metal concentrations and loads over a two-decade period. Selected sites included three sites on tributary streams and one main-stem site on the Ani
Authors
Tanya N Petach, Robert L. Runkel, Rory M. Cowie, Diane M. McKnight
Predicting regional fluoride concentrations at public and domestic supply depths in basin-fill aquifers of the western United States using a random forest model
A random forest regression (RFR) model was applied to over 12,000 wells with measured fluoride (F) concentrations in untreated groundwater to predict F concentrations at depths used for domestic and public supply in basin-fill aquifers of the western United States. The model relied on twenty-two regional-scale environmental and surficial predictor variables selected to represent factors known to c
Authors
Celia Z Rosecrans, Kenneth Belitz, Katherine Marie Ransom, Paul E. Stackelberg, Peter B. McMahon
Estimating urban air pollution contribution to South Platte River nitrogen loads with National Atmospheric Deposition Program data and SPARROW model
Air pollution is commonly disregarded as a source of nutrient loading to impaired surface waters managed under the Clean Water Act per states’ 303(d) list programs. The contribution of air pollution to 2017–2018 South Platte River nitrogen (N) loads was estimated from the headwaters to the gage at Weldona, Colorado, USA (100 km downstream of Denver), using data from the National Atmospheric Deposi
Authors
Gregory A. Wetherbee, Michael Wieczorek, Dale M. Robertson, David A. Saad, Jon Novick, Alisa Mast
Estimates of public-supply, domestic, and irrigation water withdrawal, use, and trends in the Upper Rio Grande Basin, 1985 to 2015
The Rio Grande flows approximately 670 miles from its headwaters in the San Juan Mountains of south-central Colorado to Fort Quitman, Texas, draining the Upper Rio Grande Basin (URGB) study area of 32,000 square miles that includes parts of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Parts of the basin extend into the United Mexican States (hereafter “Mexico”), where the Rio Grande forms the international bo
Authors
Tamara I. Ivahnenko, Allison K. Flickinger, Amy E. Galanter, Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin, Diana E. Pedraza, Gabriel B. Senay
Estimating invertebrate response to changes in total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and specific conductance at sites where invertebrate data are unavailable
The purpose of this report is to describe a possible approach to estimate changes in invertebrate taxa richness at sites with known water-quality trends but no invertebrate data. In this study, data from 1,322 sites were used to describe invertebrate response to changes in total nitrogen, total phosphorus, or specific conductance, and to estimate changes in invertebrate taxa richness at 259 sites
Authors
Robert E. Zuellig, Daren M. Carlisle
Analysis of Escherichia coli, total recoverable iron, and dissolved selenium concentrations, loading, and identifying data gaps for selected 303(d) listed streams, Grand Valley, western Colorado, 1980–2018
Tributaries to the Colorado River in the Grand Valley in western Colorado (segment COLCLC13b) have been placed on the State of Colorado 303(d) list as impaired for Escherichia coli (E. coli), total recoverable iron, and dissolved selenium. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Water Quality Control Division is required to develop total maximum daily loads for these constituents
Authors
Lisa D. Miller, Rachel G. Gidley, Natalie K. Day, Judith C. Thomas
Spatiotemporal dynamics of CO2 gas exchange from headwater mountain streams
Mountain streams play an important role in the global carbon cycle by transporting, metabolizing, and exchanging carbon they receive from the terrestrial environment. The rates at which these processes occur remain highly uncertain because of a paucity of observations and the difficulty of measuring gas exchange rates in steep, turbulent mountain streams. This uncertainty is compounded by large te
Authors
David W. Clow, Robert G. Striegl, Mark Dornblaser
Assessment of diel cycling in nutrients and trace elements in the Eagle River Basin, 2017–18
Diel cycles are known to occur in all types of waters, and increasing studies indicate routine water samples may not provide an accurate snapshot in concentrations of trace elements and nutrients. Diel behavior in neutral to alkaline pH ranges is independent of streamflow variability and concentration. Extensive historical U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) water-quality data have been collected in the
Authors
Rodney J. Richards, Mark F. Henneberg
Uncertainty in remote sensing of streams using noncontact radars
Accounting for freshwater resources and monitoring floods are vital functions for societies throughout the world. Remote-sensing methods offer great prospects to expand stream monitoring in developing countries and to smaller, headwater streams that are largely ungauged worldwide. This study evaluates the potential to estimate discharge using eight radar units that have been installed over streams
Authors
Mushfiqur Rahman Khan, Jonathan J Gourley, Jorge Duarte, Humberto Vergara, Daniel Wasielewski, Pierre-Alain Ayral, John Fulton
Using an unmanned aerial vehicle water sampler to gather data in a pit-lake mining environment to assess closure and monitoring
Residual pit lakes from mining are often dangerous to sample for water quality. Thus, pit lakes may be rarely (or never) sampled. This study developed new technology in which water-sampling devices, mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), were used to sample three pit lakes in Nevada, USA, during 1 week in 2017. Water-quality datasets from two of the three pit lakes on public lands, Dexter an
Authors
Brian Straight, Devin Castendyk, Diane M. McKnight, Connor P. Newman, Pierre Filiatreault, Americo Pino