Publications
Publications
Here you will find publications, reports and articles produced by Lower Mississippi-Gulf scientists. For a comprehensive listing of all USGS publications please click the button below.
Filter Total Items: 422
Conceptual models of the formation of acid-rock drainage at road cuts in Tennessee
Pyrite and other minerals containing sulfur and trace metals occur in several rock formations throughout Middle and East Tennessee. Pyrite (FeS2) weathers in the presence of oxygen and water to form iron hydroxides and sulfuric acid. The weathering and interaction of the acid on the rocks and other minerals at road cuts can result in drainage with low pH (< 4) and high concentrations of trace meta
Authors
Mike Bradley, Scott Worland, Tom Byl
Soil respiration patterns and controls in limestone cedar glades
Aims
Drivers of soil respiration (Rs) in rock outcrop ecosystems remain poorly understood. We investigated these drivers in limestone cedar glades, known for their concentrations of endemic plant species and for seasonal hydrologic extremes (xeric and saturated conditions), and compared our findings to those in temperate grasslands and semi-arid ecosystems.
Methods
We measured Rs, soil temperature
Authors
Jennifer M. Cartwright, Dafeng Hui
Using stable isotopes of carbon to investigate the seasonal variation of carbon transfer in a northwestern Arkansas cave
Stable-isotope analyses are valuable in karst settings, where characterizing biogeochemical cycling of carbon along groundwater flow paths is critical for understanding and protecting sensitive cave and karst water resources. This study quantified the seasonal changes in concentration and isotopic composition (δ13C) of aqueous and gaseous carbon species—dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and gaseous
Authors
Katherine J. Knierim, Erik Pollock, Phillip D. Hays, Jam Khojasteh
Dry season mean monthly flow and harmonic mean flow regression equations for selected ungaged basins in Arkansas
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, Southwestern Energy, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, developed regression equations for estimation of dry season mean monthly flows and harmonic mean flows that are representative of natural streamflow conditions at selected ungaged basins in Arkan
Authors
Brian K. Breaker
Bibliography for acid-rock drainage and selected acid-mine drainage issues related to acid-rock drainage from transportation activities
Acid-rock drainage occurs through the interaction of rainfall on pyrite-bearing formations. When pyrite (FeS2) is exposed to oxygen and water in mine workings or roadcuts, the mineral decomposes and sulfur may react to form sulfuric acid, which often results in environmental problems and potential damage to the transportation infrastructure. The accelerated oxidation of pyrite and other sulfidic m
Authors
Mike Bradley, Scott C. Worland
Water resources of St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water qua
Authors
Vincent E. White, Lawrence B. Prakken, Robert B. Fendick
Water resources of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from
Authors
Vincent E. White, Lawrence B. Prakken
Water resources of La Salle Parish, Louisiana
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in La Salle Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from gr
Authors
Vincent E. White, Lawrence B. Prakken
Potentiometric surfaces and water-level trends in the Cockfield (upper Claiborne) aquifer in southern Arkansas and the Wilcox (lower Wilcox) aquifer of northeastern and southern Arkansas, 2012
The Cockfield aquifer, located in southern Arkansas, is composed of Eocene-age sand beds found near the base of the Cockfield Formation of Claiborne Group. The Wilcox aquifer, located in northeastern and southern Arkansas, is composed of Paleocene-age sand beds found in the middle to lower part of the Wilcox Group. The Cockfield and Wilcox aquifers are primary sources of groundwater. In 2010, with
Authors
Kirk D. Rodgers
Ecosystem-atmosphere exchange of CO2 in a temperate herbaceous peatland in the Sanjiang Plain of northeast China
Northern peatlands contain a considerable share of the terrestrial carbon pool, which will be affected by future climatic variability. Using the static chamber technique, we investigated ecosystem respiration and soil respiration over two growing seasons (2012 and 2013) in a Carex lasiocarpa-dominated peatland in the Sanjiang Plain in China. We synchronously monitored the environmental factors con
Authors
Xiaoyan Zhu, Changchun Song, Christopher M. Swarzenski, Yuedong Guo, Xinhow Zhang, Jiaoyue Wang
Assessment of surface water chloride and conductivity trends in areas of unconventional oil and gas development — Why existing national data sets cannot tell us what we would like to know
Heightened concern regarding the potential effects of unconventional oil and gas development on regional water quality has emerged, but the few studies on this topic are limited in geographic scope. Here we evaluate the potential utility of national and publicly available water-quality data sets for addressing questions regarding unconventional oil and gas development. We used existing U.S. Geolog
Authors
Zachary H. Bowen, Gretchen P. Oelsner, Brian S. Cade, Tanya J. Gallegos, Aïda M. Farag, David N. Mott, Christopher J. Potter, Peter J. Cinotto, Melanie L. Clark, William M. Kappel, Timothy M. Kresse, Cynthia P. Melcher, Suzanne S. Paschke, David D. Susong, Brian A. Varela
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center, New York Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Utah Water Science Center, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center
Simulations of potential future conditions in the cache critical groundwater area, Arkansas
A three-dimensional finite-difference model for part of the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in the Cache Critical Groundwater Area of eastern Arkansas was constructed to simulate potential future conditions of groundwater flow. The objectives of this study were to test different pilot point distributions to find reasonable estimates of aquifer properties for the alluvial aquifer, to simu
Authors
Haveen M. Rashid, Brian R. Clark, Hanan H. Mahdi, Hanadi S. Rifai, Haydar J. Al-Shukri