Publications

Spatial data are important for interpretation of water-quality information on a regional or national scale. Geographic information systems (GIS) facilitate interpretation and integration of spatial data. The geographic information and data compiled for the conterminous United States during the National Highway Runoff Water-Quality Data and Methodology Synthesis project is described in this documen

No abstract available.

A computer application called Chemical Help was developed to facilitate review of reports for the National Highway Runoff Water-Quality Data and Methodology Synthesis (NDAMS). The application provides a tool to quickly find a proper classification for any constituent in the NDAMS review sheets. Chemical Help contents include the name of each water-quality property, constituent, or paramete

Accurate and representative sediment data are critical for assessing the potential effects of highway and urban runoff on receiving waters. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified sediment as the most widespread pollutant in the Nation's rivers and streams, affecting aquatic habitat, drinking water treatment processes, and recreational uses of rivers, lakes, and estuaries. Representati

The unconfined sand-and-gravel aquifer in western Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which is the sole source of water supply for the communities in the area, is recharged primarily from precipitation. The rate of recharge from precipitation is estimated to be about 26 inches per year (in/yr), or about 60 percent of the precipitation rate. This recharge rate yields a flow through the aquifer of about 180 mi

Diffusion samplers were installed in the bottom of Johns Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to confirm that volatile organic compounds from the Storm Drain-5 (SD-5) plume emanating from the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR) were discharging into the pond. An array of 134 vapor-diffusion samplers was buried by divers about 0.5 feet below the pond bottom in the presumed discharge area of the SD-

No abstract available

The conversion of land from its native state to an agricultural use commonly results in a significant loss of soil carbon (Mann, 1985; Davidson and Ackerman, 1993). Globally, this loss is estimated to account for as much as 1/3 of the net CO2 emissions for the period of 1850 to 1980 (Houghton et al, 1983). Roughly 20 to 40 percent of original soil carbon is estimated to be lost as CO2 as a result

Materials washed by rain and snowmelt from highways into adjacent surface waters, ground waters, and ecosystems can pollute water and affect biota. To understand the chemical behavior of any one of these materials and its effects on the environment requires knowledge of the chemistry of the material and how it interacts with other components in the local geochemical system. An integrated watershed

Quality assurance and quality control are vital parts of highway runoff water-quality monitoring projects. To be effective, project quality assurance must address all aspects of the project, including project management responsibilities and resources, data quality objectives, sampling and analysis plans, data-collection protocols, data quality-control plans, data-assessment procedures and requirem

A program designed for point location and calculation of error (PLACER) was developed as part of the Quality Assurance Program of the Federal Highway Administration/U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Data and Methodology Synthesis (NDAMS) review process. The program provides a standard method to derive study-site locations from site maps in highwayrunoff, urban-runoff, and other research repor

An inventory of published studies that address freshwater ecology within the New England Coastal Basins was created through computerized bibliographic literature searches and consultation with environmental agencies. Assembled papers were classified to associate their contents with one or more states, ecoregions, river basins, and ecological topics. Full references and their classifications were e