Publications
This list of Upper Midwest Water Science Center publications spans from 1899 to present. It includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists. To access the full, searchable catalog of USGS publications, please visit the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Filter Total Items: 2244
Seasonal epilimnetic temperature patterns and trends in a suite of lakes from Wisconsin (USA), Germany and Finland
Epilimnetic temperatures from the early 1980s through 2017 were analyzed for 12 Wisconsin, German and Finnish lakes. Seasonal temperature metrics exhibited large interannual variability with trends differing among regions. In the Wisconsin lakes, only late summer and fall temperatures increased significantly. In the northeastern Germany lakes, temperatures increased in all seasons, but only signif
Authors
Richard C. Lathrop, Peter Kasprzak, Marjo Tarvainen, Anne-Mari Ventela, Tapio Keskinen, Rainer Koschel, Dale M. Robertson
Phytoplankton community and algal toxicity at a recurring bloom in Sullivan Bay, Kabetogama Lake, Minnesota, USA
Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, USA suffers from recurring late summer algal blooms that often contain toxin-producing cyanobacteria. Previous research identified the toxin microcystin in blooms, but we wanted to better understand how the algal and cyanobacterial community changed throughout an open water season and how changes in community structure were related to toxin pr
Authors
Victoria Christensen, Ryan P. Maki, Erin A. Stelzer, Jack E. Norland, Eakalak Khan
Updates to the Madison Lake (Minnesota) CE–QUAL–W2 water-quality model for assessing algal community dynamics
A previously developed CE–QUAL–W2 model for Madison Lake, Minnesota, simulated the algal community dynamics, water quality, and fish habitat suitability of Madison Lake under recent (2014) meteorological conditions. Additionally, this previously developed model simulated the complex interplay between external nutrient loading, internal nutrient loading from sediment release of phosphorus, and the
Authors
Erik A. Smith, Richard L. Kiesling
Mercury source changes and food web shifts alter contamination signatures of predatory fish from Lake Michigan
To understand the impact reduced mercury (Hg) loading and invasive species have had on methylmercury bioaccumulation in predator fish of Lake Michigan, we reconstructed bioaccumulation trends from a fish archive (1978 to 2012). By measuring fish Hg stable isotope ratios, we related temporal changes in Hg concentrations to varying Hg sources. Additionally, dietary tracers were necessary to identify
Authors
Ryan F. Lepak, Joel C. Hoffman, Sarah E. Janssen, David P. Krabbenhoft, Jacob M. Ogorek, John F. DeWild, Michael T. Tate, Christopher L. Babiarz, Runsheng Yin, Elizabeth W Murphy, Daniel R Engstrom, James P. Hurley
Optical properties of water for prediction of wastewater contamination in surface water
No abstract available.
Authors
Steven Corsi, Sandra McLellan
Vertical distribution of microplastics in the water column and surficial sediment from the Milwaukee River basin to Lake Michigan
Microplastic contamination was studied along a freshwater continuum from inland streams to the Milwaukee River estuary to Lake Michigan, and vertically from the water surface, water subsurface and sediment. Microplastics were detected in all 96 water samples and nine sediment samples collected. Results indicated a gradient of polymer presence with depth: low-density particles decreased from water
Authors
Peter L. Lenaker, Austin K. Baldwin, Steven R. Corsi, Sherri A. Mason, Paul Reneau, John W Scott
Historic changes to floodplain systems in the Driftless Area
Floodplain systems in the Driftless Area have experienced widespread historical transformations in hydrologic and sediment characteristics as well as rates of hydrogeomorphic processes. These changes exceed natural variability experienced during the Holocene and are driven by nearly two centuries of major land-cover alterations coupled with shifting precipitation patterns. On the pre–Euro-American
Authors
Colin S. Belby, Lindsay J Spigel, Faith A. Fitzpatrick
Prioritizing chemicals of ecological concern in Great Lakes tributaries using high-throughput screening data and adverse outcome pathways
Chemical monitoring data were collected in surface waters from 57 Great Lakes tributaries from 2010-13 to identify chemicals of potential biological relevance and sites at which these chemicals occur. Traditional water-quality benchmarks for aquatic life based on in vivo toxicity data were available for 34 of 67 evaluated chemicals. To expand evaluation of potential biological effects, measured ch
Authors
Steven R. Corsi, Laura A. DeCicco, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Brett Blackwell, Kellie Fay, Gerald Ankley, Austin K. Baldwin
Disentangling the effects of habitat biogeochemistry, food web structure, and diet composition on mercury bioaccumulation in a wetland bird
Methylmercury (MeHg) is a globally pervasive contaminant with known toxicity to humans and wildlife. Several sources of variation can lead to spatial differences in MeHg bioaccumulation within a species including: biogeochemical processes that influence MeHg production and availability within an organism’s home range; trophic positions of consumers and MeHg biomagnification efficiency in food webs
Authors
Laurie Anne Hall, Isa Woo, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Danika C Tsao, David P. Krabbenhoft, John Y. Takekawa, Susan E. W. De La Cruz
Stormwater-quality performance of line permeable pavement systems
Three permeable pavements were evaluated for their ability to improve the quality of stormwater runoff over a 22-month period in Madison, Wisconsin. Using a lined system with no internal water storage, permeable interlocking concrete pavers (PICP), pervious concrete (PC), and porous asphalt (PA) were able to significantly remove sediment and sediment-bound pollutant loads from runoff originating f
Authors
William R. Selbig, Nicolas Buer, Mari Danz
An evaluation of methods for computing annual water-quality loads
The U.S. Geological Survey publishes information on the mass, or load, of water-quality constituents transported through rivers and streams sampled as part of the operation of the National Water Quality Network (NWQN). This study evaluates methods for computing annual water-quality loads, specifically with respect to procedures currently (2019) used at sites in the NWQN. Near-daily datasets of chl
Authors
Casey J. Lee, Robert M. Hirsch, Charles G. Crawford
Phosphorus and nitrogen transport in the binational Great Lakes Basin estimated using SPARROW watershed models
Eutrophication problems in the Great Lakes are caused by excessive nutrient inputs (primarily phosphorus, P, and nitrogen, N) from various sources throughout its basin. In developing protection and restoration plans, it is important to know where and from what sources the nutrients originate. As part of a binational effort, Midcontinent SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attribu
Authors
Dale M. Robertson, David A. Saad, Glenn A. Benoy, Ivana Vouk, Gregory E. Schwarz, Michael T Laitta