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
Development of a numerical model to simulate groundwater flow in the shallow aquifer system of Assateague Island, Maryland and Virginia
A three-dimensional groundwater-flow model was developed for Assateague Island in eastern Maryland and Virginia to simulate both groundwater flow and solute (salt) transport to evaluate the groundwater system response to sea-level rise. The model was constructed using geologic and spatial information to represent the island geometry, boundaries, and physical properties and was calibrated using an
Authors
John P. Masterson, Michael N. Fienen, Dean B. Gesch, Carl S. Carlson
Organic waste compounds in streams: Occurrence and aquatic toxicity in different stream compartments, flow regimes, and land uses in southeast Wisconsin, 2006–9
An assessment of organic chemicals and aquatic toxicity in streams located near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, indicated high potential for adverse impacts on aquatic organisms that could be related to organic waste compounds (OWCs). OWCs used in agriculture, industry, and households make their way into surface waters through runoff, leaking septic-conveyance systems, regulated and unregulated discharges,
Authors
Austin K. Baldwin, Steven R. Corsi, Kevin D. Richards, Steven W. Geis, Christopher Magruder
Implications of flume slope on discharge estimates from 0.762-meter H flumes used in edge-of-field monitoring
The effects of longitudinal slope on the estimation of discharge in a 0.762-meter (m) (depth at flume entrance) H flume were tested under controlled conditions with slopes from −8 to +8 percent and discharges from 1.2 to 323 liters per second. Compared to the stage-discharge rating for a longitudinal flume slope of zero, computed discharges were negatively biased (maximum −31 percent) when the flu
Authors
Matthew J. Komiskey, Todd D. Stuntebeck, Amanda L. Cox, Dennis R. Frame
Groundwater and surface-water interactions near White Bear Lake, Minnesota, through 2011
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the White Bear Lake Conservation District, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and other State, county, municipal, and regional planning agencies, watershed organizations, and private organizations, conducted a study to characterize groundwater and surface-water interactions near White Bear Lake thro
Authors
Perry M. Jones, Jared J. Trost, Donald O. Rosenberry, P. Ryan Jackson, Jenifer A. Bode, Ryan M. O'Grady
Vulnerability of streams to legacy nitrate sources
The influence of hydrogeologic setting on the susceptibility of streams to legacy nitrate was examined at seven study sites having a wide range of base flow index (BFI) values. BFI is the ratio of base flow to total streamflow volume. The portion of annual stream nitrate loads from base flow was strongly correlated with BFI. Furthermore, dissolved oxygen concentrations in streambed pore water were
Authors
Anthony J. Tesoriero, John H. Duff, David A. Saad, Norman E. Spahr, David M. Wolock
Simulation of the shallow groundwater-flow system in the Forest County Potawatomi Community, Forest County, Wisconsin
The shallow groundwater system in the Forest County Potawatomi Comminity, Forest County, Wisconsin, was simulated by expanding and recalibrating a previously calibrated regional model. The existing model was updated using newly collected water-level measurements, inclusion of surface-water features beyond the previous near-field boundary, and refinements to surface-water features. The updated mode
Authors
Michael N. Fienen, David A. Saad, Paul F. Juckem
Partial least squares for efficient models of fecal indicator bacteria on Great Lakes beaches
At public beaches, it is now common to mitigate the impact of water-borne pathogens by posting a swimmer's advisory when the concentration of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) exceeds an action threshold. Since culturing the bacteria delays public notification when dangerous conditions exist, regression models are sometimes used to predict the FIB concentration based on readily-available environmenta
Authors
Wesley R. Brooks, Michael N. Fienen, Steven R. Corsi
Crowdsourcing to Acquire Hydrologic Data and Engage Citizen Scientists: CrowdHydrology
Spatially and temporally distributed measurements of processes, such as baseflow at the watershed scale, come at substantial equipment and personnel cost. Research presented here focuses on building a crowdsourced database of inexpensive distributed stream stage measurements. Signs on staff gauges encourage citizen scientists to voluntarily send hydrologic measurements (e.g., stream stage) via tex
Authors
Michael N. Fienen, Chris Lowry
Electron donor concentrations in sediments and sediment properties at the agricultural chemicals team research site near New Providence, Iowa, 2006-07
The concentrations of electron donors in aquifer sediments are important to the understanding of the fate and transport of redox-sensitive constituents in groundwater, such as nitrate. For a study by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program, 50 sediment samples were collected from below the water table from 11 boreholes at the U.S. Geological Survey Agricultural Chemica
Authors
Bijesh Maharjan, Scott F. Korom, Erik A. Smith
Approaches in highly parameterized inversion: bgaPEST, a Bayesian geostatistical approach implementation with PEST: documentation and instructions
The application bgaPEST is a highly parameterized inversion software package implementing the Bayesian Geostatistical Approach in a framework compatible with the parameter estimation suite PEST. Highly parameterized inversion refers to cases in which parameters are distributed in space or time and are correlated with one another. The Bayesian aspect of bgaPEST is related to Bayesian probability th
Authors
Michael N. Fienen, Marco D'Oria, John E. Doherty, Randall J. Hunt
Effects of best-management practices in Bower Creek in the East River priority watershed, Wisconsin, 1991-2009
Hydrologic and water-quality data were collected at Bower Creek during the periods before best-management practices (BMPs), and after BMPs were installed for evaluation of water-quality improvements. The monitoring was done between 1990 and 2009 with the pre-BMP period ending in July 1994 and the post-BMP period beginning in October 2006. BMPs installed in this basin included streambank protection
Authors
Steven R. Corsi, Judy A. Horwatich, Troy D. Rutter, Roger T. Bannerman
SPARROW models used to understand nutrient sources in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loading from the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) has been linked to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. To describe where and from what sources those loads originate, SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were constructed for the MARB using geospatial datasets for 2002, including inputs from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs
Authors
Dale M. Robertson, David A. Saad