Publications
USGS Publications Warehouse
Information about all USGS publications. Advanced searches available
Information about all USGS publications. Advanced searches available
Links to all publications authored by WY-MT Water Science Center Scientists:
Filter Total Items: 320
Regional streamflow drought forecasting in the Colorado River Basin using Deep Neural Network models
Process-based, large-scale (e.g., conterminous United States [CONUS]) hydrologic models have struggled to achieve reliable streamflow drought performance in arid regions and for low-flow periods. Deep learning has recently seen broad implementation in streamflow prediction and forecasting research projects throughout the world with performance often equaling or exceeding that of process-based mode
Authors
Scott Douglas Hamshaw, Phillip J. Goodling, Konrad Hafen, John C. Hammond, Ryan R. McShane, Roy Sando, Apoorva Ramesh Shastry, Caelan E. Simeone, David Watkins, Elaheh (Ellie) White, Michael Wieczorek
U.S. Geological Survey and Blackfeet Water Department Hydrologic Assessment of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Montana
The Blackfeet Nation seeks an increased scientific understanding of the water resources within the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of northwestern Montana. Hydrologic information is needed to better inform water-management decisions as the Blackfeet Nation implements the Blackfeet Water Rights Compact, initiates new water-use projects, and improves the Blackfeet Irrigation Project.The U.S. Geological
Authors
Sean M. Lawlor, Rodney R. Caldwell, Timothy T. Bartos, Brett Price
Algal amendment enhances biogenic methane production from coals of different thermal maturity
The addition of small amounts of algal biomass to stimulate methane production in coal seams is a promising low carbon renewable coalbed methane enhancement technique. However, little is known about how the addition of algal biomass amendment affects methane production from coals of different thermal maturity. Here, we show that biogenic methane can be produced from five coals ranging in rank from
Authors
George A. Platt, Katherine J. Davis, Hannah D. Schweitzer, Heidi J. Smith, Matthew W. Fields, Elliott Barnhart, Robin Gerlach
Predicting probabilities of late summer surface flow presence in a glaciated mountainous headwater region
Accurate mapping of streams that maintain surface flow during annual baseflow periods in mountain headwater streams is important for informing water availability for human consumption and is a fundamental determinant of in-channel conditions for stream-dwelling organisms. Yet accurate mapping that captures local spatial variability and associated local controls on surface flow presence is limited.
Authors
Kristin Jaeger, Roy Sando, Sarah B. Dunn, Andrew S. Gendaszek
Pressurized upflow reactor system for the bioconversion of coal to methane: Investigation of the coal/sand interface effect
Microbial generation of coal bed methane (CBM) represents a significant source of natural gas on Earth. While biostimulation has been demonstrated in batch cultures, environmental parameters such as overburden pressure and formation water flow need to be tested at the laboratory scale to understand in situ potential. We designed and constructed a high-pressure (HP) flow-through reactor system that
Authors
Margaux Mesle, Logan H. Hodgskiss, Elliott Barnhart, Laura Dobeck, Joachim Eldring, Randy Hiebert, Alfred B. Cunningham, Robin Gerlach, Adrienne Phillips, Matthew W. Fields
Interaction of a legacy groundwater contaminant plume with the Little Wind River from 2015 through 2017, Riverton Processing site, Wyoming
The Riverton Processing site was a uranium mill 4 kilometers southwest of Riverton, Wyoming, that prepared uranium ore for nuclear reactors and weapons from 1958 to 1963. The U.S. Department of Energy completed surface remediation of the uranium tailings in 1989; however, groundwater below and downgradient from the tailings site and nearby Little Wind River was not remediated. Beginning in 2010, a
Authors
David L. Naftz, Christopher C. Fuller, Robert L. Runkel, John Solder, W. Payton Gardner, Neil Terry, Martin A. Briggs, Terry M. Short, Daniel J. Cain, William L Dam, Patrick A. Byrne, James R. Campbell
Sampling and analysis plan for the Koocanusa Reservoir and upper Kootenai River, Montana, water-quality monitoring program, 2021
In 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey will collect water-quality samples and environmental data from 3 sites in Koocanusa Reservoir and from 1 site in the Kootenai River. The transboundary Koocanusa Reservoir is in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and northwestern Montana, United States, and was formed with the construction of Libby Dam on the Kootenai River 26 kilometers upstream from Libby,
Authors
Sara L. Caldwell Eldridge, Melissa A. Schaar, Chad B. Reese, Ashley M. Bussell, Thomas Chapin
A global perspective on bacterial diversity in the terrestrial deep subsurface
While recent efforts to catalogue Earth’s microbial diversity have focused upon surface and marine habitats, 12–20 % of Earth’s biomass is suggested to exist in the terrestrial deep subsurface, compared to ~1.8 % in the deep subseafloor. Metagenomic studies of the terrestrial deep subsurface have yielded a trove of divergent and functionally important microbiomes from a range of localities. Howeve
Authors
A. Soares, A. L. Edwards, A. Bagnoud, J. Bradley, Elliott Barnhart, M. Bomberger Brown, K. Budwill, S. M. Caffrey, M. Fields, J. Gralnick., V. Kadnikov, L. Momper, M. Osburn, A. Mu, J.W. Moreau, D. Moser, L. Purkamo, S. M. Rassner, C. S. Sheik, B. Sherwood Lollar, B. M. Toner, G. Voordouw, K. Wouters, A. C. Mitchell
High resolution SnowModel simulations reveal future elevation-dependent snow loss and earlier, flashier surface water input for the Upper Colorado River Basin
Continued climate warming is reducing seasonal snowpacks in the western United States, where >50% of historical water supplies were snowmelt-derived. In the Upper Colorado River Basin, declining snow water equivalent (SWE) and altered surface water input (SWI, rainfall and snowmelt available to enter the soil) timing and magnitude affect streamflow generation and water availability. To adapt effec
Authors
John C. Hammond, Graham A. Sexstone, Annie L. Putman, Theodore B. Barnhart, David Rey, Jessica M. Driscoll, Glen Liston, Kristen L. Rasmussen, Daniel McGrath, Steven R. Fassnacht, Stephanie K. Kampf
Using continuous measurements of turbidity to predict suspended-sediment concentrations, loads, and sources in Flat Creek through the town of Jackson, Wyoming, 2019−20 — A pilot study
Flat Creek, a tributary to the Snake River in northwestern Wyoming, is an important source of irrigation water, fish and wildlife habitat, and local recreation. Since 1996, a section of Flat Creek within the town of Jackson has failed to meet Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s surface-water-quality standards for total suspended solids and turbidity required by its State water-use classi
Authors
Jason S. Alexander, Carlin Girard, James Campbell, Christopher A. Ellison, Elyce Gosselin, Emily Smith
Predictions and drivers of sub-reach-scale annual streamflow permanence for the upper Missouri River basin: 1989-2018
The presence of year-round surface water in streams (i.e., streamflow permanence) is an important factor for identifying aquatic habitat availability, determining the regulatory status of streams, managing land use change, allocating water resources, and designing scientific studies. However, accurate, high resolution, and dynamic prediction of streamflow permanence that accounts for year-to-year
Authors
Roy Sando, Kristin Jaeger, William H. Farmer, Theodore B. Barnhart, Ryan R. McShane, Toby L. Welborn, Kendra E. Kaiser, Konrad Hafen, Kyle W. Blasch, Benjamin C. York, Alden Shallcross
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and invertebrate tissue trace-element concentrations for tributaries in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana, October 2019–September 2020
Water, bed sediment, and invertebrate tissue were sampled in streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the Clark Fork Basin. The sampling program was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to characterize aquatic resources in the Clark Fork Basin and monitor trace elements associated with histori
Authors
Gregory D. Clark, Michelle I. Hornberger, Eric J. Hepler, Terry L. Heinert