Publications
The following list of California Water Science Center publications includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists.
Filter Total Items: 1734
Fraction of young water as an indicator of aquifer vulnerability along two regional flow paths in the Mississippi embayment aquifer system, southeastern USA
Wells along two regional flow paths were sampled to characterize changes in water quality and the vulnerability to contamination of the Memphis aquifer across a range of hydrologic and land-use conditions in the southeastern United States. The flow paths begin in the aquifer outcrop area and end at public supply wells in the confined parts of the aquifer at Memphis, Tennessee. Age-date tracer (e.g
Authors
James A. Kingsbury, Jeannie R. B. Barlow, Bryant C. Jurgens, Peter B. McMahon, John K. Carmichael
Piscivore diet response to a collapse in pelagic prey populations
Pelagic fish populations in the upper San Francisco Estuary have experienced significant declines since the turn of the century; a pattern known as the pelagic organism decline (POD). This study investigated food habits of piscivorous fishes over two consecutive fall seasons following the decline of pelagic fish prey. Specifically, this study addressed the contribution of pelagic versus benthic pr
Authors
Steven Zeug, Frederick V. Feyrer, Annie Brodsky, Jenny Melgo
Land subsidence in the southwestern Mojave Desert, California, 1992–2009
Groundwater has been the primary source of domestic, agricultural, and municipal water supplies in the southwestern Mojave Desert, California, since the early 1900s. Increased demands on water supplies have caused groundwater-level declines of more than 100 feet (ft) in some areas of this desert between the 1950s and the 1990s (Stamos and others, 2001; Sneed and others, 2003). These water-level de
Authors
Justin T. Brandt, Michelle Sneed
Physical characteristics of the lower San Joaquin River, California, in relation to white sturgeon spawning habitat, 2011–14
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed that white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) recently spawned in the lower San Joaquin River, California. Decreases in the San Francisco Bay estuary white sturgeon population have led to an increased effort to understand their migration behavior and habitat preferences. The preferred spawning habitat of other white sturgeon (for example, those in the C
Authors
Mathieu D. Marineau, Scott A. Wright, Daniel R. Whealdon-Haught, Paul J. Kinzel
Preliminary hydrogeologic assessment near the boundary of the Antelope Valley and El Mirage Valley groundwater basins, California
The increasing demands on groundwater for water supply in desert areas in California and the western United States have resulted in the need to better understand groundwater sources, availability, and sustainability. This is true for a 650-square-mile area that encompasses the Antelope Valley, El Mirage Valley, and Upper Mojave River Valley groundwater basins, about 50 miles northeast of Los Angel
Authors
Christina L. Stamos, Allen H. Christensen, Victoria E. Langenheim
An introduction to high-frequency nutrient and biogeochemical monitoring for the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, northern California
Executive SummaryThis report is the first in a series of three reports that provide information about high-frequency (HF) nutrient and biogeochemical monitoring in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta of northern California (Delta). This first report provides an introduction to the reasons for and fundamental concepts behind collecting HF measurements, and describes the benefits associated with a real
Authors
Tamara E.C. Kraus, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Bryan D. Downing
Synthesis of data from high-frequency nutrient and associated biogeochemical monitoring for the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, northern California
Executive SummaryThis report is the second in a series of three reports that provide information about high-frequency (HF) nutrient and biogeochemical monitoring in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta of northern California (Delta). The purpose of this report is to synthesize the data available from a nutrient and water-quality HF (about every 15 minutes) monitoring network operated by the U.S. Geolo
Authors
Bryan D. Downing, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Tamara E.C. Kraus
Designing a high-frequency nutrient and biogeochemical monitoring network for the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, northern California
Executive SummaryThis report is the third in a series of three reports that provide information about how high-frequency (HF) nutrient monitoring may be used to assess nutrient inputs and dynamics in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California (Delta). The purpose of this report is to provide the background, principles, and considerations for designing an HF nutrient-monitoring network for the De
Authors
Brian A. Bergamaschi, Bryan D. Downing, Tamara E.C. Kraus, Brian A. Pellerin
Factors affecting marsh vegetation at the Liberty Island Conservation Bank in the Cache Slough region of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California
The Liberty Island Conservation Bank (LICB) is a tidal freshwater marsh restored for the purpose of mitigating adverse effects on sensitive fish populations elsewhere in the region. The LICB was completed in 2012 and is in the northern Cache Slough region of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. The wetland vegetation at the LICB is stunted and yellow-green in color (chlorotic) compared to nearby wetl
Authors
James L. Orlando, Judith Z. Drexler
Daily reservoir sedimentation model: Case study from the Fena Valley Reservoir, Guam
A model to compute reservoir sedimentation rates at daily timescales is presented. The model uses streamflow and sediment load data from nearby stream gauges to obtain an initial estimate of sediment yield for the reservoir’s watershed; it is then calibrated to the total deposition calculated from repeat bathymetric surveys. Long-term changes to reservoir trapping efficiency are also taken into ac
Authors
Mathieu D. Marineau, Scott A. Wright
Highlighting the complexities of a groundwater pilot study during an avian influenza outbreak: Methods, lessons learned, and select contaminant results
The highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N2) outbreak in the Midwestern United States (US) in 2015 was historic due to the number of birds and poultry operations impacted and the corresponding economic loss to the poultry industry and was the largest animal health emergency in US history. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with the assistance of several state and federal agencies, aided the respon
Authors
Laura E. Hubbard, Dana W. Kolpin, Chad L. Fields, Michelle L. Hladik, Luke R. Iwanowicz
Challenges in recovering resources from acid mine drainage
Metal recovery from mine waters and effluents is not a new approach but one that has occurred largely opportunistically over the last four millennia. Due to the need for low-cost resources and increasingly stringent environmental conditions, mine waters are being considered in a fresh light with a designed, deliberate approach to resource recovery often as part of a larger water treatment evaluati
Authors
D. Kirk Nordstrom, Robert J. Bowell, Kate M. Campbell, Charles N. Alpers