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
High-resolution remote sensing of water quality in the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary
The San Francisco Bay–Delta Estuary watershed is a major source of freshwater for California and a profoundly human-impacted environment. The water quality monitoring that is critical to the management of this important water resource and ecosystem relies primarily on a system of fixed water-quality monitoring stations, but the limited spatial coverage often hinders understanding. Here, we show ho
Authors
Cédric G. Fichot, Bryan D. Downing, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, David R. Thompson, Michelle M. Gierach
Sources and transport of phosphorus to rivers in California and adjacent states, U.S., as determined by SPARROW modeling
The SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression on Watershed attributes) model was used to simulate annual phosphorus loads and concentrations in unmonitored stream reaches in California, U.S., and portions of Nevada and Oregon. The model was calibrated using de-trended streamflow and phosphorus concentration data at 80 locations. The model explained 91% of the variability in loads and 51% of the var
Authors
Joseph L. Domagalski, Dina Saleh
Aquifer geometry, lithology, and water levels in the Anza–Terwilliger area—2013, Riverside and San Diego Counties, California
The population of the Anza–Terwilliger area relies solely on groundwater pumped from the alluvial deposits and surrounding bedrock formations for water supply. The size, characteristics, and current conditions of the aquifer system in the Anza–Terwilliger area are poorly understood, however. In response to these concerns, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the High Country Conservancy
Authors
Matthew K. Landon, Andrew Y. Morita, Joseph M. Nawikas, Allen H. Christensen, Claudia C. Faunt, Victoria E. Langenheim
Hydrogeology, hydrologic effects of development, and simulation of groundwater flow in the Borrego Valley, San Diego County, California
Executive Summary
The Borrego Valley is a small valley (110 square miles) in the northeastern part of San Diego County, California. Although the valley is about 60 miles northeast of city of San Diego, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean coast by the mountains to the west and is mostly within the boundaries of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. From the time the basin was first settled, groundwate
Authors
Claudia C. Faunt, Christina L. Stamos, Lorraine E. Flint, Michael T. Wright, Matthew K. Burgess, Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Peter Martin, Alissa L. Coes
Record-high specific conductance and temperature in San Francisco Bay during water year 2014
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has operated a water-quality monitoring network in San Francisco Bay since the late 1980s (Buchanan and others, 2015). This network includes 19 stations in the bay; currently, 8 stations are in operation (fig. 1). All eight stations are equipped with specific conductance (which can be related to salinity) and water-temperature sensors that record measurements at 1
Authors
Maureen A. Downing-Kunz, Paul Work, Gregory Shellenbarger
Water availability and land subsidence in the Central Valley, California, USA
The Central Valley in California (USA) covers about 52,000 km2 and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. This agriculture relies heavily on surface-water diversions and groundwater pumpage to meet irrigation water demand. Because the valley is semi-arid and surface-water availability varies substantially, agriculture relies heavily on local groundwater. In the southern t
Authors
Claudia C. Faunt, Michelle Sneed, Jonathan A. Traum, Justin T. Brandt
Averaged 30 year climate change projections mask opportunities for species establishment
No abstract available.
Authors
Josep M. Serra-Diaz, Janet Franklin, Lynn C. Sweet, Ian M. McCullough, Alexandra D. Syphard, Helen M. Regan, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, John Dingman, Max A. Moritz, Kelly T. Redmond, Lee Hannah, Frank W. Davis
From extreme pH to extreme temperature: An issue in honor of the geochemical contributions of Kirk Nordstrom, USGS hydrogeochemist
This special issue of Applied Geochemistry honors Dr. D. Kirk Nordstrom, and his influential career spent primarily at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). This issue does not herald his retirement or other significant career milestone, but serves as a recognition of the impact his work has had on the field of geochemistry in general. This special issue grew from a symposium in Kirk’s honor (affecti
Authors
Kate M. Campbell, Philip L. Verplanck, R. Blaine McCleskey, Charles N. Alpers
Applications of optical sensors for high-frequency water-quality monitoring and research
The recent commercial availability of in-situ optical sensors, together with new techniques for data collection and analysis, provides the opportunity to monitor a wide range of water-quality constituents over time scales during which environmental conditions actually change. Traditional approaches for data collection (daily to monthly discrete samples) are often limited by high sample collection,
Authors
Brian Pellerin
Using hydrophones as a surrogate monitoring technique to detect temporal and spatial variability in bedload transport
Collecting physical bedload measurements is an expensive and time-consuming endeavor that rarely captures the spatial and temporal variability of sediment transport. Technological advances can improve monitoring of sediment transport by filling in temporal gaps between physical sampling periods. We have developed a low-cost hydrophone recording system designed to record the sediment-generated nois
Authors
Mathieu D. Marineau, J. Toby Minear, Scott A. Wright
Suspended-sediment dynamics in the tidal reach of a San Francisco Bay tributary
To better understand suspended-sediment transport in a tidal slough adjacent to a large wetland restoration project, we deployed continuously measuring temperature, salinity, depth, turbidity, and velocity sensors in 2010 at a near-bottom location in Alviso Slough (Alviso, California, USA). Alviso Slough is the downstream reach of the Guadalupe River and flows into the far southern end of San Fran
Authors
Gregory Shellenbarger, Maureen A. Downing-Kunz, David H. Schoellhamer
Storage capacity of the Fena Valley Reservoir, Guam, Mariana Islands, 2014
The Fena Valley Reservoir is in southern Guam and is the primary source of water for the U.S. Naval Base Guam and nearby village residents. Since the construction of the Fena Dam in 1951, sediment has accumulated in the reservoir and reduced its storage capacity. The reservoir was surveyed previously in 1973, 1979, and 1990 to estimate the loss in storage capacity. To determine the current storage
Authors
Mathieu D. Marineau, Scott A. Wright