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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

Comparing laser-based open- and closed-path gas analyzers to measure methane fluxes using the eddy covariance method

Closed- and open-path methane gas analyzers are used in eddy covariance systems to compare three potential methane emitting ecosystems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (CA, USA): a rice field, a peatland pasture and a restored wetland. The study points out similarities and differences of the systems in field experiments and data processing. The closed-path system, despite a less intrusive place
Authors
Matteo Detto, Joseph Verfaillie, Frank Anderson, Liukang Xu, Dennis Baldocchi

Flow structures and sandbar dynamics in a canyon river during a controlled flood, Colorado River, Arizona

In canyon rivers, debris fan constrictions create rapids and downstream pools characterized by secondary flow structures that are closely linked to channel morphology. In this paper we describe detailed measurements of the three‐dimensional flow structure and sandbar dynamics of two pools along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon during a controlled flood release from Glen Canyon Dam. Results i
Authors
Scott A. Wright, M. Kaplinski

Removal of inorganic mercury and methylmercury from surface waters following coagulation of dissolved organic matter with metal-based salts

The presence of inorganic mercury (IHg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in surface waters is a health concern worldwide. This study assessed the removal potential use of metal-based coagulants as a means to remove both dissolved IHg and MeHg from natural waters and provides information regarding the importance of Hg associations with the dissolved organic matter (DOM) fraction and metal hydroxides. Previ
Authors
Y.K. Henneberry, T.E.C. Kraus, J.A. Fleck, David P. Krabbenhoft, P.M. Bachand, W.R. Horwath

Trends in pesticide concentrations in streams of the western United States, 1993-2005

Trends in pesticide concentrations for 15 streams in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho were determined for the organophosphate insecticides chlorpyrifos and diazinon and the herbicides atrazine, s‐ethyl diproplythiocarbamate (EPTC), metolachlor, simazine, and trifluralin. A parametric regression model was used to account for flow, seasonality, and antecedent hydrologic conditions and there
Authors
Henry M. Johnson, Joseph L. Domagalski, Dina Saleh

A framework for sea level rise vulnerability assessment for southwest U.S. military installations

We describe an analysis framework to determine military installation vulnerabilities under increases in local mean sea level as projected over the next century. The effort is in response to an increasing recognition of potential climate change ramifications for national security and recommendations that DoD conduct assessments of the impact on U.S. military installations of climate change. Results
Authors
B. Chadwick, Reinhard Flick, J. Helly, Tracy Nishikawa, Fang Wang Pei, W. O'Reilly, R. Guza, Peter Bromirski, A. Young, W. Crampton, B. Wild, I. Canner

LiDAR-Assisted identification of an active fault near Truckee, California

We use high-resolution (1.5-2.4 points/m2) bare-earth airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) imagery to identify, map, constrain, and visualize fault-related geomorphology in densely vegetated terrain surrounding Martis Creek Dam near Truckee, California. Bare-earth LiDAR imagery reveals a previously unrecognized and apparently youthful right-lateral strike-slip fault that exhibits laterally
Authors
L. E. Hunter, J. F. Howle, R.S. Rose, G.W. Bawden

Water-quality data from storm runoff after the 2007 fires, San Diego County, California

The U.S. Geological Survey collected water-quality samples during the first two storms after the Witch and Harris Fires (October 2007) in southern California. The sampling locations represent an urban area (two residential sites in Rancho Bernardo that were affected by the Witch Fire; a drainage ditch and a storm drain) and a rural area (Cotton-wood Creek, which was downstream of a mobile home par
Authors
Gregory O. Mendez

A method for assessing carbon stocks, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the United States under present conditions and future scenarios

he Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), Section 712, mandates the U.S. Department of the Interior to develop a methodology and conduct an assessment of the Nation’s ecosystems, focusing on carbon stocks, carbon sequestration, and emissions of three greenhouse gases (GHGs): carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The major requirements include (1) an assessment of all ecosystems
Authors
Brian A. Bergamaschi, Richard Bernknopf, David Clow, Dennis Dye, Stephen Faulkner, William Forney, Robert Gleason, Todd Hawbaker, Jinxun Liu, Shu-Guang Liu, Stephen Prisley, Bradley Reed, Matthew Reeves, Matthew Rollins, Benjamin Sleeter, Terry Sohl, Sarah Stackpoole, Stephen Stehman, Robert G. Striegl, Anne Wein, Zhi-Liang Zhu

Stream gage descriptions and streamflow statistics for sites in the Tigris River and Euphrates River Basins, Iraq

Statistical summaries of streamflow data for all long-term streamflow-gaging stations in the Tigris River and Euphrates River Basins in Iraq are presented in this report. The summaries for each streamflow-gaging station include (1) a station description, (2) a graph showing annual mean discharge for the period of record, (3) a table of extremes and statistics for monthly and annual mean discharge,
Authors
Dina K. Saleh

Response to King and Baker: Limitations on threshold detection and characterization of community thresholds

No abstract available.
Authors
Thomas F. Cuffney, Song S. Qian, Robin A. Brightbill, Jason T. May, Ian R. Waite

Accumulation of current-use and organochlorine pesticides in crab embyros from northern California, USA

Invertebrates have long been used as resident sentinels for assessing ecosystem health and productivity. The shore crabs, Hemigrapsus oregonensis and Pachygrapsus crassipes, are abundant in estuaries and beaches throughout northern California, USA and have been used as indicators of habitat conditions in several salt marshes. The overall objectives of the present study were to conduct a lab-based
Authors
K.L. Smalling, S. Morgan, Kathryn Kuivila

Integrated simulation of consumptive use and land subsidence in the Central Valley, California, for the past and for a future subject to urbanization and climate change

Competition for water resources is growing throughout California, particularly in the Central Valley where about 20% of all groundwater used in the United States is consumed for agriculture and urban water supply. Continued agricultural use coupled with urban growth and potential climate change would result in continued depletion of groundwater storage and associated land subsidence throughout the
Authors
Randall T. Hanson, Alan L. Flint, Claudia C. Faunt, Daniel R. Cayan, Lorraine E. Flint, Stanley A. Leake, Wolfgang Schmid