Publications
New York Water Science Center publications
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Filter Total Items: 683
The response of soil and stream chemistry to decreases in acid deposition in the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA
The Catskill Mountains have been adversely impacted by decades of acid deposition, however, since the early 1990s, levels have decreased sharply as a result of decreases in emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. This study examines trends in acid deposition, stream-water chemistry, and soil chemistry in the southeastern Catskill Mountains. We measured significant reductions in acid depos
Authors
Michael McHale, Douglas A. Burns, Jason Siemion, Michael R. Antidormi
A newly identified role of the deciduous forest floor in the timing of green‐up
Plant phenology studies rarely consider controlling factors other than air temperature. We evaluate here the potential significance of physical and chemical properties of soil (edaphic factors) as additional important controls on phenology. More specifically, we investigate causal connections between satellite‐observed green‐up dates of small forest watersheds and soil properties in the Adirondack
Authors
Andrei G Lapenis, Gregory B. Lawrence, Alexander Buyantuev, Shiguo Jiang, Timothy J. Sullivan, Todd C. McDonnell, Scott W. Bailey
Variation in fish mercury concentrations in streams of the Adirondack region, New York: A simplified screening approach using chemical metrics
Simple screening approaches for the neurotoxicant methylmercury (MeHg) in aquatic ecosystems may be helpful in risk assessments of natural resources. We explored the development of such an approach in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, USA, a region with high levels of MeHg bioaccumulation. Thirty-six perennial streams broadly representative of 1st and 2nd order streams in the region were sampl
Authors
Douglas A. Burns, Karen Riva-Murray
Water-quality data from an earthen dam site in southern Westchester County, New York, 2015
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, sampled 37 sites in the reservoir area for nutrients, major ions, metals, pesticides and their degradates, volatile organic compounds, temperature, pH, and specific conductance during fall 2015. Data collection was done to characterize the local groundwater-flow system and identify potential s
Authors
Anthony Chu, Michael L. Noll
Soil base saturation combines with Beech Bark Disease to influence composition and structure of Sugar Maple-Beech forests in an acid rain-impacted region
Sugar maple, an abundant and highly valued tree species in eastern North America, has experienced decline from soil calcium (Ca) depletion by acidic deposition, while beech, which often coexists with sugar maple, has been afflicted with beech bark disease (BBD) over the same period. To investigate how variations in soil base saturation combine with effects of BBD in influencing stand composition a
Authors
Gregory B. Lawrence, Todd C. McDonnell, Timothy J. Sullivan, Martin Dovciak, Scott W. Bailey, Michael R. Antidormi, Michael R. Zarfos
Assessing condition of macroinvertebrate communities and bed sediment toxicity in the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern, New York, USA
The United States and Canada agreed to restore the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Great Lakes ecosystem under the first Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1972. The lowest reach of the Genesee River and the Rochester Embayment on Lake Ontario between Bogus Point and Nine Mile Point, including Braddock Bay, were designated as an Area of Concern (AOC) due to effects of conta
Authors
Brian Duffy, Scott D. George, Barry P. Baldigo, Alexander J. Smith
Bathymetric survey of the Cayuga Inlet flood-control channel and selected tributaries in Ithaca, New York, 2016
From July 14 to July 20, 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Ithaca, New York, and the New York State Department of State, surveyed the bathymetry of the Cayuga Inlet flood-control channel and the mouths of selected tributaries to Cayuga Inlet and Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, N.Y. The flood-control channel, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1965 and 1970, wa
Authors
John F. Wernly, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, William F. Coon
Delineation of salt water intrusion through use of electromagnetic-induction logging: A case study in Southern Manhattan Island, New York
Groundwater with chloride concentrations up to 15,000 mg/L has intruded the freshwater aquifer underlying southern Manhattan Island, New York. Historical (1940–1950) chloride concentration data of glacial aquifer wells in the study area indicate the presence of four wedges of saltwater intrusion that may have been caused by industrial pumpage. The limited recharge capability of the aquifer, due to
Authors
Frederick Stumm, Michael D. Como
Detecting temporal change in land-surface altitude using robotic land-surveying techniques and geographic information system applications at an earthen dam site in Southern Westchester County, New York
In 2005, the U.S. Geological Survey began a cooperative study with New York City Department of Environmental Protection to characterize the local groundwater-flow system and identify potential sources of seeps on the southern embankment at the Hillview Reservoir in southern Westchester County, New York. Monthly site inspections at the reservoir indicated an approximately 90-square-foot depression
Authors
Michael L. Noll, Anthony Chu
Effects of extreme floods on macroinvertebrate assemblages in tributaries to the Mohawk River, New York, USA
Climate change is forecast to bring more frequent and intense precipitation to New York which has motivated research into the effects of floods on stream ecosystems. Macroinvertebrate assemblages were sampled at 13 sites in the Mohawk River basin during August 2011, and again in October 2011, following historic floods caused by remnants of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. The annual exceeda
Authors
Mirian R. Calderon, Barry P. Baldigo, Alexander J. Smith, Theodore A. Endreny
Estimation of low-flow statistics at ungaged sites on streams in the Lower Hudson River Basin, New York, from data in geographic information systems
A variety of watershed properties available in 2015 from geographic information systems were tested in regression equations to estimate two commonly used statistical indices of the low flow of streams, namely the lowest flows averaged over 7 consecutive days that have a 1 in 10 and a 1 in 2 chance of not being exceeded in any given year (7-day, 10-year and 7-day, 2-year low flows). The equations w
Authors
Allan D. Randall, Douglas A. Freehafer