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Publications

Publications are the cornerstone of the Pennsylvania Water Science Center’s dissemination of scientific data and conclusions. 

Filter Total Items: 946

Dissolved-solids discharge to the oceans from the conterminous United States

Dissolved-solids data from 54 river basins for 1966-69 were used to compute the amount of dissolved material contributed to the oceans from the conterminous United States. The computations show that about 264,000,000 tons are discharged annually. The Gulf of Mexico receives the largest load, about 183,000,000 tons, of which about 157,000,000 tons are contributed by the Mississippi River. The Atlan
Authors
Donald K. Leifeste

Extent and development of urban flood plains

A study of26 urbanized areas in the United States indicates that the amount of urban area in flood plains ranges from 2.4 percent for Spokane, Wash., to 81 percent for Monroe, La. The median value is 10.5 percent, and the weighted average is 16.2 percent. The amount of development on these flood plains also varies widely, from 11.3 percent for Lorain-Elyria, Ohio, to 97 percent for Great Falls, Mo
Authors
William Joseph Schneider, James E. Goddard

Hydrology of the abandoned coal mines in the Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania

Mine-water discharge, into the Susquehanna River degrades the river's quality during periods of low flow to a point critical for subsistence of aquatic life. To determine what measures are required to provide a better quality mine-water discharge in the Wyoming Valley, mine hydrology and mine-water quality are related to mine-pool management. The addition of mine-pool outlets at several locations
Authors
Jerrald R. Hollowell

Fluvial-sediment discharge to the oceans from the conterminous United States

This report is a contribution to the UNESCO-sponsored project of the International Hydrological Decade called the World Water Balance. Annual fluvial-sediment discharge from the conterminous United States averages 491,449,600 short tons, of which 14,204,000 is discharged to the Atlantic Ocean, 378,179,000 to the Gulf of Mexico, and 99,066,600 to the Pacific Ocean. Data from 27 drainage areas were
Authors
Westley Farnsworth Curtis, James J. Culbertson, Edith B. Chase

Water facts and figures for planners and managers

Water is defined in terms of its chemical composition and dominant physical properties, such as expansion on freezing and high surface tension. Water on the earth is about 97 percent in the seas, 2 percent in glacier ice, principally Greenland and Antarctica. Man is left with less than 1 percent as liquid fresh water to sustain his needs. This is possible under good management because water moves
Authors
John Henry Frederick Feth

Role of water in urban planning and management

Concentrations of people in urban areas intensify water problems such as flooding and pollution, but these deleterious effects on water resources can be minimized or corrected by comprehensive planning and management. Such planning of the water resources of an urban area must be based on adequate hydrologic data. Through the use of a matrix, urban water problems can be evaluated and availability o
Authors
William Joseph Schneider, David A. Rickert, Andrew Maute Spieker

Flood of September 1971 in southeastern Pennsylvania

Record-breaking floods on Sept. 13, 1971, occurred in some urbanized basins of southeastern Pennsylvania. This flooding resulted from heavy, intermittent thunderstorms on Sept. 11-13, 1971, which produced 8 to 12 inches of rainfall in the basins of Skippack, Stony, and Chester Creeks. Rain was heaviest during mid-day of the 13th. Damage to homes, businesses, and public property amounted to many mi
Authors
Leland V. Page, Lewis C. Shaw

Extent and frequency of floods on the Schuylkill River near Phoenixville and Pottstown, Pennsylvania

Knowledge of the frequency and extent of flooding is an important requirement for the design of all works of man bordering or encroaching on flood plains. The proper design of bridges, culverts, dams, highways, levees, reservoirs, sewage-disposal systems, waterworks and all structures on the flood plains of streams requires careful consideration of flood hazards. -1- By use of relations presented
Authors
William F. Busch, Lewis C. Shaw

Appraisal of stream sedimentation in the Susquehanna River basin

The Susquehanna River presently transports about 3.0 million tons of sediment annually (110 tons per square mile). Only about 1.8 million tons of sediment enters the head of Chesapeake Bay annually because some sediment is trapped behind the power dams on the lower Susquehanna. Measured annual sediment yields from subbasins in the Susquehanna range from 40 to 440 tons per square mile. The highest
Authors
Kenneth F. Williams, Lloyd A. Reed
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