Publications
This list of Upper Midwest Water Science Center publications spans from 1899 to present. It includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists. To access the full, searchable catalog of USGS publications, please visit the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Filter Total Items: 2247
Temperature explains the formation of a metalimnetic oxygen minimum in a deep mesotrophic lake
Green Lake, a deep mesotrophic lake located in a primarily agricultural watershed in central Wisconsin, USA, has experienced annual metalimnetic oxygen minima since the early 20th century. However, the severity of the phenomenon has increased over time, and late-summer dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations have typically been <3 mg L−1 in recent years. In situ, high-frequency observations of oxygen
Authors
Cory P. McDonald, Mahta Naziri Saeed, Dale M. Robertson, Stephanie Prellwitz
Isotopic analysis of radium geochemistry at discrete intervals in the Midwestern Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system
Radium (Ra) is a geogenic radioactive contaminant that frequently occurs at elevated levels in the Midwestern Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system (MCOAS). Geochemical indicators (e.g., redox conditions or total dissolved solids) can broadly characterize conditions associated with elevated Ra levels in groundwater, but do not consistently correlate to elevated Ra within specific stratigraphic horizo
Authors
Madeleine J Mathews, Sean R Scott, Madeline B Gotkowitz, Randall J. Hunt, Matthew Ginder-Vogel
Statewide quantitative microbial risk assessment for waterborne viruses, bacteria, and protozoa in public water supply wells in Minnesota
Infection risk from waterborne pathogens can be estimated via quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) and forms an important consideration in the management of public groundwater systems. However, few groundwater QMRAs use site-specific hazard identification and exposure assessment, so prevailing risks in these systems remain poorly defined. We estimated the infection risk for 9 waterborne p
Authors
Tucker R. Burch, Joel P. Stokdyk, Nancy Rice, Anita C. Anderson, James F. Walsh, Sue Spencer, Aaron Firnstahl, Mark A. Borchardt
Areas contributing recharge to priority wells in valley-fill aquifers in the Neversink River and Rondout Creek drainage basins, New York
In southeastern New York, the villages of Ellenville, Wurtsboro, Woodridge, the hamlet of Mountain Dale, and surrounding communities in the Neversink River and Rondout Creek drainage basins rely on wells that pump groundwater from valley-fill glacial aquifers for public water supply. Glacial aquifers are vulnerable to contamination because they are highly permeable and have a shallow depth to wate
Authors
Nicholas Corson-Dosch, Michael N. Fienen, Jason S. Finkelstein, Andrew T. Leaf, Jeremy T. White, Joshua C. Woda, John H. Williams
Estimated daily mean streamflow in Iowa using the Flow-Duration Curve Transfer Method StreamStats application
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates many streamgages throughout the country that provide historical and real-time daily streamflow information. Accurate estimates of daily streamflow and the percentage of time that a certain volume of streamflow occurs or is exceeded in a stream is crucial information for structure design and other activities conducted by federal, state, and local officials
Authors
Mackenzie K. Marti, Harper N. Wavra, Andrea Medenblik
Methylmercury stable isotopes: New insights on assessing aquatic food web bioaccumulation in legacy impacted regions
Through stable isotope measurements of total mercury (HgT), identification of crucial processes and transformations affecting different sources of mercury (Hg) has become possible. However, attempting to use HgT stable isotopes to track bioaccumulation of Hg sources among different food web compartments can be challenging, if not impossible, when tissues have varying methylmercury (MeHg) contents.
Authors
Tylor Rosera, Sarah E. Janssen, Michael T. Tate, Ryan F. Lepak, Jacob M. Ogorek, John F. DeWild, David P. Krabbenhoft, James P. Hurley
Identifying monitoring information needs that support the management of fish in large rivers
Management actions intended to benefit fish in large rivers can directly or indirectly affect multiple ecosystem components. Without consideration of the effects of management on non-target ecosystem components, unintended consequences may limit management efficacy. Monitoring can help clarify the effects of management actions, including on non-target ecosystem components, but only if data are col
Authors
Timothy D. Counihan, Kristen L. Bouska, Shannon K. Brewer, R. B. Jacobson, Andrew F. Casper, Colin G. Chapman, Ian R. Waite, Kenneth R. Sheehan, Mark Pyron, Elise R. Irwin, Karen Riva-Murray, Alexa McKerrow, Jennifer M. Bayer
Challenges in linking soil health to edge-of-field water quality across the Great Lakes basin
To better understand agricultural nutrient losses, we evaluated relationships between management (e.g., manure and tillage), soil health measurements, and resulting edge-of-field (EOF) surface water quality. This work was conducted before or early into conservation implementation at 14 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative EOF sites spanning Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and New York. Analyses
Authors
Kevin Fermanich, Molly Meyers, Luke C. Loken, Marianne Bischoff-Gray, Ronald Turco, Karen Stahlhber, Lisa Duriancik, Mathew Dornbush, Matthew J. Komiskey
Fate and seasonality of antimicrobial resistance genes during full-scale anaerobic digestion of cattle manure across seven livestock production facilities
Anaerobic digestion has been suggested as an intervention to attenuate antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in livestock manure but supporting data have typically been collected at laboratory scale. Few studies have quantified ARG fate during full-scale digestion of livestock manure. We sampled untreated manure and digestate from seven full-scale mesophilic dairy manure digesters to assess ARG fate
Authors
Tucker R. Burch, Aaron Firnstahl, Susan K. Spencer, Rebecca A. Larson, Mark A. Borchardt
FluOil: A novel tool for modeling the transport of oil-particle aggregates in inland waterways
Spilled oil in inland waterways can aggregate with mineral and organic particles to form oil-particle aggregates (OPAs). OPAs can be transported in suspension or deposited to the bed. Modeling the fate and transport of OPAs can provide useful information for making mitigation decisions. A novel open-source tool, FluOil, is developed to predict where OPAs may deposit and when they arrive in affecte
Authors
Yilan Li, Zhenduo Zhu, David T. Soong, Hamed Khorasani, Shu Wang, Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Marcelo H. Garcia
Long-term hydrologic sustainability of calcareous fens along the Glacial Lake Agassiz beach ridges, northwestern Minnesota, USA
Calcareous fens are peat-accumulating wetlands fed by calcium-rich groundwater that support several threatened species of plants that thrive in these geochemical conditions. This investigation characterized the hydrology of two calcareous fens in the Glacial Lake Agassiz beach ridge complex in northwestern Minnesota, USA. Sandy surficial beach ridge aquifers and underlying buried glacial aquifers
Authors
Nicholas R. Budde, Howard D. Mooers, Timothy K. Cowdery, Nigel J. Wattrus
Using carbon, nitrogen, and mercury isotope values to distinguish mercury sources to Alaskan lake trout
Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), collected from 13 remote lakes located in southwestern Alaska, were analyzed for carbon, nitrogen, and mercury (Hg) stable isotope values to assess the importance of migrating oceanic salmon, volcanic activity, and atmospheric deposition to fish Hg burden. Methylmercury (MeHg) bioaccumulation in phytoplankton (5.0–6.9 kg L–1) was also measured to quantify the bas
Authors
Ryan F. Lepak, Jacob M. Ogorek, Krista K. Bartz, Sarah E. Janssen, Michael T. Tate, Yin Runsheng, James P. Hurley, Daniel B. Young, Collin Eagles-Smith, David P. Krabbenhoft