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
Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: II. Biological consequences of exposure
The Laurentian Great Lakes contain one fifth of the world’s surface freshwater and have been impacted by human activity since the Industrial Revolution. In addition to legacy contaminants, nitrification and invasive species, this aquatic ecosystem is also the recipient of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) with poorly understood biological consequences. In the current study, we documented the
Authors
Linnea M. Thomas, Zachary G. Jorgenson, Mark E. Brigham, Steven J. Choy, Jeremy N. Moore, Jo A. Banda, D.J. Gefell, Thomas A. Minarik, Heiko L. Schoenfuss
Using models to identify the best data: An example from northern Wisconsin
Linear-based data-worth analysis is an efficient and straightforward method for identifying the most important data for model forecasts.
Authors
Andrew T. Leaf
Current-use flame retardants in the water of Lake Michigan tributaries
In this study, we measured the concentrations of 65 flame retardants in water samples from five Lake Michigan tributaries. These flame retardants included organophosphate esters (OPEs), brominated flame retardants (BFRs), and Dechlorane-related compounds. A total of 59 samples, including both the particulate and the dissolved phases, were collected from the Grand, Kalamazoo, Saint Joseph, and Lowe
Authors
Jiehong Guo, Kevin Romanak, Stephen M. Westenbroek, Ronald A. Hites, Marta Venier
Simulation and assessment of groundwater flow and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes of the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota, 2003 through 2013: Chapter B of Water levels and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes
Water levels during 2003 through 2013 were less than mean water levels for the period 1925–2013 for several lakes in the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area in Minnesota. Previous periods of low lake-water levels generally were correlated with periods with less than mean precipitation. Increases in groundwater withdrawals and land-use changes have brought into question whether or not recent (2
Authors
Perry M. Jones, Jason L. Roth, Jared J. Trost, Catherine A. Christenson, Aliesha L. Diekoff, Melinda L. Erickson
Quantitative microbial risk assessment for spray irrigation of dairy manure based on an empirical fate and transport model
BACKGROUND: Spray irrigation for land-applying livestock manure is increasing in the United States as farms become larger and economies of scale make manure irrigation affordable. Human health risks from exposure to zoonotic pathogens aerosolized during manure irrigation are not well understood. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to a) estimate human health risks due to aerosolized zoonotic pathogens downwind of
Authors
Tucker R. Burch, Susan K. Spencer, Joel P. Stokdyk, Burney A Kieke, Rebecca A Larson, Aaron Firnstahl, Ana M Rule, Mark A. Borchardt
Water-quality models to assess algal community dynamics, water quality, and fish habitat suitability for two agricultural land-use dominated lakes in Minnesota, 2014
Fish habitat can degrade in many lakes due to summer blue-green algal blooms. Predictive models are needed to better manage and mitigate loss of fish habitat due to these changes. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, developed predictive water-quality models for two agricultural land-use dominated lakes in Minnesota—Madison Lake and
Authors
Erik A. Smith, Richard L. Kiesling, Jeffrey R. Ziegeweid
An “EAR” on environmental surveillance and monitoring: A case study on the use of Exposure–Activity Ratios (EARs) to prioritize sites, chemicals, and bioactivities of concern in Great Lakes waters
Current environmental monitoring approaches focus primarily on chemical occurrence. However, based on concentration alone, it can be difficult to identify which compounds may be of toxicological concern and should be prioritized for further monitoring, in-depth testing, or management. This can be problematic because toxicological characterization is lacking for many emerging contaminants. New sour
Authors
Brett R. Blackwell, Gerald T. Ankley, Steven R. Corsi, Laura A. DeCicco, Kieth A. Houck, Richard S. Judson, Shibin Li, Matthew T. Martin, Elizabeth Murphy, Anthony L. Schroeder, Edwin R. Smith, Joe Swintek, Daniel L. Villeneuve
Highlighting the complexities of a groundwater pilot study during an avian influenza outbreak: Methods, lessons learned, and select contaminant results
The highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N2) outbreak in the Midwestern United States (US) in 2015 was historic due to the number of birds and poultry operations impacted and the corresponding economic loss to the poultry industry and was the largest animal health emergency in US history. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with the assistance of several state and federal agencies, aided the respon
Authors
Laura E. Hubbard, Dana W. Kolpin, Chad L. Fields, Michelle L. Hladik, Luke R. Iwanowicz
Collecting a better water-quality sample: Reducing vertical stratification bias in open and closed channels
Collection of water-quality samples that accurately characterize average particle concentrations and distributions in channels can be complicated by large sources of variability. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed a fully automated Depth-Integrated Sample Arm (DISA) as a way to reduce bias and improve accuracy in water-quality concentration data. The DISA was designed to integrate with ex
Authors
William R. Selbig
Depletion mapping and constrained optimization to support managing groundwater extraction
Groundwater models often serve as management tools to evaluate competing water uses including ecosystems, irrigated agriculture, industry, municipal supply, and others. Depletion potential mapping—showing the model-calculated potential impacts that wells have on stream baseflow—can form the basis for multiple potential management approaches in an oversubscribed basin. Specific management approache
Authors
Michael N. Fienen, Kenneth R. Bradbury, Maribeth Kniffin, Paul M. Barlow
Flood of July 2016 in northern Wisconsin and the Bad River Reservation
Heavy rain fell across northern Wisconsin and the Bad River Reservation on July 11, 2016, as a result of several rounds of thunderstorms. The storms caused major flooding in the Bad River Basin and nearby tributaries along the south shore of Lake Superior. Rainfall totals were 8–10 inches or more and most of the rain fell in an 8-hour period. A streamgage on the Bad River near Odanah, Wisconsin, r
Authors
Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Eric D. Dantoin, Naomi Tillison, Kara M. Watson, Robert J. Waschbusch, James D. Blount
Comparison of benthos and plankton for Waukegan Harbor Area of Concern, Illinois, and Burns Harbor-Port of Indiana non-Area of Concern, Indiana, in 2015
During two seasonal sampling events in spring (June) and fall (August) of 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey collected benthos (benthic invertebrates) and plankton (zooplankton and phytoplankton) at three sites each in the Waukegan Harbor Area of Concern (AOC) in Illinois and in Burns Harbor-Port of Indiana, a non-AOC comparison site in Indiana. The study was done in cooperation with the U.S. Enviro
Authors
Barbara C. Scudder Eikenberry, Hayley T. Olds, Daniel J. Burns, Edward G. Dobrowolski, Kurt L. Schmude