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
Effects of suspended sediment concentration and grain size on three optical turbidity sensors
Purpose: Optical turbidity sensors have been successfully used to determine suspended sediment flux in rivers, assuming the relation between the turbidity signal and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) has been appropriately calibrated. Sediment size, shape and colour affect turbidity and are important to incorporate into the calibration process.
Materials and methods: This study evaluates the
Authors
Gustavo Henrique Merten, Paul D. Capel, Jean P.G. Minella
Lacustrine responses to decreasing wet mercury deposition rates: results from a case study in northern Minnesota
We present a case study comparing metrics of methylmercury (MeHg) contamination for four undeveloped lakes in Voyageurs National Park to wet atmospheric deposition of mercury (Hg), sulfate (SO4–2), and hydrogen ion (H+) in northern Minnesota. Annual wet Hg, SO4–2, and H+ deposition rates at two nearby precipitation monitoring sites indicate considerable decreases from 1998 to 2012 (mean decreases
Authors
Mark E. Brigham, Mark B. Sandheinrich, David A. Gay, Ryan P. Maki, David P. Krabbenhoft, James G. Wiener
Trophic state in Voyageurs National Park lakes before and after implementation of a revised water-level management plan
We compiled Secchi depth, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll a (Chla) data from Voyageurs National Park lakes and compared datasets before and after a new water-level management plan was implemented in January 2000. Average Secchi depth transparency improved (from 1.9 to 2.1 m, p = 0.020) between 1977-1999 and 2000-2011 in Kabetogama Lake for August samples only and remained unchanged in Rainy, Nam
Authors
Victoria G. Christensen, Ryan P. Maki
Predicted effects of future climate warming on thermal habitat suitability for Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens, Rafinesque, 1817) in rivers in Wisconsin, USA
The Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens, Rafinesque, 1817) may be threatened by future climate warming. The purpose of this study was to identify river reaches in Wisconsin, USA, where they might be vulnerable to warming water temperatures. In Wisconsin, A. fulvescens is known from 2291 km of large-river habitat that has been fragmented into 48 discrete river-lake networks isolated by impassable d
Authors
John D. Lyons, Jana S. Stewart
Human and bovine viruses in the Milwaukee River Watershed: hydrologically relevant representation and relations with environmental variables
To examine the occurrence, hydrologic variability, and seasonal variability of human and bovine viruses in surface water, three stream locations were monitored in the Milwaukee River watershed in Wisconsin, USA, from February 2007 through June 2008. Monitoring sites included an urban subwatershed, a rural subwatershed, and the Milwaukee River at the mouth. To collect samples that characterize vari
Authors
Steven R. Corsi, M. A. Borchardt, S. K. Spencer, Peter E. Hughes, Austin K. Baldwin
Contaminants of emerging concern in ambient groundwater in urbanized areas of Minnesota, 2009-12
A study of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in ambient groundwater in urbanized areas of Minnesota was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. For this study, water samples were collected from November 2009 through June 2012 from 118 wells located in different land-use settings. The sampled wells primarily were screened in vulnerab
Authors
Melinda L. Erickson, Susan K. Langer, Jason L. Roth, Sharon E. Kroening
Water quality and algal community dynamics of three deepwater lakes in Minnesota utilizing CE-QUAL-W2 models
Water quality, habitat, and fish in Minnesota lakes will potentially be facing substantial levels of stress in the coming decades primarily because of two stressors: (1) land-use change (urban and agricultural) and (2) climate change. Several regional and statewide lake modeling studies have identified the potential linkages between land-use and climate change on reductions in the volume of suitab
Authors
Erik A. Smith, Richard L. Kiesling, Joel M. Galloway, Jeffrey R. Ziegeweid
Spatial variability in nutrient transport by HUC8, state, and subbasin based on Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin SPARROW models
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loading from the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) has been linked to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. With geospatial datasets for 2002, including inputs from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and monitored loads throughout the MARB, SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) watershed models were constructed specifically for the MA
Authors
Dale M. Robertson, David A. Saad, Gregory E. Schwarz
Effects of lakes and reservoirs on annual river nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment export in agricultural and forested landscapes
Recently, effects of lakes and reservoirs on river nutrient export have been incorporated into landscape biogeochemical models. Because annual export varies with precipitation, there is a need to examine the biogeochemical role of lakes and reservoirs over time frames that incorporate interannual variability in precipitation. We examined long-term (~20 years) time series of river export (annual ma
Authors
Stephen M. Powers, Dale M. Robertson, Emily H. Stanley
Development of flood-inundation maps for the Mississippi River in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.3-mile reach of the Mississippi River in Saint Paul, Minnesota, were developed through a multi-agency effort by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and in collaboration with the National Weather Service. The inundation maps, which can be accessed through the U.S. Geological Survey Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web
Authors
Christiana R. Czuba, James D. Fallon, Corby R. Lewis, Diane F. Cooper
Response to heavy, non-floating oil spilled in a Great Lakes river environment: a multiple-lines-of-evidence approach for submerged oil assessment and recovery
The Enbridge Line 6B pipeline release of diluted bitumen into the Kalamazoo River downstream of Marshall, MI in July 2010 is one of the largest freshwater oil spills in North American history. The unprecedented scale of impact and massive quantity of oil released required the development and implementation of new approaches for detection and recovery. At the onset of cleanup, conventional recovery
Authors
Ralph H. Dollhopf, Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Jeffrey W. Kimble, Daniel M. Capone, Thomas P. Graan, Ronald B. Zelt, Rex Johnson
Mercury in the national parks
One thing is certain: Even for trained researchers, predicting mercury’s behavior in the
environment is challenging. Fundamentally it is one of 98 naturally occurring elements, with
natural sources, such as volcanoes, and concentrated ore deposits, such as cinnabar. Yet there
are also human-caused sources, such as emissions from both coal-burning power plants and
mining operations for gold and
Authors
Colleen Flanagan Pritz, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, David Krabbenhoft