Publications
Browse the map above to filter and view publications by location. All of our publications are available through the USGS Publications Warehouse. USGS publications and journal articles by scientists of the Washington Water Science Center are listed below.
Filter Total Items: 771
Streambed scour of salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) redds in the South Fork Tolt River, King County, Washington
Prior to emergence as fry, salmonid embryos incubating within gravel nests called “redds” are vulnerable to substrate mobilization and lowering of the streambed, a process termed “streambed scour,” during floods. Water managers regulating discharge in salmonid-bearing rivers need information about the magnitude of discharge during which the scour of substrate surrounding salmonid redds occurs. The
Authors
Andrew S. Gendaszek, Elizabeth Ablow, Derek Marks
Microplastics in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, USA: Occurrence and biological uptake
Microplastics are an environmental contaminant of growing concern, but there is a lack of information about microplastic distribution, persistence, availability, and biological uptake in freshwater systems. This is especially true for large river systems like the Colorado River that spans multiple states through mostly rural and agricultural land use. This study characterized the quantity and morp
Authors
Austin K. Baldwin, Andrew R. Spanjer, Michael R. Rosen, Theresa Thom
Legacy and current‐use contaminants in sediments alter macroinvertebrate communities in southeastern US Streams
Sediment contamination of freshwater streams in urban areas is a recognized and growing concern. As a part of a comprehensive regional stream‐quality assessment, stream‐bed sediment was sampled from streams spanning a gradient of urban intensity in the Piedmont ecoregion of the southeastern United States. We evaluated relations between a broad suite of sediment contaminants (metals, current‐use pe
Authors
Patrick W. Moran, Nile E. Kemble, Ian R. Waite, Barbara Mahler, Lisa H. Nowell, Peter C. Van Metre
Spectral analysis to quantify the response of groundwater levels to precipitation — Northwestern United States
Persistent atmospheric patterns that lead to wet and dry seasons and droughts over periods of months to decades and longer-term climate change over periods of decades to millennia affect groundwater resources. Changes in groundwater storage and the resulting groundwater discharge from most aquifers is relatively slow and steady compared to the variability of daily precipitation. The response of gr
Authors
Andrew J. Long, Christopher P. Konrad
Preliminary assessment of shallow groundwater chemistry near Goodell Creek, North Cascades National Park, Washington
Goodell Creek is located within North Cascades National Park and is high-quality habitat for Chinook salmon, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The creation of a levee near the mouth of the creek where it enters the Skagit River has cut off the historical flood plain from the active channel. There is an effort to remove the levee along the left bank of the creek to re
Authors
Rich W. Sheibley, James R. Foreman
Microplastic concentrations in two Oregon bivalve species: Spatial, temporal, and species variability
Microplastics are an ecological stressor with implications for ecosystem and human health when present in seafood. We quantified microplastic types, concentrations, anatomical burdens, geographic distribution, and temporal differences in Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula) from 15 Oregon coast, U.S.A. sites. Microplastics were present in organisms from all
Authors
Britta Baechler, Elise F. Granek, Matthew G. Hunter, Kathleen E. Conn
Naturally occurring uranium in groundwater in northeastern Washington State
Uranium is a radioactive element (radionuclide) that occurs naturally in rock, soil, and water, usually in low concentrations. Radionuclides are unstable atoms with excess energy and as radionuclides decay, they emit radiation. The uranium decay sequence also includes other radionuclides of concern such as radium and radon. This fact sheet addresses naturally occurring uranium in groundwater in no
Authors
Sue C. Kahle
A conceptual framework for the identification and characterization of lacustrine spawning habitats for native lake charr Salvelinus namaycush
Lake charr Salvelinus namaycush are endemic to the formerly glaciated regions of North America and spawn primarily in lakes, unlike most other Salmoninae. Spawning habitats for lake charr are thought to be characterized by relatively large substrate particle sizes which provide sufficient interstitial spaces for egg incubation, but little is known about the physical processes that create or mainta
Authors
Stephen Riley, J. E. Marsden, M. S. Ridgway, Christopher Konrad, Steve A. Farha, Thomas R. Binder, Trevor A. Middel, Peter C. Esselman, Charles C. Krueger
Multivariate analysis of hydrochemical data for Jewel Cave, Wind Cave, and surrounding areas
Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota contain two of the six longest caves worldwide. These caves contain subterranean lakes that are important points of intersection between the water table of the Madison aquifer and the caves. During 2015 to 2017, several subterranean lakes were discovered in Jewel Cave, which previously was thought to be above the regional wat
Authors
Andrew J. Long, James B. Paces, William G. Eldridge
Analysis of groundwater response to tidal fluctuations, Operable Unit 1, Naval Base Kitsap, Keyport, Washington
Chlorinated volatile organic compounds have affected groundwater beneath a former 9-acre landfill at Operable Unit 1 (OU 1) of Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) Keyport, in Keyport, Washington. The landfill was the primary disposal area for domestic and industrial waste generated by NBK Keyport from the 1930s through 1973. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest, in conjunction with the Environmental
Authors
Chad C. Opatz, Richard S. Dinicola
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and metals in ambient sediment at mussel biomonitoring sites, Puget Sound, Washington
Caged mussels used as biomonitors can provide insights about ambient contaminant assemblages and spatial patterns, sources of contaminants, and contaminant exposure risks for consumers of wild and farmed mussels. This study explored the potential role of ambient sediment in the uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and potentially toxic inorganic elem
Authors
Renee K. Takesue, Pamela L. Campbell‐Swarzenski, Kathleen E. Conn
Survey of bioaccessible pyrethroid insecticides and sediment toxicity in urban streams of the northeast United States
Pyrethroids are a class of widely-used insecticides that can be transported from terrestrial applications to aquatic systems via runoff and tend to sorb to organic carbon in sediments. Pyrethroid occurrence is detrimental to stream ecosystems due to toxicity to sediment-dwelling invertebrates which are particularly at risk of pyrethroid exposure in urban streams. In this work, 49 streams located i
Authors
Kara E. Huff-Hartz, Samuel A. Nutile, Courtney Y. Fung, Federico L. Sinche, Patrick W. Moran, Peter C. Van Metre, Lisa H. Nowell, Michael J. Lydy