Publications
This list of Water Resources Mission Area publications includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists. A searchable database of all USGS publications can be accessed at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Filter Total Items: 18464
Chemical weathering in a tropical watershed, Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico: I. Long-term versus short-term weathering fluxes
The pristine Rio Icacos watershed in the Luquillo Mountains in eastern Puerto Rico has the fastest documented weathering rate of silicate rocks on the Earth's surface. A regolith propagation rate of 58 m Ma-1 calculated from iso-volumetric saprolite formation from quartz diorite, is comparable to the estimated denudation rate (25-50 Ma-1) but is an order of magnitude faster than the global average
Authors
A. F. White, A.E. Blum, M. S. Schulz, D.V. Vivit, David A. Stonestrom, M. Larsen, S.F. Murphy, D. Eberl
Detection of aquifer system compaction and land subsidence using interferometric synthetic aperture radar, Antelope Valley, Mojave Desert, California
Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has great potential to detect and quantify land subsidence caused by aquifer system compaction. InSAR maps with high spatial detail and resolution of range displacement (±10 mm in change of land surface elevation) were developed for a groundwater basin (∼103 km2) in Antelope Valley, California, using radar data collected from the ERS-1 satellite. Th
Authors
D. L. Galloway, K.W. Hudnut, S. E. Ingebritsen, S.P. Phillips, G. Peltzer, F. Rogez, P.A. Rosen
Contaminants in wintering canvasbacks and scaups from San Francisco Bay, California
Organochlorines, metals, and trace elements were measured in liver, kidney, or whole-body tissues of canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria), lesser scaups (A. affinis), and greater scaups (A. marila) collected from San Francisco Bay and three coastal areas of California during the winter of 1986–1987. Potentially toxic concentrations of mercury (mean ≤10.4 µg/g, dry weight) and selenium (mean ≤32.7 µg/g
Authors
Roger L. Hothem, D.G. Lonzarich, Jean E. Takekawa, Harry M. Ohlendorf
Pesticides in surface waters of the Santee River basin and coastal drainages, North and South Carolina
IntroductionThis report summarizes the available pesticide data for surface waters in the Santee River Basin and coastal drainages (SANT) study area, as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Storage and Retrieval database and data collected by the USGS in the SANT NAWQA study area were assesse
Authors
Terry L. Maluk, Robert E. Kelley
Geology, ground-water flow, and dissolved-solids concentrations in ground water along hydrogeologic sections through Wisconsin aquifers
A cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was begun with the objectives of describing water quality and its relation to the hydrology of Wisconsin's principal aquifers and summarizing instances of ground-water contamination and quality problems from information available in DNR files. The first objective was met by a hyd
Authors
P.A. Kammerer
Transport of agrichemicals to ground and surface water in a small central Indiana watershed
The occurrence, distribution, concentrations, and pathways of agrichemicals in water were investigated in the Sugar Creek watershed, a poorly drained agricultural watershed typical of many watersheds in the midwestern USA. Water samples from Sugar Creek, two tile drains, and 11 wells along a groundwater flowpath to Sugar Creek were collected between May 1992 and August 1996 and analyzed for N and
Authors
J.M. Fenelon, R.C. Moore
Ground water age and nitrate distribution within a glacial aquifer beneath a thick unsaturated zone
The impact on ground water quality from increasing fertilizer application rates over the past 40 years is evaluated within a glacial aquifer system beneath a thick unsaturated zone. Ground water ages within the aquifer could not be accurately determined from the measured distribution of 3H and as a result, chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and 3H/3He dating techniques were applied. Beneath a 25 m thick uns
Authors
C.T. Johnston, P.G. Cook, S.K. Frape, Niel Plummer, Eurybiades Busenberg, R.J. Blackport
Occurrence of pesticides in shallow groundwater of the United States: initial results from the National Water-Quality Assessment program
The first phase of intensive data collection for the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) was completed during 1993−1995 in 20 major hydrologic basins of the United States. Groundwater land-use studies, designed to sample recently recharged groundwater (generally within 10 years) beneath specific land-use and hydrogeologic settings, are a major component of the groundwater quality as sessment
Authors
Dana W. Kolpin, Jack E. Barbash, Robert J. Gilliom
Hydrologic and water-chemistry data from the Cretaceous-aquifers test well (BFT-2055), Beaufort County, South Carolina
Test well BFT-2055 was drilled through the entire thickness of Coastal Plain sediments beneath central Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and terminated in bedrock at a depth of 3833 feet. The well was drilled to evaluate the hydraulic properties of the Cretaceous formations beneath Hilton Head Island as a potential source of supplemental water to supplies currently withdrawn from the Upper Flori
Authors
J. E. Landmeyer, P. M. Bradley
Changes in production and respiration during a spring phytoplankton bloom in San Francisco Bay, California, USA: Implications for net ecosystem metabolism
We present results of an intensive sampling program designed to measure weekly changes in ecosystem respiration (oxygen consumption in the water column and sediments) around the 1996 spring bloom in South San Francisco Bay, California, USA. Measurements were made at a shallow site (2 m, where mean photic depth was 60% of the water column height) and a deep site (15 m, mean photic depth was only 20
Authors
J.M. Caffrey, J. E. Cloern, C. Grenz
Development and testing of a contamination potential mapping system for a portion of the General Separations Area, Savannah River Site, South Carolina
A methodology was developed to evaluate and map the contamination potential or aquifer sensitivity of the upper groundwater flow system of a portion of the General Separations Area (GSA) at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to integrate diverse subsurface geologic data, soils data, and hydrology utilizing a stack-
Authors
J.M. Rine, R. C. Berg, J.M. Shafer, E.R. Covington, J.K. Reed, C.B. Bennett, J.E. Trudnak
Regional and local hydrogeology of calcareous fens in the Minnesota river basin, USA
Six calcareous fens in the Minnesota River Basin, USA are in regional hydrogeologic settings with large discharges of calcareous ground water. These settings juxtapose topographically high areas of ground-water recharge with fens in lower areas of discharge, thus creating steep upward hydraulic gradients at the fens. Coarse glacial deposits with high permeability connect recharge areas to discharg
Authors
J.E. Almendinger, J.H. Leete