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: 18419
Integrated hydro-terrestrial modeling: Development of a national capability
Water is one of our most important natural resources and is essential to our national economy and security. Multiple federal government agencies have mission elements that address national needs related to water. Each water-related agency champions a unique science and/or operational mission focused on advancing a portion of the nation’s ability to meet our water-related challenges, often in close
Authors
David P. Lesmes, Jessica Moerman, Tom Torgeson, Bob Vallario, Timothy D. Scheibe, Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, Harry L. Jenter, Ronald L. Bingner, Laura Condon, Brian Cosgrove, Carlos Del Castillo, Charles W Downer, John Eylander, Michael N. Fienen, Nels Frazier, David Gochis, Dave Goodrich, Judson Harvey, Joseph D. Hughes, David Hyndman, John M. Johnston, Forrest Melton, Glenn E. Moglen, David Moulton, Laura K. Lautz, Rajbir Parmar, Brenda Rashleigh, Patrick Reed, Katherine Skalak, Charuleka Varadharajan, Roland J. Viger, Nathalie Voisin, Mark Wahl
Uranium bioaccumulation dynamics in the mayfly Neocloeon triangulifer and application to site-specific prediction
Little is known about the underlying mechanisms governing the bioaccumulation of uranium (U) in aquatic insects. We experimentally parameterized conditional rate constants for aqueous U uptake, dietary U uptake, and U elimination for the aquatic baetid mayfly Neocloeon triangulifer. Results showed that this species accumulates U from both the surrounding water and diet, with waterborne uptake prev
Authors
Brianna L. Henry, Marie Noële Croteau, David Walters, Janet L. Miller, Daniel J. Cain, Christopher C. Fuller
A one‐dimensional model for turbulent mixing in the benthic biolayer of stream and coastal sediments
In this paper, we develop and validate a rigorous modeling framework, based on Duhamel's Theorem, for the unsteady one-dimensional vertical transport of a solute across a flat sediment-water interface (SWI) and through the benthic biolayer of a turbulent stream. The modeling framework is novel in capturing the two-way coupling between evolving solute concentrations above and below the SWI and in a
Authors
Stanley Grant, Jesus Gomez-Velez, Marco Ghisalberti, Ian Guymer, Fulvio Boano, Kevin Roche, Judson Harvey
Exploring the potential of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to measure the extent of chronic disturbance in peatlands: Examples from acid mine drainage and peat fire
Peatlands are accumulations of partially decayed organic soil that cover approximately 3% of Earth’s surface and have been shown to serve essential environmental and ecological functions such as sequestering carbon, purifying water, and providing habitat for organisms. However, peatlands are threatened by pressures from agriculture, urban development, mining, and climate change. Geophysical method
Authors
Neil Terry, Robert L. Runkel, Dale D. Werkema, Elizabeth Rutila, Xavier Comas, Matthew Warren, Agus Kristiyono, Daniel Murdiyarso
Coarse sediment dynamics in a large glaciated river system: Holocene history and storage dynamics dictate contemporary climate sensitivity
The gravel-bedded White River drains a 1279 km2 basin in Washington State, with lowlands sculpted by continental glaciation and headwaters on an actively glaciated stratovolcano. Chronic aggradation along an alluvial fan near the river’s mouth has progressively reduced flood conveyance. In order to better understand how forecasted climate change may influence coarse sediment delivery and aggradati
Authors
Scott W. Anderson, Kristin Jaeger
Permafrost hydrogeology
Groundwater processes are often overlooked in permafrost environments, but subsurface storage and routing can strongly influence water and biogeochemical cycling in northern catchments. Groundwater flow in permafrost regions is controlled by the temporal and spatial distribution of frozen ground, causing the hydrogeologic framework to be temperature-dependent. Most flow occurs in geologic units ab
Authors
Barret L. Kurylyk, Michelle A. Walvoord
Use of boosted regression trees to quantify cumulative instream flow resulting from curtailment of irrigation in the Sprague River basin, Oregon
A boosted regression trees (BRT) approach was used to estimate the amount by which streamflow is increased when irrigation is regulated (curtailed) upstream of a streamgage on the Sprague River in southern-central Oregon. The BRT approach differs from most other approaches that require baseline conditions for comparison, where those baseline conditions are determined from past observations by sear
Authors
Tamara M. Wood
Sediment record of mining legacy and water quality from a drinking-water reservoir, Aztec, New Mexico, USA
The record of mining legacy and water quality was investigated in sediments collected in 2018 from four trenches in the Aztec, New Mexico, drinking-water reservoir #1. Bulk chemical analysis of sediments with depth in the reservoir revealed variable trace-element (uranium, vanadium, arsenic, copper, sulfur, silver, lead, and zinc) concentrations, which appear to coincide with historical mining and
Authors
Johanna M. Blake, Jeb E. Brown, Christina L. Ferguson, Rebecca J. Bixby, Naomi T. Delay
Concentrations and size distribution of TiO2 and Ag engineered particles in five wastewater treatment plants in the United States
The growing use of engineered particles (e.g., nanosized and pigment sized particles, 1 to 100 nm and 100 to 300 nm, respectively) in a variety of consumer products increases the likelihood of their release into the environment. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are an important pathways of introduction of engineered particles to the aquatic systems. This study reports the concentrations, remova
Authors
Md. Mahmudun Nabi, Jingjing Wang, Madeleine Meyer, Marie Noële Croteau, Niveen Ismail, Mohammed Baalousha
Assessment of dissolved-selenium concentrations and loads in the Lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, as part of the Selenium Management Program, 2011–17
The Gunnison Basin Selenium Management Program implemented a water-quality monitoring network in 2011 to measure concentrations of selenium in the lower Gunnison River Basin in Colorado. Selenium is a trace element that bioaccumulates in aquatic food chains. Selenium is essential for life, but elevated amounts can cause reproductive failure, deformities, and other harmful effects. The primary goal
Authors
Mark F. Henneberg
Flood-frequency estimation for very low annual exceedance probabilities using historical, paleoflood, and regional information with consideration of nonstationarity
Streamflow estimates for floods with an annual exceedance probability of 0.001 or lower are needed to accurately portray risks to critical infrastructure, such as nuclear powerplants and large dams. However, extrapolating flood-frequency curves developed from at-site systematic streamflow records to very low annual exceedance probabilities (less than 0.001) results in large uncertainties in the st
Authors
Karen R. Ryberg, Kelsey A. Kolars, Julie E. Kiang, Meredith L. Carr
Development of regional skew coefficients for selected flood durations in the Columbia River Basin, northwestern United States and British Columbia, Canada
Flood-frequency (hereinafter frequency) estimates provide information used to design, operate, and maintain hydraulic structures such as bridges and dams. Failures of these structures could cause catastrophic loss of property, life, or both. In addition to frequency estimates that use annual peak streamflow, frequency estimates of flood durations are required to safely and effectively operate the
Authors
Greg D. Lind, Jonathan R. Lamontagne, Adam J. Stonewall