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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

Regional patterns in hydrologic response, a new three-component metric for hydrograph analysis and implications for ecohydrology, Northwest Volcanic Aquifer Study Area, USA

Study RegionOregon, California, Idaho, Nevada and UtahStudy FocusSpatial patterns of hydrologic response were examined for the Northwest Volcanic Aquifer Study Area (NVASA). The utility of established hydrograph-separation methods for assessing hydrologic response in permeable volcanic terranes was assessed and a new three-component metric for hydrograph analysis was developed. The new metric, whi
Authors
Jennifer A. Curtis, Erick R. Burns, Roy Sando

Statewide assessment of karst aquifers in New York with an inventory of closed-depression and focused-recharge features

Karst is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rock or rock containing minerals that are easily dissolved from within the rock. The landscape is characterized by sinkholes, caves, losing streams, springs, and underground drainage systems, which rapidly move water through the karst. The two forms of karst in New York State include carbonate karst, which forms in carbonate rock (limesto
Authors
William M. Kappel, James E. Reddy, Jonathan Casey Root

Measuring channel planform change from image time series: A generalizable, spatially distributed, probabilistic method for quantifying uncertainty

Channels change in response to natural or anthropogenic fluctuations in streamflow and/or sediment supply and measurements of channel change are critical to many river management applications. Whereas repeated field surveys are costly and time‐consuming, remote sensing can be used to detect channel change at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Repeat images have been widely used to measure long‐
Authors
Christina Leonard, Carl J. Legleiter, Devin M. Lea, John C. Schmidt

Influence of hydropower outflow characteristics affecting riverbank stability: The lower Osage River case (Missouri, USA)

This research examined the influences of outflow characteristics affecting riverbank stability. The 130 km stretch of the lower Osage River downstream from Bagnell Dam (Missouri, USA) provided an excellent case study for this purpose. The integrated BSTEM model with the HEC-RAS model was accurately calibrated and validated with data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Then, the outflow charact
Authors
Wesam Mohammed-Ali, Cesar Mendoza, Robert R. Holmes

Comparison of SELDM simulated total-phosphorus concentrations with ecological impervious-area criteria

Ecological studies indicate that impervious cover (IC) greater than approximately 5%–20% may have adverse effects on receiving-stream ecology. It is difficult to separate the effects of runoff quality from other effects of urbanization on receiving streams. This study presents the results of a numerical experiment to assess the effects of increasing IC on water quality using the Stochastic Empiric
Authors
Lillian C. Jeznach, Gregory E. Granato

Groundwater levels and generalized potentiometric surfaces, former Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey, 2018

Groundwater-level conditions, generalized groundwater potentiometric surfaces, and generalized flow directions at the decommissioned Naval Air Warfare Center in West Trenton, New Jersey, were evaluated for calendar year 2018. Groundwater levels measured continuously in five on-site wells and one nearby off-site well were plotted as hydrographs for January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2018. Ground
Authors
Alex R. Fiore, Pierre J. Lacombe

Characterizing the diverse hydrogeology underlying rivers and estuaries using new floating transient electromagnetic methodology

The hydrogeology below large surface water features such as rivers and estuaries is universally under-informed at the long reach to basin scales (tens of km+). This challenge inhibits the accurate modeling of fresh/saline groundwater interfaces and groundwater/surface water exchange patterns at management-relevant spatial extents. Here we introduce a towed, floating transient electromagnetic (TEM)
Authors
John W. Lane, Martin A. Briggs, PK Maurya, Eric A. White, JB Pedersen, Esben Auken, Neil Terry, Burke J. Minsley, Wade Kress, Denis R. LeBlanc, Ryan F. Adams, Carole D. Johnson

Changes in climate and land cover affect seasonal streamflow forecasts in the Rio Grande headwaters

Seasonal streamflow forecast bias, changes in climate, snowpack, and land cover, and the effects of these changes on relations between basin‐wide snowpack, SNOw TELemetry (SNOTEL) station snowpack, and seasonal streamflow were evaluated in the headwaters of the Rio Grande, Colorado. Results indicate that shifts in the seasonality of precipitation and changing climatology are consistent with period
Authors
Colin A. Penn, David W. Clow, Graham A. Sexstone, Sheila F. Murphy

Nowcasting methods for determining microbiological water quality at recreational beaches and drinking-water source waters

Nowcasts are tools used to provide timely and accurate water-quality assessments of threats to drinking-water and recreational resources from fecal contamination or cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms. They use mathematical models and techniques to provide near-real-time estimates of fecal-indicator bacteria (FIB) and cyanotoxin concentrations. Techniques include logic-based thresholds, decision t
Authors
Donna S. Francy, Amie M.G. Brady, Jessica R. Cicale, Harrison D Dalby, Erin A. Stelzer

Occurrence and geochemistry of lead-210 and polonium-210 radionuclides in public-drinking-water supplies from principal aquifers of the United States

On the basis of lifetime cancer risks, lead-210 (210Pb) and polonium-210 (210Po) ≥ 1.0 and 0.7 pCi/L (picocuries per liter), respectively, in drinking-water supplies may pose human-health concerns. 210Pb and 210Po were detected at concentrations greater than these thresholds at 3.7 and 1.5%, respectively, of filtered untreated groundwater samples from 1263 public-supply wells in 19 principal aquif
Authors
Zoltan Szabo, Paul Stackelberg, Charles A. Cravotta

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

Source switching maintains dissolved organic matter chemostasis across discharge levels in a large temperate river network

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) helps regulate aquatic ecosystem structure and function. In small streams, DOM concentrations are controlled by transport of terrestrial materials to waterways, and are thus highly variable. As rivers become larger, the River Continuum Concept hypothesizes that internal primary production is an increasingly important DOM source, but direct evidence is limited. Recent
Authors
J.D. Hosen, K.S. Aho, Jennifer Burlingame Hoyle Fair, E.D. Kyzivat, S. Matt, Jonathan Morrison, A. Stubbins, L.C. Weber, B. Yoon, P.A. Raymond