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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: 18418

General procedure for gaging streams

This chapter briefly describes the objectives and procedures used in obtaining streamflow records. It is considered an introduction to other chapters on surface-water techniques which treat individual procedures in greater detail.
Authors
R. W. Carter, Jacob Davidian

Methods of measuring water levels in deep wells

Accurate measurement of water levels deeper than 1,000 feet in wells requires specialized equipment. Corrections for stretch and thermal expansion of measuring tapes must be considered, and other measuring devices must be calibrated periodically. Bore-hole deviation corrections also must be made. Devices for recording fluctuation of fluid level usually require mechanical modification for use at
Authors
M. S. Garber, F. C. Koopman

Stage measurement at gaging stations

Continuous measurements of stream stage are used in determining records of stream discharge. In addition a record of stream stage is useful in itself, as in designing structures affected by stream elevation or in planning the use of flood plains. This report describes instruments and structures commonly used in obtaining a record of stream stage.
Authors
Thomas J. Buchanan, William P. Somers

Measurement of peak discharge at culverts by indirect methods

This chapter classifies culvert flow into six types, gives discharge equations based on continuity and energy equations, and describes procedures for measuring peak discharges using culverts in the field. Discharge coefficients for a variety of geometries and flow types arc given. Ten examples detail step-by-step computation procedures.
Authors
G. L. Bodhaine

Generalized hydrology of prairie potholes on the Coteau du Missouri, North Dakota

This report presents all the information, obtained during the investigation, that lends itself to generalization. It describes conditions on that part of the Coteau du Missouri where there is little integration of drainage systems. The surface of the glacial drift in this region is dotted with shallow depressions known as prairie potholes that hold water for varying lengths of time. Precipitation
Authors
William Stewart Eisenlohr, Charles E. Sloan

Hydrology for urban land planning - A guidebook on the hydrologic effects of urban land use

This circular attempts to summarize existing knowledge of the effects of urbanization on hydrologic factors. It also attempts to express this knowledge in terms that the planner can use to test alternatives during the planning process. Because the available data used in this report are applied to a portion of the Brandywine Creek basin in Pennsylvania, this can be considered as a report on the bas
Authors
Luna Bergere Leopold

Water temperatures in the lower Columbia River

Daily observations of water temperature for 20 sites in the lower Columbia River are presented in tabular form and in profile form by months for the period August 1941 to July 1942. The profiles show minimum, mean (average), and maximum water temperatures for those months from river mile 142 to river mile 6.7. The data indicate that water temperature in the lower river trends upward from October t
Authors
Albert M. Moore

Estimated use of water in the United States, 1965

Estimates of water use in the United States for 1965 indicate that an average of about 310 bgd (billion gallons per day) were withdrawn for public-supply, rural domestic and livestock, irrigation, and industrial (including thermoelectric power)uses--that is, about 1,600 gallons per capita per day. This represents an increase of 15 percent over the withdrawal of 270 bgd reported for 1960. Fresh wat
Authors
Charles Richard Murray

Discharge in the lower Columbia River basin, 1928-65

Estimates of monthly and annual mean discharge for five ungaged sites in the lower Columbia River are presented for water years 1928-65. These sites are Columbia River at Vancouver, Wash., Willamette River at mouth, Columbia River at St. Helens, Oreg., Columbia River at Longview, Wash., and Columbia River at mouth. Two tables of estimates are compiled for each site. One table lists estimates of 'o
Authors
Hollis M. Orem

Summary of floods in the United States during 1963

This report describes the most outstanding floods in the United States during 1963. The three most destructive floods occurred in March from Alabama to West Virginia and Ohio, in June in Nebraska, and in August in Buffalo, N.Y.Widespread disastrous floods struck the western slopes of the Appalachian Mountains from Alabama to West Virginia and Ohio as a result of three storms moving over the area d
Authors
J.O. Rostvedt

Summary of floods in the United States during 1962

This report describes the most outstanding floods in the United Spates during 1962. The most damaging floods during the year occurred in February in southern Idaho and northern Nevada and Utah, and during the latter part of February and the early part of March in Kentucky and in the Cumberland River basin in Tennessee.The floods in Idaho and adjacent areas of Nevada and Utah resulted from a combin
Authors
J.O. Rostvedt