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
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
Soil aggregates as a source of dissolved organic carbon to streams: An experimental study on the effect of solution chemistry on water extractable carbon
Over the past two decades, headwater streams of the northern hemisphere have shown increased amounts of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), coinciding with decreased acid deposition. The exact nature of the mechanistic link between precipitation composition and stream water DOC is still widely debated in the literature. We hypothesize that soil aggregates are the main source of stream water DOC and th
Authors
Malayika M. Cincotta, Julia N. Perdrial, Aaron Shavitz, Arianna Libenson, Maxwell Landsman, Nicolas Perdrial, Jesse Armfield, Thomas Adler, James B. Shanley
Updates to the Madison Lake (Minnesota) CE–QUAL–W2 water-quality model for assessing algal community dynamics
A previously developed CE–QUAL–W2 model for Madison Lake, Minnesota, simulated the algal community dynamics, water quality, and fish habitat suitability of Madison Lake under recent (2014) meteorological conditions. Additionally, this previously developed model simulated the complex interplay between external nutrient loading, internal nutrient loading from sediment release of phosphorus, and the
Authors
Erik A. Smith, Richard L. Kiesling
Near-field receiving-water monitoring of trace metals and a benthic community near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in south San Francisco Bay, California—2018
Trace-metal concentrations in sediment and in the clam Macoma petalum (formerly reported as Macoma balthica), clam reproductive activity, and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure were investigated in a mudflat 1 kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) in south San Francisco Bay, Calif. This report includes the data collected by U.S.
Authors
Daniel J. Cain, Janet K. Thompson, Francis Parchaso, Sarah Pearson, Robin Stewart, Matthew A. Turner, Kelly H. Shrader, Emily L. Zierdt Smith, Samuel N. Luoma
Streambed flux measurement informed by distributed temperature sensing leads to a significantly different characterization of groundwater discharge
Groundwater discharge though streambeds is often focused toward discrete zones, indicating that preliminary reconnaissance may be useful for capturing the full spectrum of groundwater discharge rates using point-scale quantitative methods. However, many direct-contact reconnaissance techniques can be time consuming, and remote sensing (e.g. thermal infrared) typically does not penetrate the water
Authors
Troy E. Gilmore, Mari-Vaughn V. Johnson, J Korus, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Martin A. Briggs, V. Zlotnik, S. Corcoran
Isotopic and geochemical assessment of the sensitivity of groundwater resources of Guam, Mariana Islands, to intra- and inter-annual variations in hydroclimate
Assessing the sensitivity of groundwater systems to hydroclimate variability is critical to
sustainable management of the water resources of Guam, US territory. We assess spatial and
temporal variability of isotopic and geochemical compositions of vadose and phreatic
groundwater sampled from cave drip sites and production wells, respectively, to better
understand the vulnerability of the freshwate
Authors
Lakin Beal, Corinne I. Wong, Kaylyn K Bautista, John W. Jenson, Jay L. Banner, Mark A Lander, Stephen B. Gingerich, Judson W. Partin, Ben Hardt, N.H. van Oort
Change points in annual peak streamflows: Method comparisons and historical change points in the United States
Change-point, or step-trend, detection is an active area of research in statistics and an area of great interest in hydrology because change points may be evidence of natural or anthropogenic changes in climatic, hydrologic, or landscape processes. A common change-point technique is the Pettitt test; however, many change-point methods are now available and testing of methods has been limited. This
Authors
Karen R. Ryberg, Glenn A. Hodgkins, Robert W. Dudley
Hydrologic modeling for flow-ecology science in the Southeastern United States and Puerto Rico
An understanding of the applicability and utility of hydrologic models is critical to support the effective management of water resources throughout the Southeastern United States (SEUS) and Puerto Rico (PR). Hydrologic models have the capacity to provide an estimate of the quantity of available water at ungauged locations (i.e., areas of the country where a U.S. Geological Survey [USGS] continuou
Authors
Peter V. Caldwell, Jonathan Kennen, Ernie F. Hain, Stacy A.C. Nelson, Ge Sun, Steven G. McNulty
2017 Monitoring and tracking wet nitrogen deposition at Rocky Mountain National Park
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), the National Park Service (NPS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Nitrogen Deposition Reduction Plan (NDRP) in 2007 to address the effects and trends of nitrogen deposition at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). The agencies chose a glidepath approach to reduce wet nitrogen deposition to a level of 1.5
Authors
Kristi Morris, M. Alisa Mast, Gregory A. Wetherbee, Jill S. Baron, Jim Cheatham, Jim Bromberg, Lisa Devore, James Hou, Kristi Gebhart, Mike Bell, David Gay, Michael Olson, Timothy Weinmann, Daniel Bowker
Chemical composition of formation water in shale and tight reservoirs: A basin-scale perspective
No abstract available.
Authors
Yousif Kharaka, Kathleen Gans, Elisabeth Rowan, James Thordsen, Christopher H. Conaway, Madalyn S. Blondes, Mark A. Engle
Reactive transport modeling to understand attenuation of arsenic concentrations in anoxic groundwater during Fe(II) oxidation by nitrate
A previously published field-experimental investigation showed that injection of nitrate in anoxic groundwater that contained aqueous and sediment-bound Fe(II) diminished concentrations of As(V) and As(III) to below drinking-water limits. In the current study, reactive transport modeling confirmed that the observed attenuation was consistent with oxidation of Fe(II) by nitrate, leading to precipit
Authors
Douglas B. Kent, Richard L. Smith, James Jamieson, John K. Böhlke, Deborah A. Repert, Henning Prommer