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
Field-scale sediment feed flume: Upper Santa Ana River, California
Along the San Bernardino Valley, the Santa Ana River decreases in slope, increases in width, and deposits particles from boulders to sand as it loses transport capacity. Episodic rainfalls feed very large winter floods, but dry summer and fall periods lead to extensive dry alluvial reaches due to surface water infiltration into subsurface aquifers. Within one of these dry reaches, a small inset ch
Authors
Scott A. Wright, J. Toby Minear
Near-field remote sensing of Alaskan Rivers
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Geomorphology and Sediment Transport Laboratory (GSTL), in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), acquired remotely sensed data from several Alaskan rivers in 2017 and 2018 with the goal of developing a methodology for measuring streamflow from a helicopter. CRREL operates a custom airborne lid
Authors
Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter, Jonathan M. Nelson, Jeff Conaway, Adam LeWinter, Peter Gadomski, Dominic Filiano
Integrated hydrologic modeling of the Salinas River, California, for sustainable water management
The Salinas River is the largest river in California’s Central Coast region. Groundwater resources of the Salinas River basin are used to meet water supply needs, including crop irrigation and municipal water supply. Two large multipurpose reservoirs also supply irrigation and municipal water uses. Historical imbalances between supply and demand have resulted in sinking groundwater levels, seawate
Authors
Joseph A. Hevesi, Wesley R. Henson, Randall T. Hanson, Scott E. Boyce
Characterization of hydrology and sediment transport following drought and wildfire in Cache Creek, California
The worst drought in California in over 1,200 years occurred between 2012-2017 (Griffin, 2014), depleting surface water and groundwater supply and drying out the soils past wilting point. In the summer of 2015, the Jerusalem and Rocky fires burned roughly 40,000 acres within the Cache Creek watershed. To fully characterize the post-fire effects in the Cache Creek watershed, an hourly model of stre
Authors
Michelle A. Stern, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint
Phylogenetic techniques in geomicrobiology
Molecular biological techniques have revolutionized the field of geomicrobiology by providing researchers with robust techniques for identifying microorganisms and characterizing microbial communities in a wide variety of environments. These techniques have freed researchers from the constraints of classical culture-based microbiology and allowed the discovery of previously unknown phylogenetic di
Authors
Denise M. Akob, Adam C. Mumford, Darren S. Dunlop, Amisha T. Poret-Peterson
Effects of organic ligands and background electrolytes on barite dissolution
Barite dissolution rates and features were investigated under conditions that combine a variety of organic ligands with different background electrolyte solutions. The organic ligands included low molecular weight organic compounds (LMWO) that can be produced by halophilic bacteria and are common in natural environments, as well as synthetic chelators that were previously studied in barite dissolu
Authors
Bingjie Ouyang, Devon Renock, Denise Akob
Flood-inundation mapping of a steep, gravel desert stream in Death Valley National Park, California
In desert landscapes, flooding can result in dramatic changes to streams. However, the frequency, magnitude, and geomorphic effects of floods in such environments are less understood compared to wetter environments (Tooth, 2000). In desert landscapes, steep slopes and sparse vegetation result in runoff and flashy flood peaks, often lasting for only a few hours. Many floods are the result of isolat
Authors
Christopher M. Morris, Toby L. Welborn
Council Monitoring and Assessment Program (CMAP): Inventory of existing water quality and habitat monitoring, and mapping metadata for Gulf of Mexico Programs
Under the Council-Selected Restoration Component of the RESTORE Act, the Council develops Funded Priority Lists (FPLs) that describe the projects and programs it will fund. Projects and programs funded through this component must be in furtherance of the goals and objectives of the Council’s Comprehensive Plan and address at least one of the restoration criteria identified in the RESTORE Act. The
Authors
Julie Bosch, Heidi Burkart, Bogdan Chivoiu, Randy Clark, Chris Clement, Nicholas Enwright, Steve Giordano, Chris Jeffrey, Edward Johnson, Rheannon M. Hart, Sarah Hile, Jacob Howell, Claudia Laurenzano, Michael T. Lee, Terrence A. McCloskey, Terry McTigue, Michelle B. Meyers, Scott Mize, Mark E. Monaco, Kevin Owen, Richard A. Rebich, Samuel H. Rendon, Ali Robertson, Thomas Sample, Gregory D. Steyer, Kevin J. Suir, Christopher M. Swarzenski, Katie Watson
Refining the Baseline Sediment Budget for the Klamath River, California
Four dams in the Klamath River Hydroelectric Project (KHP) in Oregon and California (Figure 1) are currently scheduled to be removed over a period of a few weeks or months, beginning in January 2021. The Klamath dam removal will be the largest in the world by almost all measures, and is an unprecedented opportunity to advance science of river responses to such events. The KHP contains approximatel
Authors
Chauncey W. Anderson, Scott A. Wright, Liam N. Schenk, Katherine Skalak, Jennifer A. Curtis, Amy E. East, Adam Benthem
Hawai‘i Groundwater Recharge Tool
The Hawai‘i Groundwater Recharge Tool allows users to evaluate the potential effects of land-cover and climate changes on groundwater recharge. This website provides a baseline estimate of recharge representing recent conditions of precipitation (1978–2008 average) and land cover (2010). Users can change land cover and rainfall conditions to evaluate the effects on groundwater recharge. Results wi
Authors
Jared H. McLean, Kolja Rotzoll, Sean B. Cleaveland, Scot K. Izuka
Differentiating anthropogenic and natural sources of uranium by geochemical fingerprinting of groundwater at the Homestake Uranium Mill, Milan, New Mexico, USA
A multiparameter geochemical-isotopic fingerprinting approach was used to differentiate natural and anthropogenic signatures of uranium contamination near the Homestake uranium mill site (Site), near Milan, New Mexico, USA. The Site consists of two tailings piles from milling operations and groundwater contamination from these tailings have been noted. The Site lies within the lower San Mateo Cree
Authors
Johanna Blake, Philip Harte, Kent Becher
Groundwater quality and hydrology with emphasis on selenium mobilization and transport in the Lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, 2012–16
Dissolved selenium is a contaminant of concern in the lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado. Selenium is naturally present in the Cretaceous Mancos Shale and is leached to groundwater and surface water by irrigation. The groundwater on the east side of the Uncompahgre River in Delta and Montrose Counties is one of the primary sources of selenium concentration and load to surface water in the lower
Authors
Judith C. Thomas, Peter B. McMahon, L. R. Arnold