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: 18420
Hydrogeochemical controls on brook trout spawning habitats in a coastal stream
Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) spawn in fall and overwintering egg development can benefit from stable, relatively warm temperatures in groundwater-seepage zones. However, eggs are also sensitive to dissolved oxygen concentration, which may be reduced in discharging groundwater (i.e., seepage). We investigated a 2 km reach of the coastal Quashnet River in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, to rela
Authors
Martin A. Briggs, Judson W. Harvey, Stephen T. Hurley, Donald O. Rosenberry, Timothy D. McCobb, Dale D. Werkema, John W. Lane
Genetic swamping and species collapse: Tracking introgression between the native Candy Darter and introduced Variegate Darter
Candy Darters (Etheostoma osburni) and Variegate Darters (E. variatum) are both native to West Virginia and Virginia. The geographic ranges of these two species were historically separated by Kanawha Falls, a natural barrier to fish dispersal located at Glen Ferris, WV. In the early 1980s, Variegate Darters or putative hybrids (E. osburni × E. variatum) were first collected at locations upstream o
Authors
Isaac Gibson, Amy B. Welsh, Stuart A. Welsh, Daniel A. Cincotta
Contaminants of emerging concern in the environment: Where we have been and what does the future hold?
In 1962, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring alerted the nation to the dangers of manmade chemicals and indiscriminate use of pesticides. DDT was the culprit and its use threatened a variety of wildlife, including the national bird, bald eagles. In 1969, pressured by scientists and the public, the United States banned almost all uses of DDT; however, DDT was just the tip of the chemical iceberg. In
Authors
William A. Battaglin, Dana W. Kolpin, Edward T. Furlong, Susan Glassmeyer, Brett R. Blackwell, Steven Corsi, Michael T. Meyer, Paul M. Bradley
Clarifying regional hydrologic controls of the Marañón River, Peru through rapid assessment to inform system-wide basin planning approaches
We use remote sensing to enhance the interpretation of the first baseline dataset of hydrologic, isotopic and hydrochemical variables spanning 620 km of the upper Marañón River, in Andean Peru, from the steep alpine canyons to the lower lying jungle. Remote, data-scarce river systems are under increased hydropower development pressure to meet rising energy demands. The upstream-downstream river co
Authors
Alice F. Hill, Robert Stallard, Karl Rittger
Estimating metal concentrations with regression analysis and water-quality surrogates at nine sites on the Animas and San Juan Rivers, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah
The purpose of this report is to evaluate the use of site-specific regression models to estimate metal concentrations at nine U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations on the Animas and San Juan Rivers in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Downstream users could use these regression models to determine if metal concentrations are elevated and pose a risk to water supplies, agriculture, and re
Authors
Alisa Mast
Controls of the spatial variability of denitrification potential in nontidal floodplains of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
Identifying floodplains with high rates of denitrification will help prioritize restoration projects for the removal of nitrogen. Currently, relationships of denitrification with hydrogeomorphic, physiographic, and climate (i.e., largescale) characteristics of floodplains are relatively unknown, even though these characteristics have datasets (e.g., geographic mapping tools) that are publicly avai
Authors
Alicia R. Korol, Gregory Noe, Changwoo Ahn
Tidal Wetlands and Estuaries
1. The top 1 m of tidal wetland soils and estuarine sediments of North America contains 1,886 ± 1046 teragrams of carbon (Tg C). [High confidence, Very likely] 2. Soil carbon accumulation rate (i.e., sediment burial) in North American tidal wetlands is currently 9 ± 5 Tg C per year and estuarine carbon burial is 5 ± 3 Tg C per year. [High confidence, Likely] 3. The lateral flux of carbon from tida
Authors
Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Wei Jun Cai, Simone Alin, Andreas Andersson, Joseph Crosswell, Kenneth Dunton, Jose Martin Hernandez-Ayon, Maria Herrmann, Audra L. Hinson, Charles Hopkinson, Jennifer Howard, Xinping Hu, Sara H. Knox, Kevin Kroeger, David Lagomasino, Patrick Megonigal, Raymond Najjar, May-Linn Paulsen, Dorothy Peteet, Emily Pidgeon, Karina Schafer, Elizabeth Watson, Zhaohui Aleck Wang, Maria Tzortziou
Radium accumulation in carbonate river sediments at oil and gas produced water discharges: Implications for beneficial use as disposal management
In the western U.S., produced water from oil and gas wells discharged to surface water augments downstream supplies used for irrigation and livestock watering. Here we investigate six permitted discharges on three neighboring tributary systems in Wyoming. During 2013-16, we evaluated radium activities of the permitted discharges and the potential for radium accumulation in associated stream sedim
Authors
Bonnie McDevitt, Molly McLaughlin, Charles A. Cravotta, Moses A Ajemigbitse, Katherine J. Van Sice, Jens Blotevogel, Thomas Borch, Nathaniel R. Warner
Land subsidence along the California Aqueduct in west-central San Joaquin Valley, California, 2003–10
Extensive groundwater withdrawal from the unconsolidated deposits in the San Joaquin Valley caused widespread aquifer-system compaction and resultant land subsidence from 1926 to 1970—locally exceeding 8.5 meters. The importation of surface water beginning in the early 1950s through the Delta-Mendota Canal and in the early 1970s through the California Aqueduct resulted in decreased groundwater pum
Authors
Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Michael Solt
Groundwater-storage change and land-surface elevation change in Tucson Basin and Avra Valley, south-central Arizona--2003-2016
The U.S. Geological Survey monitors groundwater-storage change and land-surface elevation change caused by groundwater withdrawal in Tucson Basin and Avra Valley—the two most populated alluvial basins within the Tucson Active Management Area. The Tucson Active Management Area is one of five active management areas in Arizona established by the 1980 Groundwater Management Act and governed by the Ar
Authors
Robert L. Carruth, Libby M. Kahler, Brian D. Conway
Simulation of groundwater flow and analysis of projected water use for the Rush Springs aquifer, western Oklahoma
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, (1) quantified the groundwater resources of the Rush Springs aquifer in western Oklahoma by developing a numerical groundwater-flow model, (2) evaluated the effects of estimated equal-proportionate-share (EPS) pumping rates on aquifer storage and streamflow for time periods of 20, 40,
Authors
J.H. Ellis
Modeling hydrodynamics, water temperature, and water quality in Klamath Straits Drain, Oregon and California, 2012–15
Executive SummaryLocated southwest of Klamath Falls, Oregon, Klamath Straits Drain is a 10.1-mile-long canal that conveys water uphill and northward through the use of pumps before discharging to the Klamath River. Klamath Straits Drain traverses an area that historically encompassed Lower Klamath Lake. Currently, the Drain receives water from farmland and from parts of the Lower Klamath Lake Nati
Authors
Annett B. Sullivan, Stewart A. Rounds