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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: 18420

Understanding the influence of nutrients on stream ecosystems in agricultural landscapes

Sustaining the quality of the Nation’s water resources and the health of our diverse ecosystems depends on the availability of sound water-resources data and information to develop effective, science-based policies. Effective management of water resources also brings more certainty and efficiency to important economic sectors. Taken together, these actions lead to immediate and long-term economic,
Authors
Mark D. Munn, Jeffrey W. Frey, Anthony J. Tesoriero, Robert W. Black, John H. Duff, Kathy Lee, Terry R. Maret, Christopher A. Mebane, Ian R. Waite, Ronald B. Zelt

Full-range, solar-reflected hyperspectral microscopy to support earth remote sensing research

Over the past 20 years, hyperspectral microscopy has grown into a robust field of analysis for a number of applications. The visible to near-infrared (VNIR; 400 to 1000 nm) region of the spectrum has demonstrated utility for the characterization of healthy and diseased tissue and of biomolecular indicators at the cellular level. Here, we describe the development of a hyperspectral imaging (HSI) mi
Authors
E. Terrence Slonecker, David W. Allen, Ronald G. Resmini, Robert S. Rand, Emily Paine

Contemporary fluvial geomorphology and suspended sediment budget of the partly confined, mixed bedrock-alluvial South River, Virginia, USA

We developed a conceptual model and suspended sediment budget for a 38 km reach of the fifth-order South River, Virginia, for the past 75 yr. Bedrock, terraces, and alluvial fans confine 64% of the channel’s lateral boundaries, while bedrock exposures impose vertical confinement along 37% of the channel. Bedrock exposures in the bed separate pools and riffles developed in gravelly bed material, cr
Authors
James E. Pizzuto, Michael A. O'Neal, Pramenath Narinesingh, Katherine Skalak, Dajana Jurk, Suzann Collins, Jacquelyn Calder

Using the NHD, WBD, and NHDPlus to solve problems

No abstract available.
Authors
Kernell G. Ries, Peter A. Steeves

New insights on scale-dependent surface-groundwater exchange from a floating self-potential Dipole

In south-central Texas the lower Guadalupe River has incised into the outcrop of the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer. The river and the aquifer are hydraulically connected across the outcrop, although the connectivity is obscured at the surface by alluvium and surface-water and groundwater exchange dynamics are currently poorly understood. To investigate surface-water and groundwater exchange dynamics betw
Authors
Scott Ikard, Andrew P. Teeple, Jason Payne, Gregory P. Stanton, J. Ryan Banta

Prediction uncertainty and data worth assessment for groundwater transport times in an agricultural catchment

Uncertainties about the age of base-flow discharge can have serious implications for the management of degraded environmental systems where subsurface pathways, and the ongoing release of pollutants that accumulated in the subsurface during past decades, dominate the water quality signal. Numerical groundwater models may be used to estimate groundwater return times and base-flow ages and thus pred
Authors
Wesley O. Zell, Teresa B. Culver, Ward E. Sanford

Sediment accretion and carbon storage in constructed wetlands receiving water treated with metal-based coagulants

In many regions of the world, subsidence of organic rich soils threatens levee stability and freshwater supply, and continued oxidative loss of organic matter contributes to greenhouse gas production. To counter subsidence in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta of northern California, we examined the feasibility of using constructed wetlands receiving drainage water treated with metal-based coagulant
Authors
Elizabeth B. Stumpner, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Yan Liang, Sandra M. Bachand, William R. Horwath, Philip A.M. Bachand

A preliminary study of variation of Trapa in Japan

SummaryFrequent occurrence of intermediate forms and poor knowledge on the variability of characters have caused some difficulties in the taxonomy of Trapa in Japan. Thus I made a preliminary analysis on the variation of nuts collected from 21 populations in Southwestern Japan. Attention was paid to some morphometrical characters of the nut and development of lower spines or “pseudohorns.” Each po
Authors
Yasuro Kadono

Construction and calibration of a groundwater-flow model to assess groundwater availability in the uppermost principal aquifer systems of the Williston Basin, United States and Canada

The U.S. Geological Survey developed a groundwater-flow model for the uppermost principal aquifer systems in the Williston Basin in parts of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the United States and parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Canada as part of a detailed assessment of the groundwater availability in the area. The assessment was done because of the potential for increased demands
Authors
Kyle W. Davis, Andrew J. Long

Managing salinity in Upper Colorado River Basin streams: Selecting catchments for sediment control efforts using watershed characteristics and random forests models

Elevated concentrations of dissolved-solids (salinity) including calcium, sodium, sulfate, and chloride, among others, in the Colorado River cause substantial problems for its water users. Previous efforts to reduce dissolved solids in upper Colorado River basin (UCRB) streams often focused on reducing suspended-sediment transport to streams, but few studies have investigated the relationship betw
Authors
Fred D. Tillman, David W. Anning, Julian A. Heilman, Susan G. Buto, Matthew P. Miller

Conceptual framework and trend analysis of water-level responses to hydrologic stresses, Pahute Mesa–Oasis Valley groundwater basin, Nevada, 1966-2016

This report identifies water-level trends in wells and provides a conceptual framework that explains the hydrologic stresses and factors causing the trends in the Pahute Mesa–Oasis Valley (PMOV) groundwater basin, southern Nevada. Water levels in 79 wells were analyzed for trends between 1966 and 2016. The magnitude and duration of water-level responses to hydrologic stresses were analyzed graphic
Authors
Tracie R. Jackson, Joseph M. Fenelon

Computing under-ice discharge: A proof-of-concept using hydroacoustics and the Probability Concept

Under-ice discharge is estimated using open-water reference hydrographs; however, the ratings for ice-affected sites are generally qualified as poor. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with the Colorado Water Conservation Board, conducted a proof-of-concept to develop an alternative method for computing under-ice discharge using hydroacoustics and the Probability Concept.The study
Authors
John W. Fulton, Mark F. Henneberg, Taylor J. Mills, Michael S. Kohn, Brian Epstein, Elizabeth Hittle, William C. Damschen, Christopher D. Laveau, Jason M. Lambrecht, William H. Farmer