Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

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

Stream-channel and watershed delineations and basin-characteristic measurements using lidar elevation data for small drainage basins within the Des Moines Lobe landform region in Iowa

Basin-characteristic measurements related to stream length, stream slope, stream density, and stream order have been identified as significant variables for estimation of flood, flow-duration, and low-flow discharges in Iowa. The placement of channel initiation points, however, has always been a matter of individual interpretation, leading to differences in stream definitions between analysts.This
Authors
David A. Eash, Kimberlee K. Barnes, Padraic S. O'Shea, Brian K. Gelder

The metabolic regimes of flowing waters

The processes and biomass that characterize any ecosystem are fundamentally constrained by the total amount of energy that is either fixed within or delivered across its boundaries. Ultimately, ecosystems may be understood and classified by their rates of total and net productivity and by the seasonal patterns of photosynthesis and respiration. Such understanding is well developed for terrestrial
Authors
Emily S. Bernhardt, Jim B. Heffernan, Nancy B. Grimm, Emily H. Stanley, Judson Harvey, M. Arroita, Alison P. Appling, M.J. Cohen, William H. McDowell, R.O. Hall, Jordan S. Read, B.J. Roberts, Edward G. Stets, Charles B. Yackulic

Iterative near-term ecological forecasting: Needs, opportunities, and challenges

Two foundational questions about sustainability are “How are ecosystems and the services they provide going to change in the future?” and “How do human decisions affect these trajectories?” Answering these questions requires an ability to forecast ecological processes. Unfortunately, most ecological forecasts focus on centennial-scale climate responses, therefore neither meeting the needs of near-
Authors
Mike Dietze, Andrew Fox, Lindsay Beck-Johnson, Julio L. Betancourt, Mevin Hooten, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Timothy H. Keitt, Melissa A. Kenney, Christine M. Laney, Laurel G. Larsen, Henry W. Loescher, Claire K. Lunch, Bryan Pijanowski, James T. Randerson, Emily K. Read, Andrew T. Tredennick, Rodrigo Vargas, Kathleen C. Weathers, Ethan P. White

Water pressure and ground vibrations induced by water guns near Brandon Road Lock and Dam and Lemont, Illinois

Multiple geophysical sensors were used to characterize the underwater pressure field and ground vibrations of a seismic water gun and its suitability to deter the movement of Asian carps (particularly the silver [Hypophthalmichthys molitrix] and bighead [Hypophthalmichthys nobilis] carps) while ensuring the integrity of surrounding structures. The sensors used to collect this information were blas
Authors
Ryan F. Adams, Carolyn M. Koebel, William S. Morrow

Preliminary flood-duration frequency estimates using naturalized streamflow records for the Willamette River Basin, Oregon

In this study, “naturalized” daily streamflow records, created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation, were used to compute 1-, 3-, 7-, 10-, 15-, 30-, and 60-day annual maximum streamflow durations, which are running averages of daily streamflow for the number of days in each duration. Once the annual maximum durations were computed, the floodduration frequencies could b
Authors
Greg D. Lind, Adam J. Stonewall

Results of the 2010-2011 East-Central Adirondack Stream Survey (ECASS)

No abstract available.
Authors
Gregory B. Lawrence, Scott D. George, Douglas A. Burns, Barry P. Baldigo, Sophia Passy, Karen M. Roy, Katrina L. Pound

Modeling drivers of phosphorus loads in Chesapeake Bay tributaries and inferences about long-term change

Causal attribution of changes in water quality often consists of correlation, qualitative reasoning, listing references to the work of others, or speculation. To better support statements of attribution for water-quality trends, structural equation modeling was used to model the causal factors of total phosphorus loads in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. By transforming, scaling, and standardizing va
Authors
Karen R. Ryberg, Joel D. Blomquist, Lori A. Sprague, Andrew J. Sekellick, Jennifer L. Keisman

Comparison of HSPF and PRMS model simulated flows using different temporal and spatial scales in the Black Hills, South Dakota

The hydrological simulation program Fortran (HSPF) [Hydrological Simulation Program Fortran version 12.2 (Computer software). USEPA, Washington, DC] and the precipitation runoff modeling system (PRMS) [Precipitation Runoff Modeling System version 4.0 (Computer software). USGS, Reston, VA] models are semidistributed, deterministic hydrological tools for simulating the impacts of precipitation, land
Authors
D. R. Chalise, Adel E. Haj, T.A. Fontaine

Floodplain trapping and cycling compared to streambank erosion of sediment and nutrients in an agricultural watershed

Floodplains and streambanks can positively and negatively influence downstream water quality through interacting geomorphic and biogeochemical processes. Few studies have measured those processes in agricultural watersheds. We measured inputs (floodplain sedimentation and dissolved inorganic loading), cycling (floodplain soil nitrogen [N] and phosphorus [P] mineralization), and losses (bank erosio
Authors
Jaimie Gillespie, Gregory Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Allen C. Gellis, Edward R. Schenk

Juvenile coho salmon growth and health in streams across an urbanization gradient

Expanding human population and urbanization alters freshwater systems through structural changes to habitat, temperature effects from increased runoff and reduced canopy cover, altered flows, and increased toxicants. Current stream assessments stop short of measuring health or condition of species utilizing these freshwater habitats and fail to link specific stressors mechanistically to the health
Authors
Andrew R. Spanjer, Patrick W. Moran, Kimberly Larsen, Lisa Wetzel, Adam G. Hansen, David A. Beauchamp

Relationships between indicators of acid-base chemistry and fish assemblages in streams of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The acidity of many streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) has increased significantly since pre-industrial (∼1850) times due to the effects of highly acidic atmospheric deposition in poorly buffered watersheds. Extensive stream-monitoring programs since 1993 have shown that fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages have been adversely affected in many streams across the GRSM. Matc
Authors
Barry P. Baldigo, Matt A. Kulp, John S. Schwartz

Year-round presence of neonicotinoid insecticides in tributaries to the Great Lakes, USA

To better characterize the transport of neonicotinoid insecticides to the world's largest freshwater ecosystem, monthly samples (October 2015–September 2016) were collected from 10 major tributaries to the Great Lakes, USA. For the monthly tributary samples, neonicotinoids were detected in every month sampled and five of the six target neonicotinoids were detected. At least one neonicotinoid was d
Authors
Michelle L. Hladik, Steven R. Corsi, Dana W. Kolpin, Austin K. Baldwin, Brett R. Blackwell, Jenna E. Cavallin