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: 18422
Bed-material characteristics of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, 2010–13
The characteristics of bed material at selected sites within the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, during 2010–13 are described in a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation. During 2010‒13, six complete sets of samples were collected. Samples were initially collected at 30 sites; however, starting in 2012, samples were collected at 7 addi
Authors
Mathieu D. Marineau, Scott A. Wright
Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Model (WEBMOD), user’s manual, version 1
The Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Model (WEBMOD) uses the framework of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Modular Modeling System to simulate fluxes of water and solutes through watersheds. WEBMOD divides watersheds into model response units (MRU) where fluxes and reactions are simulated for the following eight hillslope reservoir types: canopy; snowpack; ponding on impervious surfaces; O-horiz
Authors
Richard M. T. Webb, David L. Parkhurst
Electrical resistivity investigation of fluvial geomorphology to evaluate potential seepage conduits to agricultural lands along the San Joaquin River, Merced County, California, 2012–13
Increased flows in the San Joaquin River, part of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program, are designed to help restore fish populations. However, increased seepage losses could result from these higher restoration flows, which could exacerbate existing drainage problems in neighboring agricultural lands and potentially damage crops. Channel deposits of abandoned river meanders that are hydrauli
Authors
Krishangi D. Groover, Matthew K. Burgess, James F. Howle, Steven P. Phillips
Groundwater-quality data for the Madera/Chowchilla–Kings shallow aquifer study unit, 2013–14: Results from the California GAMA Program
Groundwater quality in the 2,390-square-mile Madera/Chowchilla–Kings Shallow Aquifer study unit was investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey from August 2013 to April 2014 as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program’s Priority Basin Project. The study was designed to provide a statistically unbiased, spatially distributed as
Authors
Jennifer L. Shelton, Miranda S. Fram
Assessment of transfer patterns and origins of in-channel wood in large rivers using repeated field surveys and wood characterisation (the Isère River upstream of Pontcharra, France)
When and whence does wood enter large mountain alluvial rivers? How stable through time are characteristics and quantities of wood deposited in a reach? These simple questions related to the complex practice of wood budgeting are explored on the Isère River in France. We hypothesise that (i) the wood originates from the riparian zone all along the alluvial reach and that (ii) the characters and qu
Authors
Hervé Piégay, Bertrand Moulin, Cliff R. Hupp
Modeled ecohydrological responses to climate change at seven small watersheds in the northeastern United States
A cross-site analysis was conducted on seven diverse, forested watersheds in the northeastern United States to evaluate hydrological responses (evapotranspiration, soil moisture, seasonal and annual streamflow, and water stress) to projections of future climate. We used output from four atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs; CCSM4, HadGEM2-CC, MIROC5, and MRI-CGCM3) included in Phase
Authors
Afshin Pourmokhtarian, Charles T. Driscoll, John L. Campbell, Katharine Hayhoe, Anne M. K. Stoner, Mary Beth Adams, Douglas A. Burns, Ivan Fernandez, Myron J. Mitchell, James B. Shanley
Prior knowledge-based approach for associating contaminants with biological effects: A case study in the St. Croix River basin, MN, WI, USA
Evaluating potential adverse effects of complex chemical mixtures in the environment is challenging. One way to address that challenge is through more integrated analysis of chemical monitoring and biological effects data. In the present study, water samples from five locations near two municipal wastewater treatment plants in the St. Croix River basin, on the border of MN and WI, USA, were analyz
Authors
Anthony L. Schroeder, Dalma Martinovic-Weigelt, Gerald T. Ankley, Kathy Lee, Natalia Garcia-Reyero, Edward J. Perkins, Heiko L. Schoenfuss, Daniel L. Villeneuve
Fish and invertebrate flow-biology relationships to support the determination of ecological flows for North Carolina
A method was developed to characterize fish and invertebrate responses to flow alteration in the state of North Carolina. This method involved using 80th percentile linear quantile regressions to relate six flow metrics to the diversity of riffle-run fish and benthic Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) richness. All twelve flow-biology relationships were found to be significant, with
Authors
Jennifer Phelan, Thomas F. Cuffney, Lauren A. Patterson, Michele Eddy, Robert Dykes, Sam Pearsall, Chris Goudreau, Jim Mead, Fred Tarver
Ca isotopic geochemistry of an Antarctic aquatic system
The McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, are a polar desert ecosystem. The hydrologic system of the dry valleys is linked to climate with ephemeral streams that flow from glacial melt during the austral summer. Past climate variations have strongly influenced the closed-basin, chemically stratified lakes on the valley floor. Results of previous work point to important roles for both in-stream processe
Authors
W. Berry Lyons, Thomas D. Bullen, Kathleen A. Welch
Rainfall-runoff of anthropogenic waste indicators from agricultural fields applied with municipal biosolids
The presence of anthropogenic contaminants such as antimicrobials, flame-retardants, and plasticizers in runoff from agricultural fields applied with municipal biosolids may pose a potential threat to the environment. This study assesses the potential for rainfall-induced runoff of 69 anthropogenic waste indicators (AWIs), widely found in household and industrial products, from biosolids amended f
Authors
James L. Gray, Thomas Borch, Edward T. Furlong, Jessica Davis, Tracy Yager, Yun-Ya Yang, Dana W. Kolpin
Human health screening and public health significance of contaminants of emerging concern detected in public water supplies
The source water and treated drinking water from twenty five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) across the United States were sampled in 2010–2012. Samples were analyzed for 247 contaminants using 15 chemical and microbiological methods. Most of these contaminants are not regulated currently either in drinking water or in discharges to ambient water by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agenc
Authors
Robert Benson, Octavia D. Conerly, William Sander, Angela L. Batt, J. Scott Boone, Edward T. Furlong, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Dana W. Kolpin, Heath Mash
Multi-year microbial source tracking study characterizing fecal contamination in an urban watershed
Microbiological and hydrological data were used to rank tributary stream contributions of bacteria to the Little Blue River in Independence, Missouri. Concentrations, loadings and yields of E. coli and microbial source tracking (MST) markers, were characterized during base flow and storm events in five subbasins within Independence, as well as sources entering and leaving the city through the rive
Authors
Rebecca N. Bushon, Amie M.G. Brady, Eric D. Christensen, Erin A. Stelzer