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: 18418
Industrial particulate pollution and historical land use contribute metals of concern to dust deposited in neighborhoods along the Wasatch Front, UT, USA
The Salt Lake Valley, UT, USA, is proximal to the desiccating Great Salt Lake (GSL). Prior work has found that this lakebed/playa contributes metals-laden dust to snow in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains. Dust and industrial particulate pollution are also delivered to communities along the Wasatch Front, but their sources, compositions, and fluxes are poorly characterized. In this study, we analyze
Authors
Annie L. Putman, Daniel Jones, Molly Ann Blakowski, Destry N DiViesti, Scott Hynek, Diego P. Fernandez, Danielle Mendoza
Predictions and drivers of sub-reach-scale annual streamflow permanence for the upper Missouri River basin: 1989-2018
The presence of year-round surface water in streams (i.e., streamflow permanence) is an important factor for identifying aquatic habitat availability, determining the regulatory status of streams, managing land use change, allocating water resources, and designing scientific studies. However, accurate, high resolution, and dynamic prediction of streamflow permanence that accounts for year-to-year
Authors
Roy Sando, Kristin Jaeger, William H. Farmer, Theodore B. Barnhart, Ryan R. McShane, Toby L. Welborn, Kendra E. Kaiser, Konrad Hafen, Kyle W. Blasch, Benjamin C. York, Alden Shallcross
A multiscale approach for monitoring groundwater discharge to headwater streams by the U.S. Geological Survey Next Generation Water Observing System Program—An example from the Neversink Reservoir watershed, New York
Groundwater-stream connectivity across mountain watersheds is critical for supporting streamflow during dry times and keeping streams cool during warm times, yet U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stream measurements are often sparse in headwaters. Starting in 2019, the USGS Next Generation Water Observing System Program developed a multiscale methods and technology testbed approach to monitoring groun
Authors
Martin A. Briggs, Christopher L. Gazoorian, Daniel H. Doctor, Douglas A. Burns
Quality of groundwater used for public supply in the continental United States: A comprehensive assessment
The presence of contaminants in a source water can constrain its suitability for drinking. The quality of groundwater used for public supply was assessed in 25 principal aquifers (PAs) that account for 84% of groundwater pumped for public supply in the U.S. (89.6 million people on a proportional basis). Each PA was sampled across its lateral extent using an equal-area grid, typically with 60 wells
Authors
Kenneth Belitz, Miranda S. Fram, Bruce D. Lindsey, Paul Stackelberg, Laura M. Bexfield, Tyler D. Johnson, Bryant Jurgens, James A. Kingsbury, Peter B. McMahon, Neil M. Dubrovsky
Integrating principles and tools of decision science into value-driven watershed planning for compensatory mitigation
Several environmental policies strive to restore impaired ecosystems and could benefit from a consistent and transparent process — co-developed with key stakeholders — to prioritize impaired ecosystems for restoration activities. The Clean Water Act, for example, establishes reallocation mechanisms to transfer ecosystem services from sites of disturbance to compensation sites to offset aquatic res
Authors
Georgina Maria Sanchez Salas, Mitchell Eaton, Ana María García, Jennifer L. Keisman, Kirsten Ullman, James Blackwell, Ross K. Meentemeyer
Optical properties of dissolved organic matter in throughfall and stemflow vary across tree species and season in a temperate headwater forest
Tree-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) comprises a significant carbon flux within forested watersheds. Few studies have assessed the optical properties of tree-derived DOM. To increase understanding of the factors controlling tree-derived DOM quality, we measured DOM optical properties, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and calcium concentrations in throughfall and stemflow for 17 individual rai
Authors
Kevin A Ryan, Thomas Adler, Ann T. Chalmers, Julia Perdrial, Stephen Sebestyen, James B. Shanley, Aron Stubbins
Hydrologic modeling of a perennial firn aquifer in southeast Greenland
A conceptual model, based on field observations and assumed physics of a perennial firn aquifer near Helheim Glacier (southeast Greenland), is evaluated via steady-state 2-D simulation of liquid water flow and energy transport with phase change. The simulation approach allows natural representation of flow and energy advection and conduction that occur in vertical meltwater recharge through the un
Authors
Olivia Miller, Clifford I. Voss, D. Kip Solomon, Clément Miège, Richard Forster, Nicholas Schmerr, Lynn Montgomery
Estimation of the water table position in unconfined aquifers with MODFLOW 6
The numerical estimation of the position of the water table in unconfined aquifers is important for many practical applications. Its determination through observations or analytical methods is restricted to a few cases. Therefore, it is often estimated through numerical simulations, which may be affected by numerical artifacts and/or poor stability. We use MODFLOW to estimate the position of the w
Authors
Paulo A. Herrera, Christian D. Langevin, Glenn Hammond
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and invertebrate tissue trace-element concentrations for tributaries in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana, October 2019–September 2020
Water, bed sediment, and invertebrate tissue were sampled in streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the Clark Fork Basin. The sampling program was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to characterize aquatic resources in the Clark Fork Basin and monitor trace elements associated with histori
Authors
Gregory D. Clark, Michelle I. Hornberger, Eric J. Hepler, Terry L. Heinert
Social Scientist GS–0101
This broad study field focuses on understanding values, perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge of humans and society as they relate to one another and the world around them. Several Social Science branches use various methodologies to conduct research on natural resources and hazards, climate and land-use change, and other related topics and interactions. Social Science discipline examples include
Authors
Diana Restrepo-Osorio
Postfire debris flow hazards—Tips to keep you safe
Often referred to as “mudflows,” debris flows are a type of landslide made up of a rapidly moving mixture of dirt, rocks, trees, and water (and sometimes ash) that start on a hillside and travel downvalley. They can easily overflow channels and severely damage houses, vehicles, or other structures. Areas burned by wildfires are especially susceptible to these hazards, which can be triggered by sto
Authors
Steven Sobieszczyk, Jason W. Kean
Groundwater, surface-water, and water-chemistry data, Black Mesa area, northeastern Arizona—2018–2019
The Navajo (N) aquifer is an extensive aquifer and the primary source of groundwater in the 5,400-square-mile Black Mesa area in northeastern Arizona. Water availability is an important issue in the Black Mesa area because of the arid climate, past industrial water use, and continued water requirements for municipal use by a growing population. Precipitation in the area typically ranges from less
Authors
Jon P. Mason