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
Groundwater, biodiversity, and the role of flow system scale
Groundwater-dependent ecosystems and species (GDEs) are found throughout watersheds at locations of groundwater discharge, yet not all GDEs are the same, nor are the groundwater systems supporting them. Groundwater moves along a variety of flow paths of different lengths and with different contributing areas, ranging from shorter local flow paths with low discharge and large seasonal variability t
Authors
Allison R Aldous, Marshall W. Gannett
Estimates of water use associated with continuous oil and gas development in the Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico, 2010–19
In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey started a topical study to quantify water use in areas of continuous oil and gas (COG) development. The first phase of the study was completed in 2019 and analyzed the Williston Basin. The second phase of the study analyzed the Permian Basin using the same techniques and approaches used for the Williston Basin analysis. The Permian Basin was selected for the sec
Authors
Joshua F. Valder, Ryan R. McShane, Joanna N. Thamke, Jeremy S. McDowell, Grady P. Ball, Natalie A. Houston, Amy E. Galanter
Hydrologic conditions in Kansas, water year 2020
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies, maintains a long-term network of hydrologic monitoring stations in Kansas. This network included 219 real-time streamgages, 12 real-time reservoir-level monitoring stations, and 20 groundwater monitoring stations in water year (WY) 2020. A WY is a 12-month period from October 1 to September 30 and is designated by
Authors
Chantelle Davis
Spatiotemporal dynamics of CO2 gas exchange from headwater mountain streams
Mountain streams play an important role in the global carbon cycle by transporting, metabolizing, and exchanging carbon they receive from the terrestrial environment. The rates at which these processes occur remain highly uncertain because of a paucity of observations and the difficulty of measuring gas exchange rates in steep, turbulent mountain streams. This uncertainty is compounded by large te
Authors
David W. Clow, Robert G. Striegl, Mark Dornblaser
Exploring environmental factors that drive diel variations in tree water storage using wavelet analysis
Internal water storage within trees can be a critical reservoir that helps trees overcome both short- and long-duration environmental stresses. We monitored changes in internal tree water storage in a ponderosa pine on daily and seasonal scales using moisture probes, a dendrometer, and time-lapse electrical resistivity imaging (ERI). These data were used to investigate how patterns of in-tree wate
Authors
Ryan Harmon, Holly Barnard, Frederick Day-Lewis, Deqiang Mao, Kamini Singha
Estimation of dissolved-solids concentrations using continuous water-quality monitoring and regression models at four sites in the Yuma area, Arizona and California, January 2017 through March 2019
Multiple linear regression models were developed to estimate dissolved-solids concentrations in water at four sites in the Yuma area between Imperial Dam, Arizona and California and the southerly international boundary with Mexico at San Luis, Arizona. Continuous and discrete water-quality data were collected at gaging stations in the Colorado River upstream from Imperial Dam, Arizona-California,
Authors
Jay R. Cederberg, Nicholas V. Paretti, Alissa L. Coes, Edyth Hermosillo, Lucia Andrade
Seasonally dynamic nutrient modeling quantifies storage lags and time-varying reactivity across large river basins
Nutrients that have gradually accumulated in soils, groundwaters, and river sediments in the United States over the past century can remobilize and increase current downstream loading, obscuring effects of conservation practices aimed at protecting water resources. Drivers of storage accumulation and release of nutrients are poorly understood at the spatial scale of basins to watersheds. Predictin
Authors
Noah Schmadel, Judson Harvey, Gregory E. Schwarz
Assessment of diel cycling in nutrients and trace elements in the Eagle River Basin, 2017–18
Diel cycles are known to occur in all types of waters, and increasing studies indicate routine water samples may not provide an accurate snapshot in concentrations of trace elements and nutrients. Diel behavior in neutral to alkaline pH ranges is independent of streamflow variability and concentration. Extensive historical U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) water-quality data have been collected in the
Authors
Rodney J. Richards, Mark F. Henneberg
Assessing the ecological functionality and integrity of natural ponds, excavated ponds and stormwater basins for conserving amphibian diversity
Wetlands provide ecological functionality by maintaining and promoting regional biodiversity supporting quality habitat for aquatic organisms. Globally, habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation due to increases in agricultural activities and urban development have reduced or altered geographically isolated wetlands, thus reducing biodiversity. The objective of this study was to assess the relat
Authors
Kelly L. Smalling, Sara E. Breitmeyer, John F. Bunnell, Kim J Laidig, Patrick Burritt, Marilyn Sobel, Jonathan Cohl, Michelle Hladik, Kristin M. Romanok, Paul M. Bradley
Regional regression equations based on channel-width characteristics to estimate peak-flow frequencies at ungaged sites in Montana using peak-flow frequency data through water year 2011
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Montana Department of Transportation, developed regression equations based on channel width to estimate peak-flow frequencies at ungaged sites in Montana. The equations are based on peak-flow data at streamgages through September 2011 (end of water year 2011), and channel widths measured in the field and from aerial photographs.Active-channel wid
Authors
Katherine J. Chase, Roy Sando, Daniel W. Armstrong, Peter McCarthy
Historical floods and geomorphic change in the lower Little Colorado River during the late 19th to early 21st centuries
The Little Colorado River is a major tributary to the Colorado River with a confluence at the boundary between Marble and Grand Canyons within Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. The bedrock gorge of the lower Little Colorado River is home to the largest known population of Gila cypha (humpback chub), an endangered fish endemic to the Colorado River Basin. Channel conditions might affect the spaw
Authors
Joel A. Unema, David J. Topping, Keith Kohl, Michael J. Pillow, Joshua J. Caster
Using satellite imagery to estimate consumptive water use from irrigated lands in the Milk River Basin, United States and Canada
The U.S. Geological Survey, with the support of the International Joint Commission, and in cooperation with Alberta Environment and Parks, Blackfeet Nation, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, is leading a project that should improve information available to apportion water between Canada and the United States in the St. Mary and Mil
Authors
Roy Sando, MacKenzie Friedrichs, Gabriel B. Senay