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: 18465
Development of a contour map showing generalized skew coefficients of annual peak discharges of rural, unregulated streams in New York, excluding Long Island
Flood-frequency relations that are developed by fitting the logarithms of annual peak discharges to a Pearson Type-III distribution are sensitive to skew coefficients. Estimates of population skew for a site are improved when computed from the weighted average of (1) the sample (station) skew, and (2) an unbiased, generalized skew estimate. A weighting technique based on the number of years of rec
Authors
Richard Lumia, Yvonne H. Baevsky
Benthic invertebrates of fixed sites in the western Lake Michigan drainages, Wisconsin and Michigan, 1993-95
This report describes the variability in family-level benthic-invertebrate population data and the reliability of the data as a water-quality indicator for 11 fixed surface-water sites in the Western Lake Michigan Drainages study area of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Benthic-invertebrate-community measures were computed for the following: number of individuals, Hilsenhoff’s Family
Authors
Bernard N. Lenz, S. J. Rheaume
Regional equations for estimating mean annual and mean seasonal runoff for natural basins in Texas, base period 1961-90
Regional equations were developed for estimating mean annual and mean seasonal runoff for natural basins in Texas. The equations, which are based on the statistical relation between streamflow and basin characteristics, use streamflow data and basin characteristics from U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations within natural basins and with a least 8 years of data during 1961-90. The Stat
Authors
Jennifer Lanning-Rush
Hydrogeology, hydrologic budget, and water chemistry of the Medina Lake area, Texas
A three-phase study of the Medina Lake area in Texas was done to assess the hydrogeology and hydrology of Medina and Diversion Lakes combined (the lake system) and to determine what fraction of seepage losses from the lake system might enter the regional ground-water-flow system of the Edwards and (or) Trinity aquifers. Phase 1 consisted of revising the geologic framework for the Medina Lake area.
Authors
Rebecca B. Lambert, Kenneth C. Grimm, Roger W. Lee
Water-quality assessment of part of the Upper Mississippi River Basin, Minnesota and Wisconsin: Trace elements in streambed sediment and fish livers, 1995-96
Trace elements were analyzed in streambed sediment and fish livers in part of the Upper Mississippi River Basin as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment Program. The purpose of this report was to describe the occurrence and distribution of trace elements, describe the relations of concentrations measured to natural and anthropogenic factors, and describe any relati
Authors
Sharon E. Kroening, James D. Fallon, Kathy Lee
Water-quantity and water-quality aspects of a 500-year flood - Nishnabotna River, southwest Iowa, June 1998
Flooding that occurred in southwest Iowa during June 15–17, 1998, was the worst flood ever recorded on the Nishnabotna River, exceeding the theoretical 500-year flood calculated from peak-flow records (1922 to present). This flood was a direct consequence of severe thunderstorm activity that caused more than 4 inches of rain to fall over a large part of the Nishnabotna River Basin. In fact, a new
Authors
Dana W. Kolpin, Edward E. Fischer, Douglas J. Schnoebelen
Characterization of rainfall-runoff response and estimation of the effect of wetland restoration on runoff, Heron Lake Basin, southwestern Minnesota, 1991-97
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Heron Lake Watershed District, conducted a study to characterize the rainfall-runoff response and to examine the effects of wetland restoration on the rainfall-runoff response within the Heron Lake Basin in southwestern Minnesota. About 93 percent of the land cover in the Heron Lake Basin c
Authors
Perry M. Jones, Thomas A. Winterstein
Method for estimating water use and interbasin transfers of freshwater and wastewater in an urbanized basin
Techniques for management of drainage basins that use water budgets to balance available water resources with actual or anticipated water use require accurate and precise estimates of basin withdrawals, interbasin transfers of freshwater, unaccounted-for use, water use, consumptive use, inflow and infiltration, basin return flow, and interbasin transfers of wastewater. Frequently, interbasin trans
Authors
M.A. Horn
Development of a stream habitat index for use with an Index of Biotic Integrity in the St. Croix River Basin, Minnesota
More than 70 streams in the St. Croix River Basin in Minnesota were sampled for fish community composition and physical habitat during 1996–98. A habitat index was developed based on measurements, field observations, and land use. The objective was to develope a habitat index for use to evaluate water quality and the effects of nonpoint-source effects not associated with habitat degradation. Core
Authors
R. M. Goldstein, D. L. Lorenz, Scott Niemela
Vulnerability of ground water to contamination, Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, Bexar County, Texas, 1998
The Edwards aquifer, one of the most productive carbonate-rock aquifers in the Nation, is composed of the Kainer and Person Formations of the Edwards Group plus the overlying Georgetown Formation. Most recharge to the Edwards aquifer results from the percolation of streamflow loss and the infiltration of precipitation through porous parts of the recharge zone. Residential and commercial developmen
Authors
Allan K. Clark
Design, revision, and application of ground-water flow models for simulation of selected water-management scenarios in the coastal area of Georgia and adjacent parts of South Carolina and Florida
Ground-water flow models of the Floridan aquifer system in the coastal area of Georgia and adjacent parts of South Carolina and Florida, were revised and updated to ensure consistency among the various models used, and to facilitate evaluation of the effects of pumping on the ground-water level near areas of saltwater contamination. The revised models, developed as part of regional and areal asses
Authors
John S. Clarke, Richard E. Krause
Methodology for applying monitored natural attenuation to petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated ground-water systems with examples from South Carolina
Natural attenuation processes such as dispersion, advection, and biogradation serve to decrease concentrations of disssolved contaminants as they are transported in all ground-water systems. However, the efficiency of these natural attenuation processes and the degree to which they help attain remediation goals, varies considerably from site to site. This report provides a methodology for quanti
Authors
Frank H. Chapelle, John F. Robertson, James Landmeyer, Paul M. Bradley