Publications
USGS scientists have produced numerous publications related to Long Island Sound. Enter a keyword or use the filters below to search for specific topics of interest.
Filter Total Items: 129
Nitrogen budgets of the Long Island Sound estuary
Nitrogen (N) inputs to coastal ecosystems have significant impacts on coastal community structure. In N limited systems, increases in N inputs may lead to excess productivity and hypoxia. Like many temperate estuaries, Long Island Sound (LIS), a major eastern U.S. estuary, is a N limited system which has experienced seasonal hypoxia since the 1800s. This study is the first effort to constrain the
Authors
Penny Vlahos, Michael Whitney, Christina Menniti, John R. Mullaney, Jonathan Morrison, Yan Jia
Water for Long Island: Now and for the future
Do you ever wonder where your water comes from? If you live in Nassau or Suffolk County, the answer is, groundwater. Groundwater is water that started out as precipitation (rain and snow melt) and seeped into the ground. This seepage recharges the freshwater stored underground, in the spaces between the grains of sand and gravel in what are referred to as aquifers. Long Island has three primary aq
Authors
John P. Masterson, Robert F. Breault
Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads in streams of the northeastern United States
SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were developed to quantify and improve the understanding of the sources, fate, and transport of nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment in the northeastern United States. Excessive nutrients and suspended sediment from upland watersheds and tributary streams have contributed to ecological and economic degradation of nort
Authors
Scott W. Ator
Nitrogen concentrations and loads for the Connecticut River at Middle Haddam, Connecticut, computed with the use of autosampling and continuous measurements of water quality for water years 2009 to 2014
The daily and annual loads of nitrate plus nitrite and total nitrogen for the Connecticut River at Middle Haddam, Connecticut, were determined for water years 2009 to 2014. The analysis was done with a combination of methods, which included a predefined rating curve method for nitrate plus nitrite and total nitrogen for water years 2009 to 2011 and a custom rating curve method that included sensor
Authors
John R. Mullaney, Joseph W. Martin, Jonathan Morrison
Analysis of trends of water quality and streamflow in the Blackstone, Branch, Pawtuxet, and Pawcatuck Rivers, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, 1979 to 2015
Trends in long-term water-quality and streamflow data from six water-quality-monitoring stations within three major river basins in Massachusetts and Rhode Island that flow into Narragansett Bay and Little Narragansett Bay were evaluated for water years 1979–2015. In this study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the
Authors
Jennifer G. Savoie, John R. Mullaney, Gardner C. Bent
Nitrogen loads from selected rivers in the Long Island Sound Basin, 2005–13, Connecticut and Massachusetts
Total nitrogen loads at 14 water-quality monitoring stations were calculated by using discrete measurements of total nitrogen and continuous streamflow data for the period 2005–13 (water years 2006–13). Total nitrogen loads were calculated by using the LOADEST computer program.Overall, for water years 2006–13, streamflow in Connecticut was generally above normal. Total nitrogen yields ranged from
Authors
John R. Mullaney
Nutrient, organic carbon, and chloride concentrations and loads in selected Long Island Sound tributaries—Four decades of change following the passage of the Federal Clean Water Act
Trends in long-term water-quality and streamflow data from 14 water-quality monitoring sites in Connecticut were evaluated for water years 1974–2013 and 2001–13, coinciding with implementation of the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Connecticut Nitrogen Credit Exchange program, as part of an assessment of nutrient and chloride concentrations and loads discharged to Long Island Sound. In this study,
Authors
John R. Mullaney
Coastal plain pond water quality and mercury contend of biota of the Long Island Central Pine Barrens and Mashomack Preserve: Effects of atmospheric deposition and human development
Pine barrens are considered an imperiled ecosystem in the northeastern U.S. The Suffolk County Pine Barrens, once the second largest in the Northeast, were substantially reduced and fragmented by development during the 20th century. The coastal plain ponds being considered in this study occur in central Suffolk County within the Long Island Central Pine Barrens region. This highly unique natural e
Authors
Gregory B. Lawrence, Jason Siemion, Oksana P. Lane
Simulating hydrologic response to climate change scenarios in four selected watersheds of New Hampshire
The State of New Hampshire has initiated a coordinated effort to proactively prepare for the effects of climate change on the natural and human resources of New Hampshire. An important aspect of this effort is to develop a vulnerability assessment of hydrologic response to climate change. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, is
Authors
David M. Bjerklie, Joseph D. Ayotte, Matthew J. Cahillane
Evaluation of the effects of sewering on nitrogen loads to the Niantic River, southeastern Connecticut, 2005-2011
Nitrogen concentration data were collected from 20 wells near the Niantic River Estuary, during 18 sampling periods from 2005 through 2011, as part of a study to determine changes in nitrogen concentrations and loads as a result of sewering on the Pine Grove peninsula in Niantic, Connecticut. The Pine Grove peninsula area is a neighborhood of 35 acres containing 172 residences with onsite wastewat
Authors
John R. Mullaney
Nutrient load summaries for major lakes and estuaries of the Eastern United States, 2002
Nutrient enrichment of lakes and estuaries across the Nation is widespread. Nutrient enrichment can stimulate excessive plant and algal growth and cause a number of undesirable effects that impair aquatic life and recreational activities and can also result in economic effects. Understanding the amount of nutrients entering lakes and estuaries, the physical characteristics affecting the nutrient p
Authors
Michelle C. Moorman, Anne B. Hoos, Suzanne B. Bricker, Richard B. Moore, Ana María García, Scott W. Ator
Source, conveyance and fate of suspended sediments following Hurricane Irene. New England, USA
Hurricane Irene passed directly over the Connecticut River valley in late August, 2011. Intense precipitation and high antecedent soil moisture resulted in record flooding, mass wasting and fluvial erosion, allowing for observations of how these rare but significant extreme events affect a landscape still responding to Pleistocene glaciation and associated sediment emplacement. Clays and silts fro
Authors
Brian Yellen, Jon D. Woodruff, Laura N. Kratz, Steven B. Mabee, Jonathan Morrison, Anna M. Martini