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: 18470
Acoustic backscatter of the 1995 flood deposit on the Eel shelf
Acoustic swath mapping and sediment box coring conducted on the continental shelf near the mouth of the Eel River revealed regional variations in acoustic backscatter that can be related to the shelf sedimentology. The acoustic-backscatter variations observed on the shelf were unusually narrow compared to the response of similar sediment types documented in other areas. However, the acoustic data
Authors
J. C. Borgeld, John E. Hughes Clarke, John A. Goff, Larry A. Mayer, Jennifer A. Curtis
Preserving ground water samples with hydrochloric acid does not result in the formation of chloroform
Water samples collected for the determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are often preserved with hydrochloric acid (HCl) to inhibit the biotransformation of the analytes of interest until the chemical analyses can he performed. However, it is theoretically possible that residual free chlorine in the HCl can react with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to form chloroform via the haloform re
Authors
Paul J. Squillace, James F. Pankow, Jack E. Barbash, Curtis V. Price, John S. Zogorski
Modelling removal mechanisms of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd in acidic groundwater during the neutralization by ambient surface and ground waters
Removal of Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cd during neutralization of acid rock drainage is examined using model simulations of field conditions and laboratory experiments involving mixing of natural drainage and surface waters or groundwaters. The simulations consider sorption onto hydrous Fe and Al oxides and particulate organic carbon, mineral precipitation, and organic and inorganic solution complexation of
Authors
Anthony J. Paulson, Laurie S. Balistrieri
Geochemistry and hydromechanical interactions of fluids associated with the San Andreas fault system, California
18O values establish that waters are predominantly of meteoric origin. The chemical compositions of water and gases are controlled mainly by the ambient rock types, and chemical geothermometry gives reservoir temperatures of 80-150 degrees C indicating shallow to moderate circulation depths of up to 6 km. However, compositions and isotope abundances of noble gases and delta 13C values of HCO3 indi
Authors
Yousif K. Kharaka, James J. Thordsen, William C. Evans, B. Mack Kennedy
Improved method for the determination of nonpurgeable suspended organic carbon in natural water by silver filter filtration, wet chemical oxidation, and infrared spectrometry
Precision and accuracy are reported for the first time for the analysis of nonpurgeable suspended organic carbon by silver membrane filtration followed by wet chemical oxidation. A water sample is pressure filtered through a 0.45‐μm‐pore‐size, 47‐mm‐diameter silver membrane filter. The silver membrane filter then is cut into ribbons and placed in a flame‐sealable glass ampule. The organic material
Authors
Mark R. Burkhardt, Ronald W. Brenton, James A. Kammer, Virenda K. Jha, Peggy G. O'Mara-Lopez, Mark T. Woodworth
Correlative velocity fluctuations over a gravel river bed
Velocity fluctuations in a steep, coarse‐bedded river were measured in flow depths ranging from 0.8 to 2.2 m, with mean velocities at middepth from 1.1 to 3.1 m s−1. Analyses of synchronous velocity records for two and three points in the vertical showed a broad range of high coherence for wave periods from 10 to 100 s, centering around 10–30 s. Streamwise correlations over distances of 9 and 14 m
Authors
Randal L. Dinehart
Determination of submicrogram-per-liter concentrations of caffeine in surface water and groundwater samples by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography
A method for determining submicrogram-per-liter concentrations of caffeine in surface water and groundwater samples has been developed. Caffeine is extracted from a 1 L water sample with a 0.5 g graphitized carbon-based solid-phase cartridge, eluted with methylene chloride-methanol (80 + 20, v/v), and analyzed by liquid chromatography with photodiode-array detection. The single-operator method det
Authors
M.R. Burkhardt, P.P. Soliven, S.L. Werner, D.G. Vaught
Occurrence and transport of total mercury and methyl mercury in the Sacramento River Basin, California
Mercury poses a water-quality problem for California's Sacramento River, a large river with a mean annual discharge of over 650 m3/s. This river discharges into the San Francisco Bay, and numerous fish species of the bay and river contain mercury levels high enough to affect human health if consumed. Two possible sources of mercury are the mercury mines in the Coast Ranges and the gold mines in th
Authors
Joseph L. Domagalski
Distribution and transport of selected anthropogenic lipophilic organic compounds associated with Mississippi River suspended sediment, 1989-1990
In the first study on this scale, distribution and transport of selected hydrophobic halogenated organic compounds associated with suspended sediment from the lower Mississippi River and its principal tributaries were determined during two spring and two summer cruises. Lipophilic organic compounds identified on the suspended sediment included hexachlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene, pentachloroanis
Authors
C.E. Rostad, W. E. Pereira, T.J. Leiker
Quantification of precipitation measurement discontinuity induced by wind shields on national gauges
Various combinations of wind shields and national precipitation gauges commonly used in countries of the northern hemisphere have been studied in this paper, using the combined intercomparison data collected at 14 sites during the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Solid Precipitation Measurement Intercomparison Project. The results show that wind shields improve gauge catch of precipitatio
Authors
Daqing Yang, Barry E. Goodison, John R. Metcalfe, Paul Louie, George H. Leavesley, Douglas G. Emerson, Clayton L. Hanson, Valentin S. Golubev, Esko Elomaa, Thilo Gunther, Timothy Pangburn, Ersi Kang, Janja Milkovic
Tributary stream infiltration as a source of herbicides in an alluvial aquifer
Where Walnut Creek flows across the South Skunk River alluvial aquifer, it provides a potential source of herbicides and herbicide metabolites. This straightened reach of the creek loses water and dissolved contaminants to the alluvial aquifer through a layer of fine-grained flood plain deposits. Estimates of potential flux of chemicals were based on measurements taken during baseflow in April 199
Authors
Michael R. Burkart, William W. Simpkins, Paul J. Squillace, Martin Helmke
Numerical model of a tracer test on the Santa Clara River, Ventura County, California
To better understand the flow processes, solute-transport processes, and ground-water/surface-water interactions on the Santa Clara River in Ventura County, California, a 24-hour fluorescent-dye tracer study was performed under steady-state flow conditions on a 45-km reach of the river. The study reach includes perennial (uppermost and lowermost) subreaches and ephemeral subreaches of the lower Pi
Authors
Tracy Nishikawa, Katherine S. Paybins, John A. Izbicki, Eric G. Reichard