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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

Estimating areas contributing recharge to wells, lessons from previous studies

Factors relating to the estimation of areas contributing recharge to wells, such as complexity of the ground-water flow system, effects of changing hydrologic conditions, and effects of well-screen locations and pumping rates, are reviewed. The point of view that simulation is the best means to obtain physically based estimates of contributing areas is emphasized. An extensive list of USGS reports
Authors
O. Lehn Franke, T. E. Reilly, D.W. Pollock, J. W. LaBaugh

Geohydrology of Storage Unit III and a combined flow model of the Santa Barbara and foothill ground-water basins, Santa Barbara County, California

The city of Santa Barbara pumps most of its ground water from the Santa Barbara and Foothill ground-water basins. The Santa Barbara basin is subdivided into two storage units: Storage Unit I and Storage Unit III. The Foothill basin and Storage Unit I of the Santa Barbara basin have been studied extensively and ground-water flow models have been developed for them. In this report, the geohydrology
Authors
John R. Freckleton, Peter Martin, Tracy Nishikawa

Natural processes for managing nitrate in ground water discharged to Chesapeake Bay and other surface waters: More than forest buffers

Ground-water discharge is a significant source of nitrate load to tidal creeks, coastal estuaries, and Chesapeake Bay. Different studies have found that forest buffers greater than 200 feet wide remove most of the nitrate from passing ground water. These buffers are commonly included in regional nutrient-management strategies. Results of a U.S. Geological Survey study on the Eastern Shore of Virgi
Authors
Gary K. Speiran, Pixie A. Hamilton, Michael D. Woodside

Determination of methane concentrations in shallow ground water and soil gas near Price, Utah

Methane gas, commonly referred to as "natural gas," is being produced from coal beds in central Utah (fig. 1) at an increasing rate since the early 1990s. The methane was generated over millions of years during the formation of coal in the area. Coal originates as plant matter that has been deposited in a swamp-like environment and then decays as it is buried and compressed over geologic time. Gia
Authors
David L. Naftz, Heidi K. Hadley, Gilbert L. Hunt

Changes in sediment and nutrient storage in three reservoirs in the lower Susquehanna River Basin and implications for the Chesapeake Bay

The Susquehanna River contributes nearly 50 percent of the freshwater discharge to the Chesapeake Bay in a year of normal or average streamflow. The river also transports the greatest amount of nutrients (estimates of nearly 66 percent of the nitrogen and 40 percent of the phosphorus load) from all nontidal areas in the Chesapeake Bay Basin. Excessive nutrients in the Bay result in algal blooms th
Authors
Michael J. Langland

Water use and quality of fresh surface-water resources in the Barataria-Terrebonne Basins, Louisiana

Approximately 170 Mgal/d (million gallons per day) of ground- and surface-water was withdrawn from the Barataria-Terrebonne Basins in 1995. Of this amount, surface water accounted for 64 percent ( 110 MgaVd) of the total withdrawal rates in the basins. The largest surface-water withdrawal rates were from Bayou Lafourche ( 40 Mgal/d), Bayou Boeuf ( 14 MgaVd), and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (4.2
Authors
Penny M. Johnson-Thibaut, Dennis K. Demcheck, Christopher M. Swarzenski, Paul A. Ensminger

Hydrology and snowmelt simulation of Snyderville Basin, Park City, and adjacent areas, Summit County, Utah

Increasing residential and commercial development is placing increased demands on the ground- and surface-water resources of Snyderville Basin, Park City, and adjacent areas in the southwestern corner of Summit County, Utah. Data collected during 1993-95 were used to assess the quantity and quality of the water resources in the study area.Ground water within the study area is present in consolidat
Authors
Lynette E. Brooks, James L. Mason, David D. Susong

The collection of clear-water contraction and abutment scour data at selected bridge sites in the coastal plain and piedmont of South Carolina

Clear-water contraction and abutment scour data were collected at 128 bridge sites in South Carolina. In the sandy soils of the Coastal Plain, clear-water-scour data were collected at 63 sites (scour depths ranged from 0.4 to 7.2 meters.) In the clayey soils of the Piedmont, clear-water-scour data were collected at 47 sites (scour depths ranged from 0 to 1.4 meters.) In the sandy, clayey soils of
Authors
Stephen T. Benedict, Andy W. Caldwell

Predictive double-layer modeling of metal sorption in mine-drainage systems

Previous comparison of predictive double-layer modeling and empirically derived metal-partitioning data has validated the use of the double-layer model to predict metal sorption reactions in iron-rich mine-drainage systems. The double-layer model subsequently has been used to model data collected from several mine-drainage sites in Colorado with diverse geochemistry and geology. This work demonstr
Authors
K. S. Smith, J. F. Ranville, D.L. Macalady

Fundamentals of isotope geochemistry

The dominant use of isotopes in catchment research in the last few decades has been to trace sources of waters and solutes. Generally, such data were evaluated with simple mixing models to determine how much was derived from either of the two (sometimes three) constant-composition sources. This chapter illustrates the environmental isotopes that are natural and anthropogenic isotopes whose wide di
Authors
Carol Kendall, Eric A. Caldwell

Benthic-invertebrate and streambed-sediment data for the White River and its tributaries in and near Indianapolis, Indiana, 1994–96

Data were collected in the White River and its tributaries in and near Indianapolis, Indiana, on the diversity and density of benthic invertebrates; concentrations of metals, insecticides, herbicides, and semivolatile organic compounds sorbed on streambed sediments; and particle-size distribution of streambed sediments. A total of 369 benthic-invertebrate samples were collected at 21 sites during
Authors
Danny E. Renn
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