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
Distributions and fate of chlorinated pesticides, biomarkers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments along a contamination gradient from a point-source in San Francisco Bay, California
The distribution and fate of chlorinated pesticides, biomarkers, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surficial sediments along a contamination gradient in the Lauritzen Canal and Richmond Harbor in San Francisco Bay was investigated. Compounds were identified and quantified using gas chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry. Biomarkers and PAHs were derived primarily from weathered pet
Authors
W. E. Pereira, F. D. Hostettler, J. B. Rapp
Problems associated with using filtration to define dissolved trace element concentrations in natural water samples
Field and laboratory experiments indicate that a number of factors associated with filtration other than just pore size (e.g., diameter, manufacturer, volume of sample processed, amount of suspended sediment in the sample) can produce significant variations in the “dissolved” concentrations of such elements as Fe, Al, Cu, Zn, Pb, Co, and Ni. The bulk of these variations result from the inclusion/e
Authors
A. J. Horowitz, K.R. Lum, J.R. Garbarino, G.E.M. Hall, C. Lemieux, C. R. Demas
Pumping strategies for management of a shallow water table: The value of the simulation-optimization approach
The simulation-optimization approach is used to identify ground-water pumping strategies for control of the shallow water table in the western San Joaquin Valley, California, where shallow ground water threatens continued agricultural productivity. The approach combines the use of ground-water flow simulation with optimization techniques to build on and refine pumping strategies identified in prev
Authors
P. M. Barlow, B.J. Wagner, K. Belitz
Age dating of shallow groundwater with chlorofluorocarbons, tritium/helium: 3, and flow path analysis, southern New Jersey coastal plain
Groundwater age dating through the combination of transient tracer methods (chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and tritium/helium 3 (3H/3He)) and groundwater flow path analysis is useful for investigating groundwater travel times, flow patterns, and recharge rates, as demonstrated by this study of the homogeneous shallow, unconfined Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system in the southern New Jersey coastal plain
Authors
Zoltan Szabo, D.E. Rice, Niel Plummer, E. Busenberg, S. Drenkard, P. Schlosser
The effect of using different 0.45 μm filter membranes on 'dissolved' element concentrations in natural waters
The effect of 4 different 0.45 μm pore size filter membrane systems on the ‘dissolved’ concentration of 28 elements in 5 natural water samples of varying matrix is reported. In 3 of the 5 waters, consistently higher concentrations of most elements (minor and trace) are obtained using Nucleopore 47 mm filter and the cellulose acetate/nitrate 47 mm filter than those measured using the 142 mm cellulo
Authors
G.E.M. Hall, G. F. Bonham-Carter, A. J. Horowitz, K. Lum, C. Lemieux, B. Quemerais, J.R. Garbarino
Determination of nitroaromatic explosives and their degradation products in unsaturated-zone water samples by high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode-array, mass spectrometric, and tandem mass spectrometric detection
Mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry, coupled by a thermospray interface to a high-performance liguid chromatography system and equipped with a photodiode array detector, were used to determine the presence of nitroaromatic explosives and their degradation products in USA unsaturated-zone water samples. Using this approach, the lower limits of quantitation for explosives determined by ma
Authors
Paul M. Gates, E. T. Furlong, T.F. Dorsey, M.R. Burkhardt
The effect of membrane filtration on dissolved trace element concentrations
The almost universally accepted operational definition for dissolved constituents is based on processingThe almost universally accepted operational definition for dissolved constituents is based on processing whole-water samples through a 0.45-μm membrane filter. Results from field and laboratory experiments indicate that a number of factors associated with filtration, other than just pore size (e
Authors
A. J. Horowitz, K.R. Lum, J.R. Garbarino, G.E.M. Hall, C. Lemieux, C. R. Demas
Climatic and hydrologic oscillations in the Owens Lake basin and adjacent Sierra Nevada, California
Oxygen isotope and total inorganic carbon values of cored sediments from the Owens Lake basin, California, indicate that Owens Lake overflowed most of the time between 52,500 and 12,509 carbon-14 (14C) years before present (B.P.). Owens Lake desiccated during or after Heinrich event H1 and was hydrologically closed during Heinrich event H2. The magnetic susceptibility and organic carbon content of
Authors
L. V. Benson, J.W. Burdett, Michaele Kashgarian, S.P. Lund, F. M. Phillips, R. O. Rye
Hydrophobic organochlorine compounds sequestered in submersed aquatic macrophytes (Hydrilla yerticillata (L.f.) Royle) from the tidal Potomac River (USA)
The potential for hydrophobic organochlorine contaminants to be sequestered in submersed aquatic vegetation was evaluated by determining the concentrations of cis- and trans-chlordane, dieldrin, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in feral aquatic macrophytes (Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royle) collected from the tidal Potomac River. Similarities in mean dry-weight concentrations of the identifi
Authors
Jessica A. Hopple, G.D. Foster
Anthropogenic sediment resuspension mechanisms in a shallow microtidal estuary
The mechanisms that resuspend bottom sediments in Hillsborough Bay, a shallow, microtidal, subtropical estuary in West-central Florida, were determined by analysing hydrodynamic and suspended-solids concentration data collected during several instrument deployments made in 1990 and 1991. Large vessels in a dredged ship channel can generate forced solitary long waves that cause large water velociti
Authors
D. H. Schoellhamer
Analysis of nitrate in near-surface aquifers in the midcontinental United States: An application of the inverse hyperbolic sine Tobit model
A nonnormal and heteroscedastic Tobit model is used to determine the primary factors that affect nitrate concentrations in near-surface aquifers, using data from the U.S. Geological Survey collected in 1991. Both normality and homoscedasticity of errors are rejected, justifying the use of a nonnormal and heteroscedastic model. The following factors are found to have significant impacts on nitrate
Authors
Steven T. Yen, Shiping Liu, Dana W. Kolpin
Pesticides and pesticide degradation products in stormwater runoff: Sacramento River Basin, California
Pesticides in stormwater runoff, within the Sacramento River Basin, California, were assessed during a storm that occurred in January 1994. Two organophosphate insecticides (diazinon and methidathion), two carbamate pesticides (molinate and carbofuran), and one triazine herbicide (simazine) were detected. Organophosphate pesticide concentrations increased with the rising stage of the hydrographs;
Authors
Joseph L. Domagalski