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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: 18428

Instantaneous and daily values of the surface energy balance over agricultural fields using remote sensing and a reference field in an arid environment

Remotely sensed surface temperature and reflectance in the visible and near infrared wavebands along with ancilliary meteorological data provide the capability of computing three of the four surface energy balance components (i.e., net radiation, soil heat flux, and sensible heat flux) at different spatial and temporal scales. As a result, under nonadvective conditions, this enables the estimation
Authors
William P. Kustas, M. S. Moran, R. D. Jackson, L. W. Gay, L.F.W. Duell, K. E. Kunkel, A.D. Matthias

Monitoring land subsidence in Sacramento Valley, California, using GPS

Land subsidence measurement is usually based on a comparison of bench-mark elevations surveyed at different times. These bench marks, established for mapping or the national vertical control network, are not necessarily suitable for measuring land subsidence. Also, many bench marks have been destroyed or are unstable. Conventional releveling of the study area would be costly and would require seve
Authors
J. C. Blodgett, M. E. Ikehara, Gary E. Williams

Episodic changes in lateral transport and phytoplankton distribution in South San Francisco Bay

Increased lateral flows were directed to the west and may explain the large fluctuations in phytoplankton biomass observed over the broad eastern shoal during spring. -from Authors
Authors
L.M. Huzzey, J. E. Cloern, T.M. Powell

The role of soil processes in determining mechanisms of slope failure and hillslope development in a humid-tropical forest eastern Puerto Rico

Translational failures, with associated downslope earthflow components and shallow slides, appear to be the primary mechanism of hillslope denudation in the humid tropical forests of the mountains of eastern Puerto Rico. In-situ weathering of quartz diorite and marine-deposited volcaniclastics produces residual soil (saprolite; up to 21 m deep) / weathered rock profiles. Discontinuous zones of con
Authors
A. Simon, M. C. Larsen, C. R. Hupp

The initial instability and finite-amplitude stability of alternate bars in straight channels

The initial instability and fully developed stability of alternate bars in straight channels are investigated using linearized and nonlinear analyses. The fundamental instability leading to these features is identified through a linear stability analysis of the equations governing the flow and sediment transport fields. This instability is explained in terms of topographically induced steering of
Authors
Jonathan M. Nelson

Production of sulfur gases and carbon dioxide by synthetic weathering of crushed drill cores from the Santa Cruz porphyry copper deposit near Casa Grande, Pinal County, Arizona

Samples of ground drill cores from the southern part of the Santa Cruz porphyry copper deposit, Casa Grande, Arizona, were oxidized in simulated weathering experiments. The samples were also separated into various mineral fractions and analyzed for contents of metals and sulfide minerals. The principal sulfide mineral present was pyrite.Gases produced in the weathering experiments were measured by
Authors
M. E. Hinkle, J. L. Ryder, S. J. Sutley, T. Botinelly

Hydrogeochemistry and stable isotopes of ground and surface waters from two adjacent closed basins, Atacama Desert, northern Chile

The geochemistry and stable isotopes of groundwaters, surface waters, and precipitation indicate different sources of some dissolved constituents, but a common source of recharge and other constituents in two adjacent closed basins in the Atacama Desert region of northern Chile (24°15′–24°45′S). Waters from artesian wells, trenches, and ephemeral streams in the Punta Negra Basin are characterized
Authors
Charles N. Alpers, Donald O. Whittemore

Particle velocity interpolation in block-centered finite difference groundwater flow models

A block-centered, finite difference model of two-dimensional groundwater flow yields velocity values at the midpoints of interfaces between adjacent blocks. Method of characteristics, random walk and particle-tracking models of solute transport require velocities at arbitrary particle locations within the finite difference grid. Particle path lines and travel times are sensitive to the spatial int
Authors
Daniel J. Goode

Discharge rates of fluid and heat by thermal springs of the Cascade Range, Washington, Oregon, and northern California

Fluid and heat discharge rates of thermal springs of the Cascade Range have been determined using the chloride inventory method. Discharge rates of thermal spring groups range from 1 to 120 L s−1. Most of the fluid (50%) and heat (61%) are discharged from two hot spring groups in northern Oregon. Total discharge from thermal springs in the Cascade Range of California, Oregon, and Washington is abo
Authors
Robert H. Mariner, T. S. Presser, William C. Evans, M.K.W. Pringle