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: 18424
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
Using age tracers and decadal sampling to discern trends in nitrate, arsenic and uranium in groundwater beneath irrigated cropland
Repeat sampling and age tracers were used to examine trends in nitrate, arsenic and uranium concentrations in groundwater beneath irrigated cropland. Much higher nitrate concentrations in shallow modern groundwater were observed at both the Columbia Plateau and High Plains sites (median values of 10.2 and 15.4 mg/L as N, respectively) than in groundwater that recharged prior to the onset of intens
Authors
Anthony J. Tesoriero, Karen R. Burow, Lonna Frans, Jonathan V. Haynes, Christopher M. Hobza, Bruce D. Lindsey, John E. Solder
Peak streamflow and stages at selected streamgages on the Arkansas River in Oklahoma and Arkansas, May to June 2019
As much as 22 inches of rain fell in Oklahoma in May 2019, resulting in historic flooding along the Arkansas River in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The flooding along the Arkansas River and its tributaries that began in May continued into June 2019. Peaks of record were measured at 12 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages on various streams in eastern and northeastern Oklahoma. This report documents
Authors
Jason M. Lewis, A.R. Trevisan
Remote sensing of tracer dye concentrations to support dispersion studies in river channels
In river channels the flow field influences the dispersion of biota, contaminants, and other suspended or dissolved materials. Insight on patterns and rates of dispersion can be gained by injecting a pulse of visible dye and observing spatial and temporal variations in dye concentration as the pulse moves downstream. We evaluated the potential of passive optical remote sensing to enhance such trac
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Richard R. McDonald, Jonathan M. Nelson, Paul J. Kinzel, Ryan L. Perroy, Donghae Baek, Il Won Seo
A parametric numerical analysis of factors controlling ground ruptures caused by groundwater pumping
A modeling analysis is used to investigate the relative susceptibility of various hydrogeologic configurations to aseismic rupture generation due to deformation of aquifer systems accompanying groundwater pumping. An advanced numerical model (GEPS3D) is used to simulate rupture generation and propagation for three typical processes: (i) reactivation of a preexisting fault, (ii) differential compa
Authors
Matteo Frigo, Massimiliano Ferronato, Jun Yu, Shujun Ye, Devin Galloway, Dora Carreón-Freyre, Pietro Teatini
Geospatial scaling of runoff and erosion modeling in the Chihuahuan Desert
Large-scale assessments of rangeland runoff and erosion require methods to extend plot-scale parameterizations to large areas. In this study, Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM) parameters were developed from plot-scale foliar and ground-cover transect data for an arid, grass-shrub rangeland in southern New Mexico, and a method was assessed to upscale transect-plot parameters to a large l
Authors
Grady Ball, Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin
Heterogeneity in hyporheic flow, pore water chemistry, and microbial community composition in an alpine streambed
The hyporheic zone, where surface water and groundwater mix, is an important microbial habitat where biogeochemical reactions influence water quality. We show that spatial variability in hyporheic flow in the East River near Crested Butte, Colorado, drives heterogeneity in streambed geochemical conditions and microbial community assemblages, but the diversity of assemblages remains nearly constant
Authors
A.R. Nelson, A. Sawyer, R. Gabor, C. Saup, S. Bryant, K. Harris, Martin A. Briggs, Kenneth Williams, M. J. Wilkins
Differentiating sediment sources using sediment fingerprinting techniques, in the Sprague River Basin, South-Central Oregon
Identifying sources of sediment to streams in the Sprague River Basin, in south-central Oregon, is important for restoration efforts that are focused on reducing sediment erosion and transport. Reducing sediment loads in these streams also contributes to compliance with the total maximum daily load reduction requirements for total phosphorus in this basin. In the Sprague River Basin, phosphorus oc
Authors
Liam N. Schenk, Tessa M. Harden, Julia K. Kelson
Advances in quantifying streamflow variability across continental scales: 2. Improved model regionalization and prediction uncertainties using hierarchical Bayesian methods
The precise estimation of process effects in hydrological models requires applying models to large scales with extensive spatial variability in controlling factors. Despite progress in large‐scale applications of hydrological models in conterminous United States (CONUS) river basins, spatial constraints in model parameters have prevented the interbasin sharing of data, complicating quantification
Authors
Richard B. Alexander, Gregory E. Schwarz, Elizabeth W. Boyer
Constraining dissolved organic matter sources and temporal variability in a model sub-Arctic lake
Circumpolar lakes comprise ~ 1.4 million km2 of arctic and subarctic landscapes and are vulnerable to change in vegetation, permafrost distribution, and hydrological conditions in response to climate warming. However, the composition and cycling of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is poorly understood for these lakes because most are remote and unstudied. The goal of this study was to assess timesca
Authors
Sarah Ellen Johnston, Matthew J. Bogard, Jennifer A. Rogers, David Butman, Robert G. Striegl, Mark M. Dornblaser, Robert G. M. Spencer
Trace metal and nutrient loads from groundwater seepage into the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River near Smelterville, northern Idaho, 2017
The Coeur d’Alene mining district in northern Idaho historically was a globally important source of lead, zinc, and silver, but over 100 years of mining has left a legacy of metals contamination in the Coeur d’Alene River valley. Previous studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and others have indicated that groundwater discharging into the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River between Kellogg and S
Authors
Lauren M. Zinsser
Review of and recommendations for monitoring contaminants and their effects in the San Francisco Bay−Delta
Legacy and current-use contaminants enter into and accumulate throughout the San Francisco Bay−Delta (Bay−Delta), and are present at concentrations with known effects on species important to this diverse watershed. There remains major uncertainty and a lack of focused research able to address and provide understanding of effects across multiple biological scales, despite previous and ongoing empha
Authors
Richard E Connon, Simone Hasenbein, Susanne M. Brander, Helen C. Poynton, Erika B Holland, Daniel Schlenk, James Orlando, Michelle Hladik, Tracy K. Collier, Nathaniel L Scholz, John P Incardona, Nancy D. Denslow, Amro Hamdoun, Sascha Nicklisch, Natalia Garcia-Reyero, Edward J. Perkins, Evan P Gallagher, Xin Deng, Dan Wang, Stephanie Fong, Richard S Breuer, Mehrdad Hajibabei, James B Brown, John K Colbourne, Thomas M Young, Gary Cherr, Andrew Whitehead, Anne E. Todgham