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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: 18424

Lakes as paleoseismic records in a seismically-active, low-relief area (Rieti Basin, central Italy)

Small lakes in low relief areas are atypical candidates for studies on paleoseismicity, but their sediments can contain seismically induced event layers (seismites) generated through strong ground shaking, sediment transport, hydrological reorganization and/or changes in groundwater chemistry and flow. Lakes Lungo and Ripasottile are shallow lakes (
Authors
Claire Archer, Paula Noble, Michael R. Rosen, Leonardo Sagnotti, Fabio Fiorindo, Gianluca Piovesan, Scott Mensing, Alessandro Michetti

Biological effects of elevated major ions in surface water contaminated by a produced water from oil production

Produced water (PW) from oil and gas extraction processes has been shown to contain elevated concentrations of major ions. The objective of this study was to determine the potential effects of elevated major ions in PW-contaminated surface water on a fish (fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas) and a unionid mussel (fatmucket, Lampsilis siliquoidea) in short-term (7-day) exposures. The test organism
Authors
Ning Wang, James L. Kunz, Danielle M. Cleveland, Jeffery Steevens, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli

The natural wood regime in rivers

The natural wood regime forms the third leg of a tripod of physical processes that supports river science and management, along with the natural flow and sediment regimes. The wood regime consists of wood recruitment, transport, and storage in river corridors. Each of these components can be characterized in terms of magnitude, frequency, rate, timing, duration, and mode. We distinguish the natura
Authors
Ellen Wohl, Natalie Kramer, Virgina Ruiz-Villanueva, Daniel Scott, F. Comiti, Angela M Gurnell, Hervé Piégay, Katherine B. Lininger, Kristin Jaeger, David Walters, Kurt D. Fausch

Agricultural chemical concentrations and loads in rivers draining the Central Valley, California: Before, during, and after an extended drought

Drought or near drought conditions persisted in California from 2012 through 2016, followed by a high precipitation year in 2017. Long-term water quality monitoring of two key river stations, the Sacramento River at Freeport and the San Joaquin River near Vernalis, located within the largely agricultural Central Valley, allow for an examination of pesticide concentrations and mass loading. Daily
Authors
Joseph L. Domagalski

Plant richness and composition in hardwood forest understories vary along an acidic deposition and soil-chemical gradient in the northeastern United States

AimsA century of atmospheric deposition of sulfur and nitrogen has acidified soils and undermined the health and recruitment of foundational tree species in the northeastern US. However, effects of acidic deposition on the forest understory plant communities of this region are poorly documented. We investigated how forest understory plant species composition and richness varied across gradients of
Authors
Michael R. Zarfos, Martin Dovciak, Gregory B. Lawrence, Todd C. McDonnell, Timothy J. Sullivan

Methane emissions from groundwater pumping in the USA

Atmospheric methane accumulation contributes to climate change, hence quantifying methane emissions is essential to assess and model the impacts. Here we estimate methane emissions from groundwater pumping in the Los Angeles Basin (LAB), north-eastern Pennsylvania, and the Principal aquifers of the USA using the average concentrations of methane in groundwater and annual groundwater pumping volume
Authors
Justin T. Kulongoski, Peter B. McMahon

Prediction of unprecedented biological shifts in the global ocean

Impermanence is an ecological principle1 but there are times when changes occur nonlinearly as abrupt community shifts (ACSs) that transform the ecosystem state and the goods and services it provides2. Here, we present a model based on niche theory3 to explain and predict ACSs at the global scale. We test our model using 14 multi-decadal time series of marine metazoans from zooplankton to fish, sp
Authors
G. Beaugrand, A. Conversi, A. Atkinson, James Cloern, S. Chiba, S. Fonda-Umani, R.R. Kirby, C.H. Greene, E. Goberville, S.A. Otto, P.C. Reid, L. Stemmann, M. Edwards

UAV-based measurements of spatio-temporal concentration distributions of fluorescent tracers in open channel flows

A new method of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based tracer tests using RGB (red, green, blue) images was developed in order to acquire the spatio-temporal concentration distribution of tracer clouds in open channel flows. Tracer tests using Rhodamine WT were conducted to collect the RGB images using a commercial digital camera mounted on a UAV, and the concentration of Rhodamine WT using in-situ f
Authors
Donghae Baek, Il Won Seo, Jun Song Kim, Jonathan M. Nelson

Downstream‐propagating channel responses to decadal‐scale climate variability in a glaciated river basin

Regional climate is an important control on the rate of coarse sediment mobilization and transport in alpine river systems. Changes in climate are then expected to cause a cascade of geomorphic responses, including adjustments in downstream channel morphology. However, the mechanics and sensitivity of channel response to short‐term climate variability remain poorly documented. In the Nooksack Rive
Authors
Scott W. Anderson, Christopher P. Konrad

Defining the limits of spectrally based bathymetric mapping on a large river

Remote sensing has emerged as a powerful method of characterizing river systems but is subject to several important limitations. This study focused on defining the limits of spectrally based mapping in a large river. We used multibeam echosounder (MBES) surveys and hyperspectral images from a deep, clear-flowing channel to develop techniques for inferring the maximum detectable depth, dmax , direc
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Ryan L. Fosness

User’s manual for the Draper climate-distribution software suite with data‑evaluation tools

Development of a time series of spatially distributed climate data is an important step in the process of developing physically based environmental models requiring distributed inputs of climate data beyond what is available from observations collected at climate stations. To prepare inputs required for model-mapping units across the study area, climate data (temperature and precipitation) are dis
Authors
John M. Donovan, Kathryn M. Koczot

Relationships between diatom metrics based on species nutrient traits and agricultural land use

We assessed how diatom metrics were related to different ranges of agricultural land use. Diatom assemblage composition, nutrients, and landscape characteristics were determined at 232 sites in eight agriculturally dominated study areas of the continental United States. Two regional groups based on differences in diatom relations to human disturbance were determined. Changes in diatom species comp
Authors
Robert Pillsbury, R. Jan Stevenson, Mark D. Munn, Ian R. Waite