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: 18426
Overview of a comprehensive resource database for the assessment of recoverable hydrocarbons produced by carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery
A database called the “Comprehensive Resource Database” (CRD) was prepared to support U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessments of technically recoverable hydrocarbons that might result from the injection of miscible or immiscible carbon dioxide (CO2) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The CRD was designed by INTEK Inc., a consulting company under contract to the USGS. The CRD contains data on the l
Authors
Marshall Carolus, Khosrow Biglarbigi, Peter D. Warwick, Emil D. Attanasi, Philip A. Freeman, Celeste D. Lohr
Widespread legacy brine contamination from oil production reduces survival of chorus frog larvae
Advances in drilling techniques have facilitated a rapid increase in hydrocarbon extraction from energy shales, including the Williston Basin in central North America. This area overlaps with the Prairie Pothole Region, a region densely populated with wetlands that provide numerous ecosystem services. Historical (legacy) disposal practices often released saline co-produced waters (brines) with hig
Authors
Blake R. Hossack, Holly J. Puglis, William A. Battaglin, Chauncey W. Anderson, R. Ken Honeycutt, Kelly L. Smalling
Estimation and uncertainty of recent carbon accumulation and vertical accretion in drained and undrained forested peatlands of the southeastern USA
The purpose of this study was to determine how drainage impacts carbon densities and recent rates (past 50 years) of vertical accretion and carbon accumulation in southeastern forested peatlands. We compared these parameters in drained maple-gum (MAPL), Atlantic white cedar (CDR), and pocosin (POC) communities in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (GDS) of Virginia/North Carolina and
Authors
Judith Z. Drexler, Christopher C. Fuller, James L. Orlando, Antonia Salas, Frederic C. Wurster, Jamie A. Duberstein
Assessment of an in-channel redistribution technique for large woody debris management in Locust Creek, Linn County, Missouri
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation and Missouri Department of Natural Resources, completed a study to assess a mechanical redistribution technique used for the management of large woody debris (LWD) jams in Locust Creek within Pershing State Park and Fountain Grove Conservation Area, Linn County, Missouri. Extensive LWD jams were treated from 19
Authors
David C. Heimann
Riverine discharges to Chesapeake Bay: Analysis of long-term (1927–2014) records and implications for future flows in the Chesapeake Bay basin
The Chesapeake Bay (CB) basin is under a total maximum daily load (TMDL) mandate to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads to the bay. Identifying shifts in the hydro-climatic regime may help explain observed trends in water quality. To identify potential shifts, hydrologic data (1927–2014) for 27 watersheds in the CB basin were analyzed to determine the relationships among long-term prec
Authors
Karen C. Rice, Doug L. Moyer, Aaron L. Mills
Groundwater development stress: Global-scale indices compared to regional modeling
The increased availability of global datasets and technologies such as global hydrologic models and the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites have resulted in a growing number of global-scale assessments of water availability using simple indices of water stress. Developed initially for surface water, such indices are increasingly used to evaluate global groundwater resources.
Authors
William Alley, Brian R. Clark, Matt Ely, Claudia C. Faunt
New biotite and muscovite isotopic reference materials, USGS57 and USGS58, for δ2H measurements–A replacement for NBS 30
The advent of continuous-flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (CF-IRMS) coupled with a high temperature conversion (HTC) system enabled faster, more cost effective, and more precise δ2H analysis of hydrogen-bearing solids. Accurate hydrogen isotopic analysis by on-line or off-line techniques requires appropriate isotopic reference materials (RMs). A strategy of two-point calibrations spanning δ2H
Authors
Haiping Qi, Tyler B. Coplen, Matthias Gehre, Torsten W. Vennemann, Willi A. Brand, Heike Geilmann, Gerard Olack, Ilya N. Bindeman, Jim Palandri, Li Huang, Fred J. Longstaffe
Seasonality of stable isotope composition of atmospheric water input at the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
To understand the moisture regime at the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, we analysed the isotopic variability of oxygen (δ18O) and hydrogen (δD) of rainfall, throughfall, and fog from a total of 2,140 samples collected weekly over 2 years at 9 study sites along an elevation transect ranging from 950 to 3,880 m above sea level. Precipitation in the Kilimanjaro tropical rainforests consists of a
Authors
Insa Otte, Florian Detsch, Adrian Gutlein, Martha A. Scholl, Ralf Kiese, Tim Appelhans, Thomas Nauss
Using paired in situ high frequency nitrate measurements to better understand controls on nitrate concentrations and estimate nitrification rates in a wastewater-impacted river
We used paired continuous nitrate ( ) measurements along a tidally affected river receiving wastewater discharge rich in ammonium ( ) to quantify rates of change in concentration ( ) and estimate nitrification rates. sensors were deployed 30 km apart in the Sacramento River, California (USA), with the upstream station located immediately above the regional wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). We u
Authors
Tamara E. C. Kraus, Katy O'Donnell, Bryan D. Downing, Jon R. Burau, Brian A. Bergamaschi
The effect of aluminium and sodium impurities on the in vitro toxicity and pro-inflammatory potential of cristobalite
BackgroundExposure to crystalline silica (SiO2), in the form of quartz, tridymite or cristobalite, can cause respiratory diseases, such as silicosis. However, the observed toxicity and pathogenicity of crystalline silica is highly variable. This has been attributed to a number of inherent and external factors, including the presence of impurities. In cristobalite-rich dusts, substitutions of alumi
Authors
C. Nattrass, Claire J. Horwell, David Damby, David Brown, Vicki Stone
Assessment of the potential respiratory hazard of volcanic ash from future Icelandic eruptions: A study of archived basaltic to rhyolitic ash samples
BackgroundThe eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull (2010) and Grímsvötn (2011), Iceland, triggered immediate, international consideration of the respiratory health hazard of inhaling volcanic ash, and prompted the need to estimate the potential hazard posed by future eruptions of Iceland’s volcanoes to Icelandic and Northern European populations. MethodsA physicochemical characterization and toxicologica
Authors
David Damby, Claire J. Horwell, Gudrun Larsen, Thorvaldur Thordarson, Maura Tomatis, Bice Fubini, Ken Donaldson
A newly identified role of the deciduous forest floor in the timing of green‐up
Plant phenology studies rarely consider controlling factors other than air temperature. We evaluate here the potential significance of physical and chemical properties of soil (edaphic factors) as additional important controls on phenology. More specifically, we investigate causal connections between satellite‐observed green‐up dates of small forest watersheds and soil properties in the Adirondack
Authors
Andrei G Lapenis, Gregory B. Lawrence, Alexander Buyantuev, Shiguo Jiang, Timothy J. Sullivan, Todd C. McDonnell, Scott W. Bailey