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
Flood-inundation maps for the Meramec River at Valley Park and at Fenton, Missouri, 2017
Two sets of digital flood-inundation map libraries that spanned a combined 16.7-mile reach of the Meramec River that extends upstream from Valley Park, Missouri, to downstream from Fenton, Mo., were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District, Missouri Department of Transportation, Missouri American Water,
Authors
Benjamin J. Dietsch, Jacob N. Sappington
Evaluation of bias associated with capture maps derived from nonlinear groundwater flow models
The impact of groundwater withdrawal on surface water is a concern of water users and water managers, particularly in the arid western United States. Capture maps are useful tools to spatially assess the impact of groundwater pumping on water sources (e.g., streamflow depletion) and are being used more frequently for conjunctive management of surface water and groundwater. Capture maps have been d
Authors
Cara A. Nadler, Kip K. Allander, Greg Pohll, Eric D. Morway, Ramon C. Naranjo, Justin Huntington
Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: I. Patterns of occurrence
Human activities introduce a variety of chemicals to the Laurentian Great Lakes including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, flame retardants, plasticizers, and solvents (collectively referred to as contaminants of emerging concern or CECs) potentially threatening the vitality of these valuable ecosystems. We conducted a basin-wide study to identify the presence of CECs and other chemicals of interest i
Authors
Sarah M. Elliott, Mark E. Brigham, Kathy Lee, Jo A. Banda, Steven J. Choy, Daniel J. Gefell, Thomas A. Minarik, Jeremy N. Moore, Zachary G. Jorgenson
Long-term trends of surface-water mercury and methylmercury concentrations downstream of historic mining within the Carson River watershed
The Carson River is a vital water resource for local municipalities and migratory birds travelling the Pacific Flyway. Historic mining practices that used mercury (Hg) to extract gold from Comstock Lode ore has left much of the river system heavily contaminated with Hg, a practice that continues in many parts of the world today. Between 1998 and 2013, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) col
Authors
Eric D. Morway, Carl E. Thodal, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale
Phytoforensics—Using trees to find contamination
The water we drink, air we breathe, and soil we come into contact with have the potential to adversely affect our health because of contaminants in the environment. Environmental samples can characterize the extent of potential contamination, but traditional methods for collecting water, air, and soil samples below the ground (for example, well drilling or direct-push soil sampling) are expensive
Authors
Jordan L. Wilson
Hydrogeology and simulated groundwater flow and availability in the North Fork Red River aquifer, southwest Oklahoma, 1980–2013
On September 8, 1981, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board established regulatory limits on the maximum annual yield of groundwater (343,042 acre-feet per year) and equal-proportionate-share (EPS) pumping rate (1.0 acre-foot per acre per year) for the North Fork Red River aquifer. The maximum annual yield and EPS were based on a hydrologic investigation that used a numerical groundwater-flow model t
Authors
S. Jerrod Smith, John H. Ellis, Derrick L. Wagner, Steven M. Peterson
Soil base saturation combines with Beech Bark Disease to influence composition and structure of Sugar Maple-Beech forests in an acid rain-impacted region
Sugar maple, an abundant and highly valued tree species in eastern North America, has experienced decline from soil calcium (Ca) depletion by acidic deposition, while beech, which often coexists with sugar maple, has been afflicted with beech bark disease (BBD) over the same period. To investigate how variations in soil base saturation combine with effects of BBD in influencing stand composition a
Authors
Gregory B. Lawrence, Todd C. McDonnell, Timothy J. Sullivan, Martin Dovciak, Scott W. Bailey, Michael R. Antidormi, Michael R. Zarfos
Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: II. Biological consequences of exposure
The Laurentian Great Lakes contain one fifth of the world’s surface freshwater and have been impacted by human activity since the Industrial Revolution. In addition to legacy contaminants, nitrification and invasive species, this aquatic ecosystem is also the recipient of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) with poorly understood biological consequences. In the current study, we documented the
Authors
Linnea M. Thomas, Zachary G. Jorgenson, Mark E. Brigham, Steven J. Choy, Jeremy N. Moore, Jo A. Banda, D.J. Gefell, Thomas A. Minarik, Heiko L. Schoenfuss
Groundwater quality in the Yuba River and Bear River Watersheds, Sierra Nevada, California
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The GAMA Program’s Priority Basin Project assesses the quality of groundwater resources used for drinking water supply and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. In the Yuba R
Authors
Miranda S. Fram, Monica Jasper, Kimberly A. Taylor
A review of surface energy balance models for estimating actual evapotranspiration with remote sensing at high spatiotemporal resolution over large extents
Many approaches have been developed for measuring or estimating actual evapotranspiration (ETa), and research over many years has led to the development of remote sensing methods that are reliably reproducible and effective in estimating ETa. Several remote sensing methods can be used to estimate ETa at the high spatial resolution of agricultural fields and the large extent of river basins. More c
Authors
Ryan R. McShane, Katelyn P. Driscoll, Roy Sando
Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Project, North Carolina—Summary of monitoring activities, quality assurance, and data, October 2013–September 2015
Surface-water supplies are important sources of drinking water for residents in the Triangle area of North Carolina, which is located within the upper Cape Fear and Neuse River Basins. Since 1988, the U.S. Geological Survey and a consortium of local governments have tracked water-quality conditions and trends in several of the area’s water-supply lakes and streams. This report summarizes data coll
Authors
C.A. Pfeifle, J.L. Cain, R.B. Rasmussen
Bathymetric surveys of the Neosho River, Spring River, and Elk River, northeastern Oklahoma and southwestern Missouri, 2016–17
In February 2017, the Grand River Dam Authority filed to relicense the Pensacola Hydroelectric Project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The predominant feature of the Pensacola Hydroelectric Project is Pensacola Dam, which impounds Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees (locally called Grand Lake) in northeastern Oklahoma. Identification of information gaps and assessment of project effects on
Authors
Shelby L. Hunter, Chad E. Ashworth, S. Jerrod Smith