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
Complex mixtures of Pesticides in Midwest U.S. streams indicated by POCIS time-integrating samplers
The Midwest United States is an intensely agricultural region where pesticides in streams pose risks to aquatic biota, but temporal variability in pesticide concentrations makes characterization of their exposure to organisms challenging. To compensate for the effects of temporal variability, we deployed polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) in 100 small streams across the Midwest fo
Authors
Peter C. Van Metre, David Alvarez, Barbara Mahler, Lisa H. Nowell, Mark W. Sandstrom, Patrick W. Moran
Water-level and recoverable water in storage changes, High Plains aquifer, predevelopment to 2015 and 2013–15
The High Plains aquifer underlies 111.8 million acres (about 175,000 square miles) in parts of eight States—Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Water-level declines began in parts of the High Plains aquifer soon after the beginning of substantial irrigation with groundwater in the aquifer area (about 1950). This report presents water-level changes an
Authors
Virginia L. McGuire
Water temperature effects from simulated changes to dam operations and structures in the Middle and South Santiam Rivers, Oregon
Green Peter and Foster Dams on the Middle and South Santiam Rivers, Oregon, have altered the annual downstream water temperature profile (cycle). Operation of the dams has resulted in cooler summer releases and warmer autumn releases relative to pre-dam conditions, and that alteration can hinder recovery of various life stages of threatened spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhyncus tshawytscha) and w
Authors
Norman L. Buccola
Hydrogeologic framework and selected components of the groundwater budget for the upper Umatilla River Basin, Oregon
Executive SummaryThis report presents a summary of the hydrogeology of the upper Umatilla River Basin, Oregon, based on characterization of the hydrogeologic framework, horizontal and vertical directions of groundwater flow, trends in groundwater levels, and components of the groundwater budget. The conceptual model of the groundwater flow system integrates available data and information on the gr
Authors
Nora B. Herrera, Kate Ely, Smita Mehta, Adam J. Stonewall, John C. Risley, Stephen R. Hinkle, Terrence D. Conlon
Steady state fractionation of heavy noble gas isotopes in a deep unsaturated zone
To explore steady state fractionation processes in the unsaturated zone (UZ), we measured argon, krypton, and xenon isotope ratios throughout a ∼110 m deep UZ at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS) in Nevada, USA. Prior work has suggested that gravitational settling should create a nearly linear increase in heavy-to-light isotope ratios toward the bottom
Authors
Alan M. Seltzer, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, Brian J. Andraski, David A. Stonestrom
Measuring surface-water loss in Honouliuli Stream near the ‘Ewa Shaft, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i
The Honolulu Board of Water Supply is currently concerned with the possibility of bacteria in the pumped water of the ‘Ewa Shaft (State well 3-2202-21). Groundwater from the ‘Ewa Shaft could potentially be used to meet future potable water needs in the ‘Ewa area on the island of O‘ahu. The source of the bacteria in the pumped water is unknown, although previous studies indicate that surface water
Authors
Sarah N. Rosa
A long-term copper exposure in a freshwater ecosystem using lotic mesocosms: Invertebrate community responses
A lotic mesocosm study was carried out in 20-m-long channels, under continuous, environmentally realistic concentrations of copper (Cu) in low, medium, and high exposures (nominally 0, 5, 25, and 75 μg L−1; average effective concentrations <0.5, 4, 20, and 57 μg L−1 respectively) for 18 mo. Total abundance, taxa richness, and community structure of zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, and emerging ins
Authors
Sandrine Joachim, Hélène Roussel, Jean-Marc Bonzom, Eric Thybaud, Christopher A. Mebane, Paul Van den Brink, Laury Gauthier
Avian influenza virus RNA in groundwater wells supplying poultry farms affected by the 2015 influenza outbreak
During the 2015 outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus
(HPAI) on poultry farms in the midwestern United States, concern was raised
about the potential for HPAI to contaminate groundwater. Our study objective was to evaluate the occurrence of HPAI in the groundwater supply wells on 13 outbreak-affected poultry farms in Iowa and Wisconsin. We sampled 20 wells, six waste-storage lagoons,
Authors
Mark A. Borchardt, Susan K. Spencer, Laura E. Hubbard, Aaron Firnstahl, Joel P. Stokdyk, Dana W. Kolpin
Water-quality and lake-stage data for Wisconsin lakes, water year 2014
IntroductionThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with local and other agencies, collects data at selected lakes throughout Wisconsin. These data, accumulated over many years, provide a database for developing an improved understanding of the water quality of lakes. To make these data available to interested parties outside the USGS, the data are published annually in this report serie
Authors
S. Bridgett Manteufel, Dale M. Robertson
Water-quality and lake-stage data for Wisconsin lakes, water years 2012–2013
IntroductionThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with local and other agencies, collects data at selected lakes throughout Wisconsin. These data, accumulated over many years, provide a data base for developing an improved understanding of the water quality of lakes. To make these data available to interested parties outside the USGS, the data are published annually in this report seri
Authors
S. Bridgett Manteufel, Dale M. Robertson
Response of currents and water quality to changes in dam operations in Hoover Reservoir, Columbus, Ohio, August 24–28, 2015
Hoover Reservoir, an important drinking water supply for the City of Columbus, Ohio, has been the source of a series of taste and odor problems in treated drinking water during the past few years. These taste and odor problems were caused by the compounds geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol, which are thought to have been related to cyanobacteria blooms. In an effort to reduce the phosphorus available
Authors
Branden L. Vonins, P. Ryan Jackson
Bacteria versus selenium: A view from the inside out
Bacteria and selenium (Se) are closely interlinked as the element serves both essential nutrient requirements and energy generation functions. However, Se can also behave as a powerful toxicant for bacterial homeostasis. Conversely, bacteria play a tremendous role in the cycling of Se between different environmental compartments, and bacterial metabolism has been shown to participate to all valenc
Authors
Lucian Staicu, Ronald S. Oremland, Ryuta Tobe, Hisaaki Mihara