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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: 18428

Hampton roads regional Water-Quality Monitoring Program

IntroductionHow much nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended solids are contributed by the highly urbanized areas of the Hampton Roads region in Virginia to Chesapeake Bay? The answer to this complex question has major implications for policy decisions, resource allocations, and efforts aimed at restoring clean waters to Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. To quantify the amount of nitrogen, phosphoru
Authors
Aaron J. Porter, John D. Jastram

Hydrologic assessment of the shallow groundwater flow system beneath the Shinnecock Nation tribal lands, Suffolk County, New York

Defining the distribution and flow of shallow groundwater beneath the Shinnecock Nation tribal lands in Suffolk County, New York, is a crucial first step in identifying sources of potential contamination to the surficial aquifer and coastal ecosystems. The surficial or water table aquifer beneath the tribal lands is the primary source of potable water supply for at least 6 percent of the household
Authors
Michael L. Noll, Simonette L. Rivera, Ronald Busciolano

Shifting patterns in SAV species diversity and community structure

This chapter examines the shifting patterns in Chesapeake SAV community structure and the potential environmental variables that explain variation in species composition patterns at both long and short time periods. Bay-wide species occurrence data sets are summarized. These data show that twenty-seven or more species of SAV are found within the tidal Chesapeake Bay. Seventeen of these are common,
Authors
Nancy B. Rybicki, Christopher E. Tanner, Erin C. Shields, Kenneth A. Moore, Stanley Kollar, David J. Wilcox, Katherina A. M. Engelhardt

Occurrence and effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the St. Croix River

The St. Croix River is one of the last undisturbed, large floodplain rivers in the upper Mississippi River System. The Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway encompasses 255 river miles from the St. Croix Flowage and Namekagon River to the confluence of the St. Croix River with the Mississippi River at Prescott, Wisconsin. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 includes protection of the “outstandin
Authors
Sarah M. Elliott, Kathy Lee

Response of fish assemblages to decreasing acid deposition in Adirondack Mountain lakes

The CAA and other federal regulations have clearly reduced emissions of NOx and SOx, acidic deposition, and the acidity and toxicity of waters in the ALTM lakes, but these changes have not triggered widespread recovery of brook trout populations or fish communities. The lack of detectable biological recovery appears to result from relatively recent chemical recovery and an insufficient period for
Authors
Barry P. Baldigo, Karen Roy, Charles T. Driscoll

Assessing Brook Trout populations in headwater streams of the Adirondack Mountains using environmental DNA -- Summary report

This project evaluated standard fish-survey and environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling methods to determine the ability of eDNA to accurately predict the presence and abundance of resident Brook Trout populations in 40 headwater streams mainly in the western Adirondack Mountains during 2014–2015 (Figure 2). Standard 3-pass electrofishing surveys found that Brook Trout were absent from about 25 percent
Authors
Barry P. Baldigo, Scott D. George, Lee Ann Sporn, Jacob Ball

Panel regressions to estimate low-flow response to rainfall variability in ungaged basins

Multicollinearity and omitted-variable bias are major limitations to developing multiple linear regression models to estimate streamflow characteristics in ungaged areas and varying rainfall conditions. Panel regression is used to overcome limitations of traditional regression methods, and obtain reliable model coefficients, in particular to understand the elasticity of streamflow to rainfall. Usi
Authors
Maoya Bassiouni, Richard M. Vogel, Stacey A. Archfield

Response of fish assemblages to declining acidic deposition in Adirondack Mountain lakes, 1984–2012

Adverse effects of acidic deposition on the chemistry and fish communities were evident in Adirondack Mountain lakes during the 1980s and 1990s. Fish assemblages and water chemistry in 43 Adirondack Long-Term Monitoring (ALTM) lakes were sampled by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation during three periods (1984–87, 1994–2005, and 2
Authors
Barry P. Baldigo, Karen Roy, Charles T. Driscoll

Perspectives on bay-delta science and policy

The State of Bay–Delta Science 2008 highlighted seven emerging perspectives on science and management of the Delta. These perspectives had important effects on policy and legislation concerning management of the Delta ecosystem and water exports. From the collection of papers that make up the State of Bay–Delta Science 2016, we derive another seven perspectives that augment those published in 2008
Authors
Michael Healey, Michael D. Dettinger, Richard Norgaard

Prediction of fish and sediment mercury in streams using landscape variables and historical mining

Widespread mercury (Hg) contamination of aquatic systems in the Sierra Nevada of California, U.S., is associated with historical use to enhance gold (Au) recovery by amalgamation. In areas affected by historical Au mining operations, including the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and downstream areas in northern California, such as San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento River–San Joaquin River Del
Authors
Charles N. Alpers, Julie L. Yee, Joshua T. Ackerman, James L. Orlando, Darrell G. Slotton, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale

Nitrapyrin in streams: The first study documenting off-field transport of a nitrogen stabilizer compound

Nitrapyrin is a bactericide that is co-applied with fertilizer to prevent nitrification and enhance corn yields. While there have been studies of the environmental fate of nitrapyrin, there is no documentation of its off-field transport to streams. In 2016, 59 water samples from 11 streams across Iowa were analyzed for nitrapyrin and its degradate, 6-chloropicolinic acid (6-CPA), along with three
Authors
Emily Woodward, Michelle Hladik, Dana W. Kolpin

The 2016 groundwater flow model for Dane County, Wisconsin

A new groundwater flow model for Dane County, Wisconsin, replaces an earlier model developed in the 1990s by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). This modeling study was conducted cooperatively by the WGNHS and the USGS with funding from the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission (CARPC). Although the overall conceptual model of the
Authors
Michael J. Parsen, Kenneth R. Bradbury, Randall J. Hunt, Daniel T. Feinstein