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
Relation between Enterococcus concentrations and turbidity in fresh and saline recreational waters, coastal Horry County, South Carolina, 2003–04
Bacteria related to the intestinal tract of humans and other warm-blooded animals have been detected in fresh and saline surface waters used for recreational purposes in coastal areas of Horry County, South Carolina, since the early 2000s. Specifically, concentrations of the facultative anaerobic organism, Enterococcus, have been observed to exceed the single-sample regulatory limit of 104 colony
Authors
James Landmeyer, Thomas J. Garigen
Microbial antimony biogeochemistry: Enzymes, regulation, and related metabolic pathways
Antimony (Sb) is a toxic metalloid that occurs widely at trace concentrations in soil, aquatic systems, and the atmosphere. Nowadays, with the development of its new industrial applications and the corresponding expansion of antimony mining activities, the phenomenon of antimony pollution has become an increasingly serious concern. In recent years, research interest in Sb has been growing and refl
Authors
Jingxin Li, Qian Wang, Ronald S. Oremland, Thomas R. Kulp, Christopher Rensing, Gejiao Wang
Elemental analysis using a handheld X-Ray fluorescence spectrometer
The U.S. Geological Survey is collecting geologic samples from local stream channels, aquifer materials, and rock outcrops for studies of trace elements in the Mojave Desert, southern California. These samples are collected because geologic materials can release a variety of elements to the environment when exposed to water. The samples are to be analyzed with a handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) s
Authors
Krishangi D. Groover, John A. Izbicki
Estimation of upstream water use with Ohio’s StreamStats application
This report describes the analytical methods and results of a pilot study to enhance the Ohio StreamStats application by adding the ability to obtain water-use information for selected areas in the northeast quadrant of Ohio. Water-use estimates are determined in StreamStats through a simple multistep process.
Water-use data used to develop the Ohio StreamStats water-use application were obtained
Authors
G. F. Koltun, Mark R. Nardi, Kimberly H. Shaffer
Assessing wildlife benefits and carbon storage from restored and natural coastal marshes in the Nisqually River Delta: Determining marsh net ecosystem carbon balance
Working in partnership since 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nisqually Indian Tribe have restored 902 acres of tidally influenced coastal marsh in the Nisqually River Delta (NRD), making it the largest estuary-restoration project in the Pacific Northwest to date. Marsh restoration increases the capacity of the estuary to support a diversity of wildlife species. Restoration also in
Authors
Frank Anderson, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Isa Woo, Susan De La Cruz, Judith Z. Drexler, Kristin Byrd, Karen M. Thorne
Nutrient delivery to Lake Winnipeg from the Red-Assiniboine River Basin – A binational application of the SPARROW model
Excessive phosphorus (TP) and nitrogen (TN) inputs from the Red–Assiniboine River Basin (RARB) have been linked to eutrophication of Lake Winnipeg; therefore, it is important for the management of water resources to understand where and from what sources these nutrients originate. The RARB straddles the Canada–United States border and includes portions of two provinces and three states. This study
Authors
Glenn A. Benoy, R. Wayne Jenkinson, Dale M. Robertson, David A. Saad
Occurrence and concentrations of selected trace elements and halogenated organic compounds in stream sediments and potential sources of polychlorinated biphenyls, Leon Creek, San Antonio, Texas, 2012–14
The Texas Department of State Health Services issued fish consumption advisories in 2003 and 2010 for Leon Creek in San Antonio, Texas, based on elevated concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish tissues. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured elevated PCB concentrations in stream-sediment samples collected during 2007–9 from Leon Creek at Lackland Air Force Base (now known as
Authors
Jennifer T. Wilson
Regional effects of agricultural conservation practices on nutrient transport in the Upper Mississippi River Basin
Despite progress in the implementation of conservation practices, related improvements in water quality have been challenging to measure in larger river systems. In this paper we quantify these downstream effects by applying the empirical U.S. Geological Survey water-quality model SPARROW to investigate whether spatial differences in conservation intensity were statistically correlated with variat
Authors
Ana María García, Richard B. Alexander, Jeffrey G. Arnold, Lee Norfleet, Michael J. White, Dale M. Robertson, Gregory E. Schwarz
Resetting the bar: Establishing baselines for persistent contaminants after Hurricane Sandy in the coastal environments of New Jersey and New York, USA
In the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, public health officials and other first responders engage in many activities to protect the public and ecosystems in the affected area. These activities include critical tasks designed to minimize adverse consequences resulting from chemical and microbial contaminant exposures, such as acute disease incidence and transmission. However, once these ur
Authors
Timothy J. Reilly, Michael J. Focazio, Dale L. Simmons
Effects of salt pond restoration on benthic flux: Sediment as a source of nutrients to the water column
Understanding nutrient flux between the benthos and the overlying water (benthic flux) is critical to restoration of water quality and biological resources because it can represent a major source of nutrients to the water column. Extensive water management commenced in the San Francisco Bay, Beginning around 1850, San Francisco Bay wetlands were converted to salt ponds and mined extensively for mo
Authors
Brent R. Topping, James S. Kuwabara, James L. Carter, Krista K. Garrettt, Eric Mruz, Sarah Piotter, John Y. Takekawa
Simulated impacts of climate change on phosphorus loading to Lake Michigan
Phosphorus (P) loading to the Great Lakes has caused various types of eutrophication problems. Future climatic changes may modify this loading because climatic models project changes in future meteorological conditions, especially for the key hydrologic driver — precipitation. Therefore, the goal of this study is to project how P loading may change from the range of projected climatic changes. To
Authors
Dale M. Robertson, David A. Saad, Daniel E. Christiansen, David J Lorenz
Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys at highway bridges crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri, June 2–4, 2015
Bathymetric and velocimetric data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation, near 8 bridges at 7 highway crossings of the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri, from June 2 to 4, 2015. A multibeam echosounder mapping system was used to obtain channel-bed elevations for river reaches ranging from 1,640 to 1,660 feet longitudinally
Authors
Richard J. Huizinga