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: 18468
Hydrology of the middle San Pedro area, southeastern Arizona
In the middle San Pedro Watershed in southeastern Arizona, groundwater is the primary source of water supply for municipal, domestic, industrial, and agricultural use. The watershed comprises two smaller subareas, the Benson subarea and the Narrows-Redington subarea. Early 21st century projections for heavy population growth in the watershed have not yet become a reality, but increased groundwater
Authors
Jeffrey T. Cordova, Jesse E. Dickinson, Kimberly R. Beisner, Candice B. Hopkins, Jeffrey R. Kennedy, Donald R. Pool, Edward P. Glenn, Pamela L. Nagler, Blakemore E. Thomas
Storm tide monitoring during the blizzard of January 26-28, 2015, in eastern Massachusetts
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network of six storm surge sensors and four barometric pressure sensors along the Atlantic coast in eastern Massachusetts, from Plymouth to Newburyport, before the blizzard of January 26–28, 2015 (Blizzard of January 2015), to record the timing and magnitude of storm tide at select locations where forecasters had predicted the poten
Authors
Andrew J. Massey, Richard J. Verdi
AMDTreat 5.0+ with PHREEQC titration module to compute caustic chemical quantity, effluent quality, and sludge volume
Alkaline chemicals are commonly added to discharges from coal mines to increase pH and decrease concentrations of acidity and dissolved aluminum, iron, manganese, and associated metals. The annual cost of chemical treatment depends on the type and quantities of chemicals added and sludge produced. The AMDTreat computer program, initially developed in 2003, is widely used to compute such costs on t
Authors
Charles A. Cravotta, Brent P Means, Willam Arthur, Robert M McKenzie, David L. Parkhurst
Experimental dosing of wetlands with coagulants removes mercury from surface water and decreases mercury bioaccumulation in fish
Mercury pollution is widespread globally, and strategies for managing mercury contamination in aquatic environments are necessary. We tested whether coagulation with metal-based salts could remove mercury from wetland surface waters and decrease mercury bioaccumulation in fish. In a complete randomized block design, we constructed nine experimental wetlands in California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin D
Authors
Joshua T. Ackerman, Tamara E.C. Kraus, Jacob A. Fleck, David P. Krabbenhoft, William R. Horwarth, Sandra M. Bachand, Mark P. Herzog, C. Alex Hartman, Philip A.M. Bachand
Inter-laboratory variation in the chemical analysis of acidic forest soil reference samples from eastern North America
Long-term forest soil monitoring and research often requires a comparison of laboratory data generated at different times and in different laboratories. Quantifying the uncertainty associated with these analyses is necessary to assess temporal changes in soil properties. Forest soil chemical properties, and methods to measure these properties, often differ from agronomic and horticultural soils. S
Authors
Donald S. Ross, Scott W Bailiey, Russell D Briggs, Johanna Curry, Ivan J. Fernandez, Guinevere Fredriksen, Christine L. Goodale, Paul W. Hazlett, Paul R Heine, Chris E. Johnson, John T Larson, Gregory B. Lawrence, Randy K Kolka, Rock Ouimet, D Pare, Daniel D. Richter, Charles D Shirmer, Richard A.F. Warby
Dam-breach analysis and flood-inundation mapping for selected dams in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and near Atoka, Oklahoma
Dams provide beneficial functions such as flood control, recreation, and storage of water supplies, but they also entail risk; dam breaches and resultant floods can cause substantial property damage and loss of life. The State of Oklahoma requires each owner of a high-hazard dam, which the Federal Emergency Management Agency defines as dams for which failure or improper operation probably will cau
Authors
Molly J. Shivers, S. Jerrod Smith, Trevor S. Grout, Jason M. Lewis
A comparison of high-resolution specific conductance-based end-member mixing analysis and a graphical method for baseflow separation of four streams in hydrologically challenging agricultural watersheds
Quantifying the relative contributions of different sources of water to a stream hydrograph is important for understanding the hydrology and water quality dynamics of a given watershed. To compare the performance of two methods of hydrograph separation, a graphical program [baseflow index (BFI)] and an end-member mixing analysis that used high-resolution specific conductance measurements (SC-EMMA)
Authors
Scott C. Kronholm, Paul D. Capel
Hydrogeologic framework of the Santa Clara Valley, California
The hydrologic framework of the Santa Clara Valley in northern California was redefined on the basis of new data and a new hydrologic model. The regional groundwater flow systems can be subdivided into upper-aquifer and lower-aquifer systems that form a convergent flow system within a basin bounded by mountains and hills on three sides and discharge to pumping wells and the southern San Francisco
Authors
Randall T. Hanson
Groundwater movement, recharge, and perchlorate occurrence in a faulted alluvial aquifer in California (USA)
Perchlorate from military, industrial, and legacy agricultural sources is present within an alluvial aquifer in the Rialto-Colton groundwater subbasin, 80 km east of Los Angeles, California (USA). The area is extensively faulted, with water-level differences exceeding 60 m across parts of the Rialto-Colton Fault separating the Rialto-Colton and Chino groundwater subbasins. Coupled well-bore flow a
Authors
John A. Izbicki, Nicholas F. Teague, Paul B. Hatzinger, John Karl Böhlke, Neil C. Sturchio
Geospatial association between adverse birth outcomes and arsenic in groundwater in New Hampshire, USA
There is increasing evidence of the role of arsenic in the etiology of adverse human reproductive outcomes. Because drinking water can be a major source of arsenic to pregnant women, the effect of arsenic exposure through drinking water on human birth may be revealed by a geospatial association between arsenic concentration in groundwater and birth problems, particularly in a region where private
Authors
Xun Shi, Joseph D. Ayotte, Akikazu Onda, Stephanie Miller, Judy Rees, Diane Gilbert-Diamond, Tracy L Onega, Jiang Gui, Margaret R. Karagas, John B Moeschler
U.S. Geological Survey quality-assurance plan for surface-water activities in Kansas, 2015
This Surface Water Quality-Assurance Plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the Kansas Water Science Center (KSWSC) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of surface-water data.
Authors
Colin C. Painter, Brian L. Loving
Hexavalent and total chromium at low reporting concentrations in source-water aquifers and surface waters used for public supply in Illinois, 2013
On the basis of their recent review of the human health effects of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] in public drinking water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering the need for Federal regulation of Cr(VI). Presently, only total chromium is regulated, at a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 100 micrograms per liter (µg/L). The occurrence of Cr(VI) in groundwater and surface waters ge
Authors
P.C. Mills, Richard P. Cobb