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
Treatment of trace organic compounds in common onsite wastewater systems
Onsite wastewater systems (OWS) have historically been relied on to treat conventional pollutants and pathogens in a fashion similar to that expected from centralized wastewater systems. However, based on the occurrence of, and potential effects from, contaminants of emerging concern in wastewaters, OWS as well as centralized systems need to account for these compounds in system design and use. O
Authors
Robert Siegrist, Kathleen E. Conn
Soil ecology of a rock outcrop ecosystem: Abiotic stresses, soil respiration, and microbial community profiles in limestone cedar glades
Limestone cedar glades are a type of rock outcrop ecosystem characterized by shallow soil and extreme hydrologic conditions—seasonally ranging from xeric to saturated—that support a number of plant species of conservation concern. Although a rich botanical literature exists on cedar glades, soil biochemical processes and the ecology of soil microbial communities in limestone cedar glades have larg
Authors
Jennifer M. Cartwright, E. Kudjo Advised by Dzantor
An updated conceptual model of Delta Smelt biology: Our evolving understanding of an estuarine fish
The main purpose of this report is to provide an up-to-date assessment and conceptual model of factors affecting Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) throughout its primarily annual life cycle and to demonstrate how this conceptual model can be used for scientific and management purposes. The Delta Smelt is a small estuarine fish that only occurs in the San Francisco Estuary. Once abundant, it i
Authors
Randy Baxter, Larry R. Brown, Gonzalo Castillo, Louise Conrad, Steven D. Culberson, Matthew P. Dekar, Melissa Dekar, Frederick Feyrer, Thaddeus Hunt, Kristopher Jones, Joseph Kirsch, Anke Mueller-Solger, Matthew Nobriga, Steven B. Slater, Ted Sommer, Kelly Souza, Gregg Erickson, Stephanie Fong, Karen Gehrts, Lenny Grimaldo, Bruce Herbold
Uranium Sequestration During Biostimulated Reduction and In Response to the Return of Oxic Conditions In Shallow Aquifers
A proposed approach for groundwater remediation of uranium contamination is to generate reducing conditions by stimulating the growth of microbial populations through injection of electron donor compounds into the subsurface. Sufficiently reducing conditions will result in reduction of soluble hexavalent uranium, U(VI), and precipitation of the less soluble +4 oxidation state uranium, U(IV). This
Authors
Christopher C. Fuller, Kelly J. Johnson, Katherine Akstin, David M. Singer, Steven B. Yabusaki, Yi Fang, M. Fuhrmann
Effects of urbanization on mercury deposition and accumulation in New England
We compare total mercury (HgT) loading and methylmercury (MeHg) accumulation in streams and lakes
from an urbanized area (Boston, Massachusetts) to rural regions of southern New Hampshire and Maine.
The maximum HgT loading, as indicated by HgT atmospheric deposition, HgT emissions, and sediment
HgT concentrations, did not coincide with maximum MeHg concentrations in fish. Urbanized ecosystems
were
Authors
Ann T. Chalmers, David P. Krabbenhoft, Peter C. Van Metre, Mark A. Nilles
A multiple-tracer approach to understanding regional groundwaterflow in the Snake Valley area of the eastern Great Basin, USA
Groundwater in Snake Valley and surrounding basins in the eastern Great Basin province of the western
United States is being targeted for large-scale groundwater extraction and export. Concern about declining
groundwater levels and spring flows in western Utah as a result of the proposed groundwater withdrawals
has led to efforts that have improved the understanding of this regional groundwater fl
Authors
Philip M. Gardner
UCODE_2014, with new capabilities to define parameters unique to predictions, calculate w eights using simulated values, estimate parameters w ith SVD, evaluate uncertainty with MCMC, and more
No abstract available.
Authors
Eileen P. Poeter, Mary C. Hill, Dan Lu, Claire R. Tiedeman, Steffen W. Mehl
Paleoclimate
As host to one of the major continental-scale ice sheets, and with considerable spatial variability of climate related to its physiography and location, North America has experienced a wide range of climates over time. The aim of this chapter is to review the history of those climate variations, focusing in particular on the continental-scale climatic variations between the Last Glacial Maximum (L
Authors
Patrick J. Bartlein, Steven W. Hostetler, Jay R. Alder
Optimally managing water resources in large river basins for an uncertain future
Managers of large river basins face conflicting needs for water resources such as wildlife habitat, water supply, wastewater assimilative capacity, flood control, hydroelectricity, and recreation. The Savannah River Basin for example, has experienced three major droughts since 2000 that resulted in record low water levels in its reservoirs, impacting local economies for years. The Savannah River B
Authors
Jr. Edwin A. Roehl, Paul Conrads
Flow and sorption controls of groundwater arsenic in individual boreholes from bedrock aquifers in central Maine, USA
To understand the hydrogeochemical processes regulating well water arsenic (As) evolution in fractured bedrock aquifers, three domestic wells with [As] up to 478 μg/L are investigated in central Maine. Geophysical logging reveals that fractures near the borehole bottom contribute 70-100% of flow. Borehole and fracture water samples from various depths show significant proportions of As (up to 69%)
Authors
Qiang Yang, Charles W. Culbertson, Martha G. Nielsen, Charles W. Schalk, Carole D. Johnson, Robert G. Marvinney, Martin Stute, Yan Zheng
Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the Sierra Nevada Regional study unit, 2008: California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Groundwater quality in the Sierra Nevada Regional (SNR) study unit was investigated as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board’s Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program Priority Basin Project. The study was designed to provide statistically unbiased assessments of the quality of untreated groundwater within the primary aquifer system of the Sierra Nevada. The prima
Authors
Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
Groundwater quality in the 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 Priority Basin Project (PBP) of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. The Sier
Authors
Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz