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
Sedimentary organic biomarkers suggest detrimental effects of PAHs on estuarine microbial biomass during the 20th century in San Francisco Bay, CA, USA
Hydrocarbon contaminants are ubiquitous in urban aquatic ecosystems, and the ability of some microbial strains to degrade certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is well established. However, detrimental effects of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination on nondegrader microbial populations and photosynthetic organisms have not often been considered. In the current study, fatty acid methyl est
Authors
Elena B. Nilsen, Robert J. Rosenbauer, Christopher C. Fuller, Bruce E. Jaffe
Potential effects of existing and proposed groundwater withdrawals on water levels and natural groundwater discharge in Snake Valley, Juab and Millard Counties, Utah, White Pine County, Nevada, and surrounding areas in Utah and Nevada
Applications have been filed for several water-right changes and new water rights, with total withdrawals of about 1,800 acre-feet per year, in Snake Valley near Eskdale and Partoun, Utah. The Bureau of Land Management has identified 11 sites where the Bureau of Land Management holds water rights and 7 other springs of interest that could be affected by these proposed groundwater withdrawals. This
Authors
Melissa D. Masbruch, Philip M. Gardner
Potential postwildfire debris-flow hazards: a prewildfire evaluation for the Sandia and Manzano Mountains and surrounding areas, central New Mexico
Wildfire can drastically increase the probability of debris flows, a potentially hazardous and destructive form of mass wasting, in landscapes that have otherwise been stable throughout recent history. Although there is no way to know the exact location, extent, and severity of wildfire, or the subsequent rainfall intensity and duration before it happens, probabilities of fire and debris-flow occu
Authors
Anne C. Tillery, Jessica R. Haas, Lara W. Miller, Joe H. Scott, Matthew P. Thompson
Documentation of a groundwater flow model (SJRRPGW) for the San Joaquin River Restoration Program study area, California
To better understand the potential effects of restoration flows on existing drainage problems, anticipated as a result of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program (SJRRP), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), developed a groundwater flow model (SJRRPGW) of the SJRRP study area that is within 5 miles of the San Joaquin River and adjac
Authors
Jonathan A. Traum, Steven P. Phillips, George L. Bennett V, Celia Zamora, Loren F. Metzger
Simulation of groundwater flow and the interaction of groundwater and surface water in the Willamette Basin and Central Willamette subbasin, Oregon
Full appropriation of tributary streamflow during summer, a growing population, and agricultural needs are increasing the demand for groundwater in the Willamette Basin. Greater groundwater use could diminish streamflow and create seasonal and long-term declines in groundwater levels. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) cooperated in a study to develo
Authors
Nora B. Herrera, Erick R. Burns, Terrence D. Conlon
A cross-validation package driving Netica with python
Bayesian networks (BNs) are powerful tools for probabilistically simulating natural systems and emulating process models. Cross validation is a technique to avoid overfitting resulting from overly complex BNs. Overfitting reduces predictive skill. Cross-validation for BNs is known but rarely implemented due partly to a lack of software tools designed to work with available BN packages. CVNetica is
Authors
Michael N. Fienen, Nathaniel G. Plant
The effects of Missouri River mainstem reservoir system operations on 2011 flooding using a Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System model
In 2011 the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System (Reservoir System) experienced the largest volume of flood waters since the initiation of record-keeping in the nineteenth century. The high levels of runoff from both snowpack and rainfall stressed the Reservoir System’s capacity to control flood waters and caused massive damage and disruption along the river. The flooding and resulting damage
Authors
Adel E. Haj, Daniel E. Christiansen, Roland J. Viger
Hydrogeologic framework and occurrence, movement, and chemical characterization of groundwater in Dixie Valley, west-central Nevada
Dixie Valley, a primarily undeveloped basin in west-central Nevada, is being considered for groundwater exportation. Proposed pumping would occur from the basin-fill aquifer. In response to proposed exportation, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation and Churchill County, conducted a study to improve the understanding of groundwater resources in Dixie Valley. The
Authors
Jena M. Huntington, C. Amanda Garcia, Michael R. Rosen
Groundwater discharge by evapotranspiration, Dixie Valley, west-central Nevada, March 2009-September 2011
With increasing population growth and land-use change, urban communities in the desert Southwest are progressively looking toward remote basins to supplement existing water supplies. Pending applications by Churchill County for groundwater appropriations from Dixie Valley, Nevada, a primarily undeveloped basin east of the Carson Desert, have prompted a reevaluation of the quantity of naturally dis
Authors
C. Amanda Garcia, Jena M Huntington, Susan G. Buto, Michael T. Moreo, J. LaRue Smith, Brian J. Andraski
Quality of surface-water supplies in the Triangle area of North Carolina, water year 2009
Surface-water supplies are important sources of drinking water for residents in the Triangle area of North Carolina, which is located within the upper Cape Fear and Neuse River Basins. Since 1988, the U.S. Geological Survey and a consortium of governments have tracked water-quality conditions and trends in several of the area’s water-supply lakes and streams. This report summarizes data collected
Authors
C. A. Pfeifle, M. J. Giorgino, R. B. Rasmussen
Concentration and flux of total and dissolved phosphorus, total nitrogen, chloride, and total suspended solids for monitored tributaries of Lake Champlain, 1990-2012
Annual and daily concentrations and fluxes of total and dissolved phosphorus, total nitrogen, chloride, and total suspended solids were estimated for 18 monitored tributaries to Lake Champlain by using the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Seasons regression model. Estimates were made for 21 or 23 years, depending on data availability, for the purpose of providing timely and accessible
Authors
Laura Medalie
Development of a shared vision for groundwater management to protect and sustain baseflows of the Upper San Pedro River, Arizona, USA
Groundwater pumping along portions of the binational San Pedro River has depleted aquifer storage that supports baseflow in the San Pedro River. A consortium of 23 agencies, business interests, and non-governmental organizations pooled their collective resources to develop the scientific understanding and technical tools required to optimize the management of this complex, interconnected groundwat
Authors
Holly E. Richter, Bruce Gungle, Laurel J. Lacher, Dale S. Turner, Brooke M. Bushman