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
Effects of wastewater effluent discharge on stream quality in Indian Creek, Johnson County, Kansas
Contaminants from point and other urban sources affect stream quality in Indian Creek, which is one of the most urban drainage basins in Johnson County, Kansas. The Johnson County Douglas L. Smith Middle Basin and Tomahawk Creek Wastewater Treatment Facilities discharge to Indian Creek. Data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Johnson County Wastewater, during June 2004 th
Authors
Jennifer L. Graham, Guy M. Foster
Effects of wastewater effluent discharge and treatment facility upgrades on environmental and biological conditions of Indian Creek, Johnson County, Kansas, June 2004 through June 2013
Indian Creek is one of the most urban drainage basins in Johnson County, Kansas, and environmental and biological conditions of the creek are affected by contaminants from point and other urban sources. The Johnson County Douglas L. Smith Middle Basin (hereafter referred to as the “Middle Basin”) and Tomahawk Creek Wastewater Treatment Facilities (WWTFs) discharge to Indian Creek. In summer 2010,
Authors
Jennifer L. Graham, Mandy L. Stone, Teresa J. Rasmussen, Guy M. Foster, Barry C. Poulton, Chelsea R. Paxson, Theodore D. Harris
Dynamics of the Yellowstone hydrothermal system
The Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field is characterized by extensive seismicity, episodes of uplift and subsidence, and a hydrothermal system that comprises more than 10,000 thermal features, including geysers, fumaroles, mud pots, thermal springs, and hydrothermal explosion craters. The diverse chemical and isotopic compositions of waters and gases derive from mantle, crustal, and meteoric source
Authors
Shaul Hurwitz, Jacob B. Lowenstern
The atmosphere can be a source of certain water soluble volatile organic compounds in urban streams
Surface water and air volatile organic compound (VOC) data from 10 U.S. Geological Survey monitoring sites were used to evaluate the potential for direct transport of VOCs from the atmosphere to urban streams. Analytical results of 87 VOC compounds were screened by evaluating the occurrence and detection levels in both water and air, and equilibrium concentrations in water (Cws) based on the measu
Authors
Scott J. Kenner, David A. Bender, John S. Zogorski, James F. Pankow
Bioaccumulation and toxicity of CuO nanoparticles by a freshwater invertebrate after waterborne and dietborne exposures
The incidental ingestion of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) can be an important route of uptake for aquatic organisms. Yet, knowledge of dietary bioavailability and toxicity of NPs is scarce. Here we used isotopically modified copper oxide (65CuO) NPs to characterize the processes governing their bioaccumulation in a freshwater snail after waterborne and dietborne exposures. Lymnaea stagnalis effic
Authors
Marie Noële Croteau, Superb K. Misra, Samuel N. Luoma, Eugenia Valsami-Jones
An empirical approach to modeling methylmercury concentrations in an Adirondack stream watershed
Inverse empirical models can inform and improve more complex process-based models by quantifying the principal factors that control water quality variation. Here we developed a multiple regression model that explains 81% of the variation in filtered methylmercury (FMeHg) concentrations in Fishing Brook, a fourth-order stream in the Adirondack Mountains, New York, a known “hot spot” of Hg bioaccumu
Authors
Douglas A. Burns, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, David M. Wolock, Paul M. Bradley, Karen Riva-Murray
Geologic and hydrogeologic frameworks of the Biscayne aquifer in central Miami-Dade County, Florida
Evaluations of the lithostratigraphy, lithofacies, paleontology, ichnology, depositional environments, and cyclostratigraphy from 11 test coreholes were linked to geophysical interpretations, and to results of hydraulic slug tests of six test coreholes at the Snapper Creek Well Field (SCWF), to construct geologic and hydrogeologic frameworks for the study area in central Miami-Dade County, Florida
Authors
Michael A. Wacker, Kevin J. Cunningham, John H. Williams
An enhanced model of land water and energy for global hydrologic and earth-system studies
LM3 is a new model of terrestrial water, energy, and carbon, intended for use in global hydrologic analyses and as a component of earth-system and physical-climate models. It is designed to improve upon the performance and to extend the scope of the predecessor Land Dynamics (LaD) and LM3V models by better quantifying the physical controls of climate and biogeochemistry and by relating more direct
Authors
Paul C.D. Milly, Sergey L. Malyshev, Elena Shevliakova, Krista A. Dunne, Kirsten L. Findell, Tom Gleeson, Zhi Liang, Peter Phillips, Ronald J. Stouffer, Sean Swenson
Use of stable isotopes of nitrogen and water to identify sources of nitrogen in three urban creeks of Durham, North Carolina, 2011-12
A preliminary assessment of nitrate sources was conducted in three creeks that feed nutrient impaired Falls and Jordan Lakes in the vicinity of Durham County, North Carolina, from July 2011 to June 2012. Cabin Branch, Ellerbe Creek, and Third Fork Creek were sampled monthly to determine if sources of nitrate in surface water could be identified on the basis of their stable isotopic compositions. L
Authors
Kristen Bukowski McSwain, Megan B. Young, Mary L. Giorgino
Biscayne aquifer drinking water (USGS45): a new isotopic reference material for δ2H and δ18O measurements of water
RATIONALE
As a result of the scarcity of isotopic reference waters for daily use, a new secondary isotopic reference material for international distribution has been prepared from drinking water collected from the Biscayne aquifer in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
METHODS
This isotopic reference water was filtered, homogenized, loaded into glass ampoules, sealed with a torch, autoclaved to elimina
Authors
Jennifer M. Lorenz, Lauren V. Tarbox, Bryan Buck, Haiping Qi, Tyler B. Coplen
A geochemical approach to determine sources and movement of saline groundwater in a coastal aquifer
Geochemical evaluation of the sources and movement of saline groundwater in coastal aquifers can aid in the initial mapping of the subsurface when geological information is unavailable. Chloride concentrations of groundwater in a coastal aquifer near San Diego, California, range from about 57 to 39,400 mg/L. On the basis of relative proportions of major-ions, the chemical composition is classified
Authors
Robert Anders, Gregory O. Mendez, Kiyoto Futa, Wesley R. Danskin
Mississippi River nitrate loads from high frequency sensor measurements and regression-based load estimation
Accurately quantifying nitrate (NO3–) loading from the Mississippi River is important for predicting summer hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and targeting nutrient reduction within the basin. Loads have historically been modeled with regression-based techniques, but recent advances with high frequency NO3– sensors allowed us to evaluate model performance relative to measured loads in the lower Missis
Authors
Brian A. Pellerin, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Robert J. Gilliom, Charles G. Crawford, John Franco Saraceno, C. Paul Frederick, Bryan D. Downing, Jennifer C. Murphy