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
Depletion and capture: revisiting “The source of water derived from wells"
A natural consequence of groundwater withdrawals is the removal of water from subsurface storage, but the overall rates and magnitude of groundwater depletion and capture relative to groundwater withdrawals (extraction or pumpage) have not previously been well characterized. This study assesses the partitioning of long-term cumulative withdrawal volumes into fractions derived from storage depletio
Authors
Leonard F. Konikow, Stanley A. Leake
U.S. Geological Survey quality-assurance plan for continuous water-quality monitoring in Kansas, 2014
A quality-assurance plan for use in conducting continuous water-quality monitoring activities has been developed for the Kansas Water Science Center in accordance with guidelines set forth by the U.S. Geological Survey. This quality-assurance plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the U.S. Geological Survey in Kansas for activities related to the collection, processing, sto
Authors
Trudy J. Bennett, Jennifer L. Graham, Guy M. Foster, Mandy L. Stone, Kyle E. Juracek, Teresa J. Rasmussen, James E. Putnam
Caution on the use of NBS 30 biotite for hydrogen-isotope measurements with on-line high-temperature conversion systems
RATIONALEThe supply of NBS 30 biotite is nearly exhausted. During measurements of NBS 30 and potential replacements, reproducible δ2HVSMOW-SLAP values could not be obtained by three laboratories using high-temperature conversion (HTC) systems. The cause of this issue has been investigated using the silver-tube technique for hydrogen-isotope measurements of water.METHODSThe δ2HVSMOW-SLAP values of
Authors
Haiping Qi, Tyler B. Coplen, Gerard Olack, Torsten W. Vennemann
Hydrogeology, water resources, and water budget of the upper Rio Hondo Basin, Lincoln County, New Mexico, 2010
The upper Rio Hondo Basin occupies a drainage area of 585 square miles in south-central New Mexico and comprises three general hydrogeologic terranes: the higher elevation “Mountain Block,” the “Central Basin” piedmont area, and the lower elevation “Hondo Slope.” As many as 12 hydrostratigraphic units serve as aquifers locally and form a continuous aquifer on the regional scale. Streams and aquife
Authors
Michael J. Darr, Kurt J. McCoy, Gordon W. Rattray, Roger A. Durall
Pesticides in groundwater of the United States: decadal-scale changes, 1993-2011
The national occurrence of 83 pesticide compounds in groundwater of the United States and decadal-scale changes in concentrations for 35 compounds were assessed for the 20-year period from 1993–2011. Samples were collected from 1271 wells in 58 nationally distributed well networks. Networks consisted of shallow (mostly monitoring) wells in agricultural and urban land-use areas and deeper (mostly d
Authors
Patricia L. Toccalino, Robert J. Gilliom, Bruce D. Lindsey, Michael G. Rupert
Groundwater-quality characteristics for the Wyoming Groundwater-Quality Monitoring Network, November 2009 through September 2012
Groundwater samples were collected from 146 shallow (less than or equal to 500 feet deep) wells for the Wyoming Groundwater-Quality Monitoring Network, from November 2009 through September 2012. Groundwater samples were analyzed for physical characteristics, major ions and dissolved solids, trace elements, nutrients and dissolved organic carbon, uranium, stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen, vol
Authors
Gregory K. Boughton
Estimated monthly streamflows for selected locations on the Kabul and Logar Rivers, Aynak copper, cobalt, and chromium area of interest, Afghanistan, 1951-2010
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, used the stochastic monthly water-balance model and existing climate data to estimate monthly streamflows for 1951–2010 for selected streamgaging stations located within the Aynak copper, cobalt, and chromium area of interest in Afghanistan. The model used physically bas
Authors
Kevin C. Vining, Aldo V. Vecchia
Data worth and prediction uncertainty for pesticide transport and fate models in Nebraska and Maryland, United States
BACKGROUND
Complex environmental models are frequently extrapolated to overcome data limitations in space and time, but quantifying data worth to such models is rarely attempted. The authors determined which field observations most informed the parameters of agricultural system models applied to field sites in Nebraska (NE) and Maryland (MD), and identified parameters and observations that most
Authors
Bernard T. Nolan, Robert W. Malone, John E. Doherty, Jack E. Barbash, Liwang Ma, Dale L. Shaner
Watershed Data Management (WDM) database for Salt Creek streamflow simulation, DuPage County, Illinois, water years 2005-11
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with DuPage County Stormwater Management Division, maintains a USGS database of hourly meteorologic and hydrologic data for use in a near real-time streamflow simulation system, which assists in the management and operation of reservoirs and other flood-control structures in the Salt Creek watershed in DuPage County, Illinois. Most of the precipita
Authors
Maitreyee Bera
Groundwater and surface-water interaction and potential for underground water storage in the Buena Vista-Salida Basin, Chaffee County, Colorado, 2011
By 2030, the population of the Arkansas Headwaters Region, which includes all of Chaffee and Lake Counties and parts of Custer, Fremont, and Park Counties, Colorado, is forecast to increase about 73 percent. As the region’s population increases, it is anticipated that groundwater will be used to meet much of the increased demand. In September 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with t
Authors
Kenneth R. Watts, Tamara I. Ivahnenko, Robert W. Stogner, Sr., James F. Bruce
Withdrawal and consumption of water by thermoelectric power plants in the United States, 2010
Estimates of water use at thermoelectric plants were developed by the U.S. Geological Survey based on linked heat and water budgets, and complement reported thermoelectric water withdrawals and consumption. The heat- and water-budget models produced withdrawal and consumption estimates, including thermodynamically plausible ranges of minimum and maximum withdrawal and consumption, for 1,290 water-
Authors
Timothy H. Diehl, Melissa A. Harris
Data compilation for assessing sediment and toxic chemical loads from the Green River to the lower Duwamish Waterway, Washington
Between February and June 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey collected representative samples of whole water, suspended sediment, and (or) bed sediment from a single strategically located site on the Duwamish River, Washington, during seven periods of different flow conditions. Samples were analyzed by Washington-State-accredited laboratories for a large suite of compounds, including polycyclic arom
Authors
Kathleen E. Conn, Robert W. Black