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
Geomorphic change on the Missouri River during the flood of 2011
The 2011 flood on the Missouri River was one of the largest floods since the river became regulated by a series of high dams in the mid-20th century (greater than 150,000 cubic feet per second during the peak). The flood persisted through most of the summer, eroding river banks, adding sand to sandbars, and moving the thalweg of the channel in many places. The U.S. Geological Survey monitored and
Authors
Edward R. Schenk, Katherine J. Skalak, Adam J. Benthem, Benjamin J. Dietsch, Brenda K. Woodward, Gregg J. Wiche, Joel M. Galloway, Rochelle A. Nustad, Cliff R. Hupp
Modeled sulfate concentrations in North Dakota streams, 1993-2008, based on spatial basin characteristics
Sulfate concentration data collected from North Dakota streams during recent (1993–2008) years indicates generally higher sulfate concentrations across much of the State compared to concentrations during earlier years. The higher sulfate concentrations have been attributed in other studies to wetter climatic conditions, associated increases in contributing drainage areas, and rising water tables.
Authors
Joel M. Galloway, Aldo V. Vecchia
Monitoring of levees, bridges, pipelines, and other critical infrastructure during the 2011 flooding in the Mississippi River Basin
During the 2011 Mississippi River Basin flood, the U.S. Geological Survey evaluated aspects of critical river infrastructure at the request of and in support of local, State, and Federal Agencies. Geotechnical and hydrographic data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey at numerous locations were able to provide needed information about 2011 flood effects to those managing the critical infrastruc
Authors
Brenda K. Densmore, Bethany L. Burton, Benjamin J. Dietsch, James C. Cannia, Richard J. Huizinga
Scaling up watershed model parameters: flow and load simulations of the Edisto River Basin, South Carolina, 2007-09
As part of an ongoing effort by the U.S. Geological Survey to expand the understanding of relations among hydrologic, geochemical, and ecological processes that affect fish-tissue mercury concentrations within the Edisto River Basin, analyses and simulations of the hydrology of the Edisto River Basin were made using the topography-based hydrological model (TOPMODEL). A primary focus of the investi
Authors
Toby D. Feaster, Stephen T. Benedict, Jimmy M. Clark, Paul M. Bradley, Paul Conrads
Low-flow frequency and flow duration of selected South Carolina streams in the Catawba-Wateree and Santee River Basins through March 2012
Part of the mission of both the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is to protect and preserve South Carolina’s water resources. Doing so requires an ongoing understanding of streamflow characteristics of the rivers and streams in South Carolina. A particular need is information concerning the low-flow characteristics
Authors
Toby D. Feaster, Wladmir B. Guimaraes
Assessing potential effects of highway runoff on receiving-water quality at selected sites in Oregon with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)
In 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oregon Department of Transportation began a cooperative study to demonstrate use of the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) for runoff-quality analyses in Oregon. SELDM can be used to estimate stormflows, constituent concentrations, and loads from the area upstream of a stormflow discharge site, from the site of interest and in the re
Authors
John C. Risley, Gregory E. Granato
Rapid removal of nitrobenzene in a three-phase ozone loaded system with gas-liquid-liquid
This study explores the removal rate of nitrobenzene (NB) using a new gas-liquid-liquid (G-L-L) three-phase ozone loaded system consisting of a gaseous ozone, an aqueous solvent phase, and a fluorinated solvent phase (perfluorodecalin, or FDC). The removal rate of NB was quantified in relation to six factors including 1) initial pH, 2) initial NB dosage, 3) gaseous ozone dosage, 4) free radical sc
Authors
Shiyin Li, Jiangpeng Zhu, Guoxiang Wang, Lixiao Ni, Yong Zhang, Christopher T. Green
Methane oxidation linked to chlorite dismutation
We examined the potential for CH4 oxidation to be coupled with oxygen derived from the dissimilatory reduction of perchlorate, chlorate, or via chlorite (ClO−2) dismutation. Although dissimilatory reduction of ClO−4 and ClO−3 could be inferred from the accumulation of chloride ions either in spent media or in soil slurries prepared from exposed freshwater lake sediment, neither of these oxyanions
Authors
Laurence G. Miller, Shaun M. Baesman, Charlotte I. Carlström, John D. Coates, Ronald S. Oremland
Experimental design and quality assurance: in situ fluorescence instrumentation
Both instrument design and capabilities of fluorescence spectroscopy have greatly advanced over the last several decades. Advancements include solid-state excitation sources, integration of fiber optic technology, highly sensitive multichannel detectors, rapid-scan monochromators, sensitive spectral correction techniques, and improve data manipulation software (Christian et al., 1981, Lochmuller a
Authors
Robyn N. Conmy, Carlos E. Del Castillo, Bryan D. Downing, Robert F. Chen
Statistical analysis of the water-quality monitoring program, Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and optimization of the program for 2013 and beyond
Upper Klamath Lake in south-central Oregon has become increasingly eutrophic over the past century and now experiences seasonal cyanobacteria-dominated and potentially toxic phytoplankton blooms. Growth and decline of these blooms create poor water-quality conditions that can be detrimental to fish, including two resident endangered sucker species. Upper Klamath Lake is the primary water supply to
Authors
Sara L. Caldwell Eldridge, Susan A. Wherry, Tamara M. Wood
Snowfall less sensitive to warming in Karakoram than in Himalayas due to a unique seasonal cycle
The high mountains of Asia, including the Karakoram, Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau, combine to form a region of perplexing hydroclimate changes. Glaciers have exhibited mass stability or even expansion in the Karakoram region1, 2, 3, contrasting with glacial mass loss across the nearby Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau1, 4, a pattern that has been termed the Karakoram anomaly. However, the remote loca
Authors
Sarah B. Kapnick, Thomas L. Delworth, Moetasim Ashfaq, Sergey Malyshev, Paul C.D. Milly
Oxygen isotope systematics in the aragonite-CO2-H2O-NaCl system up to 0.7 mol/kg ionic strength at 25 °C
To investigate the oxygen isotope systematics in the aragonite-CO2-H2O-NaCl system, witherite (BaCO3) was precipitated quasi-instantaneously and quantitatively from Na-Cl-Ba-CO2 solutions of seawater-like ionic strength (I = 0.7 mol/kg) at two pH values (~7.9 and ~10.6) at 25 °C. The oxygen isotope composition of the witherite and the dissolved inorganic carbon speciation in the starting solution
Authors
Sang-Tae Kim, Christa Klein Gebbinck, Alfonso Mucci, Tyler B. Coplen