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: 18470
Biogenic iron mineralization at Iron Mountain, CA with implications for detection with the Mars Curiosity rover
(Introduction) Microbe-mineral interactions and biosignature preservation in oxidized sulfidic ore bodies (gossans) are prime candidates for astrobiological study. Such oxidized iron systems have been proposed as analogs for some Martian environments. Recent studies identified microbial fossils preserved as mineral-coated filaments. This study documents microbially-mediated mineral biosignatures i
Authors
Amy J. Williams, Dawn Y. Sumner, Charles N. Alpers, Kate M. Campbell, D. Kirk Nordstrom
Phytoremediation of a petroleum-hydrocarbon contaminated shallow aquifer in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, USA
A former bulk fuel terminal in North Carolina is a groundwater phytoremediation demonstration site where 3,250 hybrid poplars, willows, and pine trees were planted from 2006 to 2008 over approximately 579,000 L of residual gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Since 2011, the groundwater altitude is lower in the area with trees than outside the planted area. Soil-gas analyses showed a 95 percent mass lo
Authors
Elizabeth Guthrie Nichols, Rachel L. Cook, James Landmeyer, Brad Atkinson, Donald R. Malone, George Shaw, Leilani Woods
Quantity and quality of groundwater discharge in a hypersaline lake environment
Geophysical and geochemical surveys were conducted to understand groundwater discharge to Great Salt Lake (GSL) and assess the potential significance of groundwater discharge as a source of selenium (Se). Continuous resistivity profiling (CRP) focusing below the sediment/water interface and fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS) surveys were conducted along the south shore of GSL. FO
Authors
R.B. Anderson, D. L. Naftz, F. D. Day-Lewis, R.D. Henderson, D. O. Rosenberry, Bernard J. Stolp, P. Jewell
Geomorphic changes caused by the 2011 flood at selected sites along the lower Missouri River and comparison to historical floods
An analysis of recent and historical U.S. Geological Survey streamgage information was used to assess geomorphic changes caused by the 2011 flood, in comparison to selected historical floods, at three streamgage sites along the lower Missouri River—Sioux City, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; and Kansas City, Missouri. Channel-width change was not evident at the three streamgage sites following the 2011 flo
Authors
Kyle E. Juracek
Methods for estimating the magnitude and frequency of floods for urban and small, rural streams in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, 2011
Reliable estimates of the magnitude and frequency of floods are essential for the design of transportation and water-conveyance structures, flood-insurance studies, and flood-plain management. Such estimates are particularly important in densely populated urban areas. In order to increase the number of streamflow-gaging stations (streamgages) available for analysis, expand the geographical coverag
Authors
Toby D. Feaster, Anthony J. Gotvald, J. Curtis Weaver
Topographic data of selected areas along the Alabama River near Montgomery, Alabama, collected using mobile terrestrial light detection and ranging (T-LiDAR) technology
Topographic data at selected areas within the Alabama River flood plain near Montgomery, Alabama, were collected using a truck-mounted mobile terrestrial light detection and ranging system. These data were collected for inclusion in a flood inundation model developed by the National Weather Service in Birmingham, Alabama. Data are presented as ArcGIS point shapefiles with the extension .shp.
Authors
D.R. Kimbrow
Local extinction and unintentional rewilding of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) on a desert island
Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) were not known to live on Tiburón Island, the largest island in the Gulf of California and Mexico, prior to the surprisingly successful introduction of 20 individuals as a conservation measure in 1975. Today, a stable island population of ~500 sheep supports limited big game hunting and restocking of depleted areas on the Mexican mainland. We discovered fossil dung
Authors
Benjamin T. Wilder, Julio L. Betancourt, Clinton W. Epps, Rachel S. Crowhurst, Jim I. Mead, Exequiel Ezcurra
Evaluation of quality-control data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey for routine water-quality activities at the Idaho National Laboratory and vicinity, southeastern Idaho, 2002-08
Quality-control (QC) samples were collected from 2002 through 2008 by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, to ensure data robustness by documenting the variability and bias of water-quality data collected at surface-water and groundwater sites at and near the Idaho National Laboratory. QC samples consisted of 139 replicates and 22 blanks (approximately 11
Authors
Gordon W. Rattray
Annual exceedance probabilities and trends for peak streamflows and annual runoff volumes for the Central United States during the 2011 floods
During 2011, excess precipitation resulted in widespread flooding in the Central United States with 33 fatalities and approximately $4.2 billion in damages reported in the Red River of the North, Souris, and Mississippi River Basins. At different times from late February 2011 through September 2011, various rivers in these basins had major flooding, with some locations having multiple rounds of fl
Authors
Daniel G. Driscoll, Rodney E. Southard, Todd A. Koenig, David A. Bender, Robert R. Holmes
Does water chemistry affect the dietary uptake and toxicity of silver nanoparticles by the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis?
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are widely used in many applications and likely released into the aquatic environment. There is increasing evidence that Ag is efficiently delivered to aquatic organisms from AgNPs after aqueous and dietary exposures. Accumulation of AgNPs through the diet can damage digestion and adversely affect growth. It is well recognized that aspects of water quality, such as har
Authors
Ana López-Serrano Oliver, Marie-Noële Croteau, Tasha L. Stoiber, Mila Tejamaya, Isabella Römer, Jamie R. Lead, Samuel N. Luoma
HydroClimATe: hydrologic and climatic analysis toolkit
The potential consequences of climate variability and climate change have been identified as major issues for the sustainability and availability of the worldwide water resources. Unlike global climate change, climate variability represents deviations from the long-term state of the climate over periods of a few years to several decades. Currently, rich hydrologic time-series data are available, b
Authors
Jesse E. Dickinson, Randall T. Hanson, Steven K. Predmore
Water resources of Cameron Parish, Louisiana
This fact sheet presents a brief overview of groundwater and surface-water resources in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Information on the availability, use, and quality of water from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is discussed. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the pri
Authors
Lawrence B. Prakken