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
The key role of dry days in changing regional climate and precipitation regimes
Future changes in the number of dry days per year can either reinforce or counteract projected increases in daily precipitation intensity as the climate warms. We analyze climate model projected changes in the number of dry days using 28 coupled global climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, version 5 (CMIP5). We find that the Mediterranean Sea region, parts of Central and S
Authors
Suraj Polade, David W. Pierce, Daniel R. Cayan, Alexander Gershunov, Michael D. Dettinger
Water resources management in the Ganges Basin: a comparison of three strategies for conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water
The most difficult water resources management challenge in the Ganges Basin is the imbalance between water demand and seasonal availability. More than 80 % of the annual flow in the Ganges River occurs during the 4-month monsoon, resulting in widespread flooding. During the rest of the year, irrigation, navigation, and ecosystems suffer because of water scarcity. Storage of monsoonal flow for util
Authors
Mahfuzur R. Khan, Clifford I. Voss, Winston Yu, Holly A. Michael
Watershed-scale modeling of streamflow change in incised montane meadows
Land use practices have caused stream channel incision and water table decline in many montane meadows of the Western United States. Incision changes the magnitude and timing of streamflow in water supply source watersheds, a concern to resource managers and downstream water users. The hydrology of montane meadows under natural and incised conditions was investigated using watershed simulation for
Authors
Hedeff I. Essaid, Barry R. Hill
Statistical evaluation of variables affecting occurrence of hydrocarbons in aquifers used for public supply, California
The variables affecting the occurrence of hydrocarbons in aquifers used for public supply in California were assessed based on statistical evaluation of three large statewide datasets; gasoline oxygenates also were analyzed for comparison with hydrocarbons. Benzene is the most frequently detected (1.7%) compound among 17 hydrocarbons analyzed at generally low concentrations (median detected concen
Authors
Matthew K. Landon, Carmen A. Burton, Tracy A. Davis, Kenneth Belitz, Tyler D. Johnson
Nitrogen deposition effects on diatom communities in lakes from three National Parks in Washington State
The goal of this study was to document if lakes in National Parks in Washington have exceeded critical levels of nitrogen (N) deposition, as observed in other Western States. We measured atmospheric N deposition, lake water quality, and sediment diatoms at our study lakes. Water chemistry showed that our study lakes were ultra-oligotrophic with ammonia and nitrate concentrations often at or below
Authors
Richard W. Sheibley, Mihaela Enache, Peter W. Swarzenski, Patrick W. Moran, James R. Foreman
Assessment of floodplain vulnerability during extreme Mississippi River flood 2011
Regional change in the variability and magnitude of flooding could be a major consequence of future global climate change. Extreme floods have the capacity to rapidly transform landscapes and expose landscape vulnerabilities through highly variable spatial patterns of inundation, erosion, and deposition. We use the historic activation of the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway during the Mississippi a
Authors
Allison E. Goodwell, Zhenduo Zhu, Debsunder Dutta, Jonathan A. Greenberg, Praveen Kumar, Marcelo H. Garcia, Bruce L. Rhoads, Robert R. Holmes, Gary Parker, David P. Berretta, Robert B. Jacobson
Reconstructing suspended sediment mercury contamination of a steep, gravel-bed river using reservoir theory
We use sediment ages and mercury (Hg) concentrations to estimate past and future concentrations in the South River, Virginia, where Hg was released between 1930 and 1950 from a manufacturing process related to nylon production. In a previous study, along a 40 km (25 mi) reach, samples were collected from 26 of 54 fine-grained deposits that formed in the lee of large wood obstructions in the channe
Authors
Katherine Skalak, James Pizzuto
Detection of the emerging amphibian pathogens Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and ranavirus in Russia
In a population of the European common toad Bufo bufo from a rural pond in the region of Lake Glubokoe Regional Reserve in Moscow province, Russia, unexplained mass mortality events involving larvae and metamorphs have been observed over a monitoring period of >20 yr. We tested toads from this and a nearby site for the emerging amphibian pathogens Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and ranavirus
Authors
Andrey N. Reshetnikov, Tara E. Chestnut, Jesse L. Brunner, Kaylene M. Charles, Emily E. Nebergall, Deanna H. Olson
Optical sensors for water quality
Shifts in land use, population, and climate have altered hydrologic systems in the United States in ways that affect water quality and ecosystem function. Water diversions, detention in reservoirs, increased channelization, and changes in rainfall and snowmelt are major causes, but there are also more subtle causes such as changes in soil temperature, atmospheric deposition, and shifting vegetatio
Authors
Brian A. Pellerin, Brian A. Bergamaschi
Monitoring of wild fish health at selected sites in the Great Lakes Basin: methods and preliminary results
During fall 2010 and spring 2011, a total of 119 brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus), 136 white sucker (Catostomus commersoni), 73 smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), and 59 largemouth bass (M. salmoides) were collected from seven Great Lakes Basin Areas of Concern and one Reference Site. Comprehensive fish health assessments were conducted in order to document potential adverse affects from e
Authors
Vicki Blazer, Patricia M. Mazik, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Ryan Braham, Cassidy Hahn, Heather L. Walsh, Adam Sperry
Modifications made to ModelMuse to add support for the Saturated-Unsaturated Transport model (SUTRA)
This report (1) describes modifications to ModelMuse,as described in U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Techniques and Methods (TM) 6–A29 (Winston, 2009), to add support for the Saturated-Unsaturated Transport model (SUTRA) (Voss and Provost, 2002; version of September 22, 2010) and (2) supplements USGS TM 6–A29. Modifications include changes to the main ModelMuse window where the model is designed, ad
Authors
Richard B. Winston
Mean annual, seasonal, and monthly precipitation and runoff in Arkansas, 1951-2011
This report describes long-term annual, seasonal, and monthly means for precipitation and runoff in Arkansas for the period from 1951 through 2011. Precipitation means were estimated using data from the Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model database; while total runoff, groundwater runoff, and surface runoff means were estimated using data from 123 active and inactive U.S. Ge
Authors
Aaron L. Pugh, Drew A. Westerman