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
Bathymetric surveys and area/capacity tables of water-supply reservoirs for the city of Cameron, Missouri, July 2013
Years of sediment accumulation and dry conditions in recent years have led to the decline of water levels and capacities for many water-supply reservoirs in Missouri, and have caused renewed interest in modernizing outdated area/capacity tables for these reservoirs. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, surveyed the bathymetry of the four wat
Authors
Richard J. Huizinga
Lake Louise Water (USGS47): A new isotopic reference water for stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope measurements
"RATIONALE: Because of the paucity of isotopic reference waters for daily use, a new secondary isotopic reference material has been prepared from Lake Louise water from Alberta, Canada for international distribution.
MOTHODS: This water was filtered, homogenized, loaded into glass ampoules, sealed with a torch, autoclaved to eliminate biological activity, and measured by dual-inlet isotope-ratio
Authors
Haiping Qi, Jennifer M. Lorenz, Tyler B. Coplen, Lauren V. Tarbox, Bernhard Mayer, Steve Taylor
Evaluating the efficiency of environmental monitoring programs
Statistical uncertainty analyses can be used to improve the efficiency of environmental monitoring, allowing sampling designs to maximize information gained relative to resources required for data collection and analysis. In this paper, we illustrate four methods of data analysis appropriate to four types of environmental monitoring designs. To analyze a long-term record from a single site, we app
Authors
Carrie R. Levine, Ruth D. Yanai, Gregory G. Lampman, Douglas A. Burns, Charles T. Driscoll, Gregory B. Lawrence, Jason Lynch, Nina Schoch
Lithologic influences on groundwater recharge through incised glacial till from profile to regional scales: Evidence from glaciated Eastern Nebraska
Variability in sediment hydraulic properties associated with landscape depositional and erosional features can influence groundwater recharge processes by affecting soil-water storage and transmission. This study considers recharge to aquifers underlying river-incised glaciated terrain where the distribution of clay-rich till is largely intact in upland locations but has been removed by alluvial e
Authors
John B. Gates, Gregory V. Steele, Paolo Nasta, Jozsef Szilagyi
Phytoplankton growth balanced by clam and zooplankton grazing and net transport into the low-salinity zone of the San Francisco Estuary
We estimated the influence of planktonic and benthic grazing on phytoplankton in the strongly tidal, river-dominated northern San Francisco Estuary using data from an intensive study of the low salinity foodweb in 2006–2008 supplemented with long-term monitoring data. A drop in chlorophyll concentration in 1987 had previously been linked to grazing by the introduced clam Potamocorbula amurensis, b
Authors
Wim J. Kimmerer, Janet K. Thompson
Pesticides and nitrate in groundwater underlying citrus croplands, Lake Wales Ridge, central Florida, 1999-2005.
This report summarizes pesticide and nitrate (as nitrogen) results from quarterly sampling of 31 surficial-aquifer wells in the Lake Wales Ridge Monitoring Network during April 1999 through January 2005. The wells, located adjacent to citrus orchards and used for monitoring only, were generally screened (sampled) within 5 to 40 feet of the water table. Of the 44 citrus pesticides and pesticide deg
Authors
Anne F. Choquette
Tritium plume dynamics in the shallow unsaturated zone in an arid environment
The spatiotemporal variability of a tritium plume in the shallow unsaturated zone and the mechanisms controlling its transport were evaluated during a 10-yr study. Plume movement was minimal and its mass declined by 68%. Upward-directed diffusive-vapor tritium fluxes and radioactive decay accounted for most of the observed plume-mass declines.Effective isolation of tritium (3H) and other contamina
Authors
S.R. Maples, Brian J. Andraski, David A. Stonestrom, C.A. Cooper, G. Pohll, R. L. Michel
Parameter estimation for the 4-parameter Asymmetric Exponential Power distribution by the method of L-moments using R
The implementation characteristics of two method of L-moments (MLM) algorithms for parameter estimation of the 4-parameter Asymmetric Exponential Power (AEP4) distribution are studied using the R environment for statistical computing. The objective is to validate the algorithms for general application of the AEP4 using R. An algorithm was introduced in the original study of the L-moments for the A
Authors
William H. Asquith
Dendrochemical patterns of calcium, zinc, and potassium related to internal factors detected by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF)
Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) provides highly sensitive and precise spatial resolution of cation content in individual annual growth rings in trees. The sensitivity and precision have prompted successful applications to forensic dendrochemistry and the timing of environmental releases of contaminants. These applications have highlighted the need to distinguish dendrochemical effects
Authors
Kevin T. Smith, Jean Christophe Balouet, Walter C. Shortle, Michel Chalot, François Beaujard, Håkan Grudd, Don A. Vroblesky, Joel G. Burkem
Streamflow, water quality, and constituent loads and yields, Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, water year 2012
Streamflow and concentrations of sodium and chloride estimated from records of specific conductance were used to calculate loads of sodium and chloride during water year (WY) 2012 (October 1, 2011, through September 30, 2012), for tributaries to the Scituate Reservoir, Rhode Island. Streamflow and water-quality data used in the study were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) or the Provi
Authors
Kirk P. Smith
Physiographic and land cover attributes of the Puget Lowland and the active streamflow gaging network, Puget Sound Basin
Geospatial information for the active streamflow gaging network in the Puget Sound Basin was compiled to support regional monitoring of stormwater effects to small streams. The compilation includes drainage area boundaries and physiographic and land use attributes that affect hydrologic processes. Three types of boundaries were used to tabulate attributes: Puget Sound Watershed Characterization an
Authors
Christopher Konrad, Maria Sevier
In-situ sediment oxygen demand rates in Hammonton Creek, Hammonton, New Jersey, and Crosswicks Creek, near New Egypt, New Jersey, August-October 2009
Sediment oxygen demand rates were measured in Hammonton Creek, Hammonton, New Jersey, and Crosswicks Creek, near New Egypt, New Jersey, during August through October 2009. These rates were measured as part of an ongoing water-quality monitoring program being conducted in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Oxygen depletion rates were measured using in-situ test
Authors
Timothy P. Wilson