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
Water quality, sediment characteristics, aquatic habitat, geomorphology, and mussel population status of the Clinch River, Virginia and Tennessee, 2009-2011
Chemical, physical, and biological data were collected during 2009-2011 as part of a study of the Clinch River in Virginia and Tennessee. The data from this study, data-collection methods, and laboratory analytical methods used in the study are documented in this report. The study was conducted to describe the conditions of the Clinch River and to determine if there are measurable differences in c
Authors
Jennifer L. Krstolic, Gregory C. Johnson, Brett J.K. Ostby
Organic wastewater compounds in water and sediment in and near restored wetlands, Great Marsh, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, 2009–11
A cooperative investigation between the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service was completed from 2009 through 2011 to understand the occurrence, distribution, and environmental processes affecting concentrations of organic wastewater compounds in water and sediment in and near Great Marsh at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in Beverly Shores, Indiana. Sampling sites were selecte
Authors
Amanda L. Egler, Martin R. Risch, David A. Alvarez, Paul M. Bradley
Water resources of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana
This fact sheet presents a brief overview of groundwater and surface-water resources in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. Information on the availability, past and current use trends, and water quality 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.usg
Authors
Lawrence B. Prakken, John K. Lovelace
USGS science at work in the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary
The San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta form one of the largest estuaries in the United States. The “Bay-Delta” system provides water to more than 25 million California residents and vast farmlands, as well as key habitat for birds, fish, and other wildlife. To help ensure the health of this crucial estuary, the U.S. Geological Survey, in close cooperation with partner agencies and
Authors
Michelle K. Shouse, Dale A. Cox
Hyporheic zone denitrification: controls on effective reaction depth and contribution to whole-stream mass balance
Stream denitrification is thought to be enhanced by hyporheic transport but there is little direct evidence from the field. To demonstrate at a field site, we injected 15NO3−, Br (conservative tracer), and SF6 (gas exchange tracer) and compared measured whole-stream denitrification with in situ hyporheic denitrification in shallow and deeper flow paths of contrasting geomorphic units. Hyporheic de
Authors
Judson W. Harvey, John Karl Böhlke, Mary A. Voytek, Durelle Scott, Craig R. Tobias
Evaluation of permeability and non-Darcy flow in vuggy macroporous limestone aquifer samples with lattice Boltzmann methods
Lattice Boltzmann flow simulations provide a physics-based means of estimating intrinsic permeability from pore structure and accounting for inertial flow that leads to departures from Darcy's law. Simulations were used to compute intrinsic permeability where standard measurement methods may fail and to provide better understanding of departures from Darcy's law under field conditions. Simulations
Authors
Michael C. Sukop, Haibo Huang, Pedro F. Alvarez, Evan A. Variano, Kevin J. Cunningham
Iodine-129 in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer at and near the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 2010-12
From 1953 to 1988, approximately 0.941 curies of iodine-129 (129I) were contained in wastewater generated at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) with almost all of this wastewater discharged at or near the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC). Most of the wastewater containing 129I was discharged directly into the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer through a deep disposal
Authors
Roy C. Bartholomay
Effect of tidal fluctuations on transient dispersion of simulated contaminant concentrations in coastal aquifers
Variable-density groundwater models require extensive computational resources, particularly for simulations representing short-term hydrologic variability such as tidal fluctuations. Saltwater-intrusion models usually neglect tidal fluctuations and this may introduce errors in simulated concentrations. The effects of tides on simulated concentrations in a coastal aquifer were assessed. Three analy
Authors
Ivana La Licata, Christian D. Langevin, Alyssa M. Dausman, Luca Alberti
Post-fire debris-flow hazard assessment of the area burned by the 2013 Beaver Creek Fire near Hailey, central Idaho
A preliminary hazard assessment was developed for debris-flow hazards in the 465 square-kilometer (115,000 acres) area burned by the 2013 Beaver Creek fire near Hailey in central Idaho. The burn area covers all or part of six watersheds and selected basins draining to the Big Wood River and is at risk of substantial post-fire erosion, such as that caused by debris flows. Empirical models derived f
Authors
Kenneth D. Skinner
Effects of sea-level rise on salt water intrusion near a coastal well field in southeastern Florida
A variable-density groundwater flow and dispersive solute transport model was developed for the shallow coastal aquifer system near a municipal supply well field in southeastern Florida. The model was calibrated for a 105-year period (1900 to 2005). An analysis with the model suggests that well-field withdrawals were the dominant cause of salt water intrusion near the well field, and that historic
Authors
Christian D. Langevin, Michael Zygnerski
The transboundary non-renewable Nubian Aquifer System of Chad, Egypt, Libya and Sudan: Classical groundwater questions and parsimonious hydrogeologic analysis and modeling
Parsimonious groundwater modeling provides insight into hydrogeologic functioning of the Nubian Aquifer System (NAS), the world’s largest non-renewable groundwater system (belonging to Chad, Egypt, Libya, and Sudan). Classical groundwater-resource issues exist (magnitude and lateral extent of drawdown near pumping centers) with joint international management questions regarding transboundary drawd
Authors
Clifford I. Voss, Safaa M. Soliman
Equations for estimating bankfull channel geometry and discharge for streams in Massachusetts
Regression equations were developed for estimating bankfull geometry—width, mean depth, cross-sectional area—and discharge for streams in Massachusetts. The equations provide water-resource and conservation managers with methods for estimating bankfull characteristics at specific stream sites in Massachusetts. This information can be used for the adminstration of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Authors
Gardner C. Bent, Andrew M. Waite