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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: 18422

Strength and memory of precipitation's control over streamflow across the conterminous United States

How precipitation (P) is translated into streamflow (Q) and over what timescales (i.e., “memory”) is difficult to predict without calibration of site-specific models or using geochemical approaches, posing barriers to prediction in ungauged basins or advancement of general theories. Here, we used a data-driven approach to identify regional patterns and exogenous controls on P–Q interactions. We ap
Authors
Edom Moges, Benjamin L. Ruddell, Liang Zhang, Jessica M. Driscoll, Laurel Larsen

Identification of fresh submarine groundwater off the coast of San Diego, USA, using electromagnetic methods

Climate change has a pronounced effect on water resources in many semiarid climates, causing populated areas such as San Diego County (USA), to become more vulnerable to water shortages in the coming decades. To prepare for decreased water supply, San Diego County is adopting policies to decrease water use and to develop additional local sources of water. One new local source of freshwater is prod
Authors
Roslynn B. King, Wesley R. Danskin, Steven Constable, Jillian M. Maloney

Natural and anthropogenic influences on benthic cyanobacteria in streams of the northeastern United States

Benthic cyanobacteria are widespread in streams and rivers and have the potential to release toxins. In large numbers, these microorganisms and their toxins present a risk to human health. Cyanobacterial abundance in stream biofilms is typically related to single or a limited set of environmental factors, mainly light availability, water temperature, and nutrient concentrations. However, these fac
Authors
Nicholas O. Schulte, Daren M. Carlisle, Sarah Spaulding

Floods of June 21–July 1, 2018, in the Floyd River and Little Sioux River Basins, northwestern Iowa

The Floyd River and Little Sioux River Basins in northwestern Iowa flooded on June 21–July 1, 2018, after sustained rainfall on June 14–27, 2018. Within the Floyd River Basin, rainfall totals from June 14 to 21 preceding flooding were 3.01 inches (in.) at Le Mars, 4.50 in. at Orange City, and 7.44 in. at Sheldon. Within the Little Sioux River Basin, rainfall amounts for the 2-week period from June
Authors
Padraic S. O'Shea, Jordan L. Wilson, Jared C. Vegrzyn, Kimberlee K. Barnes

Selecting the optimal fine-scale historical climate data for assessing current and future hydrological conditions

High-resolution historical climate grids are readily available and frequently used as inputs for a wide range of regional management and risk assessments, including water supply, ecological processes, and as baseline for climate change impact studies that compare them to future projected conditions. Because historical gridded climates are produced using various methods, their portrayal of landscap
Authors
Michelle A. Stern, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, Ryan M Boynton, Joseph A E Stewart, Jessica W Wright, James H. Thorne

Simple relationships between residence time and annual nutrient retention, export, and loading for estuaries

Simple mathematical models are derived from mass balances for water and transported substance to provide insight into the relationships between import, export, transport, and internal removal for nonconservative substances in an estuary. Extending previous work, our models explicitly include water and substance inputs from the ocean and are expressed in terms of timescales (i.e., mean residence ti
Authors
Jian Shen, Jiabi Du, Lisa Lucas

Isotopic discrimination of natural and anthropogenic perchlorate sources in groundwater in a semi-arid region of northeastern Oregon (USA)

Perchlorate (ClO4−) has synthetic and natural sources. Synthetic ClO4− is released to the environment from its use as an oxidant in military and aerospace applications, and from its presence in a variety of common commercial products, such as safety flares, chlorate herbicides, and fireworks. Natural sources of ClO4− in the environment include imported nitrate fertilizers derived from salt deposit
Authors
Paul B. Hatzinger, John K. Böhlke, W.A. Jackson, Baohua Gu, Stanley J. Mroczkowski, Neil C. Sturchio

Lessons learned from 20 y of monitoring suburban development with distributed stormwater management in Clarksburg, Maryland, USA

Urban development is a well-known stressor for stream ecosystems, presenting a challenge to managers tasked with mitigating its effects. For the past 20 y, streamflow, water quality, geomorphology, and benthic communities were monitored in 5 watersheds in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. This study presents a synthesis of multiple studies of monitoring efforts in the study area and new analysis o
Authors
Kristina G. Hopkins, Sean Woznicki, Brianna Williams, Charles C. Stillwell, Eric Naibert, Marina Metes, Daniel Jones, Dianna M. Hogan, Natalie Celeste Hall, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Aditi S. Bhaskar

December 23, 2021, Red Hill synoptic groundwater-level survey, Hālawa area, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i

On December 23, 2021, groundwater levels were measured in selected wells in the Hālawa area, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, constituting a synoptic groundwater-level survey (shortened herein to “synoptic survey”) of the area. Groundwater levels were measured mainly from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (times listed in Hawai‘i standard time) and provide a snapshot of groundwater levels during the survey period. Following
Authors
Rylen K. Nakama, Jackson N. Mitchell, Delwyn S. Oki

Pervasive, preferential flow through mega-thick unsaturated zones in the Southern Great Basin

Recharge from preferential flow through mega-thick (100–1,000 m) unsaturated zones is a pervasive phenomenon, as demonstrated with a case study of volcanic highland recharge areas in the Great Basin province in southern Nevada, USA. Statistically significant rising water-level trends occur for most study-area wells and resulted from a relatively wet period (1969–2005) in south-central Nevada. Wet
Authors
Tracie R. Jackson, Joseph M. Fenelon, Seth Reilly Gainey

Linear regression model documentation for computing water-quality constituent concentrations using continuous real-time water-quality data for the Republican River, Clay Center, Kansas, July 2018 through March 2021

The Republican River is the primary inflow to Milford Lake and drains areas of Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. Milford Lake has been listed as impaired and designated hypereutrophic by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment because of excessive nutrient loading. Milford Lake had confirmed harmful algal blooms every summer from 2011 through 2017 and in 2020 and 2021.In the lower Republican
Authors
Brianna M. Leiker

Site- and individual-level contaminations affect infection prevalence of an emerging infectious disease of amphibians

Emerging infectious disease outbreaks are one of multiple stressors responsible for amphibian declines globally. In the northeastern United States, ranaviral diseases are prevalent in amphibians and other ectothermic species, but there is still uncertainty as to whether their presence is leading to population level effects. Further, there is also uncertainty surrounding the potential interactions
Authors
Kelly L. Smalling, Brittany A. Mosher, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Keith Loftin, Adam Boehlke, Michelle Hladik, Carly R. Muletz-Wolz, Nandadevi Córtes-Rodríguez, Robin Femmer, Evan H. Campbell Grant