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
Geohydrologic and water-quality characterization of a fractured-bedrock test hole in an area of Marcellus Shale gas development, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania
The stratigraphy, water-bearing zones, and quality of groundwater were characterized in a 1,400-ft-deep test hole drilled during 2013 in fractured bedrock in Sullivan County, Pa., by collection and analysis of measurements made during drilling, geophysical logs, and depth-specific hydraulic tests and water samples. The multidisciplinary characterization of the test hole was a cooperative effort be
Authors
Dennis W. Risser, John H. Williams, Aaron D. Bierly
Estimates of water use associated with continuous oil and gas development in the Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico, 2010–19, with comparisons to the Williston Basin, North Dakota and Montana
The Permian Basin, in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico is one of the largest conventional oil and gas reservoirs in the United States and is becoming one of the world’s largest continuous oil and gas (COG) reservoirs. Advances in technology have enabled oil and gas to be extracted from reservoirs that historically were developed using conventional, or vertical, well drilling techniques. Conv
Authors
Natalie A. Houston, Grady P. Ball, Amy E. Galanter, Joshua F. Valder, Ryan R. McShane, Joanna N. Thamke, Jeremy S. McDowell
Geologic and hydrogeologic characteristics of the White River Formation, Lance Formation, and Fox Hills Sandstone, northern greater Denver Basin, southeastern Laramie County, Wyoming
In cooperation with the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office, the U.S. Geological Survey studied the geologic and hydrogeologic characteristics of Cenozoic and Upper Cretaceous strata at a location in southeastern Laramie County within the Wyoming part of the Cheyenne Basin, the northern subbasin of the greater Denver Basin. The study aimed to improve understanding of the aquifers/aquifer systems in th
Authors
Timothy T. Bartos, Devin L. Galloway, Laura L. Hallberg, Marieke Dechesne, Sharon F. Diehl, Seth L. Davidson
Experiences in LP-IoT: EnviSense deployment of remotely reprogrammable environmental sensors
The advent of Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) has improved the feasibility of wireless sensor networks for environmental sensing across wide areas. We have built EnviSense, an ultra-low power environmental sensing system, and deployed over a dozen of them across two locations in Northern California for hydrological monitoring applications with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). This paper det
Authors
Reese Grimsley, Mathieu D. Marineau, Robert A. Iannucci
Establishing the foundation for the global observing system for marine life
Maintaining healthy, productive ecosystems in the face of pervasive and accelerating human impacts including climate change requires globally coordinated and sustained observations of marine biodiversity. Global coordination is predicated on an understanding of the scope and capacity of existing monitoring programs, and the extent to which they use standardized, interoperable practices for data ma
Authors
Erin V. Satterthwaite, Nicholas J. Bax, Patricia Miloslavich, Lavenia Ratnarajah, Gabrielle Canonico, Daniel Dunn, Samantha E. Simmons, Roxanne J. Carini, Karen Evans, Valerie Allain, Ward Appeltans, Sonia Batten, Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi, Anthony T. F. Bernard, R. Sky Bristol, Abigail Benson, Pier Luigi Buttigieg, Leopoldo Cavaleri Gerhardinger, Sanae Chiba, Tammy E. Davies, J. Emmett Duffy, Alfredo Giron-Nava, Astrid J. Hsu, Alexandra C. Kraberg, Raphael M. Kudela, Dan Lear, Enrique Montes, Frank Muller-Karger, Todd D. O'Brien, David Obura, Pieter Provoost, Sara Pruckner, Lisa-Maria Rebelo, Elizabeth R. Selig, Olav Sigurd Kjesbu, Craig Starger, Rick D. Stuart-Smith, Marjo Vierros, John S. Waller, Lauren V. Weatherdon, Tristan Wellman, Anna Zivian
Lagged wetland CH4 flux response in a historically wet year
While a stimulating effect of plant primary productivity on soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions has been well documented, links between gross primary productivity (GPP) and wetland methane (CH4) emissions are less well investigated. Determination of the influence of primary productivity on wetland CH4 emissions (FCH4) is complicated by confounding influences of water table level and temperature on
Authors
Jessica Turner, Ankur R. Desai, Jonathan Thom, Kimberly Wickland
How will baseflow respond to climate change in the Upper Colorado River Basin?
Baseflow is critical to sustaining streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Therefore, effective water resources management requires estimates of baseflow response to climatic changes. This study provides the first estimates of projected baseflow changes from historical (1984 – 2012) to thirty-year periods centered around 2030, 2050, and 2080 under warm/wet, median, and hot/dry climatic condi
Authors
Olivia L. Miller, Matthew P. Miller, Patrick Cullen Longley, Jay R. Alder, Lindsay A. Bearup, Tom Pruitt, Daniel Jones, Annie L. Putman, Christine Rumsey, Tim S. McKinney
Surface-water/groundwater boundaries affect seasonal PFAS concentrations and PFAA precursor transformations
Elevated concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking-water supplies are a major concern for human health. It is therefore essential to understand factors that affect PFAS concentrations in surface water and groundwater and the transformation of perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA) precursors that degrade into terminal compounds. Surface-water/groundwater exchange can occur along
Authors
Andrea K. Tokranov, Denis R. LeBlanc, Heidi M. Pickard, Bridger J. Ruyle, Larry B. Barber, Robert B. Hull, Elsie M. Sunderland, Chad D. Vecitis
Fatty acid profiles of feeding and fasting bears: Estimating calibration coefficients, the timeframe of diet estimates, and selective mobilization during hibernation
Accurate information on diet composition is central to understanding and conserving carnivore populations. Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) has emerged as a powerful tool for estimating the diets of predators, but ambiguities remain about the timeframe of QFASA estimates and the need to account for species-specific patterns of metabolism. We conducted a series of feeding experime
Authors
Gregory W. Thiemann, Karyn D. Rode, Joy A Erlenbach, Suzanne Budge, Charles T. Robbins
Detection and measurement of land-surface deformation, Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, California, 2015–18
Land-surface deformation (subsidence) caused by groundwater withdrawal is identified as an undesirable result in the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency’s Basin Management Plan and California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. In Pajaro Valley, groundwater provides nearly 90 percent of the total water supply. To aid the development of sustainable groundwater management criteria, the U.S.
Authors
Justin T. Brandt, Marisa M. Earll, Michelle Sneed, Wesley R. Henson
Activity-based, genome-resolved metagenomics uncovers key populations and pathways involved in subsurface conversions of coal to methane
Microbial metabolisms and interactions that facilitate subsurface conversions of recalcitrant carbon to methane are poorly understood. We deployed an in situ enrichment device in a subsurface coal seam in the Powder River Basin (PRB), USA, and used BONCAT-FACS-Metagenomics to identify translationally active populations involved in methane generation from a variety of coal-derived aromatic hydrocar
Authors
Luke J. McKay, Heidi J. Smith, Elliott Barnhart, Hannah S. Schweitzer, Rex R. Malmstrom, Danielle Goudeau, Matthew W. Fields
Influence of redox gradients on nitrate transport from the landscape to groundwater and streams
Increases in nitrogen applications to the land surface since the 1950s have led to a cascade of negative environmental impacts, including degradation of drinking water supplies, nutrient enrichment of aquatic ecosystems and contributions to global climate change. In this study, groundwater, streambed porewater, and stream sampling were used to establish trends in nitrate concentrations and how red
Authors
Anthony J. Tesoriero, Laurel E. Stratton, Matthew P. Miller