Publications

The mission of the Water Resources Division (WAD) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to provide the hydrologic information and understanding needed for the optimum use and management of the Nation·s water resources for the overall benefit of the people of the United States.

Precipitation in northern Chile is controlled by two great wind belts—the southern westerlies over the southern Atacama and points south (> 24° S) and the tropical easterlies over the northern and central Atacama Desert (16–24° S). At the intersection of these summer and winter rainfall regimes, respectively, is a Mars-like landscape consisting of expansive surfaces devoid of vegetation (i.e. abso

Aim A conspicuous climatic and biogeographical transition occurs at 40-45° N in western North America. This pivot point marks a north–south opposition of wet and dry conditions at interannual and decadal time-scales, as well as the northern and southern limits of many dominant western plant species. Palaeoecologists have yet to focus on past climatic and biotic shifts along this transition, in par

Large concentrations of ammonia and densities of bacteria have been detected in reaches of the Kansas River in northeast Kansas during low streamflow conditions, prompting the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to list these reaches as water-quality limited with respect to ammonia and fecal coliform bacteria. Sources for ammonia and bacteria in the watershed consist of wastewater-t

Water resources data for the 2004 water year for Alabama consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stages and contents of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels in wells. This report includes records on both surface and ground water in the State. Specifically, it contains: (1) discharge records for 131 streamflow-gaging stations, for 19 partial-record or miscellaneous s

Collaborative studies by the City of Austin and the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) have identified coal-tar based sealcoat—the black, shiny emulsion painted or sprayed on asphalt pavement such as parking lots—as a major and previously unrecognized source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination. Several PAHs are suspected human carcinogens and are toxic to aquatic life. Studies in Au

Increased water demand in and around Windom led the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, local water suppliers, and Cottonwood County, to study the hydrology of aquifers in the Des Moines River Valley near Windom. The study area is the watershed of a 30-kilometer (19-mile) reach of the Des Moines River upstream from Windom. Based on stratigraph

Lower than average rainfall during late 1997 and early 1998 in Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, caused a drought and severe drinking-water shortage. Majuro depends on a public rainfall catchment system, which uses an airport runway and storage reservoirs. The storage reservoirs can supply water for about 30 to 50 days without replenishment. In February 1998, after a few months with

No abstract available.

This volume of the annual hydrologic data report of Iowa is one of a series of annual reports that document hydrologic data gathered from the U.S. Geological Survey’s surface- and ground-water data-collection networks in each State, Puerto Rico, and the Trust Territories. These records of streamflow, ground-water levels, and quality of water provide the hydrologic information needed by local, Stat

Data from nine widely distributed climate stations were used to assess the distribution of potential evapotranspiration on the tropical South Pacific island of Tutuila, American Samoa. Seasonal patterns of climate data in this study differed in detail from available long-term data because the monitoring period of each station in this study was only 1 to 5 years, but overall climate conditions duri

Effects of surface-water diversions on habitat availability for native stream fauna (fish, shrimp, and snails) are described for 21 streams in northeast Maui, Hawaii. Five streams (Waikamoi, Honomanu, Wailuanui, Kopiliula, and Hanawi Streams) were chosen as representative streams for intensive study. On each of the five streams, three representative reaches were selected: (1) immediately upstream