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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: 18472

Trends in Streamflow Characteristics at Long-Term Gaging Stations, Hawaii

The surface-water resources of Hawaii have significant cultural, aesthetic, ecologic, and economic importance. Proper management of the surface-water resources of the State requires an understanding of the long- and short-term variability in streamflow characteristics that may occur. The U.S. Geological Survey maintains a network of stream-gaging stations in Hawaii, including a number of stations
Authors
Delwyn S. Oki

Sampling strategies for estimating acute and chronic exposures of pesticides in streams

The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 requires that human exposure to pesticides through drinking water be considered when establishing pesticide tolerances in food. Several systematic and seasonally weighted systematic sampling strategies for estimating pesticide concentrations in surface water were evaluated through Monte Carlo simulation, using intensive datasets from four sites in northweste
Authors
Charles G. Crawford

Effectiveness of riparian buffers in controlling ground-water discharge of nitrate to streams in selected hydrogeologic settings of the North Carolina Coastal Plain

Water-quality and hydrologic information were collected along ground-water flow paths from two well-drained and two poorly drained Coastal Plain settings in North Carolina to evaluate the relative effectiveness of riparian buffers in reducing discharge of nitrate to streams. At one well-drained site with a 100 m buffer, little or no effect was detected on surface-water quality by discharging groun
Authors
T. B. Spruill

Relations between land use and organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, and semi-volatile organic compounds in streambed sediment and fish on the island of Oahu, Hawaii

Bed-sediment and/or fish samples were collected from 27 sites around the island of Oahu (representing urban, agricultural, mixed, and forested land use) to determine the occurrence and distribution of hydrophobic organic compounds including organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs). Of the 28 organochlorine compounds analyzed in the fi
Authors
A.M.D. Brasher, R.H. Wolff

Urban contribution of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants to streams during differing flow conditions

During 2001, 76 water samples were collected upstream and downstream of select towns and cities in Iowa during high-, normal- and low-flow conditions to determine the contribution of urban centers to concentrations of pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants (OWCs) in streams under varying flow conditions. The towns ranged in population from approximately 2000 to 200 000. Overall,
Authors
D.W. Kolpin, M. Skopec, M. T. Meyer, E. T. Furlong, S.D. Zaugg

Atmospheric wet deposition of trace elements to a suburban environment, Reston, Virginia, USA

Wet deposition from a suburban area in Reston, Virginia was collected during 1998 and analyzed to assess the anion and trace-element concentrations and depositions. Suburban Reston, approximately 26 km west of Washington, DC, is densely populated and heavily developed. Wet deposition was collected bi-weekly in an automated collector using trace-element clean sampling and analytical techniques. The
Authors
Kathryn M. Conko, Karen C. Rice, Margaret M. Kennedy

Three-dimensional local grid refinement for block-centered finite-difference groundwater models using iteratively coupled shared nodes: A new method of interpolation and analysis of errors

This paper describes work that extends to three dimensions the two-dimensional local-grid refinement method for block-centered finite-difference groundwater models of Mehl and Hill [Development and evaluation of a local grid refinement method for block-centered finite-difference groundwater models using shared nodes. Adv Water Resour 2002;25(5):497-511]. In this approach, the (parent) finite-diffe
Authors
S. Mehl, M. C. Hill

Geochemical characterization of shallow ground water in the Eutaw aquifer, Montgomery, Alabama

Ground water samples were collected from 30 wells located in, or directly down gradient from, recharge areas of the Eutaw aquifer in Montgomery, Alabama. The major ion content of the water evolves from calcium-sodium-chloride- dominated type in the recharge area to calcium-bicarbonate-dominated type in the confined portion of the aquifer. Ground water in the recharge area was undersaturated with r
Authors
J.L. Robinson, C.A. Journey

Evaluation of adsorbed arsenic and potential contribution to shallow groundwater in Tulare Lake bed area, Tulare Basin, California

Elevated As concentrations in shallow groundwater in parts of the Tulare Basin, California, are a concern because of potential migration into deeper aquifers that could serve as a source of future drinking water. The objectives of this study were to evaluate adsorbed As and the potential contribution to groundwater using (i) isotopic dilution, (ii) successive extraction with an electrolyte solutio
Authors
S. Gao, R. Fujii, A.T. Chalmers, K.K. Tanji

Elevational dependence of projected hydrologic changes in the San Francisco Estuary and watershed

California's primary hydrologic system, the San Francisco Estuary and its upstream watershed, is vulnerable to the regional hydrologic consequences of projected global climate change. Previous work has shown that a projected warming would result in a reduction of snowpack storage leading to higher winter and lower spring-summer streamflows and increased spring-summer salinities in the estuary. The
Authors
N. Knowles, D.R. Cayan

The influence of Dworshak Dam on epilithic community metabolism in the Clearwater River, U.S.A.

Epilithic community metabolism was determined on a seasonal basis over two years in nonregulated and regulated reaches of the Clearwater River in northern Idaho, U.S.A. Metabolism was estimated using three, 12-liter recirculating chambers and the dissolved oxygen method, with parameters expressed as g O2 m−2 d−1. In the nonregulated reach above the reservoir, gross community productivity (GCP) ran
Authors
M.D. Munn, M.A. Brusven

Influence of ENSO on flood frequency along the California coast

The influence of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon on flooding in California coastal streams is investigated by analyzing the annual peak floods recorded at 38 gauging stations. The state of ENSO prior to and during flooding is characterized by the multivariate ENSO index (MEI), where MEI < −0.5 is defined as the La Niña phase and MEI > 0.5 as the El Niño phase. Flood magnitude in
Authors
E.D. Andrews, Ronald C. Antweiler, P.J. Neiman, F.M. Ralph
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