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
Using macroinvertebrates to identify biota-land cover optima at multiple scales in the Pacific Northwest, USA
Macroinvertebrate assemblages and environmental variables were evaluated at 45 stream sites throughout the Puget Sound Basin, Washington, USA. Environmental variables were measured at 3 spatial scales: reach, local, and whole watershed. Macroinvertebrate distributions were related to environmental variables using canonical correspondence analysis to determine which variables and spatial scales bes
Authors
R. W. Black, M.D. Munn, R.W. Plotnikoff
Aquifer vulnerability to pesticide pollution: Combining soil, land-use and aquifer properties with molecular descriptors
This study uses an extensive survey of herbicides in groundwater across the midwest United States to predict occurrences of a range of compounds across the region from a combination of their molecular properties and the properties of the catchment of a borehole. The study covers 100 boreholes and eight pesticides. For each of the boreholes its catchment the soil, land-use and aquifer properties we
Authors
F. Worrall, D.W. Kolpin
Chemical constituents in the Peedee and Castle Hayne aquifers: Porters Neck area, New Hanover County, North Carolina
Concerns about overuse and potential contamination of major aquifers in the southeastern part of North Carolina resulted in the initiation of a subsurface water quality study in February 2001. The focus of this study was to examine variations in nutrients (NO3-, TRP, SO42- Cl-, NH4+) and total dissolved Fe in the Cretaceous Peedee and Tertiary Castle Hayne Limestone aquifers of northeastern New Ha
Authors
T.L. Roberts, W.B. Harris
Use of qualitative and quantitative information in neural networks for assessing agricultural chemical contamination of domestic wells
A neural network analysis of agrichemical occurrence in groundwater was conducted using data from a pilot study of 192 small-diameter drilled and driven wells and 115 dug and bored wells in Illinois, a regional reconnaissance network of 303 wells across 12 Midwestern states, and a study of 687 domestic wells across Iowa. Potential factors contributing to well contamination (e.g., depth to aquifer
Authors
A. Mishra, C. Ray, D.W. Kolpin
Delineation and evaluation of hydrologic-landscape regions in the United States using geographic information system tools and multivariate statistical analyses.
Hydrologic-landscape regions in the United States were delineated by using geographic information system (GIS) tools combined with principal components and cluster analyses. The GIS and statistical analyses were applied to land-surface form, geologic texture (permeability of the soil and bedrock), and climate variables that describe the physical and climatic setting of 43,931 small (approximately
Authors
David M. Wolock, Thomas C. Winter, Gerard McMahon
Do adult Little Egrets respond to disturbance at their nest by increased breeding dispersal?
When studying breeding dispersal with marked individuals, manipulation-induced disturbance should not affect movement patterns. As part of a study on the Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), we tested whether the capture of breeding adults at their nest and handling (i.e., disturbance) increased their probability to move to a new colony in the subsequent breeding season (i.e., breeding dispersal). The
Authors
P.-Y. Henry, R.E. Bennetts, Y. Kayser, H. Hafner
A project summary: Water and energy budget assessment for a non-tidal wetland in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta
The methods used to obtain universal cover coefficient (Kc) values for a non-tidal restored wetland in the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta, US, during the summer of the year 2002 and to investigate possible differences during changing wind patterns are described. A micrometeorological tower over the wetland was established to quantify actual evapotranspiration (ETa) rates and surface energy flu
Authors
Frank E. Anderson, R.L. Snyder, U.K.T. Paw, Judith Z. Drexler
Comparison of seven protocols to identify fecal contamination sources using Escherichia coli
Microbial source tracking (MST) uses various approaches to classify fecal-indicator microorganisms to source hosts. Reproducibility, accuracy, and robustness of seven phenotypic and genotypic MST protocols were evaluated by use of Escherichia coli from an eight-host library of known-source isolates and a separate, blinded challenge library. In reproducibility tests, measuring each protocol's abili
Authors
D. M. Stoeckel, M.V. Mathes, K.E. Hyer, C. Hagedorn, H. Kator, J. Lukasik, T. L. O'Brien, T.W. Fenger, M. Samadpour, K.M. Strickler, B.A. Wiggins
Mass-dependent fractionation of selenium and chromium isotopes in low-temperature environments
No abstract available.
Authors
T.M. Johnson, T.D. Bullen
A method for evaluating the importance of system state observations to model predictions, with application to the Death Valley regional groundwater flow system
We develop a new observation‐prediction (OPR) statistic for evaluating the importance of system state observations to model predictions. The OPR statistic measures the change in prediction uncertainty produced when an observation is added to or removed from an existing monitoring network, and it can be used to guide refinement and enhancement of the network. Prediction uncertainty is approximated
Authors
Claire R. Tiedeman, D. Matthew Ely, Mary C. Hill, Grady M. O'Brien
Genotoxicity in native fish associated with agricultural runoff events
The primary objective of the present study was to test whether agricultural chemical runoff was associated with in-stream genotoxicity in native fish. Using Sacramento sucker (Catostomus occidentalis), we combined field-caging experiments in an agriculturally dominated watershed with controlled laboratory exposures to field-collected water samples, and we coupled genotoxicity biomarker measurement
Authors
Andrew Whitehead, Kathryn Kuivila, James L. Orlando, S. Kotelevtsev, Susan L. Anderson
Digital data to support development of a pesticide management plan for the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, Sioux County, North Dakota, and Corson County, South Dakota
As part of a program to support development of pesticide management plans for Indian Reservations, the U.S. Geological Survey has been working in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to make selected information available to the Tribes or in a format easier for the Tribes to use.As a result of this program, four digital data sets related to the geology or hydrology of the Stan
Authors
Bryan D. Schaap