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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

Ground water occurrence and contributions to streamflow in an alpine catchment, Colorado Front Range

Ground water occurrence, movement, and its contribution to streamflow were investigated in Loch Vale, an alpine catchment in the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Hydrogeomorphologic mapping, seismic refraction measurements, and porosity and permeability estimates indicate that talus slopes are the primary ground water reservoir, with a maximum storage capacity that is equal to, or grea
Authors
D. W. Clow, L. Schrott, R. Webb, K. Campbell, A.O. Torizzo, M. Dornblaser

Changes in the chemistry of lakes and precipitation in high-elevation national parks in the western United States, 1985–1999

High-elevation lakes in the western United States are sensitive to atmospheric deposition of sulfur and nitrogen due to fast hydrologic flushing rates, short growing seasons, an abundance of exposed bedrock, and a lack of well-developed soils. This sensitivity is reflected in the dilute chemistry of the lakes, which was documented in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Western Lake Survey o
Authors
David W. Clow, James O. Sickman, Robert G. Striegl, David P. Krabbenhoft, John G. Elliott, Mark M. Dornblaser, David A. Roth, Donald H. Campbell

Effects of spatial and temporal variability of turbidity on phytoplankton blooms

A central challenge of coastal ecology is sorting out the interacting spatial and temporal components of environmental variability that combine to drive changes in phytoplankton biomass. For 2 decades, we have combined sustained observation and experimentation in South San Francisco Bay (SSFB) with numerical modeling analyses to search for general principles that define phytoplankton population re
Authors
Christine L. May, Jeffrey R. Koseff, Lisa Lucas, James E. Cloern, David H. Schoellhamer

Measuring human-induced land subsidence from space

Satellite Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a revolutionary technique that allows scientists to measure and map changes on the Earth's surface as small as a few millimeters. By bouncing radar signals off the ground surface from the same point in space but at different times, the radar satellite can measure the change in distance between the satellite and ground (range change) as
Authors
Gerald W. Bawden, Michelle Sneed, Sylvia V. Stork, Devin L. Galloway

Desalination of Ground Water: Earth Science Perspectives

No abstract available.
Authors
William M. Alley

Mercury in stream ecosystems -- New studies initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey

Mercury can adversely affect humans and wildlife through consumption of contaminated fish, particularly by sensitive individuals, such as children and women of childbearing age. Mercury is currently the leading cause of impairment in the Nation’s estuaries and lakes and was cited in nearly 80 percent of fish-consumption advisories (2,242 of 2,838) reported by states in 2000. The geographic extent
Authors
Mark E. Brigham, David P. Krabbenhoft, Pixie A. Hamilton

Selenium contamination and remediation at Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area and Ashley Creek, middle Green River basin, Utah

Selenium is an element required in trace amounts for human and animal health, but it can cause health problems for livestock, wildlife, and humans when ingested in higher-than-required concentrations. Incidences of mortality, birth defects, and reproductive failure in waterfowl were discovered at Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge, San Joaquin Valley, California, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv
Authors
Ryan C. Rowland, Doyle W. Stephens, Bruce Waddell, David L. Naftz

Water resources of Monroe County, New York, water years 1997-99, with emphasis on water quality in the Irondequoit Creek basin—Atmospheric deposition, ground water, streamflow, trends in water quality, and chemical loads to Irondequoit Bay

Irondequoit Creek drains 169 square miles in the eastern part of Monroe County. Over time, nutrients transported by Irondequoit Creek to Irondequoit Bay on Lake Ontario have contributed to the eutrophication of the bay. Sewage-treatment-plant effluent, a major source of nutrients to the creek and its tributaries, was eliminated from the basin in 1979 by diversion to a regional wastewater-treatment
Authors
Donald A. Sherwood

The Great Flood of 1993 on the Upper Mississippi River—10 years later

Ten years ago, the upper Mississippi River Basin in the Midwestern United States experienced the costliest flood in the history of the United States. The flood came to be known as “ The Great Flood of 1993.”
Authors
Gary P. Johnson, Robert R. Holmes, Loyd A. Waite

Water quality in the Northern Rockies Intermontane basins, Idaho, Montana, and Washington, 1999-2001

This report contains the major findings of a 1999–2001 assessment of water quality in the Northern Rockies Intermontane Basins. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issu
Authors
Gregory M. Clark, Rodney R. Caldwell, Terry R. Maret, Craig L. Bowers, DeAnn M. Dutton, Michael A. Becksmith

Ground-water conditions and studies in Georgia, 2001

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collects ground-water data and conducts studies to monitor hydrologic conditions, to better define ground-water resources, and address problems related to water supply and water quality. Data collected as part of ground-water studies include geologic, geophysical, hydraulic property, water level, and water quality. A ground-water-level network has been established
Authors
David C. Leeth, John S. Clarke, Steven D. Craigg, Caryl J. Wipperfurth
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