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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: 18420

Estimates of county-level nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer and manure from 1950 through 2017 in the conterminous United States

This report and associated dataset provide tabular county-level estimates of kilograms of nitrogen and phosphorus generated from two sources: (a) fertilizer from commercial sources and (b) livestock-based manure, for the period 1950 through 2017 for the conterminous United States. Datasets collected during this time span are for intervals of approximately 5 years that coincide with the U.S. Depart
Authors
James A. Falcone

Characterization of groundwater quality and discharge with emphasis on selenium in an irrigated agricultural drainage near Delta, Colorado, 2017–19

Selenium is a water-quality constituent of concern for aquatic ecosystems in the lower Gunnison River Basin. Selenium is derived from bedrock of the Mancos Shale and is mobilized and transported to groundwater and surface water by application of irrigation water. Although it is recognized that groundwater contributes an appreciable amount of selenium to surface water, few studies have addressed in
Authors
M. Alisa Mast

Piloting urban ecosystem accounting for the United States

In this study, we develop urban ecosystem accounts in the U.S., using the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) framework. Most ecosystem accounts focus on regional and national scales, which are appropriate for many ecosystem services. However, ecosystems provide substantial services in cities, improving quality of life and contributing to resili
Authors
Mehdi Heris, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Charles Rhodes, Austin Troy, Ariane Middel, Kristina G. Hopkins, John Matuszak

Comparison of detection limits estimated using single- and multi-concentration spike-based and blank-based procedures

Spike- and blank-based procedures were applied to estimate the detection limits (DLs) for example analytes from inorganic and organic methods for water samples to compare with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Method Detection Limit (MDL) procedures (revisions 1.11 and 2.0). The multi-concentration spike-based procedures ASTM Within-laboratory Critical Level (DQCALC) and EPA's Lowes
Authors
William T. Foreman, Teresa Lynne Williams, Edward Furlong, Dawn Hemmerle, Sarah Stetson, Virendra K. Jha, Mary C Noriega, Jessica A Decess, Carmen Reed-Parker, Mark W. Sandstrom

The optical river bathymetry toolkit

Spatially distributed information on water depth is essential for many applications in river research and management and, under certain circumstances, can be inferred from remotely sensed data. Although fluvial remote sensing has emerged as a rapidly developing subdiscipline of the riverine sciences, more widespread adoption of these techniques has been hindered by a lack of accessible software. T
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter

Groundwater flow conceptualization of the Pahute Mesa–Oasis Valley Groundwater Basin, Nevada—A synthesis of geologic, hydrologic, hydraulic-property, and tritium data

This report provides a groundwater-flow conceptualization that integrates geologic, hydrologic, hydraulic-property, and radionuclide data in the Pahute Mesa–Oasis Valley (PMOV) groundwater basin, southern Nevada. Groundwater flow in the PMOV basin is of interest because 82 underground nuclear tests were detonated, most near or below the water table. A potentiometric map and nine sets of hydrostrat
Authors
Tracie R. Jackson, Joseph M. Fenelon, Randall L. Paylor

Assessment of flood forecast products for a coupled tributary-Coastal model

Compound flooding, resulting from a combination of riverine and coastal processes, is a complex but important hazard to resolve along urbanized shorelines in the vicinity of river mouths. However, inland flooding models rarely consider oceanographic conditions, and vice versa for coastal flood models. Here, we describe the development of an operational, integrated coastal-watershed flooding model
Authors
Robert Cifelli, Lynn E. Johnson, Jungho Kim, Tim Coleman, Greg Pratt, Liv M. Herdman, Rosanne C. Martyr-Koller, Juliette Finzi-Hart, Li H. Erikson, Patrick L. Barnard, Michael Anderson

Exploring the exceptional performance of a deep learning stream temperature model and the value of streamflow data

Stream water temperature (Ts) is a variable of critical importance for aquatic ecosystem health. Ts is strongly affected by groundwater-surface water interactions which can be learned from streamflow records, but previously such information was challenging to effectively absorb with process-based models due to parameter equifinality. Based on the long short-term memory (LSTM) deep learning archite
Authors
Farshid Rahmani, Kathryn Lawson, Wenyu Ouyang, Alison P. Appling, Samantha K. Oliver, Chaopeng Shen

Simulating hydrologic effects of wildfire on a small sub-alpine watershed in New Mexico, U.S.

Streamflow records available before and after wildfire in a small, mixed conifer, sub-alpine monsoonal dominated watershed in New Mexico provided a unique opportunity to calibrate a watershed model (PRMS) for pre- and postfire conditions. The calibrated model was then used to simulate the hydrologic effects of fire. Simulated postfire surface runoff averaged 14.7 times greater than prefire for the
Authors
C. David Moeser, Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin

Changing climate drives future streamflow declines and challenges in meeting water demand across the southwestern United States

Society and the environment in the arid southwestern United States depend on reliable water availability, yet current water use outpaces supply. Water demand is projected to grow in the future and climate change is expected to reduce supply. To adapt, water managers need robust estimates of future regional water supply to support management decisions. To address this need, we estimate future strea
Authors
Olivia L. Miller, Annie L. Putman, Jay R. Alder, Matthew P. Miller, Daniel Jones, Daniel Wise

Field evaluation of a compact, polarizing topo‐bathymetric lidar across a range of river conditions

This paper summarizes field trials to evaluate the performance of a prototype compact topo‐bathymetric lidar sensor for surveying rivers. The sensor uses a novel polarization technique to distinguish between laser returns from the water surface and streambed and its size and weight permit deployment from a small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) or a boat. Field testing was designed to identify the ra
Authors
Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter, Paul Grams

Sediment mobility and river corridor assessment for a 140-kilometer segment of the main-stem Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam, California

This river corridor assessment documents sediment mobility and river response to flood disturbance along a 140-kilometer segment of the main-stem Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam, California. Field and remote sensing methods were used to assess fundamental indicators of active sediment transport and river response to a combination of natural runoff events and reservoir releases during the study p
Authors
Jennifer Curtis, Travis Poitras, Sandra Bond, Kristin Byrd