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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: 18422

Predicting attenuation of salinized surface- and groundwater-resources from legacy energy development in the Prairie Pothole Region

Oil and gas (energy) development in the Williston Basin, which partly underlies the Prairie Pothole Region in central North America, has helped meet U.S. energy demand for decades. Historical handling and disposal practices of saline wastewater co-produced during energy development resulted in salinization of surface and groundwater at numerous legacy energy sites. Thirty years of monitoring (1988
Authors
Todd M. Preston, Chauncey W. Anderson, Joanna N. Thamke, Blake R. Hossack, Katherine Skalak, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli

Seasonal precipitation influences streamflow vulnerability to the 2015 drought in the western United States

Streamflow was exceptionally low in the spring and summer of 2015 across much of the western United States because of a regional drought that exploited the sensitivity of both snow- and rain-dominant rivers. Streamflow during 2015 was examined at 324 gauges in the region to assess its response to the amount, form, and seasonal timing of precipitation and the viability of using spatially aggregated
Authors
Christopher Konrad

Aquifer storage change and storage properties, 2010–2017, in the Big Chino Subbasin, Yavapai County, Arizona

The Big Chino Subbasin is a groundwater basin that includes the Verde River headwaters in Yavapai County in north-central Arizona. Groundwater in the southern part of the subbasin is found primarily in the Big Chino and Williamson Valleys. The former is a potential municipal water source for growing communities in Yavapai County, particularly groundwater from the Big Chino Water Ranch, about 15 mi
Authors
Jeffrey R. Kennedy, Libby M. Kahler, Amy L. Read

ModelMuse Version 4: A graphical user interface for MODFLOW 6

ModelMuse, a graphical user interface for groundwater-modeling software, was modified to support MODFLOW 6. ModelMuse works with two types of spatial discretization in MODFLOW 6: structured grids (DIS) and discretization by vertices (DISV). Quadtree refinement is used to generate a DISV model from a structured-grid model. The locations and weights for ghost nodes used to improve DISV model accurac
Authors
Richard B. Winston

Seasonal and spatial variation in the location and reactivity of a nitrate-contaminated groundwater discharge zone in a lakebed

Groundwater discharge delivering anthropogenic N from surrounding watersheds can impact lake nutrient budgets. However, upgradient groundwater processes and changing dynamics in N biogeochemistry at the groundwater-lake interface are complex and difficult to resolve. In this study, hydrograph variations in a groundwater flow-through lake altered discharge patterns of a wastewater-derived, groun
Authors
Richard L. Smith, Deborah A. Repert, Deborah Stoliker, Douglas B. Kent, Bongkeun Song, Denis R. LeBlanc, Timothy McCobb, John K. Böhlke, Sung Pil Hyun, Hee Sun Moon

Toxicity of aluminum to Ceriodaphnia dubia in low-hardness waters as affected by natural dissolved organic matter

We conducted a series of 7‐d toxicity tests with Ceriodaphnia dubia in dilutions of low‐hardness natural waters, which contained dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations up to 10 mg/L. Stream waters were mixed with well water to achieve 2 target hardness levels (20 and 35 mg/L) and 4 DOC concentrations. Tests with aluminum (Al)‐spiked waters were conducted in a controlled CO2 atmosphere to ma
Authors
John M. Besser, Danielle M. Cleveland, Chris D. Ivey, Laura Blake

Water resources of Richland Parish, Louisiana

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Richland Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. In 2014, about 41.73 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in Richland Pa
Authors
Vincent E. White

Simulation of water availability in the Southeastern United States for historical and potential future climate and land-cover conditions

A study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCPO LCC) and the Department of the Interior Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, to evaluate the hydrologic response of a daily time step hydrologic model to historical observations and projections of potential climate and land-cover change
Authors
Jacob H. LaFontaine, Rheannon M. Hart, Lauren E. Hay, William H. Farmer, Andy R. Bock, Roland J. Viger, Steven L. Markstrom, R. Steve Regan, Jessica M. Driscoll

Response of water chemistry and young-of-year brook trout to channel and watershed liming in streams showing lagging recovery from acidic deposition

Reductions in sulfur emissions have initiated chemical recovery of surface waters impacted by acidic deposition in the Adirondack region of New York State. However, acidified streams remain common in the region, which limits recovery of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) populations. To investigate liming as a method to accelerate recovery of brook trout, the channels of two acidified streams wer
Authors
Daniel C Josephson, Gregory B. Lawrence, Scott D. George, Jason Siemion, Barry P. Baldigo, Clifford E. Kraft

Summary of climatic, geographic, geologic, and available hydrologic data and identification of data gaps for the Black Bear Creek watershed of the Pawnee Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area, Oklahoma

The Pawnee Nation is compiling a comprehensive water-management plan for the Pawnee Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area in north-central Oklahoma. One of the first steps needed in preparing such a plan is a summary and analysis of available hydrologic data and reports that have been published for the area. In phase I of a three-phase, watershed-based approach to summary and analysis of water resourc
Authors
Matthew S. Varonka

Spatial patterns of meadow sensitivities to interannual climate variability in the Sierra Nevada

Conservation of montane meadows is a high priority for land and water managers given their critical role in buffering the effects of climate variability and their vulnerability to increasing temperatures and evaporative demands. Recent advances in cloud computing have provided new opportunities to examine ecological responses to climate variability over the past few decades, and at large spatial s
Authors
Christine M. Albano, Meredith L. McClure, Shana E. Gross, Wesley Kitlasten, Christopher Soulard, Charles Morton, Justin Huntington

Evaluation of streambed-sediment metals concentrations in the Spring River Basin, Cherokee County Superfund site, Kansas, 2017

To evaluate the magnitude of, and change in, mining-related contamination, streambed-sediment samples were collected from 30 sampling sites in the Spring River Basin in the Cherokee County Superfund site, southeast Kansas, in July and August 2017. The Cherokee County Superfund site is part of the Tri-State Mining District, an area that covers parts of Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma that was histor
Authors
Brian J. Klager, Kyle E. Juracek