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: 18419
Technical note—Performance evaluation of the PhytoFind, an in-place phytoplankton classification tool
In 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey evaluated the performance of the Turner Designs, Inc. PhytoFind, an in-place phytoplankton classification tool. The sensor was tested with sample blanks, monoculture and mixed phytoplankton cultures, and turbidity challenges in a laboratory, and was tested on a 120-mile survey of the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers in Florida, including Lake Okeechobee. Resu
Authors
Brett D. Johnston, Jennifer L. Graham, Guy M. Foster, Bryan D. Downing
Field techniques for the determination of algal pigment fluorescence in environmental waters—Principles and guidelines for instrument and sensor selection, operation, quality assurance, and data reporting
The use of algal fluorometers by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has become increasingly common. The basic principles of algal fluorescence, instrument calibration, interferences, data quantification, data interpretation, and quality control are given in Hambrook Berkman and Canova (2007). Much of the guidance given for instrument maintenance, data storage, and quality assurance in Wagner and ot
Authors
Guy M. Foster, Jennifer L. Graham, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Kurt D. Carpenter, Bryan D. Downing, Brian A. Pellerin, Stewart A. Rounds, John Franco Saraceno
Framework for the development of the Columbia River mainstem fish tissue and water quality monitoring program - Bonneville Dam to Canadian border
The Columbia River provides important cultural, economic, and ecological services to a significant portion of the United States. Anadromous and resident fish species and other wildlife are integrated into the cultural traditions of all Tribes in the Columbia River Basin. Salmon, lamprey, sturgeon, and resident fish are an integral part of Tribal religion, culture, and physical sustenance. Despite
Authors
Timothy D. Counihan, Patrick W. Moran, Ian R. Waite, Sherrie Duncan, Laura Shira
Estimated effects of pumping on groundwater storage and Walker River stream efficiencies in Smith and Mason Valleys, west-central Nevada
The Walker River originates in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and flows nearly 160 miles to its terminus at Walker Lake in west-central Nevada. The river provides a source of irrigation water for tens of thousands of acres of agricultural lands in California and Nevada and is the principal source of inflow to Walker Lake. Extraction of groundwater for agricultural use became prevalent in the late 195
Authors
Gwendolyn E. Davies, Ramon C. Naranjo
Wild bee exposure to pesticides in conservation grasslands increases along an agricultural gradient: A tale of two sample types
Conservation efforts have been implemented in agroecosystems to enhance pollinator diversity by creating grassland habitat, but little is known about the exposure of bees to pesticides while foraging in these grassland fields. Pesticide exposure was assessed in 24 conservation grassland fields along an agricultural gradient at two time points (July and August) using silicone band passive samplers
Authors
Michelle Hladik, Johanna M. Kraus, Cassandra Smith, Mark W. Vandever, Dana W. Kolpin, Carrie E Givens, Kelly L. Smalling
Determining seasonal recharge, storage changes, and specific yield using repeat microgravity and water-level measurements in the Mesilla Basin alluvial aquifer, New Mexico, 2016–2018
Increasing water demand and multi-year drought conditions within the Mesilla/Conejos-Médanos Basin near the New Mexico-Texas- Chihuahua border have resulted in diminished surface-water supplies and increased groundwater withdrawals. To better understand recharge to the shallow aquifer, the spatial and temporal groundwater storage changes, and the variability of specific yield (Sy) in the aquifer,
Authors
Andrew J. Robertson, Jeffrey Kennedy, Libby M. Kahler, Meghan T. Bell, Erek H. Fuchs, Alex Rinehart, Irene Fernald
Pesticide prioritization by potential biological effects in tributaries of the Laurentian Great Lakes
Watersheds of the Great Lakes Basin (USA/Canada) are highly modified and impacted by human activities including pesticide use. Despite labeling restrictions intended to minimize risks to nontarget organisms, concerns remain that environmental exposures to pesticides may be occurring at levels negatively impacting nontarget organisms. We used a combination of organismal-level toxicity estimates (in
Authors
Samantha K. Oliver, Steven R. Corsi, Austin K. Baldwin, Michelle A. Nott, Gerald T. Ankley, Brett R. Blackwell, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Michelle Hladik, Dana W. Kolpin, Luke C. Loken, Laura A. DeCicco, Michael T. Meyer, Keith Loftin
Hydrologic and landscape controls on dissolved organic matter composition across western North American Arctic lakes
Northern high-latitude lakes are hotspots for cycling dissolved organic carbon (DOC) inputs from allochthonous sources to the atmosphere. However, the spatial distribution of lake dissolved organic matter (DOM) is largely unknown across Arctic-boreal regions with respect to the surrounding landscape. We expand on regional studies of northern high-latitude DOM composition by integrating DOC concent
Authors
Martin R. Kurek, Fenix Garcia-Tigreros, Kimberly Wickland, Karen E. Frey, Mark Dornblaser, Robert G. Striegl, Sydney F. Niles, Amy M. McKenna, Pieter J.K Aukes, Ethan D. Kyzivat, Chao Wang, Tamlin M. Pavelsky, Laurence C. Smith, Sherry L. Schiff, David Butman, Robert G.M. Spencer
Mapping the probability of freshwater algal blooms with various spectral indices and sources of training data
Algal blooms are pervasive in many freshwater environments and can pose risks to the health and safety of humans and other organisms. However, monitoring and tracking of potentially harmful blooms often relies on in-person observations by the public. Remote sensing has proven useful in augmenting in situ observations of algal concentration, but many hurdles hinder efficient application by end user
Authors
Tyler Victor King, Stephen Hundt, Konrad Hafen, Victoria G. Stengel, Scott D. Ducar
Bottled water contaminant exposures and potential human effects
Bottled water (BW) consumption in the United States and globally has increased amidst heightened concern about environmental contaminant exposures and health risks in drinking water supplies, despite a paucity of directly comparable, environmentally-relevant contaminant exposure data for BW. This study provides insight into exposures and cumulative risks to human health from inorganic/organic/micr
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly L. Smalling, Michael J. Focazio, Nicola Evans, Suzanne C. Fitzpatrick, Carrie E Givens, Stephanie Gordon, James L. Gray, Emily M. Green, Dale W. Griffin, Michelle Hladik, Leslie K. Kanagy, John T. Lisle, Keith Loftin, R. Blaine McCleskey, Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley, Ana Navas-Acien, David A. Roth, Paul F. South, Christopher P. Weis
BFS—A non-linear, state-space model for baseflow separation and prediction
Streamflow in rivers can be separated into a relatively steady component, or baseflow, that represents reliably available surface water and more dynamic components of runoff that typically represent a large fraction of total streamflow. A spatially aggregated numerical time-series model was developed to separate the baseflow component of a streamflow time-series using a state-space framework in wh
Authors
Christopher P. Konrad
Effects of structure and volcanic stratigraphy on groundwater and surface water flow: Hat Creek basin, California, USA
Hydrogeologic systems in the southern Cascade Range in California (USA) develop in volcanic rocks where morphology, stratigraphy, extensional structures, and attendant basin geometry play a central role in groundwater flow paths, groundwater/surface-water interactions, and spring discharge locations. High-volume springs (greater than 3 m3/s) flow from basin-filling (<800 ka) volcanic rocks in the
Authors
Marina Francesca Marcelli, Erick R. Burns, L. J. Patrick Muffler, Andrew J Meigs, Jennifer A. Curtis, Christian E. Torgersen