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Heather L Welch

Heather Welch is a Bureau Approving Official in the Office of Science Quality and Integrity.

Education and Certifications

  • 1999, Texas A&M University, M.S., Department of Geosciences – Environmental Geochemistry

  • 1997, Millsaps College, B.S. Geology

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 13

Effects of hydrology, watershed size, and agricultural practices on sediment yields in two river basins in Iowa and Mississippi

The specific sediment yield (SSY) from watersheds is the result of the balance between natural, scale-dependent erosion and deposition processes, but can be greatly altered by human activities. In general, the SSY decreases along the course of a river as sediments are trapped in alluvial plains and other sinks. However, this relation between SSY and basin area can actually be an increasing one whe
Authors
Gustavo Henrique Merten, Heather L. Welch, M.D. Tomer
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Occurrence of pesticides in groundwater underlying areas of high-density row-crop production in Alabama, 2009-2013

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, sampled a network of 15 wells for up to 167 pesticides and pesticide degradates from 2009 through 2013 in three areas of high-density row-crop agriculture in Alabama. Eighteen herbicides, 2 fungicides, and 9 degradates were detected in water from the sampled wells. The highest concentration of a d
Authors
Heather L. Welch
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

The quality of our Nation's waters: water quality in the Mississippi embayment-Texas coastal uplands aquifer system and Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, south-central United States, 1994-2008

About 8 million people rely on groundwater from the Mississippi embayment—Texas coastal uplands aquifer system for drinking water. The Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer also provides drinking water for domestic use in rural areas but is of primary importance to the region as a source of water for irrigation. Irrigation withdrawals from this aquifer are among the largest in the Nation and p
Authors
James A. Kingsbury, Jeannie R. B. Barlow, Brian G. Katz, Heather L. Welch, Roland W. Tollett, Lynne S. Fahlquist
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Concentrations and transport of suspended sediment, nutrients, and pesticides in the lower Mississippi-Atchafalaya River subbasin during the 2011 Mississippi River flood, April through July

High streamflow associated with the April–July 2011 Mississippi River flood forced the simultaneous opening of the three major flood-control structures in the lower Mississippi-Atchafalaya River subbasin for the first time in history in order to manage the amount of water moving through the system. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected samples for analysis of field properties, suspended-sedi
Authors
Heather L. Welch, Richard H. Coupe, Brent T. Aulenbach
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Streamflow characterization and summary of water-quality data collection during the Mississippi River flood, April through July 2011

From April through July 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey collected surface-water samples from 69 water-quality stations and 3 flood-control structures in 4 major subbasins of the Mississippi River Basin to characterize the water quality during the 2011 Mississippi River flood. Most stations were sampled at least monthly for field parameters suspended sediment, nutrients, and selected pesticides. S
Authors
Heather L. Welch, Kimberlee K. Barnes
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Processes affecting geochemistry and contaminant movement in the middle Claiborne aquifer of the Mississippi embayment aquifer system

Groundwater chemistry and tracer-based age data were used to assess contaminant movement and geochemical processes in the middle Claiborne aquifer (MCA) of the Mississippi embayment aquifer system. Water samples were collected from 30 drinking-water wells (mostly domestic and public supply) and analyzed for nutrients, major ions, pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and transient age tra
Authors
Brian G. Katz, James A. Kingsbury, Heather L. Welch, Roland W. Tollett
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center (CFWSC)

The fate and transport of nitrate in shallow groundwater in northwestern Mississippi, USA

Agricultural contamination of groundwater in northwestern Mississippi, USA, has not been studied extensively, and subsurface fluxes of agricultural chemicals have been presumed minimal. To determine the factors controlling transport of nitrate-N into the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, a study was conducted from 2006 to 2008 to estimate fluxes of water and solutes for a site in the Bogu
Authors
Heather L. Welch, Christopher T. Green, Richard H. Coupe
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Unintended consequences of biofuels production?The effects of large-scale crop conversion on water quality and quantity

In the search for renewable fuel alternatives, biofuels have gained strong political momentum. In the last decade, extensive mandates, policies, and subsidies have been adopted to foster the development of a biofuels industry in the United States. The Biofuels Initiative in the Mississippi Delta resulted in a 47-percent decrease in cotton acreage with a concurrent 288-percent increase in corn acre
Authors
Heather L. Welch, Christopher T. Green, Richard A. Rebich, Jeannie R.B. Barlow, Matthew B. Hicks
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Occurrence of phosphorus in groundwater and surface water of northwestern Mississippi

Previous localized studies of groundwater samples from the Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer have demonstrated that dissolved phosphorus concentrations in the aquifer are much higher than the national background concentration of 0.03 milligram per liter (mg/L) found in 400 shallow wells across the country. Forty-six wells screened in the MRVA aquifer in northwestern Mississippi were
Authors
Heather L. Welch, James A. Kingsbury, Richard H. Coupe
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Quality of Shallow Groundwater and Drinking Water in the Mississippi Embayment-Texas Coastal Uplands Aquifer System and the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer, South-Central United States, 1994-2004

The Mississippi embayment-Texas coastal uplands aquifer system is an important source of drinking water, providing about 724 million gallons per day to about 8.9 million people in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Alabama. The Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer ranks third in the Nation for total withdrawals of which more than 98 percent i
Authors
Heather L. Welch, James A. Kingsbury, Roland W. Tollett, Ronald C. Seanor
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Quality of Water in Selected Wells, Harrison County, Mississippi, 1997-2005

The U.S. Geological Survey collects, on a systematic basis, data needed to determine and evaluate the ground-water resources of Harrison County, Mississippi. Water samples were collected from 1997 to 2005 at selected wells screened in the Citronelle, Graham Ferry, Pascagoula, Hattiesburg, and Catahoula Sandstone aquifers and were analyzed for field properties (temperature, pH, specific conductivit
Authors
David E. Burt, Heather L. Welch

U.S. Geological Survey studies quality of drinking-water supplies in the Mississippi Embayment-Texas Coastal Uplands principal aquifer

No abstract available.
Authors
Carol P. Moss, Heather L. Welch
link
Agriculture - A River Runs Through It - Video

Agriculture - A River Runs Through It

Heather Welch, Claire Rose, and Richard Coupe, U.S. Geological Survey scientists involved in the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Study of Agricultural Chemical Transport (ACT) study, outline agricultural effects on water quality in the Mississippi Delta region. Topics include research results on nutrient modeling using the SPARROW model, environmental effects of biofuel production, and...
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center
link

Agriculture - A River Runs Through It

Heather Welch, Claire Rose, and Richard Coupe, U.S. Geological Survey scientists involved in the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Study of Agricultural Chemical Transport (ACT) study, outline agricultural effects on water quality in the Mississippi Delta region. Topics include research results on nutrient modeling using the SPARROW model, environmental effects of biofuel production, and...
Learn More

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 13

Effects of hydrology, watershed size, and agricultural practices on sediment yields in two river basins in Iowa and Mississippi

The specific sediment yield (SSY) from watersheds is the result of the balance between natural, scale-dependent erosion and deposition processes, but can be greatly altered by human activities. In general, the SSY decreases along the course of a river as sediments are trapped in alluvial plains and other sinks. However, this relation between SSY and basin area can actually be an increasing one whe
Authors
Gustavo Henrique Merten, Heather L. Welch, M.D. Tomer
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Occurrence of pesticides in groundwater underlying areas of high-density row-crop production in Alabama, 2009-2013

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, sampled a network of 15 wells for up to 167 pesticides and pesticide degradates from 2009 through 2013 in three areas of high-density row-crop agriculture in Alabama. Eighteen herbicides, 2 fungicides, and 9 degradates were detected in water from the sampled wells. The highest concentration of a d
Authors
Heather L. Welch
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

The quality of our Nation's waters: water quality in the Mississippi embayment-Texas coastal uplands aquifer system and Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, south-central United States, 1994-2008

About 8 million people rely on groundwater from the Mississippi embayment—Texas coastal uplands aquifer system for drinking water. The Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer also provides drinking water for domestic use in rural areas but is of primary importance to the region as a source of water for irrigation. Irrigation withdrawals from this aquifer are among the largest in the Nation and p
Authors
James A. Kingsbury, Jeannie R. B. Barlow, Brian G. Katz, Heather L. Welch, Roland W. Tollett, Lynne S. Fahlquist
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Concentrations and transport of suspended sediment, nutrients, and pesticides in the lower Mississippi-Atchafalaya River subbasin during the 2011 Mississippi River flood, April through July

High streamflow associated with the April–July 2011 Mississippi River flood forced the simultaneous opening of the three major flood-control structures in the lower Mississippi-Atchafalaya River subbasin for the first time in history in order to manage the amount of water moving through the system. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected samples for analysis of field properties, suspended-sedi
Authors
Heather L. Welch, Richard H. Coupe, Brent T. Aulenbach
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Streamflow characterization and summary of water-quality data collection during the Mississippi River flood, April through July 2011

From April through July 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey collected surface-water samples from 69 water-quality stations and 3 flood-control structures in 4 major subbasins of the Mississippi River Basin to characterize the water quality during the 2011 Mississippi River flood. Most stations were sampled at least monthly for field parameters suspended sediment, nutrients, and selected pesticides. S
Authors
Heather L. Welch, Kimberlee K. Barnes
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Processes affecting geochemistry and contaminant movement in the middle Claiborne aquifer of the Mississippi embayment aquifer system

Groundwater chemistry and tracer-based age data were used to assess contaminant movement and geochemical processes in the middle Claiborne aquifer (MCA) of the Mississippi embayment aquifer system. Water samples were collected from 30 drinking-water wells (mostly domestic and public supply) and analyzed for nutrients, major ions, pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and transient age tra
Authors
Brian G. Katz, James A. Kingsbury, Heather L. Welch, Roland W. Tollett
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center (CFWSC)

The fate and transport of nitrate in shallow groundwater in northwestern Mississippi, USA

Agricultural contamination of groundwater in northwestern Mississippi, USA, has not been studied extensively, and subsurface fluxes of agricultural chemicals have been presumed minimal. To determine the factors controlling transport of nitrate-N into the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, a study was conducted from 2006 to 2008 to estimate fluxes of water and solutes for a site in the Bogu
Authors
Heather L. Welch, Christopher T. Green, Richard H. Coupe
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Unintended consequences of biofuels production?The effects of large-scale crop conversion on water quality and quantity

In the search for renewable fuel alternatives, biofuels have gained strong political momentum. In the last decade, extensive mandates, policies, and subsidies have been adopted to foster the development of a biofuels industry in the United States. The Biofuels Initiative in the Mississippi Delta resulted in a 47-percent decrease in cotton acreage with a concurrent 288-percent increase in corn acre
Authors
Heather L. Welch, Christopher T. Green, Richard A. Rebich, Jeannie R.B. Barlow, Matthew B. Hicks
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Occurrence of phosphorus in groundwater and surface water of northwestern Mississippi

Previous localized studies of groundwater samples from the Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer have demonstrated that dissolved phosphorus concentrations in the aquifer are much higher than the national background concentration of 0.03 milligram per liter (mg/L) found in 400 shallow wells across the country. Forty-six wells screened in the MRVA aquifer in northwestern Mississippi were
Authors
Heather L. Welch, James A. Kingsbury, Richard H. Coupe
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Quality of Shallow Groundwater and Drinking Water in the Mississippi Embayment-Texas Coastal Uplands Aquifer System and the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer, South-Central United States, 1994-2004

The Mississippi embayment-Texas coastal uplands aquifer system is an important source of drinking water, providing about 724 million gallons per day to about 8.9 million people in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Alabama. The Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer ranks third in the Nation for total withdrawals of which more than 98 percent i
Authors
Heather L. Welch, James A. Kingsbury, Roland W. Tollett, Ronald C. Seanor
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Quality of Water in Selected Wells, Harrison County, Mississippi, 1997-2005

The U.S. Geological Survey collects, on a systematic basis, data needed to determine and evaluate the ground-water resources of Harrison County, Mississippi. Water samples were collected from 1997 to 2005 at selected wells screened in the Citronelle, Graham Ferry, Pascagoula, Hattiesburg, and Catahoula Sandstone aquifers and were analyzed for field properties (temperature, pH, specific conductivit
Authors
David E. Burt, Heather L. Welch

U.S. Geological Survey studies quality of drinking-water supplies in the Mississippi Embayment-Texas Coastal Uplands principal aquifer

No abstract available.
Authors
Carol P. Moss, Heather L. Welch
link
Agriculture - A River Runs Through It - Video

Agriculture - A River Runs Through It

Heather Welch, Claire Rose, and Richard Coupe, U.S. Geological Survey scientists involved in the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Study of Agricultural Chemical Transport (ACT) study, outline agricultural effects on water quality in the Mississippi Delta region. Topics include research results on nutrient modeling using the SPARROW model, environmental effects of biofuel production, and...
By
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center
link

Agriculture - A River Runs Through It

Heather Welch, Claire Rose, and Richard Coupe, U.S. Geological Survey scientists involved in the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Study of Agricultural Chemical Transport (ACT) study, outline agricultural effects on water quality in the Mississippi Delta region. Topics include research results on nutrient modeling using the SPARROW model, environmental effects of biofuel production, and...
Learn More
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