Publications
The following list of California Water Science Center publications includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists.
Filter Total Items: 1742
Isotope variations in white-tailed kites from various habitats in California: Possible limitations in assessing prey utilization and population dynamics
White-tailed kite (Elanus leucurus) populations in the 1930s were close to extirpation in the United States. But by the 1940s, an upward trend towards recovery was apparent and continued to their current stable population levels. These dramatic fluctuations in kite numbers may have been related to changes in rodent prey populations due to the conversion of native habitats to agriculture. To addres
Authors
W.M. Iko, C.L. Kester, C.R. Bern, R.C. Stendell, R. O. Rye
Earthquakes-Rattling the Earth's Plumbing System
Hydrogeologic responses to earthquakes have been known for decades, and have occurred both close to, and thousands of miles from earthquake epicenters. Water wells have become turbid, dry or begun flowing, discharge of springs and ground water to streams has increased and new springs have formed, and well and surface-water quality have become degraded as a result of earthquakes. Earthquakes affect
Authors
Michelle Sneed, Devin L. Galloway, William L. Cunningham
Analysis of tests of subsurface injection, storage, and recovery of freshwater in Lancaster, Antelope Valley, California
Ground-water levels in Lancaster, California, declined more than 200 feet during the 20th century, resulting in reduced ground-water supplies and more than 6 feet of land subsidence. Facing continuing population growth, water managers are seeking solutions to these problems. Injection of imported, treated fresh water into the aquifer system when it is most available and least expensive, for later
Authors
Steven P. Phillips, Carl S. Carlson, Loren F. Metzger, James F. Howle, Devin L. Galloway, Michelle Sneed, Marti E. Ikehara, Kenneth W. Hudnut, Nancy E. King
Organic carbon trends, loads, and yields to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, water years 1980 to 2000
Organic carbon, nutrient, and suspended sediment concentration data were analyzed for the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins for the period 1980-2000. The data were retrieved from three sources: the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Information System, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Storage and Retrieval System, and the California Interagency Ecological Program's relational
Authors
Dina K. Saleh, Joseph L. Domagalski, Charles R. Kratzer, Donna L. Knifong
Evaluation of specific ultraviolet absorbance as an indicator of the chemical composition and reactivity of dissolved organic carbon
Specific UV absorbance (SUVA) is defined as the UV absorbance of a water sample at a given wavelength normalized for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration. Our data indicate that SUVA, determined at 254 nm, is strongly correlated with percent aromaticity as determined by 13C NMR for 13 organic matter isolates obtained from a variety of aquatic environments. SUVA, therefore, is shown to be a
Authors
J.L. Weishaar, George R. Aiken, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Miranda S. Fram, Roger Fujii, K. Mopper
Helium isotope studies in the Mojave Desert, California: Implications for groundwater chronology and regional seismicity
We report helium isotope and concentration results for groundwaters from the western Mojave River Basin (MRB), 130 km east of Los Angeles, CA. The basin lies adjacent to the NW-SE trending San Andreas Fault (SAF) system. Samples were collected along two groundwater flowpaths that originate in the San Gabriel Mountains and discharge to the Mojave River located ???32 km to the northeast. Additional
Authors
J.T. Kulongoski, David R. Hilton, J. A. Izbicki
Detection and measurement of land subsidence using interferometric synthetic aperture radar and Global Positioning System, San Bernardino County, Mojave Desert, California
Land subsidence associated with ground-water-level declines has been recognized as a potential problem in parts of the Mojave Desert, California. Ground water has been the primary source of domestic, agricultural, and municipal water supplies in the desert since the early 1900s. Pumping of ground water from the Mojave River and Morongo ground-water basins in the southwestern Mojave Desert resulted
Authors
Michelle Sneed, Marti E. Ikehara, Sylvia V. Stork, Falk Amelung, Devin L. Galloway
Inverse modeling of interbed storage parameters using land subsidence observations, Antelope Valley, California
We use land-subsidence observations from repeatedly surveyed benchmarks and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) in Antelope Valley, California, to estimate spatially varying compaction time constants, ??, and inelastic specific skeletal storage coefficients, Skv*, in a previously calibrated regional groundwater flow and subsidence model. The observed subsidence patterns reflect both t
Authors
J. Hoffmann, D. L. Galloway, H. A. Zebker
Methods for using groundwater model predictions to guide hydrogeologic data collection, with application to the Death Valley regional groundwater flow system
Calibrated models of groundwater systems can provide substantial information for guiding data collection. This work considers using such models to guide hydrogeologic data collection for improving model predictions by identifying model parameters that are most important to the predictions. Identification of these important parameters can help guide collection of field data about parameter values a
Authors
C. R. Tiedeman, M. C. Hill, F. A. D'Agnese, C.C. Faunt
Relations between introduced fish and environmental conditions at large geographic scales
Data collected from 20 major river basins between 1993 and 1995 as part of the US Geological Survey's (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program were analyzed to assess patterns in introduced and native fish species richness and abundance relative to watershed characteristics and stream physicochemistry. Sites (N = 157) were divided into three regions-northeast, southeast, and west-
Authors
M. R. Meador, L. R. Brown, T. Short
Interaction of lateral baroclinic forcing and turbulence in an estuary
Observations of density and velocity in a channel in northern San Francisco Bay show that the onset of vertical density stratification during flood tides is controlled by the balance between the cross-channel baroclinic pressure gradient and vertical mixing due to turbulence. Profiles of velocity, salinity, temperature, and suspended sediment concentration were measured in transects across Suisun
Authors
J.R. Lacy, M.T. Stacey, J.R. Burau, Stephen G. Monismith
Geomorphic and hydrologic assessment of erosion hazards at the Norman municipal landfill, Canadian River floodplain, central Oklahoma
The Norman, Oklahoma, municipal landfill closed in 1985 after 63 years of operation, because it was identified as a point source of hazardous leachate composed of organic and inorganic compounds. The landfill is located on the floodplain of the Canadian River, a sand-bed river characterized by erodible channel boundaries and by large variation in mean monthly discharges. In 1986, floodwaters erode
Authors
Jennifer A. Curtis, John W. Whitney