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: 1743
Measuring human-induced land subsidence from space
Satellite Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a revolutionary technique that allows scientists to measure and map changes on the Earth's surface as small as a few millimeters. By bouncing radar signals off the ground surface from the same point in space but at different times, the radar satellite can measure the change in distance between the satellite and ground (range change) as
Authors
Gerald W. Bawden, Michelle Sneed, Sylvia V. Stork, Devin L. Galloway
Pulsey, patchy water quality in the delta: Implications for meaningful monitoring
Valuable water quality and biological datasets have been gathered in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for decades, most notably by the Interagency Ecological Program’s Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP). These extensive data have provided a means of analyzing and detecting long-term trends in water quality and ecosystem function (Jassby and others 2002; Kimmerer and Orsi 1996; Orsi and Mecum 1
Authors
Lisa V. Lucas, Tara Schraga, Cary B. Lopez, Jon R. Burau, Alan D. Jassby
Interactions between onshore bedrock-channel incision and nearshore wave-base erosion forced by eustasy and tectonics
We explore the response of bedrock streams to eustatic and tectonically induced fluctuations in base level. A numerical model coupling onshore fluvial erosion with offshore wave‐base erosion is developed. The results of a series of simulations for simple transgressions with constant rate of sea‐level change (SLR) show that response depends on the relative rates of rock uplift (U) and wave‐base ero
Authors
N.P. Snyder, K.X. Whipple, G.E. Tucker, D.J. Merritts
Persistence of tidally-oriented vertical migration by zooplankton in a temperate estuary
Tidal vertical migration by zooplankton is a common phenomenon in estuaries, usually associated with landward movement of meroplankton or position maintenance of holoplankton. Little is known about the persistence of this behavior, its spatial variability, or its response to changing environmental conditions. We extended a previous study of tidal movements of zooplankton in the low-salinity zone (
Authors
W.J. Kimmerer, Jon R. Burau, W.A. Bennett
Effects of flow on the fish communities of a regulated California river: Implications for managing native fishes
We assessed the importance of flow regime to the success of native and non‐native fish species by analysing winter/spring seining data collected from 1987 to 1997 on the resident fish communities of the lower Tuolumne River, California. The data were analysed using regression models to predict the percentage of non‐native fish at a site. The regression models included various combinations of the v
Authors
Larry R. Brown, Tim Ford
Chemical evolution of the Salton Sea, California: Nutrient and selenium dynamics
The Salton Sea is a 1000-km2 terminal lake located in the desert area of southeastern California. This saline (∼44 000 mg l−1 dissolved solids) lake started as fresh water in 1905–07 by accidental flooding of the Colorado River, and it is maintained by agricultural runoff of irrigation water diverted from the Colorado River. The Salton Sea and surrounding wetlands have recently acquired substantia
Authors
Roy A. Schroeder, William H. Orem, Yousif K. Kharaka
U.S. drinking water challenges in the twenty-first century
The access of almost all 270 million U.S. residents to reliable, safe drinking water distinguishes the United States in the twentieth century from that of the nineteenth century. The United States is a relatively water-abundant country with moderate population growth; nonetheless, current trends are sufficient to strain water resources over time, especially on a regional basis. We have examined th
Authors
Ronnie B. Levin, Paul R. Epstein, Tim E. Ford, Winston Harrington, Erik R. Olson, Eric G. Reichard
Exposure of delta smelt to dissolved pesticides in 2000
Delta smelt abundance in San Francisco Estuary has been declining since 1983. The exposure of delta smelt to toxic pesticides during larval and juvenile life stages may be one possible factor of this decline (Bennett and Moyle 1996; Moyle and others 1996). Although pesticides have been detected in the Delta (MacCoy and others 1995; Kuivila and others 1999), minimal data on pesticide concentrations
Authors
Kathryn Kuivila, G. Edward Moon
Plasticity in vertical migration by native and exotic estuarine fishes in a dynamic low‐salinity zone
We investigated the degree of flexibility in retention strategies of young fishes in the low‐salinity zone (LSZ) of the San Francisco Estuary during years of highly variable river flow. We conducted depth‐stratified sampling over three full tidal cycles in each year from 1994 to 1996. In 1994, exotic striped bass (Morone saxatilis), native longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys), and exotic yellow
Authors
William A. Bennett, Wim J. Kimmerer, Jon R. Burau
Detection and measurement of land subsidence using global positioning system and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar, Coachella Valley, California, 1998-2000
Land subsidence associated with ground-water-level declines has been recognized as a potential problem in Coachella Valley, California. Since the early 1920s, ground water has been a major source of agricultural, municipal, and domestic supply in the valley. Pumping of ground water resulted in water-level declines as large as 15 meters (50 feet) through the late 1940s. In 1949, the importation of
Authors
Michelle Sneed, Sylvia V. Stork, Marti E. Ikehara
Estimating recharge at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA: Comparison of methods
Obtaining values of net infiltration, groundwater travel time, and recharge is necessary at the Yucca Mountain site, Nevada, USA, in order to evaluate the expected performance of a potential repository as a containment system for high-level radioactive waste. However, the geologic complexities of this site, its low precipitation and net infiltration, with numerous mechanisms operating simultaneous
Authors
A. L. Flint, L. E. Flint, E. M. Kwicklis, J. T. Fabryka-Martin, G.S. Bodvarsson
Tidal asymmetry and variability of bed shear stress and sediment bed flux at a site in San Francisco Bay, USA
The relationship between sediment bed flux and bed shear stress during a pair of field experiments in a partially stratified estuary is examined in this paper. Time series of flow velocity, vertical density profiles, and suspended sediment concentration were measured continuously throughout the water column and intensely within 1 meter of the bed. These time series were analyzed to determine bed s
Authors
Matthew L. Brennan, David H. Schoellhamer, Jon R. Burau, Stephen G. Monismith