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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: 1723

Coupled effects of vertical mixing and benthic grazing on phytoplankton populations in shallow, turbid estuaries

Coastal ocean waters tend to have very different patterns of phytoplankton biomass variability from the open ocean, and the connections between physical variability and phytoplankton bloom dynamics are less well established for these shallow systems. Predictions of biological responses to physical variability in these environments is inherently difficult because the recurrent seasonal patterns of
Authors
Jeffrey R. Koseff, Jacqueline K. Holen, Stephen G. Monismith, James E. Cloern

Tidal, Residual, Intertidal Mudflat (TRIM) Model and its Applications to San Francisco Bay, California

A numerical model using a semi-implicit finite-difference method for solving the two-dimensional shallow-water equations is presented. The gradient of the water surface elevation in the momentum equations and the velocity divergence in the continuity equation are finite-differenced implicitly, the remaining terms are finite-differenced explicitly. The convective terms are treated using an Eulerian
Authors
R. T. Cheng, V. Casulli, J. W. Gartner

Spring climate and salinity in the San Francisco Bay Estuary

Salinity in the San Francisco Bay Estuary almost always experiences its yearly maximum during late summer, but climate variability produces marked interannual variations. The atmospheric circulation pattern impacts the estuary primarily through variations of runoff from rainfall and snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada and, secondarily, through variations in the near-surface salinity in the coastal oce
Authors
Daniel R. Cayan, David H. Peterson

Distributions of pesticides and organic contaminants between water and suspended sediment, San Francisco Bay, California

Suspended-sediment and water samples were collected from San Francisco Bay in 1991 during low river discharge and after spring rains. All samples were analyzed for organophosphate, carbamate, and organochlorine pesticides; petroleum hydrocarbons; biomarkers; and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. The objectives were to determine the concentrations of these contaminants in water and suspended sedim
Authors
Joseph L. Domagalski, K.M. Kuivila

Boron, molybdenum, and selenium in aquatic food chains from the lower San Joaquin River and its tributaries, California

Boron (B), molybdenum (Mo), and selenium (Se) were measured in water, sediment, particulate organic detritus, and in various biota—filamentous algae, net plankton, macroinvertebrates, and fishes—to determine if concentrations were elevated from exposure to agricultural subsurface (tile) drainage during the spring and fall 1987, in the San Joaquin River, California. Concentrations of B and Se, but
Authors
Michael K. Saiki, Mark R. Jennings, William G. Brumbaugh

Selenium and other elements in freshwater fishes from the irrigated San Joaquin valley, California

Arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), and selenium (Se) were measured in composite whole-body samples of five fishes — bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), and Sacramento blackfish (Orthodon microlepidotus) — from the San Joaquin River system to determine if concentrations were elevated from ex
Authors
Michael K. Saiki, Mark R. Jennings, Thomas W. May

Precipitation estimation in mountainous terrain using multivariate geostatistics. Part II: isohyetal maps

Values of average annual precipitation (AAP) may be important for hydrologic characterization of a potential high-level nuclear-waste repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Reliable measurements of AAP are sparse in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain, and estimates of AAP were needed for an isohyetal mapping over a 2600-square-mile watershed containing Yucca Mountain. Estimates were obtained with
Authors
Joseph A. Hevesi, Alan L. Flint, Jonathan D. Istok

Implications of morphological variation among populations of California roach Lavinia symmetricus (Cyprinidae) for conservation policy

The California roach Lavinia symmetricus is a small cyprinid native to Central California. Populations of roach are presently isolated from one another due to degradation of stream habitats between them. We examined eight populations, each from a tributary system of the San Joaquin River, to determine if morphological differences existed among them. These tributaries are now isolated from one anot
Authors
Larry R. Brown, Peter B. Moyle, William A. Bennett, Brian D. Quelvog

Pesticide residues in ground water of the San Joaquin Valley, California

A regional assessment of non-point-source contamination of pesticide residues in ground water was made of the San Joaquin Valley, an intensively farmed and irrigated structural trough in central California. About 10% of the total pesticide use in the USA is in the San Joaquin Valley. Pesticides detected include atrazine, bromacil, 2.4-DP, diazinon, dibromochloropropane, 1,2-dibromoethane, dicamba,
Authors
Joseph L. Domagalski, N. M. Dubrovsky

Trophic interactions and direct physical effects control phytoplankton biomass and production in an estuary

San Francisco Bay has recently been invaded by the suspension-feeding clam Potamocorbula amurensis. Previous work has shown that phytoplankton biomass in the upper estuary is low (2-3 mg Chl a m-3) during seasonal periods of high river flow and short residence time and it is usually high (peak >30 mg Chl a m-3) during the summer-autumn seasons of low river flow and long residence time. However sin
Authors
A.E. Alpine, J. E. Cloern

Chemical, crystallographic and stable isotopic properties of alunite and jarosite from acid-Hypersaline Australian lakes

Chemical, crystallographic and isotopic analyses were made on samples containing alunite and jarosite from the sediments of four acid, hypersaline lakes in southeastern and southwestern Australia. The alunite and jarosite are K-rich with relatively low Na contents based on chemical analysis and determination of unit cell dimensions by powder X-ray diffraction. Correcting the chemical analyses of f
Authors
Charles N. Alpers, R. O. Rye, D. Kirk Nordstrom, L. D. White, B.-S. King

Use of geochemical biomarkers in bottom sediment to track oil from a spill, San Francisco Bay, California

In April 1988, approximately 1500 m3 of a San Joaquin Valley crude oil were accidentally released from a Shell Oil Co. refinery near Martinez, Californa. The oil flowed into Carquinez Strait and Suisun Bay in northern San Francisco Bay Sediment and oil samples were collected within a week and analysed for geochemical marker compounds in order to track the molecular signature of the oil spill in th
Authors
F. D. Hostettler, J. B. Rapp, K. A. Kvenvolden