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: 1808
The importance of groundwater flow to the formation of modern thrombolitic microbialites The importance of groundwater flow to the formation of modern thrombolitic microbialites
Modern microbialites are often located within groundwater discharge zones, yet the role of groundwater in microbialite accretion has yet to be resolved. To understand relationships between groundwater, microbialites, and associated microbial communities, we quantified and characterized groundwater flow and chemistry in active thrombolitic microbialites in Lake Clifton, Western Australia...
Authors
John G. Warden, Lee Coshell, Michael R. Rosen, Daniel O. Breecker, Katinka X. Ruthrof, Christopher R. Omelon
Salinity yield modeling of the Upper Colorado River Basin using 30-meter resolution soil maps and random forests Salinity yield modeling of the Upper Colorado River Basin using 30-meter resolution soil maps and random forests
Salinity loading in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) costs local economies upwards of $300 million US dollars annually. Salinity source models have generally included coarse spatial data to represent non‐agriculture sources. We developed new predictive soil property and cover maps at 30 m resolution to improve source representation in salinity modeling. Salinity loading erosion risk...
Authors
Travis Nauman, Christopher P. Ely, Matthew Miller, Michael C. Duniway
Groundwater quality of a public supply aquifer in proximity to oil development, Fruitvale Oil Field, Bakersfield, California Groundwater quality of a public supply aquifer in proximity to oil development, Fruitvale Oil Field, Bakersfield, California
Due to concerns over the effects of oil production activities on groundwater quality in California, chemical, isotopic, dissolved gas and age-dating tracers were analyzed in samples collected from public-supply wells and produced-water sites in the Fruitvale oil field (FVOF). A combination of newly collected and historical data was used to determine whether oil formation fluids have...
Authors
Michael Wright, Peter B. McMahon, Matthew K. Landon, Justin T. Kulongoski
Aluminum- and iron-based coagulation for in-situ removal of dissolved organic carbon, disinfection byproducts, mercury and other constituents from agricultural drain water Aluminum- and iron-based coagulation for in-situ removal of dissolved organic carbon, disinfection byproducts, mercury and other constituents from agricultural drain water
Agricultural production on wetland soils can be significant sources of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), disinfection byproduct precursors, mercury and nutrients to downstream water bodies and accelerate land subsidence. Presented as a potential solution for in-situ water quality improvement and land subsidence mitigation, chemically enhanced treatment wetlands (CETWs) were used to...
Authors
Sandra M. Bachand, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Dylan Stern, Yan Ling Liang, William R. Horwath, Philip A. M. Bachand
Groundwater quality in the Sacramento Metropolitan shallow aquifer, California Groundwater quality in the Sacramento Metropolitan shallow aquifer, California
The Sacramento metropolitan (SacMetro) study unit covers approximately 3,250 square kilometers of the Central Valley along the eastern edge of the northern and southern ends of the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys, respectively. Groundwater withdrawals supply a significant portion of the water-resource needs of the region. In the southern portion of the study unit, groundwater accounts...
Authors
George L. V Bennett
Strontium isotopes reveal ephemeral streams used for spawning and rearing by an imperiled potamodromous cyprinid--Clear Lake hitch Lavinia exilicauda chi Strontium isotopes reveal ephemeral streams used for spawning and rearing by an imperiled potamodromous cyprinid--Clear Lake hitch Lavinia exilicauda chi
Identification of habitats responsible for the successful production and recruitment of rare migratory species is a challenge in conservation biology. Here, a tool was developed to assess life stage linkages for the threatened potamodromous cyprinid Clear Lake hitch Lavinia exilicauda chi. Clear Lake hitch undertake migrations from Clear Lake (Lake County, CA, USA) into ephemeral...
Authors
Frederick V. Feyrer, George Whitman, Matthew J. Young, Rachel C. Johnson
A multi-scale soil moisture monitoring strategy for California: Design and validation A multi-scale soil moisture monitoring strategy for California: Design and validation
A multi‐scale soil moisture monitoring strategy for California was designed to inform water resource management. The proposed workflow classifies soil moisture response units (SMRUs) using publicly available datasets that represent soil, vegetation, climate, and hydrology variables, which control soil water storage. The SMRUs were classified, using principal component analysis and...
Authors
Jennifer Curtis, Lorraine E. Flint, Michelle A. Stern
Factors affecting 1,2,3-trichloropropane contamination in groundwater in California Factors affecting 1,2,3-trichloropropane contamination in groundwater in California
1,2,3-Trichloropropane (1,2,3-TCP) is a volatile organic chemical of eminent concern due to its carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reproductive effects, and its frequent occurrence at concentrations of concern worldwide. In California, 1,2,3-TCP was detected in 6.5% of 1237 wells sampled by the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS). About 8% of domestic wells had a detection of 1,2,3-TCP, compared to...
Authors
Karen R. Burow, Walter D. Floyd, Matthew K. Landon
Agricultural chemical concentrations and loads in rivers draining the Central Valley, California: Before, during, and after an extended drought Agricultural chemical concentrations and loads in rivers draining the Central Valley, California: Before, during, and after an extended drought
Drought or near drought conditions persisted in California from 2012 through 2016, followed by a high precipitation year in 2017. Long-term water quality monitoring of two key river stations, the Sacramento River at Freeport and the San Joaquin River near Vernalis, located within the largely agricultural Central Valley, allow for an examination of pesticide concentrations and mass...
Authors
Joseph L. Domagalski
Methane emissions from groundwater pumping in the USA Methane emissions from groundwater pumping in the USA
Atmospheric methane accumulation contributes to climate change, hence quantifying methane emissions is essential to assess and model the impacts. Here we estimate methane emissions from groundwater pumping in the Los Angeles Basin (LAB), north-eastern Pennsylvania, and the Principal aquifers of the USA using the average concentrations of methane in groundwater and annual groundwater...
Authors
Justin T. Kulongoski, Peter B. McMahon
User’s manual for the Draper climate-distribution software suite with data‑evaluation tools User’s manual for the Draper climate-distribution software suite with data‑evaluation tools
Development of a time series of spatially distributed climate data is an important step in the process of developing physically based environmental models requiring distributed inputs of climate data beyond what is available from observations collected at climate stations. To prepare inputs required for model-mapping units across the study area, climate data (temperature and...
Authors
John M. Donovan, Kathryn M. Koczot
Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y
Glacial−interglacial variations in CO2 and methane in polar ice cores have been attributed, in part, to changes in global wetland extent, but the wetland distribution before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka to 18 ka) remains virtually unknown. We present a study of global peatland extent and carbon (C) stocks through the last glacial cycle (130 ka to present) using a newly compiled...
Authors
Claire C. Treat, Thomas Kleinen, Nils Broothaerts, April S. Dalton, Rene Dommain, Thomas A. Douglas, Judith Z. Drexler, Sarah A Finkelstein, Guido Grosse, Geoffrey Hope, Jack Hutchings, Miriam C. Jones, Peter Kuhry, Terri Lacourse, Outi Lahteenoja, Julie Loisel, Bastiaan Notebaert, Richard Payne, Dorothy M. Peteet, A. Britta K. Sannel, Jonathan M. Stelling, Jens Strauss, Graeme T. Swindles, Julie Talbot, Charles Tarnocai, Gert Verstraeten, Christopher J. Williams, Zhengyu Xia, Zicheng Yu, Minna Valiranta, Martina Hattestrand, Helena Alexanderson, Victor Brovkin