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: 1825
Planned updates and refinements to the Central Valley hydrologic model with an emphasis on improving the simulation of land subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley Planned updates and refinements to the Central Valley hydrologic model with an emphasis on improving the simulation of land subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley
California's Central Valley has been one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world for more than 50 years. To better understand the groundwater availability in the valley, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed the Central Valley hydrologic model (CVHM). Because of recent water-level declines and renewed subsidence, the CVHM is being updated to better simulate the...
Authors
Claudia C. Faunt, Randall T. Hanson, Peter Martin, Wolfgang Schmid
Distribution of Fecal Indicator Bacteria along the Malibu, California, Coastline Distribution of Fecal Indicator Bacteria along the Malibu, California, Coastline
Each year, over 550 million people visit California's public beaches. To protect beach-goers from exposure to waterborne disease, California state law requires water-quality monitoring for fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), such as enterococci and Escherichia coli (E. coli), at beaches having more than 50,000 yearly visitors. FIB are used to assess the microbiological quality of water...
Authors
John Izbicki
Groundwater quality in the Middle Sacramento Valley, California Groundwater quality in the Middle Sacramento Valley, California
No abstract available.
Authors
George L. V Bennett, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
Status of groundwater quality in the Southern, Middle, and Northern Sacramento Valley study units, 2005-08: California GAMA Priority Basin Project Status of groundwater quality in the Southern, Middle, and Northern Sacramento Valley study units, 2005-08: California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Groundwater quality in the Southern, Middle, and Northern Sacramento Valley study units was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study units are located in California’s Central Valley and include parts of Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Placer, Sacramento, Shasta, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Yolo, and Yuba Counties...
Authors
George L. V Bennett, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
Groundwater quality in the Northern Sacramento Valley, California Groundwater quality in the Northern Sacramento Valley, California
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California's drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State's groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. The...
Authors
George L. V Bennett, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
Groundwater quality in the Southern Sacramento Valley, California Groundwater quality in the Southern Sacramento Valley, California
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California's drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State's groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. The...
Authors
George L. V Bennett, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
Trends in nutrient concentrations, loads, and yields in streams in the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Santa Ana Basins, California, 1975-2004 Trends in nutrient concentrations, loads, and yields in streams in the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Santa Ana Basins, California, 1975-2004
A comprehensive database was assembled for the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Santa Ana Basins in California on nutrient concentrations, flows, and point and nonpoint sources of nutrients for 1975-2004. Most of the data on nutrient concentrations (nitrate, ammonia, total nitrogen, orthophosphate, and total phosphorus) were from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Information System...
Authors
Charles R. Kratzer, Robert Kent, Dina K. Seleh, Donna L. Knifong, Peter D. Dileanis, James L. Orlando
Regional skew for California, and flood frequency for selected sites in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin, based on data through water year 2006 Regional skew for California, and flood frequency for selected sites in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin, based on data through water year 2006
Improved flood-frequency information is important throughout California in general and in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin in particular, because of an extensive network of flood-control levees and the risk of catastrophic flooding. A key first step in updating flood-frequency information is determining regional skew. A Bayesian generalized least squares (GLS) regression method was...
Authors
Charles Parrett, Andrea Veilleux, J.R. Stedinger, N.A. Barth, Donna L. Knifong, J.C. Ferris
The effects of sediment and mercury mobilization in the South Yuba River and Humbug Creek confluence area, Nevada County, California: Concentrations, speciation, and environmental fate – Part 1: Field characterization The effects of sediment and mercury mobilization in the South Yuba River and Humbug Creek confluence area, Nevada County, California: Concentrations, speciation, and environmental fate – Part 1: Field characterization
Millions of pounds of mercury (Hg) were deposited in the river and stream channels of the Sierra Nevada from placer and hard-rock mining operations in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The resulting contaminated sediments are relatively harmless when buried and isolated from the overlying aquatic environment. The entrained Hg in the sediment constitutes a potential risk to human and...
Authors
Jacob A. Fleck, Charles N. Alpers, Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, Roger L. Hothem, Scott Wright, Kevin Ellett, Elizabeth Beaulieu, Jennifer L. Agee, Evangelos Kakouros, Le H. Kieu, Dennis D. Eberl, Alex E. Blum, Jason T. May
The effects of sediment and mercury mobilization in the South Yuba River and Humbug Creek confluence area, Nevada County, California: Concentrations, speciation and environmental fate - Part 2: Laboratory Experiments The effects of sediment and mercury mobilization in the South Yuba River and Humbug Creek confluence area, Nevada County, California: Concentrations, speciation and environmental fate - Part 2: Laboratory Experiments
No abstract available.
Authors
Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, Jennifer L. Agee, Eangelos Kakouros, Le H. Kieu, Jacob A. Fleck, Charles N. Alpers
Comparison of simulations of land-use specific water demand and irrigation water supply by MF-FMP and IWFM Comparison of simulations of land-use specific water demand and irrigation water supply by MF-FMP and IWFM
Two hydrologic models, MODFLOW with the Farm Process (MF-FMP) and the Integrated Water Flow Model (IWFM), are compared with respect to each model’s capabilities of simulating land-use hydrologic processes, surface-water routing, and groundwater flow. Of major concern among the land-use processes was the consumption of water through evaporation and transpiration by plants. The comparison...
Authors
Wolfgang Schmid, Emin Dogural, Randall T. Hanson, Tariq Kadir, Francis Chung
Input, calibration, uncertainty, and limitations of the basin characterization model: appendix three Input, calibration, uncertainty, and limitations of the basin characterization model: appendix three
No abstract available.
Authors
Alan L. Flint, Lorraine E. Flint, Melissa D. Masbruch