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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: 1811

Coastal groundwater dynamics off Santa Barbara, California: combining geochemical tracers, electromagnetic seepmeters, and electrical resistivity Coastal groundwater dynamics off Santa Barbara, California: combining geochemical tracers, electromagnetic seepmeters, and electrical resistivity

This paper presents repeat field measurements of 222Rn and 223,224,226,228Ra, electromagnetic seepage meter-derived advective fluxes, and multi-electrode, stationary and continuous marine resistivity surveys collected between November 2005 and April 2007 to study coastal groundwater dynamics within a marine beach in Santa Barbara, California. The study provides insight into magnitude and...
Authors
Peter W. Swarzenski, John A. Izbicki

Effects of Groundwater Development on Uranium: Central Valley, California, USA Effects of Groundwater Development on Uranium: Central Valley, California, USA

Uranium (U) concentrations in groundwater in several parts of the eastern San Joaquin Valley, California, have exceeded federal and state drinking water standards during the last 20 years. The San Joaquin Valley is located within the Central Valley of California and is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. Increased irrigation and pumping associated with...
Authors
Bryant C. Jurgens, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz, Karen R. Burow, Matthew K. Landon

Urban streams across the USA: Lessons learned from studies in 9 metropolitan areas Urban streams across the USA: Lessons learned from studies in 9 metropolitan areas

Studies of the effects of urbanization on stream ecosystems have usually focused on single metropolitan areas. Synthesis of the results of such studies have been useful in developing general conceptual models of the effects of urbanization, but the strength of such generalizations is enhanced by applying consistent study designs and methods to multiple metropolitan areas across large...
Authors
Larry R. Brown, Thomas F. Cuffney, James F. Coles, Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Gerard McMahon, Jeffrey Steuer, Amanda H. Bell, Jason T. May

The ecohealth assessment and ecological restoration division of urban water system in Beijing The ecohealth assessment and ecological restoration division of urban water system in Beijing

Evaluating six main rivers and six lakes in Beihuan water system (BWS) and diagnosing the limiting factors of eco-health were conducted for the ecohealth assessment and ecological restoration division of urban water system (UWS) for Beijing. The results indicated that Jingmi River and Nanchang River were in a healthy state, the degree of membership to unhealthy were 0.358, 0.392...
Authors
J. Liu, M. Ma, F. Zhang, Z. Yang, Joseph L. Domagalski

Dietary flexibility in three representative waterbirds across salinity and depth gradients in salt ponds of San Francisco Bay Dietary flexibility in three representative waterbirds across salinity and depth gradients in salt ponds of San Francisco Bay

Salt evaporation ponds have existed in San Francisco Bay, California, for more than a century. In the past decade, most of the salt ponds have been retired from production and purchased for resource conservation with a focus on tidal marsh restoration. However, large numbers of waterbirds are found in salt ponds, especially during migration and wintering periods. The value of these...
Authors
John Y. Takekawa, A.K. Miles, D. C. Tsao-Melcer, D. H. Schoellhamer, S. Fregien, N.D. Athearn

Turbulent stresses and secondary currents in a tidal-forced channel with significant curvature and asymmetric bed forms Turbulent stresses and secondary currents in a tidal-forced channel with significant curvature and asymmetric bed forms

Acoustic Doppler current profilers are deployed to measure both the mean flow and turbulent properties in a channel with significant curvature. Direct measurements of the Reynolds stress show a significant asymmetry over the tidal cycle where stresses are enhanced during the flood tide and less prominent over the ebb tide. This asymmetry is corroborated by logarithmic fits using...
Authors
D.A. Fong, Stephen G. Monismith, M.T. Stacey, J.R. Burau

Effects of the herbicide diuron on cordgrass (Spartina foliosa) reflectance and photosynthetic parameters Effects of the herbicide diuron on cordgrass (Spartina foliosa) reflectance and photosynthetic parameters

Early indicators of salt marsh plant stress are needed to detect stress before it is manifested as changes in biomass and coverage. We explored a variety of leaf-level spectral reflectance and fluorescence variables as indicators of stress in response to the herbicide diuron. Diuron, a Photosystem II inhibitor, is heavily used in areas adjacent to estuaries, but its ecological effects...
Authors
S.L. Williams, A. Carranza, J. Kunzelman, S. Datta, Kathryn Kuivila

Fluorescence-based proxies for lignin in freshwater dissolved organic matter Fluorescence-based proxies for lignin in freshwater dissolved organic matter

Lignin phenols have proven to be powerful biomarkers in environmental studies; however, the complexity of lignin analysis limits the number of samples and thus spatial and temporal resolution in any given study. In contrast, spectrophotometric characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is rapid, noninvasive, relatively inexpensive, requires small sample volumes, and can even be...
Authors
Peter J. Hernes, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Robert S. Eckard, Robert G.M. Spencer

Relation of urbanization to stream fish assemblages and species traits in nine metropolitan areas of the United States Relation of urbanization to stream fish assemblages and species traits in nine metropolitan areas of the United States

We examined associations of fish assemblages and fish traits with urbanization and selected environmental variables in nine major United States metropolitan areas. The strongest relations between fishes and urbanization occurred in the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Georgia; Birmingham, Alabama; Boston, Massachusetts; and Portland, Oregon. In these areas, environmental variables with...
Authors
Larry R. Brown, M. Brian Gregory, Jason T. May

Stratigraphic controls on seawater intrusion and implications for groundwater management, Dominguez Gap area of Los Angeles, California, USA Stratigraphic controls on seawater intrusion and implications for groundwater management, Dominguez Gap area of Los Angeles, California, USA

Groundwater pumping has led to extensive water-level declines and seawater intrusion in coastal Los Angeles, California (USA). A SUTRA-based solute-transport model was developed to test the hydraulic implications of a sequence-stratigraphic model of the Dominguez Gap area and to assess the effects of water-management scenarios. The model is two-dimensional, vertical and follows an...
Authors
Tracy Nishikawa, Adam J. Siade, Eric G. Reichard, Daniel J. Ponti, A.G. Canales, T.A. Johnson

Modeled ground water age distributions Modeled ground water age distributions

The age of ground water in any given sample is a distributed quantity representing distributed provenance (in space and time) of the water. Conventional analysis of tracers such as unstable isotopes or anthropogenic chemical species gives discrete or binary measures of the presence of water of a given age. Modeled ground water age distributions provide a continuous measure of...
Authors
Linda R. Woolfenden, Timothy R. Ginn

Assessing the occurrence and distribution of pyrethroids in water and suspended sediments Assessing the occurrence and distribution of pyrethroids in water and suspended sediments

The distribution of pyrethroid insecticides in the environment was assessed by separately measuring concentrations in the dissolved and suspended sediment phases of surface water samples. Filtered water was extracted by HLB solid-phase extraction cartridges, while the sediment on the filter was sonicated and cleaned up using carbon and aluminum cartridges. Detection limits for the 13...
Authors
M.L. Hladik, K.M. Kuivila
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