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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

Metal uptake by phytoplankton during a bloom in South San Francisco Bay: Implications for metal cycling in estuaries Metal uptake by phytoplankton during a bloom in South San Francisco Bay: Implications for metal cycling in estuaries

The 1994 spring phytoplankton bloom in South San Francisco Bay caused substantial reductions in concentrations of dissolved Cd, Ni, and Zn, but not Cu. We estimate that the equivalent of ~60% of the total annual input of Cd, Ni, and Zn from local waste‐water treatment plants is cycled through the phytoplankton in South Bay. The results suggest that processes that affect phytoplankton...
Authors
S. N. Luoma, A. VanGeen, B.-G. Lee, J. E. Cloern

Continuous lake-sediment records of glaciation in the Sierra Nevada between 52,600 and 12,500 14C yr B.P. Continuous lake-sediment records of glaciation in the Sierra Nevada between 52,600 and 12,500 14C yr B.P.

The chemistry of the carbonate-free clay-size fraction of Owens Lake sediments supports the use of total organic carbon and magnetic susceptibility as indicators of stadial-interstadial oscillations. Owens Lake records of total organic carbon, magnetic susceptibility, and chemical composition of the carbonate-free, clay-size fraction indicate that Tioga glaciation began ~24,500 and ended...
Authors
L. V. Benson, Howard M. May, Ronald C. Antweiler, T.I. Brinton, Michaele Kashgarian, J. P. Smoot, S.P. Lund

Environmental setting of the San Joaquin-Tulare basins, California Environmental setting of the San Joaquin-Tulare basins, California

The National Water-Quality Assessment Program for the San Joaquin-Tulare Basins began in 1991 to study the effects of natural and anthropogenic influences on the quality of ground water, surface water, biology, and ecology. The San Joaquin-Tulare Basins study unit, which covers approximately 31,200 square miles in central California, is made up of the San Joaquin Valley, the eastern...
Authors
JoAnn A. Gronberg, Neil M. Dubrovsky, Charles R. Kratzer, Joseph L. Domagalski, Larry R. Brown, Karen R. Burow

Water-resources optimization model for Santa Barbara, California Water-resources optimization model for Santa Barbara, California

A simulation-optimization model has been developed for the optimal management of the city of Santa Barbara's water resources during a drought. The model, which links groundwater simulation with linear programming, has a planning horizon of 5 years. The objective is to minimize the cost of water supply subject to: water demand constraints, hydraulic head constraints to control seawater...
Authors
Tracy Nishikawa

Carbon dioxide and helium emissions from a reservoir of magmatic gas beneath Mammoth Mountain, California Carbon dioxide and helium emissions from a reservoir of magmatic gas beneath Mammoth Mountain, California

Carbon dioxide and helium with isotopic compositions indicative of a magmatic source ( δ13C = −4.5 to −5‰, 3He/ 4He = 4.5 to 6.7 RA) are discharging at anomalous rates from Mammoth Mountain, on the southwestern rim of the Long Valley caldera in eastern California. The gas is released mainly as diffuse emissions from normal‐temperature soils, but some gas issues from steam vents or leaves...
Authors
M.L. Sorey, William C. Evans, B. M. Kennedy, C. D. Farrar, L.J. Hainsworth, B. Hausback

Changes in production and respiration during a spring phytoplankton bloom in San Francisco Bay, California, USA: Implications for net ecosystem metabolism Changes in production and respiration during a spring phytoplankton bloom in San Francisco Bay, California, USA: Implications for net ecosystem metabolism

We present results of an intensive sampling program designed to measure weekly changes in ecosystem respiration (oxygen consumption in the water column and sediments) around the 1996 spring bloom in South San Francisco Bay, California, USA. Measurements were made at a shallow site (2 m, where mean photic depth was 60% of the water column height) and a deep site (15 m, mean photic depth...
Authors
J.M. Caffrey, J. E. Cloern, C. Grenz

Airborne pesticide residues along the Mississippi River Airborne pesticide residues along the Mississippi River

The occurrence, concentration, and geographical distribution of agricultural pesticides were determined in air over the Mississippi River from New Orleans, LA, to St. Paul, MN, during the first 10 days of June 1994. Air samples were collected from a research vessel by pulling air through polyurethane foam plugs at about 100 L/min for up to 24 h. Each sample was analyzed for 42 pesticides...
Authors
M.S. Majewski, W.T. Foreman, D.A. Goolsbys, N. Nakagaki

Contaminants in wintering canvasbacks and scaups from San Francisco Bay, California Contaminants in wintering canvasbacks and scaups from San Francisco Bay, California

Organochlorines, metals, and trace elements were measured in liver, kidney, or whole-body tissues of canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria), lesser scaups (A. affinis), and greater scaups (A. marila) collected from San Francisco Bay and three coastal areas of California during the winter of 1986–1987. Potentially toxic concentrations of mercury (mean ≤10.4 µg/g, dry weight) and selenium (mean...
Authors
Roger L. Hothem, D.G. Lonzarich, Jean E. Takekawa, Harry M. Ohlendorf

Geochemical modeling of water-rock interactions in mining environments Geochemical modeling of water-rock interactions in mining environments

Geochemical modeling is a powerful tool for evaluating geochemical processes in mining environments. Properly constrained and judiciously applied, modeling can provide valuable insights into processes controlling the release, transport, and fate of contaminants in mine drainage. This chapter contains 1) an overview of geochemical modeling, 2) discussion of the types of models and...
Authors
Charles N. Alpers, D. Kirk Nordstrom

Climatic/Hydrologic Oscillations since 155,000 yr B.P. at Owens Lake, California, Reflected in Abundance and Stable Isotope Composition of Sediment Carbonate Climatic/Hydrologic Oscillations since 155,000 yr B.P. at Owens Lake, California, Reflected in Abundance and Stable Isotope Composition of Sediment Carbonate

Sediment grain size, carbonate content, and stable isotopes in 70-cm-long (∼1500-yr) channel samples from Owens Lake core OL-92 record many oscillations representing climate change in the eastern Sierra Nevada region since 155,000 yr B.P. To first order, the records match well the marine δ18O record. At Owens Lake, however, the last interglaciation appears to span the entire period from...
Authors
K.M. Menking, J. L. Bischoff, J.A. Fitzpatrick, J.W. Burdette, R. O. Rye

Invading species in the Eel River, California: Successes, failures, and relationships with resident species Invading species in the Eel River, California: Successes, failures, and relationships with resident species

We examined invasions of non-native fishes into the Eel River, California. At least 16 species of fish have been introduced into the drainage which originally supported 12-14 fish species. Our study was prompted by the unauthorized introduction in 1979 of Sacramento squawfish, Ptychocheilus grandis, a large predatory cyprinid. From 1986 to 1990, we conducted growth and diet studies of...
Authors
L. R. Brown, P.B. Moyle
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