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: 1831
Land subsidence along the California Aqueduct in west-central San Joaquin Valley, California, 2003–10 Land subsidence along the California Aqueduct in west-central San Joaquin Valley, California, 2003–10
Extensive groundwater withdrawal from the unconsolidated deposits in the San Joaquin Valley caused widespread aquifer-system compaction and resultant land subsidence from 1926 to 1970—locally exceeding 8.5 meters. The importation of surface water beginning in the early 1950s through the Delta-Mendota Canal and in the early 1970s through the California Aqueduct resulted in decreased...
Authors
Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Michael Solt
Reconnaissance of mixed organic and inorganic chemicals in private and public supply tapwaters at selected residential and workplace sites in the United States Reconnaissance of mixed organic and inorganic chemicals in private and public supply tapwaters at selected residential and workplace sites in the United States
Safe drinking water at the point-of-use (tapwater, TW) is a United States public health priority. Multiple lines of evidence were used to evaluate potential human health concerns of 482 organics and 19 inorganics in TW from 13 (7 public supply, 6 private well self-supply) home and 12 (public supply) workplace locations in 11 states. Only uranium (61.9 μg L–1, private well) exceeded a...
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Dana W. Kolpin, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly L. Smalling, Michael J. Focazio, Juliane B. Brown, Mary C. Cardon, Kurt D. Carpenter, Steven R. Corsi, Laura A. DeCicco, Julie E. Dietze, Nicola Evans, Edward T. Furlong, Carrie E. Givens, James L. Gray, Dale W. Griffin, Christopher P. Higgins, Michelle L. Hladik, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Celeste A. Journey, Kathryn Kuivila, Jason R. Masoner, Carrie A. McDonough, Michael T. Meyer, James L. Orlando, Mark J. Strynar, Christopher P. Weis, Vickie S. Wilson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Central Plains Water Science Center, California Water Science Center, Central Midwest Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, National Water Quality Laboratory
Hydrology and hydrodynamics on the Sacramento River near the Fremont Weir, California—Implications for juvenile salmon entrainment estimates Hydrology and hydrodynamics on the Sacramento River near the Fremont Weir, California—Implications for juvenile salmon entrainment estimates
Estimates of fish entrainment on the Sacramento River near the Fremont Weir are a critical component in determining the feasibility and design of a proposed notch in the weir to increase access to the Yolo Bypass, a seasonal floodplain of the Sacramento River. Detailed hydrodynamic and velocity measurements were made at a river bend near the Fremont Weir in the winter and spring of 2016...
Authors
Paul R. Stumpner, Aaron R. Blake, Jon R. Burau
Increasing soil organic carbon to mitigate greenhouse gases and increase climate resiliency for California Increasing soil organic carbon to mitigate greenhouse gases and increase climate resiliency for California
Rising air temperatures are projected to continue to drive up urban, agricultural, and rangeland water use, straining both surface and groundwater resources. Scientific studies have shown that managing farms, ranches, and public lands to increase soil carbon can increase soil waterholding capacity and increase hydrologic benefits such as increased baseflows and aquifer recharge, reduced...
Authors
Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, Michelle A. Stern, Allegra Mayer, Whendee L. Silver, Clyde Casey, Fabiano Franco, Kristin B. Byrd, Benjamin M. Sleeter, P. Alvarez, J. Creque, T. Estrada, D. Cameron
Land subsidence Land subsidence
Land subsidence in the United States is inextricably linked to the development of groundwater—one of the Nation’s most valuable natural resources. More than 80 percent of the identified subsidence in the United States is a consequence of anthropogenic impact on water resources. Three processes account for most of the water-related subsidence—the compaction of aquifer systems, the...
Authors
Michelle Sneed
The approaching obsolescence of 137Cs dating of wetland soils in North America The approaching obsolescence of 137Cs dating of wetland soils in North America
The peak fallout in 1963 of the radionuclide 137Cs has been used to date lake, reservoir, continental shelf, and wetland sedimentary deposits. In wetlands such dating is used to project the ability of wetlands to keep pace with sea level rise and develop strategies for mitigating carbon pollution using biological carbon sequestration. Here we demonstrate that reliable 137Cs profiles are
Authors
Judith Z. Drexler, Christopher C. Fuller, Stacey A. Archfield
Geologic, hydrologic, and water-quality data from multiple-well monitoring sites in the Bunker Hill and Yucaipa Groundwater Subbasins, San Bernardino County, California, 1974–2016 Geologic, hydrologic, and water-quality data from multiple-well monitoring sites in the Bunker Hill and Yucaipa Groundwater Subbasins, San Bernardino County, California, 1974–2016
In 1974, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, initiated a study to assess the regional groundwater resources in the Bunker Hill Subbasin of the Upper Santa Ana Valley Groundwater Basin in San Bernardino County, California. The study area expanded east into the Yucaipa Subbasin in 1996. This report compiles the geologic...
Authors
Gregory O. Mendez, Robert Anders, Kelly R. McPherson, Wesley R. Danskin
Zooplankton dynamics in the Cache Slough complex of the upper San Francisco Estuary Zooplankton dynamics in the Cache Slough complex of the upper San Francisco Estuary
We studied abundance and dynamics of zooplankton in the tidal freshwater Cache Slough Complex (CSC) in the northern Delta of the San Francisco Estuary during June, July, and October 2015. We asked whether the CSC was an area of high zooplankton production that could act as a source region for open waters of the estuary. Abundance of the copepod Pseudodiaptomus forbesi was similar to that...
Authors
Wim Kimmerer, Toni R. Ignoffo, Brooke Bemowski, Julien Moderan, Ann E. Holmes, Brian A. Bergamaschi
Dissolved pesticide concentrations in the lower Sacramento River and its source waters, California, 2016 Dissolved pesticide concentrations in the lower Sacramento River and its source waters, California, 2016
As part of a collaborative study designed to better understand water-quality conditions in the Sacramento River, surface-water samples were collected from the lower Sacramento River and five of its tributaries and then analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey for a suite of 162 current-use pesticides and pesticide degradates. Samples were collected in May and October 2016 at 16 sites on...
Authors
Sean M. Stout, James L. Orlando, Megan McWayne-Holmes, Corey Sanders, Michelle L. Hladik
Regional patterns in the geochemistry of oil-field water, southern San Joaquin Valley, California, USA Regional patterns in the geochemistry of oil-field water, southern San Joaquin Valley, California, USA
Chemical and isotopic data for water co-extracted with hydrocarbons in oil and gas fields are commonly used to examine the source of the formation water and possible impacts on groundwater in areas of oil and gas development. Understanding the geochemical variability of oil-field water could help to evaluate its origin and delineate possible contamination of shallow aquifers in cases...
Authors
Peter B. McMahon, Justin T. Kulongoski, Avner Vengosh, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Matthew K. Landon, Yousif K. Kharaka, Janice M. Gillespie, Tracy Davis
Fate and transport of nitrapyrin in agroecosystems: Occurrence in agricultural soils, subsurface drains, and receiving streams in the Midwestern US Fate and transport of nitrapyrin in agroecosystems: Occurrence in agricultural soils, subsurface drains, and receiving streams in the Midwestern US
Nitrapyrin is a nitrification inhibitor that is co-applied with nitrogen fertilizer in agroecosystems. There is limited information on the fate of nitrapyrin after it is applied to agricultural soils. Over the course of one year (March 2016 to June 2017), 192 water samples from seven streams across Iowa and Illinois were analyzed for nitrapyrin, its metabolite 6‑chloropicolinic acid (6...
Authors
Emily E. Woodward, Dana W. Kolpin, Wei Zheng, Nancy L Holm, Shannon M. Meppelink, Paul J. Terrio, Michelle L. Hladik
What makes a first‐magnitude spring?: Global sensitivity analysis of a speleogenesis model to gain insight into karst network and spring genesis What makes a first‐magnitude spring?: Global sensitivity analysis of a speleogenesis model to gain insight into karst network and spring genesis
Often, karstic conduit network geometry is unknown. This lack of knowledge represents a significant limitation when modeling flow and solute transport in karst systems. In this study, we apply Morris Method Global Sensitivity Analysis to a speleogenesis model to identify model input parameters, and combinations thereof, that most significantly influence evolution of karst conduit...
Authors
Wesley R. Henson, Rob de Rooij, Wendy D. Graham