Central Midwest Water Science Center
Publications
These publications are written or co-authored by Central Midwest Water Science Center personnel in conjuction with their work at the USGS and other government agencies. They include USGS reports, journal articles, conference proceedings, and published abstracts that are available in the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Operationalizing small unoccupied aircraft systems for rapid flood inundation mapping and event response
Small Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (sUAS) offer the capability to collect rapid and accurate aerial survey data during flood response. The rapid collection of aerial flood data can potentially enable scientists to produce detailed geospatial products and related datasets in time for decisional support. A workflow for sUAS event response before,...
Engel, Frank L.; Hernandez, RogelioNutrients in northern Missouri streams
Nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, are necessary for healthy aquatic communities to thrive, but if nutrient concentrations are too high, water quality can be degraded and natural aquatic communities may be destroyed. Nutrients consistently have been listed nationally as one of the top five causes of stream and river impairments, and...
Krempa, HeatherThe use of continuous water-quality time-series data to compute nutrient loadings for selected Iowa streams, 2008–17
In support of nutrient reduction efforts, nitrate (as nitrate plus nitrite) and phosphorus loads and yields were computed for selected streams in Iowa based on continuously monitored sensor data for 2008–17 and 2014–17, respectively. Sample data were used to assess nitrate sensor bias and to create phosphorus-turbidity surrogate models. Where...
Garrett, Jessica D.Strategic directions of the USGS water mission area’s fluvial sediment science program
The USGS Water Mission Area’s Sediment Science Program provides leadership, training, and methods development in fluvial sediment science for the USGS and its external partners. Overarching objectives of the USGS Sediment Science Program (which includes the Federal Interagency Sedimentation Project) include: 1) developing and...
Wood, Molly S.; Straub, TimothyFISP: What's new in samplers and sediment measurement technologies
The Federal Interagency Sedimentation Project (FISP) is an example of effective interagency cooperation a cross-cutting science issue. The FISP was created in 1939 to research and standardize fluvial sediment science methods and instruments. That mission remains relevant today as research continues on emerging tools and technologies...
Straub, TimothyTime-series sediment acoustics and LISST-ABS testing
Acoustics and other surrogates can be used to accurately and cost-effectively provide time-series estimates of suspended-sediment concentration and load, which is essential for creating informed solutions to many sediment-related environmental, engineering, and agricultural concerns. Interagency efforts in recent years have advanced...
Straub, Timothy; Wood, Molly S.; Domanski, Marian M.; Manaster, Adam (Contractor)Flood-inundation maps for the Iowa River at the Meskwaki Settlement in Iowa, 2019
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 9.3-mile reach of the Iowa River along the Meskwaki Settlement, Iowa, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science website at https://water...
Cigrand, Charles V.Assessment of site-specific agricultural Best Management Practices in the Upper East River watershed, Wisconsin, using a field-scale SWAT model
The Great Lakes “Priority Watershed” effort targeted the Upper East River watershed, a 116.5 km2 tributary watershed to Green Bay in Wisconsin, to reduce sediment and nutrients entering Green Bay. A Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was created to determine the effectiveness of Best Management Practices (BMPs) derived from the U.S....
Merriman-Hoehne, Katherine R.; Prasad Daggupati; Raghavan Srinivasan; Hayhurst, Brett A.Hydrologic Influences on Water Levels at Three Oaks Recreation Area, Crystal Lake, Illinois, April 14 through September 27, 2016
Hydrologic influences on water levels were investigated at Three Oaks Recreation Area (TORA), a former sand-and-gravel quarry converted into recreational lakes in Crystal Lake, Illinois. From 2009 to 2015, average water levels in the lakes declined nearly 4 feet. It was not clear if these declines were related to variations in weather (...
Gahala, Amy M.Erosion monitoring along selected bank locations of the Coosa River in Alabama using terrestrial light detection and ranging (T–lidar) technology, 2014–17
The Alabama Power Company operates a series of dams on the Coosa River in east central Alabama. Seven dams impound the river to form six reservoirs: Weiss Lake, H Neely Henry Lake, Logan Martin Lake, Lay Lake, Lake Mitchell, and Lake Jordan. Streamflow below these reservoirs is primarily controlled by power generation at the dams, and there is...
Huizinga, Richard J.; Wagner, Daniel M.Selected water-quality data from the Cedar River and Cedar Rapids well fields, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 2008–17
The Cedar River alluvial aquifer is the primary source of municipal water in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Municipal wells are completed in the alluvial aquifer about 40 to 80 feet below land surface. The City of Cedar Rapids and the U.S. Geological Survey have led a cooperative study of the groundwater-flow system and water quality of the aquifer since...
Meppelink, Shannon M.; Stelzer, Erin A.; Bristow, Emilia L.; Littin, Gregory R.Bathymetric contour map, surface area and capacity table, and bathymetric change map for Sugar Creek Lake near Moberly, Missouri, 2018
Managers of water-supply lakes need an accurate estimate of the lake capacity to ensure that enough water is available for uses such as: providing consistent recreation pool levels, preserving downstream aquatic habitat, flood abatement, water supply, and power generation. Lake capacity is particularly important for managers of water-supply lakes...
Richards, Joseph M.; Huizinga, Richard J.; Ellis, Jarrett T.