Publications
Below is a list of available Colorado Water Science Center publications and published products.
Filter Total Items: 772
U.S. Geological Survey Rocky Mountain Region 2022 science exchange, showcasing interdisciplinary and state-of-the-art USGS science
IntroductionThe Rocky Mountains and the Colorado River Basin in the Western United States represent complex, interconnected systems that sustain a number of species, including tens of millions of humans. These systems face several challenges, including worsening drought, altered wildfire regimes, climate change, and the spread of invasive species. These factors can exacerbate one another, further
Authors
Dana E. Peterson, Katherine L. French, Jeannette H. Oden, Patrick J. Anderson, Timothy N. Titus, Katharine G. Dahm, Jessica M. Driscoll, William J. Andrews
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Mineral Resources Program, Astrogeology Science Center, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey Colorado Water Science Center postcard
The U.S. Geological Survey Colorado Water Science Center provides timely, high-quality science information on Colorado’s water resources to help planners, managers, and others to make the decisions necessary for the use of these limited and shared resources throughout the State.
Authors
Jeannette H. Oden
Northwest Forest Plan — The first 25 years (1994–2018): Watershed condition status and trends
This report describes status and trends in watershed condition across the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) area over the first 25 years since its inception in 1994. The program charged with this task is the Aquatic and Riparian Effectiveness Monitoring Program (AREMP), which has assembled information from field data collection, spatial datasets, and a host of landscape models to evaluate the status an
Authors
Jason B. Dunham, Christine Hirsch, Sean Gordon, Rebecca L. Flitcroft, Nathan Chelgren, Marcía N. Snyder, David P Hockman-Wert, Gordon H. Reeves, Heidi V. Andersen, Scott K. Anderson, William A. Battaglin, Tom A. Black, Jason Brown, Shannon Claeson, Lauren Hay, Emily D. Heaston, Charles H. Luce, Nathan Nelson, Colin Penn, Mark Raggon
Prevailing impacts of river management on microplastic transport in contrasting US streams: Rethinking global microplastic flux estimations
While microplastic inputs into rivers are assumed to be correlated with anthropogenic activities and to accumulate towards the sea, the impacts of water management on downstream microplastic transport are largely unexplored. A comparative study of microplastic abundance in Boulder Creek (BC), and its less urbanized tributary South Boulder Creek (SBC), (Colorado USA), characterized the downstream e
Authors
Anna Kukkola, Robert L. Runkel, Uwe Schneidewind, Sheila F. Murphy, Liam Kelleher, Greg Sambrook Smith, Holly Astrid Nel, Iseult Lynch, Stefan Krause
Snow surface roughness across spatio-temporal scales
The snow surface is at the interface between the atmosphere and Earth. The surface of the snowpack changes due to its interaction with precipitation, wind, humidity, short- and long-wave radiation, underlying terrain characteristics, and land cover. These connections create a dynamic snow surface that impacts the energy and mass balance of the snowpack, blowing snow potential, and other snowpack p
Authors
Steven R. Fassnacht, Kazuyoshi Suzuki, Jessica E. Sanow, Graham A. Sexstone, Anna K.D. Pfohl, Molly E. Tedesche, Bradley M. Simms, Eric S. Thomas
Source contributions to suspended sediment and particulate selenium export from the Loutsenhizer Arroyo and Sunflower Drain watersheds in Colorado
Selenium in aquatic ecosystems of the lower Gunnison River Basin in Colorado is affecting the recovery of populations of endangered, native fish species. Dietary exposure is the primary pathway for bioaccumulation of selenium in fish, and particulate selenium can be consumed directly by fish or by the invertebrates on which fish feed. Although selenium can be incorporated into particulate matter v
Authors
Carleton R. Bern, Cory A. Williams, Christopher G. Smith
The truth is in the stream: Use of tracer techniques and synoptic sampling to evaluate metal loading and remedial options in a hydrologically complex setting
Two synoptic sampling campaigns were conducted to quantify metal loading to Illinois Gulch, a
small stream affected by historical mining activities. The first campaign was designed to
determine the degree to which Illinois Gulch loses water to the underlying mine workings, and to
determine the effect of these losses on observed metal loads. The second campaign was designed to evaluate metal loadin
Authors
Robert L. Runkel, Philip Verplanck, Katherine Walton-Day, R. Blaine McCleskey, Patrick Byrne
Preliminary analysis of a horizontal multifrequency hydroacoustic device designed for surrogate measurements of suspended sediment concentration: The Horizontal Acoustic Sediment Current Profiler
Single frequency active hydroacoustic measurements have been correlated with suspended sediment concentration. In river systems that include widely varying suspended sediment particle sizes, a multi-frequency hydroacoustic approach has increased predictive capabilities. However, the multi-frequency approach requires installation and operation of multiple sensors in a river channel and relies on te
Authors
Jeb E. Brown, Tristan Joel Austring, Rodney J. Richards, Tyson Hatch, Joel William Homan
USGS Colorado Water Science Center bookmark
The U.S. Geological Survey Colorado Water Science Center conducts water resource activities in Colorado in cooperation with different entities throughout the State. These activities include extensive data-collection efforts and interpretive studies to address many different issues of concern to Colorado water resource planners, managers, and others. Results are documented in report products and as
Authors
Jeannette H. Oden
Salinity and selenium yield maps derived from geostatistical modeling in the lower Gunnison River Basin, western Colorado, 1992–2013
Salinity is known to affect drinking-water supplies and damage irrigated agricultural lands. Selenium in high concentrations is harmful to fish and other wildlife. Land managers, water providers, and agricultural producers in the lower Gunnison River Basin in western Colorado expend resources mitigating the effects of these constituents. The U.S. Geological Survey revised existing salinity (total
Authors
Cory A. Williams, Rachel G. Gidley, Michael R. Stevens
Investigation of potential factors controlling benthic algae in the upper White River Basin, Colorado, 2018–21
Nuisance levels of benthic filamentous green algae are becoming increasingly common in surface waters of Colorado and the western United States. In 2018 the U.S. Geological Survey began a study in cooperation with the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts, Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum, and the Colorado River Water Conservation District to collect and analyze physical,
Authors
Natalie K. Day, Mark F. Henneberg
Potential factors controlling benthic algae in the upper White River Basin, Colorado, 2018–21
Nuisance levels of benthic algae are becoming increasingly common in surface waters of the western United States and can compromise aesthetic quality, limit recreational activities, block water infrastructure, and negatively affect aquatic life. In cooperation with the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum, and the Colorado River Wate
Authors
Rachel G. Gidley, Natalie K. Day