Publications
Below is a list of available Colorado Water Science Center publications and published products.
Filter Total Items: 772
Assessment of streamflow and water quality in the Upper Yampa River Basin, Colorado, 1992–2018
The Upper Yampa River Basin drains approximately 2,100 square miles west of the Continental Divide in north-western Colorado. There is a growing need to understand potential changes in the quantity and quality of water resources as the basin is undergoing increasing land and water development to support growing municipal, industrial, and recreational needs. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperati
Authors
Natalie K. Day
Relative risk of groundwater-quality degradation near California (USA) oil fields estimated from 3H, 14C, and 4He
Relative risks of groundwater-quality degradation near selected California oil fields are estimated by examining spatial and temporal patterns in chemical and isotopic data in the context of groundwater-age categories defined by tritium and carbon-14. In the Coastal basins, western San Joaquin Valley (SJV), and eastern SJV; 82, 76, and 0% of samples are premodern (pre-1953 recharge), respectively;
Authors
Peter B. McMahon, Matthew K. Landon, Tracy Davis, Michael Wright, Celia Z. Rosecrans, Robert Anders, Michael Land, Justin T. Kulongoski, Andrew Hunt
Characterization of water-resource threats and needs for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuges in the Legacy Mountain-Prairie Region, 2020
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), began a study in 2019 to complete the compilation and quality assurance of water-resource threats and needs data for the 117 National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) in the FWS Legacy Mountain-Prairie Region (LMPR) and to characterize the water-resource threats and needs of each refuge and of the LMPR itself. The LMP
Authors
Nancy J. Bauch, Michael S. Kohn, Brian S. Caruso
Natural and anthropogenic geochemical tracers to investigate residence times and groundwater–surface-water interactions in an urban alluvial aquifer
A multi-component geochemical dataset was collected from groundwater and surface-water bodies associated with the urban Fountain Creek alluvial aquifer, Colorado, USA, to facilitate analysis of recharge sources, geochemical interactions, and groundwater-residence times. Results indicate that groundwater can be separated into three distinct geochemical zones based on location within the flow system
Authors
Connor P. Newman, Suzanne S. Paschke, Gabrielle L. Keith
Multi-region assessment of chemical mixture exposures and predicted cumulative effects in USA wadeable urban/agriculture-gradient streams
Chemical-contaminant mixtures are widely reported in large stream reaches in urban/agriculture-developed watersheds, but mixture compositions and aggregate biological effects are less well understood in corresponding smaller headwaters, which comprise most of stream length, riparian connectivity, and spatial biodiversity. During 2014–2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured 389 unique orga
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Kristin M. Romanok, Sara E. Breitmeyer, Daniel T. Button, Daren M. Carlisle, Bradley Huffman, Barbara Mahler, Lisa H. Nowell, Sharon L. Qi, Kelly L. Smalling, Ian R. Waite, Peter C. Van Metre
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, California Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
Characterization of groundwater quality and discharge with emphasis on selenium in an irrigated agricultural drainage near Delta, Colorado, 2017–19
Selenium is a water-quality constituent of concern for aquatic ecosystems in the lower Gunnison River Basin. Selenium is derived from bedrock of the Mancos Shale and is mobilized and transported to groundwater and surface water by application of irrigation water. Although it is recognized that groundwater contributes an appreciable amount of selenium to surface water, few studies have addressed in
Authors
M. Alisa Mast
Water-quality change following remediation using structural bulkheads in abandoned draining mines, upper Arkansas River and upper Animas River, Colorado USA
Water-quality effects after remediating abandoned draining mine tunnels using structural bulkheads were examined in two study areas in Colorado, USA. A bulkhead was installed in the Dinero mine tunnel in 2009 to improve water quality in Lake Fork Creek, a tributary to the upper Arkansas River. Although bulkhead installation improved pH, and manganese and zinc concentrations and loads at the Dinero
Authors
Katherine Walton-Day, M. Alisa Mast, Robert L. Runkel
Geochemistry and age of groundwater in the Williston Basin, USA: Assessing potential effects of shale-oil production on groundwater quality
Thirty water wells were sampled in 2018 to understand the geochemistry and age of groundwater in the Williston Basin and assess potential effects of shale-oil production from the Three Forks-Bakken petroleum system (TBPS) on groundwater quality. Two geochemical groups are identified using hierarchical cluster analysis. Group 1 represents the younger (median 4He = 21.49 × 10−8 cm3 STP/g), less chem
Authors
Peter B. McMahon, Joel M. Galloway, Andrew Hunt, Kenneth Belitz, Bryant Jurgens, Tyler D. Johnson
Critical shifts in trace metal transport and remediation performance under future low river flows
Exceptionally low river flows are predicted to become more frequent and more severe across many global regions as a consequence of climate change. Investigations of trace metal transport dynamics across streamflows reveal stark changes in water chemistry, metal transformation processes, and remediation effectiveness under exceptionally low-flow conditions. High spatial resolution hydrological and
Authors
Patrick A. Byrne, Patrizia Onnis, Robert L. Runkel, Ilaria Frau, Sarah F. L. Lynch, Paul Edwards
Spatial variability in seasonal snowpack trends across the Rio Grande headwaters (1984 - 2017)
This study evaluated the spatial variability of trends in simulated snowpack properties across the Rio Grande headwaters of Colorado using the SnowModel snow evolution modeling system. SnowModel simulations were performed using a grid resolution of 100 m and 3-hourly time step over a 34-yr period (1984–2017). Atmospheric forcing was provided by phase 2 of the North American Land Data Assimilation
Authors
Graham A. Sexstone, Colin A. Penn, Glen Liston, Kelly Gleason, C. David Moeser, David W. Clow
Transport and speciation of uranium in groundwater-surface water systems impacted by legacy milling operations
Growing worldwide concern over uranium contamination of groundwater resources has placed an emphasis on understanding uranium transport dynamics and potential toxicity in groundwater-surface water systems. In this study, we utilized novel in-situ sampling methods to establish the location and magnitude of contaminated groundwater entry into a receiving surface water environment, and to investigate
Authors
Patrick A. Byrne, Christopher C. Fuller, David L. Naftz, Robert L. Runkel, Niklas J Lehto, William L Dam
Common insecticide disrupts aquatic communities: A mesocosm-to-field ecological risk assessment of fipronil and its degradates in U.S. streams
Insecticides in streams are increasingly a global concern, yet information on safe concentrations for aquatic ecosystems is sparse. In a 30-day mesocosm experiment exposing native benthic aquatic invertebrates to the common insecticide fipronil and four degradates, fipronil compounds caused altered emergence and trophic cascades. Effect concentrations eliciting a 50% response (EC50) were developed
Authors
Janet L. Miller, Travis S. Schmidt, Peter C. Van Metre, Barbara Mahler, Mark W. Sandstrom, Lisa H. Nowell, Daren Carlisle, Patrick W. Moran