Publications

Responses in the vadose zone and groundwater to interannual, interdecadal, and multidecadal climate variability have important implications for groundwater resource sustainability, yet they are poorly documented and not well understood in most aquifers of the USA. This investigation systematically examines the role of interannual to multidecadal climate variability on groundwater levels...

The authors determine the composition of a river that is impacted by acid-mine drainage, evaluate dominant physical and geochemical processes controlling the composition, and assess dissolved metal speciation and toxicity using a combination of laboratory, field and modeling studies. Values of pH increase from 3.3 to 7.6 and the sum of dissolved base metal (Cd + Co + Cu + Ni + Pb + Zn)

During spring 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service collected and analyzed snowpack samples for 65 sites in the Rocky Mountain region from New Mexico to Montana. Snowpacks were sampled from late February through early April and generally had well-below-average- to near-average snow-water...

Current analytical capabilities are allowing scientists to identify possible contaminants in the environment that were previously unmonitored or were present at concentrations too low for detection. New scientific evidence about the exposure pathways and potential impacts of some of these compounds on human or environmental health is regularly being published (Woodling et al., 2006...

In 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Colorado Springs City Engineering, began a study to evaluate the influence of urbanization on stream ecosystems. To accomplish this task, invertebrate, fish, stream discharge, habitat, water-chemistry, and land-use data were collected from 13 sites in the Fountain Creek basin from 2003 to 2005. The Hydrologic Index Tool was used to...

In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Bowie Mining Company, initiated a study to characterize the streamflow and streamflow gain-loss in a reach of Hubbard Creek in Delta County, Colorado, in the vicinity of a mine-permit area planned for future coal mining. Premining streamflow characteristics and streamflow gain-loss variation were determined so that pre- and...

This publication comprises a Volume Contents of chapters (listed below) and a CD-ROM of data (contents shown in column at right). The Animas River watershed in southwest Colorado is one of many watersheds in the western United States where historical mining has left a legacy of acid mine drainage and elevated concentrations of potentially toxic trace elements in surface streams. U.S...

Because of the historical deposition of mill tailings in flood plains, the process of determining total maximum daily loads for streams in an area like the Park City mining district of Utah is complicated. Understanding the locations of metal loading to Silver Creek and the relative importance of these locations is necessary to make science-based decisions. Application of tracer...

Transport and chemical transformations of dissolved and colloidal Al, Fe, Cu and Zn were studied by detailed sampling in the mixing zone downstream from the confluence of Cement Creek (pH 4.1) with the Animas River (pH 7.6). Complete mixing resulted in circumneutral pH in the downstream reach of the 1300 m study area. All four metals were transported through this mixing zone without...

Current-use pesticides (CUPs) and banned organochlorine compounds (OCCs) were measured in precipitation (snowpack and rain) and lake sediments from two national parks in the Western United States to determine their occurrence and distribution in high-elevation environments. CUPs frequently detected in snow were endosulfan, dacthal, and chlorothalonil in concentrations ranging from 0.07...

Regulatory agencies are often charged with the task of setting site-specific numeric water quality standards for impaired streams. This task is particularly difficult for streams draining highly mineralized watersheds with past mining activity. Baseline water quality data obtained prior to mining are often non-existent and application of generic water quality standards developed for...

The Merse River in Tuscany is affected by mine drainage and the weathering of mine wastes along several kilometres of its catchment. The metal loading to the stream was quantified by defining detailed profiles of discharge and concentration, using tracer-dilution and synoptic-sampling techniques. During the course of a field experiment to evaluate metal loading to the Merse, such data...